“To kill the barbarians/bandits is to establish control!”

The more Qiao Yan calculated in her heart, the more feasible it seemed.

Regardless of whether she wanted to suppress the Qiang and Hu with this method, one thing could not be changed.

Since she was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Leping and placed herself north of Taihang, her fate had been intertwined with Bingzhou Province.

Even without Guo Jia’s suggestion to set another threshold for prisoners, she would inevitably have to face the threat of barbarians/bandits outside Bing Province.

Compared to the battles in the Central Plains, controlling Shudang Pass, strategically located in Taiyuan, already offered geographical protection.

This protection required defense against northern invasions, which was indeed a fair exchange.

So, if this sole disadvantage could gradually form a cycle, creating a stable environment for prisoner interrogation and soldier selection, wouldn’t it be ideal?

This was precisely the excellent complement to the First Merit System she established for capturing prisoners.

No matter how she suppressed the northern and southern Xiongnu, especially the newly emerging Xutu Ge Hu, ensuring soldiers had confidence in marching against the barbarians and gradually establishing a stable success rate, it needed refinement, much like the First Merit System itself.

However, it must be acknowledged that any framework starts from rough beginnings.

Qiao Yan’s historical knowledge was not sufficient to address every issue comprehensively.

Fortunately, there was still more than a year until the sixth year of Zhongping.

Currently, the Hedong bandits in the mountains provided an excellent opportunity to test the effectiveness of this approach.

From Guo Jia’s perspective, Qiao Yan’s earlier expression of doubt gradually faded away and turned into a resolute determination as sharp as a knife.

“Gou Jia.”

Suddenly hearing her call his name, Guo Jia was briefly stunned but soon realized that it was her way of making a decision and seeking his input.

“May I ask you a question?” Though Qiao Yan did not rise, her gaze was focused and earnest as she looked at him, aside from her firm resolve, which was enough for Guo Jia to confirm her seriousness.

Guo Jia already guessed what she wanted to say.

Since he had come, it wasn’t just to say a few words.

Although he hadn’t seen everything that needed to be kept secret from outsiders in Leping, his keen observations allowed him to infer much.

The Marquis of Leping had a far-sighted vision, acted decisively, had boundaries yet didn’t hesitate to exercise benevolence, and gained the support of all levels in Leping.

As the core of a force, she was indeed qualified.

He didn’t know how the future situation would unfold, but refraining from being overly casual for once, Guo Jia considered aligning himself with Lady Qiao to see how far she could go in the current situation.

He replied, “Lady Qiao, speak freely.”

Qiao Yan asked, “If I assign you the responsibility to confront the Xutu Ge, deter the southern Xiongnu, and manage the division of power among the Xianbei tribes, would you be willing to take on this task?”

Realizing what she was getting at and hearing her speak without hesitation, Guo Jia couldn’t help but feel a slight stirring in his heart.

Her words were not just a simple request.

Confrontation, deterrence, division!

These were the basic strategies she had decided upon in her earlier contemplation.

It also meant that whoever took on this role needed to be adept at adapting to situations and skilled in the art of manipulation.

Although Qiao Yan had already set the direction, being considered capable of such responsibility by her was already a high praise and expectation in itself.

Could he live up to this responsibility?

Yes! Why not!

With a hint of ambition in his heart, under the pressure of this delegation of authority, Guo Jia found the motivation to ensure its success.

He stood up, bowed respectfully to Qiao Yan, and replied, “If entrusted with this task, I will not disappoint Lady Qiao’s expectations.”

This was his commitment.

However, although this was clearly a serious occasion for recruitment, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh when she approached Guo Jia and helped him up, “Do you think it’s a bit too early for me to entrust this to you?”

Currently, not only did Qiao Yan lack the status to bestow such authority on anyone, dealing with the Xutu Ge Hu in battle was still a distant matter.

Even the Hedlng bandits they were discussing hadn’t become prisoners yet. Indeed, it was premature to bring this up.

But as Guo Jia straightened up while being assisted by Qiao Yan, their laughter showed no sign of joking.

“First capture the Hedong bandits, and Lady Qiao will surely achieve her desires smoothly.”

After saying this, Guo Jia chuckled casually again, “But on second thought, should I have Lady Qiao draft an appointment letter in advance? Otherwise, if someone else comes along later, I might become redundant.”

Qiao Yan flexed her wrist a couple of times, “Oh, really?”

His suggestion to find faults and make improvements was clearly a matter of thoroughness, and Qiao Yan naturally approached it with a businesslike attitude.

But right now…

She looked at Guo Jia, who despite not yet being twenty, already exuded a hint of alcohol, feeling it might be necessary to send him off to drink health tonic with Xi Zhicai.

“… ” Guo Jia decided to hold his tongue.

Instead of chatting aimlessly about these trivial matters,

Why not help Qiao Yan think about how to further exacerbate internal turmoil among the enemy with these bandits?

Given the massacre encountered in Guyang by the Xutu Ge Hu invasion, it’s timely to take down the bandits sooner rather than later.

However, perhaps even Qiao Yan and Guo Jia, along with Zhao Yun who slew Yang Da, never imagined that some people didn’t need them to play any divisive tactics — they were already starting to attack each other from within, undermining their own power.

When those individuals returned to the mountains, the contrast was too stark.

They left their camps fully armed, intending to attack the powerful clan’s fortress.

Even theoretically, Xu Huang’s opponents seemed more challenging than the other team they faced, and they had fewer troops.

Yet the outcome was:

Xu Huang returned with a full load of food, while Li Le and Han Xian returned in disarray, and even Yang Da fell in this battle.

Yang Feng’s expression remained composed as he looked at the survivors before him and asked, “Can anyone explain to me why a raid on a fortress in Hedong with two thousand men resulted in this outcome?”

As the leader among the four chiefs of the Hedong bandits, he naturally wasn’t a fool.

He keenly noticed that when he asked the question, many people subtly glanced towards Xu Huang, indicating their condemnation.

He observed this but kept his expression unchanged, casually gesturing to a subordinate to explain everything that happened on the way.

The subordinate reported objectively without exaggeration, simply laying out the facts.

However, likely influenced by Li Le and Han Xian’s misinformation and wanting to shift blame for Yang Da’s death, he also inserted remarks expressing surprise at the appearance of Marquis Leping’s troops in that location.

But such surprises were unnecessary for him to voice.

Upon hearing that Qiao Yan had sent a thousand troops to flank them from the rear, Yang Feng couldn’t help but be surprised.

The place where Zhang Yang was sent by Qiao Yan to gain experience was mainly the border, and Zhao Yun had indeed clashed with them before.

Although he didn’t know all of Zhao Yun’s strength, he had a rough idea.

Under the circumstances where the enemy had the advantage and attacked from the rear, Yang Da’s death was not surprising at all.

In any case, it wasn’t fair to blame the accompanying guards for their ineffective protection.

It’s one thing to know rationally, but emotionally accepting the death of his beloved younger brother here was another matter entirely for Yang Feng.

Due to these emotional fluctuations, when Li Le hinted at the possibility of betrayal among them, Yang Feng didn’t defend anyone as he had previously.

Instead, he gestured for everyone to leave.

Afterwards, he summoned Xu Huang alone.

Xu Huang was concerned about Yang Feng’s current state.

When Li Le and Han Xian left, Yang Feng didn’t bother hiding his grief.

He said to Xu Huang with a forced composure, “Gongming, don’t mind those two. It was their bad luck to encounter Marquis Leping’s troops. My younger brother’s death was just his fate.”

Xu Huang was about to console him when Yang Feng asked, “Gongming, do you think Marquis Leping will take advantage of our losses and attack the mountain?”

Whether they would take advantage was a difficult question to answer.

However, it was certain that if Qiao Yan continued to nibble away at them like this, their group would eventually face major problems.

That’s what Xu Huang thought, and that’s what he told Yang Feng.

Yang Feng nodded, dismissing him.

He pondered this unexpected turn of events and made a decision.

Xu Huang was more capable than him, but after working together for so long, Yang Feng couldn’t imagine him defecting now.

It was Li Le and Han Xian, who were incompetent and constantly shifted blame, that seemed more suspicious to him.

In Yang Feng’s view, these two were not only useless but had also caused Yang Da’s death.

Now Xu Huang judged that if they allowed this situation to continue, it would only give Marquis Leping an opportunity.

So, taking advantage of the enemy’s manpower shortage seemed more prudent — perhaps it was time to eliminate them.

As for Xu Huang…

Yang Feng closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

While Marquis Leping was stationed at Bingzhou, he couldn’t take any action against this capable subordinate.

At least, not now.

Dealing with Li Le and Han Xian was more urgent.

But what they said wasn’t entirely useless; it provided him with an opportunity to deal with Xu Huang later.

Yet Yang Feng didn’t know that the future he envisioned might not come to pass.

He sought out Xu Huang and, expressing his trust in Xu Huang, pointed out that Xu Huang was responsible for the camp’s defenses and would certainly be moving around there.

Naturally, this calm sentiment was passed on to the ears of those two.

“You think Yang Feng really harbors no grudge against Xu Huang and continues to entrust him with important tasks?”

Due to the unexpected events outside Weishi Wupao, Li Le and Han Xian increasingly felt they were in similar straits.

It was the perfect time to stick together, so they huddled together to discuss their strategy.

Han Xian thought for a moment before saying, “There seems to be a sequence to this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Xu Huang holds great respect for Yang Feng. Now, amidst suspicions about his involvement in Yang Da’s death, he has gained even more trust from Yang Feng.

Yang Feng clearly believes that rather than hold accountable his right-hand man, it’s better to deal with us first.”

Their attempt to shift blame had failed, leaving them somewhat anxious and unsettled.

Even though they later received news that the forces of Marquis Yueping, stationed in Pingzhou County, had retreated further, it brought them no comfort at this time.

However, in the dead of night, an unexpected visitor arrived at their temporary residence.

Without alerting anyone, the visitor approached their tent, lifted their hood, and revealed their identity, startling both of them.

“Commander Guo?” It was indeed an unexpected guest.

“Yes, it’s me.” Commander Guo gestured for them to come inside to talk.( Althought they are bandits, they also have ranks in them groups )

Seeing the two of them on edge, Commander Guo’s face showed a hint of satisfaction, but he quickly composed himself when he looked up.

Guo Tai had originally harbored the idea of rallying Hu Cai’s troops for his own use and then teaming up with Li Le and Han Xian to seize power from Yang Feng.

However, because his influence was the weakest, he had been uncertain about this plan before.

Now, things had changed.

Li Le and Han Xian’s expedition to plunder supplies had cost them some of their forces, bringing all three factions to nearly the same level.

In this situation, discussing cooperation would be much more advantageous for Guo Tai.

Moreover, with Yang Da’s death, Yang Feng now had an opportunity to either suppress Xu Huang or deal with Li Le and Han Xian.

Seeing Xu Huang still diligently carrying out his patrols as usual, Yang Feng’s likely target was the latter.

With a sense of crisis, Guo Tai saw greater potential for negotiating cooperation.

Seemingly concerned, Guo Tai said, “I have come tonight out of concern for your dangerous positions, just to offer a word of caution.”

“What do you mean by this, Commander Guo?” Han Xian frowned and asked.

“I and General Yang are familiar with each other, Living nearby for the past two years has naturally given me more understanding of him than you two. Now that he has murderous intentions, it would be wise for both of you to plan ahead.”

Li Le and Han Xian exchanged glances, then Han Xian continued, “Why did Commander Guo suddenly come to sow discord between us?”

“Whether it’s sowing discord or stating facts, with your intellects, you shouldn’t fail to see through it. As for why I’ve come to talk about this,” Guo Tai smiled bitterly, “it’s the principle of mutual dependence. Do I really need someone to teach me that?”