Liang Zhongning subconsciously glanced towards Quzhou and furrowed his brows at what he saw.

If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a young man leading a horse through the hazy rain curtain, and on the horse sat a figure familiar to him, cloaked to shield from the rain.

But when he looked again, that figure was gone.

Perhaps it was because of the heavy rain that made everything blurry before his eyes.

The soldiers urging him forward forced him to turn his head back.

But Liang Zhongning wasn’t mistaken; there were indeed two figures riding back towards Quzhou.

When Qiao Yan left Quzhou earlier, he told Huangfu Song that the punishment of being drawn and quartered was too severe, especially since Zhang Jiao was not directly responsible for the deaths of Qiao Yu and his wife.

It would be better to see about these exiled Yellow Turbans instead.

But Xu Fu, who was currently holding the horse for her, was clever.

After being subtly guided by Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, he had no difficulty analyzing the scene before his eyes.

How could he not see that Qiao Yan’s words to Huangfu Song were not the true reason?

“Does Lord Qiao truly have compassion for these Yellow Turbans?” Xu Fu asked after a moment of thought.

The rain whispered in his ears, accompanied by the sound of hooves trampling over the plain, yet Qiao Yan’s response still reached Xu Fu’s ears clearly, “Compassion for the weak.”

“The premise is that one is a strong individual, and I am not yet,” Xu Fu replied.

“But from Xu Fu’s perspective, Lord Qiao has indeed saved their lives.”

Xu Fu had been present at the Battle of Changshe and had heard some of the initial measures taken against the Yellow Turbans.

Now, going from executions to floggings followed by exile, and then being sent back to their original hometowns under forced escort, was already much better.

“Is being alive only defined by having a breath left?” Qiao Yan asked in return.

Xu Fu couldn’t come up with an immediate answer.

He felt that when Qiao Yan asked this question, she displayed a maturity far beyond her age, even more so than when she was commanding and debating.

But not being able to come up with an answer right now wasn’t necessarily bad news for him.

He confidently said, “I’ll tell Lord Qiao when I figure it out.”

So, for now, he could continue following along.

Of course, he had his own plans.

On the way to Luoyang after Qiao Yan, he could return to Yingchuan first and inform his mother of his intention to continue following Qiao Yan.

Having witnessed the eloquent debate on the stage that day, Xu Fu felt that his previous desire to be a wandering swordsman might not have been the right decision.

Another path seemed to be laid out before him.

He wanted to further his education, not just be a brute who wielded a sword for others!

This decision he must inform his mother of, and then—

If his mother wished to stay in Yingchuan, he would leave behind the reward silver he obtained from participating in the surprise attack in Jizhou and arrange for someone to take care of her.

Given Yingchuan’s proximity to Luoyang, there shouldn’t be any more unrest after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled.

If his mother also wanted to go to Yueping, that would be even better.

Qiao Yan could see through Xu Fu’s slight scheming, but she didn’t expose his intentions.

Although Xu Fu’s current abilities were far from reaching the level of Xu Shu or Xu Yuanzhi later on, he had never experienced near-death situations or drastic changes in identity.

He had not moved south to Jingzhou to study to avoid the turmoil of war either.

But undoubtedly, he was a promising individual.

Whether from his performance in the Battle of Quyang or his mission to invite the Buddha to preside over matters, it was evident.

A county lord ruling over a county with tens of thousands of households, considering a county as a nation, it was not enough to rely solely on her.

Having one more person’s assistance was always better than fighting alone.

Moreover, in terms of political administration and scholarly study, there were advantages and disadvantages. For Xu Fu, it was not necessarily a loss of the inevitable path to maturity.

Qiao Yan chuckled. “Alright, I’ll wait for you to give me that answer.”

By the time the two returned to the camp at the foot of the city, Zhang Jiao no longer existed in this world.

Perhaps the only thing left of him here was the Taiping Jing he had compiled.

However, since the origin of this scroll was considered forbidden by the current dynasty, it would inevitably be dealt with uniformly by the court.

Even though Qiao Yan was the heroine who defeated Zhang Jiao, she couldn’t receive special treatment to keep this book.

Without hesitation, Qiao Yan handed over the Taiping Jing that she had used as evidence.

She only paused for a moment, gazing towards the city walls where the rain had stopped, and the faint glow of the setting sun.

The system had intended to ask if she needed some psychological counseling.

After all, although she hadn’t witnessed the execution firsthand, seeing someone who had recently competed with her on stage now meeting such a gruesome end might be distressing for someone from the modern era.

It had never had the chance to offer advice to the host before.

Even during the time when the host had ordered Dian Wei to kill Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, it hadn’t been of any use. It should have…

“We’re still far from unlocking the three-dimensional map,” Qiao Yan stared at her panel for a long time, her gaze fixed on the line that read: [Unlock the three-dimensional map after reaching 100 Strategist Points].

She had already coveted this feature before, but now it was even more desirable.

The geographical conditions of Yueping meant that precise three-dimensional terrain displays were necessary for both governance and military defense.

In this regard, the Strategist System was not useless.

Unfortunately, she currently had only 90 Strategist Points.

30 points from the achievement of “Defeating a Faction with a Strategy,” and 60 points earned from the six successful implementations of strategies.

Wait a moment…

“Is your system calculation not very intelligent?” Qiao Yan flipped through the system records and asked, “Why isn’t the debate between me and Zhang Jiao counted?”

The system, feeling like a mere ornament again now that the host had quickly recovered from her low spirits, replied sheepishly: [This is not hard to understand. If Zhang Jiao did not debate with you, since he had already been captured, there was only one outcome for him, which was death, and it might even involve his followers.

Whether you reduce the population loss in such a circuitous manner or use Huangfu Song’s original method of directly killing everyone, it doesn’t make a difference to this faction, so naturally, you cannot receive Strategist Points.]

[Now that Zhang Jiao is dead, according to the system’s confidentiality rules…]

“[The corresponding achievement can be told to you now. It’s called ‘Persuading Zhang Jiao to Surrender.’ This is an achievement that no one has ever accomplished in any parallel world, so, host, you don’t need to feel disheartened about it.]”

“He would only become a martyr and wouldn’t let himself be persuaded by any other logic; that’s not surprising,” Qiao Yan replied. “You’re right; the Yellow Turbans I preserved were for the sake of the Han, but not for the considerations of the current Han. It’s correct not to calculate the points.”

“But this way, to unlock the three-dimensional map before heading to Yueping, it seems that this trip to Luoyang can’t just be a mere formality.”

She needed to provide Liu Hong with influential advice.

As for what this advice would be…

She’d see after arriving in Luoyang!

Before setting off, she had one more thing to do.

Apart from Xu Fu, who had already informed her of his decision to follow her in a special way, there were a few more people she needed to consult.

One of them was Lu Yuan.

Qiao Yan had allowed her to accompany them from Quyang to Quzhou, letting her decide to stay or leave after the pacification of Jizhou.

But despite Qiao Yan’s explicit statement that there was no profit to be gained from being around her, and that the boundaries of Bingzhou might not be safe in the coming years, Lu Yuan still decided to stay with Qiao Yan.

Qiao Yan saw no need to refuse her.

Given Lu Yuan’s mysterious background and her previous status as the wife of the magistrate of Quyang County, at least for a long time, there was unlikely to be any conflict of interest between her and Qiao Yan.

So, keeping her around would be more useful than forcing her to leave.

Lu Yuan’s previous assistance in setting up the camp defenses, successfully intercepting spies sent by Zhang Liang to the camp, impressed Qiao Yan with both her strategic vision and knowledge.

Having a willing worker, maybe even someone willing to work without expecting wages, was better than forcing them to show their identity documents.

—That’s how Qiao Yan probably saw Lu Yuan now.

Then there was Dian Wei.

Their agreement was for three months of protection. With only one month left until the end of the three months, at most, it would end when they reached Luoyang.

From a pragmatic perspective, with Dian Wei’s bravery, it was far better for him to join a regular army or serve under an official than to take some position in her county of Yueping.

Cao Cao had inquired about Dian Wei’s situation before.

After all, he was about to march into…

The newly appointed Duke of Qingzhou and Jinan Guo actually still had some troublesome bandits lurking around.

Cao Cao’s military prowess was only so-so, and he really needed a bodyguard.

But since Qiao Yan had already secured this position as a marquis, even if Dian Wei was unwilling to follow her, her bottom line would only be to let him return to Yanzhou Chenliu, rather than go against her.

However, her worries might not come true.

When Qiao Yan asked about Dian Wei’s thoughts, he replied without hesitation, “Haven’t I been following you for a long time?”

“…?”

In Qiao Yan’s silence, Dian Wei considered the bounty he received for assisting in the capture of Xieyang and making significant contributions to the Battle of Changshe. “Isn’t this a reward rather than a salary?”

“… If you say it is, then it is.” Qiao Yan was somewhat speechless at Dian Wei’s logic.

Then she heard Dian Wei ask, “About what you said earlier, if I have a son in the future and want to apprentice him to you, is that acceptable? You were quite impressive when you argued with the great teachers. I don’t have that eloquence.”

Qiao Yan: …Actually, you’re quite articulate.

Of course, she couldn’t respond like that. She replied, “I am not a gentleman, but I keep my promises.”

With such a capable subordinate, many of her ideas became more feasible.

Now she only had one person left to persuade.

Cheng Li.

He was the person she had the least confidence in persuading.

Cheng Li was mature enough and already had interpersonal relationships within the local factions.

While her previous cooperation and following could be explained, she felt that recruiting him at this time was a bit inexplicable.

Why would a county marquis need to recruit a strategist as skilled as Cheng Li?

If the system asked, she could say she wanted to correct some of Cheng Li’s strategies that involved sacrificing principles for goals, or that they could exchange ideas and grow before the chaos of Dong Zhuo, but these answers couldn’t be used to persuade Cheng Li.

However, when she appeared in front of Cheng Li, before she could speak,

Cheng Li asked, “Previously, Marquis Qiao invited me to accompany her to Jizhou to listen to the Yellow Turban’s words.

Why do you now want to invite me to Luoyang to listen to the Emperor’s words or to go to Leping to listen to the voices from the border?”

After discerning Cheng Li’s tone, Qiao Yan smiled and then bowed, saying, “Yan indeed has this intention. Mr. Zhongde understands me.”

Cheng Li was silent for a moment.

His reason told him that his talents wouldn’t necessarily be better utilized by moving from Dong’e County to Leping County, and leaving Yanzhou might not be a good decision.

But as Qiao Yan extended her invitation with a bow, under the sunny weather after yesterday’s rain, the sunlight pouring in through the window almost enveloped him in a halo.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his dream of holding up the sun on Mount Tai.