Chapter 56 A Letter
Zhang Yang's political vision was obviously flawed, but just based on what he said at this time, that he thought Leping was a good place to go, it was enough for Qiao Yan to improve his impression of him.
Although he said this to comfort Zhang Liao who was rejected because of his young age, it also meant that -
Leping can now be included as a choice for people from other places in Bingzhou to seek refuge.
This is somewhat different from the situation where Zhao Yun came to her after hearing about her assistance in suppressing the Yellow Turbans, intending to use her power to pacify the Black Mountain bandits.
This largely reflects not any hopes or prospects for herself, but rather the expectations for Leping as a whole.
Bingzhou is home to many military commanders and warriors, which is the result of the threat of the Huns' invasion and the martial spirit in the north. Qiao Yan covets this special resource, but because he is still in a state of keeping a low profile and developing his foundation, he cannot make any moves to expand the recruitment.
But what if someone comes here because of its reputation?
Zhang Yang's words undoubtedly gave her a reassurance.
Regardless of whether she comes or not, being able to be considered as an alternative option in other people's words makes her efforts in Leping over the past few months worthwhile.
Anyway, this is only her first year in Leping.
Qiao Yan could hear what the two people passing by downstairs were saying, and Xi Zhicai could naturally hear it clearly as well. Moreover, because they were sitting opposite each other, he could clearly see the strange light that flashed across Qiao Yan's face.
The next moment, she raised her hand and knocked on the window frame.
Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang had not walked far when they heard someone behind them say, "You two, can we go upstairs and talk?"
Zhang Liao looked in the direction of the voice and saw two figures faintly visible behind the slightly opened window. They were shrouded in the light of the setting sun, making it difficult to see their faces for a moment. He could only confirm from the hand holding the windowsill that the words he had just heard were not hallucination. Judging from the people around him, it was indeed them who were shouting.
What made him feel a little strange was that, judging from the tone of the voice, the person who spoke this sentence was quite young.
But he had nothing that could be coveted by others, and he was confident in his own abilities, so he immediately responded, "Since the nobleman has invited me, I will come."
When he and Zhang Yang entered the inner quarters and arrived at the door of the corresponding mansion, they looked at each other, and it was not difficult to see what the other was thinking at the moment -
The distinguished person who asked them to stay seemed a little unusual.
Judging from the location and size of this house in Jinyang city, it is not a place that can be lived in by ordinary wealthy people. However, there are no servants in this house, only the young man who came to open the door for the two of them. This is clearly different from the nobleman they generally understand.
However, this young man, who was about the same age as Zhang Liao, did not look like a servant no matter how you looked at him.
You have to know that since Xu Fu started studying under the guidance of Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, his chivalrous spirit has not diminished much, but his temperament has become much more stable because of what he has seen and learned.
During the winter in Leping, Qiao Yan's dietary supplements were obviously not just for Xi Zhicai. Xu Fu was also a beneficiary. His slimming and muscular appearance made him look more like a potential celebrity.
But the young man who called himself Xu Yuanzhi was obviously not the most special person here.
Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang then went upstairs and met the host who had invited them.
She was a girl who was only in her early teens.
Probably for the convenience of movement, she dressed in an outfit that was more like men's, but her hairstyle and face did not conceal her gender, which was enough for people to judge.
This is not the most special thing about her.
Although she and the young man opposite her were sitting opposite each other, the relationship of primary and secondary between them was not difficult to know from just one encounter, and this dominant aura made her more like a leader than the eldest daughter of a noble family.
This doesn't seem to be an ordinary performance.
Perhaps because Zhang Yang mentioned Leping, Zhang Liao subconsciously thought of the Marquis of Leping County.
He has always been sharp and observant. Although he did not behave inappropriately at this moment, he could see clearly that what Qiao Yan was reading was a thin book.
Compared to the books made of Cai Hou paper he had seen before, the one in front of him seemed a little different.
But if he had to say what the difference was, he couldn't explain it.
He stopped judging the other party and confirmed that the inviter had unusual ideas. He bowed to Qiao Yan and said, "I am Zhang Liao from Yanmen, and my friend is Zhang Yang from Yunzhong. I wonder why you invited us here?"
Qiao Yan replied, "I just heard here that you two were interested in joining the Bingzhou governor who was about to arrive in Jinyang. Because the governor had not arrived yet, you went to the prefectural governor's mansion first, but were rejected because of your age. I wonder if this is true?"
Maybe it was because the other party was a noble person, but the two of them didn't think there was anything rude about her not introducing her name.
After she asked this question, Zhang Yang replied: "As you can see, although the prefectural government can be said to be following the rules, my brother is already fifteen years old. If we follow the old rules of the early Han Dynasty, we may consider recruiting him into the army. In my opinion, given his ability, it would be a pity if he has to wait for a few more years."
The conscription age in the early Han Dynasty was fifteen, which was in accordance with the Qin system. However, the introduction of this age had its inevitable historical background, namely that the population size in the period between the Qin and Han dynasties was indeed worrying.
However, the recuperation period during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han allowed Emperor Jing of Han to propose relaxing the age limit to twenty years old, which was later postponed to twenty-three. Now, due to natural disasters and border frictions, the age can be advanced to twenty years old most of the time, but fifteen is indeed a little young.
This is not the age required for conscription.
"You say this to me, aren't you afraid that I will arrest you two as thieves who made irresponsible remarks about the prefect's mansion?" Qiao Yan raised his eyes and asked.
Zhang Yang looked at the people in the room and wanted to say that the scholar in front of him looked so weak and helpless, and the young servant didn't look like they could take him and Zhang Liao down. But her tone was firm and she seemed to have something to back it up, so he took his words back.
It is possible that Xi Zhicai, who was sitting opposite Qiao Yan, looked weak on the surface, but was actually a strong man. This was also hard to say.
Zhang Liao was unaware that his companions had made such an outrageous judgment about the people in front of him. He just replied, "Whether or not Zhishu will give another explanation just now, you have already heard the conversation between the two of us downstairs. If you want to capture us, you can do it earlier. Why wait until now?"
This is a more dangerous distance for Qiao Yan. It is not impossible for a common man to be so angry that blood splatters five steps away.
Qiao Yan studied Zhang Liao's expression and showed some approval in his words, "Just based on what you said, it is certain that the Taiyuan Prefecture's government made a wrong choice by refusing to let you in."
It was not difficult for her to guess that it was precisely because of this narrow-minded view on age that Zhang Liao was not appointed until Ding Yuan took office as the Governor of Bingzhou.
This is really a pity for such a talented general.
After pondering for a while, she asked, "If I have a way to get you two employed in the governor's office, what do you think?"
Although Zhang Liao wanted to prove that he had great potential at a young age by joining the governor's office, he was not just seeking this result.
He asked in a deep voice: "If it is as you said, this is naturally a good thing for me and my uncle, but how will it benefit you?"
He didn't really believe that he had anything unique that would make the other party give him all the help he could because they thought he had great potential.
Qiao Yan could easily tell what he was thinking from the childish face in front of him, and replied, "You said you didn't want to see the beautiful jade covered in dust, and you wanted to let the hero waste his time when Bingzhou is in danger of being invaded by the barbarians. I'm afraid you won't believe it, so why not speak frankly?"
"I would like to use the opportunity of supporting you to see if this new governor is worthy of my assistance."
This really sounds a bit shameless.
She is even much younger than the person she claims to "support".
But Qiao Yan's next words directly dispelled the doubts in Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang's hearts, "I am the Marquis of Leping County."
This answer was enough to make one understand her actions.
It’s no surprise that he is the Marquis of Leping County.
Since her fiefdom was in Bingzhou, she naturally had to worry about the future of Bingzhou.
But Zhang Yang felt a little embarrassed no matter how he thought about it. He had just suggested to Zhang Liao that he could go to Leping first, and it seemed as if he was treating the other party as a backup option. But now he was standing in front of Qiao Yan himself.
Fortunately, the other party's eyes were more focused on Zhang Liao's face, and he continued, "I want to give you a merit, and let you take this merit as a token of your loyalty to the emperor to see if the new governor can use you. To be more precise, I want to see if he values young people enough."
Seeing that Zhang Liao wanted to say something, Qiao Yan raised his hand and added, "You don't have to think that I am giving you something out of thin air. At most, I am giving you an idea and providing a little help. Whether you can get this thing depends on your performance."
"Before that, I have to confirm that you can actually accomplish this task without losing your life in vain."
She had said it so thoughtfully that Zhang Liao savored the meaning of her words and realized that there seemed no need for him to refuse.
If what she said was true, if he didn't have the ability, it would be difficult for him to rise to the top even if he met a noble person. The other party only gave him a way to get ahead.
Moreover, this matter is obviously not only beneficial to Zhang Liao, but also Qiao Yan is paving the way for his own future.
Because county marquises were rare, even though Yunzhong and Yanmen were both counties in the northernmost part of Bingzhou, Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang both knew something about Qiao Yan.
This county marquis is concerned about state affairs and people's livelihood. So since he is already in Bingzhou, which is plagued by many problems, it is not difficult to understand that he wants to assist the governor of Bingzhou.
Zhang Liao is too young, but isn’t Qiao Yan also not young?
The county marquis is the head of all the marquises. From Zhang Liao's point of view, he cannot rashly make any move to surrender, but chooses to use him, a person she met by accident, to test the waters. This is really something that is easy to understand.
He felt that he had figured out Qiao Yan's idea, so he replied: "If it is as you said, Zhang Liao is willing to accept this test and get the credentials to meet the governor."
Zhang Yang also replied: "I am also willing to act together with my brother. I hope you can show me a clear way."
Qiao Yan looked to the west, which was the direction outside the window, and suddenly asked Xi Zhicai, "In your opinion, is it feasible for them to go to Yunzhong Mountain?"
When Xi Zhicai stayed in Jinyang City before, he went to Yunzhong Mountain in Luliang Mountain. Although Yunzhong Mountain was known as a fairy mountain, there was a group of bandits in the mountain. After he revealed his identity to Yu Leping, he also talked about it with Qiao Yan in casual conversation.
This group of bandits is somewhat different from the ordinary Yellow Turbans who were forced to revolt because of heavy taxes and inability to survive. They are more like bandits in the general perception.
Because Xihe County west of Yunzhong Mountain was occupied by naturalized Southern Xiongnu people and was more powerful in terms of military force, this group of mountain bandits set their sights on Taiyuan in the east, and most of the people they robbed were the people living at the foot of the mountain.
The terrain in the Yunzhong Mountains is complex, and they never stay away from the mountains for long. They only go to the nearest area and return after they get what they want. The governor of Taiyuan has tried many times to wipe them out but has failed.
Xi Zhicai was traveling in the mountains penniless, so naturally he met them.
But whenever he met people, he said that he was looking for a good feng shui spot in the mountains to commit suicide. Even though this group of people acted recklessly, they didn't do anything to him.
Now, when he suddenly heard Qiao Yan's question, he looked at Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang and replied, "I think it's okay."
Of course, Qiao Yan had no intention of sending anyone to die, and he naturally had to first determine the actual fighting power of the fifteen or sixteen-year-old Zhang Liao. It would be a real pity if he let the other party die directly in the bandit's lair, and the bandit-slaying general who would later dominate Xiaoyaojin died prematurely.
Since she did not bring Zhao Yun and Dian Wei with her this time and had no high-level reference, she simply went to find Wang.
Since the mansion has been lent out, it is not really a big deal to just let the servant compete with a young man.
This is what Wang Yang thought.
But after his own guards were knocked down by Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said to Qiao Yan: "If I didn't know that Marquis Qiao and my Wang family have a friendly relationship, I would have almost thought that Marquis Qiao brought people to mess things up."
Zhang Liao's performance was too outstanding.
But perhaps this is not difficult to understand. In the sixth year of Xiping, the soldiers and civilians of Yanmen County tried to fight back against Tan Shihuai's followers, but failed with heavy casualties. This also made Tan Shihuai, who rose outside the Great Wall, feel more and more that Bingzhou could be incorporated into his territory.
Under such heavy pressure, Zhang Liao had no choice but to make himself stronger.
He even had a plan in his mind that if he could not be valued by the governor this time, he would try to start as a minor official in Yanmen County. He had to do something.
The unexpected meeting with Qiao Yan might be a turning point for him.
After defeating Wang's best fighters in Jinyang City, he had no intention of delaying and went straight to Yunzhong Mountain with the "token" given by Qiao Yan.
Just before going up the mountain, he opened the "token" and looked at it for a moment, recalling what Qiao Yan had said to make sure there were no omissions.
"Do you think this method is really effective? Isn't this token too simple?" Zhang Yang came over and asked.
He reacted in the same way as he did when he first saw it.
He frowned and sighed.
What is this...
The "token" in Zhang Liao's hand could actually be considered a letter, but it was a piece of paper torn from the mulberry paper book of Qiao Yan.
On this page of paper with writing, one of the characters "合" was circled with charcoal, and the signature was -
A pattern of bull horns.
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