Chapter 175 Going South to Give Gifts
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw a hint of excitement on Guo Jia's face.
Qiao Yan quickly added, "Next time if you cause such a result, you must report it to me first."
The advisers working under her now are all very capable. If they are really allowed to play freely, there is no guarantee that they will not blossom all over the place.
Although she knew they would not do anything to embarrass her, it would be difficult to end the battle if there were too many "fronts".
For example, when Guo Jia goes to Qingzhou next, it would be best if he only aims to bring Zheng Xuan back to Bingzhou, and there is no need to launch a targeted attack on Yuan Shao.
Anyway, she will come to me with the debt sooner or later.
Guo Jia understood the concerns in her words at a glance, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, don't worry. Not everyone has the opportunity to do things like Wenhe. If there is no general direction from your Excellency, we will never do such an overstepping thing."
Just these words from Qiao Yan are enough.
Being kind to the enemy is not only cruel to oneself, but also irresponsible to the subordinates who follow her.
An ambitious person who allows himself to be tied down by friendships or alliances will sooner or later run into trouble.
This is definitely not a mistake a qualified prince would make.
Fortunately, the lord he chose not only had insight and strategy far beyond his contemporary competitors, but also had no weaknesses in his character.
Looking at it this way, maybe her love for sweets is really one of her weaknesses?
When Guo Jia thought of this, he felt a sense of security but also a bit of fun.
"Let's talk seriously. What do you think of Sun Ce?"
Sun Ce is one year younger than Qiao Yan, so they can barely be considered the same age.
But to be honest, before Sun Ce made such a sudden change of course to attack Yuan Shu, lifted the siege of Lujiang, and occupied the two counties of Lujiang and Danyang, no one thought that he could compete with Qiao Yan.
Even for Sun Jian, because he took the Luyang route when attacking Dong Zhuo, most people at that time did not put his record of breaking through the pass first, but regarded him as Yuan Shu's thug.
As Sun Jian's underage son, Sun Ce naturally did not need to expect others to pay much attention to him.
It is possible that people like Huang Gai and Zu Mao under Sun Jian's command would be more respected.
However, now that he owns two counties, Lujiang Prefect Lu Kang is indebted to him for saving his life, and Danyang Prefect Zhou Shang is the uncle of his newly appointed military advisor. With Yuan Shu as his rival to the north, these two will not hinder Sun Ce.
Once this realm was united, he was immediately promoted to a level that required attention.
Now is the time to evaluate Sun Ce, not his deceased father Sun Jian.
"Sun Ce is as brave as his father, and his decisions at critical moments are also far-sighted and insightful," Qiao Yan commented.
The action of escaping the impasse in Jingzhou and moving to Yangzhou is enough to show that Sun Ce was capable of building a stronghold in Jiangdong. Although he had the assistance of the veteran generals left by his father, he mostly relied on his own abilities.
Sun Ce's personality charm is not inferior to his father's. Perhaps the biggest problem is that -
He has something in common with his father.
If one places excessive confidence in one's own military power, the problem of advancing deep into deep territory alone is inevitable.
Even if Sun Jian did not have Jia Xu's calculations and Liu Biao's precise execution, he would sooner or later get into trouble because of his insistence on being the first.
In history, Sun Ce also lost his life because of carelessness.
Such a person, in an environment where the world is conquered by force, may have a chance to gain power, but it is difficult for him to keep his position.
Not to mention that he is in an environment where his competitors are all quite strong.
Qiao Yan continued, "I won't talk about what kind of person he is. I haven't had contact with him for a long time. If I judge him based on these rumors, it would be biased. Just look at the county territories he currently occupies. If he develops, he will not pose a threat to us."
"The situation of the Southern Sect bandits in Jingzhou is so numerous that even if Liu Biao first bribed them with benefits and then tricked them into death and seized power, it would be impossible to eradicate them. The same is true for Jiangdong. The further south you are in the Han Dynasty, the more powerful people will cling to you because the population is sparse and the fields are not cultivated. This is even more serious than the powerful people in Liangzhou and Bingzhou."
Guo Jia took a sip of the hot tea at hand and replied: "Your Excellency is right. This is a tail that is too big to be removed. The Yangzhou governor Chen Wen had been killed by Yuan Shu earlier, and in the south of Lujiang and Danyang occupied by Sun Ce, the governor of Kuaiji County had already heard the news and fled. Under this circumstance, it is not difficult for Sun Ce to take Kuaiji. This means that he has occupied three counties and half of Yangzhou. However, the larger the territory, the more constraints he needs to face."1
If Yangzhou had been the capital of the Eastern Wu Dynasty and after the migration of the Western Jin Dynasty to the south, it might still be considered to have a developed economy. But now, with its crisscrossing network of waterways and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, it is not an exaggeration to call this place a barbarian land in the south.
There was even a clan rebel during the Xiping period who had thousands of followers and dared to proclaim himself Emperor Yangming. The governor who was ordered to fight against the rebels was unable to defeat them because of insufficient troops.
Therefore, even though Sun Ce may own more territory than Qiao Yan once he takes advantage of the two counties of Lujiang and Danyang and occupies Kuaiji, he is still not a cause for concern.
He is not as glorious as others imagine!
Guo Jia added: "Besides, if he wants to avenge his father and attack Liu Biao in the west, the other side will never let down their guard after this lesson. If he wants to go north and cross the Yangtze River, Yuan Shu, who has retreated to Jiujiang County and has Yuzhou and Runan as his backing, can barely be considered a stumbling block."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "He might as well be a fierce ghost on the road at this time."
So, in the face of this fierce attack, Sun Ce seemed to have displayed the magnanimity of a man who founded the hegemony of Jiangdong, but now he was just fighting and not governing. Sun Ce had not experienced the years of training under Yuan Shao and was more likely to make mistakes in a hurry.
She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, "From Fengxiao's point of view, how about I give Sun Bofu a gift?"
After Sun Jian's death, she should have sent her condolences.
Moreover, since Sun Ce was in Jiangdong first, he could use violent means to disintegrate the forces of the clan bandits and the Shanyue. Supporting their development would not aid the enemy, but would make Sun Ce a knife for her in the south.
It doesn’t matter whether Sun Ce himself knows that he is this knife, as long as Qiao Yan knows it.
Guo Jia replied: "Don't you have the best person to send the gift to?"
However, before Qiao Yan's instructions arrived, the person who sent the gift had already sent a letter himself, requesting to go to the south.
Qiao Yan opened the letter sent from Bingzhou and saw that Lu Yuan wrote that when Yuan Shu led his army to besiege Lujiang, she, as Qiao Yan's subordinate, could not act rashly, so she could not leave her post and go to Yangzhou for the sake of her father's safety.
In fact, it would be useless even if she went alone. In the case of a cross-border battle, if she really went, it would only make the Lu family another victim. It would be better to do as she and Qiao Yan said -
If Lu Kang really died at the hands of Yuan Shu, Lu Yuan would remember to avenge him when Qiao Yan faced Yuan Shu in the future.
But now she should go.
As Qiao Yan's confidant who stayed in Bingzhou, Lu Yuan must know whether Jia Xu's surrender was real or fake, and how much of his advice to Dong Zhuo was sincere and how much was pretense.
In this Jingyang Rebellion, the person behind Sun Jian's death should be said to be Qiao Yan.
So, in order to prevent Sun Ce from having the opportunity to link this matter to Qiao Yan, it would be better to further deepen the image of Qiao Yan as a Han minister and an ally of Sun Jian.
The more Sun Ce, who was young and inexperienced, was grateful for her support at this time, the more difficult it was for him to think of her connection with this matter.
Coincidentally, in addition to providing assistance to Sun Ce, one of her subordinates could go to Yangzhou with legitimate reasons.
It was Lu Yuan, the daughter of Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang.
Lu Yuan's judgment has always been good, and after being given authority by Qiao Yan, her potential in politics has been further explored.
When the news of Sun Jian's death reached Bingzhou, Lu Yuan applied to go south in order to make the aid more natural.
According to Lu Yuan, it was enough for Qiao Yan to send Sun Ce a life-saving chain mail at this time, as well as to express condolences and tributes for the death of Sun Jian. This was considered to be a fulfillment of friendship.
But Qiao Yan felt that when the knife was still controllable—
It’s better to give more.
Du Yu, a famous general of the Western Jin Dynasty, was able to lead an army to destroy the Wu Kingdom based on the foundation laid by Yang Hu. Qiao Yan was always reminding himself not to make the same mistakes as Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu and Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi. Naturally, he had the confidence to defeat Sun Ce.
Moreover, compared with Sun Quan, although Sun Ce has great ability in centripetal force, he also has his shortcomings that cannot be ignored.
Just give him some trouble when necessary.
When Qiao Yan wrote down the transfer order, he directly told Lu Yuan in the instruction to take a curved plow and blueprints to the south.
How Sun Ce will expand production depends on Sun Ce's own abilities.
After the grain production increases, how he will conquer the various places in Jiangdong will depend on his own ability.
The curved plow is actually more suitable for use in paddy fields in the south than in fields in the north because of its small size and flexible steering.
So for Sun Ce, this thing is no less than a tool to save lives.
At a time when the curved plow had not yet been promoted in the north as Bingzhou's production increased, this was a real and valuable gift!
However, Qiao Yan was not worried about the impact of giving away the curved plow.
The strength of farming in Bingzhou lies in the fact that it has completed a complete scientific planting system, rather than just relying on the improvement of agricultural tools.
This year's autumn harvest is the third autumn harvest since she took office as the governor of Bingzhou. With the further optimization of grain varieties, the yield per mu has increased again this year.
It is already very close to the maximum yield of eight to ten dan per mu that could be achieved in the late Wei and Jin Dynasties.
It is unlikely that this number will change dramatically in the future, especially when drought is approaching, but it will be enough for Bingzhou to continue to accumulate snowball advantages.
What if we let her see how far her competitors can go?
This is the confidence of the strong!
When Lu Yuan arrived in Lujiang under the escort of Dian Wei, as Qiao Yan's envoy, she was personally received by Sun Ce after he withdrew his troops from Danyang.
Ever since she took up the post of Bookkeeper in Bingzhou and was responsible for recording merits and promotions, it was not difficult for those who had been watching the situation in Bingzhou to see that she was trusted and relied upon by Qiao Yan.
But Sun Ce still didn't expect that she would appear in Yangzhou as an envoy at this time.
What was even more unexpected was that after conveying Qiao Yan's words "I hope General Sun will mourn for us", the condolence gift that Lu Yuan took out right after was actually a farm tool.
But after Lu Yuan demonstrated the use of this thing, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked at each other and immediately realized the importance of this thing.
Lu Yuan continued, "My lord's intention is that the traitor Dong and Liu Biao have teamed up to harm General Po Lu, which is tantamount to treason. She will petition the emperor in the name of Bingzhou Mu, recommending the young general as the governor of Kuaiji, the general who will suppress the rebellion, and recommending Zhu Gongwei as the governor of Changsha. But revenge is after, and people's livelihood is first. Let Lujiang and Danyang recover from the war before raising troops."
"And today it seems bitterly cold, but the south is still good. If we can restore agriculture and settle people's livelihood, with the young general's talent for commanding troops, we will surely be able to station troops and avenge our grievances."
Lu Yuan seemed to sigh, and then said: "It's a pity that the road from Bingzhou to Yangzhou has to pass through Yuan Gonglu's territory. The Lord wanted me to bring more things, but I can only bring this thing, so as not to be too conspicuous and fall into the hands of the enemy. Please don't be offended, General."
Are you surprised?
How could this be surprising?
The Sun family had lived in Wu County for generations. Sun Ce thought that after he took Danyang and Lujiang, he could take advantage of the situation to form an alliance with Wu County. However, the nobles of Wu County believed that it would be difficult for Sun Ce to take on the responsibility after Sun Jian's death and there was no imperial edict, so they supported Yan Baihu to lead troops here.
Even among Sun Jian's old subordinates, some were unwilling to stay in Yangzhou and retreated to Changsha County.
If Sun Ce had not been capable and courageous, the power under his command would have collapsed long ago with the death of Sun Jian.
Qiao Yan was the first person to come and bring gifts as part of the agreement to attack Dong Zhuo.
Even if it was just a pot of wine sent as a tribute, it would be enough to move Sun Ce, not to mention that it was something practical and useful.
Needless to say, there was another important thing in Lu Yuan's words.
During the Three Kingdoms period, it was not uncommon for a governor of one state to recommend another as a general, governor of another state, or provincial governor.
When the imperial power was held hostage by others, it seemed to have become a common practice for people of orthodox status to express their regret that their words could not reach the emperor, but they hoped that the other party would control it for the sake of someone capable.
But no one has done this kind of thing nowadays.
Qiao Yan said that he wanted to recommend Sun Ce as the General of Suppressing Rebellion and the Prefect of Kuaiji, which seemed to be a precedent for this matter.
But if you think about it carefully, there is some truth in it.
If Sun Ce really got this title, he would at least have a legitimate reason to recruit soldiers and go into battle.
Yuan Shu would not want him to get such credentials, and correspondingly, the Yecheng court would not issue such an order.
If the appointment came directly from Dong Zhuo, Sun Ce would probably be very upset.
But if Qiao Yan submitted the memorial, even if he did not get the corresponding silver seal and green ribbon, Sun Ce would dare to take the title!
He replied solemnly: "Please thank Lord Qiao for his kindness on my behalf. If the people of Yangzhou can survive, they should also be grateful to Lord Qiao for his kindness."
Lu Yuan paused, then continued: "There is one more thing I want to tell the young general—"
"Seeing that Lujiang County is located between the young general, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, it is indeed a turbulent place. This time I came south, even if my father is unwilling to leave his post and leave Lujiang, I will take some of the Lu family's children with me to Bingzhou. This is not intentional contempt for the general, it is really..."
Seeing that there seemed to be something difficult to say in her words, Sun Ce smiled carefreely: "Why should I worry about this? It is human nature to avoid disaster. Bingzhou does have people who are dependent on us, so it would be fine to take the entire Lu family with us."
"General, your words are enough." Lu Yuan also responded with a thank you expression.
It is impossible to take the entire Lu family away.
At most, they would take away a few young people in Lujiang and send them to Leping to study to prevent them from encountering any accidents in the subsequent melee.
For example, Lu Xun, who is eight years old this year.
He assigned Lu Yuan the task of traveling south, and asked Dian Wei to accompany him. Since the trip would take a long time, and Qiao Yan believed in Lu Yuan's ability to do things, he did not spend too much time thinking about it.
While supervising the construction of Wuwei County during the autumn and winter, she also started to take advantage of the system after careful consideration.
When the system was called up by her sudden words "Let's change to another system for trading", I wanted to say that it was really not easy for her to still remember it.
But this sentence has already been said in Mangshan, so there is no need to say it again.
The system, which had been largely influenced by Qiao Yan's train of thought, was thinking that this neglected situation should actually be blamed on Ma Teng, Han Sui, and even Liangzhou. Their presence in the history of the Three Kingdoms was too low, so they failed to achieve any achievements. This made Qiao Yan think of the changes in the system's values.
Yes, that's it.
Find other people’s problems!
It asked: [What system are you looking for? 】
Qiao Yan could actually use the jade seal as a bargaining chip, and even made her do it. The system even had a moment of lofty ambitions, thinking that it was not impossible to have a chat with the Immortal Cultivation System, although there were exchange restrictions and it was highly likely that the transaction would not be reached.
As it was mumbling in its mind, it heard Qiao Yan ask, "Is there something like a beast taming system?"
[……?] 】
"I didn't intend to use this thing to learn how to control snakes, insects and beasts like the Nanman Shanyue, nor did I intend to train a stable pigeon communication system. I just thought, you said that the beasts that are controlled must grow strong, right? Now I have a method to follow when planting in the fields-"
"Shouldn't we also raise the cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs to be stronger?"
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