Then he heard Qiao Yan explaining, “It’s because this group of rebels isn’t in Julu County.

They joined the uprising of the Yellow Turbans, gathering young men from the villages, totaling over ten thousand.

After Zhang Jiao’s death, some of them realized that following the Yellow Turban Way of Peace was not trustworthy.

They returned to their villages to become law-abiding citizens of the Han Dynasty.

But there’s still a portion of them roaming within the borders.”

“And what about them now…?” Hearing Qiao Yan’s explanation,

Bao Hong suddenly felt that maybe he shouldn’t have hurriedly sent the soldiers of the Northern Army back.

He should have continued following up.

If the Emperor were to inquire, explaining the situation with these roaming Yellow Turban bandits would be necessary.

The next sentence from Qiao Yan’s reply made him feel even more cautious.

She replied, “Because these bandits originated from Changshan County, when Zhang Jiao died and the Northern Zhonglang General led the troops to suppress the bandits, they fled towards their hometown.

However, the Northern Zhonglang General and the Left troops under the Zhonglang General were formidable, and these people dared not linger in Changshan for long.

Therefore, they retreated into the Taihang Mountains, active between Fukou Pass and Jingxing Pass, calling themselves the Black Mountain Bandits.”

“So, as I said, Lieutenant Bao’s previous plan for the marching route was not appropriate.”

Bao Hong took in a sharp breath of cold air.

Fukou Pass connects Shangdang with Anyang, and Jingxing Pass connects Leping with Zhending.

In other words, if he truly followed the original plan to travel through Taihang Pass to reach Jincheng and then to Leping via Changzhi, the segment from Changzhi to Leping would be highly susceptible to attacks by the Black Mountain Bandits.

Since they persisted in banditry even after Zhang Jiao’s death and the collapse of the Way of Peace, they were likely not the type to be dealt with easily.

So clearly, the shortcut he had considered before was not an option!

Perhaps this issue wasn’t just about whether one route was passable; more importantly, there was this group of bandits, capable of disappearing into the Taihang Mountains without being easily detected, lurking nearby.

This posed some complications for the county fiefdom that Qiao Yan was heading to.

Without hesitation, Bao Hong immediately spoke up, “If that’s the case, it seems Le Ping might not be as peaceful as we thought.

Marquis Qiao received a title for pacifying the Yellow Turbans. If I were a Yellow Turban, I would see the Marquis as a thorn in my side.

Shouldn’t we… shouldn’t we mention to His Majesty about choosing another location?”

Especially when he thought about General Qiao Xuan, the former Grand Commandant, who was accompanying the procession with his funeral carriage, he felt immense pressure.

If bandits were to attack, he absolutely couldn’t allow anything to happen to their bodies.

That would be failing his duty as their escort.

From a vantage point unseen by Qiao Yan, Bao Hong clenched his hands, feeling the summer heat bearing down on him, causing sweat to form on his back.

Suddenly realizing that their route and destination might be influenced by remnants of the Yellow Turbans that hadn’t been thoroughly dealt with, even someone as practical as Bao Hong, compared to officers like Chunyu Qiong, found the situation extremely challenging.

What made it worse was that he had been in Luoyang all this time and had no idea about the combat capabilities of these Yellow Turbans.

The reports he received were contradictory.

Some mentioned Yellow Turbans repelling General Zhu Jun’s vanguard troops, showing formidable strength, forcing him to retreat to Changshe.

Others portrayed Qiao Yan, a mere child, quelling rebellions in one or two provinces, as if the Yellow Turbans were paper tigers.

This inconsistency in combat capabilities left Bao Hong feeling bewildered.

So much so that when he saw Qiao Yan coldly respond with a “cannot,” he almost instinctively fell into her rhythm.

“The Emperor’s grant of a county marquis title is already a great honor. How could we suggest changing it at a whim? This matter must not be mentioned.”

Qiao Yan continued, “Moreover Lieutenant Bao doesn’t need to be so wary of these young bandits.

When the Yellow Turban faith dissolves, the number of those willing to follow their leaders naturally decreases significantly.

With the Emperor’s amnesty and changing sentiments, even more will disperse.”

“Besides, the land in Shangdang and Leping is fertile and less affected by disasters.

If these marauders were to attack, the people wouldn’t blindly follow them. Instead, they would fight to protect their homes.

The situation faced by this county marquis isn’t one of being surrounded by a pack of wolves.”

In fact, as Qiao Yan said, the Yellow Turbans active in the Taihang Mountains are far from reaching the level of the later Black Mountain Bandits.

This group was still in its infancy and lost some manpower due to the crisis of faith within the Yellow Turban movement.

They couldn’t even gather ten thousand men, and if one considered their actual combat strength, it would be halved.

Taking into account the information Qiao Yan received previously in Jizhou and the history of the Black Mountain Bandits developing in the Taihang Mountains, she had already made an assessment when she left Luoyang.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have invited Cai Yong and Cai Zhaoji to accompany her to Leping.

She had her reasons for this.

However, despite her extensive knowledge, she couldn’t reveal everything in her conversation with Bao Hong.

The leaders of the Yellow Turbans in the Taihang Mountains, one named Zhang Niujiao and the other named Chu Yan, even changed his surname to Zhang after Zhang Niujiao’s death, calling himself Zhang Yan.

In the confrontation overlooking Sizhou, Chu Yan acquired the title of Pingnan Zhonglangjiang from Liu Hong.

This sounded much more imposing than Bao Hong’s future position as one of the Eight Commandants of the Western Park.

She simply said, ” Lieutenant Bao, rest assured, I would never joke about my grandfather’s remains.

As for the Yellow Turbans in the Taihang Mountains, we’ll temporarily avoid them for now. Once we reach Leping, I have my own plans.”

Bao Hong pondered over Qiao Yan’s past actions and realized she hadn’t made any wrong decisions.

Although there were rumors circulating in the capital about her infiltrating the Yellow Turban camp as some sort of strategist,

which seemed overly risky, it couldn’t be denied that her careful planning had undoubtedly eased the minds of the elites in the capital.

So, considering this, it seemed that the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in the Taihang Mountains had lost their spiritual leader, and dealing with them now shouldn’t be too difficult.

He asked, “So, according to Lady Qiao, are we taking a different route to reach Leping?”

“Exactly,” Qiao Yan pointed to the first pass among the Taihang Eight Passes, namely Zhiguan Pass, and said,

“We’ll take this route, passing through Linfen in Hedong County, then following the valley through which the Fen River flows leads northward until it reaches Taiyuan, then continues eastward to Leping.”

Seeing the lingering doubt on Bao Hong’s face,

Qiao Yan added, “Lieutenant Bao, rest assured. Although there were Yellow Turban bandits in Hedong County before, the local noble families have almost subdued them.

Compared to the unknown Black Mountain Bandits in the mountains, Linfen is much safer.”

“Besides, Zhiguan Pass is named after its narrowness, barely allowing a cart to pass through.

Even in peaceful times, merchants prefer to avoid this route. With the frequent disasters nowadays, who would dare to block the pass and rob travelers?”

Bao Hong pondered over Qiao Yan’s reasoning and replied respectfully, “Very well, we’ll take the route through Zhiguan Pass as Lady Qiao suggests.”

Since the route was changing, Bao Hong naturally needed to inform the two centurions in his camp.

He immediately left the tent, leaving only Cheng Li behind.

Cheng Li watched as Qiao Yan’s fingertip traced along the line of the Taihang Mountains until it stopped at Jingxing Pass between Leping and Zhending.

In his assessment, the expression on Qiao Yan’s face didn’t reflect concern for the safety of Leping, but rather a sense of assurance or perhaps scheming.

Cheng Li realized that perhaps he didn’t need to share some of his thoughts about the origins of the Black Mountain Bandits with Qiao Yan, as he originally intended when he heard about them.

He bowed respectfully and then took his leave.

With the marching route settled, Qiao Yan rolled up the newly drawn map and smoothed it out on the marching table.

Thinking about the upcoming journey, she opened the system panel for reassurance before going to sleep.

Considering she had crossed over to this turbulent Han Dynasty era until now, it had been more than three months.

Comparing her current situation to the time when she woke up in that pile of corpses, her panel data hadn’t undergone earth-shattering changes, but there had been significant improvements.

【Name: Qiao Yan】

【Faction: Han (Initial Faction)】

【Occupation: Strategist (System Setting)】

【Age: 10】

【Constitution: 62 (out of 100), Strength: 20 (out of 100), Intelligence: 80 (out of 100), Luck: 65 (？)】

【Remaining Allocation Points: 0】

【Skills: History Lv7, Eloquence Lv7, Artifact Identification Lv4, Horsemanship Lv3, Painting Lv3, Calligraphy Lv4, Field Archaeology Lv5, Numismatics Lv3…】

【Remaining Skill Points: 5】

【Strategist Points: 100】(For every 10 Strategist Points obtained, you automatically gain 3 Attribute Allocation Points and 1 Skill Allocation Point)

【Unlocked Features: Check-in, 3D Map】

This was her current data.

The initial allocation points she received, the attribute allocation points gained from obtaining Strategist Points, and the points from the check-in—all were invested unreservedly into her Constitution, giving her a passable score.

The slight increase in Strength came from allocating skill points to Horsemanship, combined with the minor boost from the increase in Constitution.

As for the available skill points, she invested 3 levels in Eloquence and 3 levels in Horsemanship, keeping the remaining 5 points temporarily in reserve.

However, what puzzled her was the change in her Intelligence value.

From the initial 79 to 80, she couldn’t quite recall when it happened, as she hadn’t paid much attention to the numerical panel.

“You defeated Yang Xiu…” the system quietly explained.

It always felt like Qiao Yan was pretending, but reaching a level where she could manage territories seemed a bit subtle for a strategist.

However, Qiao Yan’s skill panel blatantly displayed her background in historical archaeology before crossing over.

In this context, wanting to establish a stable territory, allowing Cai Yong to complete the compilation of the Eastern Han Annals, could be considered akin to a belief.

The system only hesitated for a moment before dismissing its doubts and answering Qiao Yan’s question.

“So, you mean, defeating someone historically regarded as intelligent can increase the Intelligence attribute points?” Qiao Yan asked again.

【Not exactly. If that were the case, your Intelligence attribute should have increased when you refuted Zhang Jiao.】 the system replied, 【To put it simply, after you consistently perform beyond the expected level of Intelligence, the system will periodically self-adjust.】

“…”

…The difference between 79 and 80 seemed to be just for appearance’s sake.

Whether it adjusted or not didn’t seem to matter much.

Fortunately, Qiao Yan didn’t really care about this issue.

In this string of numbers, she was more concerned about her weaknesses than the values that currently seemed sufficient to handle the situation.

Moreover, she now had companions like Lu Yuan and Cheng Li who could share her burdens.

While their numbers didn’t appear high in terms of numerical values, it didn’t seem to be a critical issue.

What surprised Qiao Yan, however, was the unexpected “clever person” among this group.

Zhiguan Pass truly lived up to its reputation as a treacherous path in the Taihang Mountains.

When the carriages and horses passed through, the narrowest point almost trapped the funeral carriage.

During one steep section of the road, the carriage frame needed careful support.

Despite this, as the mountain road jostled them, there was a sudden impact from within the funeral carriage.

Fearing damage to Qiao Xuan’s coffin, Qiao Yan immediately had someone open the carriage door after they passed this steep slope to check inside.

yTo her surprise, she found a living person inside the carriage.

Yang Xiu, who appeared as a surprise package, truly astonished Qiao Yan!

She furrowed her brow and immediately asked, “Why are you here?”

Unlike Cheng Li, Yang Xiu wasn’t someone she could easily recruit.

As the grandson of Grand Commandant Yang Ci and with his father Yang Biao later occupying the same position, Yang Xiu, as the heir of the Yang family in Hongnong, shouldn’t casually leave Luoyang, the capital, and follow her expedition to Leping County.

As she asked this question, Qiao Yan immediately noticed the somewhat guilty look on Yang Xiu’s face.

This was clear—he had left the capital without informing his grandfather or any other family members; he had sneaked out!

Yang Xiu stiffened his neck and replied, “I… Why can’t I be here?”

“The Master said, ‘In a group of three, there must be one I can learn from.’ Since I lost to you, there must be something I can learn from you.

I followed to seek knowledge. What’s wrong with that?” Yang Xiu felt his reason was quite justified.

He emptied the bundle he was carrying onto the ground, revealing the books and scrolls inside, which made Qiao Yan’s eyelids twitch.

He continued, “I even brought gifts for my prospective teachers.”

Qiao Yan glanced at Bao Hong from the corner of her eye and saw him looking equally shocked.

Perhaps it was because he realized that besides Qiao Yan and Qiao Xuan, he now had to deal with the unexpected presence of Yang Xiu, who had intruded without invitation, adding to his responsibilities.

Bao Hong was truly taken aback by Yang Xiu’s sudden appearance.

Now, they had already covered most of the distance on Zhiguan Pass, with no opportunity for turning back.

Sending Yang Xiu back with just a small group of soldiers posed too much risk; if anything went wrong on the way, Bao Hong couldn’t bear that responsibility.

What’s more, in the current situation where Qiao Yan mentioned the presence of the Black Mountain Bandits, Bao Hong was reluctant to separate anyone from the group.

Having an extra person might make a significant difference if the Black Mountain Bandits attacked after they reached Leping County.

As he was pondering this, Yang Xiu glanced at him, as if he had read his reluctant thoughts, and raised his voice,

“I overheard your conversation on the road from inside the carriage! Right now, you can’t spare enough manpower to send me back.”

“At most… at most, you can wait until you’ve escorted Mr. Qiao and Lady Qiao to Leping. Then, Lieutenant Bao can take me back to Luoyang when he returns.”

Yang Xiu seemed to make a concession with this statement, but to Qiao Yan, in the cunning eyes of this young man, it was clear that he had his own agenda written all over his face.

He could now claim to go back with Bao Hong later, but what then?

Afterwards, he could naturally find a new reason to stay.

Qiao Yan’s head felt as big as a bucket.

If Yang Xiu were a bit older at this moment, it would be okay to say that hiding in the carriage was his own choice, and he naturally had to take responsibility for his actions.

Since he had been discovered, he would go back to Luoyang on his own.

Unfortunately, he was only nine years old this year.

This was an age where one’s actions of running away from home could easily be attributed to a desire to win against her.

And why the desire to win? Wasn’t it all because of the fight in front of the tripod that day?

Qiao Yan felt he was definitely going to be blamed for it.

But if there was any value in taking the blame, it would be worth it. But what use was Yang Xiu?

Was he going to use Yang Xiu to influence General Yang?

“When did you sneak into the carriage?” Qiao Yan asked.

” June 23rd “

June 23rd, the day before Qiao Yan and the others set off.

It had been more than two days since they left the capital and arrived at their current location.

So Yang Xiu had been hiding in the carriage with the corpse for nearly three days.

He only brought some biscuits to fill his stomach, yet he managed to endure until now…

He really had some skill.

But no matter how skilled he was, he was probably already at the edge of his physical limits.

Qiao Yan thought about the age of Cai Zhaoci and then thought about Yang Xiu, considering the feasibility of nurturing another potential asset.

But if evaluated historically, Yang Xiu’s political awareness was indeed lacking.

He could be compared to Cai Yong in terms of incompetence, which made people think they could recognize each other’s level of incompetence.

To turn this around, she would undoubtedly need to exert a considerable amount of effort.

She rubbed her forehead and felt a bit overwhelmed.

After some thought, she replied, “When we arrive at the county seat of Taiyuan, I’ll give you two choices.”

“First, it may not necessarily require bothering Lieutenant Bao to send you back.

I can simply seek out the Prefect of Taiyuan and have him arrange for someone to escort you back.

After all, leaving without informing your parents is not something I should bear the burden of.”

“I’m not going back!” Yang Xiu replied without hesitation.

Then he added in a low voice, “I left a letter before I left.”

“In that case, there’s only the second choice left,” Qiao Yan pointed at Dian Wei.

On Dian Wei’s back was the gold that Tian Tao had given her as a thank-you gift when they were in Puyang.

After converting the sixty bolts of silk into gold, it totaled twenty-six pounds of gold.

She said to Yang Xiu, “With these twenty-six pounds of gold, at market price, you can exchange them for ten thousand stones of millet.

If you can exchange for more locally in Taiyuan following the rules, then you can come along.”

Qiao Yan’s gaze was firm, but she followed up with a question, wondering if this might be a form of provocation.

“Yang Xiu, are you willing to give it a try?”