Chapter 33
But no matter how shocked Chunyu Qiong and Zhang Rang were, they could not change one fact.
There might be room for the imperial edict that Zhang Rang had withheld earlier, but now that the imperial edict had been read out on the spot from the mouth of the eunuch Bi Lan, commending the heroes who suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion, there would be no room for any changes.
Marquis of Huaili, Marquis of Qiantang, and Marquis of Leping.
This is the highest reward given by Liu Hong.
In the imperial edict sent to Qiao Yan, Liu Hong did not hesitate to praise her.
The deep definition of loyalty and filial piety, the ability to make plans and win battles thousands of miles away, which are the evaluations that should be given to a general, as well as the sentence "Those who are famous throughout the world should be rewarded greatly by the world", constitute this decree of ennobling nobility that is no longer constrained by gender.
What is even more surprising is undoubtedly the sentence he added at the end: "Respect it!"
In order to guess Liu Hong's thoughts, Zhang Rang read most of the imperial edicts throughout history. The phrase "Respect him!" was rare even in the edicts for conferring the title of county marquis.
In the situations that have occurred before, it is possible that the emperor had extraordinary expectations for the people he rewarded.
For example, Deng Yu of Nanyang, a famous founding general of the Eastern Han Dynasty and ranked first among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai, was appointed as the Grand Tutor after Emperor Guangwu became emperor. At the same time, he was conferred the title of Marquis of Ying with a fief of 10,000 households. Such words were used in the edict of enthronement.
At that time, Deng Yu crossed the river and entered the pass, and was about to face the Red Eyebrow Army head-on. Emperor Guangwu expressed his promising prospects for him in this edict of enthronement.
And now, this sentence actually appeared in the edict of enthronement for Qiao Yan.
Zhang Rang couldn't help but start thinking about what kind of expectations Liu Hong had for this girl who had not yet reached the age of marriage.
Did he want her to carry forward her eloquence that maintained the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, or did he want her to make some contribution with her brain in that piece of land that was rewarded with tens of thousands of households?
But maybe, just like his majesty's unexpected style of doing things, when he wrote this edict, he didn't actually think that much about it, and just wanted to add an interjection?
However, no matter what speculation there was about Liu Hong's intentions, the unexpected fact that Qiao Yan was conferred a title of nobility made the news mentioned in the subsequent edict seem less important.
There are actually four pavilion marquises below the three county marquises.
Huangfu Song's bodyguard Sima Fu Xie fought bravely in the Battle of Changsha and performed outstandingly when he followed Huangfu Song to fight in Jizhou, and was awarded the title of Tinghou.
The other three are——
Cao Cao, who supported Huangfu Song as a Cavalry Commander and also personally entered the city during the Battle of Guangzong.
Tian Yan, who risked his life to report the news to the Han army in the Battle of Changsha, and whose family also made contributions to the suppression of the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou.
He defended Dong'e and assisted in pacifying Xue Fang, the head of the Xue clan in Yanzhou.
As for why it was Xue Fang who was canonized instead of Cheng Li, and why Tian Yan was rewarded with the title of marquis instead of an ordinary official position, Qiao Yan could more or less guess Liu Hong's intentions.
It seems that at this time Liu Hong had not yet received the prototype of the provincial governor system from Liu Yan. As a smart emperor, he might want to take this opportunity to try whether giving titles to the powerful could limit the actions of some easily satisfied people to encroach on population and land.
Qiao Yan had not had much contact with the Xue branch of the Xue family, but he could be said to know the eldest son of the Tian family quite well. Moreover, this man had such a simple mind that his expression was written on his face, so it was easy to understand his thoughts at this moment.
When Qiao Yan came to him, he did not hide his admiration for Qiao Yan at all.
To be honest, when Tian Yan risked his life to send the letter of joint operations, he actually felt regretful in his heart.
After all, he couldn't be sure whether the four words "leave a name in history" in Qiao Yan's words were just a pie in the sky.
But by then everyone else was already on the battlefield, and no matter how hot-blooded he was in making this choice, he had no choice but to go ahead.
And now...
Tian Yan also had the illusion that he was still dreaming.
It is true that Emperor Xiaohuan and the current emperor have appointed Marquises of Ting in their respective posts, but there is undoubtedly an essential difference between the powerful clans with shallow roots and the Marquises of Ting in the Han Dynasty.
This is a kind of class identification!
Although the number of households in his fief as Marquis of Ting was far less than that of Fu Xie and Cao Cao, it was more than enough for him. It’s enough for the Tian family!
He almost wanted to rush over and hold Qiao Yan's hand, but then he realized that this was a bit too radical and inappropriate, so he withdrew his hand hesitantly, "Thanks to Mr. Tian's planning, our Tian family is where we are today. This time, we will repay you with our entire family."
Tian Yan has been calling Qiao Yan "Sir" since he served as Liang Zhongning's military advisor, and he has not changed his name back now.
He immediately thought of something and said, "No, now I should be called Marquis of Leping."
"But you tell me, why was the position of Tinghou given to me and not to my father?" Tian Yan scratched his hair again, looking quite puzzled.
Although the title of Tinghou fell to their Tian family, it would be a bit strange to tell others that the son was a marquis while the father was a commoner.
If we have to count the merits, what Xue Fang did was not much different from what his father and uncle did.
"It is not our business to guess the emperor's intention," Qiao Yan replied.
"That's right, that's right...that's the truth." Tian Yan couldn't help but laugh when he said this.
But compared with Qiao Yan's reaction, he felt that he was too impatient.
She directly became a county marquis with the power to establish a country based on a county, but she had never been as proud as him. No wonder she received such high evaluation before she had a formal meeting with the emperor.
But Tian Yan is not the only one who thinks Qiao Yan is steady.
Cao Cao thought so too.
When Qiao Yan asked Tian Yan indirectly about Tian's plan and walked towards the camp, he happened to meet Cao Cao who was also pacing outside.
According to the Han Dynasty's hierarchy, Qiao Yan, who had the title of Marquis of Leping, could be said to be like the commander-in-chief in the camp. Her status was only below Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi. Even Cao Cao had to salute her.
But Qiao Yan's first words, "Uncle", set the tone of the conversation as a private chat, so Cao Cao did not force the question of addressing him.
"I haven't congratulated Uncle Shi before," Qiao Yan said, "but it's not because of the title of Tinghou, but because I congratulate Uncle Shi for getting the position of Jinan Xiang."
Cao Cao asked, "Why are you the only one who is congratulating you differently from others? The Jinan Premier and the Cavalry Commander both have silver seals and blue ribbons. The remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion are still there, and the position of Jinan Premier is not easy to hold. On the contrary, the Cavalry Commander is a Beijing official, and he has Yulin Cavalry under his command. However, it is just a lateral promotion."
"Uncle, since you are speaking in this tone, aren't you particularly satisfied with this position?" Qiao Yan asked back, "But don't take advantage of my young age and not tell the truth."
There is indeed little difference between the two thousand stone officials in Beijing and the two thousand stone officials in Jinan, and the styles of their seals and ribbons are also the same.
But the promotion of officials in this Han Dynasty was different from that of eunuchs in the capital. It was not the case that the closer to the emperor the better. It was best to have the experience of being sent out to serve as a prefect of a county.
The salary and power of the Jinan Xiang were equivalent to those of the Taishou, and he was the highest administrative official of the State of Jinan.
If a person with mediocre ability was placed in this position, perhaps it would be better for him to take the path of promotion as an official in Beijing, but this person is Cao Cao.
That's completely different.
Qiao Yan continued, "My uncle has the ability to govern a country, but not the talent for bravery and fighting. General Huangfu was promoted from General of the Left to General of Chariots and Cavalry. That is his path, but I think my uncle's path is still to be one of the three dukes and nine ministers in the court. If he can make great achievements in the position of Prime Minister of Jinan, he will definitely be promoted within five years."
"The remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion are still there. In my opinion, this is not what Uncle Shi said sincerely. If there was no chaos, how could Uncle Shi be able to show his power?"
Cao Cao stroked his beard and laughed out loud, "The emperor's evaluation of your strategic planning can be regarded as a very high evaluation of your vision. How could Cao be so worthy of such a high evaluation by Lord Qiao, who has excellent vision and judgment, to be promoted?"
He thought for a moment and asked again, "Come to think of it, I'm not the only one who got promoted this time. I wonder how many people did you give promotion forecasts for?"
Cao Cao lowered his tone a bit when he spoke the second half of his sentence. It didn't sound like a question but rather like gossip.
Qiao Yan also lowered his voice and replied: "
My uncle recognized me as his junior, so naturally I spoke a little more boldly. ”
The implication was that she would naturally not mention these things to the other people in her conversation.
In fact, Qiao Yan was really only optimistic about Cao Cao's promotion.
Huangfu Song was a man of great military prowess, unmatched among his peers in the late Han Dynasty. His bodyguard Sima Fu Xie was even more brave and courageous. However, the position of general in the Han Dynasty was occupied by He Jin. No matter how high Huangfu Song could rise, he could only be a left general with a gold seal and purple ribbon, and a rank below that of a senior minister.
He did reach this position in the fifth year of Zhongping, but he was a straightforward person and did not know how to take roundabout ways. It would be more accurate to say that he got this position because there was no one available at the time rather than through promotion.
Before this, he was stripped of his fief of 6,000 households and demoted to the position of Marquis of Duxiang because of the slander made by Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang around Liu Hong.
Although Lu Zhi had the ability to command the army, he himself was almost indifferent to fame and fortune. He was more willing to do things like proofreading Confucian classics than leading the army. It was good enough for him to hold on to this position, and there was no need to talk about advancement.
As for Liu Bei, his position was much better than the original one of Anxi County Lieutenant, because Lu Zhi was not demoted and his military exploits were recorded truthfully, so he became the Bingcao Yuanshi of Qinghe County, that is, the official in charge of military affairs of Qinghe County, which just filled the vacancy of Jizhou officials.
But a very special situation is that one or two years after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, Emperor Liu Hong, who was very good at "calculating carefully", ordered a selection and elimination of those who became officials because of their military merits.
Liu Bei did not have the support of his family like Cao Cao. So even if he had the ability to interact with people that made Qiao Yan deeply admire him, he might not end up being whipped or dismissed from his position as a clerk in the Military Department. However, it would not be easy for him to get promoted.
Cao Cao didn't know what Qiao Yan hadn't said yet. He just thought that it was worth it to acknowledge his niece in this life.
Thinking about it this way, he couldn't just take advantage of his elders for nothing.
He asked, "My niece, do you know why His Majesty wants to confer you the title of Duke of Leping?"
Qiao Yan replied, "Huaili County is in Yongzhou, Qiantang County is in Yangzhou, and Leping County is in Bingzhou. I originally thought that this was a gesture by Your Majesty to show off the vastness of the Han Dynasty's territory, but from what Uncle Shi said, could it be that this is not the case?"
"It's rare to see that there are things you don't know."
Cao Cao found a place to squat down, and used a branch as a pen to draw the outlines of the states of the Han Dynasty. He said, "Yongzhou is close to the border of Liangzhou. Liangzhou still belongs to the ancient Yongzhou. The purpose of Huaili in Yongzhou is very obvious. Recently, Liangzhou has hidden rebellious intentions and even gathered a group of people. They sealed General Huangfu here. I think the next step is to give him the power to march to this side."
Qiao Yan pointed to Yangzhou and said, "Then Lord Lu's situation is probably similar. He previously had experience suppressing the rebellion in Jiujiang, Yangzhou. Now that the Yellow Turbans in Yangzhou have not been quelled, it is clear that Lord Lu will probably be ordered to go south to Yangzhou to attack."
Liu Hong was almost planning to smear his little abacus on the faces of those two generals.
Isn’t it quite generous to confer the title of county marquis on you?
But you have to take this place yourself, or guard it yourself.
Compared to the fact that he needed officials to pay money before taking office, I don’t know which one is more bizarre.
Qiao Yan couldn't help laughing: "But your majesty can't expect me, a man without any soldiers or generals, to guard Bingzhou for him, right? After all, Leping is not on the border."
"That's not the case," Cao Cao replied. "I asked Bi Lan about this and he said Zhang Rang had told you something before, saying that after the last military report arrived in Luoyang, His Majesty went to visit Mr. Qiao."
Yes, Zhang Rang did tell her about it, and even mentioned what Grandpa Qiao said: "Please bury him at the border."
Border...
Seeing a flash of understanding on Qiao Yan's face, Cao Cao said, "Yes, it is just as you think. Because of what Mr. Qiao said, Your Majesty has decided to fulfill his wish and bury him in Bingzhou."
"When Mr. Qiao was the General of Du Liao, his seat was in Wuyuan Manbo County, which is in Bingzhou. Your Majesty sympathized with his patriotism and agreed to his proposal, but he also moved the position of this border checkpoint inland to avoid the border.
The war brought disaster to Mr. Qiao’s future grave, which is also the origin of your title of Marquis of Leping. ”
"So your situation is somewhat different from Lord Lu and General Huangfu's," Cao Cao looked at her and said, "With your ability, it should not be difficult to pull out a team in Leping County. With your... eloquence in motivating the Yellow Turbans, you may even be able to pull up the neighboring counties, such as Changshan and Taiyuan nearby..."
Qiao Yan always felt that when Cao Cao said the word "drive", the suspicious pause at the beginning might actually mean to "bewitch" or "instigate".
However, this insignificant connotation did not affect her at the moment, and she heard Cao Cao continue to say: "But perhaps His Majesty has no intention of asking you to fight the Xianbei for him."
Qiao Yan cupped his hands in a helpless smile, "Don't worry, uncle. It is an extraordinary situation to plan and arrange everything in the battle to eliminate the Yellow Turbans. Bingzhou has governors and provincial governors in various counties, and there are also garrisons in Yunzhong and Wuyuan counties responsible for guarding the border. Why do you need a county marquis like me to plan and manpower and go north to fight?"
What kind of strange impression did Cao Cao have of her that he had to emphasize to her so clearly that she did not have to be like Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi, who, in addition to being a county marquis, also had to take on the responsibility of pacifying the country.
But when it comes to Leping, apart from the fact that it is only separated from the border of the Han Dynasty by Taiyuan and Yunzhong, the significance of this place is not simple.
This is an area that later generations called a battleground for military strategists...
Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu first occupied Taiyuan and then conquered the Xiongnu in the north and pacified Guandong. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Li clan started an uprising in Taiyuan, so that by the Song Dynasty, Taiyuan was already known as the place where the dragon rises.
A series of mountain basins formed between Taihang Mountains, Taiyue Mountains, Luliang Mountains and Yunzhong Mountains are mostly special forms of two mountains sandwiched between a river. The mountain basins are connected to each other but separated by mountains, forming many dangerous passes in the passage.
The land nourished by the rivers is fertile and productive, and is blocked by layers of passes, making it a perfect position for both attack and defense. No wonder there are sayings like "Shangdang has always been the backbone of the world" and "overlooks Zhongzhou and extends to Hedong".
Leping is located between Mount Wutai and Mount Taihang. Although its terrain is not as high as Shangdang, it is not far away and the terrain is generally similar.
If it is a place where people rest in peace, it would be difficult for anyone to disturb it.
And if...
"What are you thinking about, niece?" Cao Cao interrupted Qiao Yan's thoughts.
She came back to her senses and realized that she had been distracted for a little too long while looking at the map in front of her, so she replied, "I was just thinking that your Majesty was very generous in choosing Leping as our safe place."
Cao Cao thought about Liu Hong's daily behavior, and then thought about Qiao Yan's evaluation of him as "generous and kind", and for a moment he didn't know whether he should correct her perception.
But when you think about the rewards His Majesty has given her and the arrangements made for Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi, it seems that she really deserves this evaluation.
Besides, Qiao Yan will probably not stay in the capital for long when she goes there, and she may not even have the chance to meet the emperor, so it is no problem for her to keep this understanding.
Furthermore, wise rulers can also have their foolish moments, and foolish rulers can also make wise moves, and there may even be opportunities for a stunning turnaround.
Who can predict what the future will hold?
The most important thing now is to execute Zhang Jue as soon as possible, and then let Qiao Yan follow the team back to Beijing to report on their work, to see Qiao Xuan, who is on the verge of death, for the last time.
Zhang Jiao...
This great and virtuous teacher who founded the Taiping Dao and started the Yellow Turban Rebellion suffered the same fate as his disciple who was exposed in Luoyang in the decree read out by Liu Hong and Bi Lan.
The punishment of being torn apart by a chariot.
Although his younger brother Zhang Liang had the merit of surrendering the city, this "merit" was based on leading the crowd to capture the city and killing the officials in Quzhou city. Not only could he not be rewarded, but he should be punished for the crimes that had not been reduced.
Fortunately, he should be thankful that since the abolition of corporal punishment during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, many cruel punishments have been revised and replaced, and these punishment systems have continued to this day. In addition, Liu Hong approved the exemption of his death penalty to allow the Yellow Turban leaders in the unsuppressed areas to surrender directly. The final treatment of Zhang Liang was -
He was flogged 200 times and transferred to the camp of the Wuhuan commander to guard the border.
Then comes
Liang Jing who was "forced" to surrender.
Liang Zhongning witnessed the debate between Qiao Yan and Zhang Jue that day. With his brain circuit that was not very capable to begin with, he really felt as if he had been deceived by Zhang Jue before.
But when he saw Qiao Yan again, he had a beast-like intuition——
If Zhang Jue is considered a high-end con man, then shouldn't Qiao Yan be considered a con man who is even more capable of deceiving than him?
But at this point, it is obviously meaningless to worry about whether the cognitive transmission results from the three debates between Qiao Yan and Zhang Jiao are true or false.
Liang Zhongning and Qiao Yan looked at each other across the prison for a moment, and then they heard someone reading out his punishment.
He was flogged 100 times and moved to Wuyuan Du Liao camp to guard the border.
The punishment was almost the same as Zhang Liang's, only slightly lighter.
Border defense is a high-risk job, but compared to losing one's life directly for the crime of treason, it can obviously be considered a safe outcome.
But for those who were forced to revolt, what is the difference between being exempted from the death penalty and the original situation of "either revolt or death"?
Obviously, just because you have the opportunity to eat government food, you can't think that you can just get by.
But with Liang Zhongning's knowledge and intelligence, he could not come to a conclusion for the time being.
Since Emperor Xiaojing of the Western Han Dynasty issued the order to whip people with bamboo sticks, the punishment of whipping with five-foot-long bamboos with the joints cut off was obviously not fatal. In particular, the order that the executors of the flogging could not be replaced often made it difficult for the flogging executors to carry out more than a hundred strokes of the bamboo stick. For people like him and Zhang Liang who were still in good health, such punishment would not cause any irreversible damage.
After numbly accepting the punishment, he was escorted to Bingzhou by the army led by Fu Xie, along with other Yellow Turban criminals who were also exiled to Wuyuan.
When they were ten miles away from Quzhou City, it suddenly started raining in Jizhou.
Summer showers are not uncommon, and this year is not as horrible a drought as last year.
But when the fine raindrops fell on his head, he suddenly remembered that today was not only the time when some of them were exiled to Youzhou and some to Bingzhou, but it was also the day when the great sage Zhang Jue was executed.
However, among this silent crowd, someone should have said at this time that this was a blessing from heaven and that their prayers for rain had come true, but now no one said a word.
Liang Zhongning subconsciously glanced towards Qu Zhou, and then frowned because of what he saw.
If I was not mistaken, in the dim rain, I saw a young man leading a horse, and on the horse sat a familiar figure wearing a cloak to shelter from the rain.
But when he looked again, the figure was gone.
Or maybe it was because the rain was too heavy that everything in front of his eyes became blurry.
The soldiers who urged him to move forward had forced him to turn back.
However, Liang Zhongning was not mistaken. At this moment, there really were two people on horseback watching them leave and then heading back to Quzhou City.
When Qiao Yan left Quzhou earlier, he told Huangfu Song that the punishment of being torn apart by chariots was too cruel, and Zhang Jue was not the direct culprit in the death of Qiao Yu and his wife. It would be better to go and see the Yellow Turbans who were exiled to the border.
But Xu Fu, who was holding the horse for her at the moment, was smart. After being guided by Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, he analyzed the situation he saw. How could he not see that what Qiao Yan said to Huangfu Song was not the real reason.
"Does Lord Qiao have any sympathy for these Yellow Turbans?" Xu Fu asked after thinking for a moment.
There was the sound of rain and horses' hooves trampling across the fields, but Qiao Yan's voice still reached Xu Fu's ears clearly, "The premise of having compassion for the weak is that you are a strong person, and I am not yet."
"But from Yi Fu's perspective, Lord Qiao really saved their lives."
Xu Fu had been present at the Battle of Changsha and had heard about some of the initial measures taken against the Yellow Turbans. It was already a much better situation now, from killing as a warning to others, to flogging and exiling those who committed murder, to being forced to send them back to their hometowns.
"live
Is the living character of life just the fact that a person is still alive? "Qiao Yan asked back.
Xu Fu was unable to answer for a moment.
He just felt that when Qiao Yan asked this question, she was actually much more mature than her age when she was in command and debated well.
But not being able to figure it out now might not necessarily be bad news for him. He asked confidently, "I'll tell Qiao Hou when I figure it out."
Then before that, he can continue to follow.
Of course he had some plans.
On the way to Luoyang after Qiao Yan, he could go back to Yingchuan first and tell his mother that he wanted to continue to follow Qiao Yan.
Witnessing the lively and insightful debate on the stage that day, Xu Fu felt that his previous decision of wanting to be a swordsman was not the right one, and there was another path before him.
He wanted to learn more knowledge instead of being a reckless man who could only draw the sword for others!
He must tell his mother about this decision, and then -
If his mother wanted to continue staying in Yingchuan, he would leave the reward he received for participating in the surprise attack on Jizhou and find someone to take care of his mother. I think that given Yingchuan's proximity to Luoyang, there should be no further unrest in the short term after the Yellow Turban Rebellion is quelled.
It would be great if my mother was willing to go to Leping with us.
Qiao Yan saw through Xu Fu's little thoughts clearly, but he had no intention of exposing him.
Although Xu Fu at that time was still far from reaching the level of Xu Shu and Xu Yuanzhi later on, and had never experienced a near-death experience or a complete makeover, nor had he gone south to Jingzhou to study to escape the war, he was undoubtedly a potential stock.
This can be proven by his performance in the Battle of Xiaquyang as well as his action of inviting the Buddhist sect to preside over the battle.
A county marquis has a fief of tens of thousands of households, and the county is like a country. It is not enough for her to rely on one person. Having one more person to help her is much better than fighting alone.
Moreover, in Qiao Yan's opinion, the advancement in the general affairs and the study and apprenticeship among the famous scholars of Jingxiang each have their own advantages and disadvantages. For Xu Fu, it is not necessarily a loss of the necessary path to success.
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll wait for you to give me the answer."
When the two men returned to the military camp at the foot of the city, Zhang Jiao no longer existed in the world.
Perhaps the only thing he had left here was the Taiping Jing that he had compiled.
However, since the book originated from the current dynasty, it would inevitably be dealt with by the court. Even though Qiao Yan was a great contributor in refuting Zhang Jue, he could not receive special treatment by having the book preserved.
Qiao Yan handed over the Taiping Sutra that she used as an argument without hesitation, but was stunned for a moment when she looked at the afterglow of the setting sun on the city wall when the rain stopped.
The system wanted to ask her if she needed some psychological counseling. After all, although she had never seen the punishment of being torn apart by a chariot with her own eyes, for a person from the modern era, it would be painful to see that someone who had just competed with her on the same stage a while ago had ended up being torn to pieces today.
It has never been useful in giving suggestions to the host, and it was also useless when the host asked Dian Wei to kill Bu Ji and Zhang Bo last time. It should be...
"I'm still a long way from unlocking the 3D map." Qiao Yan studied his panel, his eyes not moving away from the line "Unlock the 3D map after the strategist points reach 100" for a long time.
She had coveted this thing before, and even more so now.
Leping's geographical conditions dictate that this place requires a more accurate three-dimensional terrain display whether for management and administration or for the deployment of troops and defense.
In this regard, this counselor system is not useless.
It’s a pity that her current strategist points are -90.
[Plan to destroy a force] for 30 points, and 60 points for achieving your own gains through planning six times.
Wait a minute...
"Isn't your system too unintelligent?" Qiao Yan asked as he flipped through the system record panel. "My debate with Zhang Jiao doesn't even count?"
The system once again had the illusion that it was a pendant because the host had recovered from his depression so quickly. Now when it heard Qiao Yan's question, it replied embarrassedly: "This is not difficult to understand. If Zhang Jue didn't argue with you like this, since he has been captured, there would be only one result, which is death, and even his followers might be taken with him. 】
[Whether you use your roundabout way to reduce population loss, or use Huangfu Song's original method of directly killing everyone, it actually has no effect on this camp, so naturally you cannot be given any strategist points. 】
[Now that Zhang Jiao is dead, according to the system confidentiality rules, the corresponding achievement can be told to you. It is called persuading Zhang Jiao to surrender. This is an achievement that no one has ever achieved in any parallel world, so host, you don't have to feel frustrated about it. 】
"He will only become a martyr and will not allow himself to be persuaded by other logics. This is not surprising." Qiao Yan replied, "You are right. I saved the Yellow Turbans out of consideration for the Han Dynasty, but not for the current Han Dynasty. It is right not to calculate the points."
"But in this case, in order to unlock the 3D map before heading to Leping, I'm afraid this trip to Luoyang can't just be a formality."
She must give Liu Hong sufficiently influential advice.
As for what this suggestion is…
Let’s wait until we reach Luoyang and see!
Before she set off, she had one more thing to do.
In addition to Xu Fu, who had already informed her of his intention to follow in a special way, there were a few other people she needed to question.
One is Lu Yuan.
Qiao Yan asked her to follow him from Xia Quyang to Quzhou so that she could decide on her own whether to stay or leave after Jizhou was pacified. However, this mysterious woman who was still very secretive about her life experience answered that she still decided to follow Qiao Yan.
Even though Qiao Yan made it clear that there was no profit to be made around her and that Bingzhou might not be safe in the next few years, it did not change Lu Yuan's decision.
There was no need for Qiao Yan to reject her.
Given her former status as the wife of the magistrate of Xiaquyang County, it was impossible for her to have any conflicts of interest with Qiao Yan, at least for a long period of time. So keeping her would be much more useful than forcibly driving her away.
The camp defense arrangement that Lu Yuan had previously assisted Cheng Li in completing successfully intercepted the spies sent by Zhang Liang to the camp on the spot. Both his strategic vision and his own knowledge reserves made Qiao Yan's eyes light up.
There are voluntary workers, perhaps those who only have food and accommodation provided but not salary. Why do we have to ask them to show their ID cards?
This is probably how Qiao Yan feels about Lu Yuan now.
Then there is Dian Wei.
In fact, the agreement she and Dian Wei had reached was for three months of protection. Now there is only one month left until the end of the three months, and at most it will only end when we reach Luoyang.
In fact, if we look at it from a more utilitarian point of view, given Dian Wei's bravery, it is far less likely for him to serve in the regular army or under the command of an official than to take a job in her fiefdom of Leping County.
Cao Cao once asked her about Dian Wei's situation.
Who made him do that? There are still some bandits causing trouble in the Qingzhou and Jinan states where he is about to take office. Cao Cao's martial arts skills are just so-so, so he really needs a bodyguard.
But since Qiao Yan had already won the title of marquis, even if Dian Wei was unwilling to follow her, the bottom line she could accept was to let him return to Chenliu, Yanzhou, instead of aiding the enemy.
But her worries may not come true.
When Qiao Yan asked Dian Wei about his future plans, he replied without a second thought: "Haven't I been following you for a long time?"
"……?"
In Qiao Yan's silence, Dian Wei weighed the bounty he received for his assistance in the capture of Xiaquyang and his important contribution in the Battle of Changsha, "Isn't this a mercenary reward?"
"...If you want to say yes, it's not impossible." Qiao Yan was a little speechless because of Dian Wei's logic.
Then she heard Dian Wei ask, "What you said before, if I have a son in the future, will it count? You were really good at defeating the Great Sage Master that day, but I don't have that eloquence."
Joe
Yan: ...Actually, you are quite good at talking.
Of course, she couldn't reply like that, so she replied, "I'm not a gentleman, but I keep my promises."
With such a capable subordinate, many of her ideas would be more likely to be implemented.
So now there is only one person left who needs to be convinced.
Cheng Li.
This was also the person she was least confident of convincing.
Cheng Li was a mature man with good relationships in his hometown. His cooperation and following in the past could be explained appropriately, but if he were to recruit him now, Qiao Yan would feel that it was not appropriate.
Why would a county marquis need to recruit a strategist as capable as Cheng Li?
If the system asked, she could say that she wanted to correct some of Cheng Li's unscrupulous ways of offering advice, or she could communicate and grow with Cheng Li before the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, but this answer could not be used as a way for her to win over Cheng Li.
But when she appeared in front of Cheng Li, before she could open her mouth, Cheng Li had already asked: "Earlier, Marquis Qiao invited me to go to Jizhou with him to listen to the Yellow Turbans' words. Why do you want to invite me to Luoyang to listen to the emperor's words, and to Leping to listen to the voices of the border guards now?"
After recognizing Cheng Li's tone, Qiao Yan smiled, then bowed and said, "Yan meant exactly that. Mr. Zhongde understands me."
Cheng Li was silent for a moment.
His reason told him that his talents would not be better utilized by moving from Dong'a County to Leping County, and leaving Yanzhou did not seem to be a good decision.
But when Qiao Yan bowed and invited him, it rained yesterday but it was sunny today, and the sunlight coming in through the window lattice almost enveloped the child in a halo.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered his dream of Mount Tai holding the sun.
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