Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

October 3, Wuhan, Shangshutai.

"The entire army of 90,000 has been placed under the command of Man Boning, the Duke of Changyi and General Who Conquers the South. This shows the high regard and trust placed in them," said Sima Zhi, Minister of Works. "His Majesty has sent me on a mission from Xiaoting to return first, firstly to urge the Secretariat and the Privy Council to arrange the retreat, and secondly to ask my brother and the Secretariat to quickly come up with a plan to ensure the safety of the western army's follow-up..."

"What did you just say was your position?" Sima Yi frowned slightly: "Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of Jingnan?"

Sima Zhi nodded: "Brother is right, it is indeed the Governor of Jingnan. It is rare for the court to appoint another Governor."

“Jingnan…” Sima Yi stroked his beard without speaking, his gaze sweeping over the several exquisitely crafted brushes on the brush holder on the table. He picked up the smallest one and began to write on the paper.

"What are you writing, brother?" Sima Zhi asked curiously. "Are you arranging the retreat?"

Sima Yi scoffed: "How could I possibly arrange the retreat? Now that Wu is gone, the original plan of the Great Wei to deploy heavy troops in Jingzhou, Xiangfan, and Yangzhou, Huainan, has been effectively overturned. Where should the troops remain, and where should each army retreat to? These are not places for me to choose."

Sima Zhi was puzzled: "Then what is this, brother...?"

"Wait a moment." After writing for a while, Sima Yi put down his pen, picked up the paper, examined it for a few moments, and handed it to Sima Zhi: "Zihua, take a look."

Sima Zhi was puzzled, but got up and took it, only to find that it was full of place names.

"Xiangzhou, Wuling, Lingling, Changsha, Guiyang. Jiangzhou, Yuzhang, Poyang, Luling, Zhang'an, Jian'an. Nanjun." Sima Zhi read out the names written on the paper one by one, then looked up and asked, "Does His Majesty want my brother to quickly select officials to fill the vacancies in these places?"

"What else could it mean?" Sima Yi shook his head: "Since we need to ensure the supply of provisions for 90,000 troops, the deployment must proceed from the nearest to the farthest. To do things well, we must first select the right officials. This is an obvious principle. This matter is urgent, and Huang Gongheng of the Ministry of Personnel is too busy in the army to handle these matters. So naturally, I will take charge of it first."

"Zihua." Sima Yi looked up at his cousin and said, "Would you be willing to serve as the governor of Xiangzhou? Although it is only four counties, you have served in the central government for many years. If you want to advance further, you should serve as a governor to govern a region."

Sima Zhi was somewhat surprised: "Me? Brother, I am the Minister of Works. How can I be transferred to another post so easily? Shouldn't we ask His Majesty first?"

Sima Yi said, “There’s nothing to ask. In preparation for the campaign against Wu, most of the ministers, the nine ministers, and the governors of the various provinces have not been moved. Even if I don’t bring it up, someone else will. The officials in the central government and the local governments should have been replaced long ago. As a minister, you might be qualified to be a governor.”

“Jingzhou is more important, stretching from Wancheng in the north to Jiangling in the south. I doubt I’ll give you Jingzhou, but Xiangzhou is a bit more remote, so it’s easier to negotiate. Zihua, are you perhaps unwilling?”

Sima Zhi sighed softly: "Thank you for your consideration, brother. It would be great if I could become the governor of Xiangzhou. However, Wuling, Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang were considered remote areas in Wu Kingdom. Without the support of trusted brothers, it would be difficult to govern. So how should we select the county officials?"

Sima Yi slowly said, "The division of prefectures and counties during Sun Quan's time is no longer valid. If we consider the divisions during the Han Dynasty, Changsha Prefecture governed thirteen counties, Wuling Prefecture governed twelve counties, Lingling Prefecture governed thirteen counties, and Guiyang Prefecture governed eleven counties, totaling forty-nine counties. Guanqiu Jian has only opened up the main transportation routes; the remaining remote areas should be conquered one by one."

"In my opinion," Sima Yi smiled, "the 49 county magistrates and county heads of Xiangzhou can all be selected from the first and second batches of students of the Imperial Academy. According to the system of the Han Dynasty, Jiangzhou only had more than 40 counties, so more than 100 people could be drawn from various places."

"The prefects are even easier to handle; there are only ten of them. We can draw one or two from several major prefectures. Zihua, what do you think?" Sima Zhi thought for a few moments, then slowly nodded: "His Majesty will surely be satisfied with my brother's selection method. Everyone in the court and the country knows that His Majesty's favorite people are those who are his own protégés!"

Sima Yi smiled and nodded: "Now that you've been sent to a post outside the capital, your son Sima Qi can become a court official. He can hone his skills here for a few years, and then be sent to a large county as magistrate."

"Thank you for your trouble, brother." Sima Zhi stood up and bowed.

"It's alright." Sima Yi accepted the offer readily, then said, "Zihua, there is something I need to tell you. Shuda was demoted to Yingzhou two years ago because of the Liangzhou incident, and it has been more than two years now. I can't speak to His Majesty or Huang Gongheng about his situation. You are related to Grand Commandant Dong by marriage and have been friends with Attendant Pei for many years. There are so many vacant official positions in the court right now, could you find an opportunity to talk to someone about it? It wouldn't be right to let Shuda stay in that harsh and cold place of Liaodong any longer."

Sima Zhi pondered for a moment, then looked up at Sima Yi and sighed softly: "There are not many officials in our Sima clan. Shuda has gone astray. I am his cousin, so how can I not help him? It may be too late to find Lord Dong. After I return, I will speak with Pei Wenxing. With his character, he should not make things difficult for our Sima clan."

"However, since I'm being reinstated, I can forget about the governorship. I think it would be safer to find a prefecture or county in Jiangzhou. For example, remote places like Luling, Zhang'an, or Jian'an. What do you think, brother?"

Sima Yi also sighed softly, "It's a good thing that he can be reinstated. How could he possibly have the chance to be picky?"

"Is Zihua still going to the Privy Council?"

"Yes," Sima Zhi said. "I also have a letter from Privy Councilor Liu Ziyang to deliver to Xu Yuanzhi."

Sima Yi nodded slightly, then stood up: "Zihua, I won't keep you any longer. Go now, and return quickly. I will send someone to deliver the petition to you when you leave."

"Brother, you've worked hard." Sima Zhi cupped his hands again, "Brother, please stay, farewell."

"Alright." Sima Yi stroked his beard without saying a word.

Meanwhile, at Xiaoting.

With the army retreating, someone naturally had to cover the rear. This task was left to the navy led by Lu Xun, the King of Chencang. Xiaoting was located on the riverbank, and the navies of Wu and Shu were poised to attack at the mouth of Xiling Gorge upstream. The task of covering the rear could only be done by Lu Xun.

The Wei navy originally had a strength of 50,000 men. After losing more than 10,000, the troops under General Huan Jia were disbanded and distributed to various units. Huan Jia himself remained in Wuhan to await orders. The navy was left with only four units: those of Cao Zhi, Yue Lin, Xiahou Wei, and Gong Zun. Now, Cao Zhi's unit has been ordered to retreat to Jiangling with the main army and will soon be under the permanent command of Huan Fan. The remaining three units of Yue Lin, Xiahou Wei, and Gong Zun, totaling about 30,000 men, will all remain in Yidao to garrison the area.

Fei Yao's Guanzhong troops were to be entirely transferred back to Wei Zhen's command. According to the usual practice of the Great Wei, Man Chong's 30,000 troops would still be mainly composed of the Jingzhou outer army, supplemented by the prefectural and county troops. Huan Fan's army, on the other hand, had a more complex composition.

Yidao City, adjacent to the Yangtze River; Zhijiang City, located between Xiaoting and Jiangling; and Jiangling City, a major town in Nanjun, will become the most important cities for the defense of the southwestern border of the Great Wei. (End of this chapter)