Chapter 219 Gongsun's Plan
Tian Feng was silent.
He clearly got in with the attitude of being as low-key as possible and not causing trouble if possible, so how did it turn out to be like this?
If we ignore the unexpected case of Zhang Niujiao, although he could be considered a newly naturalized citizen of Bingzhou, no one could see anything special about him.
But now…
He also didn't know whether he should express his doubts about Qiao Bingzhou's vision because his stupid neighbor was actually the manager of this place, or express his regret about his bad luck.
However, neither of these works.
If it was true what he said when he registered before coming in, he chose to come to Bingzhou because he couldn't make a living in Jizhou.
The purpose of working here is to earn enough money to make a living so that he can bring his family to Bingzhou.
So, facing the appreciation of his immediate superior Zhang Niujiao, he should have been ecstatic.
The question is, how should this emotion be expressed?
If someone else were in Zhang Niujiao's position, he might have noticed the abnormality in Tian Feng's stuck expression.
After all, at this moment, because he had no grassroots experience at all, Tian Feng's usually flexible brain was confused.
However, if someone else replaced Zhang Niujiao, he might not be able to think of this method. By conducting an undercover talent selection among the newcomers, he actually caught Tian Feng.
This is also a case of gaining something and losing something.
After Tian Feng told Zhang Niujiao the pseudonym "Yuan Feng", Zhang Niujiao did not suspect anything and directly assigned him a job of warehouse registration so that his calculation ability could be put to good use.
"To be an accountant in Bingzhou, you have to learn abacus." Zhang Niujiao said as he stuffed the abacus into Tian Feng's hand.
Tian Feng had heard of this thing.
But before this device could be popularized, the Taishiling Observatory, which had widely used this device, was packed up by Qiao Yan and taken to Bingzhou with everything from personnel to files to instruments.
This can also be considered something that Bingzhou has but Jizhou does not.
Thinking that he could perhaps regard this as a gain, Tian Feng felt a little relieved.
This promotion is not entirely a bad thing.
However, he then heard Zhang Niujiao say: "It's a pity that I don't know how to do this. You may have to go to the Academy of Sciences."
Zhang Niujiao interpreted Tian Feng's silence as nervousness, and he quickly said, "Don't worry, when you get there, just tell me my name, Zhang Niujiao, and say--"
"You are the one I chose as my future confidant. You are here to take the abacus training course."
He led Tian Feng through the corridor between the doors of the warehouses, with a kind of heroic manner as if he was leading a patrol of the territory. "Although the amount of goods coming in and out of our place is not too much, we occasionally have to go to the next door to assist in the production of military rations. At that time, we still have to ensure the accuracy of the numbers. Your good abacus will always be useful."
When he reached the end, he pushed the door open, pointed to a group of bungalows at the back, and said, "We're here! This is where you'll live from now on. As my future right-hand man, you won't have to share a place with others."
Tian Feng had to admit that the environment in this area was much better than the place he had accepted after much mental preparation.
But he is here to gather intelligence!
He has risen to a future backbone position right away, how can he leave?
What's more, the academy is adjacent to Leping Academy. With Zheng Xuan's arrival in Bingzhou, many scholars from Hebei came here to see him. God knows whether any of them will be able to recognize his identity, which would be a bit troublesome.
It seems that he has only one solution -
I'm going to shave my beard tomorrow!
In order to help Yuan Shao spy on the internal affairs of Bingzhou, Tian Feng made a great sacrifice.
While he was gritting his teeth to make the decision, Zhang Niujiao had already handed him over to the manager in charge of the accommodation area, and left humming an unknown tune.
Tian Feng glanced at Zhang Niujiao's back again, and carefully asked the manager about Zhang Niujiao's background.
"Don't you know?" the steward replied, "Captain Zhang was originally a Black Mountain bandit. Of course, he has followed you for more than seven years. There is no such thing as a Black Mountain bandit or a White Wave bandit. You just need to know that he has followed you for a long enough time."
Tian Feng replied, “No wonder…”
What he wanted to say was not "No wonder Zhang Niujiao dared to say that he had the ability to introduce him to Qiao Yan", but...
No wonder Zhang Niujiao acts like a bandit who thinks "if you follow him you will have a good life"!
With such a boss, Tian Feng is really starting to have a headache.
"By the way," the manager suddenly said, "the room at the middle door of the accommodation area is the study. The types of farm tools produced here and the corresponding warehouse inspection standards are all there. You can understand it if you recognize three or two words. If you have time, learn it."
"In addition, the clerical staff here will have regular literacy courses. I will notify you of the start time of the course. If you have any questions, please come to the last door to find me."
The steward didn't notice that Tian Feng's eyes lit up when he heard that there were picture books here. He just kept on talking, "Let's go. I'll take you to get your clothes and literacy books first."
"Your name is really strange. The meaning of Yuanfeng is not as good as Yuanfeng. You can't expect to be made a marquis or a prime minister. It's better to have a good harvest."
Tian Feng was almost startled by the manager's sudden use of the word "Feng".
However, the other party obviously had no chance of recognizing his identity, and at this time he chatted a little bit about how Lord Qiao Yan liked to change people's names, so it didn't matter whether he was called Feng or Feng.
That was true. For fear that his identity would be exposed, Tian Feng dared not let his guard down for a moment.
It wasn't until he finally got the door to a private space that he breathed a sigh of relief.
But he now has to face an extremely difficult problem.
It is indeed a good thing to be able to access Bingzhou’s core secrets as soon as possible.
But how on earth was he supposed to get the message across quietly, given the amount of attention he was bound to receive?
This is really a headache.
If he is not careful, he will die here and never be able to return to Jizhou.
I don’t know whether I should say that Tian Feng is pretty lucky.
During the period when Qiao Yan was busy dealing with various states and planning for Liu Yu to become emperor, Zhang Niujiao only applied for an additional place to study arithmetic. He did not even need Qiao Yan's personal approval. He only needed to apply for a pass according to the official procedures of the state government.
Perhaps it was because there were so many amazing talents in Bingzhou that Zhang Niujiao's statement that he had found a capable general did not attract any attention at all.
It’s not because Zhang Niujiao always scored low in the academy’s assessments, so everyone didn’t care much about the talents he recognized, but because he was famous for his good luck.
If it weren't for his good luck, how could he have gone from being a Black Mountain bandit to one of Qiao Yan's first subordinates, and as his years of service increased, he got such a stable job.
Now we have only discovered a few talents, which is nothing.
When Qiao Yan heard that Zhang Niujiao had even invited Guan Hai and Liang Zhongning to drink and show off, he just thought it was just for fun.
At the end of October, Yang Xiu and Princess Yang'an returned to Bingzhou from Yecheng.
Compared to Zhang Niujiao’s joy at having such a talented person, the subsequent processing of the cotton cloth is of course more important.
Listening to Yang Xiu's report on how he relied on his eloquence to refute Yuan Shao's subordinates, Qiao Yan suddenly felt that her previous worry when Yang Xiu just set out that he would not be able to argue with Chen Lin and others was really unnecessary.
After all, Yang Xiu had seen the world in Bingzhou and perhaps could be considered to have inherited her true teachings.
But when he heard him talk about his cousins and uncles, Qiao Yan couldn't help laughing. "I can't afford to take in Yuan Benchu's son."
Yuan Shao certainly would not send Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang here.
She then asked, "But speaking of which, you are so mean to your cousin, aren't you afraid that it will affect the relationship between your parents?"
Yang Xiu replied, "Not everyone in the Runan Yuan clan is on the same side. Besides, my grandfather and Yuan Benchu's father are cousins. There is another layer of relationship between them. This is the first time I call him cousin."
Having said this, he almost couldn't maintain his calm expression.
Who makes this name sound so strange?
Fortunately, while he himself was seriously upset, he also caused heavy damage to Yuan Shao.
But perhaps, in Yecheng, the one who found life more difficult was Fu Wan.
When Princess Yang'an first divorced Fu Wan, she did not tell the whole truth in order to prevent Fu Wan from stopping her from taking Fu Ya away.
It can be said that the divorce was just a temporary solution so that their family's business would not be put into one basket.
Fu Wan originally thought that the eldest princess had gone to Bingzhou and left Luoyang, which was familiar to her, and might not be able to maintain her dignity as a princess.
Bingzhou, which has always been famous for its desolation and chaos, would make her even more haggard.
But this time, he not only saw Liu Hua riding his horse through the streets of Yecheng with his handsome generals in great splendor, looking more dignified and youthful than before.
The cotton coat she wore set a trend among the upper class aristocrats and she received many compliments and inquiries.
Fu Wan also received a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue to him.
Princess Yang'an told him personally that the divorce back then was just a divorce, and they should just treat it as a fake.
Now she is living a very good life in Bingzhou and does not regret her decision at all.
If Fu Wan is doing just like this in Yecheng, it would be better to let Fu De be trained by her.
Fu Wan was very angry.
But he has come to this point and there is no way he can change his position and jump from Yecheng to Bingzhou.
He could only grit his teeth and listen to Liu Hua's accusations that he had chosen Yecheng's side and disregarded the Han Dynasty's reputation, and waited in agony for the day when Princess Yang'an returned to Bingzhou.
Compared to Yuan Shao, who could only see the cotton but could not eat it, the blow suffered by Fu Wan was much more direct.
After returning to Bingzhou, Liu Hua did not take Fu Wan's situation to heart at all, but directly discussed the sale of cotton cloth with Mi Zhu who still stayed there.
According to Qiao Yan's suggestion, the eldest princess should provide the design drawings, and Mi Zhu would raise the price and sell them.
But that alone is not enough.
Not only did she intend to make money from women from aristocratic families by using the gimmick of "the same style as Princess Yang'an", she also needed some nobles and superiors to promote the reputation of this item.
I'm afraid that Yuan Shao will have some psychological trauma about cotton-padded jackets in the short term, so he is not suitable for it, but there are a few people who can do it.
Yuan Shu, the governor of Yuzhou, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, and Sun Ce who was in Yangzhou.
This is the top-down branding effect.
It also allowed Mi Zhu to follow the order on his way back to Xuzhou.
Therefore, the clothing store opened by Princess Yang'an had to design suitable clothes for these three people.
But speaking of Sun Ce...
Yang Xiu reported: "When I was in Yecheng, in addition to paying attention to their garrison situation, I also heard a piece of news that the Yecheng court seemed to have the intention of winning over Sun Ce. However, when Yuan Shu and Sun Ce were fighting before, Yuan Shao had not yet fallen out with Yuan Shu. At that time, Sun Ce took the initiative to attack Yuan Shu, so he was naturally an enemy of the Yecheng court. Now there is an opportunity to win him over."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yan simply nodded, indicating that she understood.
Under the current circumstances, she is not really too worried about it.
As early as the beginning of October, Sun Ce's letter of congratulations to Bingzhou had been delivered.
Under the pretext of rewarding Lu Yuan, she sent a dozen cotton coats toward Yangzhou and also sent a reply letter to Sun Ce.
The letter said in a roundabout tone that the title that Sun Ce wanted would be obtained before the end of the year.
Under such circumstances, if Yuan Shao could not give much support to Sun Ce, why would he be so desperate and stand on the side of the Yecheng court?
If he really did this, Sun Ce would have to bear the charge of being unfilial.
After all, Sun Jian died at the hands of Dong Zhuo and Liu Biao, and Qiao Yan's elimination of Dong Zhuo could be considered as half of Sun Ce's revenge.
If Sun Ce repays kindness with enmity, it would be unacceptable in the Han Dynasty.
Qiao Yan said: "Yuan Shao does not have the opportunity to form an alliance with Sun Ce. Instead, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, was appointed from the governor of Jingzhou by Dong Zhuo. There is no guarantee that he will be replaced due to the change of the emperor. Yuan Shao can try to win over one or two of them and use them as a constraint on the Guanzhong direction."
She tapped her fingertips on the table. "But you reminded me that we are only able to maintain our relationship with Yangzhou because Yuan Shao can't offer a higher bargaining chip, but what about after he gets the title of Yangzhou Mu?"
When she raised her eyes, a sharp look flashed across her face. "We can't always ask for everything from Sun Ce. When he has established a firm foothold in Yangzhou, with the natural barrier of the Yangtze River as a barrier, he won't have to rely on us to gain any fame."
This partnership is too unstable!
Although she wanted to use Sun Ce as a sharp sword to cut down the Jiangdong family, she did not intend to let him be in such a situation where he could develop at will.
The fact that he was successively awarded the titles of Kuaiji Prefect and Yangzhou Governor in such a short period of time inevitably made him less respectful of Qiao Yan.
"…So while giving him the title of Yangzhou Mu, we still have to add a little trouble to him."
Who can take on this responsibility?
If we talk about the people in Jiangdong who could add fuel to the fire within Sun Ce's forces, they were only the aristocratic families such as the Four Families of Jiangdong, and the Shanyue represented by Zu Lang and others.
But these people were not people she could control remotely.
The distance between us makes it very easy for us to get out of control.
Qiao Yan also did not intend to let this behind-the-scenes push damage her image and disrupt her plan.
So both of these are undesirable.
However, there was no rush for the matter now, so Qiao Yan put it aside for the time being, planning to make a decision after consulting all his advisers.
Thinking of the arrangements for Sun Ce, her eyes subconsciously fell on the map of the Thirteen States of the Han Dynasty in the study.
It was this glance that made her suddenly realize something.
How come the rulers of one or half a state on this easternmost line have so many common characteristics?
Sun Ce from Jiangdong in the southernmost part of the country is handsome and funny, so there is no need to say more.
When Tao Qian of Xuzhou had not yet become famous, he met his fellow villager Gan Gong, who had served as the prefect of Cangwu. Seeing that Gan had an extraordinary appearance, Tao Qian married his daughter to him.
Further up in Qingzhou, the nominal governor is Yuan Shao Yuan Benchu, who is now in Yecheng. He was once scolded by Qiao Yan as "all show and no substance", so you can imagine what the situation is. When he was young, he was loved by the elders because of his heroic appearance.
In the northernmost Youzhou, Gongsun Zan was appreciated by the governor of Zhuo County because of his handsome appearance and loud voice. He was taken as a son-in-law, which led to his later success.
She couldn't help but mutter, "This is really a world where appearance matters."
But just as she finished speaking, she saw Yang Xiu, who had not yet left, looking at her with a puzzled look, as if he could not understand why she would make such an exclamation.
Qiao Yan waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to pay attention to this insignificant sigh and should just step back and rest.
But who is Yang Xiu?
Rumor has it that when Cao Cao wrote "yihesu" (a piece of pastry), he interpreted it as "one piece of pastry per person"; and when the military order was reported as "chicken ribs", he understood it as withdrawing the troops. He was a typical example of someone who liked to guess his superiors' intentions.
He may not be able to expand on the answers to the reading comprehension questions.
In addition, Qiao Yan always had hidden meanings in his actions. Yang Xiu felt that Qiao Yan would not just make such a simple sigh.
What does your Excellency mean by saying this?
"When the Lord said this, he was looking at the right part of the Thirteen States map," Yang Xiu gestured, "What's so special about this part?"
Ma Chao, who had become somewhat acquainted with him because of their trip to Yecheng, looked at his actions with a confused expression, "What's so special about it? Anyway, his power is not as great as yours."
"But they are all rumored to be good-looking and beautiful, and our lord," Yang Xiu showed a look of disappointment to Ma Chao, "you even thought he was the image of Lu Bu."
Ma Chao scratched his hair.
He didn't want to have such a blunder as a dark history.
"You mean, we should clarify the image of the Lord?"
Yang Xiu clapped his hands and replied, "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."
But before he and Ma Chao had the chance to implement the means of clarification they had come up with, Cai Zhaoji reported the matter to Qiao Yan.
Zhao Ji was in charge of the public opinion work of Leping Monthly News, and she would know clearly about any slight disturbance.
As luck would have it, Yang Xiu hired someone else and hired her assistant.
No matter how Cai Zhaoji thought about it, she felt that Qiao Yan would not do such a boring thing, so she directly informed the person involved.
Qiao Yan looked speechlessly at Yang Xiu and Ma Chao who were summoned by her.
After listening to Yang Xiu explain the reason to her, she felt that these two guys must have eaten too much to have time to mess around here.
So she handed the two of them over to Lu Bu as messengers without hesitation.
Lu Bu was not in Chang'an at this time.
Because Zhao Yun was already in Guanzhong, Lu Bu was transferred back shortly after Qiao Yan returned to Bingzhou, and he was put in charge of paving the road between Shuofang County of Bingzhou and Wuwei County of Liangzhou, forming a connection between the two states in the north.
At the same time, he was asked to transport the brine from the Jilantai Salt Lake along this road down the Yellow River to Suiyuan City for storage, and use it to dry the pigs and sheep raised on the Great Wall to make jerky, which was also a way to continue to raise military rations.
So in other words, Yang Xiu and Ma Chao were temporarily exiled to the northernmost part.
After hearing the news, Xi Zhicai laughed for a long time, then he put away his expression of laughing at the joke and told Qiao Yan the good news.
"Your Excellency's decision to offer generous relocation packages to the Hedong County aristocratic families to attract residents who want to leave Henei County is indeed the right one."
From his tone, it was not difficult for Qiao Yan to hear the hidden meaning.
Her eyes flickered slightly, "Did you catch a big fish?"
Xi Zhicai replied: "It's not just one big fish. But this is not entirely due to the Hedong family. It should be said that this is a chain reaction caused by the prince's complete removal of Guanzhong."
Seeing Qiao Yan signaling him to continue, Xi Zhicai said, "Two years ago, after Dong Zhuo evacuated Luoyang and went to Chang'an, he served as the governor of Henan Province as Sima Fang, the Imperial Censor."
"This Sima Jiangong is from a famous family in Henei. He mostly pretended to obey Dong Zhuo but actually disobeyed him. Now that you have conquered Guanzhong, he originally intended to come and pay a visit, but because you proposed to make Liu Youzhou the emperor, he temporarily stopped and followed the etiquette and the rule of paying respect to the emperor first."
"But Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, was the first to rebuke the prince, so Sima Fang had to make his position clear to avoid misunderstandings. He saw that the Hedong noble families followed the prince's will and many of them got along well with each other, so he ordered his eldest son Sima Lang to lead the clansmen to migrate from Henei to Hedong."
Qiao Yan asked, "Didn't you enter Bingzhou?"
Xi Zhicai shook his head. "Maybe he wanted to wait until Liu Youzhou entered the Han court and met with the prince. But his second son was sent to the Leping Academy first. Mr. Bo Ji wrote to say that the boy was smart, so he accepted him into the academy first."
When he said this, he was keenly aware of a subtle expression that flashed across Qiao Yan's face for a moment, "Sir?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking, I seem to have heard the name of his second son. If I remember correctly, Sima Jiangong's eldest son was named Boda, the second son was named Zhongda, and the third son was named Shuda. It's the same pattern as Dong Zhuo's family, except that the Sima family's name is Da, and the Dong family's name is Ying."
And Sima Zhongda is Sima Yi!
Her previous guess that Sima Yi might study at Leping Academy actually came true.
I don’t know whether Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, who were at loggerheads in the confrontation between Shu and Wei, would have a competition in the academy.
But what can I say...let the children solve their own problems!
This is what Qiao Yan, who was five years older than Sima Yi, said.
Nowadays, it is the adults who cause her more trouble.
For example,
Gongsun Zan.
When the news that Qiao Yan intended to welcome Liu Yu as the emperor reached Youzhou, not only was Liu Yu himself shocked, but Gongsun Zan also slammed the table immediately.
At that time, he had retreated to Pinggu in Yuyang County due to the defeat after Liu Yu personally supervised the battle. Relying on the Great Wall here, he fought against the pursuing forces led by Zhang Liao to prevent himself from continuing to retreat eastward.
This section of the city wall was almost connected to the Wuzhong Mountain in the south, forming an effective interception barrier and allowing Gongsun Zan to gain a foothold.
So, just as Liu Bei and Yuan Shu in Yuzhou were confronting each other with Woshui as the boundary, Gongsun Zan then gathered his troops and counterattacked and advanced to the Baoqiu River area.
In other words, he and Liu Yu confronted each other from east to west, each occupying half of Yuyang County.
He couldn't stand Liu Yu's gentle behavior. Following the logic that the strong are respected, he felt that Liu Yu should be expelled from Youzhou.
But now, it is hard to say whether Liu Yu can be expelled from Youzhou, since he is about to become the emperor!
What kind of logic is this!
Is it just because he is a relative of the Han royal family?
Gongsun Zan looked depressed.
Yuyang and Hunu counties, separated by only a river, were where Liu Yu stationed his troops.
It was nearly November, and in such cold weather, outside the city of Pinggu where he was stationed was a scene of withered grass.
Looking to the north, you can see the Yinshan Mountains looming in the distance, with only a silhouette left outlined on the horizon in the twilight.
Gongsun Zan looked at this scene, the corners of his lips tightened into a line.
It would be fine if only Liu Yu wanted to become emperor.
In the current situation of the Han Dynasty where there is one emperor in Yecheng and one emperor in Chang'an, it has long been foreseeable that the bloodline of Emperor Ling of Han will ascend the throne and that relatives of the Han Dynasty will ascend the throne.
If I have to say something, it is that in this piece of Yuyang County right under his feet, a few years ago there was a guy named Zhang Ju who rose up and proclaimed himself the emperor!
Having the title of "Son of Heaven" does not mean that Liu Yuzhen has become a person favored by God.
In this case, he could just become the emperor, and temporarily withdraw from the fight between the Youzhou clan and let Gongsun Zan become the master of this land.
But Liu Yu just pretended to be pretentious, to show that he had no other thoughts about the throne, and even claimed that he wanted to quell the rebellion in Youzhou first.
This completely infuriated him!
If Liu Yu refused to take office, then the governor of Bingzhou, who had just withdrawn from the war in Chang'an, would have to continuously pour Bingzhou's manpower into the war in Youzhou in order to achieve his goal of putting Liu Yu on the throne.
This is definitely not good news for Gongsun Zan.
He did not have that many spies in the Central Plains, so he had no way of knowing how powerful the Jue Zhangnu under Qiao Yan's command were.
But he had been on the battlefield for a long time and could fully guess how strong this team was.
Zhang Liao and Qu Yan, who were sent out earlier by Qiao Yan, were already real tough generals.
What if we add Lu Bu, who killed Dong Zhuo in battle? What about her heavy armored infantry that broke through Kuiyuan Gorge? What about the Ma family army in Liangzhou that she had just recovered?
Gongsun Zan didn't dare to gamble on this possibility.
He also knew very well that unless he was really driven back to Liaoxi County, or even further east, Yuan Shao in the south would never send troops to help him just because he supported Liu Bian's position.
Just because he was also a thorn in Yuan Shao's side.
But if he was really defeated to this extent, not to mention that swords and knives are merciless on the battlefield, he would have no chance of survival.
Take the Wuhuan people and the Xianbei branch in the north, for example. They are used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and they may take the opportunity to annex him at any time.
Under such circumstances, how could he wait for Yuan Shao's rescue! So he must save himself, otherwise he will die!
Gongsun Zan couldn't help but sneer.
He should have understood this truth a long time ago.
Because of his descendant of Prince Gong of Donghai, Liu Yu was able to be promoted all the way to the position of Governor of Youzhou, become a minister entrusted by the late emperor, and be appointed as the Grand Sima. After Liu Xie's disappearance, he could become a candidate for the throne, and even perform the drama of three requests and three declines.
Although Gongsun Zan was born into a noble family, he could only start as a minor official because of his mother's low status. Except for the push from his father-in-law, all his promotions were won through real fighting between him and the northern Hu people.
It's such a sharp contrast that I don't know which one is more chilling, the long wind from the northern frontier or the long wind from the northern frontier.
But he was never willing to accept his fate because of the so-called noble and humble sayings!
Gongsun Zan clenched the sword at his waist tightly and took a step forward.
The Baoqiu River, which lay between him and Liu Yu, originated in the north of the Yanshan Mountains and flowed southward until it flowed into the Bohai Sea out of his sight.
The warm light and shadows of dusk fell on the river, but could not cover up the cold light flowing in it, just like the fierce light in Gongsun Zan's eyes at this moment.
It was at this moment that he made up his mind.
He had to let Liu Yu know——
There are never so many good things in this world that you can have both!
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