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

Chapter 67 Liu Bei Selects Envoys, Xuanxin Zhonglang

First, Liao Hua was promoted to Prefect of Nan Commandery.

His reputation, qualifications, and military achievements are all sufficient.

He was also one of Guan Yu's trusted confidants, which makes perfect sense.

What is different from the past is...

Liu Bei planned to move the administrative center of the Nan Commandery Prefect from Jiangling to Gong'an County.

Firstly, it would facilitate monitoring Lu Xun's withdrawal of troops.

Secondly, Liao Hua was stationed in Dacheng, the capital city south of the Jingjiang River, to coordinate the defense of the river.

As for who to be wary of, it goes without saying.

There are other similar arrangements.

Xi Zhen, the Northern Commandant of Lingling, was given the title of Assistant General and promoted to Prefect of Lingling in recognition of his achievements.

Fan Zhou, an official of Wuling Commandery, was transferred to the position of Commandant of Northern Lingling, where he assisted Prefect Xi Zhen in defending Jingnan.

In addition, the position of Southern Commandant was added in Nanjun, and Zhao Lei, the commander of Guan Yu's troops, was appointed to the position.

Later, Commandant Zhao moved his garrison to Zuotang, and thereafter mainly defended the Dongting Lake and Xiang River line.

Furthermore, Fan You, the prefect of Yidu, failed to adequately protect Jiangling and was dismissed from his post.

Fei Shi, the Sima of the Front Army of Yizhou, was appointed concurrently as the Prefect of Yidu to continue guarding the vital waterway connecting Jing and Yi provinces.

Guan Ping was promoted from Lieutenant General to General Who Pacifies Bandits, inheriting Guan Yu's former title of general.

It all makes perfect sense.

Thus, the new military and political situation in Jingnan was roughly established, followed by some minor personnel adjustments.

For example, Pan Mi and Xi Hong were appointed as Attendants-in-Ordinary, and they continued to serve as military officers under Mi Wei, and so on.

"By the way, it seems the Prefect of Wuling hasn't been appointed yet?"

On this day, Mi Wei met with Pan Mi, who was traveling south to deliver a message.

When the two discussed personnel adjustments, Mi Wei discovered that the three prefectures of Jingnan were still short of a high-ranking official with a salary of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain).

Pan Mi: "It is said that the King intends to appoint Bai Mei as the Prefect of Wuling, in order to use the prestige of the Ma family of Yicheng among the Jingman people to recruit barbarian leaders for the King, in order to guard against the Sun family."

White-browed...Ma Liang?
That person was Ma Liang, also known as "Ma Jichang, the best of the five Ma brothers with white eyebrows"?
Mi Wei certainly knew such a famous person.

Ma Su's brother!
Historically, Ma Liang was dispatched by Liu Bei to the south during the Battle of Yiling to pacify the various tribes of the Wuling Five Streams.

It's almost identical to what it is now.

Apart from Guan Yu being alive and Jingzhou not being lost, and Liu Bei holding a winning position, he could still deal with Sun Quan with ease.

Ma Liang probably won't die young.

Mi Wei sighed slightly and then said:
“Ma Jichang previously served as a clerk under the Left General, and his reputation and qualifications are sufficient to qualify him for a position with a salary of two thousand shi.”

"Since Your Majesty intends to make him the new Prefect of Wuling, why not make arrangements sooner?"

Upon hearing this, Pan Mi smiled and said, "This matter is also related to Sima!"

What?
Who is overestimating me?
Miwei reacted immediately.

Then Pan Mi explained:
“A few days ago, His Majesty appointed Bai Mei as Zhaoxin Colonel, to serve as the chief envoy to meet with the Sun family.”

“In the past, when Bai Mei was sent as an envoy to Jiangdong for His Majesty, he was highly respected by the people of Jiangdong. This person is the one everyone wants to choose.”

"If the mission is successful, Bai Mei can naturally take over the position of Prefect of Wuling."

"I see." Mi Wei nodded, indicating that he understood.

Because information flow was slow in ancient times, if an envoy successfully visited another country, he would surely become famous in two or even more places.

It has always been a desirable job for career advancement and rapid promotion.

Besides Ma Liang, other famous ministers of the Shu Han dynasty, such as Zhuge Liang, Deng Zhi, Fei Yi, and Chen Zhen, were sent as envoys to Jiangdong at different times throughout history.

Upon their return, they were all given important positions and commended.

Pan Mi continued:
"As for the selection of the deputy envoy, there is some controversy."

"Initially, the king intended to appoint Zhang Gong (Zhang Yi) as Bai Mei's deputy envoy. He hoped that after the mission was accomplished, Zhang Gong would be reinstated to his original position or transferred to another prefecture."

"But Lord Zhang recommended Sima to the King!"

What?
Zhang Yi is actually bragging about me too?
They even bragged about it to Liu Bei?!

Didn't he know that Liu Bei had exceptional judgment of character, and wasn't he afraid of making a mistake...?

Miwei: "The King probably didn't agree, did he?"

Pan Mi: "Your Majesty did have some doubts at first."

"Although he believed that Sima's merits were genuine, since everyone agreed on it, he worried that Sima was young and not steady enough to be a suitable envoy."

Mi Wei nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that Lao Liu was reliable and wouldn't believe everything he heard.

But then Pan Mi changed the subject:
"Therefore, the King privately summoned General Guan, my father, and all the officials of the prefecture and county government, and listened to their evaluations of Sima. He also wrote a letter to inquire about the opinion of Prefect Liao on Sima."

"In the end, it was unanimously agreed that Sima was not only exceptionally talented, but also humble, virtuous, cautious, and prudent, making him the only suitable candidate for deputy envoy." "Therefore, the King was overjoyed and, in accordance with the suggestions of the gentlemen, bestowed upon Sima the title of Xuanxin Zhonglang, making him the deputy to Zhaoxin Xiaowei Ma Jichang, to jointly undertake the mission to Baqiu!"

"As is customary, upon his return from his mission, Sima will surely be given another important task, just like Bai Mei."

"I would like to offer my congratulations in advance to Sima!"

When Miwei heard this, he was completely dumbfounded.

Exceptionally talented...

Humility is virtuous...

Cautious and prudent...

Unanimous consensus...

Old Liu, Old Liu, how could you have been fooled by those old guys?

What happened to your supposed world-class ability to judge character?

……

Soon, with Liu Bei's royal decree and Zhao Lei's army arriving in Zuotang, the situation improved.

Mi Wei had no choice but to take his subordinates, including Pan Mi, Xi Hong, and Zhan Sifu, back north to Shengjiangzhou.

Although theoretically, he could have taken a boat directly from the west bank of Dongting Lake to Baqiu Mountain on the east bank.

However, the envoys Ma Liang and his group had set off from Jiangling.

As the deputy envoy, Mi Wei naturally had to take the initiative to align himself with the main force.

Incidentally, he took this opportunity to write a letter to Zhang Yi, who had been transferred to the position of Chief Secretary to the former General.

Firstly, according to custom, the other party became his sponsor this time, and Zhang Yi was previously considered Mi Wei's former subordinate.

Although such an unusual relationship was extremely rare in the Han Dynasty's officialdom, it did not prevent the two sides from becoming even closer.

We need to stay in touch more often.

Secondly, this was Mi Wei's first time serving as an envoy.

I lack confidence in how to do this job well, even though it's short-term and requires a high level of technical skill.

Zhang Yi quickly replied, his message containing only two key points:

Firstly, the two rulers had already reached a tacit understanding regarding the conditions for the alliance.

This mission aims to translate this tacit understanding into concrete terms, striving to secure as many practical benefits as possible for our side.

Ma Liang will make the arrangements in this regard; Mi Wei only needs to cooperate with the envoy.

Secondly, Mi Wei served as Guan Yu's Sima and participated in both the battles of Nan Commandery and Wuling.

As a deputy envoy, he inherently carries the implication of showing off his power to the other side.

Therefore, we must always remember the four words "not failing in our mission".

Then, he cited famous examples such as Yanzi's mission to Chu and Lin Xiangru's mission to Qin.

Oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges.

What about the King of Zhao playing the zither for the King of Qin, and the King of Qin playing the earthenware jar for the King of Zhao?

These are all well-known stories about Mi Wei.

In short, once everything is prepared.

The group then boarded a boat and headed east to the mouth of the Xiang River.

……

The section of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou has been known as the Jingjiang River since ancient times due to its winding course.

The group of people traveled downstream along the winding river.

While admiring the beautiful scenery, Mi Wei would occasionally glance back at a young man beside him who reeked of alcohol.

His gaze was intense.

Besides the goal of enhancing his official career, this mission also had other objectives.

He also planned to take the opportunity to curry favor with Ma Liang, the White-Browed Ma Liang.

It should be noted that after Liu Bei became emperor, Ma Liang rose to the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary and accompanied him on military campaigns.

She was clearly being groomed to be Zhuge Liang's successor.

If he hadn't died so young in the Battle of Yiling, there might have been a fifth among the "Four Chancellors of Shu Han".

How can we not rely on such a powerful force for the future?

But what Mi Wei hadn't anticipated was that, besides Ma Liang, there was someone else.

This time, they've surprisingly found another player who can carry the team into the future.

(End of this chapter)