Chapter 241 Reward for the Troops
Any road from Guanzhong to Han is difficult to travel, whether it is Xiegu Road, Luogu Road or Ziwu Valley, they are all places with high mountains and deep valleys.
When Dong Zhuo was in charge of Chang'an, many people in Chang'an would rather take such a dangerous path to avoid Dong Zhuo's threat, which further highlights Dong Zhuo's evil.
It was precisely because of this road isolation that Liu Yan chose Yizhou as his separatist place.
Because even if there was a strong army stationed in Guanzhong, it would be extremely difficult to attack when he had troops guarding Hanzhong.
But what did he hear now?
Liu Yan looked at his subordinates with a subtle expression.
They read a message from each other's faces -
Everyone's ears were fine and they didn't have any auditory hallucinations.
But what does it mean to invite this great general to go to Hanzhong for a hunting match, and the target of the hunt is Zhang Lu.
What do you mean, before this news was delivered to Chengdu, she had already taken all four counties in the Hanzhong Plain.
It sounds as simple as eating and drinking water.
Zhang Xiu was killed by her followers, and Zhang Lu was forced to flee. These words clearly implied that the Hanzhong Plain had completely fallen into her control.
And when the Hanzhong Plain changed hands, Liu Yan had no doubt that after she gained control of the roads into Yizhou, she would further send reinforcements from Chang'an to ensure that Hanzhong was still controlled in her hands and would not be snatched back by him, Liu Yan, who sent troops from Chengdu.
The three words "celebration banquet" are an even more naked threat.
After temporarily sending the envoy who announced the imperial edict to the inn to check in, Liu Yan held the imperial edict in his hand, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his palm.
After a long while, he turned to his subordinates and asked, "Do you think this celebration banquet is a Hongmen Banquet?"
Zhang Lu might not react to the title of Grand Marshal when facing Qiao Yan's military attack, but Liu Yan would understand the intention behind it.
The two fires in Chengdu and Mianzhu exposed all his plans and plots in Yizhou to the court in Chang'an.
As he guessed, the other party would not take back his position as the general, but they used a method that was far smarter than turning against him -
Attack Zhang Lu and Zhang Xiu in Hanzhong.
Then he made an invitation to the great general in his capacity as Grand Marshal.
This threat was entirely based on Qiao Yan's ability to quickly repel Zhang Lu and achieve the goal of controlling Hanzhong.
If she had been held in Hanzhong by Zhang Lu, or even held in the valley before entering Hanzhong, or if Liu Yan had learned earlier the news that the Guanzhong army was fighting with the Tianshi Dao in Hanzhong, this sense of shock would not have been so strong.
But when she finally achieved it, all Liu Yan could do was to be led by her.
Regardless of whether the hunting celebration banquet initiated by Qiao Yan was a Hongmen Banquet, Liu Yan had to attend it.
If he refused, he would be charged with disobeying the emperor's order.
Throughout the Han Dynasty, which general who disobeyed the emperor's orders had a good end?
No!
Absolutely not when the emperor has the power to eliminate the general!
Even though the one who had the power to eliminate him at this time was not Emperor Liu Yu himself, but Qiao Yan who served under him, it did not affect Liu Yan's judgment at this time.
He muttered in a somewhat erratic voice: "She was able to defeat Zhang Lu and occupy Hanzhong today, and she can also lead her troops south to attack Chengdu tomorrow. Can anyone of you stop her?"
Wu Yi, Pang Xi, Zhao Wei and others who were present shook their heads.
If Zhang Lu was a mediocre person, there might be some hidden reason behind his defeat by Qiao Yan.
But he is not.
Not only that, according to their Tianshidao method of training soldiers, the army led by Zhang Lu was even more terrifying than their own teams in terms of dying for their commander.
But even with such ability, he was still defeated by Qiao Yan in such a casual way.
If they were in Qiao Yan's position and launched an attack towards Hanzhong, it would never be as easy as it is today.
This invitation to the celebration party for the date hunt was like a bucket of cold water poured on their heads, suddenly waking them up from their original sense of security.
She attacked the Xianbei in the north, advanced to Liangzhou in the west, went south to Guanzhong, and now has further seized Hanzhong, all of which are real achievements.
Also, because it is difficult for others to do what she does, it shows that her position as Grand Marshal is well-deserved.
When they became the prey of the blade, they felt the piercing coldness and dared not move.
Liu Yan sighed and said: "Using troops like a god... this is what it means to use troops like a god!"
When Liu Yan muttered this, he couldn't help but stand up from his seat and paced back and forth in the room, looking increasingly depressed.
Unfortunately, such a person is not his subordinate.
After she chose Liu Yu to be the emperor, even though Liu Yan became a general after accepting the imperial decree, he could not be considered her enemy, but he was definitely not her friend either.
At least not a friend with whom she could discuss matters.
so--
If they had previously been able to choose to send Liu Zhang to Chang'an as a hostage to ease the relationship between the two sides, they could no longer do so now that Qiao Yan's troops had arrived in Hanzhong.
They must be more courteous in their manners.
After all, they had missed the opportunity to apologize and explain first.
According to the unanimous understanding reached by Liu Yan's subordinates, Liu Yan not only had to attend the banquet, but also had to set off immediately.
After all, there was Liu Biao in the east who was also a relative of the Han Dynasty. Qiao Yan could take action against the rice thief Zhang Lu, but he would not raise his sword against the actual governor of Yizhou.
Liu Yan's personal safety can still be guaranteed.
If it really doesn't work, he can bring some bodyguards with him this time to be responsible for his safety. It would be best if they are strong enough to take him away when necessary.
Then there is the issue of bleeding when giving gifts.
“As for Hanzhong, you don’t have to think about taking it back,” said Pang Xi, who was born in the Sili Henan Yin.
Liu Yan nodded.
The four counties in the Hanzhong Plain were directly conquered by Qiao Yan, and there was almost no possibility that she could take them back after the demonstration.
It would not be difficult for Qiao Yan to defend Hanzhong.
Hanzhong and other places in Yizhou are connected by Migang Mountain and Daba Mountain. In this way, if she wants to defend Hanzhong, she only needs to defend a few passes in these two mountain ranges.
This is exactly the model of defending Chang'an from Hanzhong.
Fortunately, the loss of this place was still within an acceptable range for Liu Yan.
Anyway, this place was originally given by him to the Tianshi Dao to win them over.
Now it has changed from Tianshi Dao to Qiao Yan in the north. If things really don't work out, he can comfort himself that the difference is not that big.
Pang Xi continued, "You don't have to bring food with you, but you must give a sincere amount."
The court in Chang'an had previously done grain business with Liu Yan. This shows that before the fields in Guanzhong could be self-sufficient, grain was still very important in order to ensure that Chang'an, as the capital, could attract more people and to have enough grain to send troops.
This compensation was also affordable for Liu Yan, who had been the governor of Yizhou for several years.
After all, he was already "rich" enough to build so many imperial chariots for himself, so food was naturally not a problem.
Pang Xi said, "Besides that, I think you may need to send me something special."
Liu Yan asked: "What is the special thing?"
It's impossible that things like the iron-gnawing beasts in Yizhou were sent to Chang'an as rare treasures, right?
If Qiao Yan heard Liu Yan's plan, he might actually think it was feasible.
But at this time Pang Xi just shook his head and said: "Of course not, but another thing that the prince can give, which also suits the taste of Qiao Bingzhou."
"May I ask, sir, how is it possible for Yizhou to maintain such a high agricultural output?"
Liu Yan answered without thinking: "Of course it's because the land here is fertile and the climate is pleasant..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
This reason is not wrong, but he can't just give Yizhou itself to someone else, so Pang Xi's intention is obviously not natural factors.
Liu Yan's mind turned and he asked, "Are you talking about Dujiangyan?"
"That's right." Pang Xi replied, "I heard that Qiao Bingzhou dug a canal in Liangzhou, Bingzhou, two years ago to divert water for irrigation, saying that it was to avoid the impact of the severe drought. Do you still remember that when Emperor Xiaoling was in power, in order to maintain the operation of Dujiangyan, he set up Dushui Rafters and Dushui Chang here to maintain and use it."
"During the ten years they have been here, these people and their subordinates have accumulated rich experience in weir maintenance and floodway construction. Just give half of it to Qiao Bingzhou. It will not be a loss for you, and it will also make you famous if it is spread out."
Liu Yan's eyes lit up.
The gift proposed by Pang Xi did not sound like an attempt to curry favor with others. Rather, it sounded like a sign of his concern as the governor of Yizhou for the people's livelihood in the northern territory governed by the Chang'an court. Qiao Yan would never refuse it.
The position he appointed to Pang Xi was Counselor, which was absolutely the right arrangement!
Pang Xi added: "I think you should wait until we arrive in Hanzhong to discuss the other terms at the celebration banquet."
They all had a wrong judgment that underestimated Qiao Yan's ability to march and deploy troops. Who could guarantee that other gifts would touch the other party's heart?
It would be better to take out a few practical "reward gifts" and let Qiao Yan come up with the rest himself.
Liu Yan agreed with Pang Xi's judgment. After bringing people to build the dike, for the purpose of his own safety, he also recruited a number of good fighters from Yizhou.
Since most of these people had not been assigned official positions by him, their clothing and reputation were relatively inconspicuous.
Except one person.
This person's name is Gan Ning.
In his early years, this fellow recruited a group of young knights in his hometown of Ba County. They wore bells and feathers on their heads and tied brocade sails to their boats, and were called Brocade Sail Thieves.
If any of the officials in Ba County treated him with courtesy, he would go through fire and water for them; if they were not courteous enough, he would rob them of their property.
If it were somewhere else, someone like Gan Ning would have been punished long ago.
It just so happened that he was living in a time of sufficient chaos, and order could only be used to restrain the weak, but could not impose any restrictions on him.
Even when he had studied the theories of various philosophers and wanted to make progress in his official career, he still came to work as a planner in Shu County.
Coincidentally, Chengdu is in Shu County.
Liu Yan himself also liked fancy clothes and ceremonial objects, which in a sense were similar to Gan Ning's hobbies. In addition, when Gan Ning applied to be a clerk, Liu Yan directly agreed, which led to Gan Ning having a better impression of Liu Yan.
After hearing that Liu Yan intended to invite him as an escort on this trip and hoped that he could help protect his safety, Gan Ning agreed immediately.
Because his demeanor did not look like that of an ordinary guard, Liu Yan thought about it and decided to let him be the leader of the guards accompanying him.
Gan Ning was also happy to sit in this position which sounded more like a more responsible position.
However, before leaving, he did not forget to discuss with Liu Yan that compared to a military general, he would rather develop in the direction of a civil official because he has now "turned over a new leaf", so he still prefers the position of Shu County Magistrate. 1
Liu Yan looked carefully at the expression of the warrior in front of him.
Clearly, his demeanor and posture showed the words "chivalrous and heroic" written all over his face, but the idea of becoming the magistrate of Shu County to handle official business did not seem like a joke.
But perhaps because Liu Yan was too stimulated by Qiao Yan, he did not react unusually after hearing Gan Ning's wish, but agreed to his petition.
However, after reaching Hanzhong, Liu Yan began to regret bringing Gan Ning along as a guard.
As we all know, Gan Ning is a person who likes pomp and fancy clothes.
It is also well known that when Qiao Yan conquered Liang Province, he obtained a batch of Dayuan horses. Most of them were placed under Lu Bu's command and raised for breeding in Baidao River. The other good horses were distributed to each of his generals.
Chu Yan was even one of the first military generals to obtain the Dayuan BMW.
When Liu Yan and his entourage arrived, they saw Chu Yan riding a Dayuan horse, and the elite cavalry borrowed from Zhao Yun coming to greet him.
Seeing this beautiful scene, Gan Ning probably wanted to express his appreciation and praise, so -
He whistled.
Liu Yan's effort to maintain a calm demeanor at the meeting almost broke down on the spot.
Because of the noise, Chu Yan spotted this unscrupulous guy from the crowd at a glance.
Although the other party was not wearing a bow and a bell like he did when he was a Jinfan thief two years ago, but was dressed decently in the clothes of a Yizhou provincial government official, Chu Yan felt that the other party's origin and temperament might be somewhat similar to his own.
As a result, the look he gave Liu Yan became a little strange.
In order to prevent this special follower from causing any trouble, Chu Yan asked Gan Ning's name and background and reported it to Qiao Yan.
"Gan Ning?"
Qiao Yan repeated the name, a hint of amusement flashed across his face, but he quickly suppressed it under a normal expression.
"It doesn't matter. He can't cause any trouble. Let's go meet Liu Yizhou first."
In the seventh year of Guanghe, Qiao Yan once used the feudal theory of provincial governors to criticize Liu Yan harshly, but Qiao Yan had never met Liu Yan at that time. After Liu Yan took office as the governor of Yizhou, it was even less likely that they had any intersection. In fact, this was the first time Qiao Yan met Liu Yan.
This relative of the Han royal family who dared to propose the restart of the provincial governor system would obviously not show any cowardice even though he was facing the threat of Qiao Yan's army approaching the border.
However, it is difficult to describe the complex emotions in Liu Yan's heart at this moment.
Because Qiao Yan's rank of Grand Marshal was higher than his rank of General, when the celebration banquet held in Nanzheng started, Qiao Yan sat in the main seat while Liu Yan sat at the lower seat.
When Liu Yan heard Qiao Yan's Dingzhongguan strategy paper in the past, he joked to Dong Fu that "the child is ignorant".
Although Dong Fu replied, "This is not a fish from the pond," Liu Yan still treated her as a child.
But now, eight years have passed, and the child from back then is almost taller than him, and when she threw aside her cloak and sat at the top, she clearly had the demeanor of a hero who looked down on the world.
Even though Qiao Yan's expression did not reveal any aggressive attitude, it did not affect Liu Yan's heart which suddenly tightened when she casually picked up the wine glass.
Theoretically, it was safe for him to come here, but there was no guarantee that she would not use the action of smashing the cup as a signal.
Throughout the city of Nanzheng, all of Zhang Lu's followers had completely disappeared, leaving only Qiao Yan's subordinates.
Even if Gan Ning was by her side, she probably wouldn't be able to stop him when she really wanted to kill someone.
But Liu Yan only heard Qiao Yan say: "The general has had a hard time coming here. I heard that since the general entered Yizhou, he has promoted agriculture, built water conservancy projects, and promoted education for the people. He has also communicated with the southern barbarians and taken in many refugees from the north. These are many good deeds. But he was deceived by the rice thieves and caused them to cause chaos in Hanzhong."
"It was not easy to send troops from Ba County to Hanzhong. The emperor appreciated the hard work of the general and ordered me to come from the north to take the head of the bandits. That is why I met the general today. I am fortunate to meet a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. I should make it clear."
Seeing Qiao Yan raising her glass towards him, Liu Yan subconsciously raised the glass in his hand even though he felt a little awkward no matter how he heard her words.
Gan Ning, who was standing behind him, tried very hard to suppress the urge to laugh.
At first glance, Qiao Yan's words sounded like praise for Liu Yan, talking about his achievements in Bashu, and then saying that at most he had the problem of being deceived by Zhang Lu.
Also, because it was not easy to attack Hanzhong from Ba County, she came from Chang'an.
But Gan Ning, as a native of Ba County, would definitely know whether it is more difficult to attack Hanzhong from Chang'an or from Ba County.
Once these words were spoken, they became a question about Liu Yan's ability to command troops.
The last sentence "a loyal and faithful minister of the Han Dynasty" sounds even more ridiculous.
Fortunately, Gan Ning still remembered that Liu Yan was his employer now. In terms of gratitude, Liu Yan was not bad to him, so he did not laugh at this time.
He merely took note of Qiao Yan's opening remarks in his mind, thinking that although he had been studying the works of various philosophers and wanted to become a cultured person for a while, there was still a long way to go before he could reach the level of Qiao Yan who could make sarcastic remarks at will.
Out of the corner of Qiao Yan's eye, she caught a glimpse of Gan Ning's admiring look towards her. She didn't quite understand what this Jiang Biao tiger minister, who was very good at swimming, was admiring at the moment.
Her thoughts were distracted for only a moment, and when she turned around, she heard Liu Yan's reply after he had sorted out his mood: "The trip of the Grand Marshal is really hard. I feel really bad that your subordinates were so busy during this hunting meeting."
If Liu Yan were to tell the truth, he couldn't feel bad, but rather felt that he was frightened and couldn't recover temporarily.
But even though Qiao Yan's words were sarcastic, it was still very clear that he had no intention of killing him.
Feeling that he had escaped death, Liu Yan very tactfully followed the "reward the troops" plan that he had previously agreed upon with his subordinates.
He said: "As the Grand Marshal said just now, it is not easy for me to control Hanzhong from Ba County to the north through Micang Mountain and Daqing Mountain. I am afraid that the thieves will take advantage of it. The emperor is now in Guanzhong, why not control Hanzhong together?"
Hearing his words, Qiao Yan remained calm.
Even if Liu Yan had not said that she would return Hanzhong to the central government, since she had gained something from hunting in Yizhou, she would never return the place to the other party.
It's useless to say this.
Liu Yan added: "The soldiers under the command of the Grand Marshal have been marching through the Qinling Mountains and have been very tired. Since they are here to suppress the rebellion in Yizhou, the food and rations for the march should naturally be provided by me. How dare I ask the court to pay for them?"
These words...are somewhat sincere.
But it is of little use to Qiao Yan at the moment.
Before Liu Yan came to Hanzhong to keep the appointment, she had already asked Xu Shu and Xun You to cooperate in proofreading the treasuries of the four counties in the Hanzhong Plain.
There is a reason why this place is called "Northwest Jiangnan".
The harvests from the Hanzhong Plain over the years have accumulated a considerable amount of money here.
What's more, Zhang Lu's Tianshi Dao was also called the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. To join the sect, one had to pay five dou of rice, which was also a considerable source of grain reserves.
But because Qiao Yan was confident that she could develop this fertile land of Guanzhong, rather than transporting the stored grain in Hanzhong to Guanzhong, which would incur considerable losses on the road, she was more inclined to develop this place into a transit granary for the subsequent Nanzhou combat plan.
But by that time, the amount should have become even more staggering, and there would not be much difference between having Liu Yan's supplies or not. It could only be said that it was better than nothing.
What surprised her a little was the third reward for the troops that Liu Yan mentioned.
No one knew who gave Liu Yan the suggestion, but he actually mentioned a skilled person with experience in building and maintaining water conservancy projects at this time.
But since he mentioned people's livelihood, don't blame her for talking about this topic.
Earlier, Qiao Yan mentioned to Cheng Yu whether to let Ma Jun transform the Shenbi bow or the textile machine. Considering that he was unable to do both, he let him participate in the production of the former.
According to Cheng Yu, the latter could ask for it from Yizhou.
Now is the time!
Qiao Yan frowned and said, "Speaking of people's livelihood, if the general is interested, just look at the word 'clothing' first in the list of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and you will know its importance. I heard that there are good brocades in Shu, so there are naturally good weavers. I have just got cotton seeds in Bingzhou, and I need people to make cloth from cotton. I wonder if the general can give it up?"
Liu Yan's face lit up with joy.
Although Qiao Yan seemed to have no interest in the water conservancy personnel and instead brought up the matter of textiles, Liu Yan could already tell that there were conditions to be negotiated.
Anything is fine as long as it can make the other party stop!
Even when Qiao Yan later asked for three hundred craftsmen with superb skills in weaving, Liu Yan agreed without hesitation.
Another thing is, since Liu Yan has said that he would provide Chang'an with some water conservancy talents, he should also provide her with some water conservancy tools.
The gabions used to consolidate the Dujiangyan dam are all woven with bamboo. However, the bamboo that is most suitable for mass reproduction nowadays mostly grows in the south, especially the cycads, which can be used for papermaking and are particularly rich in fiber, and are distributed in the southwest.
We have provided people, food and land, so what’s the big deal if we just ask for some bamboo!
Hearing that Qiao Yan didn't say anything more after talking about bamboo, he even subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Five rewards for the troops are by no means too much.
This has far exceeded Liu Yan's expectations.
What's more, there were no conditions that made him feel too embarrassed.
Once these things were finalized and the guillotine above his head was about to be moved away, Liu Yan even felt that this celebration banquet might be a happy one for both the host and the guests.
In order to show that he had no guard against Qiao Yan, the Grand Marshal who represented the emperor to visit Yizhou, he even got himself drunk.
However, this drunkenness made him think of something else.
Mrs. Lu from the Tianshi Dao had once used her ability to communicate with ghosts and gods to predict for him, saying that a great disaster might befall him. Judging from the current development of events, what she said at that time was exactly right.
The paper man was burned by fire, which clearly pointed to the two fires in Mianzhu and Chengdu, and was the source of Qiao Yan's military action.
Although the disaster had been mostly resolved at this time, if he was not careful in handling it, he might follow in the footsteps of Zhang Lu or Zhang Xiu.
It seems that Mrs. Lu does have some magical powers.
Liu Yan didn't expect for a moment that if Madam Lu really had such magical powers, why couldn't she and her son successfully avoid the disaster? Instead, one became Qiao Yan's prisoner and the other fled to a remote place.
He turned to Qiao Yan and asked, "Now that the Grand Marshal has driven the rice thief Zhang Lu to the vassal state of Guanghan, what do you think of the remaining Five Pecks of Rice Sect members in Hanzhong?"
Qiao Yan replied without hesitation: "Keep it."
Liu Yan was stunned.
This kind of benevolent answer was indeed somewhat inconsistent with the impression Qiao Yan gave him.
But before he could ask, Qiao Yan continued, "I heard that there is a decree in the Heavenly Master Dao that says that those who have committed minor offenses should repair the roads, and if they can walk a hundred steps, their offenses will be forgiven. Repairing the roads means repairing the roads. The roads from Hanzhong to Chang'an are too difficult to travel, so they can be put to good use."
She spun the wine glass in her hand, with an indescribable sense of mischief in her smile, "General, if you think that a minor offense is worth repairing a hundred steps of road, then what about the major offense of following Zhang Lu, this traitor, in rebellion?"
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