Cao Cao’s thoughts caused a slight blur at the beginning of the letter.

But then he thought, whether the grandchild of Qiao Gong was a grandson or a granddaughter, it was obviously not so important in the face of the impending Yellow Turban attack.

What was more important was to repel this momentum and maintain the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty.

During the Han Dynasty, there were not as many restrictions on women as in later times.

The Han Dynasty inherited many of the Qin Dynasty’s systems.

There was an interesting law in the Qin Dynasty’s stone inscriptions called “If a husband raises a pig, killing it is not a crime,” which meant that if a husband had an affair, and the wife killed him, it would not be a crime.

Although the Han Dynasty did not strictly enforce this, in an environment where women could be household heads and participate in social production activities, apart from the nine empress dowagers who had power, the political cultivation of aristocratic women was generally not low, and there were many cases of indirect participation in political activities.

Cao Cao rarely met Qiao Yu, but he knew Qiao Xuan’s character well.

It was not surprising that his granddaughter would make such a decisive move to infiltrate the enemy’s camp and plan a counterattack against the Yellow Turbans.

One should not underestimate women…

“Mengde, what are you thinking?” Huangfu Song noticed Cao Cao’s hesitation and asked.

Since Qiao Yan had not revealed her identity, Cao Cao felt that he did not need to disclose it for her.

He just said, “I am thinking that if it weren’t for Qiao Gong reminding me and allowing me to meet Xuzi, getting that evaluation, it would be regrettable for me to not be in the capital now that Qiao Gong is seriously ill.

Now that I know that his grandson is among the Yellow Turbans, I cannot simply focus on the phrase – ‘Can one life be spared to let the traitors go?'”

People at that time valued integrity, and what Cao Cao said was indeed correct.

Huangfu Song stroked his beard and replied, “What Mengde said is correct. If we win by fighting against the chaos, the Qiao family members in the army may still be affected. If we win but inadvertently cause his death, how can I return to Luoyang to see Qiao Gong without any shame?”

He looked around, thinking about whether he should send someone to protect Qiao Yan.

When Tian Yan heard this, he quickly said, “There is no need to worry about the safety of the master. I previously recruited a strong warrior, Dian Wei from Chenliu, who is currently guarding the master. Dian Wei is a man of great strength, and with him around, ordinary people cannot even get close to the master.”

Huangfu Song earnestly inquired about Dian Wei’s strength, and the data he obtained from Tian Yan made him judge that this was indeed a rare warrior.

Coupled with Qiao Yan mentioning in her letter that she had Cheng Li from Dong’e by her side, the two could complement each other if there were any tactical flaws.

It was expected that there should be no problem, so he let go of his worries.

Tian Yan felt almost suffocated under the gaze of the several generals who had been on the battlefield for a long time and held high positions.

It wasn’t until he climbed into the basket, returned to the city, and then returned to the camp under the cover of night, that he felt a sense of relief.

The cold sweat on his back was blown by the wind, adding a chill.

The Little Ice Age during the late Han Dynasty meant that even though it was April, it still didn’t feel like spring.

“Come with me,” he suddenly heard a familiar voice from beside him.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Cheng Li holding a lantern covered with a black cloth and looking at him.

The faint light was not very conspicuous in the camp, but it reassured Tian Yan.

At least he could avoid wandering in the dark and getting lost out of nervousness.

He had even entered Shecheng, the enemy’s city. If something happened now because of such an accident, it would be really unfair!

Fortunately, everything was going according to plan.

The letter he carried was handed to Qiao Yan after he saw her.

After reading the letter word by word, Qiao Yan handed it to Cheng Li.

She asked, “There is still a day left. Mr. Zhongde, do you need more time to prepare?”

Cheng Li had seen the contents of the letter that Qiao Yan sent out and was somewhat confident that she could convince Huangfu Song to attack.

But when he really saw the letter of alliance in his hand, he couldn’t help but feel happy.

At Cheng Li’s age, he had passed the stage of showing emotions on his face.

He did not feel any pride in convincing a commander on the route to attack the Yellow Turbans, who was highly valued by the court.

From a strategist’s point of view, he felt that what they had achieved was not easy.

Qiao Yan had previously told Liang Zhongning the principle of “attack them with five times their number,” which was still applicable now.

The number of Yellow Turban soldiers was indeed five times that of the Han army.

Even if Huangfu Song launched a surprise attack at night, it would catch them off guard.

However, not everyone in the army had the courage of Lu Bu to break through a sea of enemies while deeply entrenched.

Moreover, if Bo Cai had been surrounding Changshe until now, once the city tried to break through with military force, he would quickly find out and respond accordingly. So, in the final analysis—

If Huangfu Song really led the army to attack, he would be entrusting his life to Qiao Yan.

He would also be entrusting it to Cheng Li.

A look of ambition briefly illuminated his face, but it was quickly replaced by a mature and steady expression.

He bowed to Qiao Yan and said, “I dare not fail to serve with all my heart.”

“Then I’ll leave it to Mr. Zhongde (Cheng Li). But let me remind you, Mr. Zhongde, not to move around casually after dark the night after tomorrow, and Mr. Lai will give me a ride,” Qiao Yan said, tapping her finger on the table.

“… This is the first time I’ve been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility, especially in matters of force. It really makes Cheng Li feel a little uncomfortable.”

Standing beside him, Dian Wei asked in confusion, “Then what should I do?”

With his outstanding martial skills, he was not completely unfamiliar with riding. However, Qiao Yan left him aside as a bodyguard and instead let Cheng Li be the one.

Although the relationship between Dian Wei and her was only temporary employment, and he had done tasks like delivering letters that didn’t require much skill, he still felt a subtle sense of annoyance.

But the next moment, he saw Qiao Yan looking at him solemnly and said, “I have a more important task for you.”

When Dian Wei walked out of the tent, he muttered to Tian Yan, “Sometimes I really hate these clever people.”

Qiao Yan was indeed a bit too much.

She said she had an important matter to entrust to him, but she didn’t tell him what it was.

What was this all about?

She said to wait until the day after tomorrow to see the outcome, but leaving someone in suspense without an explanation really made Dian Wei feel uneasy.

“Yeah, I hate it too,” Tian Yan replied quietly.

Qiao Yan didn’t give him any tasks, so he gave this great hero a chance to rest.

But this night was first a narrow escape from death, then seeing so many important figures of the Han Dynasty, but he had to wait until dawn to know how to win—

Tian Yan could already anticipate that he would have to stay awake until morning.

The two glanced at each other and sighed very tacitly.

They both felt that the other was just as ignorant of the situation as they were.

Fortunately, during the day, there were no new tasks to attack the city, so they didn’t need to divert their attention.

The previous failure to attack Changshe was undoubtedly a blow to Bo Cai.

Since he didn’t want Liang Zhongning to share his credit, it would be best to take Changshe as soon as possible before the other side knew everything about the situation inside the city.

Especially since his previous action was based on the experience he had heard, all saying that these high-ranking officials would inevitably make mistakes due to emotional turmoil after besieging for many days.

But he never expected that even though he had the advantage in numbers and was in a dominant position, he could not change the fact that his opponents were experienced generals.

They would never give him such an opportunity to take advantage of.

For him, the most troublesome thing after capturing the city would be to appease the Yellow Turban soldiers.

These soldiers with low military skills would not see that in the breakout battle led by Liang Zhongning, Cao Cao used a strategy of luring the enemy.

If Bo Cai had not withdrawn his troops in advance, it would have been strange if Liang Zhongning had not been seriously injured.

All they saw was that their commander-in-chief was ineffective in facing the resistance of the Han army, while Liang Zhongning and his troops appeared very brave in battle.

This kind of comparison made it hard for them not to further associate it with what they had heard before about the military camp layout.

Qiao Yan had to admit that her luck was indeed good this time.

Cheng Li, entrusted by Qiao Yan, had to do something in both camps, so he wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

However, this time, he changed his strategy of escalating conflicts and instead turned to inducing this desirable emotion.

Qiao Yan deliberately, with the help of Liang Zhongning, created a difference between the Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou and the Yellow Turbans of Yuzhou, which finally came in handy at this moment.

The system now felt that its central operation was slightly inadequate, so it decisively decided to act as a qualified atmosphere group and quietly observe Qiao Yan’s actions.

While Cheng Li was provoking emotions in the camp, Qiao Yan was not idle either.

She gave Liang Zhongning another lesson, this time about human nature.

This kind of thing that seemed like he had learned something but actually hadn’t made the system call it a deception.

But how could Liang Zhongning feel that the strategist was deceiving him?

At most, he felt that this thing might be like the saying of astrology, something he couldn’t grasp.

Among these seemingly profound truths, there was a statement that was quite easy to accept, and it became particularly easy to remember because of this contrast.

What Qiao Yan said was that the sugar-coated bullets thrown by the other party after a conflict are often traps.

In fact, there was no need to make these Yellow Turbans’ thoughts too complicated.

Just like the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou before, even if Bu Ji and Zhang Bo died, they could still eat well, even better than before, and live comfortably under Liang Zhongning’s command.

Now, the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan, Yuzhou, would also yearn for a better marching environment.

But under Qiao Yan’s brainwashing, Liang Zhongning didn’t think so.

“He really fell into your trap!” The system’s tone was helpless, “He must now think he’s the one pointed to by the stars in Yanzhou and Yuzhou. But unfortunately, Bo Cai has intentions to harm him, even going so far as to have his subordinates show goodwill to him first.”

“What one likes, one will like excessively; what one dislikes, one will also dislike excessively,” Qiao Yan replied.

She walked out of the tent and looked around the seemingly orderly but actually full of loopholes camp, confirming that everything was within her plan before retracting her gaze. “Moreover, even if he was deceived by me… there’s still the option of surrendering and seeking amnesty, right?”

The system was a bit puzzled, and then it heard Qiao Yan quietly recite a passage: “The world is in chaos, markets are deserted; mothers cannot protect their children, wives lose their husbands. Thanks to Huangfu, peace is restored.”

This song was found in its system library, and it was about Huangfu Song.

However, the appearance of this song was after Huangfu Song slaughtered the surrendering Yellow Turbans at Guangzong, casting their 100,000 corpses into a Jingguan, as a way for the Han Dynasty to show its gratitude for maintaining its rule.

This was also spread by him after he was appointed Governor of Jizhou and requested the exemption of one year’s land tax for Jizhou.

“The sixty thousand people who died under Guangzong City would certainly not appreciate this ‘peace is restored,’ and Huangfu Song, who still bore the responsibility of guarding the borders of the Han Dynasty after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, probably did not expect something like the Five Barbarians’ invasion to happen more than a hundred years later.”

Qiao Yan’s tone was unreadable to the system.

She immediately said, “Forget it, let’s not talk about this. I shouldn’t be the one to judge Huangfu Yizhen’s merits and demerits. At least, the current Huangfu Song has not yet committed the massacre of surrendering soldiers after eight months of fighting.”

In fact, Huangfu Song’s intimidating move did not stop the remaining Yellow Turbans who fled to various states of the Han Dynasty after the Zhang brothers’ death from resisting the Han Dynasty.

For example, in the first year of Chuping, that is, in AD 192, the remaining Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou invaded Yanzhou and occupied Dongping and Rencheng in one fell swoop, and even killed Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou at that time.

When they made this move, they didn’t have the slightest worry that one day their heads might also end up under the Jingguan at Guangzong City.

Only two months had passed since the disaster of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and Huangfu Song had officially joined the battlefield for less than a month.

At this time, the Yellow Turbans who turned their coats still had a chance to negotiate their life and death with the Han army.

Qiao Yan’s thoughts would not be mentioned to Cheng Li.

After all, people living in this era would never think that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was just the beginning of a hundred years of war and chaos.

She had a rough idea, and that was enough.

Now, she needed to deal with the battle at hand first!

The siege of the fortress was nothing more than a small-scale skirmish, and it was even hard to call it a battle.

Eliminating Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, bringing all the Yellow Turban forces under Liang Zhongning’s control, did not even involve a clash of soldiers; it should be considered more of an assassination operation.

But now it was different!

No matter how much they played with the tricks of inciting people’s hearts and the surprise attack plan of inside and outside cooperation, it could not change the fact that this was indeed a battle involving tens of thousands of people.

She had already felt a surge of emotions when she watched the real siege before, and now she felt even more so.

Because in this battle, she was manipulating the chess pieces, and it was about to reach its conclusion!

On the night of the next day, the wind picked up a bit.

In May, there were often north winds in Yuzhou, and today was no exception.

Bo Cai did not realize the problem with camping to the south of Changshe, but for Huangfu Song, this was undoubtedly an opportunity.

The prerequisite for breaking the enemy that Qiao Yan provided had been clearly stated in the letter to him, which required him to enter Bo Cai’s camp and create some chaos.

The letter also contained the suitable entry point, which was obtained from Qiao Yan and Cheng Li’s observations of the camp over the past few days.

She had requirements for Huangfu Song, but it didn’t make this Left Central Commandant feel that it was a troublesome matter.

On the contrary, he thought that the so-called inside and outside cooperation was meaningful only when both sides worked together.

After all, Huangfu Song was not willing to make any passive moves.

Moreover, in Qiao Yan’s letter, which tried its best to portray herself as a future pillar, there was also an implicit praise for Huangfu Song.

The phrase “not afraid that General Huangfu cannot recognize talents and understand the situation” was a great and subtle compliment to a general.

With both the goal of defeating the enemy and the admiration of the younger generation, Huangfu Song naturally had to do his best.

It’s hard to say whether it was inevitable in history or because Qiao Yan had Tian Yan use the signal of firing arrows with saltpeter to ignite fire as a reminder, which also played a role in prompting Huangfu Song.

He still chose to use fire attack.