The Northern Army’s Five Division.

Unlike the usual contingent of less than a thousand soldiers during peaceful times, due to the chaos of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the seventh year of Guanghe, the garrisons of Luoyang’s eight passes were dispatched to hold the passes and expand the number of soldiers in each division.

According to the soldiers in the army, at its peak, some infantry battalions even reached tens of thousands of troops.

However, the subsequent plague in Luoyang spread rapidly.

Military camps were the most susceptible places for disease transmission, leading to a significant number of soldiers perishing.

Following a locust plague, providing rations for soldiers became difficult, reducing the number of troops in each camp to around two thousand.

Shortly after the locust plague, conflict erupted in Xiliang. Due to the invasion of Yongliang at the borders, the Northern Army’s Five Division expanded again.

Today, each Division has about a thousand soldiers.

Among the “leaders” selected this time, including the temporary participant Qiao Yan, there were a total of sixteen people, with each receiving around five hundred soldiers.

Liu Hong was adept at equitable distribution, ensuring no one seized an advantage in terms of military force.

He directly allocated one hundred soldiers each of Tunqi, Yueqi, Infantry, Huqi, and Archers to the leaders. ( Tunqi,Yueqi and Huqi are like positions in combats, My guess is Cavalry is one of those three words )

Again, setting a limit of ten days, each person was instructed to train their soldiers properly.

Then, using sticks instead of swords to minimize casualties as much as possible, they would decide the final winner through elimination.

But now—

It wasn’t really an appropriate time for a contest.

In mid-November, although it wasn’t as snowy as last year, snowflakes were already drifting down this month.

Qiao Yan looked up at the sky and felt the chill of winter arriving.

Today, there was no sign of sunlight breaking through the clouds, making it even gloomier.

Perhaps the only bright thing was the splendid canopy left behind by Liu Hong.

The emperor’s chariot had left the Western Suburb camp and returned to the Southern Palace, but the twelve-layered canopy with five-colored decorations still stood on the erected platform, as if signaling something—

He would still appear here during the upcoming formal contest.

If she could perform exceptionally well, it might secure her a promising future before the current emperor!

The more urgent Liu Hong seemed, the more Qiao Yan was convinced that her bold move to win in the midst of “surrounded by wolves” was becoming feasible.

He was so eager to select a commander capable of commanding troops this winter, who could serve him, that he couldn’t even wait until spring of the following year.

A more obvious signal was when Qiao Yan had just arrived at her camp and immediately received a special visitor.

“What wind blows Jianshuo here?” Qiao Yan looked towards the newcomer and asked.

This particular Central Attendant was indeed one of the most special among the sixteen selected this time.

He seemed, like Qiao Yan, to be the touchstone and benchmark for selecting the general of the north this time.

But perhaps only Qiao Yan knew that Liu Hong had entrusted Jianshuo with a heavy responsibility.

In the future establishment of the West Garden Eight Division, he was even given the position of Upper Army General, making his the actual leader of the West Garden Eight Division, with Liu Xie placed under his command.

At this moment, however, Jianshuo was still considered merely a “lowly little Yellow Gate” by Yuan Shao’s standards.

He understood his position well and did not dare to show off in front of Qiao Yan.

Liu Hong’s tone when he agreed to her participation in this selection battle was filled with expectation, at least that was how it sounded from his position on the platform.

Qiao Yan’s relationship with the Qiao clan of Liangguo was not close, and she had been alone in Leping for years, without any members of the Qiao clan setting foot in Leping during the past year.

This matter was noted by His Majesty.

Although it sounded strange to say, in Liu Hong’s logical division of camps, Qiao Yan and these dependent eunuchs had the same status!

Yet, because of her repeated contributions, Qiao Yan’s position in Liu Hong’s heart was undoubtedly higher than that of the ordinary Central Attendants.

Jianshuo deeply understood Liu Hong’s “grand plan” this time, and couldn’t help but feel somewhat uneasy. Fortunately, Qiao Yan was also involved, which relieved some of his pressure. To put it accurately—

“His Majesty has something to tell Marquis Qiao. Marquis Qiao must keep it in mind,” Jianshuo said in a lowered voice.

“His Majesty said that Marquis Qiao can afford to lose, but if encountering certain individuals, no matter what means, Marquis Qiao must defeat them. Considering Marquis Qiao’s achievements in the campaigns against the Black Mountain bandits, Hedong bandits, and the Xiu Tu, this should not be difficult.”

As he spoke, he passed over a note.

Qiao Yan opened it and unsurprisingly saw the names of Wang Kuang, Dong Min, Zhang Zhang, and others.

Liu Hong’s issuance of this order was not difficult to understand.

He Jin clearly already had control over the highest military operations of the Great Han, but he was still aggressively pushing now, seeking every advantage, undoubtedly touching a nerve with Liu Hong.

However, due to the necessity of having the relatives in power managing military affairs at this time, Liu Hong was not suitable for tearing open the discussion on this issue with He Jin.

But now that Qiao Yan was personally involved, he had a relatively tactful way to resolve the matter.

The achievements Qiao Yan had made in Bingzhou were hard to believe as just luck.

Liu Hong pondered over it and felt that there shouldn’t be much of a problem for her to face these individuals.

But when Qiao Yan heard, she couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.

Once these prominent figures in He Jin’s faction were removed, it would truly become a situation where half of the positions would be occupied by old officials from influential families.

She wondered if Liu Hong would be even more infuriated when he found out the truth at that time.

This was like driving out one tiger, only to invite in another wolf!

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but think with a bit of mischief.

Liu Hong’s health was already not great; if he suffered some excessively fatal shock, it might shorten his life.

But what did this have to do with her, who came here purely to judge the qualifications of the General of the North?

At most, she was just exerting her influence in uncovering this hidden layer.

They say colleagues are compared by contrast, and now was a perfect opportunity for comparison!

As Qiao Yan pondered, when facing Jianshuo, she only showed a puzzled expression at the sudden order from His Majesty, “This is indeed His Majesty’s handwriting, but why…”

“Marquis Qiao, there’s no need to inquire further. His Majesty has other arrangements for them,” Jianshuo replied.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you ask His Majesty on my behalf? Achieving this goal might not be sufficient with just me here. When I arrived in Luoyang, I brought a capable aide with me. Could he also join the camp? It would give me more confidence.”

Jianshuo relaxed visibly upon hearing this. “Do you know, Marquis Qiao, that the Northern Army’s Five Divison have similar numbers of troops overall, but the management and staffing of cavalry, infantry, and other divisions differ greatly? If you wish to manipulate this, bringing not just one but several aides into the camp would pose no problem at all.”

“There’s no need to trouble His Majesty over this matter. I’ll arrange it immediately for you, Marquis Qiao. Even bringing along your coachman is perfectly acceptable.”

Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up.

This was exactly what she had been waiting to hear!

While others might have ordinary coachmen, hers was quite exceptional.