Chapter 84 Beyond Guyang
The question "How is Leping?" was asked to Xu Huang two days ago, and the answer he gave two days later was definitely not the same.
The impression that Leping gave him two days ago was that of a hunting tiger that had forced him and his companions into a small space. But two days later, after going to Leping...
Xu Huang closed his hands slightly, which were hidden in his sleeves, and felt the touch of something hard.
When he left Leping, a child saw him looking at her windmill for a long time. After whispering a few questions to Chu Yan, he stuffed a paper star into his hand.
According to her, Marquis Leping taught them to fold it when he had nothing to do.
It's impossible to give him a windmill, but I can give him this paper star.
This made Xu Huang feel that Qiao Yan's image was somewhat unpredictable when he saw him at this time.
She looked equally relaxed as she held the special cylinder in her hand, but when she asked the question, "How is Leping?", her words revealed a sense of dominance.
Xu Huang did not like to lie, and there was no need to lie at this time, so he replied: "Everyone has his own home in Le'an, this is the merit of Marquis Qiao, Xu Huang really admires it."
When Guo Jia arrived in Leping, he felt that what he saw was different from other places and seemed particularly lively, let alone Xu Huang.
What he used to contrast with Leping was not Yingchuan in a peaceful state as Guo Jia did, but the Baibo bandits in the mountains.
What made Xu Huang even more shocked at this moment was that Chu Yan also showed off his wealth.
What is showing off wealth?
He led Xu Huang to the granary in Leping!
At this time of year, the amount of food is indeed an important benchmark for judging the strength of a force. In particular, when showing the food inventory to the temporary leader of a less wealthy force, the subtext is, we have money, will you come?
Xu Huang was still a little hesitant, because until he stood in front of Qiao Yan, neither she nor Chu Yan, who had led the way, had made any promises.
Qiao Yan replied leisurely at this time: "I am not the one who grows and produces grain, but the people of Leping County. I am just the one who guards the wealth. For example, the only way for the bandits in the mountains to go down the mountain has been completely cut off, and we can gather and encircle them at any time. In case some people are not satisfied with looting Hedong, they will reach out to other people who have surplus grain."
Xu Huang was shocked.
He suddenly realized that accepting Chu Yan's invitation might not be a wise decision, because the quality of the Baibo Army in the mountains meant that they could never compare with Qiao Yan's Leping regular army without anyone in charge.
The reason he left was not to verify the truth of Chu Yan's words, but to withdraw their last line of defense!
He really shouldn't have forgotten, just because Qiao Yan used courtesy before force, that it was her attack that forced Li Le, Han Xian and others into Yang Feng's territory, leading to the mutual infighting.
But this happened to be the time when he had just returned from Leping.
When he still had the thought in his mind that "it turns out that people can live like this", when he heard Qiao Yan say that they were already surrounded, it was really hard for him to feel any resentment.
Moreover, given the way the Baibo bandits acted, it was indeed difficult for them to stand up straight in front of the Marquis of Leping.
He couldn't help but pinch the star made of Lepinghou paper in his palm, took a deep breath and said, "Marquis Qiao, why don't you just state your goal directly? If you really want to suppress the bandits, you don't have to just guard the main roads, you can just attack the mountain directly."
"You are right, so this is also a choice I give you." Qiao Yan replied, "I am still clear about the principle of eradicating all evil. The food in this mountain is not enough to fill people's stomachs for a long time. In order to prevent Bingzhou from suffering in the future, it is better to wipe you all out from now on."
Although she was young, the majesty she expressed when she said this was undiminished.
With her ability to formulate plans to quell the rebellion and to play the big game, there is no doubt about the truthfulness of her words.
But since she said it was one choice, there was obviously a second choice.
"The second option is to kill someone to save your life."
"What do you mean?" Xu Huang frowned.
This request sounds a bit strange, and it doesn't seem like a condition that the Marquis of Leping would propose.
But the next moment he saw her raise the special cylinder in her hand and point it towards the north, "You can kill the passing caravans and the nobles of Hedong, but can't you kill the Qiang Hu in the north?"
"A few days ago, the people of Guyang County in Yunzhong Prefecture were massacred by Xiu Tuge. If it weren't for the fact that I hadn't completely quelled the rebellion here, I should have led my troops north to fight a more meaningful battle. So now I give you a second choice—"
"Lead the Baibo people to follow me to the war. Those who can kill people in the battle can enjoy the treatment of my Leping people. If they can't, they will be sentenced to death for robbery."
Before Xu Huang could give an answer, Qiao Yan said, "Chu Yan!"
"exist."
"Tell him about the treatment of the soldiers in Leping."
Qiao Yan felt more uneasy about using the White Wave Bandits than the Black Mountain Bandits, especially -
Their bandit style made it easy for them to choose to join Li Jue, unite with the Huns, join Lu Bu, and then turn to Yuan Shu. Even after experiencing such a series of twists and turns and changes of ownership, they were still able to carry out looting and brutal acts in the Xuzhou and Yangzhou areas.
Except for Xu Huang, who turned to the light early and gradually emerged and grew up due to his talent as a general, and became one of the Five Elite Generals, the rest of them all considered themselves victims of the Baibo bandits in the melee among the princes.
So even though Xu Huang was a talented person, and even though Yang Feng, Li Le, Han Xian and others had lost their lives in internal struggles and went underground to accompany Hu Cai, Qiao Yan had no intention of coming up to Xu Huang and holding hands, expressing their mutual admiration for each other, or making any sincere invitation to him to join Leping.
But this is obviously the most appropriate performance at this time.
It was hard for Xu Huang's mind not to be shaken at this moment.
He originally thought that he should not go down the mountain with Chu Yan, but then he thought that even if he did not leave, with Qiao Yan's complete understanding of the situation in the mountain, it would be impossible for them to have any chance to fight back.
Now, after hearing Qiao Yan give two choices, Chu Yan talked about the treatment in the Leping army.
When Xu Huang heard about the reward of thirty stones and the distribution of contributions by team, he showed a look of astonishment towards Qiao Yan.
This alone is enough to make becoming a member of the Leping Army an extremely attractive thing.
What's more, the treatment of soldiers in Leping is more than just this.
Then, killing Hu in exchange for a more promising environment does not seem to be an act of coercion, but rather it seems more like she can obviously kill people directly, but she can also provide them with a recruitment process.
Xu Huang took a deep breath and replied, "I will convey Lord Qiao's words and the situation here to everyone on the mountain. Lord Qiao, please give me..."
"You only have until today's sunset." Qiao Yan interrupted him, "Don't forget, I gave you two days at the beginning, and now more than a day has passed."
The unquestionable determination in her words made Xu Huang believe that this was her ultimatum.
The Marquis of Leping, who had been sitting at the top, stood up and walked towards him, handed the cylinder in his hand to him, and said, "Take a look."
Xu Huang subconsciously followed Qiao Yan's instruction and placed the narrow end over his eyes. After being led out of the tent and looking towards the nearby mountains, he was frightened again.
This cylinder, which has been polished into this shape and has water jade placed on both ends, can actually allow people to see what is happening in the distant mountains. Everything within his field of vision is magnified several times.
Obviously, it was because of this thing that Qiao Yan was able to learn earlier that there was an internal conflict on their side.
Although this water jade is very expensive, there must not be many masters who have such polishing skills, but as long as there are a few, it is enough to make their every move under the nose of this Lord Qiao!
She was not answering his questions, but putting more pressure on him.
Xu Huang respectfully returned the things in his hand to Qiao Yan, and left the tent without saying anything else.
The answer must be given by sunset, and it seems that he cannot delay it, so he can only let others make a decision as soon as possible.
"If Xu Huang can really persuade other people to surrender, can I borrow this new weapon of Lord Qiao for a few more days?" Chu Yan asked immediately when he saw that Xu Huang had already retreated.
He had known that the fortress and workshop set up by Qiao Yan after he ordered those refugees to become hidden households in Leping were unusual, but he had never expected that there would be something like this in it.
If he had this thing, it would be much easier for him to detect movements in the mountains.
It’s a pity that there are only two samples now. One is still being used as a template in the workshop, while research is being conducted on ways to improve the imaging clarity. The other is the finished product in Qiao Yan’s hands.
"Not yet," Qiao Yan shook his head. "I would like you to send the old, young, women and children among the Baibo bandits back to Leping, and during this period of time, you will replace Zilong to take charge of all patrol duties in and outside Leping County. I have to take this thing to the northern front. If you really want it--"
"If nothing goes wrong during this period, I think the next one will be available soon. Then it will be yours."
As for something like a telescope, Qiao Yan could describe its general shape and principle, but when asked to consider issues such as focusing and polishing the arc, she was completely in the dark.
Especially when it comes to the most appropriate magnification for use in mountainous and plain areas, she really couldn't figure it out, so she simply passed the buck to her subordinates and let them do it.
It’s a pity that the only crystal deposits mined in Bingzhou are amethyst. The few white crystals were purchased by Qiao Yan last year after he sent someone to Donghai County to buy them.
So even though these things are not overly complicated, the quantity we have on hand is really worrying.
It was precisely because of this scarcity that when Qiao Yan said that it belonged to him instead of being given to him, Chu Yan was immediately delighted.
Speaking of which, after this achievement, he originally wanted to ask Marquis Qiao to grant him a courtesy name, so that he would not have to always be named Chu Yan, or call him by his nickname Feiyan.
With a courtesy name, he can sound similar to Yuan Zhizi, Long Zhishu and others.
But now…
Now that we have this thing that Qiao Hou calls a telescope, who cares about courtesy names or not!
Chu Yan had just thought of this when he heard Qiao Yan ask, "What do you think of Xu Huang?"
"I have fought him many times. He is a very capable leader, but sometimes I feel that he is not doing his best. However, after he surrenders, any shortcomings will be forced out." Chu Yan replied, "Don't worry, Lord Qiao. The Leping group and the heavy troops we have set up at the pass at the foot of the mountain are enough for them to make the right decision."
In fact, before sunset, Xu Huang had already led his men to make a decision.
With their commanders killed one after another, these Baibo bandits were already confused about the unknown future, not to mention that they were surrounded by Leping Hou's army.
Now seeing Xu Huang coming back, it was like they had grabbed a life-saving straw.
However, what Xu Huang said was a surrender condition that was not so easy to achieve.
But just as Guo Jia and Qiao Yan showed, in the eyes of people at that time, although the Xiongnu and Xianbei were terrible, they were only harassing and bullying the weak on the border. If they went into battle with the regular army, the battle situation over the years had already formed a perception among people that the Hu Lu were nothing more than that.
It is not too difficult to choose whether to fight with Xiu Tugehu or to fight with Qiao Yan at this time.
When someone is at the mercy of others, I will naturally choose the easier option.
In addition, Xu Huang revealed that Leping Hou's military merit system was the first one to be rewarded, and that he could afford to pay rice to redeem it, which gave people more motivation to make a decision.
Looking at the surrendered soldiers in front of him who were even more bandit-like than the Black Mountain Army, Qiao Yan couldn't help feeling a little pressured, but he didn't show the slightest bit of it on his face. He also saw with his own eyes that the military rations sent from Leping to support their march north had already been delivered to the army.
This army, led by Marquis Leping, displayed the demeanor of a group of tigers and wolves after it was fully equipped!
When Qiao Yan raised his whip and pointed to the north, there was a sense of coolness and majesty.
They seemed to be swept away by the sound of iron hooves and footsteps until they reached a place not too far from Guyang County and were blown by the north wind from the border. Only then did they realize that they had almost reached their destination without realizing it.
Of course, this long wind brought not only the breath from outside the border, but also the army coming from Dingxiang.
The person leading this team was none other than Zhang Liao.
Two years was enough time for the young man to grow a lot taller, and he grew up rapidly because of presiding over border battles and experiencing frequent wars.
But these two years obviously did not make him forget that his ability to hold the position of Wu Manganese at such a young age was inseparable from Qiao Yan's help back then.
When he dismounted his horse and walked towards her quickly, it was not difficult to see the respect for her on Zhang Liao's face.
"How is Guyang doing?"
As Qiao Yan asked, he looked towards the north and could vaguely see the outline of the mountains.
To the north of Bingzhou is the Yinshan Mountains, where "the Hu horse is not allowed to cross the Yinshan Mountains." However, unlike the Taihang Mountains where the passes are difficult to navigate, the wide north-south valleys formed by transverse erosion in the Yinshan Mountains are enough for the Xiongnu cavalry to easily enter Bingzhou.
This is also why ten days ago, Guyang suffered the tragedy of invasion without any warning.
"Before Lord Qiao came, we had already collected the bodies in Guyang City and buried them." Although Zhang Liao had been facing border plunder and fighting for a long time, he could not help but hide a deep hatred in his expression at this moment, "But the heads hanging on the wall and the remains in the cauldron under the wall are no longer recognizable, so we can only bury them together for the time being."
During the plunder, the Han people served as food.
This is how the Hu people behave today!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
