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

Chapter 235 Adding Fuel to the Fire
Mi Wei learned of the great victory at Fangcheng several days later.

First and foremost, I am delighted by the military prowess of my subordinates.

Deng Ai, in particular, did not rigidly follow military orders.

Instead, they fully utilize their subjective initiative based on changes in the enemy's and our own situation.

This rendered Cao Hong's counterattack futile.

It also cost the life of a great general, Xiahou Ba.

It is said that Wang Ping personally led the charge to capture him.

They have now been handed over to Shu to await Liu Bei's judgment.

After all, Xiahou Ba is the maternal uncle of the current Crown Princess Zhang, so he should receive some special treatment.

Mi Wei personally allocated military supplies to Ye County to reward the three armies, each receiving commendation.

But that's about it.

They did not have any intention of taking advantage of the defensive victory to push back to Xuchang.

The lesson of Sun Quan is still fresh in our minds.

This battle was essentially just the final stage of an overall defensive war.

This was to lay the groundwork for the next stage of strategic stalemate with Cao Wei.

More than capturing Xiahou Ba alive, Mi Wei was concerned about whether Yingyang was an important grain depot for the enemy.

If so, is there any chance of a successful sneak attack?

To seize this opportunity, how many troops should I deploy, who should I appoint as general, or should I personally lead the charge?
And what if we fail, can we afford the consequences?

Could this lead to the collapse of Fangcheng's defense system?

Thinking about all these factors, Mi Wei couldn't sleep at night.

Unlike when he was guarding Jiangling in his early years.

At that time, all he needed to do was defend a city until Guan Yu returned, which would be his personal victory.

What happens next will naturally be dealt with by powerful figures like Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Liao Hua.

And now.

As Guan Yu grew old, he himself became a powerful governor, ruling over a region.

However, we can no longer focus solely on the gains and losses of a single city, a single place, or a single moment.

Instead, we should focus on the overall picture and plan for the long term.

Of course, no matter what we say, we still have to wait for the scouts and spies at the front to send back accurate intelligence before we can make a decision.

Otherwise, it's all just castles in the air.

Taking advantage of the lull when the Wei army was completely driven out of Nanyang, Mi Wei both rushed to implement the new "two fields" system and vigorously promoted the "recognition of loyal and virtuous officials of the Han Dynasty".

The latter, in particular, is crucial to whether he can establish a firm foothold in Jingzhou, then expand westward into Yuzhou, and look northward to Sili, becoming a true "Lord of the Deer".

Of course, we need to pay as much attention as possible.

However, at least on the second matter, someone was more concerned than Miwei.

"Does Lord Yang want to use the woodblock printing technique from Sichuan to engrave a proclamation?"

Yang Jundou came to find Mi Wei early in the morning.

He was also holding a paper copy of "Yangzi Fayan" in his hand.

Yang Jun was so excited that his beard trembled: "I've heard that you, my lord, can produce 100,000 sheets of paper a day and engrave 10,000 sets of books in ten days?"

That's an exaggeration! That's an exaggeration!
Mi Wei secretly complained about some of the soldiers who boasted without thinking.

Zhao Zhidao said, "Woodblock printing is indeed more suitable for mass production than hand-copying, and as long as the printing plates are well made, it is not easy to make mistakes."

"But this engraving itself is a great test of the craftsman's skill; writing 10,000 books in a month is a bit too much."

"However, if Lord Yang only needs to print and issue a proclamation, it is not difficult."

"There are many skilled craftsmen in our army who came from Sichuan. Last year, when we captured Kunyang City, we used this technique to engrave a large number of surrender documents. They are all very skilled."

"If Lord Yang needs it, I will send a group of craftsmen to Wancheng later."

“It’s just Master Yang.” Mi Wei looked at the other person curiously.

"Why use woodblock printing? Are you perhaps planning to emulate last year's Battle of Kunyang and send out a massive number of proclamations to the counties and prefectures?"

Yang Jun first expressed his gratitude.

Then explain:

"Indeed, I intend to emulate the wise ways of the governor, but not only in the prefectures and counties."

"I intend to send the proclamation to all prefectures and counties in the country as quickly as possible, so that the whole world will know about it."

"If that's really not possible, at least spread it to the five provinces of Si, Yan, Yu, Jing, and Yang."

Upon hearing this, Miwei immediately became interested:

Why 'as soon as possible'?

Yang Jun said:
"To be honest, Your Excellency, according to the enemy country's nine-rank system for officials, this year most of the central government officials in various prefectures and counties will have to have their local ranks re-evaluated."

"At this critical juncture, if our dynasty can vigorously vindicate the great Confucian scholars and famous figures of the past, even if it is not enough to win over the hearts of the scholars in the Central Plains, it will be enough to disrupt the annual deliberations and assessments, and then completely disrupt the court of the enemy state!" *Slap!*
Mi Wei slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his eyes wide with shock.

Yang Jun's move was really underhanded!

The so-called Nine-Rank System for Officials, or the Nine-Rank System of Officials.

Essentially, it's a selection system based on individual "comments".

Unlike the Han Dynasty's recommendation system, which focused on "reputation," and unlike the later imperial examination system, which focused on "examination," this system was different.

In Cao Wei, officials' promotions largely depended on the evaluations of the officials in charge of the corresponding prefectures and counties.

It can be said that one evaluation determines superiority and inferiority, and another score determines purity and impurity.

However, judges cannot make arbitrary comments without any basis or based solely on personal preferences.

This would lead to a loss of public credibility and consequently, the loss of the authority of the Zhongzheng official.

Therefore, in practice, there are two main bases for ordering.

First is family background, that is, one's family origin and social standing.

This includes both the official careers of one's father and grandfather, as well as the teachers and mentors one studied under.

Even the lineage of one's father and grandfather, teachers, officials, former subordinates, and so on, would be taken into consideration.

Secondly, there is the overall evaluation of an individual's character and abilities, which is called conduct.

At present, Cao Wei's nine-rank official system has not yet degenerated to the point of only considering family background and not conduct.

But family background is still a very important factor.

Yang Jun's underhanded move was aimed at her "family background".

After all, many of those on the list of those exonerated in this major case served in the Cao Wei regime, came from prominent families, and held high positions.

For example, Xun Yu came from the Xun clan of Yingchuan.

For example, Cui Yan came from the Qinghe Cui clan.

Not to mention that Kong Rong, as a 20th-generation descendant of Confucius, had countless old friends and acquaintances.

Although Cao Cao killed these people back then, he could not have eradicated them completely.

Not only can they not be completely eliminated, but they must also be appeased to prevent these people from uniting against them.

After Cao Pi became emperor, he changed his father's ways and became more accommodating, which is exactly what happened.

No matter how much Cao Pi yielded or indulged him, there was still one bottom line he could not tolerate.

That is to uphold the legitimacy of the Han dynasty and oppose Cao Cao while respecting Liu Bei!

If this matter is taken seriously, it could cast a shadow over the "family backgrounds" of many Wei people, both in and out of office.

This cast a shadow over the entire Cao Wei court this year!
At that moment, Miwei's heart fluttered.

He felt a sense of regret for not having met Yang Jun sooner.

However, after a moment's thought, he still raised his own question:

“I remember there was a saying among the officials that ‘the censors would be purged every three years.’”

"Cao Pi usurped the throne in the 25th year of Jian'an and began reforms in the same year."

"It's only been five years, so shouldn't the local products be re-evaluated next year?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jun countered with a question:

"A campaign to pacify the region every three years... Who told you that, Your Excellency?"

Mi Wei's face immediately turned embarrassed.

I'm afraid I've made another mistake that time travelers often make: getting the era wrong.

Fortunately, having held a high position for a long time, he was thick-skinned enough to simply ignore the other party's question.

He asked, "How many years does it usually take before we need to reorder products?"

Yang Jun said:
"There is no set schedule. It can take anywhere from one or two years to three or five years, depending on whether there are many vacancies among officials."

"Although the Nine-Rank System was actually created in the 25th year of Jian'an during the Huangchu era, Cao Mengde had already set a precedent for it before the Wei dynasty usurped the Han throne. Chen Changwen (Chen Qun) and others simply changed it into a common practice and extended it further."

Miwei suddenly realized.

Indeed, the development of new things does not happen overnight.

They all go through a process of growing from a makeshift team to a gradually mature one.

In short, since Yang Jun believes this matter has great potential, Mi Wei has no reason not to support it.

He was still waiting for intelligence from the direction of Yingyang.

He then decided to personally oversee the production of the woodblocks in order to expedite the process of spreading the message throughout the land.

After several more busy days, there is still no definite information from the Yingyang direction.

However, Deng Ai sent an urgent letter from Ye County.

He said he had encountered an important matter that required Mi Wei's personal decision.

(End of this chapter)