Chapter 73 Leping...
Hearing the name, Qiao Yan subconsciously rubbed the jade bracelet on his thumb twice.
Just now when Guo Jia saw her leading the troops to break the formation, this thing was the most vividly colored.
This is the tool used to hold the bowstring.
Since she started learning the art of archery more than two years ago, she has been accustomed to wearing this weapon on her hand. Because long-range archery on horseback and close-range spear combat are connected, she also wears it when practicing spearmanship. Over time, she has developed a habit -
She was in the habit of fiddling with this thing whenever she was thinking.
Guo Jia Guo Fengxiao...
It was a little difficult to connect the young man in front of her who was not even an adult yet with the future genius strategist of the Cao Wei camp, perhaps because she lacked some inherent impressions. But perhaps because she had seen so many influential people in their youth, she was used to it by now.
So after being slightly startled when she heard the name, she just nodded and replied, "I have heard this name from Mr. Xi. Are you here to visit a friend?"
As she spoke she jumped down from her horse.
From Guo Jia's perspective, the county marquis who had seemed to come with thunder and lightning earlier now looked like he was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and his conversational tone made him seem more approachable.
The only thing that made her look a little special was the bloodstains that were still clearly visible on her black tights, indicating that the battle that Guo Jia had seen earlier was not an illusion.
But when her subordinates happened to come running to her at this moment and report the battle situation, her slightly solemn expression made her look still as decisive and resolute as ever.
Only after hearing that all the bandits were wiped out and only four or five of her people were accidentally injured, did a smile appear on her face again.
Visiting friends?
Guo Jia thought that this reason was not bad.
Because of this accident, Qiao Yan did gain a lot of points in his impression.
But being both civil and military, and being able to lead a cavalry team, does not mean that she is worthy of Xi Zhicai's praise.
In addition to recording the guy's leisurely life, he also wrote in the letter:
If the imperial court reinstated the provincial governors, it would definitely not be just Liu Yan and Liu Yu. If Bingzhou was added, this position would have to be held by Qiao Yeshu.
Xi Zhicai did not have the ability to rise to prominence and hold a position in the court, but as a retainer of the governor, he might as well give it a try to compete for the position of a counselor.
That's a bit harsh.
Of course, Guo Jia would not publicize Xi Zhicai's words to the outside world, but when evaluating Qiao Yan, he had to raise the standards a little bit.
So when Qiao Yan looked at him again, in addition to thanking her for saving his life like Mi Zhu, he immediately continued Qiao Yan's words and said, "Jia is indeed here to visit a friend. Zhicai mentioned in his letter that there is good wine in Leping many times. Lord Qiao will not refuse me, an uninvited guest, to go to Leping, right?"
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "Why ask me about visiting friends? Before, there was indeed a barrier in Leping, but it just prevented me from going out, not from coming in. Now even the barrier is gone, and it's the free time after the autumn harvest. If I don't take this opportunity to visit friends, do I have to wait until the snow closes the mountain?"
"But..." Qiao Yan pointed at the Hedong Baibo bandits over there, and said, "Next time Fengxiao wants to come, he should choose a time when the bandits have been eradicated."
Guo Jia heard her confident tone, as if she was sure of victory, as if she was going to wipe out the Baibo bandits in Hedong, who were not simple since Mi Zhu said they were so powerful. He couldn't help but feel curious.
But there was no need to ask such questions, after all, he was here to visit a friend, not to give advice.
He then heard Qiao Yan teasing, "It's interesting to say that when Mr. Xi came to Bingzhou to play, he encountered the bandits from Yunzhong Mountain, and when Fengxiao came here, he encountered the bandits from Hedong. So now you have one more topic to talk about at the table."
However, the bandits from Yunzhong Mountain that Xi Zhicai encountered didn't do anything to him because he was alone and penniless, and because of the ridiculous excuses he made up for himself. But the group of people that Guo Jia encountered...
Qiao Yan frowned.
If the original trajectory had been followed, these Hedong bandits would have become truly powerful in February of next year.
However, probably because Bingzhou escaped the locust plague, it was indeed "comfortable and prosperous" in the chaotic times at the end of the Han Dynasty, while the areas around Hedong County and Pingyang County were extremely bleak due to the locust plague, which caused the further expansion of bandits headed by Guo Tai, Yang Feng and others, and also opened the prelude to the invasion of the Baibo bandits in advance.
Although he knew that these people were far inferior to Chu Yan, who commanded the Black Mountain bandits, in terms of vision, the harm they were causing was real.
The loss of the caravan that Mi Zhu mentioned to her later further proved this point.
They only seek to rob quickly and do not care about causing direct loss of life.
The caravan was attacked unexpectedly. Although Qiao Yan and his men arrived quickly, more than twenty people were killed by the bandits and another thirty were injured. For a caravan of less than two hundred people, it was a huge loss.
Moreover, during the pursuit of the bandits, a lot of goods were used as barriers to block the sword attacks, because many of them contained cloth and silk, which were obviously difficult to preserve in this disaster.
If even small caravans were to be attacked on this road, it is conceivable that the caravans that originally thought that Bingzhou was a place with potential for business would reduce their visits.
This is undoubtedly a loss for her.
Now is not the time of chaos when many princes are rising up, so Leping should not try to stand out too much. Most of the transactions are completed through Jinyang, the transit station. Therefore, she attaches great importance to the pass of Chenguan Pass, and lends Chu Yan and Zhao Yun out after hearing that the Baibo bandits are attacking.
Judging from the current situation, the other side only cares about eating and not fighting, and the four internal forces are intertwined, so the damage caused by the interval is not enough to hurt them.
Even if this force is eliminated today, someone else will send bandits tomorrow. Even if they suffer heavy casualties, it will not be difficult for them to replenish their troops given that it is worse to be a thief than a good citizen in this era.
This is really a trouble!
Originally, the matter of the Han court mobilizing the Southern Xiongnu tribe to go to Jizhou and Youzhou to quell Zhang Ju's rebellion was repeatedly mentioned in the messages Wang Rou conveyed to Wang Yang. With the mediation of the wine transactions in recent years, the left-wing nobles of the Southern Xiongnu still had many complaints. Qiao Yan planned to eliminate the hidden danger here first.
She had only come to the river valley today to test out her improvement in skills over the past two years, and then she would let Chu Yan and Zhao Yun continue to practice with this small group of Baibo bandits.
But obviously given the current situation, this order may need to be changed.
Qiao Yan thanked Mi Zhu and ordered some of his men to deal with the bodies of the Baibo bandits to prevent them from piling up on the banks of the Fen River and polluting the river. He also ordered another group of men to help embalm the bodies of the merchants in the caravan. After thinking for a while, he said to Mi Zhu, "Could you please ask Zi Zhong to find the leaders of this caravan for me? I have a few words to say."
Mi Zhu had originally intended to reach a deal with Qiao Yan for the special fishing rod. Even if the White Wave bandits had not attacked, he would have wanted to establish a relationship with her, so how could he refuse this?
Moreover, out of curiosity and assessment of Qiao Yan, he also wanted to see what she would say to these merchants who had suddenly encountered a catastrophe.
There were many people like him in the caravan who were scattered and attached to the team for the purpose of helping each other. About five merchants died in this disaster, including the leader of the caravan, but the rest were still alive. These people, together with the newly elected leader of the caravan where the leader was, came to Qiao Yan together.
The caravan was robbed, and it was a great fortune to have Qiao Yan rescue us. Even if the whole army was wiped out, in the current environment they could only blame themselves for their bad luck.
Qiao Yan looked at these people and saw that they did not expect any compensation from the provincial government, but some of them still had lingering fears of not wanting to come here again in the future. He had a better idea of what they were thinking.
She said, "According to the criminal law of the Han Dynasty, robbers should be crucified, but this time the robbers are dead, and it is not easy to send their bodies to the state capital, so this law does not need to be strictly enforced. But I need to trouble you to go with me to the state capital and be witnesses together, is that okay?"
What is crucifixion? It is the torture of cutting flesh and bones.
When bandits were rampant, most of the laws were harsh and severe. Although there was a law to redeem death, if the law was strictly followed, these Baibo bandits should really be executed according to this law once they were captured.
The reason why torture is torture is to serve as a warning. Now that the person is dead, there is obviously no way to provide any warning. There is no point in dragging the corpse to the state capital.
The men looked at each other and said to Qiao Yan, "Since you have saved our lives, this is what we should do."
To be honest, although some of them wanted to go home directly, since they were already here, it would be difficult to make up for the losses if they did not sell the Central Plains goods they brought in Jinyang, so they had to move forward.
What's more, Qiao Yan's words meant that she would definitely not withdraw at this time, but would escort them to Jinyang.
There are still two days of journey ahead, and having this shelter by the side makes everyone feel a lot safer.
Mi Zhu was a little surprised that this was the only thing Qiao Yan wanted to say.
But after completing the battlefield situation and setting off for Jinyang, he realized that Qiao Yan's move was obviously just right.
In addition to sending the people back safely on the pretext of letting everyone bear witness, she also inadvertently revealed that the state government had recently been intending to sell goods to the Southern Xiongnu. Judging from the types of goods they brought, this was undoubtedly a way to further recover the losses, so it would be a good idea to negotiate terms with the state government.
As she was leading the reorganization of the cavalry, people could vaguely hear that she had just come out after two years of house arrest and was about to use the white wave to hone her fighting strength.
Her archery skills that never missed a target, as well as the lethality of her cavalry against bandits, were enough to make people believe that this trade route was still possible.
In this progressive performance, although she only said those official words, it made people feel good about her, or about Bingzhou.
The most interesting thing is that, judging from the moderation in her words and actions, she never made any promises from beginning to end, nor did she tarnish her reputation as a county marquis.
Including Mi Zhu, the people she invited to the provincial government to register the robbery case also noticed that not long after Qiao Yan arrived in Jinyang, he was urgently visited by the head of the Jinyang Wang family, and it seemed that he wanted a favor from her.
Although I couldn't hear clearly what the two were talking about, but the fact that the head of Wang family asked for favor in this way showed that Marquis Qiao was very confident!
Being a businessman is all about pursuing profits, which is also what Mi Zhu and Guo Jia talked about before.
Since the Marquis of Leping has reappeared and is walking around in Bingzhou, it seems that he can bring enough benefits to this place, so the loss of the river valley can be put aside for the time being.
They might even be able to use this opportunity to make friends with the Marquis of Leping.
Even though Mi Zhu knew that Qiao Yan's move was a mixture of truth and falsehood, he suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
But Wang Yang didn't know that because he came to find someone at the right time, he actually helped Qiao Yan a lot invisibly.
He really came to see Qiao Yan for an urgent matter.
"How did you make the honeycomb coal that you asked someone to deliver this morning?" Wang Yang asked in a low voice.
He really couldn't help but pay attention to this, to the point where he ran over as soon as he heard the news of Qiao Yan's arrival.
Since the use of coal to smelt iron began in the Western Han Dynasty, most of the coal mines have been controlled by aristocratic families and relatives of the emperor, especially in Shanxi and Henan, which are now divided into provinces.
The Wang family of Jinyang is naturally no exception.
After Qiao Yan's living conditions in Leping County improved greatly, he purchased coal briquettes from Wang's family frequently in the past two years for heating in winter.
Due to the frequent exchanges between the two sides, and the fact that Qiao Yan has fully demonstrated what a top potential stock is, Wang Yang naturally does not mind lowering the price of coal briquettes by another 10%.
Of course, today's coal cakes are not called coal cakes, but graphite blocks.
Wang Yang was a little surprised when he suddenly received the "honeycomb coal" sent by Qiao Yan, but after burning it, he found the difference between this thing and the original coal cake.
Although he immediately realized that this might be the effect caused by the holes in the coal cakes, after crushing one of the honeycomb coals, he could easily find charcoal powder, yellow mud, lime and other substances in it. However, when he tried to mix it back into the raw coal in this way and pierced holes in the honeycomb coal sent by Qiao Yan and then burned it, he found that this thing was still some distance away from what Qiao Yan had sent.
There must be something else in it, something he cannot distinguish with his naked eyes!
If you have to say it, the honeycomb briquettes made in this way can achieve more efficient results than before. However, after having seen better things, how could Wang Yang be willing to settle for the crude version of honeycomb briquettes.
When he thought of the huge profits that this thing would bring, he felt so uncomfortable that he didn't care whether it was a bit cheap for him to come to the door in an inappropriate manner. He also achieved several of Qiao Yan's goals invisibly.
However, Qiao Yan simply replied in a calm tone at this time: "Just added some special things."
Wang Yang felt something was wrong when he heard Qiao Yan's tone.
There was no warmth in her words.
Of course, this does not mean that she has no interest in this transaction. If that were the case, she would not have to send the item to Wang Yang. Instead, it should be said that this item was obviously not something she would casually take out for exchange.
But everyone is in Bingzhou, and the Wang family has coal in their hands. If they really want to do the honeycomb coal business, they naturally have to find people like them. They can talk about the amount of chips, as long as there is such a willingness.
Fortunately, the demands he heard from Qiao Yan didn't seem to be too high.
Although the special manpower she needs is difficult to obtain, there is still a chance for Jinyang Wang family to do something.
Wang Yang couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief and left immediately to make preparations.
However, he did not notice that when Qiao Yan watched him leave, the corners of his lips slightly raised, and then he returned to his previous calm demeanor, turning his head and nodding to Mi Zhu who was looking at him from a distance.
After receiving the news that these merchants had temporarily settled in Jinyang City, she did not hesitate to set off back to Leping County the next day to prepare manpower.
Also accompanying them were Guo Jia and Mi Zhu.
The former is naturally out of the need to "visit friends".
As for the latter, as he frankly stated when he came to the door yesterday, he wanted to do business with Leping on fishing rods.
Of course, if Leping has other things that can be traded with the Mi family of Donghai, then that can naturally be discussed.
Mi Zhu knew very well that he had kept the information secret, which was a mistake that he should never make for someone who came from a wealthy merchant family.
Logically speaking, he could have just gone on a trip to Leping.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a good friend named Xi Zhicai, and his plans were disrupted by a strong competitor that Qiao Yan had placed on the other side.
It has always been the case that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.
Although the Mi family of Donghai is extremely wealthy and has many retainers, it cannot change the fact that it is a force stationed in the territory of Xuzhou.
The only help he could provide to Qiao Yan was money, but under the current circumstances, money was obviously not as useful as the support of local forces.
He also had a hunch that what he could consider as a trading object in Leping might not just be a specially constructed fishing rod.
However, Qiao Yan, who was riding on the horse at this time, was thinking——
Since this tycoon from the East China Sea had not yet become Liu Bei's money bag, she might be able to make use of him.
She didn't even need the Mi family to invest in her sister. She was simply the most conscientious investment target in the world.
Moreover, for Le Ping, whose development is currently restricted by money, there is really nothing more useful than money, so she will definitely maintain a good cooperative relationship with the other party.
Very good!
But to be honest, the things she used to provoke Wang to come to her house were not chosen randomly.
Even if Mi Zhu had not come to Bingzhou, she would have found a way to cooperate with Wang on this matter.
As for what is added to honeycomb coal, to say that it is special is only for today. If it is put in modern times, it is not difficult to understand. It is a combustion aid such as nitrate.
Coincidentally, the land in the lower reaches of rivers such as the Fen River is mostly in a state of nitrate soil due to the problem of sewage discharge.
When Chu Yan and Zhao Yun led their men to fight against the Baibo bandits, they also collected a batch of them as instructed by Qiao Yan, without attracting anyone's attention at all.
Then a batch of nitrates was made from wood ash and saltpeter, and mixed into honeycomb coal.
As for the fishing rod mentioned by Mi Zhu, it was indeed a trading item that surprised her a little.
She had only wanted Mi Zhu to be more certain that Le Ping was a potential stock, but she had not expected that he had even locked on the item for the transaction.
The fishing rod in Xi Zhicai's hand is indeed somewhat different from the fishing rods of today, because it has a special axle device.
It is this thing, which is called a fishing reel in modern times and was called a fishing cart in the Tang and Song dynasties, that allows the line on the fishing rod to be thrown a longer distance, and the line can still be pulled back after the fish is hooked through the reel.
It was a surprise that Qiao Yan came up with this thing.
It was because Xi Zhicai was inevitably free when Qiao Yan didn't need to go out. I don't know if it was because his friend Yingchuan's career in virtual fishing had never made any breakthrough progress that he became addicted to actual fishing.
But I don’t know what kind of empty-rod problem this guy has. His daily routine is to fish for half a day but end up with an empty fish basket.
Out of concern for the mental health of his own adviser, Qiao Yan thought about it and, based on his previous impression of the fishing carts that frequently appeared in ancient paintings, he reproduced it.
She thought that if she couldn't catch any fish on the shore, this long-line fishing method would always be a good solution.
Because of the need for power control in throwing the line, it is natural to continue to drag Xi Zhicai into Leping's training.
It couldn't be better.
Who knew that this thing not only satisfied Xi Zhicai's needs, but also caught another unexpected person.
But it makes sense. An important application of fishing reels is sea fishing, and Xuzhou is close to the sea. With Mi's business acumen, it is only natural for them to set their sights on the sea.
But this is just a matter of buying out the technology. As long as Mi Zhu is given a finished product, no matter whether he can understand the principles behind it or not, it will not be difficult for him to replicate it.
It was also thanks to this son of the Mi family who was somewhat considerate of Xi Zhicai's previous life-saving grace. If he had been a little more ruthless and thick-skinned, he would have directly stolen Xi Zhicai's fishing rod and would not have come to her to discuss business.
In this case, she would have to think of another deal that could be carried out with the other party in the long term and maintain her relationship with Leping.
In the midst of these thoughts, she inevitably overlooked a certain genius.
But Guo Jia was actually quite satisfied with this kind of observation environment where his personal safety was guaranteed and he had considerable freedom.
What made him even more satisfied was that, judging from Qiao Yan's performance, Xi Zhicai obviously did not tell Qiao Yan too much about his situation. In this way, the credibility of the various statements in this guy's letter increased.
So let him see now what Leping really looks like!
I don’t know if it was Guo Jia’s illusion, but when he followed Qiao Yan to this place, he felt that the temperament of this place was very different from that of a county town of the same size.
Of course, he had not yet set foot in the county town at that time, but was only walking on the ridges of the large farmlands outside the county town.
But as I walked slowly along the way, I saw farmers coming and going. The energy and spirit displayed on their faces were completely different from those in places that had suffered from war and famine.
When passing by them, apart from stepping aside because of the respect shown by the county marquis, when he raised his eyes to look at Qiao Yan, the emotion revealed in his eyes could clearly be described as admiration.
This is an expression that is rarely seen between the common people and the marquises who enjoy fiefs of ten thousand households.
At this time, the wheat in the fields has been harvested, and it is time to prepare for winter wheat.
Because winter wheat would be planted in late September, the county residents needed to complete the plowing of each household's land before that. So what Guo Jia saw were wheat fields with only the roots still in the soil.
Although there is no wheat growing in the fields, one can tell from the expressions of the people working in the fields that this year's harvest will probably be good.
He looked into the distance along the field with almost no visual obstruction, and saw the neatly combed and harrowed mountain fields with crisscrossing gullies.
What was originally planted on the mountain fields was probably the yam that Xi Zhicai mentioned repeatedly in his letters, but now these things have also been harvested clean, leaving only a piece of land left for sowing next year.
Also because of this unobstructed state, Guo Jia was able to clearly see that at a higher position, there was a long wall.
Because they were too far away, he could only vaguely see that the wall did not look like it was made of bricks and stones, nor did it look like the earthen walls that are most common in the countryside today. Unfortunately, he could not make out what it was for a moment.
Within this special wall, two parts are clearly formed. Half of the houses seem to have only one floor. From the direction of the ridge at the foot of the mountain, only the tip of the roof can be seen. The other half has some kind of fortress-like appearance and is at least three stories high.
The shorter one couldn't see the outer wall of the house, but the taller one could see that its outer wall was slightly similar to the wall surrounding the outside.
Guo Jia was watching intently when he was suddenly pulled by Mi Zhu and taken aside.
He turned his gaze closer and realized that in the distance there was a group of soldiers in tight uniforms running along the ridge of the field approaching.
If he had not stepped back just now, he would have blocked these people's way in a moment.
His gaze naturally fell on the face of the young man who was leading the group.
He wondered whether Lord Qiao preferred to select people of his own age because he was young and promising. Otherwise, why would he select teenagers who were only thirteen or fourteen years old to join the army?
But this young man is not unusual.
He exuded an unusually cold aura. Although it was still autumn, he exuded an aura that felt like a severe winter.
If Guo Jia was not mistaken, although this boy was young, he must have seen blood, and it must have been in a head-on fight.
Only when he passed by Qiao Yan, his eyes moved, and he led the team to stay where they were, and called him "Sir".
"Yancai, how many rounds are left?" Qiao Yan asked.
After the young man made the number three, he saw Qiao Yan waving at him, signaling him to continue moving forward.
He was not curious about Qiao Yan's guests. He just adjusted the sweat towel on his forehead and continued to run forward.
Compared to this man's cold face, the soldiers following him in the training undoubtedly looked much more enthusiastic.
It's a pity that the leader's temper has been well known to everyone since he came to Leping. It is obvious that he is a person who can train himself to death.
If he hadn't said that his father had said that he wanted a son like Qiao Yeshu, and that he obeyed Qiao Yan's every word, they would have been afraid that this man would lose his life first.
The group quickly disappeared from the sight of Qiao Yan, Guo Jia and others, and they soon arrived at the county seat of Leping.
What surprised Guo Jia a little was that the high combat effectiveness and martial spirit displayed by the members of the entire Leping County did not lead to the raising of the county's city walls, and they seemed to be still in the same state as they were built a few years ago.
But it makes sense. With a team like this that is called training but is actually patrolling, there is really no need to make any additional defenses on the city walls.
He followed Qiao Yan into the county town, and was immediately struck by the cleanliness of the city.
It’s not that every household can use blue bricks to build walls, but there is no equipment and garbage piled up in the corners of ordinary households.
The houses are still the same houses, the roads are still the same roads, but they give people a refreshing and vibrant feeling.
It was at this time that Guo Jia saw two children running at the intersection of the alley ahead, holding windmills that were turning in the autumn wind.
This thin windmill is probably the windmill made of Lepinghou paper that Xi Zhicai mentioned in his letter.
He originally thought that what Xi Zhicai wrote in the letter was a bit exaggerated. After all, even if the other party was giving gifts to friends, he only gave a very small amount. In addition, Qiao Yan did not want to show off his wealth, so Guo Jia really believed that the cost of Leping Marquis paper was very high.
But today, when I saw it, I saw a child holding a windmill in front of the yard. The windmill was made of Leping Hou paper, and it was surprisingly realistic.
What was blown by the wind was not just the windmill in the child's hand, but also a piece of flying paper.
I don’t know if this was fate, but the paper was blown by another gust of wind and directly onto Guo Jia’s face.
It was posted right on the spot.
He immediately reached out to take the paper away from his face, and subconsciously glanced at the paper and found that it was a question and answer sheet.
The person answering the question named Zhang Niujiao is really studying so hard that it makes your eyes hurt.
At first glance, there are wrong answers everywhere on this paper...
But before he could express his feelings, wondering if it was a waste to use the paper in this way, he heard a conversation between two people.
One of them walked away while shouting angrily, "I was reviewing my lessons, and you suddenly showed up and scared me. If you can't find the paper, I'll never forgive you."
"I wonder what you are thinking," another person said with a smile, "I heard that you even wrote the word Ye in Jun Hou's name wrong this time, which is just on the border of failing. If Qiao Hou knew about this, he would have to expel you from school."
The person who spoke first was obviously Zhang Niujiao, the owner of the paper, according to Guo Jia.
After hearing what the other party said, he actually replied in a very confident tone: "It's not that I can't write, it's just that I have great respect for the fire virtue of the Han Dynasty and I dare not write easily."
"You're talking nonsense. When you asked me to make you a grilled fish yesterday, there was no word for fire on the note you passed to me."
As the two men were talking, they turned out of the alley and ran into Qiao Yan and his group head-on.
Seeing his test paper being held in the hands of the strange young man next to Qiao Yan, Zhang Niujiao's expression immediately froze.
"Qiao...Qiao Hou?"
Qiao Yan pinched his brows.
These funny guys! Could you please not embarrass yourself at this time!
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