Especially the wine barrels at the warehouse entrance.

Since Leping County was evidently prepared for them, it was clear they wouldn’t overlook any arrangements regarding guarding the warehouse entrance.

This was obviously a move to lower their guard.

Zhang Niujiao, who was also brought here, realized this fact.

Now, meeting Chu Yan’s gaze, he couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

Some of his guard had indeed been dispelled by the situation, causing him to completely disregard Chu Yan’s warning to be vigilant after entering the city.

“Brother, it’s me—”

“Under the Yanwang Wall, captured Niujiao; before Phoenix Mountain, captured Chu Yan, Leping is indeed a treasure trove.”

Before Zhang Niujiao could finish speaking, he was interrupted by this sudden remark, which sounded like a provocation.

He glared angrily, only to see a young girl in dark clothing approaching, the words spoken between her laughter and clapping.

He wanted to display his anger and unwillingness to this child, but in this world, it was always about the winner taking all.

Now that he had become a prisoner, where did he have the capital to be arrogant and willful?

Zhang Niujiao wore a stern expression as he looked at the astute county lord.

Behind the girl were also Dian Wei and Zhao Yun, the two Leaders who had captured both him and Chu Yan, making Qiao Yan’s presence even more imposing.

“To be honest with both of you, I learned of your news a month ago, and there were people who came to request an alliance with our forces to eliminate the bandits.

Unfortunately, at that time, I didn’t have the resources to deal with both of you, so I had to delay until today.”

Qiao Yan said calmly, unsurprised to see a hint of frustration on the faces of Chu Yan and Zhang Niujiao.

This so-called delay until today didn’t seem to make them feel like they were being treated with any special consideration.

Instead, it seemed like Qiao Yan was implying that she was prepared for them to fall into her trap today, which was quite a slap in their faces.

Ever since they learned about the substantial wealth here, it had been nothing but a complete trap.

But in times of famine, who wouldn’t be tempted by a large amount of food?

The Jin family of Jinyang might not care about it, and they even offered an additional 15,000 sack of grain as a gift to show gratitude and strengthen ties with Qiao Yan.

However, for those who chose to leave their hometowns and become bandits under the protection of the Taihang Mountains, they couldn’t afford not to care!

Even if they knew it was a trap ahead, if they had to do it all over again, they would probably just choose a different approach to obtain the food.

Unfortunately, their opponents were not ordinary people.

As the ruler of the county, Qiao Yan now had victory in her hands, and it seemed she was justified in being somewhat arrogant.

“This doesn’t seem like the usual behavior of County Lord Qiao,” Xu Fu observed Qiao Yan’s attitude and whispered to Cheng Li.

Cheng Li was merely directing Dian Wei and Bao Hong to strike at the right moment.

He hadn’t experienced any direct confrontation; at most, he had endured a sleepless night, still looking neat and composed.

After hearing Xu Fu’s words, he asked, “Are you suggesting that County Lord Qiao’s attitude towards Chu Yan and Zhang Niujiao seems different from her attitude towards Zhang Jiao, Zhang Liang, and others who became captives before, as well as the Yellow Turban bandits?”

“Exactly,” Xu Fu replied.

Cheng Li explained, “It’s not surprising. She may have some respect and pity for Zhang Jiao and others because their fate was almost beyond her control.

After all, people like Zhang Jiao, the ringleader of the Yellow Turbans, regardless of any noble intentions to save the people from suffering, ultimately faced a dead end after the chaos.

But the situation with these two might not be the same.”

He quickly proposed a possibility that Xu Fu hadn’t considered before. “I think County Lord Qiao intends to recruit them.”

“But…”

What Xu Fu wanted to express was not about whether these Black Mountain bandits were bandits or not, but rather the fact that their numbers and scale were comparable to the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

In such a situation, accepting them in Leping County would be extremely dangerous.

Moreover, with the involvement of the Northern Army of the court in this battle, and Bao Hong being destined to leave and return to Luoyang City soon,

If Qiao Yan indeed wanted to accommodate these Black Mountain bandits, it would undoubtedly be a risky move.

Because there was no telling what impact this news would have once it reached Luoyang.

However, Xu Fu also inferred some implications from Cheng Li’s words.

It made sense that Qiao Yan would display such dominance to subdue these bandits.

If she didn’t first undermine their arrogance, there would be no talk of them submitting.

That’s why Qiao Yan started with such a disdainful tone, almost like reciting a poem.

Although the arrival of these Black Mountain bandits meant that a considerable portion of her food was now left on the mountain pass.

It also led to inevitable casualties among the Leping county’s young men during the pursuit, they still numbered nearly ten thousand.

Chu Yan looked up at Qiao Yan and said, “Since you’ve already captured us, whether to kill or torture us is entirely up to you. Why bother saying more here?”

Qiao Yan seemed to ignore the anger in his gaze and replied calmly, “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Eliminate evil to its roots’?”

Chu Yan’s eyebrows twitched.

Qiao Yan continued, “Although the Black Mountain bandits may be fewer without you, those remaining may still cause trouble. Instead of letting them develop further, perhaps it’s better to deal with them all at once.”

“Do you agree with this reasoning?”

The words made sense, but what completely puzzled Chu Yan was that Qiao Yan didn’t use them as bait.

Instead, she sent them to build a temple, specifically the temple that Qiao Xuan should build in Leping.

Shackles in the county yamen were limited, and there were not enough staff to watch over them closely.

If some of them wanted to escape into the mountains, it wouldn’t be impossible.

However, Chu Yan soon realized that even if someone wanted to attempt an escape, it wasn’t happening.

The Lord of Leping County seemed genuinely generous with food reserves, providing enough food to satisfy even those who were not supposed to be well-fed prisoners.

The rice sent by the Jin clan was far superior to ordinary grain, making even a simple meal enticing.

With such meals available, even in these hard times, most people were willing to stay put.

Chu Yan noticed that there were two more shipments of rice sent to Leping afterward, although not as much as the initial thirty thousand sack from the warehouse.

However, it was enough to make the closed granary a coveted sanctuary.

“There’s no way there’s sixty thousand. If there’s twenty-five thousand, that’s already good,” Qiao Yan said, leaning her head on her hand, her expression showing some frustration.

Feeding them laborer’s meals was indeed a good way to temporarily stabilize the Black Mountain bandits, but it was also incredibly costly.

Apart from the food allocated to these laborers, there was also a need to provide rations to the county residents who suffered casualties while pursuing the bandits.

Additionally, the presence of Bao Hong and others in the area naturally incurred expenses.

Previously, they could rely on the county’s granary, but now it was nearly depleted.

The remaining stockpile was now being tapped into, despite Qiao Yan’s efforts to shuffle it around to create the illusion of increasing reserves.

While this method seemed effective to outsiders, it couldn’t be sustained indefinitely.

She needed a sustainable solution to replenish their resources.

Thinking about the potential influx of people from her arrangement with the remaining Black Mountain bandits, Qiao Yan felt a sense of urgency.

Their fundamental principles couldn’t be compromised just because of an increase in manpower.

Farming would remain farming; they couldn’t suddenly switch to brewing.

The sustainable solution…

Just as she pondered this, there was a knock at the door.

Upon receiving her signal to enter, Yang Xiu stepped in, wearing a complex expression.

His expression wasn’t due to the lingering effects of the terrain model Qiao Yan had manipulated earlier or because of any new impression formed from the recent battle in the Taihang Mountains.

It was because he had received some unexpected news.

“That… gentleman of intellect wishes to see you,” he said, his tone hinting at the peculiarity of the request.

She immediately heard Yang Xiu continue, “Perhaps it shouldn’t be called ‘ Zhi Cai,’ but should be called ‘Mr. Xi Zhicai”

Xi Zhicai?!

Qiao Yan almost instinctively wanted to stand up, but she had experienced many ups and downs, so she didn’t show any signs of being flustered in front of Yang Xiu.

However, although she had seen many future talents and heroes who were still young, she had never seen anyone like Xi Zhicai before,

Who sent himself to someone else’s territory to work in such a half-given, half-sold manner.

Especially as someone who would be known in later generations as a strategist, it was surprising that he was engaged in this brewing business.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but find it amusing when she thought about how she had wanted to praise his boldness in trying to brew pea sweet wine.

But why wasn’t he continuing to work as a drunken laborer now?

Although Qiao Yan pondered this in her mind, it didn’t affect her calm response, “Let him in.”

Xi Zhicai still had the same unkempt appearance as when Qiao Yan first saw him,

and he still had the air of a standard drunkard, as if he hadn’t yet sobered up from drinking.

However, in his eyes, there was a clear and calculating look, enough to distinguish him from an ordinary drunkard.

As soon as he entered the room, he bowed to Qiao Yan and said, “Xu Zhi, from Yingchuan, here to offer strategies to Marquis Qiao.”