What does it mean to be granted the title of a Marquis?

In the Eastern Han Dynasty’s five-level ranking system for marquises, the title of County Marquis was modeled after the Western Han system,

Allowing the establishment of commanderies and kingdoms.

However, in typical circumstances, this title was rarely granted.

As a result, the titles of County Marquis and Township Marquis were considered the highest honors within the initial bestowal of titles.

But now, Emperor Liu Hong said he wanted to grant a ten-year-old child the title of County Marquis.

By the Eastern Han period, the population of a marquisate wasn’t necessarily tied to the actual number of households in the area.

Even a County Marquis could have only 500 to 1,000 households under their rule, rather than the average 3,000 households.

However, it’s important to note that Le Ping is not the name of a village but the name of a county in the Bing Province.

Bing Province comprises nine commanderies: Taiyuan, Shangdang, Xihe, Yunzhong, Dingxiang, Yanmen, Shuofang, Wuyuan, and Shang Commandery.

Le Ping County is located between Taiyuan and Shangdang, currently under the jurisdiction of Shangdang.

Previously, Zhang Rang heard the emperor casually mention that Le Ping is situated between Bing and Ji Provinces, with several rivers running through it and fertile lands.

The surrounding place names, like Heshun, Pingding, and Shang’ai, have auspicious connotations.

Hence, it would be ideal to establish a Le Ping Commandery here.

Given this context, Zhang Rang didn’t believe that the emperor would only grant a small part of Le Ping to the child.

Instead, it seemed more likely that the child was being left with room for further promotion.

Currently, the child is just a County Marquis of Le Ping.

But what about the future?

Will he only become a County Marquis of Le Ping, or be given greater responsibilities after the three-year mourning period?

From the words “Le Ping,” Zhang Rang inferred many things.

Emperor Liu Hong was not entirely a capricious ruler who loved and hated on a whim.

He had his own ideas about power dynamics, whether or not they were practical.

Even the eunuchs, who were favored by the emperor and seen as influential by outsiders, had to tread carefully to avoid the same fate as their predecessors who were purged by Liu Hong.

So, what kind of expectations did the emperor have for this child?

“Does Grand Servant Zhang find this inappropriate?” Liu Hong’s tone, which had been casual like discussing daily matters, suddenly turned cold.

Realizing that he had been standing there holding the seal for too long, Zhang Rang quickly replied, “Your servant was just thinking that Your Majesty is truly a benevolent ruler.”

Seeing the emperor gesture for him to continue, Zhang Rang took a breath and said, “Lord Qiao mentioned his wish to serve the Han Dynasty loyally and defend the frontier even in death.

But Your Majesty chose Le Ping for him. Le Ping is shielded by Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Yunzhong commanderies.

Although it is in the border province of Bing, it is unlikely to be affected by warfare, ensuring that Lord Qiao’s tomb will remain undisturbed.

This is truly a great kindness from Your Majesty.”

Seeing the faint hint of satisfaction on Liu Hong’s face, Zhang Rang knew he had said the right thing.

He had reached his current high position due to his skill in understanding the emperor’s intentions.

However, the next moment, he felt he had spoken too much and made a mistake.

Liu Hong immediately said, “Well said. Since you understand my intentions best, you and Zuo Feng shall go to Jizhou to supervise the army and deliver the rewards to the Zhonglang General and that Qiao family’s talented child.”

The lights of the Yutang Palace dimly illuminated the smile on Liu Hong’s lips, but his words sent a chill down Zhang Rang’s spine: “Grand Servant Zhang, you won’t disappoint me a second time, will you?”

Qiao Yan and Huangfu Song were unaware of the political maneuvering in the capital.

Marching in Julu Commandery, the source of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Jizhou, was much tougher than their previous detour through Qinghe.

They had no extra energy to think about these matters.

They had dressed to imitate the Yellow Turbans, but when gathered together, they still didn’t quite look like Yellow Turbans.

Fortunately, the high-intensity marching had exhausted these elite frontier soldiers, showing fatigue on their faces, which added to the disguise.

They placed the more fierce-looking men and young ruffians at the front of the ranks, making the disguise somewhat convincing.

But this alone wasn’t enough.

The Yellow Turbans had established three strongholds in Julu, with additional defensive lines in central Julu, such as Ningjin County and the military camp near Daluzhe.

A group of several thousand men under Huangfu Song was a large-scale movement.

If they couldn’t explain this convincingly, the Yellow Turban leaders in those areas would not be fooled.

Even if these leaders didn’t have high authority, they could still notify Zhang Jiao upon noticing something unusual.

Huangfu Song’s limited forces meant he couldn’t conquer city by city and county by county.

Therefore, they couldn’t afford any mistakes that would ruin their entire plan.

Luckily, they had the perfect cover.

It was Zhang Bao.

Although Huangfu Song had told Zhang Bao he would use his head, for now, he kept him alive.

This is not just a reason to enter the city, but also a way to deceive others on the road.

Even though it was almost May, the climate, known as the Little Ice Age, still brought a deep chill to the nights in Jizhou.

Zhang Bao was not even given a single piece of clothing by Huangfu Song.

He was left hanging outside, and after two or three days of this treatment, before they even reached Ningjin, Zhang Bao had already caught a cold.

Combined with the fact that they used water that clashed with his constitution, despite his earlier confidence in his strong body, he was now running a high fever and had lost consciousness.

This method was more convincing than just knocking him unconscious.

The Yellow Turban soldiers in Ningjin didn’t recognize these disguised soldiers as Han soldiers, but they recognized Zhang Bao.

In the early years when Zhang Jiao founded the Taiping Tao and expanded his followers to preach everywhere, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang also gained a reputation as “great physicians.”

Especially in the Julu area, when it was necessary for Zhang Jiao to maintain a sense of mystery, it was Zhang Bao who came out to promote righteousness.

This was a living proof of his identity.

Now, when they suddenly saw Zhang Bao lying on a somewhat delicate stretcher, his face red and his mind unclear, they were somewhat flustered.

How could they still have the mood to conduct a detailed inspection?

Concerns about General Di’s health naturally outweighed the observation of the identities of these escorting people.

What Qiao Yan found particularly ironic was that the leader among the guards hurried back to the city and brought back a bottle of symbolic water.

According to him, this was given by Zhang Jiao in the early years.

This person thought that this item could be used as a life-saving medicine, so naturally he kept it close to him.

But now that General Di was seriously ill, he felt it was inappropriate to continue to keep it to himself, so he offered it up.

But after feeding Zhang Bao with this so-called medicine, the next day, this minor leader clearly saw that Zhang Bao’s condition had worsened.

Qiao Yan said, “To treat a disease, you must prescribe the right medicine. The talisman water left by the Great Virtuous Teacher for the general contained divine blessings for the general’s illness at that time.

However, General Di Gong ( Zhang Bao ) has been infected by evil toxins this time, so naturally, a different remedy is needed.”

Hearing Qiao Yan refer to him as a general, the small leader hurriedly waved his hand and responded, “I don’t deserve such a title.”

After closely examining Zhang Bao’s condition for a while, he realized that his well-intentioned contribution seemed to have no effect.

He dared not obstruct their plan to take Zhang Bao to Guangzong.

As for the increased number of people—

What’s the problem with that?

The General Di Gong is the second-in-command of their uprising.

If anything happens to him, it would be a significant loss for their side.

It’s better to have a large group working together than to be caught off guard with just two or three hundred people escorting him and facing unexpected incidents.

If the Han army hears the news and sends troops to intercept General Di, that would be a deadly issue.

“Your mouth, Miss, truly has the power to turn black into white and life into death,” Lu Yuan remarked with some admiration after they left the sight of the Ningjin garrison.

Qiao Yan glanced back at her, not sure whether this was praise or a subtle jab.

This woman, who had regained her freedom during the battle at Xiayuyang, indeed did not seem to care about her previous submission to the rebels.

Her words and actions still carried a sense of openness and grandeur.

Now, dressed as a soldier to disguise herself as a Yellow Turban, she exuded even more heroism.

However, Qiao Yan couldn’t understand why she didn’t choose to return to her family but instead followed her, at best a “half” life-saving benefactor.

Fortunately, although she claimed to want to follow Qiao Yan like Xu Fu, assisting her by holding the stirrup and leading the horse, she didn’t show any signs of timidity.

Having a female companion she could talk to was indeed something that made Qiao Yan feel at ease.

She replied, “It’s not that I’m particularly eloquent, just arguing based on common sense.

The idea of gods and spirits, using talismans to save people, is absurd.

Physicians still need to prescribe the right medicine for the illness. How can a talisman cure all ailments? Isn’t that laughable?”

Riding alongside, Cao Cao laughed and said, “By this logic, you despise this practice, so why did you ask Madam Lu to tell you which is the nearest Buddhist temple in the Jizhou area and let Xu Fu take people there? If the person is unwilling to go to Guangzong, you plan to knock them out and bring them here?”

Buddhism had not yet reached the prosperity it would in later generations.

When it was first introduced, there were language barriers, and for those with little contact with Buddhism, some stereotypes were inevitable.

During the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, the crown prince of the Parthian Empire, An Shigao, abdicated in favor of his uncle, became a monk, and came to the Han dynasty to spread Buddhist teachings and translate sutras, thus establishing some communication channels.

Additionally, a monk named Zhi Loujiachen from the Yuezhi country, who was proficient in Chinese, also promoted Buddhism in the Han territory.

But in Cao Cao’s eyes, who had little contact with monks, Buddhism’s introduction to Han was simply because Emperor Ming of Han dreamt of a golden man flying in the palace—a pursuit of worldly blessings.

This was no different from the talisman water curing all diseases, which Qiao Yan despised.

But he immediately saw Qiao Yan smile and reply, “Uncle, you are mistaken. Do you think my approach is using poison to fight poison?”

“Isn’t it?” Cao Cao asked curiously.

“Of course not. But the reason, let me keep it a secret for a few more days.” Qiao Yan smiled mysteriously. “If you notice my previous actions, you’ll see that I didn’t just invite Buddhist disciples.”

Qiao Yan didn’t explain to Cao Cao that Buddhist teachings were not just about seeking blessings.

After all, it wasn’t something that could be explained in a few words.

Her purpose wasn’t to have Buddhist concepts of transcending life and death compete with Zhang Jiao’s divine talisman water but rather had other plans in mind.

Hearing this, Cao Cao pondered over Qiao Yan’s previous actions.

He quickly realized that since they left Changshe, she had indeed exhibited some strange behaviors.

Once, still within the borders of Yanzhou and before they even reached the Kingdom of Liang, she discussed with Huangfu Song about selecting a few elite soldiers to travel to Peiguo’s Qiao County.

Peiguo’s Qiao County was Cao Cao’s hometown, but he couldn’t fathom that Qiao Yan’s action was meant to pay respects to his ancestors.

Later, upon arriving in Dong’a, she had Huangfu Song send people to Qingzhou.

By his count, this was the third time she had dispatched people without explaining her reasons.

Now, her reminder naturally piqued Cao Cao’s curiosity.

Seeing Cao Cao’s eager expression, Qiao Yan simply pointed ahead and said, “Uncle, if you truly want to understand my intentions, it would be best to assist General Huangfu in capturing Guangzong quickly. You will understand everything then.”

She carried a confident and composed demeanor, making it clear that she wasn’t going to explain everything out of mere courtesy for seniority, which left Cao Cao somewhat frustrated.

However, this younger companion was not easy to deceive.

He had already seen this clearly when he invited her to visit the Xun family in Changshe.

Cao Cao had a solid understanding and wasn’t surprised by her behavior.

To his mind, Huangfu Song might know what she was up to.

But since Qiao Yan had repeatedly made significant contributions, her status in Huangfu Song’s eyes had risen considerably.

Compared to him, who had “forgotten” to mention her gender in his reports, she was certainly more favored.

Therefore, Huangfu Song was unlikely to reveal her plans.

Furthermore, as the chief commander of this campaign, Huangfu Song had the responsibility of planning and preparing for battle.

The closer they got to Guangzong and Quzhou, the more tense he became.

It was indeed inappropriate to disturb him with such inquiries at this time.

At this critical moment, the commander indeed found it difficult to relax his mind.

With Xiayuyang already taken, although there were still two leaders, Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang, within Jizhou, the crux of the matter lay in the battle of Guangzong.

Whether they could seize this opportunity to deliver a decisive blow, achieving complete victory in one stroke, and secure titles and rewards for quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion—thus engraving their names in history—depended entirely on this battle!

This undoubtedly placed immense pressure on him.

When they reached the lower part of Julu Commandery at Daluze, he was completely sleepless.

Leaving his tent, he walked towards the lake, the moist air from the water hitting his face.

As he neared the lake, he realized he was not the only one awake.

Under the moonlight by the lakeside, two figures stood.

Their stance was peculiar.

Huangfu Song saw clearly that they were practicing the horse stance.

Even from a distance, he could guess that the two practicing their leg and core strength in the dead of night were none other than Qiao Yan and Dian Wei.

He had come out on a whim and made no noise, so his approach went unnoticed by the pair.

As he got closer, he confirmed that his earlier guess based on their silhouettes was correct.

He wasn’t particularly surprised to see Qiao Yan engaged in such activities.

On their way to Xiayuyang, Cao Cao had mentioned that Qiao Yan had a natural talent for riding; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to follow on a single horse.

But now it seemed that it wasn’t just talent.

Despite the stirrups providing support to prevent a rider from falling off, the soft saddle between the rider and the horse still caused significant shifting, putting a lot of strain on the legs.

A couple of days ago, in a casual conversation with Qiao Yan, he had mentioned that if she wasn’t from a military background, given her status, she didn’t have to endure such hardship.

If she had the opportunity, she should train her core muscles to grip the horse’s belly better, thereby enhancing her riding skills.