Chapter 274: Destiny
This is indeed not a very common task.
Liaodong, where Gongsun Du was located, was already part of Liaoning Province according to the geographical location of later generations. For the current "Central Plains", it was undoubtedly a border area.
This place is obviously not adjacent to the area that Qiao Yan can control.
If starting from Juyongguan in Shanggu County guarded by Zhang Liao, one needs to cross the territories occupied by Gongsun Zan and Wuhuan Tadun to reach Gongsun Du's place.
In this situation where the roads were blocked and the roads were isolated, it would not be easy to persuade Gongsun Du to surrender.
Gongsun Du was not appointed as the governor of Liaodong by Liu Hong or his son, but by Dong Zhuo.
In other words, Gongsun Du received limited favors from the Han court, and he was able to gain a foothold in Liaodong entirely due to his own planning capabilities in Liaodong County.
If one says that Gongsun Du and Xu Rong are from the same hometown, and Gongsun Du's position as prefect was due to Xu Rong's recommendation, and therefore Xu Rong can be allowed to establish a relationship with the other party, then this would also be underestimating Gongsun Du.
During this hundred years, the Qiang people in Liangzhou frequently rebelled, and the prefects and governors in Shuzhong committed many separatist acts. Jiaozhou divided the province into autonomous regions based on the example of the gentry. How could places like Liaodong and Xuantu be exceptions!
The so-called fellow-townsman friendship is, at best, just being able to say a few more words to each other when talking to each other.
It would probably not be easy to get the other party to give up such readily available benefits.
Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang, and Sima Yi, who had been sent to Leping by Sima Fang earlier, all became interested when they thought of the challenge behind this name.
Saying that Gongsun Du was defeated was not only a challenge, but also represented——
Qiao Yan's next recovery plan may have already revealed a clue to them.
Once they could convince Gongsun Du to cooperate with their actions, when Zhang Liao's troops left Juyongguan and attacked Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Du, the governor of Liaodong who had the same surname but different clan as Gongsun Zan, could attack from the east and west.
This unexpected pincer attack was enough to make up for the geographical advantage of Youzhou's advance and quickly pacify Youzhou before Yuan Shao had time to respond.
"That's right," Pang Tong muttered, "If we take Jizhou first, Yuan Shao will definitely give Gongsun Zan the advantage, just to let him send troops to help when necessary. The Taihang Mountains are blocking the way, which is disadvantageous to the enemy and to us. So between Jizhou and Youzhou, the first choice for mobilizing troops must be Youzhou."
"But the battle in Youzhou must not be dragged into a battle in the east of Youzhou, otherwise Yuan Shao will definitely send a group of light cavalry from Hebei to directly cut off our retreat. Even if Youzhou gains an advantage first, it will be beaten back to its original state."
Therefore, it is indeed imperative to contact Gongsun Du and directly place the battlefield of the Battle of Youzhou in the central part of Youzhou!
This is the general direction set by the Lord!
The words and actions during the surrender became the topic of their composition, and it was obvious that the prince wanted to test them.
Even though this test might have been handed over to her advisers at the same time, it also meant that she did not just regard them as children studying here.
Xi Zhicai reminded: "Look at this additional condition."
If one wants to reach Liaodong from Youzhou by land, one must pass through a place, which is the Binhai Road where Gongsun Zan defeated Liu Yu. This place has become a place where Gongsun Zan has stationed troops to defend it.
Even in the direction of Xuwushan, where Zhang Liao had bypassed to come to the rescue, Gongsun Zan had deployed troops.
This was originally intended for him to protect his family members in Liaoxi County, but now it has become a barrier that isolates them from contacting Gongsun Du.
Even if one were to take this route alone, it would be difficult for him not to be noticed by Gongsun Zan, not to mention that if he appeared in front of Gongsun Du in such a weak and powerless manner, there was no way that he would agree to surrender.
Therefore, although Qiao Yan knew that he had many potential talents under his command, he did not intend to let them operate in a way that broke through the geopolitical barriers.
If Gongsun Du only agreed verbally, it would be very harmful to her.
Zhuge Liang read the assignment paper and saw a sentence written at the bottom. They could have two ships for sea trade, which would be improved by experts in shipbuilding to achieve an effect close to that of warships. There were also about 500 people who could be deployed.
Among these five hundred people, at most only one hundred can meet the standards for selecting soldiers for the Bingzhou Army, and the other three hundred can at most be used to guard caravans.
"According to this standard, it is impossible to directly attack Liaodong with these two ships and 500 people."
Even a warrior as unrivaled as Lu Bu could not have done this.
Besides, if we really do that, it will make too much noise.
So they must use other methods.
But, HNA...
Sima Yi looked at the paper and saw a resolute confidence in the words written by Qiao Yan, and a glimmer of brilliance flashed in his eyes.
It has been more than half a year since he came to Leping. After all, he came here to study shortly after Qiao Yan captured Guanzhong.
Originally, he felt that he was born in Sili, and the accumulation of the Sima family in Henei was enough to allow him to master more knowledge than others before entering school, which gave him an advantage over others.
But after he came to Leping, he found that these things he was proud of could not allow him to maintain a complete sense of superiority under the new knowledge system. Instead, he had to let go of some of his cognition in order to integrate into it more quickly.
For example, the direction indication in Leping has changed from the original Sinan and south-pointing cart to the north-south compass. Smaller and more portable pointing props have appeared in the Leping Academy of Sciences, corresponding to the interesting experiment on the magnetic needle in the Leping Monthly Report in October last year.
Sima Yi had no doubt that this optimization in pointing tools had already shifted from ordinary land-based handheld tools to those that could be used at sea.
This undoubtedly provided the guarantee for Qiao Yan to propose crossing the sea to Liaodong.
Because of this additional condition, everyone present subconsciously turned their eyes to the map in the library.
Liaodong County, located at the pointed corner opposite the Bohai Sea.
According to Qiao Yan, these two warships, which were crewed by one hundred soldiers and three hundred merchant guards, where would they sail from to Liaodong, and where would they land in Liaodong?
How to land is also a question they need to consider.
There is no territory along the coast that Qiao Yan can directly control. These two warships are probably hard-earned and are extremely limited resources that they can mobilize.
If they want to intimidate Gongsun Du and achieve their goal of persuading him to surrender, they only have one chance!
When several people looked at each other, it was not difficult to see the emotions in each other's eyes.
At present, Qiao Yan does not have the conditions to take out this ship. The ports for these two ships to sail out to sea are either from Xuzhou, which has trade relations with her, or from Yangzhou, which recognizes Chang'an as the imperial capital. But either way, it is not the time yet.
Building naval warships and transporting personnel also takes time.
It is no wonder then that Qiao Yan set the duration for this assignment to be half a year.
What she wanted was a plan that was perfectly prepared in every aspect, even taking into account the overall situation of the future attack on Youzhou.
This has become their year-end assessment!
Whether I can leave a deep impression on the princess and become her trusted subordinate in the near future depends entirely on this opportunity!
Sima Yi, who has not had a formal meeting with Qiao Yan so far, may cherish this test more than anyone else present.
Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were evaluated as Crouching Dragon and Phoenix by Qiao Yan because of a debate in Chang'an City, which meant that they had been given a status in front of Qiao Yan. Sima Yi believed that he was not much worse than these two people and was unwilling to fall behind!
Not to mention Sima Yi, those who were selected by Qiao Yan alone were basically not those who just wanted to eat and wait for death. Each of them showed an attitude of being ready to fight.
that is……
"Sister Lingju, shouldn't you be considered a military commander?" Guo Huai looked at his deskmate, Lu Lingju, and saw that she had already taken out the notebook in her hand with great interest. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on his forehead.
For the sake of comprehensive consideration of military operations, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and Sima Yi can complete their work independently, and they are allowed to make relevant inquiries to the generals stationed in Bingzhou.
Those who are younger than Zhuge Liang, if they want to participate in this event, must do so in a team.
Guo Huai and Lu Yi, who are the same age this year, naturally formed a team, and it was as if they were no longer a team of two, but three.
"I'm laying a solid foundation for future battles," Lü Lingju replied confidently, "I can't be like my father, a brave but unwise general."
After she finished speaking, she spread the notebook in her hand on the table, "When the three of us get together, we can definitely surpass Crouching Dragon and Phoenix. As the Lord said, this is called the wisdom of the masses."
Xi Zhicai found it more and more funny as he watched from the side.
If he remembered correctly, what Qiao Yan said about the wisdom of the masses was that in matters such as papermaking and farmland cultivation, the improvement ideas proposed by all parties involved could make them more refined in the general direction she proposed. She was not talking about the situation of Lu Lingju.
But there is no guarantee. Some people may be rough but have a lot of subtlety, and they may just happen to do something unexpected.
Seeing that these people had become motivated to continue their studies because of this special test, he smiled and shook his head, leaving the space here to these younger generations, allowing them to continue their active discussions.
He wouldn't have to stay here.
Speaking of which, apart from Li Ru and Jia Xu, who are unemployed in Shangjun, he is the most free person under Qiao Yan.
Bingzhou is Qiao Yan's base camp after all.
Although people were transferred to other positions one after another, such as Cheng Yu was transferred from Bingzhou to be the Minister of Agriculture, and Lu Yuan was sent to Liangzhou to replace Qiao Yan to handle the power of Liangzhou Governor, this did not cause disorder in the order of Bingzhou.
Among those who stayed behind, quite a number of them remain in their original positions and are working in an orderly manner.
Even because there are vacancies above, some people who are striving to advance themselves have more motivation to work.
After Liu Yu ascended the throne, Qiao Yan requested the title of Shanggu County Governor for Zhang Liao, the title of Pingbei General for Lu Bu, and the title of Zhengdong General for Qu Yi. These efforts had already deployed the garrison troops in Bingzhou to their respective positions to the maximum extent, saving Xi Zhicai a lot of worries.
If not for this, he wouldn't have the free time to go to Leping at this time.
He also knew very well that Qiao Yan entrusted this position to him, which was both an absolute trust in him and a concern for his health.
However, this idle walk probably won't last too long.
He thought that when he returned to Bingzhou Prefecture, he would select the successor candidates he had selected over the past six months one by one, hand the final list to Qiao Yan for her approval, and then start thinking about the autumn harvest.
There is also a batch of cotton to be harvested in Bingzhou in autumn, which not only involves the production of winter cotton-padded clothes and quilts, the weaving of cotton cloth, and the processing of medical cotton balls, but also the continued planning of crop rotation between new and old cotton fields, as well as further expansion of the planting range.
These are not things that can be accomplished easily by just giving instructions, and he needs to plan here on behalf of Qiao Yan.
Thinking about the expansion of the cotton fields this year, he subconsciously neglected to observe the surroundings. When he turned the corner, he bumped into a boy who was only eleven or thirteen years old.
Fortunately, the two of them were not walking very fast, so neither of them was knocked down.
Only the paper in the boy's hand was knocked to the ground.
When Xi Zhicai picked up the things for him, he found that what the other person was wearing was not the uniform of Leping Academy.
"Who are you……"
The young man whispered back, "I came here at the suggestion of Mr. Bo Huai, and I am not a student here. Please forgive me if I have offended you."
Xi Zhicai had spent quite some time with Cheng Yu, and from just a few sentences he could tell that the other person had a Yanzhou accent.
He then said, "If you are not a student here now, you may not be one in the future."
Unexpectedly, the young man shook his head and said, "I have no plans to travel far for a long time because of the inconvenience at home. I just heard that some classics in Leping are open to the public and people are allowed to come and have a look. There are also Yixue masters giving classes here and I can sit in on them. That's why I came here to stay for a month."
As he spoke, he picked up all the things in his hands, bowed to Xi Zhicai, and then walked away.
Xi Zhicai looked at his departing back, thoughtfully.
Bo Huai...This is referring to Chang Lin, an official in Shangdang County.
This man usually liked to read newspapers to people when he was inspecting the people's livelihood in Shangdang. It was natural for him to mention the Leping Academy when he met people coming from Yanzhou via Shangdang County.
It is understandable that geographical differences restrict the other party from studying here.
Judging from the situation, Xi Zhicai doesn't seem to need to pay any special attention to this strange young man.
But when he helped pick up the papers scattered on the ground just now, he always unconsciously glanced at a few sentences.
On these cheap bamboo papers that had just been sent to Leping for sale, there were actually a few words written that didn't sound like they came from a teenager's mouth. They said:
To simplify the suburban sacrifices, to be disrespectful to ancestors, to go against the will of the times, to betray the great order, and instead to seek blessings from ominous things, and to gain the trust and sincerity from foolish and confused people, isn't that a mistake? 1
The general meaning of this statement is that if one engages in various social activities against the will of heaven, and then prays to gods and Buddhas, or even offers sacrifice to an evil god, to pray for a good harvest, isn't that a completely wrong approach?
What’s even more interesting is that before these things written by the young man, there was a blank cover that seemed to be a preface, and written on it was the word "Chang Yan".
To dare to name an essay with such a name seems like something that only a somewhat arrogant person would do.
However, in the brief exchange between him and Xi Zhicai just now, he seemed a little shy.
This contradiction is quite interesting.
But since the other party has no intention of studying in Leping, it must be that something really happened at home that restricted his movements. We can't force him to stay here after just meeting for a short time.
Xi Zhicai thought of this and decided not to delve further into it.
However, when he visited Zheng Xuan and Xun Shuang, he happened to mention the appearance of this young man. He learned from someone that the young man's name was Zhong Changtong, and he was from Shanyang County, Yanzhou, and was a fellow villager of Wang Can.
Whether the two knew each other or not is another matter, but in any case, he has left a deep impression on both Xun Shuang and Zheng Xuan recently.
Xun Shuang mentioned that he was quick-witted and quite thoughtful, but some of his ideas were rather radical.
Xi Zhicai asked: "What is radical?"
After a long pause, Xun Shuang replied, "He doesn't believe in the concept of destiny."
Zhong Changtongjue did not believe in the existence of destiny, and regardless of whether there was any will from gods or Buddhas, Zuo Rong in Xuzhou believed that he had one.
As a Buddhist missionary, when he gained more and more supporters in Guangling and became more and more arrogant under the support of these believers, he was probably deceived by the lies he made up.
He believed that he was truly commissioned by the Buddha to save ignorant believers, so wasn't it a manifestation of atonement for their sins if their money was handed over to him?
As the news came in, his mentality of being a superior grew stronger day by day, and he even felt more and more that he could replace Tao Qian.
One is that Yan Baihu's former subordinates in Dongjun could not bear the pursuit and blockade by Sun Ce's subordinates, so they chose to flee to Xuzhou and directly entered Guangling County, which was equivalent to directly joining his army.
Needless to say, the fighting power of these desperate criminals has further enhanced the power of his direct subordinates.
One of them was Zu Lang from Danyang County who responded to his call and came. Now that everyone is here, what’s so difficult about discussing cooperation?
The third is that after his previous refusal, Mi Zhu finally agreed to come to Guangling to observe the Buddha bathing ceremony there.
Zuo Rong was very excited.
He must take advantage of this opportunity to seize the power of the East China Sea Merchants into his own hands so as to deal a fatal blow to old man Tao Qian!
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