Chapter 16
What was surprising in Qiao Yan's words was definitely not her name.
She had already confessed her identity in the letter she wrote to Cheng Li, so it is not incomprehensible to use her name in reverse as a pseudonym.
In addition, the mutual understanding between her and Tian Tao has actually revealed her origins.
This is equivalent to the common understanding among "insiders", and now it is just being laid out in the open.
What really made those who heard the voice feel their blood boiling were the last four words that Qiao Yan spoke with such force.
Leave your name in history!
Who doesn’t want to leave their name in history?
The Han Dynasty conferred titles of nobility based on military merit. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the nobility were divided into five ranks.
The county marquis and pavilion marquis mentioned in Qiao Yan's words are the highest and lowest ranks among the five ranks respectively. Together with the duxiang marquis, township marquis and duting marquis in the middle, they constitute the five ranks of nobility.
At this time, Zhu Jun, the Right General of the Central Army, who was in Changsha City, had been granted the title of Marquis of Duting and a fief of 1,500 households because he had quelled the Liang Long Rebellion when he was the Governor of Jiaozhou.
When one's title is promoted to the rank of county marquis, one can even establish a country.
The meaning of Qiao Yan's words was clear enough.
Although I am young, I have the ambition to serve my country and make great achievements. At this time, there is indeed no opportunity to fight against the Western Qiang and Xianbei and make great achievements by repelling foreign invaders, but another opportunity has been placed in front of them.
It was the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Today, the Han army and the Yellow Turbans of Yuzhou are confronting each other in Changsha. The Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou were lured here under the secret instigation of Qiao Yan.
If they could break the stalemate by using the method of using the opponent's force to defeat him, or even help the Han army to pacify the Yellow Turbans in the two states, they might be rewarded with titles for their merits.
If we can take the head of Bo Cai, the fierce Yellow Turban general, we will undoubtedly be the number one hero!
Even if the people in front of Qiao Yan didn't know, taking Zhu Jun, a famous general in the late Han Dynasty, as an example, he was promoted from Dutinghou to Xianghou for his merit in defeating the Yellow Turbans. The following year, that is, in the second year of Zhongping, he was awarded the title of Xianhou for his merit in defeating the remaining Yellow Turbans. However, this did not prevent them from seeing a sign from the number of awards from Tinghou to Xianhou in recent years -
The court is re-enacting the old practice of rewarding merit and ability with titles of marquis during the reign of Emperor Guangwu.
Whether this was a self-rescue measure at the end of the dynasty or a balancing act in factional struggles, there was no need to explore for those of them who had the name of powerful people but were far from being truly powerful.
The Tian and Xue families all started out by making money through trading and lending, so they really needed a real name.
If they were able to cooperate with her before, it was more out of a sense of self-protection among the fellow villagers. Then now, when the temptation of being rewarded with honors for merit is laid nakedly before them, who can remain indifferent?
This is particularly obvious among young people like Tian Yan who are not very patient.
If we subdivide the powerful people today, the aristocratic powerful people who were granted titles and ranks as the "Eighteen Generals of Yuntai" during the Guangwu Dynasty, and the bureaucratic powerful people represented by the Yang family of Hongnong and the Yuan family of Runan, are undoubtedly at the top of the food chain. Tian Yan might be sought after in a place like Puyang because of the power of the powerful families, but he is nothing outside of Dongjun.
The childhood prospects mentioned by Qiao Yan also hit the nail on the head.
Does he want to stand out? Of course I did!
So as soon as Qiao Yan finished speaking, he opened his mouth and said, "What do you need us to do?"
system:……
No matter how it looked at it, it felt that Qiao Yan's words were full of incitement. However, the goal of leaving a name in history must require the support of a death squad. Wasn't Mr. Tian too eager to jump into the trap?
But even Cheng Li, who was standing by, understood what Qiao Yan meant, and had no intention of speaking out to interrupt her plan, let alone the system.
It’s better to continue watching the show.
Qiao Yan did not show any joy at Tian Yan's quick fall into the trap, but simply asked, "Do you remember that during the previous battle to break through the Tian's fortress, I had someone pretend to be dead under the fortress wall?"
Tian Yan was stuck for a moment. "……Remember."
When he led his men here, those guys who pretended to be dead had already climbed up and invaded the fort like wolves and tigers. However, this did not prevent him from hearing the whole process from his second uncle later and imagining the scene in his mind.
Although the other party's move to break through the fort was for the sake of the overall situation and to win the trust of the Yellow Turban leader, he still suffered the pain of imprisonment and could not bring himself to put all this behind him.
Qiao Yan seemed not to notice Tian Yan's embarrassment at this moment, and continued speaking in a normal tone, "I would like to ask you to send a few people to do this again when the Yellow Turbans attack Changsha. Then, send a message into the city under the cover of night."
She raised her hand, and Dian Wei distributed the treasure bags that Qiao Yan had prepared earlier to everyone.
She continued, "But I must make it clear to you in advance that siege warfare and assaulting a fort are two completely different things. Playing dead on the battlefield is not a way to save your life. On the contrary, it is even more dangerous than following the army in the attack. A stray arrow on the battlefield or being trampled during a retreat could easily turn pretending to be dead into real death."
When mentioning the word death, Qiao Yan's attitude was extremely cautious.
But it is precisely this attitude of clearly explaining the current crisis and opportunities that makes these people less willing to retreat at this time.
One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers. This is a truth that has existed since ancient times.
Given the prospects outlined by Qiao Yan in just a few words, such life-threatening danger could not stop these people from giving it a try.
If it were not dangerous, how could it be possible to break away from the original class and get the opportunity to be granted a title and become a general?
The people present looked at each other and saw the meaning in each other's eyes.
Then, Tian Yan took the lead again. After receiving the golden sachet from Dian Wei, he said, "I will follow your instructions, sir."
After making this mobilization, Qiao Yan watched these people return to the camp, but he was not in a hurry to go back. Instead, accompanied by Cheng Li, he slowly strolled in the wilderness of Yanzhou.
The trip from Puyang to Changsha happened to pass through Chenliu State, which bordered Liang State. In Qiao Yan's memory, although she had been ill for many years, she had been here before. Now, as she passed by, she felt a little sad for no reason.
She walked a distance away and heard Cheng Li suddenly speak: "Today I know that you are not only good at making plans and making decisions, but also very capable in controlling people's hearts."
He was not a person who would stick to common sense. Judging from his later resume, what he did in the matter of taking emergency measures was far more amazing than what Qiao Yan did. So there was no sarcasm in his words at this moment, but real praise.
Qiao Yan smiled when he heard this, "At my age, I am still a little immature to read people's minds, but when I was young, I saw a book called "The Fragments of Power and Strategy" in my grandfather's study. The author is unknown, but I still remember one sentence clearly."
Cheng Li: "I'd like to hear the details."
“To conquer the heart, one must enlighten the mind with reason, move the mind with emotion, demonstrate righteousness, and subdue the mind with authority.”
Cheng Li sneered, "But from what I see in your words, it seems that you are trying to appeal to their interests rather than their emotions."
Qiao Yan replied, "Because the previous principles of reason, affection, righteousness and authority were all for gentlemen, but in today's world, there are not so many gentlemen, so the more feasible one is the latter sentence - if you want to win their hearts, you should do what they like. Mr. Zhongde, is this the truth?"
Cheng Li nodded and said, "No matter how things change, they still remain essentially the same. You have grasped the essence of this."
Cheng Li saw very clearly that Qiao Yan was not only trying to further induce these local powerful forces in Yanzhou, but also had the intention of being insightful and catering to their wishes. He also adopted the same approach when dealing with the Yellow Turban leader.
This also includes the lessons she taught Liang Zhongning during the march.
With a large number of troops in hand, he naturally had some demands for marching strategies. At this time, Qiao Yan brought out those well-established systems, which was also a move to treat the disease.
However, whether this thing was used to make the Yellow Turban Army's deployment and camping more organized and reduce the possibility of the spread of the epidemic, or for some other purpose, Cheng Li could see it clearly from the position of a bystander.
He was inevitably distracted by this association, and suddenly heard Qiao Yan ask, "Mr. Zhongde seems to have something to say?"
"I don't really have anything to say, but I just want to ask whether your instructions to Liang Zhongning on how to set up camp are in line with what I thought."
Cheng Li had no intention of hiding anything, and simply spoke, "The Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou and Yuzhou are both rebellious armies. When two rebellions meet, chaos will inevitably occur. But it is not as good as this - one is righteous, and the other is rebellious."
"Yes, what Mr. Zhongde said is exactly what I thought." Qiao Yan continued, "If this is still not the right way, and we only know how to talk about it on paper, the effect will be better."
Cheng Li replied: "Then I think I know how to add fuel to the fire."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man and the young man, who were thirty years apart in age, smiled at each other, and the cunning and calculating expressions on their faces were indescribably similar.
This is the benefit of dealing with smart people.
Soon after the army passed Weishi, it entered Yingchuan.
Yingchuan, one of the eight counties in Yuzhou, had become a major county in the Central Plains by the end of the Han Dynasty due to its geographical resources and role as a transportation hub. Moreover, due to its academic atmosphere, a large number of famous scholars and advisers emerged in the future environment of warlords.
The Chen family of Yingchuan, the Xun family of Yingyin, and the Zhong family of Changsha are all outstanding in their respective fields.
It’s a pity that Yingchuan has now become the first front line of confrontation between the Yellow Turbans and the Han army. The former capital of the Xia Dynasty has been affected by the war, which temporarily prevents Qiao Yan from seeing the magnificent scene of “many extraordinary talents in Ruying”.
At Qiao Yan's suggestion, Liang Zhongning temporarily stationed his troops in the Yanling area, and then sent someone to Changsha to deliver a letter to General Bo Caiqu.
To be honest, there is not much point in sending a letter at this time.
Yanling is already under the jurisdiction of Yingchuan County. Since the Yellow Turbans from Yanzhou have traveled all the way here, it is obviously impossible for them to withdraw easily. Even if Bo Cai has inexplicably added another team here, it is very likely that they will have some opinions about the team that he commands, and it is probably impossible for him to drive them back.
At best, it just means that they have no intention of launching a sneak attack from behind.
That’s what Bo thought when he got the letter.
Although this belated notice seemed polite, it still left him with a feeling of something stuck in his throat.
He sent the messenger away and was silent for a long while before he squeezed out two words from between his teeth.
"Yanzhou..."
Before he marched into Yuzhou, he passed through Yanzhou and had a rough idea of the three generals in Yanzhou at that time.
Liang Jing, Bu Ji and Zhang Bo all have some level of ability, but that's all. At least they are not capable of commanding a great army, let alone fighting against the famous Han generals on the battlefield.
If not for this, Bo Cai would not have been the one to take on this important responsibility in the Yanyu area.
But in just one month, the situation of the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou had changed significantly.
Qiao Yan asked Liang Zhongning to deliver the letter to Bo Cai, and only told him roughly what the content of the letter should be. However, the specific wording was written by Liang Zhongning, a self-proclaimed "cultured person".
The letter delivered to Bo Cai took some time to write about how of the three Yellow Turban leaders in Yanzhou "unexpectedly" only one was left. The wording of the greeting to Bo Cai seemed to imply that he was on an equal footing with him.
Because of the recent changes that had taken place in him, Liang Zhongning was not aware of the emotions revealed in his tone, but Bo Cai, who suddenly received the letter, saw it very clearly.
This person obviously may not be a qualified foreign aid, and may even be a bad guest!
Especially when he still had the upper hand in the fights against Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, the sudden appearance of more than 10,000 people did not surprise him.
The successive victories made Bo Cai extremely convinced that what the great and wise teacher Zhang Jue said, "The decline of the Han Dynasty is inevitable, the blue sky is dead and the yellow sky should be established," is indeed a truth.
In this way, he did not need any external assistance at all, and he could attack Changsha head-on and capture the two generals of the imperial court as sacrifices.
Liang Zhongning was clearly here to share the credit with him!
Bo Cai's face was as gloomy as water, but he could not think of a way to make these people retreat.
He knew very well what the fighting power of the people under his command was. In order to get the reward of food, those who were hungry would charge directly into the front even if there were armored soldiers with swords in front of them. When they gathered to the size of tens of thousands, it was not easy to dispatch orders.
This is the situation on his side, and I think Liang Zhongning's side will be no exception.
If he really issued a decision to order them to return home, I'm afraid they would come to him to ask for money right away.
He was left with only one choice.
These people were accepted into the Changsha territory, but they were strictly prohibited from taking credit.
Although he had an idea, Bo Cai couldn't help but press his forehead, feeling a little troubled by this accident.
What gave him even more of a headache was the performance of Liang Zhongning's troops after he saw them march out from Yanling and enter Changsha.
He had previously heard that Liang Zhongning had killed Bu Ji and Zhang Bo to seize power, so he subconsciously felt that the other party might have the potential to be extremely vicious.
But when he really met him in person, he felt that, apart from the "confidence" that Liang Zhongning had already shown in the letter, he seemed a little... stupid?
But when Bo Cai looked at the team led by Liang Zhongning, he was not sure about this judgment.
These people looked much better than his subordinates.
Although their marching order was far inferior to that of the Han Dynasty's regular army, it could never be described as a "mob".
What made him feel that Liang Zhongning was no ordinary person was that when he indicated where these people could be stationed, they showed good camping skills.
Bo Cai had military achievements on his hands, so he wasn't really afraid of being compared with others. However, he had already been fighting in Changsha for a month, and the Han army refused to come out. He had been repelled several times when attacking the city, and the military rations looted from all directions had been almost consumed.
However, it seemed that everyone in the new team had some extra food, and the army also had quite a bit of food reserves, so they immediately surpassed them.
But this food cannot be moved!
Since he didn't want Liang Zhongning to take credit for the work, he would not try to ask for food from him, otherwise the other party would inevitably get the reputation of "sending food to help in the war".
But he enjoyed putting on airs, but his subordinates obviously had some complaints about it.
Conflicts arose between the two sides soon after they were stationed next to each other.
The Yellow Turban soldiers were not easy to control. It was obviously not easy to make them behave like the regular Han army and not move around freely even during preparation time.
This looseness caused problems.
A soldier from Liang Zhongning's side wandered into Bo Cai's territory on the third day after his arrival.
It would have been fine if the soldiers of Bo Cai's army had captured him and sent him back after discovering his whereabouts, but he was perhaps too confident in his own side and actually thought of inviting the other side to appreciate the majesty of their camp. Then, he was criticized by the other side for everything from the barracks to the wells and stoves, from the toilets to the fences.
The soldiers of Bo Cai's army became more and more angry as they listened, but the criticism from the other side was well-founded. They even brought up the layout strategy of their own camp and said it was the advice of their leader, leaving them no room for rebuttal.
The soldiers of the Bocai tribe were speechless and did not notice that the person who accidentally bumped into them left quietly after saying these words. After leaving the other party's sight, he came to a tall scholar and reported his achievements of the day.
And this scene did not happen just once.
By the time Bo received the news, some strange rumors had already spread in the camp.
For example, the dysentery that appeared in the army half a month ago was precisely because General Bo Caiqu had no experience in arranging toilets correctly.
For example, they have not had enough food recently because the wells and stoves installed in the army were not properly located, resulting in uneven distribution of food.
For another example, they could have actually captured Changsha earlier, but because the fences defending the camp were not properly built, the number of soldiers needed to patrol at night increased significantly, and they inevitably lacked energy during the day.
Bo Cai's forehead twitched and he almost picked up a knife to settle the score with Liang Zhongning.
However, before he could come to the door, Liang Zhongning had already found him.
As soon as Bo Cai met him, he realized that the anger on the other's face was not fake.
“……”It seems something is wrong.
But before he could figure out what had happened, Liang Zhongning grabbed him by the collar and bombarded him with a barrage of scolding.
Bo Cai's subordinates pulled the guy away, forcing him to soften his tone a little, allowing Bo Cai to barely piece together the situation from his words.
"You mean, your men are missing?"
Bo Cai frowned, feeling that he had just suffered an unexpected disaster. "What does the disappearance of your men have to do with me?"
Liang Zhongning replied with a sullen face: "What if the food I distributed earlier also disappeared, and... this bag of food happened to appear in the hands of your soldiers today? Don't tell me that my people became deserters, and were discovered by the people inside when they were escaping, so they simply handed over their stored food as a bribe to make them turn a blind eye?"
"...Liang Shuai, don't be so impatient."
Bo Cai knew his subordinates well, and for a moment he could not think of any need for Liang Zhongning to lie to him or frame him. He just felt that it was possible that his subordinates could have done this.
"We both know how we recruited the people under our command. If we neglect management, it is possible that some desperate people will appear and take risks."
Liang Zhongning didn't like to hear this, but what Bo Cai said immediately afterwards obviously didn't give him the opportunity to continue.
Bo Cai patted him on the shoulder and said, "General Liang is a capable man who can unify the three regions of Yanzhou. What good would it be for me to offend you at this time? We should focus on the task entrusted by General Tian Gong instead of raising an army here to punish the lives of a few soldiers. If we do that, it will only make the Han army in Changsha City laugh at us."
Liang Zhongning looked at him suspiciously and asked, "You are not lying to me?"
This was indeed not what Bo Cai did. There was no unnatural expression on his face. Liang Zhongning stared at him for a long time but couldn't figure out what was going on. He could only believe what he said for the time being.
But after what he did, Bo Cai forgot that he originally wanted to cause trouble for Liang Zhongning.
The words I forgot to say were——
If he wants to read military books, he can do so. Why does he let his soldiers come to his territory to learn about military science? It can even be said that he is stepping on him.
Both sides have opinions about each other, so it is inevitable that there will be friction when the two sides camp together.
This renewed siege attempt was launched at this time.
"If you only look at the intensity of the siege, you probably wouldn't have thought that there were seventeen conflicts between the two sides in the camp yesterday."
Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, the two "advisers" and the instigators of this intensification of conflict, naturally could not appear on the front line of the siege.
At this moment, the two of them were standing on the high ground outside the camp, looking into the distance towards Changsha.
Changsha is not a big city, and the walls of its county town are not even as high as the Juye City where Qiao Yan had experienced the siege.
But it is no exaggeration to say that there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in Changsha City.
This place has the battle-hardened General Huangfu, the General Zhu Jun who pacified Jiaozhou, Cao Cao who was the Cavalry Commander at the time, and the support of the Zhong clan. Even though their numbers are far less than those of the Yellow Turbans, they are still a tough nut to crack.
Zhong Yao, the future mainstay of the Zhong family, has just resigned from his post as magistrate of Yangling County due to illness. Even though he has not reached the point where Cao Cao compared him to Xiao He because of his position in guarding Guanzhong, he is by no means a simple character.
Sima Fu Xie, the guard general under Huangfu Song, is also not a simple person.
At least with these five people, there would be no loopholes in the defense of any part of the city wall of Changsha. Otherwise, Huangfu Song would not have found a chance to defeat the enemy in a protracted battle of strict defense.
"With these frictions, at least we can ensure that the cooperation between the two parties will never be close. Even if we have five times the number of Han troops, we can't break through this small city."
Siege, it seems like just two words, but when seeing this kind of siege with tens of thousands of people actually coming to the city, Qiao Yan held his hands tightly in his sleeves to prevent himself from showing any strange expression. Instead, he and Cheng Li watched today's battle with a calm face.
She was also waiting to see whether the person who was persuaded by her words that day would take the risk and spread the news to the city in order to gain the honor of being made a marquis and be recorded in history.
However, in front of the Yellow Turban Army's extremely frantic attack, even though Qiao Yan thought her eyesight was pretty good, it was still difficult for her to tell whether those who fell were shot by arrows from the top of the city or pretended to fall according to her plan.
Of course, who knows if those who pretended to fall down would be stabbed and killed in the chaos.
It was not until dusk that the battle, which had never been able to find a breakthrough, finally came to an end, with Bo Cai sounding the retreat.
As far as Qiao Yan could see, it was unclear whether the area below Changsha City was covered with a layer of blood or a layer of sunset light.
She blinked her eyes and felt a little sore.
"Please go back with me, Mr. Zhongde." Qiao Yan said.
If she stayed here, she might be able to see whether a survivor who had received a mission from her would crawl out from among the corpses over there in the middle of the night. It was a pity that Liang Zhongning had returned from the war. Given his reliance on the "military advisor", it was impossible for him not to consult Qiao Yan about something.
It would be a bit bad if it attracted other people's attention.
Cheng Li was aware of her concerns and immediately followed her.
However, he understood this clearly, but he could not figure out what emotions were mixed in Qiao Yan's look when he looked back at the battlefield before leaving.
This doesn't seem to be a feeling of sadness for the Han Dynasty's prestige falling to the point it is today, with the famous Han generals having to defend the city in the face of the Yellow Turban bandits' attack. It's not sympathy for the casualties on both sides in this battle, nor is it hatred for the Yellow Turban bandits who are plotting to seize power in the Han Dynasty. Instead, it's more like...
Cheng Li couldn't describe this feeling.
He always felt that she had no intention of leaning towards either side, but judging by her actions, she could clearly be said to be a loyal Han Chinese.
He didn't have any extra time to think about it, because he soon saw the emotion fade away from her eyes, because they met Liang Zhongning as soon as they entered the military camp.
This guy felt that he had failed in the siege and should be considered a defeated person. When he saw Qiao Yan, he began to complain bitterly, especially when he mentioned that the soldiers under Bo Cai had repeatedly had friction with his side in today's siege, and even seriously affected his ability to display his prowess. He felt very depressed.
"The man guarding the city wall of the party I attacked today is not tall, with a round face and narrow eyes. One can tell at a glance that he is not a hero. If it weren't for Bo Cai's followers, I would have captured the top of the city today." Liang Zhongning said angrily, and while Bo Cai couldn't hear what he said, he raised his voice.
"..." Although Qiao Yan did not personally see who was confronting Liang Zhongning, when he heard his description, he inexplicably thought of the eight words "seven feet tall, narrow eyes and long beard". These characteristics obviously did not match Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and Fu Xie, and it was most likely Cao Cao.
Because of this speculation, his words “he is not a hero” are indeed subtle.
But Qiao Yan had no time to think about this humorous comment. Her eyes briefly met with Cheng Li's, and after moving back to Liang Zhongning's face, she said solemnly: "Everything starts from small things. It would be better for you to pay more attention to the movements of Bo Cai."
Liang Zhongning rarely heard Qiao Yan speak in such a tone, and he became more cautious.
Amid the cries of the wounded around him at night, his already modest vigilance seemed to give rise to many extended emotions.
But what he didn't know was that while he was tossing and turning, a person crawled out from the pile of corpses under the Changsha City.
The almost dried blood on his face made it impossible to see his features. All that could be seen was that he pulled out an arrow wrapped in cloth from under the corpse.
He limped out two steps and called a few people's names in a low voice, but heard no response from anyone. He pursed his lips and showed a bit of disappointment.
But this was obviously not the time for him to have time to be sad.
He picked up a short bow left on the battlefield, and while carefully paying attention to the movements of the patrolling soldiers on the top of the city, he took out two flints from the cloth bag around his waist.
He took a deep breath.
There were six people who came to perform the fake death mission, but he was the only one who survived in the end. However, he could not be guaranteed safety at this time.
He couldn't be sure that when he shot the arrow to the top of the city wall, he would be killed by the defenders on the city wall before the enemy could distinguish friend from foe.
Moreover, in order to ensure that this arrow would not be ignored, it was an arrow that was also familiar to him.
There is no moon tonight, and only the sparks from the flint for a moment reveal the appearance of this survivor. If you ignore the blood covering his face, it is not difficult to see that this is none other than Tian Yan, the eldest son of the Tian family.
His earlier mobilization speech to Qiao Yan was so positive, and it was also reflected in his actions.
He joined in without hesitation since this was a dangerous enough thing to kill him.
He quickly put the bow on the lighted rocket, pulled the string, and then shot it out, like a streak of fire in the night sky, straight into the watchtower on the city wall of Changsha.
This rocket had once been a tool to deceive the attackers in Tian's fortress, but now in his hands it had become a means of communication that could turn the tide of the battle. Tian Yan couldn't help but feel it was a bit absurd when he was shooting the arrow. However, this strange deviation in thinking was soon overwhelmed by the panic that came with his realization.
The rocket went out when it hit the watchtower, but it was enough to attract the attention of the defenders.
Tian Yan hurriedly took out a piece of white cloth from his sleeve and shook it in his hand, trying to let the people on the city wall know that he had no ill intentions and was just a messenger.
He was indeed lucky, as the people on the city wall saw his actions clearly and successfully avoided accidental killing.
The people guarding the city tonight are Fu Xie and his son.
Fu Gan picked up the arrow, which still had some sparks on it, and saw the four words "I need to see you for an important matter" written in sharp handwriting on the cloth strip tied to the tail of the arrow.
Seeing his father's look, he immediately handed the arrow to Fu Xie.
Fu Xie's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't help feeling a little suspicious.
He was born in the Beidi Fu family and studied under the Grand Commandant Liu Kuan. Although he was the Guard Sima of the Left General of the Household, his cultural level was not low.
Moreover, if we talk about calligraphy in Changsha City, Zhong Yuanchang is the best. He had seen it once before, which gave him a better appreciation of calligraphy.
The torches on the city wall illuminated the cloth in his hand clearly. The four characters written on the cloth were not written at the level of the Yellow Turban bandits.
"Father, do we want to bring that man up?" Fu Gan asked as Fu Xie looked at the cloth strip again and again.
This young man is not much older than Qiao Yan, but he looks taller because he followed his father in military training.
He had read military books for several years, and after thinking about the strange actions of the man under the city, he added, "Father, shouldn't you be more cautious at this critical moment? If there is any fraud..."
"Bring him up here." Fu Xie interrupted his son. "He's the only one here. Even if he has any ulterior motives, we can keep an eye on him."
After Fu Xie finished speaking, he immediately ordered the defenders on the city wall to get a hanging basket, hang it down from the top of Changsha City Wall, and pick up Tian Yan who was under the city wall.
Fu Gan wondered how brave this person who came to risk his life to report the news could be, but who knew that this young man whose face could not be seen clearly sat down on the ground with weak legs as soon as he climbed up the city wall, and he could not help but sneer.
Tian Yan didn't bother to care that he first followed the instructions of a little boy and came to do this dangerous job, and now he had to be ridiculed by another little boy.
He was finally safe now. The fear he had felt when he lay among the corpses during the day, the anxiety he had felt when he fired that arrow just now, and the unconscious sadness he felt when he thought of his companions who were left behind forever under the city.
All these emotions came up at this moment.
He had been holding his breath just to complete this task, but now that he saw Fu Xie, he recognized this 30-year-old general whom he had seen from afar today. He knew that the other party's position in the Han army would not be too low. His mission was already half completed, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing here?" Fu Xie asked, holding the sword at his waist.
Tian Yan took another deep breath, as if to cheer himself up, and then replied: "I'm here to deliver a letter to General Huangfu on behalf of someone else."
"I know that it's not easy to see General Huangfu," Tian Yan continued before Fu Xie asked, "but the person who asked me to deliver the letter said that the matter involved the defeat of the Yellow Turbans, so General Huangfu must come to see him."
Because of today's ordeal, Tian Yan's words now lacked some strength, but this did not affect his confidence in Qiao Yan, as shown in his tone of firmness when he said the words "it involves the matter of defeating the Yellow Turbans".
This made his words sound somewhat credible.
Fu Xie stared at him for a while, and finally nodded, motioning Fu Gan to take the people with him, while he went to inform General Huangfu first.
Huangfu Song did not underestimate this matter.
At the moment when the two armies were fighting, it didn't seem like a joke to have the ability to come to Changsha City.
He simply called Zhu Jun and Cao Cao as well.
What he didn't expect was that this matter was much bigger than he had imagined.
The brocade bag that Tian Yan carried with him was inevitably stained with blood when he hid under the corpse, and the cloth inside the brocade bag was also stained with blood. Fortunately, this did not affect his ability to see the words on the cloth clearly.
The more Huangfu Song read, the more tense his expression became, but when he saw the last line, he couldn't help but slap his thigh and burst into laughter.
He was not like a Confucian general like Lu Zhi. Coming from a family of generals, he was majestic and murderous. When Tian Yan first met him, he felt that he was worthy of the identity of the commander-in-chief of the Han army. Just now he saw that he was frowning and a little breathless. Fortunately, now he saw him smiling and showed the generosity of a young man from the frontier, so he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Gongwei, take a look at this thing." Huangfu Song did not express his opinion, but handed the cloth to Zhu Jun.
Zhu Jun's reaction was somewhat different from Huangfu Song's. He first showed a look of surprise, and then showed emotion when he read to the end.
Even though Cao Cao had done such major things as killing the eunuch Jian Shuo's uncle with a five-colored stick before serving as the Cavalry Commander, and writing a letter to redress the grievances of Dou Wu when he was a counselor, and he thought he was a well-informed and calm person, he couldn't help but feel a little curious about what was written on the cloth that caused Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun to react like this.
Zhu Jun had already folded the cloth in his hands, "What does Yizhen think about this?"
"Grandfather Qiao has a good grandson." Huangfu Song replied.
Seeing Cao Cao and Fu Xie looking at him, he explained, "The grandson of Qiao Gongzu is now in the Yellow Turban Army. Together with the wise men of Dong'a, he is planning to cooperate with us from inside and outside to break the current deadlock."
The two were stunned when they heard his words, and then they heard him continue to sigh: "Sacrificing one's life to enter the enemy camp... Even a grown man might not dare to do it, let alone a ten-year-old boy. This is truly a pillar of talent——"
"Wait a minute!"
Tian Yan, the person who entered the city, was brought to Huangfu Song by Fu Xie. Fu Xie was naturally more vigilant than the others. As soon as Huangfu Song finished speaking, he asked, "How can the Zhonglang General confirm that this person is really here to deliver a letter for the grandson of Grandfather Qiao?"
Huangfu Song, who was at the top, was not surprised that Fu Xie, who was usually cautious, would ask such a question. He raised his hand and pointed at Zhu Jun, saying, "Please, Gongwei, read the last paragraph to them."
Zhu Jun responded.
He unfolded the cloth again and read: "The letter said - in the past, my uncle was wandering around the gate and was robbed by bandits. Yang Fangzheng was afraid to catch him, but my grandfather said, how could I let a traitor go for the sake of my son's life? My uncle was killed by bandits, but the capital was at peace. My grandfather has no regrets."
"Now I am in the enemy camp. I am not afraid that General Huangfu cannot discern people and understand the opportunity. I am only afraid that the general will put me in danger and dare not act rashly. Therefore, I leave my grandfather's words on a piece of silk - how can I let the traitor go for the life of my son?"
"It was like this in the past, and it is like this now. I hope the general will understand this."
At the end of the cloth were the four words "Qiao Yan Bai Shang".
Zhu Jun was already greatly shocked when he saw these two paragraphs. Now that he read out every word, he felt that the person who wrote these words was truly a remarkable person of the time.
What she was referring to was the kidnapping case in the capital that was handled by Yang Qiu.
Grandfather Qiao Xuan Qiao sacrificed his young son's life with the words "How can I let a traitor go to save my own son?" However, this prevented any bandits in the capital from daring to kidnap the sons of high-ranking officials and get away with it. This incident had become a topic of conversation in the capital many years ago.
The grandson of Mr. Qiao, named Qiao Yan, actually compared himself to the current situation, and asked Huangfu Song not to worry about "his" safety and just focus on destroying the traitor Yellow Turbans.
Such words were definitely not something that could be said by the Yellow Turbans who intended to forge the truth and lure them out of the city.
And when they thought that when they left the capital, Qiao Xuan was already terminally ill and might not live more than half a year, their amazement at the prospect of having a successor was inevitably mixed with a sense of helplessness.
Before Zhu Jun regained his composure, Huangfu Song had already drawn his sword and stood up. "Even a young child dared to do this. How can we be timid and delay the opportunity to fight? Meng De, please write a letter to this person to arrange the time for the attack."
Cao Cao responded with "Yes", but when the pen and ink were handed to him, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Qiao Xuan and he were close friends regardless of age difference, so he naturally knew who were in the other's family.
This Qiao Xuan’s son Qiao Yu has no son?
The name Qiao Yan was clearly given to his daughter by him!
This is not Mr. Qiao’s grandson, but his granddaughter!
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