Chapter 185 Two Military Reports...
Zhao Yun had witnessed with his own eyes how Qiao Yan recruited the Black Mountain bandits for his own use. Looking at the scene before him, he indeed felt an indescribable sense of familiarity.
In fact, compared with the Black Mountain bandits, the Qiang people are even more difficult to subdue.
The Black Mountain bandits were Han people after all, but they were forced to go to the Taihang Mountains because of the disasters in the sixth and seventh years of the Guanghe period.
Therefore, after they can get survival support from Leping, they will choose to side with her and work under her.
However, the order that was disrupted after a hundred years of Qiang rebellion will require a much longer time to restore.
Fortunately, things are gradually getting back on track now.
Zhao Yun couldn't help but smile, and replied: "Your Excellency will get what you wish for."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yan did not say anything else, such as asking the Qiang people to integrate into the Bingzhou Army within a limited time. He just stopped at a corner of the field and looked at the rapeseed in front of him.
This kind of rapeseed, which is also common in modern times, has another name called "Hancai", which can replace the more difficult to pronounce name Brassica rapa. The word "Hancai" is enough to clearly describe the growth characteristics of this plant.
The severe cold in the northwest does not affect its winter growth. No wonder it quickly took root here after being introduced to the north along the Silk Road.
In the farming method promoted and implemented by Qiao Yan, this crop of rapeseed was processed by removing the top, so that the branches and leaves growing around it became more luxuriant. The rapeseed produced by this treatment would naturally produce more rapeseed than before.
Compared with sesame, which is also grown in Liangzhou, rapeseed has a higher oil yield efficiency.
This means she can get another batch of oil.
However, Qiao Yan has different arrangements for these two oils.
Sesame oil, due to its drying properties, has replaced tung oil in the south and has been used in the production of waterproof cloth and waterproof paper. Rapeseed oil is currently the most suitable for cooking oil and -
"After harvesting the rapeseed, the oil extracted is made into lamp oil and sent to Bingzhou for use in the academy. The excess is sold to the people of Bingzhou, and the profits are recorded in the account of the Wuwei County Tiantun."
In today's era, the cost of candles is not as low as imagined, and most people cannot afford it. At this time, they need to work from sunrise to sunset.
But with the arrival of Zheng Xuan and his disciples, the age of students in the entire Leping Academy has actually increased a lot. In this case, Qiao Yan felt that it was not cost-effective not to let them work overtime.
Especially in this situation where every second counts and there is an urgent need for clerks to be put into use.
At most, it was because of the myopia in ancient times that there were no corresponding glasses to compensate for it, so the use of lamp oil at night was limited.
All in all, the fact that the lamp oil can be supplied to the academy free of charge can be considered an exceptionally generous treatment.
She was thinking about this in her mind when she suddenly noticed someone looking at her.
However, when she followed the line of sight, she saw that the other person had turned his face away, trying to cover up something that made things even more obvious. He was explaining to the Qiang people in front of him how to use the rapeseed picking tools and the rules for calculating the corresponding contribution based on the weight of the rapeseed picked.
It was as if the person who was looking at her just now was not herself.
Qiao Yan walked a few steps towards that end with great interest and listened to her talk from the side.
What surprised her a little was that the tone of voice of this Qiang woman in the uniform of the Foreign Language Office when speaking Chinese was more similar to the Han Chinese way of expression than that of others.
She has almost completely overcome the toneless characteristic of the northern Qiang language.
At most, you can use more common words to express your meaning, replacing complex sentences.
Because her vocabulary is really not enough.
Compared to the sounds Qiao Yan had heard before, this Chinese beginner seemed to perform exceptionally well.
Being able to express it in such a simplified way is itself a sign of thinking.
"Have you learned Chinese before?" Qiao Yan asked, interrupting her while she was introducing the rules to others.
The person that Qiao Yan noticed was Mi Tang.
Realizing that she had been looking at people for too long and had attracted Qiao Yan's attention, she was already quite nervous, so at this moment she was just relying on the instinct she had developed over the past few months to make her statement.
Now hearing Qiao Yan asking her questions, she felt even more at a loss as to what to do.
She could only try to tell herself that what she had seen and heard here was enough to convince her that Qiao Yan, the governor of Bingzhou, was not a cannibal. On the contrary, he was less prejudiced against the Qiang people than other Han leaders or officials.
In fact, there is only one criterion for her judgment:
Is he an enemy or a friend?
Rather than fear, Mi Tang was more inclined to admire Qiao Yan's thoughts.
Because after this winter, the Qiang people not only found a safe environment for wintering after moving to Huangzhong, but also accumulated some money. In the Liangzhou area under Qiao Yan's jurisdiction, this money can buy corresponding goods.
The accumulation of wealth can also bring people a sense of security and a sense of home.
With this mentality, Mi Tang quickly straightened his face and replied: "I haven't learned it. I started learning it in December. I came from the Canlang Qiang and have never dealt with the Han people before."
Qiao Yan looked at her expression and could tell that she was not lying.
The wind and snow on the frontier made the skin of the Qiang girl in front of him look a little rough, but it was not difficult to see her beautiful features.
Although they both belong to the Qiang ethnic group and have deep facial features, this girl is slightly less aggressive than Yao Chang, and only her eyes reveal a firm and resolute temperament.
Perhaps the similarity is that neither of them can tell a lie.
Qiao Yan asked. "May I have your name?"
She replied: "My name is Mi Tang, but I gave myself a Chinese name, Jiang Tang."
Qiao Yan's eyebrows moved slightly.
The word "Jiang" already existed in oracle bone inscriptions, and the image was a woman wearing goat horns.
Considering the fact that the Qiang people use sheep as their totem, it is very likely that there were Qiang women in ancient times.
However, Qiao Yan had no way of judging whether there was any further connection between them and the Qiang people.
But now that Mi Tang has chosen me as his surname, it can be considered a kind of fate.
She didn't delve into the choice of changing her last name, but just smiled and asked, "Do you know what ginger candy is?"
Jiang Tang shook his head blankly.
The homonym of "this Tang is not that Tang" is obviously too difficult for someone who has just learned Chinese for less than half a year.
But this may not just be a little difficult for her to understand. After all, sugar at that time was still called rock honey or malt sugar. Even the word "rock sugar" in Dongpo pork cooked with rock sugar was first called by Qiao Yan, not to mention ginger candy.
Then she saw Qiao Yan motioning her to stretch out her hand.
After she subconsciously stretched out her hand as instructed by Qiao Yan, an oil-paper bag fell into her hand.
“This is ginger candy.”
Jiang Tang opened the oil paper package in her hand and saw a yellow block inside. Following Qiao Yan's instructions with her eyes, she put the object into her mouth. A sweet taste mixed with the spicy taste of ginger immediately filled her lips and teeth.
This unique sweetness was something she had never tasted in the previous twenty years.
It also made her eyes light up.
Then Qiao Yan said, "You gave yourself a name that is easy for people to remember. So come back to me when you have learned Chinese well. I have something else for you to do."
Something else?
Before Jiang Tang had the chance to ask what the other thing Qiao Yan was talking about was, he saw her and Zhao Yun turn around and leave.
Because Haruhi didn't need to wear a cape, this back view looked a little thinner than when they saw her in February, but she still had a kind of gracefulness as she moved like the wind.
If she hadn't still had a piece of ginger candy in her mouth, she would hardly have believed that she had just had a brief encounter with the Bingzhou governor, that he remembered her name, and that she had even received a promise of another commission.
But thinking of the unfinished spring plowing task, she quickly swallowed the ginger candy in her mouth, turned her attention back to the Qiang people in front of her, and continued to relay the subsequent task of clearing rapeseed stalks.
After walking away, Qiao Yan took out two more pieces of ginger candy from his pouch, stuffed one of them into Zhao Yun's pocket, and continued, "Please keep an eye on her for me. To be more precise, you and Zhongde should keep an eye on people like her who are gifted in languages. I have other uses for her."
Zhao Yun did not ask further about the purpose of this attention, but agreed immediately.
Qiao Yan had nothing to worry about for someone like Zhao Yun who did more than he said.
Seeing that the development from rapeseed fields to wheat fields during the spring farming season was under control, and the growth and harvest of rapeseed were gratifying, she couldn't help but relax a little.
This is the benefit of having reliable subordinates.
Thinking of this, she peeled off the oil paper bag and threw a piece of ginger candy into her mouth.
Qiao Yan did not keep rare ingredients like pepper, which can be used as both a spice and a medicine, for barbecue, but she could use the Xiji Rock Honey sent by the Yan family of Wuwei County to make it.
Xiji Rock Honey is cane sugar, which can be used to make ginger candy together with ginger.
This is the origin of the ginger candy in her hand.
In the rough and harsh environment of Liangzhou and the various restrictions of ancient times, the development of this kind of sweet food probably made people feel happy, which was exactly in line with her mood at the moment.
And in the leisure time when all the important matters are going on in an orderly manner, it is hard to say whether it is because the subordinate next to him is too upright that people can't help but want to tease him.
She turned to Zhao Yun and asked, "Don't you want to eat?"
Zhao Yun replied: "Fanyu likes sweets, leave some for him."
Fanyu is the Dayuan horse given to Zhao Yun by Qiao Yan.
The Dayuan horse is also known as the Ferghana horse, and is one of the most famous horses in the world. Therefore, Zhao Yun's horse was named Fanyu based on the saying of the Eight Horses of ancient times.
Most Dawan horses are of fierce temperament, but like most horses they have a problem: they like to eat sweets.
As soon as Qiao Yan made the ginger candy, he gave a portion to each of his men in Liangzhou. When Zhao Yun was unpacking them, the horse Fanyu happened to be nearby and took the opportunity to grab a piece. So Zhao Yun could see the horse's preference.
Qiao Yan shook his head with amusement, "Don't spoil it, or I won't let you ride it into battle without candy."
Nowadays, carrots and apples, which are the most favored by horses, have either not been domesticated or have not yet been introduced to the Central Plains. The standard horse feed is low-sugar alfalfa, so it is no wonder that they prefer ginger candy.
Zhao Yun replied seriously, "Don't worry, my lord. I know that too much is as bad as too little."
Although he said so, Qiao Yan felt that nowadays, military generals, even someone as principled as Zhao Yun, would subconsciously give in in front of their mounts.
The bottom line is that sugar is more expensive these days, so I won’t buy anything that’s beyond my salary budget.
This is the case with Zhao Yun, not to mention Lu Bu.
Ever since Qiao Yan approved him to use Red Hare first, and because of the mistake that caught Ma Chao, Lu Bu regarded Red Hare as a treasure even more.
But perhaps because Qiao Yan had already left the conditions for obtaining Red Hare, Lu Bu was eager to send troops to Chang'an in the early spring of this year, threatening to chop off Dong Zhuo's head as a "bride price" for Red Hare.
Qiao Yan simply turned a blind eye to this and sent him to Bingzhou.
She had no intention of changing her plan just because of his adoptive father's special attack and willingness to fight bravely.
So rather than saying that she asked Lu Bu to return to Bingzhou to see his wife and daughter, it would be more accurate to say that Qiao Yan was too lazy to deal with Lu Bu's request for battle.
Lu Bu obviously couldn't see the subtext. After all, he was already overwhelmed.
The pepper was delivered directly to Wu Pu, so the matter was easy to deal with.
Wu Pu was responsible for many tasks for Qiao Yan, including designing military first aid kits, popularizing medical knowledge in Bingzhou, and taking care of Bingzhou's civil and military officials. After he was almost caught by Qiao Yan to work as a veterinarian, Wu Pu often thought about inviting Hua Tuo to Bingzhou to help him share Qiao Yan's strange requests.
Now seeing that Lu Bu had sent a large amount of pepper, he rushed directly to write a letter to Hua Tuo without even waiting for the pepper to be weighed and registered.
But cotton is more troublesome.
After receiving Qiao Yan's instructions, Lu Bu needed to continue to supervise the reclamation of new fields in Shangjun after completing the handover, and select soldiers from the army who were no longer suitable for guarding the border to take charge of the cotton seedlings, which was equivalent to switching from guarding the border to being a bodyguard.
He also had a task: to ask Qin Yu, who was engaged in agricultural affairs in Bingzhou, to submit to him all the data after the sowing was completed.
For example, the area of the field, the number of people farming the land, the land fertilization conditions, the survival rate of seedlings in each pot, etc.
Under such a request, Lu Bu could not return to Liangzhou immediately.
It was at this time that Leping Academy, at the instruction of Qiao Yan, added a new course called Agricultural Practice.
During the course, several juniors who were the focus of Qiao Yan's training were allowed to visit the cotton fields, including -
Lü Lingju.
"General Lu, why are cotton seeds different from other crops? Why do we need to prepare the seedbed before transplanting them?"
“……” Lu Bu couldn’t explain.
"General Lu, did you add too much fertilizer to your cake? The amount is not the same as in the manual."
"......!" Lu Bu jumped up in panic and found that he had indeed added too much. Someone around him immediately took over his task of maturing the nutrient soil.
But when he came to his senses, he saw that the person responsible for gathering the fermented cake fertilizer was a child, and the person responsible for mixing and pounding it was also a child.
The latter was an acquaintance who looked unusually similar to Dian Wei.
As for the former, Lu Bu had just heard Lu Lingju mention him, that is Lu Yi who came from Jiangdong.
Lü Bu had to reflect on himself for not being able to keep calm even with two children. However, at this moment, he heard Lü Lingju ask again: "General Lü, can this cotton seed really grow cotton?"
I don’t know whether cotton can be grown, Lu Bu’s head is about to turn into a ball of cotton.
"Lu Lingju! You should call me dad instead of General Lu, right?"
As the leader of the youth group of Leping Academy, Lü Lingju met Lü Bu's gaze calmly and replied confidently, "Public is public and private is private. This is the principle that you taught us. When I graduate from the academy and serve under you, if I happen to be assigned to work under you, General Lu, will I get special treatment just because I'm your daughter?"
This sentence stumped Lu Bu again.
Lu Lingju spread his hands and said, "So now I should call him General Lu... or Commander Lu."
"Well said!" Before Lu Bu could even open his mouth, he heard a response and the accompanying applause.
He turned around and saw that the person clapping and cheering there was none other than Wei Xu.
Wei Xu was his wife's brother, in other words, he was Lu Lingju's uncle. But he was actually Lu Bu's subordinate.
Lu Bu pressed his forehead. He was really speechless about the fact that his daughter was not only more eloquent than him, but also seemed to be more popular than him.
After all, Chi Tu is the best. He never refutes himself.
Thinking of this, he immediately turned around and left.
"You're not angry, are you?" Lu Lingju leaned over to look in the direction where Lu Bu left in anger, and whispered, "I'm doing this for his own good. He doesn't even understand what a seedbed is, so what can he say to the Lord? You can't just say that the things have been delivered."
When she got to this point, she suddenly patted Lu Yi on the shoulder and said, "See? This is the price of being ignorant and incompetent. Don't learn from him."
"..." Lu Bu, who had not yet walked far, paused.
He just wanted to share the candies he brought back from Liangzhou with these kids and shut their mouths with food, how did he end up talking about being uneducated?
But unfortunately, Lu Bu was not as quick as Lu Lingju and Lu Yi in accepting new things.
Fortunately, he had experience in managing Suiyuan City on Baidao River, and he managed to memorize the tricks by rote.
After all the cotton seeds were planted in the seedbeds, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and led this group of second-generation farmers who were being trained as the focus of their cultivation to sit at the edge of the field.
He looked quite serious now. Thinking of the instructions Qiao Yan had given him, he said to Lu Lingju seriously, "When you go back, you should know clearly what you should and shouldn't say. If you get into trouble, I can't help you."
Qiao Yan allowed them to come here because he valued them, but that didn't mean they had the right to act unruly.
Especially for something like cotton, at most we can tell the students in the academy that there is such a thing here, and now they need to work together to think about how to separate the cotton and cotton seeds.
But where the cotton comes from and how it is grown are secrets that Bingzhou must keep secret from the outside world.
"Don't worry, General Lu," Lu Lingju nodded solemnly.
She knew the importance of this matter very well. "The few new students admitted by the academy recently are from other states. Cao Pi is the son of the governor of Dongjun, Zhuge Liang was recommended by the descendants of the Xun family of Yingchuan, and Huang Yueying is the daughter of Huang Chengyan, the brother-in-law of Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou. Before we can be sure whether they are here to steal our teachers--"
Lu Lingju looked around at his friends, and they all replied in unison: "We will keep an eye on them."
Lu Bu held her head and said, "Now is not the time for farming. You should call me dad."
Lu Lingju protested, "Nonsense! Preventing spies from sneaking into the academy is clearly the most standard official duty."
Lu Bu felt that he probably couldn't keep this daughter.
Fortunately, he quickly found a reason to leave Bingzhou early and temporarily avoided this situation where General Lu was in front and General Lu was behind.
Since Qiao Yan obtained the livestock breeding manual last year, Bingzhou Lepingwubao has started to train homing pigeons, and it has been half a year now.
During these six months, the first month was used to familiarize the pigeons with their homes, and the second month was used to repeatedly train them to fly, which has now been very effective.
So in April, when the spring ploughing in Bingzhou was almost completed and only the cotton fields were left to be dealt with, these pigeons were sent to various places by special personnel in order to test longer-distance flights.
But a few pigeons flew back just a few days after being taken away, and they came back in two batches one after the other.
Seeing that the pigeons had letters tied to their feet, the clerk in charge of raising the pigeons hurriedly delivered the bamboo tubes containing the letter paper to the Bingzhou provincial capital. Xi Zhicai, who stayed behind there, deciphered the message according to the agreed code.
He immediately sent someone to deliver the information he had uncovered to Lu Bu, and ordered him to quickly deliver it to Qiao Yan.
Two days after Lu Bu left, the first piece of news was delivered by express horse, and the other piece of news would probably take at least ten days to arrive.
Xi Zhicai couldn't help but secretly applaud Qiao Yan's move of training homing pigeons.
This thing can really only deliver messages in one direction. A few of them were lost on the way back from delivering the message. It's not known whether they were killed and eaten by their predators along the way, or whether they really couldn't find their way back. But once the message is delivered, the time saved is truly terrifying.
This method of encryption was not too difficult to decipher given that the information was densely recorded on the mulberry paper, but it undoubtedly blocked the enemy's possibility of deciphering the message.
The two letters were quickly delivered by Lu Bu riding on Red Hare to Qiao Yan in Wuwei County.
One letter came from Yangzhou and the other letter came from Yanzhou.
It's all about mobilizing troops.
Just after the spring ploughing season, war broke out in the Han territory, which was not beyond Qiao Yan's expectations.
The message from Yangzhou stated that Sun Ce pretended that he was recommended as the governor of Kuaiji, and after stabilizing the situations in Lujiang and Danyang counties, he intended to further occupy Kuaiji.
But when he had marched halfway, he headed straight for Wujun. Xu Gong and Yan Baihu fought hastily and suffered a defeat in Wucheng.
Unfortunately, one of them had many followers, and the other had many powerful generals under his command, so they faced off against Sun Ce in the Zhenze area.
At the same time, after a winter of rest, Yuan Shu intended to avenge the defeat he suffered at the hands of Sun Ce last year, so he led his troops to attack Lujiang County, but met Zhou Yu and Lu Kang who were at ease in Lu'an.
"Well, Yuan Gonglu may need to recruit a competent strategist." Qiao Yan handed the battle report to Xun You who was standing beside him.
As for Qiao Yan's plan to stabilize Liangzhou first and then take Chang'an, Xun You was worried about Xun Shuang's safety, but he also knew that this was a move that could not be changed.
It was difficult for him to tell what Qiao Yan's mentality was at the moment.
Xun You had no doubt that Qiao Yan was able to suppress the counterattack of local warlords while advancing towards Chang'an City due to his combination of kindness and severity in Liangzhou.
The military forces under her command were enough to quickly defeat Dong Zhuo and rescue all the people before Dong Zhuo and everyone else were destroyed.
But ever since Xun You was seconded by Xun Shuang to Qiao Yan as an assistant, he was very clear about another point.
He was not only Qiao Yan's military advisor who was passing through Liangzhou to advance to Chang'an, he was also the bargaining chip that Xun family of Yingchuan invested in Qiao Yan.
At the moment, no one thought that Qiao Yan had rebellious intentions, and Xun You had not realized this either. This was just like the scholars seeking refuge under General He Jin, and it was also a way for the aristocratic families to buy shares in the powerful ministers who quelled the war.
So it was impossible for him to expose Qiao Yan's trick.
Even though Liu Yu mistakenly thought that Qiao Yan was being held back by moral blackmail and was feeling guilty, Xun You never gave any reminders to this member of the Han royal family during the brief conversation they had.
Looking at the scene of the Qiang people and the Han people living and farming together in Liangzhou this spring, and thinking of the frequent Qiang-Hu rebellions in the northwest in his knowledge, Xun You felt that he had no position to change Qiao Yan's rhythm.
Instead of doing something that only benefits the enemy, it is better to do your job as a military advisor.
For example, the analysis of the two battle reports delivered now.
"Yuan Gonglu underestimated these two young men, Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin. Lujiang County borders Jiujiang County. Since he would naturally think of attacking Lujiang after occupying Jiujiang, Lujiang would certainly be wary of him again."
Qiao Yan asked, "Do you think it's possible that Yuan Gonglu will be expelled from Jiujiang County and driven to Yuzhou?"
Xun You did not know that Qiao Yan had also made an arrangement in the direction of Xuzhou, which was to let Mi Zhu recommend Lu Su to Tao Qian in order to prevent Yuan Shu's invasion.
Comparing the recent performances of Tao Qian and Yuan Shu, it seems not difficult to make a judgment.
Xun You replied, "I think he will not only be completely expelled from Yangzhou to Yuzhou, but also ask the court for a position as governor of Yuzhou in order to save face. But he has the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, and what he did is really disgraceful. Yuan Benchu has many capable people under him, and they will never let him get along with Yuan Gonglu. In this way, Yuan Gonglu will probably not get the title he wants."
Qiao Yan thought about it for a while, and then asked, "What do you think about Sun Bofu?"
"The aristocratic families of Jingzhou don't like Sun Wentai, and the aristocratic families of Yangzhou don't like Sun Bofu either." Xun You commented, "So he can win this battle, but he can't take Wujun."
If that’s the case... the situation is still favorable for Qiao Yan!
Xun You's judgment was almost the same as what she had imagined. With his affirmation, Qiao Yan felt more confident in planning the next step.
She then opened the second battle report.
Around the same time that Sun Ce sent troops to Wujun, Cao Cao also launched a military expansion against Jiyin County and Dongping State on the grounds that several counties in Yanzhou had no civil administration, which led to rampant bandits and the suffering of the people due to hunger.
During the nearly two years that Cao Cao had been in Dongjun, he had managed both the people's livelihood and the military very steadily. The troops led by Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan had already figured out their marching routes very clearly, so his marching situation was completely different from that of Sun Ce.
Before the Jiyin prefect and the Dongping prime minister could make any effective counterattack after receiving the news, they had already been detained.
The reason why Cao Cao did not attack the neighboring Chenliu was not because Chenliu was difficult to attack, but because the prefect of Chenliu at that time was his good friend Zhang Miao.
Zhang Miao was a man of both courage and prudence.
As soon as he conquered Jiyin, he went to Dongjun to meet Cao Cao to reminisce about the past. 1
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "Zhang Mengzhuo's memorial recommending Brother Mengde as the governor of Yanzhou will probably arrive in Yecheng along with this battle report. In Gongda's opinion, how will Yuan Benchu react?"
Just as Qiao Yan and Xun You speculated—
Yuan Shao received the news that Yuan Shu had fled to Yuzhou and was seeking to be the governor of Yuzhou, and that Cao Cao had taken Yanzhou County and was seeking to be the governor of Yanzhou from the position of the prefect of Chenliu.
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