The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 165 Appointment of a General
[In the sixth month of summer, a yellow haze appeared more than ten li from Duan Valley, and was several tens of zhang in width.]

[Ten days later, Zhao Yun decisively defeated Guo Huai at the Wei River.]

[Huai retreated from Shanggui to Linwei, regrouping the scattered troops.]

[On the journey, we encountered several boats, all carrying large timbers. A letter read: "Guo Huai died on this river."]

Having written this far, Yang Xi dipped his brush in ink and switched to a new bamboo slip.

Continue writing:

[Huai was terrified, so he abandoned his boat and returned to Linwei by foot.]

Mi Wei and Zhang Yi dispatched their generals to follow the Huai Army and garrison the outskirts of the city.

[There will be heavy rain, or some say the plank roads will be cut off, making it impossible to return to Huai.]

[When supplies ran out and the army was wiped out, he fled to Huai, barely escaping with his life.]

Wei and others then occupied Linwei City.

Yang Xi put down his pen and casually placed the bamboo slip aside to air dry.

I stretched my body at the same time.

As a state clerk, annotating people was not his primary job.

It's purely a hobby.

After a brief moment of relaxation, he was about to return to the heavy workload of official documents on his desk.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Before the person arrived, their voice had already entered:
"You, Yang Wenran, have actually abused your position to privately compile the national history. Are you trying to emulate Sima Qian?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Xi calmly replied:
"The country has no history and no official recorders, which is a loss for the nation. I am merely filling in the gaps for the court."

As they were talking, the man pushed open the door and entered.

A young scholar who was about the same age as Yang Xi.

Yang Xi asked in surprise, "Isn't Yongnan on holiday today? Why is he here at the prefectural government office?"

The man known as Yongnan was none other than Li Shao, the clerk of the prefecture.

As he sat down on the mat, he pointed to several thick stacks of bamboo slips on another table and said with a wry smile:
"My brother will be promoted by the court to the position of Prefectural Governor. He has recently been giving me earnest advice, telling me that I should take the Prime Minister as my role model and not be lazy or negligent. How could I dare to take a day off!"

Yang Xi chuckled.

Prime Minister Zhuge's diligence was known throughout the country.

When the emperor was away on campaign, most of the affairs of state were decided by the prime minister, and there was no resentment between the emperor and the prime minister.

Isn't it precisely because of his dedication and selfless attitude that people are truly convinced?
Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "Yongnan just mentioned that your elder brother has been promoted to Prefect of Yizhou, but I wonder which elder brother it is, Weinan or Hannan?"

Li Shao: "Of course it's my eldest brother, Weinan!"

Yang Xi thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

It turns out that among Li Shao's brothers, four were the most renowned among the scholars of Yizhou.

The eldest brother, Li Chao, whose courtesy name was Weinan, had just been promoted to Prefectural Governor, succeeding Li Hui, who had been transferred to the position of Left Governor of Yijiang last year.

Li Shao himself, like Yang Xi, served as a clerk in the prefecture.

The two men, along with their younger brother who died young, were collectively known as the Three Dragons of the Li Family.

As for Hannan, which Yang Xi just mentioned, it refers to Li Miao, another brother of the three.

This person was unrestrained and straightforward, and was not considered noble by his contemporaries, so he was not among the Three Dragons.

At this moment, Li Shao complained briefly, glanced at the two dried bamboo slips of Yang Xi, and said:
"I have heard that the imperial carriage is about to return south."

"This northern expedition came in haste, but fortunately the royal army seized the opportunity and expanded its territory by thousands of miles, which can be called a great victory."

"I wonder if there's any word on the subsequent rewards and honors bestowed upon the various ministers and generals?"

"Are there any officials being transferred or reassigned in the newly acquired territory?"

Yang Xi could tell, of course, that what Li Shao was really concerned about was the last question.

New territory, new people.

This is perfect for young people like them, who are of humble status but have high aspirations, to make their mark.

However, even if the imperial court made an exception and promoted someone, a mere official in charge of a small amount of food could not possibly rise to the rank of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain measure).

Therefore, high-level personnel appointments are still worth paying attention to.

Then I briefly recalled the imperial edicts I had read recently and began to review them:
"In terms of pacifying the Qiang and Hu tribes in this battle, General Ma is the best." "However, he has already reached the highest position in the court, and it is not easy to promote him further. The only option is to increase the number of households in his fief."

Therefore, most of the rewards for this battle would fall to his younger cousin.

"But in any case, Liangzhou has now been largely recovered, and the nominal governorship of Liangzhou held by General Ma is now a real one... This is not a bad thing."

Seeing Li Shao nod slightly, Yang Xi continued:
"In terms of merit in battle, Lieutenant General Huang Gongheng (Huang Quan) is first, and General Wu Ziyuan (Wu Yi) who is in charge of suppressing rebellion is second."

"His Majesty has already issued an edict directly in Longxi, appointing Huang Gongheng as General Who Guards the West and Prefect of Jincheng. After the imperial carriage returns south, he will be stationed in the western border to safeguard the Hexi region and stabilize the region."

"As for Wu Ziyuan, he was promoted to General Zhenqiang and Governor of Longxi, and together with the General of Cavalry, he marched west from Jincheng to continue to subdue the remaining counties and prefectures of Liangzhou, so as to reopen the trade routes in the Western Regions."

Upon hearing this, Li Shao understood and said:
"If we are to take up a post in Hexi in the future, we will have to take Generals Ma, Huang and Wu as our superiors."

“That’s natural,” Yang Xi said.

"Moreover, among these three generals, although General Ma Biaoqi has the highest rank, he is not good at governing civil affairs, so it is likely that Huang Zhenxi will be the chief administrator in the future."

Having received the answer he wanted, Li Shao did not stop, and continued to ask:
"What did the remaining generals say?"

Yang Xi: "The remaining generals were all transferred to posts in the Guanzhong region."

"For example, General Wei Wenchang, who was originally the General Who Guards the North, was promoted to General Who Conquers the North for his merits and continued to oversee Hanzhong."

"Zhang Cheqi was then granted additional household registration and was transferred from the position of Prefect of Bazhou to Prefect of Wudu, in order to control the old road of Sanguan."

"Zhao Zilong, the General of the Right Army, was promoted to General of the North for his merits and was put in charge of military affairs in Longyou. He continued to cut off the Longshan Pass to block the Wei army in Guanzhong from going west."

"Zhang Bogong (Zhang Yi), the prefect of Zitong, was transferred to be the prefect of Tianshui to assist Zhao Zhenbei."

Upon hearing this, Li Shao briefly imagined the locations where the generals were stationed.

If we consider Guanzhong as an egg placed horizontally.

At this time, the area surrounding the egg extends from Xiangfan in the far east to Longyou in the far west.

The four generals of the Shu Han state, Guan Yu, Wei Yan, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, were stationed there in succession.

Even a pig could tell from this formation that the royal army is about to march into the pass.
He immediately became excited and looked forward to it:

"If I can visit the Ba River and see the willows next year, I will have no regrets in this life!"

Seeing that he was thinking about going to Liangzhou one moment and entering the pass the next, Yang Xi couldn't help but sneer:

"The Guanzhong Plain is a strategically important and dangerous place; it's not something that can be taken so easily."

"Although Shu County had a bumper harvest this autumn, the newly developed lands were mostly barren and lacked food. Only the Hu horses and Hu cavalry were a source of income, but we still had to transport grain to the north to stabilize the situation."

"I expect that even if we launch an expedition next year, it will not be a major war. After all, at this time last year, if it weren't for the rare opportunity, we originally planned to start the Northern Expedition this autumn."

"That's true." Li Shao sighed slightly, realizing that he had indeed been too hasty.

"By the way, I heard that the governor of Liangzhou is about to be appointed as a general?"

Yang Xi just gave a long list, but he still missed one outstanding contributor to this battle.

Then Yang Xi said:
"The government has decided that Mi Shi's strategic planning in this battle is of paramount importance, and he should definitely be appointed as a general."

"Not to mention that His Majesty made an agreement with him before his western expedition."

Li Shao: "I've also heard about this."

"With his carriage and horse, he pacified Liang; the emperor pointed to the Wei River and appointed him general... Such heroic spirit is so overwhelming that it inspires awe and will surely be recorded in history. I only regret that I did not join the army before and could not witness this event in person!"

Yang Xi nodded repeatedly, deeply agreeing.

If I had witnessed it with my own eyes, I would have been able to record it in more detail and write a hymn of praise for the heroes of the Shu Han dynasty for future generations.

Li Shao: "So, you really want to appoint him as the third strategist general?"

Liu Bei only bestowed the title of "military advisor" upon two people: Zhuge Liang, the Crouching Dragon, and Pang Tong, the Young Phoenix.

That's why Li Shao said it was the third one.

Yang Xi shook his head and said:
"His Majesty originally intended to choose one of the two titles, Military Advisor and Zhaowu, to highlight Mi Shi's merits in this battle."

"But Prime Minister Zhuge submitted a memorial stating that Mi Shi's talents were not limited to military strategy, and that he should be highly regarded and recognized."

"His Majesty accepted his advice and proposed a new title, placing him above the strategist general in rank."

Li Shao became even more curious: "What is it?"

Yang Xi took a slight breath and said:

"General Zhaohan".

(End of this chapter)