Guo Jia had ostensibly come to Bingzhou to relax, enjoy the scenery, and clear his mind, but in reality, as he rode along, he had carefully planned the words he wanted to say as if drafting a manuscript.

At this moment, hearing that Qiao Yan was seeking further advice rather than rejecting his thoughts, Guo Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked calmly at Qiao Yan and continued, “Threshold.”

Using a threshold to constrain prisoners.

“Once a defector is recruited by the Marquis, if the merit reward system must indeed be based on first merits, then Marquis Qiao should simultaneously set an appropriate recruitment threshold. It should not be about indiscriminately integrating prisoners into her own retinue.”

When Guo Jia was escorted into the camp at Bingzhou, he had just seen prisoners captured from the earlier campaign of dividing forces in the mountains.

Observing that these prisoners were not heavily guarded, Guo Jia could easily surmise that some of them, particularly those who appeared to be brave and capable, had likely already been selected by Qiao Yan to join her forces.

It was meant to reassure these individuals that she did not intend to execute them in the manner typical of ordinary bandits.

However, in Guo Jia’s view, this approach was not entirely appropriate because it did not dispel the notion among other bandits that they could “try their luck, lose, and still surrender.”

At least one more addition was needed.

He continued, “Perhaps this could be framed differently. Instead of calling it a threshold, there should be both rewards for meritorious service and penalties for redeeming death in parallel.

However, the Han’s rules for redeeming death are based on gold, silver, and cloth, but Marquis Qiao should consider a different approach.”

“Intriguing,” Qiao Yan responded with interest upon hearing the term “redeeming death.”

Guo Jia’s tone suddenly became heavier as he continued, “Three days ago, Gongyang County in Yun Province was attacked and captured by someone.

The entire city was slaughtered, and its wealth plundered, leaving it empty.

Just before I departed from Leping, Master Zhongde received this report, likely delivered to Leping by the provincial governor’s office while Marquis Qiao was focused on eliminating the Hedong Bandits. He entrusted me to deliver this message to you.”

“No survivors from the Gongyang incident, but surely, Marquis Qiao’s sharpness will not fail to discern who was responsible.”

Upon hearing this sudden news, Qiao Yan was startled, though she suppressed any visible signs of surprise, merely clenching her fists subconsciously.

….

During her three years in Leping, she had almost memorized the map of Bingzhou Province, studying it day by day.

She wouldn’t forget where Gongyang was located.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the territorial divisions in the border regions were peculiar.

Gongyang County lay at the northernmost boundary of Xihai Commandery, not far from the Han’s outer territories.

It sat between portions of Wuyuan Commandery and Yunzhong Commandery along this line.

In other words, Gongyang was situated between the Sinicized Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu beyond the borders.

However, the Northern Xiongnu had gradually migrated westward by now, and north of Gongyang lay a branch of the Xiongnu, known as the Xutu Ge.

The commandant guarding the frontier at Yanmen, Guo Yuan, and the military officer Zhang Liao in Yunzhong Dingxiang and the northern borders of Yanmen were positioned there to prevent the Xianbei from taking advantage of the opportunity after re-establishing their leader, Kuitou, and Pudu Gen, to demonstrate Xianbei authority by raiding the frontier.

In this situation, it provided an opportunity for the Xutu Ge Hu.

After Qiao Yan solemnly uttered these words, she received a confirming reply from Guo Jia.

Guo Jia replied, “Indeed, it was the Xutu Ge Hu. But because of the deaths of the county residents in Gongyang City, they arrived under cover of darkness and left at dawn, leaving behind no evidence.

“Nowadays, the garrison troops at the frontier of Bingzhou Province are still unable to spare enough manpower to pursue those tracks and seek revenge by blood!”

“If I were Lord Qiao, once I capture the Hedong bandits, I would not just drive them north, with the bandits in the front and the Black Mountain Army in the rear.

Those capable of killing should be recognized for their merits under the first achievement system. Those killed in action die immediately, which can also be considered as a punishment for their past banditry.”

“If it is like this today, it can be like this tomorrow. Lord Qiao resides on the frontier of Bing Province, isn’t this exactly the most appropriate place for a redemption of death!”

His words undoubtedly made Qiao Yan think of some people, who were lucky enough to survive after the debate with Zhang Jiao during the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Some of these people were sent to the camp under General Du Liao, and some were sent to Youzhou, which could also be considered as a form of redemption.

Qiao Yan originally intended to see what Liang Zhongning is like now.

However, due to the difficult development of the situation in Leping and the shocking July locust plague, she chose to temporarily forget about it and focus on dealing with the bandits after the end of her house arrest.

But this is not the time to consider these people.

She withdrew her thoughts and focused on the proposal put forward by Guo Jia.

Those capable of killing should be recognized for their merits. Those killed in action die immediately.

This is indeed a threshold for selecting people.

With such a selection criterion, it undoubtedly makes people pay more attention to the results of joining her command.

However…

“What if the Hedong bandits turned around and joined forces with the Qiang and Hu? Or even beyond this occasion, what if they continue to do so in the future and boost the influence of the border Hu people?”

The Hedong bandits joining forces with the Xiongnu and causing trouble is something that has happened in history, even in the near future.

But Guo Jia seemed somewhat puzzled as he looked at Qiao Yan and said, “Lord Qiao, this is precisely the least worrying thing. As long as you are always stronger than the Xiongnu and Xianbei outside the border, isn’t that enough?”

Qiao Yan was shaken.

She suddenly realized that this statement wasn’t just because Guo Jia was young and dared to think about it, but because there seemed to be more to it.

In the face of the reality of repeated attacks by the Xiongnu despite the Han’s proclamation of “Those who violate our Han territory will be punished even if they are far away,” if not for the Xiongnu’s attempt in the fifth year of Zhongping to resist by mobilizing troops and killing the Inspector of Bingzhou Province, they might not have known that the Han dynasty could not effectively retaliate.

As a result, they turned the northern borders of Bingzhou Province into a playground where foreign tribes could roam freely.

And if not for the Hedong bandits making peace with them through negotiations…

They might not have realized that the people within the Great Han’s territory could still be considered their own in such circumstances.

Now, there hasn’t been the chaos caused by the Five Barbarians invading China, plunging the Central Plains into complete chaos and disorder.

So Guo Jia could boldly state that as long as they are always stronger than the barbarians beyond the borders.

Even the prisoners in Qiao Yan’s hands can face such a choice —

Continue to oppose her, or choose a slightly simpler path to participate in the border wars, exchanging merits for inclusion in the Leping First Merit System.

There’s a comparative analysis of difficulty in this.

The situation where the Xiongnu only remember the benefits and forget the harm was originally seen by Xi Zhicai as a regular military reward expenditure.

However, due to Guo Jia’s suggestion, it could become a crucial link in the replenishment chain of military personnel.

If not for Guo Jia pointing this out with the mindset of today’s era, Qiao Yan would have almost fallen into a misconception.

His advice is indeed crucial!