Dreaming of Mount Tai while holding up the sun, in the context of the Han Dynasty’s emphasis on prophecy and divination, actually carries significant connotations of ascending to power.

This dragon isn’t just any ordinary dragon.

Since the enfeoffment of Mount Tai by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, up until the reign of Emperor Liu Hong, there have been over twenty emperors who could have claimed the qualification to ascend Mount Tai for the ceremony, but only two did so.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, and Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu.

Though the Han dynasty still centralized power, the crisis lurking everywhere became apparent following the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Liu Hong, establishing the Xiping Stone Classics, devoted himself to education, yet indulged in politics and extravagance to the extreme.

—Obviously, he couldn’t possibly be the emperor capable of ascending Mount Tai.

Cheng Li hadn’t yet considered the scenario where regional lords would secede, nor had he imagined the decline of the Han dynasty to the point of someone usurping the throne.

He only thought that in the omen of Mount Tai holding up the sun,

this “sun” might not necessarily refer to the emperor; it could also point to someone capable of stabilizing the current chaos,

someone with the ability like Huo Guang who facilitated the restoration during the reign of Emperor Zhao.

Could Qiao Yan be that person?

Cheng Li didn’t dare to make a definite reply at this moment.

But a renowned general, not inferior in the face of eminent scholars, possessed both eloquence and compassion toward the Yellow Turban refugees.

Such individuals were rare in the world.

Her ability to speculate on human nature and strategize was already mature enough, a skill that would only shine brighter with more significant experiences, never to be overlooked by others.

Moreover, her name contains the character “Yan”.

What does “Yan” mean?

The color of jade emits a fiery hue, hence “Yan” implies flame, igniting brilliance.

If this jade disc emits flames, wouldn’t it resemble a rising red sun?

So, could this dream of holding up the sun signify Qiao Yan?

Cheng Li’s revelation of Qiao Yan’s intentions upon her appearance was somewhat of a test.

If she played the emotional card, Cheng Li would only think she was pitying a lord,

lacking the hierarchical distinction between superior and subordinate.

If she retreated in the face of preemptive measures by the other party, or showed awkwardness in conversation, Cheng Li would find it hard not to think she had lost some adaptability.

But now, with just such a candid statement, “Zhongde understands me,” Cheng Li also smiled immediately.

At forty years old, with a lifespan of around fifty or sixty years, he didn’t have much time left to make his mark.

Born from a humble background, with no noble lineage to boast of,

he was even less fortunate than Zhu Jun, who was recognized as filially pious by his local officials, with limited opportunities for advancement.

He was indeed critical of those he served, but after some consideration, following Qiao Yan seemed to be his best option at the moment.

The geographical position of Luping destined it to be a place where one could truly make a difference.

Given this, why not dare to think and act a little, to take a gamble on whether the person who seizes the position of county marquis in this crucial juncture of the realm could indeed become a rising sun?

Cheng Li’s thoughts were just a momentary matter.

From Qiao Yan’s perspective, it was only a moment after she spoke that Cheng Li stood up and respectfully replied, “If Lord Qiao values me, Cheng Li dare not disobey.”

The person she wasn’t sure would follow her had given a willing response, which relieved Qiao Yan.

But such decisive matters need not be shown on one’s face.

Looking at Cheng Li’s reply, Qiao Yan said, “Mr. Zhongde, with your wisdom and talent, why wouldn’t you be valued? However, before heading to Luoyang, should we not first visit Dong’e?”

A top strategist like Cheng Li willing to temporarily follow her naturally required some consideration from Qiao Yan.

Previously, due to the unsuitability of revealing the strategy of swiftly marching to Jizhou, they bypassed Dong’e without entering.

But they couldn’t afford not to go there now.

Although Xue Family had obtained the title of Marquis from Liu Hong’s rewards, it was also thanks to Cheng Li’s decision.

When they received news, they would probably announce to the people of Dong’e County that they Xue Family had not truly joined the Yellow Turbans.

But rather than letting Xue be the good person and infiltrate the enemy, it was better to make a grand return journey on the way to Luoyang.

Cheng Li and Xue Family pretended to join Liang Zhongning’s Yellow Turbans, helped the imperial forces pacify Yanzhou.

Xue Family contributed a lot and was rewarded with a marquisate, while Cheng Li, valued by the Marquis of Leping, was appointed as his deputy.0

Embarked on matters of life and death for the sake of stabilizing Yanzhou, he finally gained the recognition of influential figures, providing him with fertile ground to showcase his talents.

Thus, from being a proud and aloof figure, Cheng Li transformed into a tale of someone who dared to take a leap of faith in times of peril and eventually reaped rewards.

Although Qiao Yan’s explanation to Cheng Li seemed simple, Cheng Li, being the person he was, could easily discern the underlying implications in her words.

He felt comforted by her thoughtfulness but only responded, “Why not shoulder this reputation?”

“If we are to embark on a journey, we should do so without regrets,” Qiao Yan replied.

Moreover, who knew if there would be an opportunity to return to Yanzhou in the future?

Currently, they were merely planting the seeds for reputation, which required little effort.

But in the future… perhaps it would yield some results.

Of course, she wouldn’t share these thoughts with anyone.

Besides, on this journey to Luoyang, accompanying them was Huangfu Song, who had been promoted from the position of Left Guard to Marquis.

Although Huangfu Song was leading the expedition, the march was not as strict as before, and the pace was considerably slower.

From Dong’e to Puyang, Huangfu Song even gave Qiao Yan some time to visit the county office in Puyang.

Previously, Huangfu Song’s reserve troops, advancing to pacify Yanzhou, and Liang Zhongning’s Yellow Turban remnants left behind in Puyang had already been wiped out.

While Jizhou received direct orders from Liu Hong, Yanzhou had to wait for the arrival of the subsequent administrative officials to pass judgment on these individuals one by one.

Since Qiao Yan was now the Marquis of Leping, it was not appropriate for her to intervene in such matters.

Thus, her visit was not to settle any debts of gratitude but to retrieve something.

It was the records of her conversations with the elderly farmers among the Yellow Turban refugees during her previous supervision of spring plowing in Puyang.

However, as they were loading the books and documents onto the carriage, they were greeted by a special visitor.

In retrospect, it wasn’t surprising for this person to come.

It was Tian Tao, the head of the Tian family.

But he wasn’t alone.

Qiao Yan noticed at a glance that behind him was another carriage loaded with dozens of rolls of silk.

“What is this, Master Tian?” Qiao Yan asked.

Tian Tao bowed and replied, “This is the Tian family’s gratitude to Marquis Qiao.”

Qiao Yan and her party didn’t linger in Quzhou for long, so Tian Tao had learned of their departure

Tian Yan receiving a marquisate was just a matter of a few hours ago.

Hearing from Tian Yan himself about how he secured this marquis position, Cheng Li couldn’t help but feel a tinge of fear in his heart.

Indeed, this marquis position was enough to compensate for all the losses suffered by the Tian family earlier and would have an irreplaceable impact on their future influence.

But on that day outside Changshu City, had any stray arrow struck Tian Yan, he would never have had the chance to return.

This position was truly earned at the cost of his life!

However, upon returning home, this child seemed to have forgotten that he was just a step away from death.

His mind was filled with the glory he had achieved and the pride he had brought to the family.

This led to the topic of the gift for Qiao Yan.

Gratitude was indeed necessary, and regardless of Tian Yan’s reward, given the social connections of the Tian family, upon hearing that someone as young as Qiao Yan had obtained the position of county marquis, they knew she was someone they needed to befriend.

However, while this was done on behalf of the head of the Tian family, as a father…

Qiao Yan glanced at the items on the carriage and asked, “Sixty rolls of silk, twenty catties of gold. Now, Master Tian has presented such a gift. Is this not inappropriate?”

Even though the “catty” in the Eastern Han Dynasty was different from the modern catty and had to be halved, these twenty catties of gold would only amount to five kilograms by modern weight standards.

Compared to the rewards of a hundred catties of gold often given during Han Dynasty enfeoffments, this wasn’t much.

Sixty rolls of silk were also just a carriage load, which was only a small number for a powerful family like the Tian family. Naturally, the Tian family must have had more possessions than just those from Wubao.

However, regardless of the purchasing power, this quantity bordered on extortion.

According to the grain prices Qiao Yan had seen in Yanzhou and Jizhou, and the conversion of silk and gold to Han Dynasty wuzhu coins, this amounted to a sum that could purchase about 300 tons of rice in modern terms.

This was not a small amount of money.

However, Qiao Yan had to accept this money.

Because when the head of the Tian family presented this gift, there were clearly some other implications behind it.

If it was just a token of gratitude for Qiao Yan, the best way to express it, given her upcoming travels, would not be in silk.

It could all be converted to gold, yet Tian Tao still chose to do it this way.

What did this mean?

It meant redemption!

The redemption recorded since the twenty-ninth year of Emperor Guangwu’s reign,

although different from that of the Western Han Dynasty, where gold was used for redemption, was now being carried out with silk.

The practice of redemption had replaced the former practice of serving at the border.

According to the decree issued last year, the price for redeeming a life with silk was twenty rolls per person.

The three members of the main branch of the Tian family happened to have sixty rolls in total.

In the earnest gaze Tian Tao showed after bowing to her, there was a subtle meaning.

Although she had done a great favor for the Tian family, it was implied that she should not involve herself in risky tasks like delivering messages to them again.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but find Tian Tao’s indirect way of saying “don’t play with our kid”.

However, it was evident that Tian Yan completely failed to understand his father’s intentions.

Even after tactfully exchanging the silk for gold, he ruined the deal his father had carefully negotiated by saying, “If Marquis Qiao ever returns to Yanzhou, I will obey any order, even at the cost of my life.”

After Qiao Yan and Cheng Li left the father and son’s sight, they shared a smile. “The difference in their scheming is really not like father, like son,” remarked Cheng Li.

“So, Marquis Qiao, do you prefer those with more schemes or those who are pure-hearted?” Cheng Li asked.

“I prefer those who give money,” Qiao Yan replied seriously after some thought.

No matter how fertile the land where Le Ping County was located, it couldn’t change the fact that last year’s drought had hit indiscriminately.

The unique topography, with two mountains enclosing a basin and the river passing through, couldn’t fully cover the irrigation until the modern “pivot irrigation” technique was implemented.

The local harvest was inevitably greatly reduced.

As a newly appointed county marquis, Qiao Yan naturally couldn’t exploit her territory excessively.

No matter how much she wanted to make her mark on her land, she had to follow some basic rules.

So, the gratitude gift from Tian Tao could be considered her startup capital.

Therefore, she didn’t care whether the other party was trying to sever some karmic connection. As long as they gave her money, it was fine.

Cheng Li shook his head with a smile, but in his heart, he elevated his opinion of Qiao Yan even higher.

Someone who considered practicality more than being emotionally driven by personal relationships was indeed more suitable to be a leader than someone who was governed by emotions.

And with that, the matter was settled. During their subsequent journey westward, there was no further discussion on this matter.

After passing through Yan County from Puyang, Xu Fu, as he had mentioned to Qiao Yan when they set out from Quzhou, headed south to Yingchuan to visit his mother, informing her of his decision, and then he would rendezvous with Qiao Yan once everything was settled.

Since they didn’t know how long Qiao Yan would stay in Luoyang, nor the time it would take for Xu Fu to travel to Yingchuan and back, they simply agreed that he need not come to Luoyang and could directly go to Yingchuan.

Towards Le Ping County it is.

After bidding farewell to Xu Fu, this group continued along the north bank of the Yellow River, passing Yuanwu and Juancounty, finding a boat to cross the Yellow River and arriving at Aocang.