A subtle smile crossed Qiao Yan’s face as she nodded graciously to Jianshuo. “Thank you in advance for your assistance, Jianshuo.”

Just as she bid farewell to Jianshuo and before meeting Dian Wei and Guo Jia, another visitor arrived.

And this was a visitor whose voice preceded his arrival.

“Ye Shu, a few days ago, took advantage of my position and placed himself a generation ahead of my eldest son, who is the same age as you. We even shared a drink to celebrate his future success. How is it that today he’s competing with me on the same stage?”

While Cao Cao expressed these sentiments, Qiao Yan couldn’t discern any hint of frustration in his tone.

As she glanced up at him,

Seeing his face reddened from the cold, but without any sign of resentment, Qiao Yan responded promptly, “Mengde, coming here to question me without first familiarizing yourself with the situation of your own troops, it seems you are quite confident of victory.”

She lifted the roster of personnel information in her hand and smiled innocently.

Cao Cao found it difficult to respond to her words.

Qiao Yan continued, “Mengde, there’s no need to worry. His Majesty won’t allow me to take over the position of the General of the North. I’m here just to observe and see if those vying for this position truly have what it takes.”

With a resolute expression, she continued, “The steppe people are unpredictable and require someone with the power to command respect. If even handling five hundred soldiers is difficult, one might as well be a petty officer. Why bother coming to the territory of Bingzhou?”

“If Bingzhou is unstable, even my grandfather in his grave won’t find peace. Therefore, I won’t back down this time. Let’s see what these heroes are made of.”

Her firm and righteous words left Cao Cao with little room to respond.

However, hearing her speak in this manner didn’t make Cao Cao think he needed to retreat.

Instead, it ignited his competitive spirit due to her high standards.

He laughed aloud, “Alright then, let’s see who proves themselves in battle.”

Indeed, what harm could there be in having a benchmark?

Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but admire Duke Qiao for having such a renowned granddaughter in Qiao Yan.

But he also considered his own son, Ang’er, who was not ordinary either.

It was fitting for him to gain experience in these military exercises and build his reputation on the battlefield earlier than himself.

He dismissed these unrealistic hopes.

After briefly discussing his past role as a cavalry captain among the Northern Army’s five divisions with Qiao Yan, he left.

The silent system finally saw an opportunity and couldn’t help asking, “What do you think of Cao Mengde?”

“Let’s wait and see,” Qiao Yan replied. “But if I can help the Emperor weaken the power of the noble families and the relatives of the Empress, shouldn’t that earn me some strategist points?”

“I’m tasked by His Majesty to command troops and defeat Dong Min, Wang Kuang, and others. In necessary times, strategists can execute such tasks. If successful, wouldn’t that be credited to the strategist?”

“Furthermore, Bingzhou is part of the Han territory. Recommending the reinstatement of the General of the North’s counsel benefits the state. Isn’t this a vision of a far-sighted advisor?”

“How can you call yourself far-sighted like that?!” The system interrupted Qiao Yan.

Qiao Yan summarized after her rapid-fire remarks, “So, what do you think? Can we consider Cao Cao as our Lord?”

After some consideration, the system cautiously replied, “According to the evaluation criteria, it should be possible.”

Though her approach seemed unconventional, considering Liu Hong as the main figure and her as the assistant, it could indeed be calculated as strategizing…

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but smile.

With that settled, her next task was to achieve this goal, even though it wouldn’t be easy.

…

“Lord Qiao’s current soldiers don’t have the same loyalty as the troops from Leping,” analyzed Guo Jia upon arriving at the camp with Qiao Yan.

“As for the Northern Army’s five divisions, they have their own system for pay and rewards.

The reforms from Leping won’t work here, making it difficult to motivate them to fight hard,” Qiao Yan added.

Guo Jia drew a line on the paper in front of them and continued, “Other commanders rely on their subordinates’ success to gain rewards. Lord Qiao appears to be volunteering to the Emperor, but others may see it as a jest, leading to lax obedience.”

“I have Dian Wei and Feng Xiao( Nickname of Guo Jia ), and others are also assisting. Han Wenjie has the advantage of Liangzhou’s cavalry, and Dong Shuying has borrowed troops from his brother, adding to our challenges,” Qiao Yan calmly added.

Seeing Qiao Yan’s calm demeanor despite the challenges, Guo Jia understood she had a plan in mind.

He saw no need to undermine her confidence.

After discussing these four challenges, they highlighted Qiao Yan’s strengths.

“Others hesitate when confronting Lord Qiao, deciding between all-out assault to demonstrate command or a probing strategy to test his abilities. Lord Qiao’s ability to achieve victory through steady tactics is an advantage,” Guo Jia noted.

Qiao Yan’s accomplishments at a young age might lead to misjudgments, but this was precisely her strength.

Even if this advantage couldn’t guarantee success every time, it was substantial.

“Two of the Northern Army’s five divisions are non-Han, and Lord Qiao’s reputation for defeating non-Han tribes naturally intimidates them, another advantage,” Guo Jia continued.

“Lord Qiao rose from Leping and understands the needs and thoughts of grassroots soldiers,”

“Furthermore, Lord Qiao is skilled in martial arts herself. Leading only five hundred soldiers, she doesn’t need to strictly command from the rear but can lead by example at the forefront, which is another advantage,” Guo Jia added as the fourth advantage.

Listing these four disadvantages and four advantages unexpectedly reminded Qiao Yan of the Ten Wins and Ten Losses before the Battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

After mentioning the fourth advantage, Guo Jia continued, “But Lord Qiao’s strengths aren’t limited to these. To minimize casualties in this selection battle, I’ve already inspected it on my way here. Not only have blades and weapons been replaced with wooden sticks, even the arrows used by archers are blunt and headless. This adjustment means—”

“The effectiveness of the archers’ camp has been significantly reduced in this battle, while the cavalry’s role is unquestionable. Coincidentally, besides archery, Lord Qiao excels in horsemanship, which is indeed another advantage.”

“This is advantage number five.”

Qiao Yan smiled, “Feng Xiao, you’re still understating.”

“Firstly, while others know of my strategic decisiveness, they are unaware I have a trusted advisor with me.

If I entrust half of these five hundred soldiers to your command, allowing you to adapt flexibly in battle, with us coordinating, it would be difficult for the enemy, led by two commanders, to find vulnerabilities.”

“Secondly, the morale in this camp must be stirred. We can’t rely on rewards or wealth to motivate them; we’ll have to be more creative.”

Qiao Yan handed over a letter she had written before Guo Jia arrived.

Guo Jia read the letter, addressed to another commander in the camp, who happened to be an acquaintance of Qiao Yan’s.

Bao Hong, who had accompanied the escort of Qiao Xuan’s coffin to Leping earlier, had gained recognition under Liu Hong for his courier services to Leping and subsequently participated in the Battle of Liangzhou, earning a victorious record and now an opportunity to compete for the position of General of the North.

Originally a Lieutenant, he had earned a decent salary, but as a captain among the Northern Army’s five divisions, it wasn’t feasible for him to leave Luoyang for so long.

Thus, he was promoted from below, with his title as captain more of an honor than a position of real authority.

Moreover, Bao Hong saw himself as an idealistic captain who aspired to more than just being a captain; the title of general was much more prestigious.

He held a favorable impression of Bingzhou, especially— While others saw the potential trouble of the Marquis of Leping, who could be threatening at any moment with her archery skills, Bao Hong had witnessed firsthand

“He helped secure the initial batch of rice and grain for Leping and witnessed how she defeated the Black Mountain Bandits with a smaller force, which made him feel secure having the Marquis of Leping by his side.”

“He even began to see the position of General of the North as a desirable job, thanks to his involvement in this selection.”

However, Qiao Yan didn’t come to reminisce with him.

Guo Jia quickly glanced over the letter and sensed it was a favor-seeking missive.

“Lord Qiao, this plan is quite clever. What is it for?”

“Well… I can’t say for now. You’ll know in another day.”

After Guo Jia left the tent, Qiao Yan accessed her skill panel.

Since she officially announced the first merit system among the soldiers in the camp, a new skill had appeared on her personal skill list called “Incitement.”

Perhaps it was because the number of soldiers had finally met the system’s criteria or due to some hidden conditions like approval ratings.

This skill hadn’t appeared when she encouraged Xue and Tian to sacrifice themselves in the Changshe battle, or when she rallied the people of Leping with grain to capture the Black Mountain Bandits.

It appeared belatedly at this moment.

Luckily, it wasn’t too late, and Qiao Yan was prepared for it.

She had some skill points left unallocated, so she assigned them to the new “Incitement” skill.

After adding these points, Qiao Yan realized the difference between eloquence and incitement.

Eloquence was about persuading others through refined language, while incitement involved manipulating emotions.

Emotions…

This was her final advantage.

A team with little prior cohesion couldn’t be disciplined in just ten days, especially when they already had their own established training methods.

Ten days wouldn’t be enough to differentiate her soldiers’ physical abilities from those of other teams through dietary supplements or physical training.

The only thing she could influence was their morale.

But who said boosting morale could only be done with feasts and rewards before and after battles?