Chapter 377 Accumulation...
willing!
How could Lu Lingju not be willing!
Just by looking at her performance in the battles in Liaodong, we can tell that Lu Lingju can almost be regarded as a loyal fan of Qiao Yan, and she has learned a lot from Qiao Yan in terms of external warfare methods.
Her biggest dream is to gain Qiao Yan's favor legitimately after making military achievements, not just because she is Lu Bu's daughter.
In this way, when Qiao Yan goes to the battle personally, she can follow him.
She originally thought that such an opportunity would have to wait until she finished the Liaodong war, or because Qiao Yan was already in a crucial position as Grand Marshal, there was a high probability that it would not appear. So she had to perform better and get the qualification to participate in the attack on Yecheng, Jizhou and the final battle with Yuan Shao. Who knew that there would be such an unexpected surprise at this time.
Before Lu Bu could even ask why they brought Lu Lingju instead of him, who was more capable of fighting, he saw his daughter holding Qiao Yan's hand without hesitation and said, "Don't worry, my lord. If you need my protection, I will definitely rush ahead of you!"
What’s wrong with your own martial arts skills being quite strong?
What commander wouldn't prepare a few generals to charge into the front?
Now is the time when she can be put to use!
But speaking of it——
"Are you planning to attack Yanzhou or Yuzhou?"
Lu Lingju's first reaction was that Qiao Yan was going to attack Yan and Yu states from the direction of Luoyang first.
First, take down Cao Cao and cut off one of Yuan Shao's arms. Then, use this deceptive method to make Yuan Shao think that Lu Bu's army is a group of arrogant soldiers, and then launch a direct attack on them.
This speculation is not without feasibility.
Qiao Yan's old friendship with Cao Cao meant that she must have known the Yanzhou governor's style of doing things very clearly, so it should not be difficult for her to launch a targeted attack on him.
Yuzhou was particularly vulnerable to attack.
There was originally Yingchuan as a springboard in Yuzhou, and now there is Xuzhou in the east which can send troops to provide support at any time. If necessary, Jingzhou and Yangzhou can also provide support from the south at any time.
Once Qiao Yan himself entered Yuzhou from Luoyang, Cao Cao would never be able to gain a foothold in this all-out invasion.
Even if we cannot seize all of their base in Yanzhou, we can first take over Yuzhou and reduce the four states in Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's hands to three states, which will also be a great gain.
But what surprised Lu Lingju was that she saw Qiao Yan shook his head, "It's not Yuzhou. Anyway, the current situation is a bit unclear. You will act as my personal guard first. When necessary, I will tell you how to mobilize troops."
Lu Lingju agreed immediately.
Although she still didn't quite understand why Qiao Yan made such an arrangement when Dian Wei was around, her role would be limited.
But the opportunity to fight with an idol is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why does she ask so many questions?
What if this is just because Qiao Yan thinks she is pleasing to the eye, and she insists on getting to the bottom of it, then can't she give the prince some face?
So when the three people who were led from outside the door into the courtyard and waited saw Lu Bu and Lu Lingju again, they saw that the former was somewhat happy but not much, while the latter was already jumping for joy.
As a result, when Xun Yu went in to see Qiao Yan, and Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang questioned the father and daughter of the Lu family, Lu Bu only knew that he would have nothing to do in the next year, but the content he knew was limited. Lu Lingju only knew that Qiao Yan had invited her to go to fight, but she had no idea about the specific occasion.
Xu Shu looked at the two men who seemed to be picking on each other and planning to find a place to duel. He shook his head and smiled, "This may be the happiness of a military commander."
But to be honest, there are actually quite a few military generals who are even more ignorant than the father and daughter of the Lu family and who just do their work without thinking.
For example, there is Zhang Yang, who is still staying in Xuzhou to assist Zhou Yu, Pang Tong and others; there is Ma Chao, who is fighting in Yizhou; and there is Zhang Niujiao, who has almost completely transformed from a general who was born a bandit to a member of the logistics team.
Even among the generals who fought with their brains, there might not be many who could discover Qiao Yan's intentions like Xun Yu and Xu Shu.
There is more than just a gap between thinking that a prince should consolidate his position as the highest minister and thinking that a prince should become the master of the world.
The only two people who came to Qiao Yan were within her expectations.
One is Zhao Yun.
As the second general who followed her in the true sense, Zhao Yun's independent battles seemed to be few, but he was always regarded by Qiao Yan as a panacea. This was because he was calm and wise enough, and thought more about the current situation than ordinary generals.
This strength is also relevant today.
If he had not fully realized Qiao Yan's intention when Chang Yan was pushed out, then when Xu Shu returned to Luoyang and Xun Yu suddenly had closer contacts with Qiao Yan, and even Chen Qun and others came to Qiao Yan for consultations, even if he had focused his work on sending troops to support Yuzhou at any time and garrisoning Yanzhou, he now noticed something unusual.
This is by no means an ordinary negotiation at the beginning of the year, but more like a sign of impending storm!
When Qiao Yan returned from patrolling the garrison camp in the north of the city and stood briefly on the north wall of Luoyang, looking towards the camp in the north of the city and the Beimang Mountain in the distance, Zhao Yun asked Qiao Yan this question when he saw that the patrolling soldiers around him could not hear their conversation.
"Zilong, what do you think this means?"
Qiao Yan looked towards Zhao Yun and saw that this general, who already had a mature demeanor, was also looking towards the distant green mountains in the same direction as she had before, with a bit of confusion in his eyes.
Hearing Qiao Yan's question, Zhao Yun replied, "When I first followed you, it was to capture the bandits in Taihang Mountain. Because of your efforts to educate the bandits and stabilize people's livelihood, I stayed in Leping and followed you. During the drought in the second year of Zhongping, you risked your own life and shot the governor with an arrow, so Zhao Yun served you wholeheartedly."
"In the past, when you attacked Liangzhou, you used the Lushui River Basin as a farming base and mixed the Lushui Qiang people in Wuwei County with the Han army, so that the people of Liangzhou could live together. Although I felt that your actions at that time were more than just borrowing the passage, I never questioned it."
Qiao Yan asked, "What about today? You want to ask me about the way of governing?"
"No, not today either." Zhao Yun retracted his gaze towards the distance and turned back to Qiao Yan. The word "not" that came out of his mouth clearly had a decisive meaning. "There is one thing about you, your Highness. It is no different from when you were in Leping, when you only had the title of a marquis but no official position."
"Back then, you were touched by the people gnawing on tree bark for a living. Today, you also see the suffering of the people. I don't care what you say, my lord. I only care about what I see."
The signs revealed in the current situation seem to be completely different from the teachings Zhao Yun had learned since childhood that everyone should remember that they are Han people, but... so what?
The Yellow Turban Rebellion once broke out in the Han Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Ling of Han. Even though the disturbance caused by the three Zhang Jue brothers was quickly put out by the Han army, the subsequent impact was that the Black Mountain bandits entrenched in the Taihang Mountains threatened the safety of Zhao Yun's hometown of Changshan at any time by wandering around on both sides of the mountain and looting.
These bandits were not eliminated by Emperor Ling of Han, but were captured by Qiao Yan, who tamed them by growing yam and even found a way for them to make a living.
When Liu Xie was the emperor, all he could do was to serve as Dong Zhuo's puppet and beg for an opportunity to open warehouses and provide relief to the people when natural disasters occurred. But he couldn't even control his own destiny, so how could he really help a few people by distributing grain?
In sharp contrast to him was Qiao Yan, who at that time had quelled the century-long Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou through inter-state trade.
As for Liu Yu——
In those days, Zhao Yun, under the instruction of Qiao Yan, stationed troops and practiced martial arts in Guanzhong. Anyone who thought that he was just conducting military training for those who came to join the army would be underestimating him.
Zhao Yun could almost tell the resume and background of every soldier who was considered to be of high rank in the military camp. Even for these people, even though Zhao Yun had already gone to Luoyang to station troops under Qiao Yan's arrangement, they still regarded Zhao Yun as their superior and a general whom they particularly admired.
So shortly after Shisun Rui replaced Wei Ji, someone sent a letter to Zhao Yun.
Although it seemed to be just an ordinary arrangement at the moment, and it didn't even need to be reported to Qiao Yan, all of Shisun Rui's small actions happened under Liu Yu's nose, but he obviously couldn't do anything to stop it. In a sense, it was also a failure for him as the emperor.
But Qiao Yan is different.
Although she handed over the military power in various places to the generals she trusted, her early achievements in battles and her well-managed command, together with the intelligence system that had already been laid out, enabled her to always maintain a high reputation in the army and enable her to take back the military power into her own hands at any time.
It is said that severe punishments should be used in times of chaos, but severe punishments are by no means a fundamental solution. What really matters is that there is a wise ruler in times of chaos.
"Zilong?" Qiao Yan saw him suddenly stop, as if he had fallen into deep thought inadvertently.
Zhao Yun quickly replied: "I was just thinking, if my guess is correct, you should pay attention to the unusual movements in Youfufeng and Chang'an."
Dong Zhuo might have been in danger of death because of Li Jue's seizure of power. If Qiao Yan had not been on guard against Wang Yun, Shisun Rui and others, a similar situation might have occurred.
Hearing what Zhao Yun said, Qiao Yan couldn't help but smile knowingly.
The fact that he gave such a reminder meant that he had already made a choice between protecting the Han Dynasty and joining her in rebellion.
For a prudent person who would not easily reveal his thoughts, such a choice would never be easily changed.
So she didn't mind revealing some more information to Zhao Yun.
Facing the worried look on the young man's face, Qiao Yan replied, "I know."
"I know that Prince Master and the others helped Prince Yang with his little tricks. I also know that these guys are only thinking about killing me as soon as possible. I also know that since they don't have the ability to really compete with me head-on, all they can do is use some shady tricks behind the scenes."
Although Zhao Yun had made some guesses when the news spread from Chang'an to Luoyang, when he actually heard Qiao Yan admit that Chang'an was targeting her, he still felt an extreme anger in an instant.
How dare they!
When they were sitting firmly in Chang'an, if it were not for Qiao Yan, they would have already become victims of Dong Zhuo's butcher knife, or the spoils of Gongsun Zan's conquest of Youzhou.
Even if they had not died at that time, if Qiao Yan had not built various barriers around Chang'an and gradually recovered the land of every state and county in the world, they would have immediately faced the Qiang people from Liangzhou who followed the rules of the past hundred years and raided the three prefectures, the famine caused by the drought, and even Yuan Shao who came to the Chang'an court and detained them in prison, so that they could no longer enjoy the wealth and prosperity at this moment.
But what they did was a despicable act of repaying kindness with enmity!
"them……"
"Zilong, there is no need to be so angry." Qiao Yan interrupted Zhao Yun and continued, "The position of Grand Marshal is a double-edged sword. When you hold power over other ministers, you will inevitably face more dangerous situations."
Qiao Yan went on to say, "A wise and capable emperor in this world does not need such a Grand Marshal to put his power above the Three Dukes and have them restrict his power in turn. Even if his subordinates have made great military achievements in conquering the world, they will never be exempted. For example, when Emperor Guangwu was in power, he once lamented that the demise of the Former Han Dynasty was because several generations of emperors handed over power to powerful ministers. Therefore, although the Three Dukes were set up, most political affairs were still handed over to the Shangshutai for handling."
"I'm not saying this method is advisable. In the subsequent generations, this method went too far and instead, the power of the powerful ministers was replaced by the relatives of the emperor. The power of the eunuchs also grew stronger and stronger, going to the other extreme."
"——I'm just explaining this principle."
"The wise emperor is like this, and the foolish emperor is actually the same. The latter also does not want a threat that is close at hand, just like the late Emperor Xiaoling. When his time was approaching, he wanted to use extraordinary means to eliminate General He Jin."
"Since both wise and foolish people will eventually make the same choice, then this is not because the Han people are betraying me, but because I have already placed myself in such a high position, and I have no way out."
Although in today's situation, Liu Yu can be considered neither wise nor incompetent, and there is even a great possibility that he did not put himself in the position of the emperor, Liu Yang was indeed incompetent, but he could not be considered the emperor before he came to the throne, and the final outcome would not change.
As a powerful official, one must bear the negative threats of this power.
Zhao Yun frowned and asked, "But if what you said is true, then the root of the trouble was planted when you took over the position of Grand Marshal. Can't we blame it on Prince Shi and others?"
"That's not entirely true!" Qiao Yan's tone suddenly became a little colder. "Another question arises: Can I not be in this high position?"
"If they think they are knowledgeable people, they can accumulate strength through their achievements in all directions and form a balance with me. As long as there are restrictions and checks and balances, the Grand Marshal can become a general, or just an ordinary member of the three dukes and nine ministers. But they insist on using the skills that only mediocre people can show on the surface, intending to use my death to exchange power for the so-called peace in the world."
"But what can they do? The ups and downs of the past few years have proved that all they can do is to be a minister who does not drag down the country in a peaceful and orderly time. At this moment, they are better at making Liu Xuande in Chang'an successfully board their chariot than at keeping the people alive."
"If we allow them to take power and send Liu Yang to the throne, at best it will just cause the tragedy of Emperor Xiaoling's last years to repeat itself. So -"
“I can only stand on it!”
"The decline of the Han Dynasty was not caused by Dong Zhuo's chaos in Luoyang. The various ills that were difficult to reverse were not only difficult to accommodate a great general to conquer the four directions, but also difficult to give birth to an emperor who could turn the tide, and also difficult to accommodate the people who tried to survive."
"Zilong," Qiao Yan suddenly slowed down his tone and spoke from the bottom of his heart, "Even if this is the sadness of the times, I don't intend to take the initiative to give in!"
Since taking a step back would only result in her being torn to pieces, why would she do such a thankless task?
Since the hope for survival that the common people of the world rely on is in her hands, and not in the hands of those who are only good at playing power games, why can't she raise her arms and ascend to a high position!
"As you said, the soldiers around Chang'an have been silently dispatched under the orders of these people. Once this hidden plan is completely exposed, it will be time to tear each other apart. This is an unchangeable fact. Facts have proved that those officials who should be in high positions according to the old rules are just like this. They have no ability to quell the rebellion or govern the country. Therefore, the reason they initiated accountability was the celestial phenomenon, and the time to launch the condemnation was to trick me into entering the court. I guess the way to deal with these aftermath is just to let an emperor who can take the blame for them sit in the highest position."
"But how can such a man be the man who won the support of the people in the past? He is no longer the man!"
This was not the case long before she was able to rise to the top with various opportunities and even took the position of Grand Marshal in one fell swoop.
Qiao Yan asked, "Zilong, do you still feel guilty now?"
There was originally some reservation in Zhao Yun's question.
He chose to side with Qiao Yan because of their more than ten years of sharing weal and woe, but he still felt a bit guilty towards the Han Dynasty because of his sincere nature.
But Qiao Yan didn't want to continue to harbor such emotions, like Liu Yu, the good old man, torturing himself in the face of an established future.
She also did not want the old Han ministers who took Zhao Yun as their role model to still harbor some unrealistic hopes, for example, hoping that after eliminating "flattering ministers" such as Wang Yun, Chunyu Jia, and Shisun Rui, they would still be able to have a situation where the Grand Marshal and the emperor would rule the world together.
She also hoped that during the subsequent change of dynasties, those who truly belonged to her would be able to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the great cause of pacifying and rebuilding the world without any worries!
Hearing her question, Zhao Yun did not hesitate for long before answering, "No."
Qiao Yan has already given this explanation.
Even though it was not the Han who betrayed her, but the villain who schemed against her, when she had already sat in a position that should not have existed for the sake of the people and herself, the Han was already in a hopeless situation.
The long-standing problems may have been planted during the time of Emperor Guangwu, but it was only because of the hundreds of years of inheritance of the Yan and Han dynasties that they were allowed to continue in various incredible ways.
But rather than letting it drag the people's faith and continue to struggle on the sandy ground, and requiring various decrees that benefit the people to be implemented through approval one after another, it is better to smash the shaky carriage, replace it with a fast horse and set off again.
So why should we dwell in this guilt of "treason"?
Why not forge ahead and do our best to suppress the storm of change!
In front of him and Qiao Yan, the vast Mang Mountain was reduced to only mottled spots in the near distance at dusk, and the distant view had become completely blurred and invisible.
In the dim light, Zhao Yun could hardly see her expression clearly.
But what she said next made him seem to be able to hear the expression on her face, which made him feel even more excited. "Zilong, I really like what a wise man said. I have seen a passage of Hengqu Four Sentences in a miscellaneous book, and I still dare not forget it. He said that people should establish their minds for heaven and earth, establish their lives for the people, inherit the lost knowledge of the past sages, and create peace for all generations."1
“If I can really accomplish something earth-shattering, I hope I can share this with you.”
Zhao Yun was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then bowed deeply to Qiao Yan, "Zhao Yun is willing to serve you, the Lord, and I will not regret it even if I die."
These four words "no regrets even if I die" are far more important than any promise.
What he did not regret was not only following Qiao Yan to overthrow the Han Dynasty, but also the subsequent implementation of the new policy, the game with the aristocratic families, the struggle with the local separatist forces, and the struggle against the inherent rules formed over hundreds of years.
Never regret even if you die.
And this promise was made by another person half a month later.
It was none other than the general who Qiao Yan judged would be able to detect the abnormal situation like Zhao Yun.
Fu Gan, the Lieutenant General of Pingliang.
In the battle of Yizhou two years ago, there were sufficient numbers of soldiers entering Yizhou from Yinping Road, and Fu Gan and his subordinates were also thrown into the battle by Qiao Yan.
However, due to the distribution of troops in Yizhou, after completing the recovery of Yizhou, Qiao Yan first asked Fu Gan to go north to Chang'an to report the news, and then after a trip to Bingzhou, he returned to Liangzhou to garrison.
Although Jincheng County in Liangzhou is guarded by Duan Wei for a long time, and the four counties in Hexi have Xu Rong, Ma Teng and others, but compared with them, Qiao Yan obviously trusts Fu Gan more.
Whether it was because Fu Gan had been educated in Bingzhou since his youth, or because Qiao Yan had a debt of gratitude to Fu Gan for avenging his father, or because Fu Gan had a clear enough understanding of who could restore peace to the world, when he was in charge of the central part of Liangzhou, Qiao Yan could be confident about the powerful forces in Liangzhou.
"Now that Huang Yan of the four counties in Hexi and the Huang family behind him have been captured, Your Excellency should be more confident about Liangzhou." This was Fu Gan's opening remarks after arriving in Luoyang.
But Qiao Yan looked up at the young man who was hurrying over, and simply said, "This is not what you should say when you come back to report on your work, but Liangzhou Beijia has already written it to me in his report."
Fu Gan straightened his face and replied, "When my father was surrounded by the Liangzhou rebels, I said two things to him. One was that the country was in chaos, so you are not tolerated by the court. The other was that you should go to the countryside and lead the righteous people. When you see a righteous person, you should help him and save the world."2
Fu Xie didn't listen to a word of these two sentences.
Fu Xie was well aware of the former's criticisms of the Han Dynasty, and he also knew that he would become the prefect of Hanyang at such a coincidental time, and would almost certainly face a death situation. If it were not for the stupidity of the court, such a situation would never have occurred.
But he replied to Fu Gan that he could not rebel against Han, but should follow the example of Boyi and die by refusing to eat Zhou's grain.
Since the former is like this, the latter, which is to assist "the Way", will naturally never be realized.
As time passed, Fu Gan still regretted his father's choice. He also stubbornly believed that his father's death in exchange for his reputation would not deter Han Sui and other rebels, nor would it make the emperor show any guilt towards him. Only with measures like the one Fu Gan proposed back then would there be a chance to restore order.
He went on to say: "I have seen a man of virtue, and I am willing to follow him in his actions, even if I die a hundred times, I will never regret it."
Back then, Fu Gan was still a young man who was willing to be Qiao Yan's vanguard, hoping to get a chance to fight and gain experience. But now, the man standing in front of Qiao Yan has become an outstanding general who has increasingly revealed his foresight in the tempering of current affairs.
The fact that Liangzhou had been difficult to recruit in the Han court for many years had contributed to his already weak sense of belonging to the Han Dynasty. The death of Fu Xie completely wiped out the little that was left.
That's a good thing.
This saved Qiao Yan a lot of trouble.
In fact, there are many silhouettes of border generals in Fu Xie, but some of them are not as recognized by him as he is.
"Yancai, you said something wrong." Qiao Yan replied, "We are not raising the banner to start a rebellion, but are waiting and watching the situation develop, and responding accordingly."
"It is just as you said." Fu Gan smiled and continued, "I came to Luoyang from Liangzhou, so I passed by Chang'an. When I passed by here, I happened to see an interesting thing."
Seeing Qiao Yan signaling him to continue, Fu Gan continued, "Prince Yang asked to climb Mount Hua to look at the moon and pray for his father because his father's illness had not improved in the past few months. In order to show his sincerity in praying, he did not bring any followers with him."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "If he really had such filial piety, he should have been self-disciplined and learned more useful knowledge after coming to Guanzhong from Youzhou, instead of just having the airs and pomp of a prince but not being a role model as a prince should be."
"He knew exactly what he was going to do after entering the deep mountains and dense forests."
Today, Mount Hua is no longer a tourist destination.
Few people have the leisure time to do this these days.
This place is just like the Qinling Mountains, a remote and secluded place.
Perfect for an experiment.
An experiment that is crucial to Liu Yang.
He watched as the device made of gunpowder was inserted into the crevice of the rocks. It changed from a semi-finished product when he got it to its current state, which was somewhat similar to what he had seen before.
As Zuo Ci took action, the long fuse was pulled in front of him little by little.
"Your Highness, would you like to light the fire yourself?" Zuo Ci asked.
Liu Yang laughed awkwardly, and when he thought of the scene he saw at the mine in Bingzhou, he subconsciously took a step back.
So naturally he did not notice that a hint of mockery flashed across Zuo Ci's drooping eyes in front of him.
But the other party's tone was so calm that no emotion could be heard. "Then let me do it for you."
Upon hearing Zuo Ci's words, Liu Yang quickly retreated a distance further away.
The next moment, he saw fire on the fuse, spreading towards the gunpowder bag at a rapid speed.
The moment the fuse completely disappeared from his sight, a burst of brilliant sparks suddenly burst out, followed by a rumbling sound, and along with the sound of rocks being blown up, it rushed towards him and hit his eardrum heavily.
Only half of the explosive caught fire, but the other half produced an astonishing impact force in the violent reaction, blowing the rock where it was rooted into several pieces.
Seeing this scene, Zuo Ci shook his head and said with some dissatisfaction: "The performance of this explosive is still not very stable."
"No...no! This is enough!" Liu Yang looked at the brilliant scene in front of him.
If rocks can be blown to this extent, is it possible for people to escape?
With his limited knowledge, he could be sure that he could not do it.
Seeing this scene, Liu Yang felt extremely grateful besides being delighted.
He was thankful that last year when Yu Ji and Zhang Jin were escorted to Chang'an City for trial, he followed Yu Fan's advice and quietly saved Yu Ji, allowing him to disappear from prison.
When he asked Yu Fan why he did such a thing, Yu Fan just said mysteriously that it had its own uses.
But after a few days, Liu Yang understood.
Because of the friendship between Yu Ji and Zuo Ci, a Taoist priest with magical powers appeared in his house.
Zuo Ci claimed that he knew he could not turn the tide after the defeat in Zhangjin, so he evacuated first. Fortunately, the Mandate of Heaven was with the Han Dynasty, and there would always be a way for him to rise again, which happened to Liu Yang.
Liu Yang was extremely surprised that such an extraordinary person joined his school.
This kind of elusive method could very likely be used to assassinate Qiao Yan.
Because of Zuo Ci's Taoist alchemy skills, he took on the responsibility of researching gunpowder.
Compared with Yu Ji's medical skills and health preservation theories, and Yu Fan's explanation of the Book of Changes and reasoning about the laws of nature, what Zuo Ci brought to Liu Yang was a miracle of turning waste into treasure. How could he not be surprised!
"I heard that last year, Qiao Yeshu had used this kind of strange item to intimidate you in Yangzhou, forcing you to move to Jiaozhou, and almost exiling you without you having done anything wrong." Liu Yang held Zuo Ci's hand and said, "Now, with this, you can get back your face!"
This was enough for Liu Yang to regain all the face he had lost before!
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