These people were all thinking the same, and most others wouldn’t be an exception.

The famine at the end of the Han Dynasty forced people onto the path of rebellion. Having grain in hand was more tempting than having a mountain of gold and silver.

Whoever had the grain would be the leader; this wasn’t a strange idea.

Although Liang Zhongning, following Qiao Yan’s advice, had drunk quite a bit to make himself look like he was in the mood for killing, he was still clear-headed.

After doing all this, he felt a slight fading of the fear in his heart.

Was it because the alcohol boosted his courage, or was it because—

In a position of power, he too would choose to ignore Marshal Bu Ji, who was already dead, and prioritize his immediate gains!

As he watched these people leave, he turned around to see Qiao Yan stepping out from the streets behind him.

There were still traces of blood on her collar from the splashes at the banquet.

Due to the suddenness of the command action, there was no time for a change of clothes.

The bloodstains were now reflected as a dark red in the flickering light of the lantern she held in her hand.

Liang Zhongning was about to step forward and say, “Sir, you’ve worked hard. Please go back and rest and change as soon as possible,” but he suddenly heard her say,

“Congratulations to the Marshal. I have observed the Marshal’s face, and the crisis of death has been resolved. It is also time for me to retire.”

Liang Zhongning was immediately shocked.

He hurriedly asked, “Why the rush?”

What achievement and retirement? She couldn’t retire!

But naturally, Qiao Yan couldn’t tell him the real reason.

She was in such a hurry because she had to, before Liang Zhongning had fully recovered from the shock of tonight’s events, and before he had a chance to reconsider the flaws in her actions against Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, play out another round of retreat as a form of advancement.

This move had been played more than once, but as long as it was effective, who cared how many times it was used?

Especially this move, which was clearly particularly effective against Liang Zhongning.

With his ability, taking on the role of leader of the Yellow Turbans was already somewhat of a stretch, let alone gathering the three factions to become the grand leader.

He was not afraid that the Yellow Turbans outside the city would rush in to avenge Bu Ji, but the thought of managing the military grain, training, and marching of so many people gave him a headache.

Seeing that Qiao Yan didn’t answer the question “Why?” Liang Zhongning’s remaining alcohol courage disappeared.

“Please, sir, stay here for a few more days,” Liang Zhongning couldn’t help but show too much reliance on Qiao Yan, which might dilute his power.

By suddenly elevating her to this position, all he could think of was—

If before he only needed Qiao Yan to assist him in dealing with the other leaders, now he needed her strategizing and planning skills to maintain the stability of the more than 20,000 people.

But as Qiao Yan said, she only stayed before for that deal.

The Tian clan’s fortress had been broken before, and his army had sufficient grain; with the deaths of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo tonight, there was no longer the issue of power struggles between the leaders.

So, what reason should he give to keep her?

He should send her back to Gaomi.

Liang Zhongning felt that he had never had a moment when his brain could work so quickly to think of a solution.

As Liang Zhongning walked from his original position to Qiao Yan’s front, he had already come up with a reason to keep her.

“Sir, you really shouldn’t leave so early! You must know that your decisiveness is beyond my reach. If there is chaos among the three armies here and I cannot react in time, won’t it inevitably lead to casualties?”

“Sir, you broke the fortress and distributed grain to us, except for the two leaders, uniting the three factions for the sacrifice of the few to save the many. But now, sir, can you bear to see more people die here?”

Liang Zhongning’s words of retention were like a string of firecrackers, fully proving a truth—

Eloquence, this thing, can be forced out.

But his words made Dian Wei, who was following behind Qiao Yan, look stiff for a moment.

However, most of his face was obscured by the night, and no one noticed his change in expression.

The surrounding soldiers also cast hopeful gazes at Qiao Yan, similar to those of Liang Zhongning.

This military advisor, who should not have become the pillar of the army at such a young age, looked directly into Liang Zhongning’s eyes, clearly seeing the anxiety in his eyes.

She was silent for a while before speaking, “I am not a savior, nor do I have the ability to see clearly whether the Taiping Tao uprising is really the way of change…”

This statement was almost like a polite refusal, and Liang Zhongning’s mood was about to hit rock bottom. But then he heard Qiao Yan say again, “But what the Marshal said is not unreasonable. I will write a letter soon and ask someone to send it to Gaomi to inquire about Teacher Zheng’s opinion on this matter.”

She sighed softly and continued, “Until I receive a reply, I will assist the Marshal Liang.”

Liang Zhongning was somewhat relieved to receive this reply.

During this time of war, it was not easy to travel between Yanzhou and Qingzhou.

Qiao Yan said it was easy to write a letter to inquire about Zheng Xuan’s opinion on the matter.

At that time, he would find a way to ensure that the letter was lost on the way!

However, what he didn’t expect was that Qiao Yan, as if determined to consult her teacher, actually sent Dian Wei to deliver the letter.

This was clearly a messenger who would not allow him to tamper with the letter.

Liang Zhongning was extremely frustrated, only able to watch as Qiao Yan wrote a letter, handed it to Dian Wei, gave him enough food, and left the city, heading east, even taking the horse that originally belonged to Bu Ji.

In his heart, he cursed.

That guy might just disappear with the horse and food, but suddenly he remembered that this man still had a friend living a comfortable life in Puyang Prison!

With the prevalent chivalrous spirit of the Han Dynasty, he was bound to return.

Even though he later heard that the two Yellow Turban factions outside the city, after rescuing the grain from the fire scene, immediately changed their minds and proclaimed him the only Yellow Turban leader in Yanzhou, it didn’t improve Liang Zhongning’s mood much.

But… having more people under his command did seem to be quite fulfilling.

Outside the city, everyone divided the grain among themselves, either with their clothes or with cloth bags they carried with them, filling them with millet.

In the situation where their original leader had died, this way of dividing the spoils undoubtedly gave them a sense of security, and they accepted the decision to be disbanded and reorganized without resistance.

With so many more mouths to feed, Liang Zhongning’s original subordinates should have been somewhat dissatisfied.

But unexpectedly, several things happened in Puyang City after Liang Zhongning unified the three Yellow Turban factions in Yanzhou.

The first thing was that Tian Shi, who was imprisoned and was still waiting to be used for ransom, changed his attitude from harshly reprimanding Liang Zhongning to treating him as the future ruler of Yanzhou after hearing about his recent actions and “achievements.”

Qiao Yan did not intervene in this matter.

More accurately, this was a tacit agreement reached between her and Tian Tao.

At this appropriate time, the other party began to play their part.

There were some things that Qiao Yan, who had already elevated herself to the position of a wise and talented person, could not say, but Tian Tao could!

Given Liang Zhongning’s previous social experience, he would not realize that Tian Tao, as a local powerful figure in Puyang, might not even respect the officials of the Shangguan family very much, but would be extremely respectful to him, an outsider.

In fact, this was an extremely unusual thing.

He only knew that the young master of Tian Family, who had previously scolded him to his face, now had to follow his father’s lead, and even regarded him as the next Prefect of Dongjun, a high-ranking official in Yanzhou.

This made him feel even more elated than if he had drunk alcohol.

What made him even more pleased was that Tian Tao’s loyalty was not just flattery towards him.

Tian Tao and the Tian clan, led by him, also used local connections to dig out a lot of usable people and grain stocks in the area.

These changes made it difficult for Liang Zhongning’s subordinates to feel that, although there seemed to be some hidden motives in their leader’s replacement of the other two leaders, perhaps his impulsive killing was also intended to take advantage of the other party’s unpreparedness.

But as long as they could live well, who cared about these things!

With the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou not having to face the Han army head-on and the situation of rest and recuperation, the surroundings of Puyang appeared even more peaceful and stable.

This was the time for spring plowing.

Due to the chaos caused by the Yellow Turbans, a lot of time had already been lost, and delaying further would be too late.

Qiao Yan immediately selected a part of the Yellow Turban army and planted crops on the fields handed over by the Tian clan.

By the time everything was properly arranged, it was already close to April in the lunar calendar.

Then came the second piece of good news for Liang Zhongning.

Earlier, in the county of Dong’e in Dongjun, Zhang Bo’s subordinate, the county magistrate Wang Du, who had been developed, was defeated by the local people and powerful families and failed to take down Dong’e.

Even more unlucky, on his way back to Puyang with his troops, he was killed due to internal conflicts within the army.

After completely controlling the three factions of the Yellow Turbans, Liang Zhongning planned to use Dong’e as a training ground for his troops, so that other places in Yanzhou would know that although he often stayed in Puyang, he had the ability to conquer the entire Yanzhou.

However, before he could send troops, Dong’e had already raised its troops to surrender.

Leader Xue Fang of the Xue family claimed to have marital ties with the Tian family.

Now that the Tian family had joined the Yellow Turbans and followed Liang Zhongning’s orders, there was no need for them to resist stubbornly.

Liang Zhongning was pleasantly surprised.

Wang Du, originally not under his command and long deceased, had no psychological burden in accepting Xue Fang into the Yellow Turban army.

Moreover, Xue Fang was not alone; he brought along strong men from the Xue family, as well as gold, silver, rice, and grains, showing his sincerity.

With these two factors, Liang Zhongning’s position in Yanzhou was undoubtedly more solid.

On the seventh day of the fourth month, the first spring rain fell in Yanzhou.

Liang Zhongning stood under the eaves, listening to the soldiers outside exclaiming with joy because of the rain.

He felt that this spring rain, which came after a year of severe drought, was like a sign of hope.

However, just as he was about to walk into the army, he suddenly saw a familiar figure in the rain, walking towards the courtyard where Qiao Yan lived.

The rain blurred his figure, but it did not affect the martial aura he exuded as he walked.

Who else could this be but Dian Wei!

Calculating the time, if he hadn’t been delayed on the road, he should indeed be back by now!

Behind him was a man over eight feet tall, with a beautiful beard, a face Liang Zhongning had never seen before.

Whether he recognized him or not, the man’s scholarly demeanor was impressive.

Thinking again about what Dian Wei was here for—

Liang Zhongning felt that as long as he wasn’t a fool, he could guess the man’s identity.

This was probably one of Zheng Xuan’s disciples, here to take the military advisor away!

Liang Zhongning nervously clenched his fists.

However, after pacing back and forth under the eaves for a stick of incense, he couldn’t find a reason convincing enough to persuade Qiao Yan to stay.

During the past half month, Qiao Yan had helped him solve problems and commanded the soldiers.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a temporary measure he had to take, and he had really tried his best.

It also made Liang Zhongning feel that if the other party were a bit older, he should be placed in a high position to demonstrate his talents!

If Qiao Yan returned to Beihai, wouldn’t the relationship between him and Tian and Xue families fade away?

Although he now had the support of the Tian and Xue families, he still owed his current position to Mr. Yan’s assistance since the battle with the Tian family began.

But what reason should he use this time?

Feeling frustrated, he didn’t feel as happy about the precious spring rain anymore.

But little did he know, the one who came to Puyang with Dian Wei was not a disciple of Zheng Xuan from Gaomi.

Even Dian Wei himself had not been to Gaomi this time.

The person Dian Wei brought was surnamed Cheng, with a single name, Li. His courtesy name was Zhongde.

Compared to Cheng Li, he had an even more familiar name—

He was called Cheng Yu.

According to the records in the “Book of Wei,” when Cheng Yu was young, he dreamed of climbing Mount Tai to hold the sun.

After being summoned by Cao Cao to serve him, he mentioned this to Xun Yu.

After the battle between Lu Bu and Cao Cao for Yanzhou, it was due to relying on Cheng Yu’s efforts that Cao Cao was able to preserve the three counties of Yanzhou and seize the opportunity to counterattack the entire region.

It was precisely at this time that Cao Cao heard from Xun Yu about this dream and followed the intentions of the dream, renaming Cheng Li as Cheng Yu.

So at this moment, Cheng Yu should still be called Cheng Li.

Cheng Li was already over forty years old, but because of his tall stature and good physical condition, he looked like he was in his early thirties.

Qiao Yan thought about it.

After all, this was a strategist who had lived to nearly eighty in turbulent times.

Even now, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, if he had aged prematurely, he probably wouldn’t have lasted until the establishment of Cao Wei. In this light, it wasn’t so surprising.

However, while Qiao Yan didn’t find it surprising, Cheng Li, who came with Dian Wei, was truly shocked when he saw Qiao Yan’s true face.

Earlier, Qiao Yan had sent Dian Wei away with the excuse of needing him to take her letter to Gaomi to ask for Zheng Xuan’s opinion.

But Dian Wei could head east to Qingzhou or stay within Yanzhou, in Dong’a County east of Puyang.

For Dian Wei to enter the city unharmed, given his martial prowess, was not difficult.

When Cheng Li received the letter from Qiao Yan through Dian Wei, he felt that the other party was not an ordinary person.

Whether it was Qiao Yan’s self-proclamation in the letter, claiming to be from the Qiao family of Liangguo, the son of the late Rencheng magistrate, and now in the bandit camp, intending to use external forces to expel the Yellow Turbans within Yanzhou, or her brief mention of gaining Liang Zhongning’s trust and killing the Yellow Turban leaders Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, temporarily gathering all the Yellow Turbans in Puyang, all of this amazed Cheng Li.

Moreover, the invitation attached by Qiao Yan in the letter made Cheng Li ponder deeply.

At the end of the letter, she asked, “Do you intend to defend a city or secure a state? Let’s discuss it in detail in Puyang.”

Cheng Li was sure that this was not a reason that someone trying to deceive the city gatekeeper of Dong’a would use.

The brushstrokes in Qiao Yan’s words and lines in the letter showed a kind of enthusiasm and spirit, even though they had not formally met.

However, it was not difficult to see.

Even so, Cheng Li didn’t sleep all night. It wasn’t until the next day that he found Xue Fang and talked to him.

Xue Fang, the head of the wealthy Xue family in Dong’a, was not a fool, at least not one who had been called a “fool” by Cheng Li in the previous defense of Dong’a.

Agreeing to return to Dong’a with Cheng Li from Quqiushan, among the people who acted to defend the city, Xue Fang was one of them.

Now, hearing that Cheng Li intended to act according to Qiao Yan’s words in the letter and entrusted him to go ahead and boost Liang Zhongning’s morale, Xue Fang hesitated a bit.

However, after hearing Cheng Li analyze the pros and cons, he immediately made a decision and set off.

This was why Liang Zhongning received this support.

As for Cheng Li himself, he waited until the estimated time calculated from his journey to Gaomi before coming here with Dian Wei.

Along the way from Dong’a to Puyang, the traces left by the Yellow Turban army passing through still gave a sense of horror at first sight.

But outside the city of Puyang, apart from the slightly barbaric atmosphere and a lack of the order before the chaos, there were still figures of farmers in the fields, which made Cheng Li quite shocked.

Seeing Qiao Yan in person, he was truly surprised to see that he was so young.

Cheng Li, who thought he was already over the age of confusion, should not have been flustered when faced with a problem.

However, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you the one who wrote that letter?”

But as soon as he spoke, he realized that he had asked a rather foolish question.

If it weren’t for Qiao Yan being the planner behind it, the Yellow Turban soldiers he encountered on the way here wouldn’t have cast such envious glances at him, and Dian Wei, with his high martial value, wouldn’t have vaguely shown some admiration and submission when he saw hi..

He wouldn’t have seen in the other’s eyes, which had to look up due to height issues, a momentum far superior to that of ordinary adults.

Cheng Li continued, “My apologies for misspeaking. You are not the writer of the letter. Then who else could it be?”

He shouldn’t have underestimated the young man.

With a smile of apology, “I suppose I am not late in coming?”

“Mr. Zhongde is certainly not late,” Qiao Yan nodded in response.

Cheng Li neither came late nor early.

He executed Qiao Yan’s plan very appropriately and timed his arrival perfectly.

This was precisely the time that could cover up the lie for Qiao Yan and confuse Liang Zhongning.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but think that it was comfortable to work with smart people, especially someone like Cheng Li.

Thinking about it, Cheng Li was the first person she had met here who could leave a vivid mark in future history books as a strategist.

Considering his age now, it should be said that his knowledge has matured, and the only thing lacking is practical experience.

Unfortunately, based solely on the gaze between this meeting, Qiao Yan couldn’t tell the depth of his character.

The only thing she could be sure of was that she might not be far from achieving her goal.

She withdrew some of her speculative gaze and continued, “In the letter, I sincerely invite Mr. Zhongde to come to Puyang for a chat. So, why don’t you guess what my next step should be?”

This was tantamount to a test for a colleague.

Cheng Li naturally understood the meaning of her test in her words.

Usually, such tests should be proposed by elders to juniors, but when Qiao Yan asked such a question, Cheng Li felt that it was also a matter of course.

After all, her previous actions were enough to make people treat her as an equal.

He looked around the room and saw a map on the table.

It was just a map that could be seen anywhere in the Han Dynasty, with no markings on it that could indicate her intentions.

But Cheng Li was not afraid of this question.

During the time when Xue Fang set off and he and Dian Wei were still lingering in Dong’a,

Cheng Li connected Qiao Yan’s actions and, combined with the goal of pacifying the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yanzhou,

it was not difficult for him to deduce Qiao Yan’s next move based on his intelligence.

But even he had to admit that if he didn’t know that there were still internal affairs in Qiao Yan’s actions to persuade Liang Zhongning, he might not be able to guess her thoughts.

The fact that the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou were deceived by her multiple strategies to this extent was not unjust.

He took a big step forward, walked to the map, and decisively pointed to a place on the map, saying without hesitation, “I believe your intention is Changshe!”

Yingchuan, the place where the Yellow Turbans fought against the Han army—Changshe.

It was also where the Yellow Turban leader in Yingchuan, Bo Cai, besieged the Han general Huangfu Song!