If Qiao Yan had previously been short of people, she would definitely have missed such inquiries before recruiting.

But now, things were different.

Even if it wasn’t to dampen Chu Yan’s vigor, she had capable individuals like Cheng Li in Government, Xi Zhicai in Strategy, the father-daughter pair Cai Yong, Yang Xiu, Qin Yu and Xu Fu’s mother and son, and Lu Yuan.

In terms of military talent, there were Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Zhang Yang, and others.

It could be said that every aspect had capable people, so whether Chu Yan was on her team didn’t affect the overall situation for her.

Having already escaped the situation of being short of essential personnel, it was now crucial to recruit selectively.

With the stable output of paper armor in the industry and the growing trajectory of yam cultivation, whether Chu Yan served as a link between her and the Black Mountain Army was equally less important.

Of course, Chu Yan had its irreplaceable significance, particularly in mobile warfare.

However, such praise should not come from Qiao Yan’s mouth while their hierarchical relationship was still undetermined, lest it indulged the cunning nature of this commander of the Black Mountain Army.

So, after considering various thoughts, it all boiled down to just one question in her mind: “Why choose you?”

It’s somewhat similar to modern recruiting, where showing one’s competitiveness is crucial.

Chu Yan had indeed considered this question.

He replied without hesitation, “Because I can train a special force for Lord Qiao.”

“The people of Leping County can eat and dress well, and in current times, they can even be considered prosperous.

However, Leping’s defense is still far from sufficient.

Zhao Yun ( Zilong ) leads the county officials on patrol, which is commendable, but we still lack a specialized unit to fill the gaps in all directions.”

Seeing no sign of objection from Qiao Yan’s face, and sensing no hostility, Chu Yan continued, “Lord Qiao might argue that whether we have this special force or not doesn’t affect Leping’s defense.

Like when I led the team with Zhang Niujiao earlier, we fell into Lord Qiao’s trap instead.”

“But this is like fishing with a baited hook, showing intent while seeming unintentional.

If we are vigilant in such ways every day, using Lord Qiao’s great talent to guard against us bandits, it would be a loss.”

Qiao Yan found it somewhat amusing to listen to this.

Chu Yan’s subtle praise and criticism were indeed quite intriguing.

With his words, Qiao Yan couldn’t really bring up his past failures anymore.

“Besides, I still have some friends among the rangers in Changshan County.

Previously, with Lord Qiao’s three arguments, they were reluctant to rise up under the Yellow Turbans’ banner.

However, if offered a place to settle and work, rather than rebelling, they might be willing to follow me.”

“In today’s Leping, attracting refugees is not difficult, but if we want to form a guard unit by selecting from the refugees, it’s not as effective as directly recruiting these rangers and brave warriors.”

“If Lord Qiao is willing to give Chu Yan a horse, a sword, and a written guarantee, and more importantly, a chance to showcase my skills, Chu Yan can promise that the hills and ridges of Leping will become a staunch defensive barrier.”

Such a commitment wasn’t made lightly…

Qiao Yan had to admit that someone as capable as Chu Yan was indeed somewhat arrogant. “Staunch defensive barrier” was not a phrase to be used lightly.

But perhaps even more interesting were his next words.

He suddenly lowered his voice and said, “To be blunt, if Lord Qiao has the appetite to swallow us Black Mountain bandits, nine thousand strong warrior, someday when the army marches from Leping, a special force also…”

Qiao Yan chuckled and interrupted him, “That’s enough of that.”

If he continued, she would not be able to deceive her council of advisers.

She looked into his eyes and calmly said, “You’re right. Leping needs a specialized guard unit, and even someone skilled in mountain warfare.

You have more courage and capability than Zhang Niujiao or Wang Dang and Sun Qing combined, especially in making decisive decisions with a clear stance, much stronger than them.”

“I can give you the horse, sword, and written guarantee you asked for. However, your journey to Changshan won’t be alone. Zhao Yu will accompany you.”

Qiao Yan raised her hand, signaling Chu Yan to hold off speaking for now. “It’s not that I distrust you, but I’ve heard that Zhao Zilong ( Yun ) still has an elder brother in Changshan.

Now that winter has passed and the roads to Jingxing are open, it’s better to bring him to Leping as well.

Zhao Zilong will handle this personally. You recruit your people, he brings his, and you can travel together.”

Chu Yan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This was equivalent to laying out a clear path in front of Qiao Yan.

After setting aside this burden, as he looked at Qiao Yan again, he couldn’t help but feel that his previous impression of her heavy aura might have been a misconception, perhaps because he hadn’t received this answer before.

The county lord who had single-handedly improved the lives of the people in Leping smiled at the sprawling sweet potato fields that had yet to yield.

In reality, she seemed quite approachable, didn’t she?

Moreover, what he received afterward wasn’t just the horse, weapons, and written guarantee promised by Qiao Yan.

He also got a pouch with five zhu of money and three jin of gold!

Upon seeing this package, he couldn’t help but look at Qiao Yan with a bewildered expression.

“Don’t doubt those you employ, and don’t employ those you doubt. I’ve mentioned my principles to Lu Yuan before, and it’s the same with you.”

Today, as Qiao Yan bid farewell to Chu Yan and Zhao Yun, she approached with a sword at her waist.

Though still young, the sharpness in her eyes and demeanor was undiminished.

But for Chu Yan, clutching the package tightly at this moment, there was even more of a sense of mutual respect and understanding.

He couldn’t quite explain it himself.

Would he have been so moved if there hadn’t been this process of hesitation before recognition?

He was deeply impressed by this trust that was given to him.

But he knew two things.

Firstly, choosing to serve under Lord Qiao in Leping was his own decision, unrelated to others.

Secondly, wasn’t he hoping for someone loyal who would set aside biases against bandits and trust him wholeheartedly?

Whether he received this treatment when he initially started building his reputation or now, there was no need to dwell on it!

After all, he wasn’t going to cheat Qiao Yan and run off with the money.

Now that he had the resettlement funds, it would be easier for him to find his companions who had returned home.

This was undoubtedly much better than the situation he had imagined before.

Qiao Yan watched the two men leave, and couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy and excitement emanating from Chu Yan.

She shook her head with a smile, hands clasped behind her back, and walked back towards the county office.

If Chu Yan, though silent, had subtly shown signs of growing loyalty today, it was good news.

And when she arrived at the county office and saw the messenger from Luoyang, it would undoubtedly be another piece of good news.

This messenger was sent by Bi Lan!

As April approached, Bi Lan indeed did not disappoint Qiao Yan’s expectations by delivering the prototype she had inquired about.

Of course, Bi Lan couldn’t actually produce a fully functioning water-lifting device to be sent into the Taihang Mountains.

Instead, as the eunuch favored by Liu Hong for his ingenuity, he created a scaled-down model that allowed Qiao Yan to understand its construction better.

Qiao Yan had remembered that the ancient chain drive mechanism used in the Han Dynasty’s water-lifting device was the first application of its kind.

Now, this scaled-down model demonstrated exactly that.

She had someone bring in a basin of water and placed the miniature device on the edge.

After turning the driving chain wheel, the dragon bone paddles scraped up the water along the grooves and lifted it up through the interconnected long channels.

The device operated effortlessly when turned externally, requiring some manpower but significantly less than before when water had to be manually transported up the mountainside.

Accompanying the model was a letter from Bi Lan.

In the letter, he mentioned that Qiao Yan had commissioned the device from him last year, around the time when Bao Hong had delivered a letter to him.

This year, with the incident of the Nangong fire, he took the opportunity to present a semi-finished version of the device to Liu Hong, modified to be used for watering palace gardens and pathways.

He received Liu Hong’s commendation, making him feel somewhat indebted to Qiao Yan.

He expressed his intention to further improve the water-lifting device and had sought the expertise of Ma Lun for this purpose.