Zheng Xuan from Gaomi.

The aftermath of the “Partisan Proscription” had affected Zheng Xuan for thirteen years, leaving him trapped in Gaomi without being able to take a step away.

During these years, Chunyu Qiong, who had always been in Luoyang, naturally had no chance to meet this esteemed scholar.

However, to arrive in such a manner, with several carriages of books, and to be greeted by Lu Zhi himself, there was no one other than Zheng Xuan who could achieve such a feat.

As soon as Zheng Xuan arrived, he saw Qiao Yan approaching him, addressing him as “Zheng Gong of Yanzhou, please accept my apology.”

This undoubtedly announced Zheng Xuan’s status.

Zheng Xuan was also the one she had sent for after discussing with Huangfu Song.

However, his personal arrival exceeded her expectations because in the letter she wrote to Zheng Xuan, she actually wrote:

“If Zheng Gong cannot come in person, sending a trusted disciple would also be acceptable.”

This was already enough for her to begin her actions.

But Zheng Xuan’s personal arrival in Jizhou undoubtedly gave her more confidence.

When this venerable elder, with his impressive demeanor, heard her apology, he showed no displeasure on his face.

“In the letter you sent, you made it clear about the whole matter of using my name. How could I blame you for this?”

Seeing Qiao Yan stand up, he looked her up and down.

“You claim to be my youngest disciple, and from your manners, you are indeed a person of integrity. Tell me, what can I do for you?”

Seeing the girl’s clear and intelligent demeanor, Zheng Xuan couldn’t help but admire her a bit more.

He continued, “Avenging one’s parents and being filial to one’s children is a natural duty.

You did not treat the Yellow Turbans as rebels and traitors, but instead, under the command of the two generals, you saved the lives of the common people.

Now, you seek help for the lives of even more people through letters.

Although I have not been active outside for many years, how can I not come in person?”

Qiao Yan hurriedly replied, “Zheng Gong is noble and righteous.”

But the elder waved his hand. “You don’t need to flatter me. I still have a few questions for you. If your answers don’t satisfy me, even if someone comes, I may not necessarily fulfill your request.”

Although he said this, even Chunyu Qiong, who understood the least about why Qiao Yan had invited Zheng Xuan, could easily hear from his words that, rather than intimidation, there was more of a conversational tone, showing some indulgence towards the younger generation.

“Zheng Gong, please ask.”

As Zheng Xuan walked towards the camp, he asked, “How do you think I have the ability to damage Zhang Jiao’s Taiping Daoist teachings?”

The Taiping Dao focused on the teachings of Huang-Lao, while Zheng Xuan was deeply rooted in Confucianism.

There was no intersection between the two, at most, there were some similarities in their theories.

This was different from the literary debates Zheng Xuan had experienced with modern and ancient textual studies.

If Qiao Yan had said she had hope in him because of his reputation, he would have turned and left immediately, without hesitation.

However, it was clear that Qiao Yan had considered this issue.

She calmly replied, “I once studied the Taiping Qingling Book in Yanzhou, but I hope none of you will send me to prison just because I read this banned book.”

Huangfu Song immediately burst into laughter. “We must let Zi properly control his subordinates. Making temporary decisions in urgent situations is always correct.”

Qiao Yan nodded to Lu Zhi and continued to explain, “The Taiping Qingling Book is closely related to Zhang Jiao’s Taipingjing, with many claims of false astrology and borrowed divine spirits.”

As she spoke, she seemed as candid as if she had never mentioned anything about “the Di and Fang stars shining brightly, dividing the regions of Yanzhou and Yuzhou” to Liang Zhongning.

Seeing Zheng Xuan’s expression, she seemed to understand her intentions to some extent, so she continued,

“So I’m not asking Sir Zheng to refute Zhang Jiao with classical studies.

As someone who has been teaching for a long time, you naturally know that Zhou rituals and the Zuo Commentary are not things that the common people can understand.

But there might be something that can be explained clearly.”

“I have heard of your extraordinary talent in divination. You once studied the mysteries of the heavens with a great scholar from Fufeng. Ma Jichang has long since passed away.”

“The only person who can refute the falsehoods in the Taiping Qingling Book with the theory of celestial patterns and constellations is Sir Zheng alone.”

Zheng Xuan pointed at Lu Zhi and smiled, “Lu Zhi and I are from the same school. You should seek his help.”

Qiao Yan didn’t mind playing up her age advantage a bit and showed a slightly charming expression, “If we talk about military formations,

Lu Gong is better than you.

If we talk about celestial calculations, Lu Gong is not as good as you.

To break through this world’s rare and heavy shield, we naturally need the sharpest spear, don’t you think?”

This comparison didn’t offend either of them.

After all, she was still young, and even if she spoke too directly, she wouldn’t be blamed too much.

Lu Zhi and Zheng Xuan looked at each other and almost simultaneously burst into laughter.

Having not seen each other for many years, their names being mentioned by a younger generation at the same time might have evoked feelings of reminiscence and cherishing the present.

“Well,” Zheng Xuan seemed quite satisfied with Qiao Yan’s answer.

He continued, “Your reasoning is indeed correct. However, you must know that the foundation of the Taiping Dao lies in equal distribution of wealth. It regards peace and equality as the heavenly way, mentioning the money of the small and internal affairs. How will you refute this?”

Qiao Yan didn’t directly answer the question.

Instead, she asked Zheng Xuan, “Before Zhang Jiao, wealth was not equally distributed. But was there anyone like him who could command three hundred thousand people in several provinces overnight?”

“No,” Zheng Xuan replied.

“The saying goes, ‘Not fearing scarcity, but fearing inequality,’ which has long been said.

But pure fairness may inadvertently allow lazy people to profit from it. I don’t think this is the fundamental issue,” Qiao Yan said, noticing a thoughtful look on Zheng Xuan’s face.

She paused for a moment before continuing, “Zhang Jiao was able to spread these ideas of peace and equality throughout the world.

Upon careful consideration, I found that it was not primarily due to fairly distributing wealth and land, but because the heavenly way of peace granted longevity.”

“In the fourth year of Jianning, the second year of Xiping, the second year of Guanghe, and the fifth year of Guanghe, there were four major epidemics, which gave Zhang Jiao the opportunity to spread his teachings of grace and dao.”

If not for the timing of disasters aiding human calamity, Zhang Jiao would never have been able to develop the Taiping Dao to such an extent.

The idea of using water to cure diseases, in modern terms, is probably a combination of mild drugs and psychological therapy, presented in a religious way, which became Zhang Jiao’s most advantageous means of rallying the rebellion.

Given the epidemics of the time, including cholera, pneumonia, and hemorrhagic fever, the claim of having many healers is indeed questionable.

“But I am not an expert in this field, nor can I determine the facts based on my personal experiences,” Qiao Yan said. “So I have invited another person, who will engage in the second debate with Zhang Jiao.”

“From what you’re saying, this person is a physician?”

Zheng Xuan inquired, and Qiao Yan nodded in response, “Indeed, he is also a renowned physician of our time. However, I did not invite him to refute the theory of water cure.”

She looked a bit embarrassed, “I heard that this person has been traveling around saving people for years.

If I had just asked him to come and compete with Zhang Jiao, he might have preferred to stay in his hometown developing new medicines.

So, I told him that there would be a major epidemic after the Battle of Jizhou and begged him to come for the sake of the people.”

If it weren’t for stumbling upon this recent information about him in her original memories, Qiao Yan wouldn’t have thought to ask him.

Fortunately, after Zheng Xuan was satisfied with Qiao Yan’s answer and decided to stay to help her, the second team sent to find someone also brought back good news.

They had managed to bring Hua Tuo here.

Hua Tuo was from Qiao County, Pei State, Yanzhou, and was considered to be from the same hometown as Cao Cao.

Cao Cao had previously guessed that Qiao Yan’s visit there was clearly not to find someone from his family.

After being transferred back from Guangzong by Huangfu Song, he happened to witness this explanation.

“So, you were looking for Mr. Yuan Hua.” Cao Cao stroked his beard. “It is indeed feasible to use his medical skills against Zhang Jiao’s water cure.”

At this time, the term “Three Divine Physicians of the Jian’an Era,” referring to Hua Tuo, Dong Feng, and Zhang Zhongjing, had not yet been coined.

However, since Cao Cao was from the same hometown as Hua Tuo, he must have heard of his reputation.

Although the medical profession was considered lowly in ancient times, when it came to someone of Hua Tuo’s caliber, who knows how many people would entrust their lives to him? Indeed, he deserved respect and courtesy.

Fortunately for Qiao Yan, luck was on her side.

Hua Tuo hadn’t ventured outside these past two years.

Instead, he had been compiling his experiences as a wandering physician in places like Yangzhou and Xuzhou into a book.

It was only upon hearing about the large number of patients that he hurried over.

It was even luckier that while Hua Tuo detested being at the beck and call of others, and even dared to refuse Cao Cao’s summons to treat a headache later on, he still somewhat aligned with the prevailing attitude of the time.

Seeing Zheng Xuan present after arriving here, his attitude changed.

After Qiao Yan’s people delivered the stored water cures from Quzhou and Guangzong to Hua Tuo, he threw himself wholeheartedly into his research.

It was clear that this divine physician had already hinted at his decision through his actions.

Qiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

“When I heard that you were going to debate with Zhang Jiao three times while I was dealing with the Yellow Turban captives in Guangzong, I really thought you were going to engage in a lofty debate with him. I was worried,” remarked Cao Cao, noticing Qiao Yan’s expression.

Now that he thought about it, he realized that despite her young age, she had the determination of thunder.

She was truly a pragmatic and loyal supporter, so why would she worry?

“It’s just like having a back-and-forth argument on stage.”

“Uncle, please don’t tease me,” Qiao Yan pleaded, arching her hand. “In the end, I’m still young and not very knowledgeable. I can only break through by borrowing strength, which can be considered a shortcut.”

“You’re wrong,” Cao Cao’s face showed a seriousness that wasn’t feigned. “I don’t think what you’re doing is taking a shortcut, but a genuinely viable method.”

“To have such insightful vision, such decisive actions in finding people, especially inviting Sir Zheng here, takes great courage.

If all this is the work of an inexperienced child, then I, Cao Mengde, would be ashamed to the core.”

Seeing that her candid words seemed to startle her, Cao Cao returned to his slightly teasing expression, “But I’m curious about one thing. I know who you’re looking for in the third debate. But how will this strike at Zhang Jiao?”

When they were traveling from Xiayang to Guangzong, Cao Cao had already asked why Qiao Yan wanted Xu Fu to search for a Buddhist temple within the territory of Jizhou.

Since the participants for the first two debates were already decided, she didn’t need to hide anything about the third debate.

“The third debate may be a bit more unorthodox than the first two,” Qiao Yan replied.

“…?” Cao Cao didn’t quite understand her.

He then heard a term from Qiao Yan’s mouth that he truly didn’t understand, “Uncle, you can understand the third debate as a ‘moral scrutiny,’ in short, a moral strike.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Zhang Jiao’s Taiping Dao system was borrowed from Buddhism. With an existing religious framework to use, it is naturally much easier than starting from scratch.

But if the Taiping Dao believes that its own doctrine is flawless and is the supreme heavenly way, then why engage in the act of picking up others’ ideas?”

“So, I say, this is a bit unorthodox,” Qiao Yan was quite self-aware of her approach.

However, the study of celestial patterns and the calculation of numerology are scientific, and medical treatment in the face of a major epidemic is medical science.

Using a bit of an unconventional approach in the framework of refutation, no one would think it’s a problem.

Moreover, she was still a child.

Sometimes, playing the age card could be useful.

Furthermore, how to introduce the topics of these three debates depended on how she and Zhang Jiao faced each other head-on.

All in all, even though the successive arrivals of Zheng Xuan and Hua Tuo had eased her pressure to some extent, it was still going to be a tough battle.

Before the deadline for the third debate agreed upon by her and Zhang Jiao arrived, the third…

Fang Zhuli also arrived in Quzhou.

Xu Fu clearly did not disappoint her and brought the person here.

The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead, which had not completely dissipated, calmed his hurried breathing after the journey, and then said, “I have not disappointed Miss Fang’s expectations. I have brought the abbot from the temple.”

Although Qiao Yan said that it was fine to tie the person up directly, using some violent law enforcement methods, Xu Fu’s brain was not bad either.

No matter how he thought about it, he felt that Qiao Yan wanted to make good use of him.

If this person were to develop any resentment from being forcibly abducted and do something unfavorable to her at a critical moment, wouldn’t it ruin her plan?

So, Xu Fu, who should have been the first to arrive, became the last to come.

He had learned a lot in the temple, relying on his superior learning talent to recite and understand all the scriptures in the temple.

He even promised to translate two volumes of scriptures for this Zen master before bringing him here.

However, after bringing the person here, he felt that he had wasted so much time, as if he had missed out on something…

For example, the battle between Guangzong and Quzhou had already ended completely.

He had originally wanted to help Qiao Yan with her horse, but he hadn’t even seen the handsome flag being raised.

Another example is that after he came back, he only exchanged a few words with Qiao Yan before seeing her being called away by Zheng Xuan.

Hearing that the master of classics was quite interested in Miss Fang’s calculation ability, he directly grabbed her as an assistant.

Yet another example…

Dian Wei slapped Xu Fu on the shoulder, almost knocking him to the ground.

This guy had no self-awareness of his own strength and said, “It’s a good thing you remembered to come back. If you had come back any later, you would have missed the opportunity to build this debate platform.”

In the Battle of Quzhou, Zhang Liang directly opened the city gates to welcome the enemy because Zhang Jiao was captured.

As a result, the soldiers who had hoped to show off and gain military merit by killing the enemy had no chance to do so.

These people simply used their strength to build the platform.

As for why it was not placed inside Quzhou City but outside, it was naturally to accommodate enough spectators.

On the day of the debate, soldiers deeply influenced by Zhang Jiao’s Taiping Dao doctrine from Guangzong and Quzhou were brought here, while those from the outer ring were under Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but sigh at the sight.

Kindness in this world is not just empty talk.

If she couldn’t successfully bring Zhang Jiao down today…

She had no doubt that Huangfu Song would immediately order the execution of these captives to prevent future troubles.

The number of Yellow Turbans in the entire Jizhou region was not limited to those in these two cities.

However, these people would inevitably become the souls under the Han army’s sword in the future.

This was also a necessary measure to maintain the rule of the Han Dynasty.

Perhaps, in place of this platform, there would be a Jingguan made from the heads of Yellow Turbans.

So, she could only succeed, not fail!

When she woke up this morning, she even told the system that this was the bargaining chip she wanted to add to her enfeoffment.

But now, standing on this platform and looking into the eyes of the people of Jizhou around her, she couldn’t recall that goal for a moment.

It was at this moment that Zhang Jiao, still wearing shackles, was brought up.

The debate between Qiao Yan and Zhang Jiao was witnessed by Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi, so naturally he had not been mistreated in terms of food during the past half month.

Perhaps due to his defense of the Taiping Dao doctrine, Zhang Jiao was also filled with a sense of righteousness, making him appear only slightly thinner than when he was captured, but his mental state was still quite good.

He walked step by step towards the middle of the platform, approaching Qiao Yan.

The characteristics bestowed upon him by his years of preaching as a great teacher were still very prominent at this moment.

Qiao Yan could also hear, that when Zhang Jiao appeared, although the soldiers of the Han army were standing behind her, the cheering of his supporters in the crowd was still loud, thanks to his status as their spiritual leader.

Among these people, there was even Liang Zhongning, the leader of the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou whom she had just met when she arrived,

And Zhang Liang, who surrendered the city but still believed that his elder brother Zhang Jiao would not lose.

But these voices did not cause her mind to become overly relaxed or nervous.

She just gazed steadily at Zhang Jiao and said, “I apologize for keeping you waiting for half a month.”