Chapter 88: White Clothes Enter Luo
Guo Jia was speechless for a long time before he asked, "How could Lord Qiao trust me so much?"
The fact that Qiao Yan chose not to write a letter but to go to Luoyang in person did not exceed Guo Jia's expectations.
It was because the path she was going to take now was definitely different from that of ordinary people, and there was absolutely no one else's path to promotion that she could use as a reference. Her actions this time would definitely be a small fight for a big gain, and she would be in danger at every step.
Yet she actually said she would invite him to go with her.
In such an important matter, any interference from any party may cause her plan to fail, and Guo Jia knew He Yong and could definitely deal a fatal blow to her when she was about to succeed.
This made Guo Jia feel even more uneasy than the mourning clothes she took out when she first came.
But what he saw was Qiao Yan raising the scroll in his hand and saying, "Since you know what I want and what I am anxious about, and have already prepared the Book of All People, you really have the intention to push me to the top, so that this border plan can be implemented. In this case, why should I doubt that you have other intentions?"
"Fengxiao is a young and talented man with a chivalrous spirit of singing wildly and letting his heart run wild. Why don't you have the courage to join me in this dangerous place?"
Why don't you have courage? Why don't you have courage?
In this kind of questioning that cannot be simply defined as a method of provocation, Guo Jia only felt a sense of heroism rising in his heart, and even felt a little regretful that he had not followed Qiao Yan to the frontier and witnessed the scene where she killed King Xiutu by drawing the bow at night.
He leaned forward and replied, "Since Lord Qiao said so, how dare Jia not sacrifice himself to follow him."
Compared with Xi Zhicai and Cheng Li, he is indeed the most suitable one to accompany Qiao Yan on this trip.
Although Guo Jia is from a side branch, he is also from the Yingchuan Guo family. If he wants to help Qiao Yan get around in the capital, it will be much easier for him than the other two in this environment where people are judged first by their background.
Besides, he could have entered Luoyang City separately from Qiao Yan, since not many people knew that he had surrendered to Qiao Yan.
These two advantages are enough.
Qiao Yan knew about this, so it was natural for Cheng Li to not know about it.
So when he came after Guo Jia left, he did not mention any intention to follow, but just explained in a calm tone the general affairs in Leping during the period when Qiao Yan was clearing out the Baibo bandits and the surprise attack on Xiu Tuge.
During the three years, although Leping had undergone various population expansions and industrial changes, Cheng Li, as the Prime Minister of Leping who was highly relied upon by Qiao Yan and also the person guarding the rear, was still able to handle the situation with ease.
Of course, three years was more than enough time for him to see clearly whether his confidence in Qiao Yan was wrong, and whether following Qiao Yan to Leping was the right choice.
It was somewhat of a waste of talent to entrust Cheng Li with the position of a county prime minister, but for him, this was a process of sharpening his skills for three years and reaching an initial level of coordination with his superior.
Now he could draw a conclusion.
After reporting everything, he bowed to Qiao Yan. "Marquis Qiao is going to Luoyang to survive in danger. It is not only for his own survival, but also for the survival of Bingzhou. Please be careful with your words. The passionate words "Ye Shu" have paved a way for Marquis Qiao, but this road also needs to be well controlled."
"I know what's going on with this." When Qiao Yan helped him up, the two looked at each other, and some words were already unspoken.
Qiao Yan has always had a good grasp of this kind of balance. Although she saw a glimpse of opportunity at this moment, she obviously did not lose her composure at this moment. Cheng Li also felt that there was no need to worry about her.
He thought for a moment and said, "I once dreamed of holding the sun on Mount Tai. When I chose to follow Lord Qiao, I seemed to see the sun hanging high in the sky. I think Lord Qiao's trip will be smooth. If there are difficulties, there is no need to panic. Everything in Leping will be the same as usual after Lord Qiao leaves, and there will be no mistakes."
Cheng Li had never been as "lively" as Xi Zhicai in Leping, and he was indeed much older than Qiao Yan's other subordinates. But it seemed that his usual steadiness did not affect his rare heroic emotions at this moment, so much so that he talked about his past dreams.
This sentence... obviously not only expressed his best wishes for Qiao Yan's trip, but also expressed his choice of Qiao Yan without any hesitation.
It is almost a choice that involves betting your life and property!
Qiao Yan was moved, but felt that it would be frivolous to say any words of gratitude or promise at this time...
She replied, "Mr. Zhongde, if I am lucky enough to return, I will be able to travel freely in Bingzhou from now on. Can you please do me a favor?"
"Please speak, Qiao Hou."
"Please add the word '日' above the word '立'." Qiao Yan spoke slowly, and it was clear that his words were not a joke.
Cheng Li froze for a moment in the posture of being helped up by Qiao Yan, and suddenly laughed out loud, "Very good! Changing this word is very good!"
For people at that time, being asked by their superiors to change their names, especially if the change was not intended to avoid taboos, was a good thing rather than an offense, especially since the word "Yu" was bright and brilliant, and it represented real good intentions.
The saying of holding the sun in a dream is embodied in this one word, and the meaning of Qiao Yan's courtesy name "Ye Shu" undoubtedly echoes the word "Yu".
This is the harmony between the ruler and his subjects!
Because of this sentence, Cheng Li had to work hard to control the emotions in his heart. He looked no different from usual and walked out of Qiao Yan's residence.
He thought to himself that it would be impossible for Lord Qiao to return within a few days. During this period, Leping should not be seen by others, and he had to continue to protect it for the Lord.
Of course, Qiao Yan didn't plan to leave so soon, and at least some preparations had to be done first.
For example, Mi Zhu, who happened to arrive in Bingzhou at the same time as Guo Jia, became more determined to make this deal with Qiao Yan after Qiao Yan wiped out the Baibo bandits and ensured the feasibility of the carriage and horse passage at the Taihang Mountain Pass.
After experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it would be difficult for Mi Zhu not to have a very high opinion of a leader as proactive as Qiao Yan.
However, Mi Zhu was quite surprised to hear that Qiao Yan only wanted to exchange the exclusive sale of soap for the low-price purchase rights of a water jade mine in Donghai County.
Water jade, or white crystal, is indeed crystal clear and beautiful, but most nobles nowadays still prefer jade and gold jewelry. Moreover, given that Marquis Qiao is obviously more of a practical man, he probably wouldn't just think about making some utensils and jewelry for himself.
Unlike the state-run salt and iron industries, jade, or more precisely, jade such as water jade which was not appreciated by the mainstream upper-class aesthetics, could indeed be possessed by powerful families like theirs.
This is also equivalent to their assets.
In this way, by exchanging this asset with limited sales for a product with more prospects, how could Mi Zhu not feel that he was getting a real bargain?
If Qiao Yan hadn't added a few more chips immediately after realizing Mi Zhu's expression, this descendant of the Mi family from the East China Sea would have thought that she was setting a trap in this transaction.
But how could he know that during the battle against the Baibo bandits and Xiu Tuge, Qiao Yan became more and more certain that since it was unlikely that there would be a significant improvement in weapons research and development in the short term, the effect of this telescope was truly amazing, and the production must be expanded, not just one or two sporadically, so naturally this item would be the first choice for trading.
If she didn't have this thing, Xuzhou's grain output would also be something she was quite jealous of, so she should change for that.
Fortunately, this is only the first transaction, and the chips will be adjusted later.
Now that he had received Qiao Yan's approval, Mi Zhu no longer had to stay in Bingzhou and immediately set out to return to Xuzhou with the first batch of soap.
Thinking that by sending Mi Zhu away, not only would she have temporarily finished a few of her own tasks, but Xi Zhicai would also have one less job of entertaining others, so Qiao Yan found another job for him.
"Lord Qiao, Lord Qiao," Xi Zhicai shook his head and laughed after hearing what Qiao Yan said, "May I ask if I should prepare a few more letters of apology so that you can use them at any time?"
Xi Zhicai was at a loss for words. The task assigned to him by Qiao Yan was to write another letter of apology before she left Leping for Luoyang.
This...can't be because she was really satisfied with the last letter of apology he wrote for her, right?
If this is true, he can be considered to have opened up a brand new business while working under Qiao Yan.
After pondering for a moment, Qiao Yan replied, "At most one more time."
Hearing her confident words, Xi Zhicai thought about it and decided to take the job. After all, this matter was just a matter of literary speculation. He didn't need to be as careful as when chatting with Mi Zhu to avoid leaking the news that he had become accustomed to in Leping.
Seeing that he had accepted the task, Qiao Yan began to deal with the implementation of the previous first-merit system.
This is not just a matter of distributing food.
Cheng Li had already allocated the grain needed for distribution. Since it was not the farming season and Qin Yu did not have much to do, he entrusted the matter to her.
As long as there is a registered warehouse, the previous 35 stones per person does not need to be deliberately calculated for military merit, and it is easy to distribute.
However, the previous battle against Xiu Tuge was a little more troublesome.
Except for the Hu people who were killed by the cavalry, most of the rest died at the hands of the surrendered Baibo bandits in the front row. However, according to the calculation standard of the first merit system, due to the difference in contributions between the front and back rows, the credit was shared by everyone. Some received half of the credit, some were close to one, and some finally met the target.
Qiao Yan looked at the war merit account book in his hand and couldn't help feeling a little dizzy.
It is easy to deal with those who have completed the task of redeeming their lives. In addition to completing the task of redeeming their lives, they will be given the rewards they deserve, and food will also be distributed to the Black Mountain Army that has made contributions in this battle.
After this reward was distributed, the atmosphere in Leping County, especially in the army controlled by Qiao Yan, became much more lively.
Her verbal promise is naturally not as good as the tangible reward she actually gets.
The temperature had dropped again by then, and the soldiers who had gradually taken root in Leping County looked at the rice and grain they had received and reported it to their families.
Then the only ones left are those Baibo thieves who haven't gotten a single kill yet.
"I don't intend to do anything lenient to the Baibo bandits who participated in the killing of Xiu Tu and his men," Qiao Yan said as he gathered everyone to discuss the matter, "even those who were just a little bit away from becoming good people will be included."
"Rules are rules because they should be enforced impartially, so they should never set a precedent."
Qiao Yan paced around the room with her hands behind her back. The expression on her face made it easy to tell that she would not easily change her mind.
She immediately said, "What do you think? Let them build roads in late autumn in exchange for winter survival supplies, and wait for the next opportunity to go to war?"
This suggestion of building a road had been proposed by Xi Zhicai before, but at that time it was proposed to use the Black Mountain bandits to scare the surrounding prefects, but now the road is actually being built.
Bingzhou's connection with areas outside Taihang Mountain can remain the same as it is now. With such natural shelter, Qiao Yan will feel much more at ease. However, the connections between various parts of Bingzhou will inevitably become closer with future exchanges, so it would be better to make some changes first.
For example, widening the road to a point where cars and horses can run side by side.
If the road had been built in late autumn or early winter, these Baibo bandits would not have been forced to work in such a difficult and harsh environment, nor would they have thought of running away.
However, Cheng Li still needs to pay more attention to the remuneration of this worker.
Cheng Li accepted Qiao Yan's commission without hesitation.
After dealing with this matter, she could finally go to Luoyang to meet the emperor.
However, perhaps because of the recent tense atmosphere in Leping, and the previous battle between Xiutu King and Zhao Yun, in which Zhao Yun and Zhang Yang were unable to determine the winner in capturing the head of King Xiutu, both of them now rarely approached Qiao Yan and mentioned that they wanted to go along.
However, Qiao Yan rejected the former on the grounds that Zhao Yun, as a county lieutenant, could not leave his post without permission, and rejected the latter on the grounds that the horses extorted from the Southern Xiongnu needed to be reorganized into cavalry.
Moreover, it would be best for her to travel with a small entourage, so she even rejected Lu Yuan and Xu Fu who also requested to accompany her.
So in the end, apart from the coachman, she only brought Dian Wei and Guo Jia with her.
As a lucky fellow traveler, Dian Wei didn't quite understand why Qiao Yan specifically asked the carriage to slow down after leaving Leping.
This was obviously not to make the carriage move more smoothly so that she and Guo Jia could continue playing a game of chess in the carriage. It couldn't be that she was reluctant to leave Leping.
But anyway, ever since he came to Qiao Hou's side, he had been slowly accumulating savings. Now, seeing the development of Leping, he could also get some benefit from it. Therefore, except for the popular literacy education that Qiao Hou had forced him to do, he would not use his brain at other times.
From what he saw, he might as well focus on building up his strength and studying martial arts!
Even better, with Guo Jia here, there is someone to chat and discuss things with Qiao Hou, and she won't capture him as a student just because she is bored on the road.
Dian Wei can be said to be quite good at playing badly in some aspects.
Qiao Yan lifted the car curtain and took a look at the daydreaming "bodyguard" and couldn't help but find it funny.
She also heard Guo Jia say: "In late autumn, although there is no leisure to walk on flowers and enjoy the scenery, listening to the rustling autumn wind and seeing the geese flying back in the blue sky is also a kind of pleasure."
Qiao Yan withdrew his gaze from outside and asked Guo Jia, "Why don't you ask me why I didn't rush to the capital, which makes the situation in Bingzhou more urgent?"
Guo Jia insisted on making the chess piece fall, and replied: "Although I don't know what Lord Qiao is waiting for, he is just waiting for an opportunity. Archery also requires a time to accumulate strength and judge. This time we enter Luoyang, we are doing something that has never been done before, so we need more patience. Lord Qiao's talent for change is extraordinary. If he needs to fight fast, he will never do it like this time."
Qiao Yan smiled and replied, "Feng Xiao understands me."
Timing...
She was indeed waiting for an opportunity.
After all, now is the worst time for the Han Dynasty.
In September of the fourth year of Zhongping, the rebellion of the Liangzhou bandits was suppressed without success. Ma Teng and Han Sui jointly promoted Wang Guo as their leader and plundered the three prefectures again.
In October of the fourth year of Zhongping, Guanhu of Lingling named himself "General Pingtian" and invaded Guiyang, and an urgent report was sent to the capital. 1
In the same month, the rebellion in You and Ji could not be put down even after troops were mobilized from all directions. 2
It was also in this October that the Marquis of Leping in Bingzhou came to the capital in white clothes and begged for the promotion of talented people to take up the post of General Du Liao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
