Chapter 201: The powerful and the powerful...
"..." Duan Kui's expression froze on the spot.
The cool breeze from the ice still blew on his face, reminding him that he was not dreaming.
He had no idea when Dong Zhuo would march into Liang Province.
He had no idea when Qiao Yan defeated Dong Zhuo's followers.
The Wushao Ridge, which stretched between the four counties of Hexi and the other counties of Liangzhou, prevented him from feeling too much of a sense of crisis even when he saw Qiao Yan besieging Guzang City.
It’s as if... because I’ve been independent in this place for so long, I’ve subconsciously found myself in an environment where I’m cut off from information.
But today's news is different!
So different!
He could not tell his subordinates who went to get the news about his confusion.
He just paced back and forth in the room as the other party continued to report the battle situation and how Qiao Yan dealt with the four families of Hanyang.
In Duan Kui's opinion, his current situation is not much safer than the four families of Hanyang.
After Qiao Yan defeated 20,000 of Dong Zhuo's generals in the river valley and captured this number of prisoners, when she said that she was going to attack Dong Zhuo, it was more credible than before that she was sure of victory.
You have to know that when she arrived at Chencang along the Wei River from Liangzhou and then turned east, the first opponent she faced was——
Duan Wei.
Duan Wei of the Duan family of Wuwei!
Even though Qiao Yan had said that she would not vent her anger on the Wuwei Duan family because of Duan Wei, and even though Xu Rong, who defected from Dong Zhuo to her, was entrusted with an important task by her, it was hard for Duan Kui not to feel a sense of crisis approaching.
Duan Kui knew clearly why Duan Wei defected to Dong Zhuo.
But it is not easy for people from Liangzhou to get promoted. No matter how much they may get fundamental changes from Dong Zhuo, there is nothing to talk about when their lives are in danger.
What if Duan Wei caused some trouble to Qiao Yan again on the defense line between Chencang and Meiwu, which angered her, and she took her anger out on the Duan family of Wuwei? What should she do?
There is no mercy on the battlefield, and there are many accidents.
Anyone among the four surnames of Hanyang who had connections with Dong Zhuo was killed at her command!
The Duan family, who also made the same mistake, may not be spared.
Of course he couldn't just sit there and wait for death!
But the idea that action must be taken is by no means to stir up opposition against Qiao Yan in Liangzhou.
If it weren't for her subsequent achievements, he might have made this choice, but not now.
The Qiang people have both fear and respect for Qiao Yan, so they will not be his helpers, but will choose to support Qiao Yan instead.
And if he only relied on his original troops...
To be honest, he didn't think he was much better than Li Ying.
If we dig deeper, her actions in dealing with the children of the four surnames in Hanyang were also just right.
If there were smart people among them, they should not think about how to find an opportunity to take revenge at this time, but should choose to surrender instead.
This made him even more certain that if he really wanted to rebel, the number of people he could find to help him would be very few.
Since we can't rebel, we can only make meritorious contributions.
Duan Kui had clearly seen the stubborn temper of Duan Wei in his early years, before he followed Dong Zhuo.
He probably wasn't capable of doing anything like persuading Duan Wei to surrender.
As a result, there was very little he could do.
One was to deliver supplies as rewards to Qiao Yan's troops heading out of the valley.
The second is...
"You mean, you want us to help her guard these prisoners?"
"That's right." Duan Kui looked at the leaders of the Wuwei nobles he had gathered in front of him and said, "If this matter is not suitable for me to do alone, I would be eager to fight for this credit myself."
His previous anxiety had calmed down after he made the decision, and he now behaved in a very steady manner.
Naturally, he became the host of this meeting.
He asked: "Please think about it, would Qiao Bingzhou bring these captives into the battle of Guanzhong?"
Everyone in the room shook their heads.
The answer to this question is not difficult to imagine.
In the battle of the river valley, these people chose to surrender rather than continue to fight to the death. In the final analysis, it was because they wanted to live and they did not have to be loyal to Dong Zhuo.
But in fact, these soldiers newly recruited from Chang'an were not loyal to Qiao Yan.
Since returning to Chang'an to fight would mean going home for them, they would most likely choose to desert the battlefield.
This is very likely to cause trouble for Qiao Yan.
What's more, the increase in the number of troops also means that the burden of military food on her side will increase.
So instead of bringing these burdens who might desert, it would be better to leave them in Liangzhou.
But if we stay here, something bad is bound to happen.
On the one hand, more than 10,000 people can be good helpers in assisting the autumn harvest. But on the other hand, without enough military supervisors to watch over them, who knows whether a leader will emerge among them and lead them to start an uprising in Liangzhou.
The manpower left behind by Qiao Yan might not be enough.
Duan Kui continued to ask: "Isn't this the best time for us to show our ability? Or do you still think that the power seizure we discussed earlier is feasible?"
Those who were found by him are not stupid, as they can see the current choice.
One of them asked, "If we follow your advice and express our stance to Qiao Bingzhou, how can we convince her that we are not plotting anything bad but are really helping her?"
Duan Kui had already thought of the answer to this question, and replied calmly: "We have already sent hostages once, so why not do it again!"
The more Duan Kui thought about Qiao Yan's previous actions, the more he felt that she did not look like a young girl under the age of 20. Instead, she looked like an old fox who had been operating in the officialdom for many years.
She acted so decisively against the four families of Hanyang, but she did not leave any evidence for people to talk about, which made people see that there was still a possibility of cooperating with her.
In this way, it becomes even clearer how much of the invitations she sent to the aristocratic families in Liangzhou after inviting Zheng Xuan to teach in Bingzhou were about cooperation and how much were about manipulation.
However, this is indeed a mutually beneficial move and there is nothing to criticize.
Now, this choice made under circumstances beyond one's control is called sending hostages.
The discussion ended half an hour later, and then spread to the entire four counties of Hexi. On the second day, they organized a team to reward the troops and deliver food, and headed straight towards Shanggui.
Those who were responsible for delivering the food were Yan Jun, He Luan and other younger generations from the wealthy families in the four counties of Hexi.
Ordering these youngsters to join the army and serve under Qiao Yan is what Duan Kui meant by serving as hostages.
But thinking that Yan Jun was not very steady and had caused big trouble before, Duan Kui was afraid that these hostages could not express their attitudes properly, so he went there in person.
He thought about his response after receiving the news, and felt relieved, thinking that there should be no problem.
However, when he arrived in Shanggui, he discovered that they were not the only knowledgeable and interesting people in the world.
For many years, the wealthy and powerful families in Liangzhou have been trying to seek a relatively independent state.
This is a fact.
But this does not mean that when the treatment they receive as local emperors is no longer satisfactory, they should choose to be stubborn and ruin their own and their family's future.
So when those people from the four counties of Hexi rushed here at full speed, people from Anding and Beidi counties were not left out.
What surprised them was that the person who received them said, when he told them his name, that he was from the Zhao family of Hanyang.
Zhao Ang of the Hanyang Zhao family.
After hearing about Qiao Yan's success in the battles against Li Ying and Fan Chou, he decisively chose to recommend himself to Qiao Yan as he and his wife Wang Yi had said.
Zhao Ang was indeed a man of real talent and knowledge, and he also had great foresight in choosing the most appropriate time to surrender.
Qiao Yan not only needs to kill the four families of Hanyang, but also needs to be able to control himself.
Employing Zhao Ang was a signal she sent to the outside world.
At the same time, another person was released from the prison in Jincheng County and sent to Ji County.
It was Jiang Jiong who was arrested before Qiao Yan launched the offensive against Ji County.
After being released from the prison in Jincheng County, Jiang Jiong learned that so many things had happened in Ji County in a short period of time, and met the prefect Zhang of Hanyang again. He felt mixed emotions.
So much so that his expression was dazed for a moment.
He became an official under Gai Xun in the beginning because of his surname, but because he respected Gai Xun's character, he accompanied him to Bingzhou, met Qiao Yan, and had the opportunity to work under her.
But now before returning to Hanyang, it was this Bingzhou governor, whom he also respected, who completed the thundering blow to the Jiang family of Hanyang.
A cousin of his who was familiar with him died in this incident.
However, looking back on this matter, those who survived the trial were precisely those with the most outstanding character and ability among the four families, which made him unsure of how to evaluate them for a moment.
But perhaps, just like Zhao Ang chose to serve under Qiao Yan, the most appropriate way out for him at this time is to work hard and give the Hanyang Jiang family a chance to get back on their feet.
It's just the time and fate.
Prefect Zhang patted him on the shoulder and said nothing more.
If some words of advice were spoken at this time, it would be cruel to others, and we can only wait for time to smooth things over.
After Jiang Jiong dealt with the funeral affairs of his family in Ji County, he came to Shanggui.
Before he arrived, these powerful people who came from various counties in Liangzhou had already reported to Qiao Yan, and now was the time for each of them to show their bargaining chips.
If Duan Kui can come up with the idea of helping Qiao Yan deal with the prisoners, then others can do it too.
If he could come up with the idea of sending the hostages to Qiao Yan, so could others.
This made Duan Kui feel uneasy.
If he cannot stand out from these people bidding against each other, how can he ensure his family's future?
When Jiang Jiong entered the meeting room, he heard Duan Kui say, "My Lord, we can take care of the food and lodging expenses for the captives that you are going to temporarily place in the military settlement of Wuwei County. To prevent this from appearing to be a favor to the Duan family, all expenses will be sent to the Guzang County government first."
This may sound fine, but Duan Kui immediately said, "We did this because of your noble act in Hanyang, which opened our eyes."
"Why is there so much unrest in Liangzhou? It's because although we are rich and powerful, we often compete with the people for profit instead of working together. To make up for the mistakes of the past, we should be aware of and repent."
"..." Zhao Ang, who was taking notes nearby, paused.
Jiang Jiong's steps also stopped.
It's not too surprising that Duan Kui lowered the price to the point of losing money.
The four Hexi counties have always been prosperous. Because of Wushaoling, even the rebellions of the Qiang people rarely spread to that area. They can indeed afford the price.
But the flattery that followed was really...
Maybe it's the thick-skinnedness that comes from the sandstorm in Hexi.
Qiao Yan couldn't help but glance at Duan Kui.
But the other person's expression was so open and frank.
She had no doubt that if she had not said before Duan Kui opened his mouth that she would not tie Duan Wei and the Wuwei Duan family together so as not to make things difficult for them, Duan Kui would probably say that he would be taken to Meiwu as well.
But she wasn't going to let them talk any more.
The current bidding frenzy is still somewhat driven by emotion.
The sense of crisis and mutual bidding have caused the stakes to rise.
If they regret it later, there is no guarantee that they will not get into other troubles.
"Master Duan, there is no need to do this." Qiao Yan knocked on the table, signaling them to stop talking. "I have made up my mind. After dispatching 30,000 soldiers to Chang'an, there will definitely be a shortage of people for the autumn harvest. These 15,000 prisoners are just the right replacement."
"So I would like to ask you to help supervise it. I will pay 70% of the expenses. If you are willing, you can pay the remaining 30% for me."
"In addition, I have another thing I would like to ask for your help," Qiao Yan looked at the people present and said, "I would like to ask you to help me renovate the four official roads from Niyang to Gaoping, from Gaoping to Hanyang, from Hanyang to Jincheng, and from Gaoping to Wuwei. Do you have any objections?"
Repair the road?
Everyone present looked at me and I looked at you.
This is a really special request.
But after thinking about it carefully, they felt that Qiao Yan's behavior was not surprising.
Her reputation in Liang Province has become increasingly solid as she intimidated the noble families and quickly dispatched troops to defeat Dong Zhuo's generals.
Under such circumstances, it would be unwise for her to withdraw from Liangzhou.
Then it is only natural to want to establish closer connections between various places in Liangzhou and between Liangzhou and Bingzhou.
This action can't really be called an act of usurpation.
Even Huangfu Song, after hearing her decision, could only say: "In the past, the pacification of Liangzhou was a waste of manpower and financial resources, but it still surrendered and then rebelled. Few of the successive governors of Liangzhou have ever recovered this place. When Han Sui and Bian Zhang rebelled, the Han Dynasty once wanted to abandon Liangzhou as a frontier barrier."
"In this case, if Ye Shu can stabilize Liangzhou and connect the two places, it will be a blessing for the Han Dynasty."
In special circumstances, there are always some regulations that do not need to be strictly adhered to.
For example, in the current situation where the emperor is divided into two sides and neither side can rule freely, in Huangfu Song's opinion, it would be fine for Qiao Yan to jointly serve as the governor of Liangzhou and Bingzhou.
After all, if no one can effectively suppress the Liangzhou region, it will no longer be considered a part of the Han territory.
That’s what Cui Lie thought back then.
Because of this, being able to keep Liangzhou is a good thing and there is no need to talk about any rules.
One solution is to use Bingzhou to control Liangzhou.
Among the things Qiao Yan said to these Liangzhou heroes, the most important one was connecting Niyang and Gaoping.
Although Niyang belonged to Beidi County of Liangzhou, it was covered by the military farming area east and west of Ziwuling Mountain. In other words, it was under the jurisdiction of Bingzhou.
So this is to strengthen the transportation links between Bingzhou and Liangzhou.
feasible.
As for those powerful people in Liangzhou who tried to get a definite answer from Qiao Yan——
It’s good to build roads!
Building a road is not a one-time deal in any way. Even if Qiao Yan emphasized that they should hire people to build it, it would only be a matter of losing money.
When the time comes, we can say that the road is not smooth enough and come up with another reason to give money!
Qiao Yan gained benefits and they gained safety, which is also the best of both worlds.
However, obtaining benefits and rewards from the families in Liangzhou is not Qiao Yan’s top priority at the moment.
After seeing these people off, Qiao Yan agreed with Huangfu Song to march to Chencang the next day.
As she and Huangfu Song walked towards the military camp outside Shanggui City, she said, "Sanguan near Chencang was captured by my subordinates ten days ago. Yesterday, he sent a message that because Li Ying, Fan Chou and others had already moved their camp to Liangzhou, most of the Chencang defenders had been mobilized by them. So he led his men to capture the city under the banner of the Tianshi Dao."
"I think this is a good idea. It also saves the trouble of sending the outposts to capture the city in advance."
When Dong Zhuo was arranging the defense of Guanzhong, he did not regard Chencang as a key garrison town.
Because there was an interception in the direction of Meiwu, the duty of the defenders at Chencang was more like observing whether there were any troops advancing towards Sanfu from the direction of Liangzhou.
This choice is not surprising.
Dong Zhuo’s military food reserves were not enough to support his garrison in Chencang, resulting in an overly long military food supply route.
This two-year-long neglect meant that when Li Ying and Fan Chou passed by this place, they did not feel that there was a need to leave a large number of soldiers to guard it.
They took the Wei River to attack Liangzhou, so of course there would be no enemy troops coming from the south. Wudu County west of Chencang was a "friendly" neighbor. In this case, they could just send reinforcements here when they returned.
This choice also gave Xu Shu the opportunity to directly seize Chencang and wait for Qiao Yan to join him.
Qiao Yan herself didn’t think there was anything wrong, but when she turned around, she saw a very speechless expression on Huangfu Song’s face.
It’s not surprising that Huangfu Song would react this way.
When Qiao Yan had previously sent troops from Bingzhou to capture Gaoping, he was still waiting to join forces with her when he received the news that she was already in Gaoping City and invited him to have dinner in the city.
This time Dong Zhuo suddenly sent out troops, and before he could lead his troops from Gaoping to support her, he received the news that she had defeated the enemy.
She even took care of the four families of Hanyang along the way.
Now, we don’t even have to fight for Chencang.
Huangfu Song suddenly felt like he was here to take advantage of the situation.
But he was an old and prudent man after all, so he just replied: "It's better to save some effort here. The distance from Chencang to Chang'an is not short. We are marching a long way, so we should store military rations in Chencang first, which will be convenient for supply later."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "That's true. Besides, there is one more thing I need to discuss with the old general."
Huangfu Song, who finally felt that he was useful, quickly replied, "Yeshu, just come over."
"We learned this from the surrendered soldiers. Twenty days ago, something unexpected happened in Chang'an. Li Jue put Dong Zhuo under house arrest because he thought that Dong Zhuo made a wrong decision because he delayed sending troops to Liang Province. So the one we have to face this time may not be Dong Zhuo, but Li Jue."
She showed a thoughtful look on her face: "Speaking of which, is it possible that the two sides will fight before we arrive in Chang'an?"
Huangfu Song: “…”
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