For any military general, the act of engraving achievements on stone is an extraordinary accomplishment.

In the past, General Dou Xian pursued the Northern Xiongnu and reached Yanran Mountain, where he carved his achievements into stone, earning his place in history.

Now, when Qiao Yan talks about this victory, it inspires everyone in her army!

Even though this engraving is just at the Xianbei base near Saiyin Mountain, by the only water source, it doesn’t lessen their ambition or excitement.

Qiao Yan chose to place this record at Saiyin Mountain instead of near the Duluo River for good reason.

Although she plans to treat the northern invaders like easy targets for resources, she also wants to consider their feelings.

Since she had promised Bu Dugen to support his rise as the new Xianbei leader, she should give him some space, at least not make him see evidence of the Han army’s presence by the Duluo River every day.

Saiyin Mountain serves as a good forward base.

However, Qiao Yan’s visit isn’t just about recording her achievements.

It has been almost twenty days since she set out from Yanmen County, and if she wanted to return to Bingzhou quickly, it would only take two days.

Especially since she no longer needs to avoid Xianbei patrols and can travel straight back, saving a lot of time.

But returning too quickly isn’t beneficial for her.

She doesn’t want Liu Hong to know about her agreement with Bu Dugen for yearly tribute, as it might raise his suspicions.

If there are any changes in Luoyang next year, before those signs appear, she needs to prepare a reason to head out again and stabilize the northern troops, so she doesn’t receive any news during that critical time.

If Liu Hong orders her to enter the capital and assist in eliminating General He Jin, thus placing Liu Xie on the throne, her plans would be ruined.

Liu Xie might become a competent emperor, but the situation in the Han Dynasty is so dire that something must break for new beginnings.

At this moment, restoring the dynasty seems less meaningful; instead, it would be better to let the first person to break a cup take action in Luoyang.

So, Qiao Yan had to stay in the northern frontier for a bit longer.

After returning to the Saiyin Mountain base, she checked the supplies and defenses to ensure that her stay wouldn’t put her men at risk, which gave her peace of mind.

With these assurances, she even took two days to select a black stone from this somewhat barren land to use as a memorial stone.

Its somewhat rectangular shape made her even more satisfied.

As for Qiao Yan’s “unfocused” behavior, the accompanying generals—

Actually had no objections!

They watched as Qiao Yan used the tip of her iron spear to engrave their achievements on the stone.

Her calligraphy was truly impressive!

Perhaps because she was personally involved in the battle, or because engraving on stone felt more tangible than writing on paper, the characters on the stone were remarkable and bold.

The system, aware of the truth, fell into a prolonged silence upon seeing Qiao Yan’s calligraphy level reach LV7.

Initially, it thought about using extra points to improve her calligraphy, making her more convincing as a strategist.

However, Qiao Yan argued that just enough was sufficient.

With busy affairs in Le Ping and Jinyang, she didn’t have many opportunities to practice her writing.

Yet, just when the system thought this skill was the least necessary, Qiao Yan produced such a brilliant work.

To her, every skill has its crucial moments, and if this could win the loyalty of her generals, it wouldn’t be in vain.

General Dou Xian carved his achievements at Yanran Mountain, with Ban Gu writing the inscription.

Qiao Yan felt she lacked Ban Gu’s literary talent, so she simply wrote a few lines:

“In the fifth year of Zhongping, the Han governor of Bingzhou, Lord Qiao Yan, along with generals Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang, and Military officer Lu Bu, reported on their duties, marching north against the Xianbei. With ten thousand riders advancing, they struck down the Xianbei general Fu Luohan here and pursued the Chanyu into the wilderness.

This is said to:

Under the mighty imperial power, with divine martial prowess, like thunder that strikes and shatters. With territory restored, who dares to covet it!”

Mighty imperial power, divine martial prowess, and territory restored!

The memorial stone left at the Saiyin Mountain base, even when included in official reports to the emperor, couldn’t be criticized in any way regarding Qiao Yan.

After all, she framed her campaign against the Xianbei as a way to uphold the power of the Han Dynasty.

Qiao Yan examined the inscription for a moment before setting her spear down with satisfaction.

Even though her improved calligraphy and engraving skills made her wrist ache from the effort, the results were outstanding.

Zhang Liao was usually reserved, so his reaction wasn’t as pronounced, but Zhang Yang and Lu Bu were different.

Despite being somewhat reckless, they were not illiterate and could clearly understand what Qiao Yan had written.

Even though their names were listed after Zhang Liao’s, seeing the phrase “like thunder that strikes” brought smiles to their faces.

If they could express their thoughts, it would be something like: “We need to memorize this and share it with others!”

If it weren’t for Qiao Yan’s decisive actions, they wouldn’t have achieved such military success or had their names recorded.

Qiao Yan felt this was a unifying act, which was indeed true.

Additionally, staying for another five days was not just for rest and erecting the monument.

Bu Dugen finally received news of his brother’s death, but he knew he couldn’t blame Qiao Yan for it.

He also received another piece of information—Qian Man, fearing the Han army, chose to head east instead of returning and even decided to join the Xianbei faction.

So, Bu Dugen quickly gathered his people, calming the tribe members who had fled due to the turmoil and announcing his succession as Chieftain.

As a result of these actions, the Xianbei court moved further north, crossing the Duluo River.

This made it much easier for them to defend against any external threats.

Afterward, without any delay, Bu Dugen began collecting the remains of cattle and sheep, as Qiao Yan had previously instructed.

Although Bu Dugeng didn’t know why the governor of Bingzhou needed these bones, the skeletons of dead cattle and sheep were useless to them.

Exchanging thousands of these remains for their temporary stability, instead of facing Qiao Yan’s wrath again, was certainly a good deal.

So, four days after Qiao Yan left the Xianbei court, Bu Dugen finished loading the remains and sent them to the border.

They wouldn’t even need to reach Yanmen, as Qiao Yan would take them over halfway.

Along with the remains, she also took the horses used for transport.

The envoy Bu Dugen sent couldn’t discern whether Qiao Yan’s actions were intentional or not, and while he was still confused, she had him admire the stone monument in the pond.

“After I leave, this place shouldn’t be destroyed, right?” Qiao Yan asked, pointing at the inscription on the stone.

The envoy quickly shook his head.

If they dared to do that, given Qiao Yan’s temperament, who knew if she would end up engraving her words on their faces next time?

Moreover, since the monument was just placed there and not in their court, Qiao Yan, as the victor, had every right to do so.

“Alright, then we’re leaving!”

Hearing that the “calamity” was finally heading south of Yin Mountain, the envoy instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

He watched as the 6,000-strong army took the bodies of their fallen comrades along with the cattle and sheep from the transit base, heading south as tribute.

As he saw them disappear from view, he felt that even though they had lost some carts and horses, he had fulfilled Bu Dugen’s trust in him.

He just hoped that this autumn’s tribute would truly lead to peace between them…

Qiao Yan was certainly trustworthy!

With Bu Dugen leading the Xianbei, they were currently her main source of cattle, sheep, and horses, so she wouldn’t take any reckless actions now.

After four days of slow travel from Saiyin Mountain, she finally reached the border of Yanmen County and the outside world.

Since many of her fierce generals had gone with her, the governor of Yanmen, Guo Yan, personally came to defend the area.

What surprised Qiao Yan was not just that the governor came to guard the pass himself, but also that he brought his six-year-old son along.

What was that about?

The young boy looked at the dusty soldiers and then at the herd of cattle and sheep they brought back, his eyes shining with curiosity.

When Zhang Yang lifted him up so he could see the long line better, the boy showed no fear.

Instead, he tugged at Zhang Yang’s beard and asked, “Uncle, did you eat all those bones on the way?”

Qiao Yan heard his question clearly and replied without any guilt about deceiving a child, “Yes, those are our supplies on the march. We’ll plant them in the ground, and new cattle and sheep will grow.”

Guo Yan wanted to say that even though Qiao Yan was only fourteen or fifteen, she didn’t need to be so childlike.

But thinking about this being the first proactive victory against the northern invaders in many years, he felt a surge of pride as a resident of Bingzhou and couldn’t find the words to respond.

Then he heard Qiao Yan ask, “Governor Guo, do you have meat and wine for the soldiers?”

“Yes! Of course!” Guo Yan replied eagerly.

They had been on campaign for a month, and although he knew that with Qiao Yan and her general’s skills, they were unlikely to face serious issues, the lack of news always made people uneasy.

The harsh conditions outside, the possibility of getting lost, and the Xianbei’s history of plundering were enough to cause worry about unexpected events.

Fortunately, they returned with spoils, clearly having avoided heavy battles, though the harsh environment had made everyone look thinner.

This was the best outcome!

Even though Qiao Yan hadn’t yet shared the true results of their campaign, the soldiers who fought so hard deserved good food and drink as a reward!

Before Qiao Yan left Yanmen, he had arranged for wine to be stored in the prefectural warehouse, and now was the perfect time to use it.

Qiao Yan smiled and said, “Alright, let the soldiers freshen up and gather in the training ground. I’ll write a letter for you to send to Taiyuan announcing our victory.”

Not just the soldiers, but even within the expeditionary force, Qiao Yan, as the commander, naturally enjoyed the best treatment.

Still, everyone felt like they were covered in a layer of dust from the journey.

The wind and sand from the Yin Mountain range were indeed… quite significant in their effects.

After Qiao Yan freshened up and changed into convenient attire, she found that the soldiers had already set up many roasting racks and barrels of wine to celebrate freely, as she had instructed them not to wait for her.

While resting at the Saiyin Mountain base, even with their victories, Qiao Yan hadn’t wanted them to celebrate with the Xianbei’s wine, fearing they might become complacent and be attacked.

But now, they could drink to their heart’s content.

The loudest voice among them was Lu Bu, who had already downed two barrels of wine.

He had previously reported on the pursuit of the Xianbei leader, and now, hearing of the leader’s death from Bu Dugen’s envoy only gave him more reason to boast.

He dramatically recounted how he threw his spear while shouting, “I am Lu Fengxian of Wuyuan!” (Fengxian is Lu Bu’s nickname)

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh.

Just as Lu Bu was narrating his next actions, he suddenly heard someone shout, “Catch this!”

He turned to see Qiao Yan tossing him another barrel of wine, which he quickly caught.

However, as he tilted the barrel back, he nearly choked on it.

This wine was far stronger than what he had drunk before.

The soldiers around him burst into laughter, mocking, “Lu Fengxian, you can’t even handle a drink?”

Lu Bu was at a loss for words.