Chapter 26

The gates of Chengdu opened, and a group of people walked out. The man at the forefront was holding something in both hands. It was Liu Zhang, coming out to surrender and offer the seal of Yi Province.

Though he may have been incompetent, his heart was kind, as not a single person following him was without tears. It was a heavy scene, but such is the way of the world. The principle of the strong devouring the weak only changes its packaging with the times; its essence remains the same.

Outside the gates, Liu Bei, who had been waiting for them, approached with a confident stride, contrasting with Liu Zhang’s cautious steps. The generals following Liu Bei also stood tall and straight, unlike Liu Zhang’s ministers, who followed with bowed heads.

It was a clear contrast between the victor and the defeated.

“I, lacking in virtue, have brought harm and discord to the people and generals of Yi Province. I humbly request that you, Lord Liu, take over the governance of Yi Province in place of this unworthy one.”

Liu Zhang bowed his head as he presented the seal of Yi Province.

Liu Bei accepted the seal from Liu Zhang.

“Lord Liu, raise your head. How can fellow members of the imperial family apologize for mistakes? Come, let us enter the city together.”

These words signaled that the master of Chengdu had changed from Liu Zhang to Liu Bei. The cries of Liu Zhang’s former ministers grew louder upon realizing this.

However, the people inside Chengdu had a different reaction. They were trembling with anxiety. Ancient siege warfare was often accompanied by looting. Although there had been no battle, they feared that Liu Bei, the conqueror, might seize their assets after the war surrounding Yi Province.

But Liu Bei, who had subdued Liu Zhang and ascended to the position of Yi Province’s governor, dispelled their fears with a single proclamation. He announced rewards for the soldiers who had followed him and returned the people’s assets untouched.

Yi Province stabilized surprisingly quickly. While the regions had already been subjugated by Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, and my father, Chengdu also quickly adapted to its new ruler.

It was a moment where Zhuge Liang’s administrative skills shone, but Fa Zheng’s foresight and Liu Bei’s inclusiveness also stood out.

There was a man named Xu Jing. Though not particularly skilled, he was highly renowned—a typical example of an empty vessel making the most noise. Liu Bei initially looked down on him, but Fa Zheng advised employing him. The reason was that even though Xu Jing’s reputation was not backed by real ability, people still regarded him as a great scholar. Treating him well would attract more talents to Liu Bei’s side. Liu Bei accepted Fa Zheng’s advice and took Xu Jing in.

If Xu Jing was an example of Fa Zheng’s foresight, then Liu Bei’s inclusiveness was demonstrated through Yu Pa.

Yu Pa, a native of Jing Province, had originally been a guest under Liu Biao. After Cao Cao occupied Jing Province, Yu Pa surrendered to him. However, after Cao Cao’s defeat at Chibi, Yu Pa fled to Jiao Province to avoid Liu Bei and later sought refuge in Yi Province. He had spent his entire life avoiding Liu Bei.

Despite this, Liu Bei sought to make Yu Pa his subordinate this time, and even Zhuge Liang joined in persuading him. Eventually, Yu Pa became one of Liu Bei’s ministers.

In addition, Liu Bei actively employed Huang Quan, who had remained loyal to Liu Zhang until the end, and Bi Guan, Liu Zhang’s son-in-law, sending a message of reassurance to the existing officials of Yi Province. Meanwhile, Liu Zhang was sent to Jing Province to live in obscurity.

In any case, it’s not a particularly important story. Just know that Zhuge Liang did what Zhuge Liang does, and Liu Bei did what Liu Bei does.

While Zhuge Liang handled administration and Fa Zheng managed personnel to assist Liu Bei’s control of Yi Province, Pang Tong was active in military affairs.

He persuaded Zhang Jin, who had been captured but refused to surrender, to follow Liu Bei, and was in the process of reorganizing the soldiers’ formations and placements according to the newly adjusted positions of the generals.

Ah, and I was appointed to the position of Yiwei General. It was a fifth-rank miscellaneous general position, still lower than my father’s third-rank General Who Stabilizes the Nation, but it was a significant promotion compared to my previous position as a subordinate general.

Since Liu Bei was not yet an emperor or king, there were limits to the positions he could appoint. Therefore, my father’s position remained General Who Stabilizes the Nation. However, there were some changes, as my father’s jurisdiction shifted from Nan Commandery to Baxi, where he became the Prefect of Baxi.

There were also changes among the officials of Jing Province. Guan Yu became the Military Governor of Jing Province, and my friend Ban Jun became an assistant to the Inspector of Jing Province. In effect, Guan Yu was practically the Inspector of Jing Province, making Ban Jun the third-in-command after Guan Yu and the Assistant Inspector.

‘I should send a congratulatory letter for his rapid promotion.’

I’ve gone off on a tangent. In any case, Liu Bei’s forces were busy. Balancing stability and change, as well as coordinating between the existing Liu Bei faction and the newly incorporated talents, was no small task for the civil officials.

On the other hand, the military officials had quite a bit of leisure.

In truth, there’s not much for military officials to do after being promoted, unless they’re special cases like Guan Yu. Naturally, I fell into the former category.

Still, if there was something to do, it was gathering the soldiers I would command to form my own unit. The number of soldiers wasn’t an issue since I already had the existing troops, but my gender was, once again, a problem.

Among the officers assisting the general, such as the adjutants and intermediate commanders, there were no competent ones. They all just kept glancing at my face. Anyone who’s been in the military knows how important adjutants and intermediate commanders are.

My unit itself is small, so there are only about two officers at the captain level. Including me, that makes three. The roles of the centurion and the five-hundred-man commander are crucial, but with this situation…

“Haha, you must be having a hard time.”

“How about you, General Wei?”

Wei Yan, like me, had been recognized for his contributions and was appointed to the fifth-rank miscellaneous general position of Yamen General. Since he wasn’t taking the soldiers he had commanded as a captain, Wei Yan was in the same situation as me.

“I gathered mine quickly.”

Wei Yan, who was said to have a talent for training soldiers, probably had no trouble finding adjutants and intermediate commanders. Someone like Wei Yan could even train a squad leader to become an intermediate commander. Who’s worrying about whom here?

“How about asking our lord to draft from the existing soldiers? They would follow your abilities well.”

“That won’t do. That would be admitting my incompetence. If I start using my gender as an excuse, others will also seize on the fact that I’m a woman.”

“Hmm… That’s true. But isn’t the issue more than just being a woman…?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Still, since Liu Bei’s forces were still small, even a general’s command didn’t include many soldiers. In fact, in terms of the number of troops commanded, a general wasn’t much different from a captain.

I was assigned about 2,000 soldiers, so my command should have included four adjutants and twenty intermediate commanders, but after one training session, it seemed like half of them needed to be replaced.

Wait, actually, don’t I not even have a captain right now?

“General, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

The soldiers who had been with me since the rescue of Adou up to the campaign in Xichuan were assigned directly under my command, and among them, Zhang San, who I was closest to, also served as my attendant.

I looked at the guest who had arrived first, Wei Yan, and replied to Zhang San.

“Please inform them that a guest has arrived.”

“Understood.”

“Wait. Who is the guest? I need to know so I can visit or invite them later. If you don’t know, ask and let me know.”

“It’s General Pingxi.”

“General Pingxi?”

General Pingxi… that would be…

“Isn’t that Marquis of Duting?”

It’s Ma Chao. I looked at Wei Yan in surprise, and he nodded, thinking the same as me.

“I’m fine, so why don’t you join us?”

“Thank you. Zhang San, escort Marquis of Duting. No, I’ll go myself.”

Hurrying to the main gate, I saw three men waiting outside the already open gate. One was Ma Chao, one was Pang De, and the other… I’m sure I’ve seen him before, but who was he?

In any case, Wei Yan and I greeted Ma Chao, the highest-ranking person present.

“Marquis of Duting, you’ve come all this way. I apologize for making you wait. Please come in.”

“No, I came unannounced, so I’m grateful for your hospitality. Ah, and this is my younger brother, Ma Dai.”

“It’s an honor to meet two such renowned generals. Ma Dai, styled Boqian.”

Ah, Ma Dai. No wonder he looks so much like Ma Chao.

In the novel, he’s like Ma Chao MK.2, but in historical records, there aren’t many mentions of him. Still, he rose to a high position, so he must be at least above average.

“I’m Chang-ran, styled… well, I haven’t received a style yet, but I’m the Yiwei General.”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“Do you know General Wei?”

“Yes. We met briefly after the merit evaluations. General Pang De was also there.”

“Oh? You left me out. Did General Zhen and General Zhao also join you?”

“Haha.”

Pang De laughed awkwardly. Wow, this is really happening. Even though it was a short time, we went through life and death together, so this feels a bit disappointing.

“We met by chance. General Yiwei wasn’t there either. We didn’t intentionally exclude you, so don’t be upset.”

“Hmm, understood. I’ve kept the guests waiting outside for too long. Let’s go in.”

“Then we’ll take our leave.”

The first time I saw Ma Chao was when we rescued his family. He rushed over from Wudu Commandery upon hearing that we were being pursued. Of course, at that time, we had already crushed the pursuers and were leisurely returning.

Back then, Ma Chao looked very haggard and gloomy, but now the shadows had lifted. The nickname “Jin Ma Chao” (Golden Ma Chao) may be a later creation, but as the saying goes, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” With his complexion restored, he was quite the handsome man.

Even though I offered him the seat of honor, Ma Chao politely declined and offered it to me. Of course, I also felt it was inappropriate to sit in the seat of honor, so we naturally sat facing each other across the empty seat.

Just before sitting down, Ma Chao suddenly bowed to me.

“Marquis of Duting?”

“I heard that it was you who insisted on rescuing my family and Pang De. Last time, I was in a hurry and couldn’t properly express my gratitude, so I came here to thank you. Truly, thank you.”

“How could I ignore the family of the Golden Ma Chao of Xiliang when inviting him? I didn’t intend to receive such gratitude, so please stop.”

“Haha! Golden Ma Chao… the ‘gold’ (锦 = brocade) should be you, not me. That name is too grand for a defeated general who lost Liang Province to Cao Cao.”

In an uncharacteristically passive statement, Pang De, who was beside him, spoke up.

“Marquis of Duting, what are you saying?”

“Yingming, I’ve only now realized why I was defeated. I wanted to be a ruler, but I lacked the virtue to lead my subordinates, so defeat was inevitable.”

“If you put it that way, isn’t Cao Cao also lacking in virtue?”

“Yes. That’s right. So Cao Mengde will meet the same end as I did.”

Ma Chao’s eyes were blazing. These were not the eyes of someone suffering from burnout or pessimism.

“To oppose Cao Cao, I am now under the command of one sent by heaven. Someday, this Ma Mengqi will once again make Cao Cao’s neck feel cold.”

That’s it.

I had been worried that Ma Chao might lose his former vigor and become disheartened, but now he was still the pride of Xiliang, the General of the Elite Cavalry, Ma Chao.

Even with Ma Chao on their side, the Shu Han dynasty failed to achieve results worthy of the grand title of “Five Tiger Generals.” Ma Chao’s greatest achievement under Liu Bei was the surrender of Chengdu.

But this time will be different.

“The conversation has strayed, but I want to repay the favor I received.”

“Favor? That’s too kind. And I don’t expect to be treated as a benefactor, so please speak comfortably.”

Ma Chao hummed, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

“You seem more uncomfortable with formalities, so I’ll speak plainly. People from Xiliang value benefactors as much as enemies. Even if you don’t consider it a favor, I do, so please don’t refuse.”

“If you insist, I will gratefully accept.”

“Though it wasn’t my intention, while looking into those who saved my family, I also learned about the difficulties you’re facing. You’re short on captains and adjutants, right?”

“Yes. With our lord’s forces expanding and needing people in many places, the military is also facing a talent shortage. There are many outstanding generals, but not enough assistants.”

“So, how about using my younger brother?”

“Ma Dai?”

“It’s not because he’s my brother, but he’s quite capable and could be of help.”

“I’m confident I can be of assistance.”

Ma Dai, not bad. Even if he’s Ma Chao’s younger brother, the fact that he has independent records in historical texts means he’s above average. At least he’s not like Xiahou Mu, who’s recorded in history for the wrong reasons.

‘But is it okay for me to use Ma Dai, the younger brother of Ma Chao, who’s practically an independent warlord within Liu Bei’s forces, as my captain?’

Seeing that I was hesitating to answer, Ma Chao, who had noticed my concern, added.

“Don’t think too hard just because he’s my brother. In fact, he wanted to serve under you before I even brought it up.”

“Brother!”

“Did I say something wrong? Isn’t that why you refused the general position our lord offered?”

“Well…”

“But remember, little brother, this is not a horse you can ride. Rather, you must be the horse’s support.”

“How could I harbor such thoughts? My desire to assist General Yiwei is not out of affection, but gratitude and admiration.”

“Did you hear that? This guy is sincere, so will you accept him, General Yiwei?”

Ma Dai is truly a talent too good to be just a captain. I can tell the difference between genuine respect and lecherous glances. As he said himself, Ma Dai’s feelings toward me were closer to pure admiration.

There’s no reason to refuse. I was planning to form a cavalry-focused unit anyway. With Ma Dai, training the cavalry would gain momentum.

“Then, I will gratefully accept.”

And so, one captain position was filled.