Tiger Guards

Chapter 589 Positive and Optimistic
Yingyin City was too close to Xudu. No sooner had Man Chong received the imperial edict than he publicly resigned his post and fled north.

Shortly after, the news reached the headquarters of the Shogun.

With Lü Bu leading his army away, a large amount of government affairs were transferred from the General's office to Liu Bei, who was extremely busy.

During dinner that night, Liu Yan handed over a silk scroll: "My lord, Man Chong, the Prefect of Yingchuan, resigned in public after receiving an imperial edict, which has had a very negative impact."

Liu Bei was taken aback upon hearing this. During his time in the capital, he had inspected the area around Xuchang and had met Man Chong several times.

He then asked, "Why is that? I believe I have not slighted this person."

Liu Yan replied in a low voice, "When the General appointed this man as the magistrate of Wandu, he subjected him to severe torture..."

Without needing to explain too clearly, Liu Bei immediately recalled Man Chong's great achievements.

Why choose Yang Biao as a stepping stone for one's career advancement?

Unless Yang Biao's lineage is completely wiped out, the Hongnong Yang clan will not let Man Chong have an easy time!
This has nothing to do with the magnanimity of the Hongnong Yang clan, but if the Hongnong Yang clan wants to do something, it must demonstrate the necessary strength.

Killing Man Chong became the most direct way to demonstrate strength.

The higher Man Chong's status, the more his direct execution would demonstrate the influence of the Yang family of Hongnong.

Similarly, if one wants to form an alliance with the Yang family of Hongnong, killing Man Chong would be an excellent gift.

At this moment, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel complicated. If he could join forces with the Yang family of Hongnong, sacrificing a cruel official like the Prefect of Yingchuan County wouldn't be a big deal.

What troubled Liu Bei was that this cruel official, Man Chong, seemed to possess talents and decisiveness that he had not yet realized. Such a talent should not be wasted and should be cherished and used.

The most frustrating thing is that before I even had a chance to make a mistake, Man Chong ran away.

As Liu Bei was feeling conflicted, Jian Yong, who was eating from a bowl, put down his chopsticks and said directly, "My lord, Man Chong knows his crimes are grave and has now resigned. It is appropriate to announce this to the prefectures and counties."

"That's all it can do."

Liu Bei replied that it was too late to say anything now, and could only comfort himself that Man Chong was probably just an ordinary cruel official who was just cowardly and that's why he ran away so quickly.

Now we can only listen to Jian Yong's opinion and define Man Chong's abandonment of office as an act of resignation out of fear of punishment.

In any case, when the government or the prefectural and county officials changed, the subordinate officials often resigned voluntarily. Some did so out of a sense of propriety, while others resigned out of fear of punishment.

Sometimes, resigning from office voluntarily is equivalent to erasing all the messy accounts from the period of office.

Whether you can be reinstated as an official depends on your connections and methods, but if you voluntarily resign before, ordinary crimes committed during your term can be wiped clean.

There was no other way but to smear Man Chong, claiming that he had abandoned his post out of fear of punishment and that he had fled in panic because he was afraid of being thoroughly investigated by the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

As for pursuing Man Chong... that's a very difficult thing to do.

Lu Bu's army had not yet completely withdrawn; there were still Lu Bu's rearguard troops north of Yingyin City.

Any unusual military movements near Xuchang would now alert Lü Bu's rearguard and provoke unnecessary hostility.

Therefore, sending troops to pursue Man Chong could easily escalate the conflict with Lü Bu's rearguard.

So Liu Bei could only watch helplessly as Man Chong left, and there was nothing he could do.

As for Man Chong's foresight that Liu Bei would unite with the Yang family of Hongnong and emulate the joint rule of Lü Bu and Zhao... Liu Bei hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Liu Bei first needed to strengthen his own General of Chariots and Cavalry's staff. Only after Lü Bu's forces withdrew into Luozhong could Liu Bei begin to consider a new governing structure.

Thus, Man Chong, bearing the infamy of abandoning his post out of fear of punishment, left Yingchuan and followed Lü Bu's retreating army towards Luoyang. Less than three days later, a new imperial edict with similar content arrived in Qingzhou, Linzi.

Since Zhou Yu arrived in Qingzhou, Sun Ce first added several hundred soldiers, combined with Zhou Yu's troops, and together they formed a force of two thousand men. Sun Ce then appointed Zhou Yu as a colonel.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yu used his skills to quell a band of bandits in the vicinity, and Sun Ce reported his achievements to the court, recommending Zhou Yu for the position of General of the Central Army.

Thus, Cheng Pu, a veteran general during Sun Jian's time, was still a lieutenant general, while Zhou Yu completed the transformation from county magistrate to colonel and then lieutenant general within a month.

This made Cheng Pu's position as a lieutenant general somewhat awkward.

The titles of Lieutenant General and Assistant General are often distinguished from those of General. Even if a general is a miscellaneous general, he is still a general of the proper rank.

The arrival of Zhou Yu brought about a series of changes to Sun Ce's military system, most notably the appointment of the Lieutenant General.

Previously, Cheng Pu, as a lieutenant general, could lead an army independently and carry out military duties alone.

It seems that Cheng Pu, this veteran general, was Sun Ce's deputy.

Correspondingly, the vacant position of lieutenant general can also attract many captains to strive for it.

The fact that Zhou Yu's military rank has risen so rapidly shows that people are different, and Sun Jian's former subordinates still need to make contributions and advance step by step.

Zhou Yu, a close friend of Sun Ce since childhood, naturally did not need so many merit assessments, and his military rank and status could change at any time.

Sun Ce had no choice. On one side were his father's old subordinates and founding heroes, and on the other side were his relatives and cronies, such as Sun Jing, Sun Ben, and Xu Kun. He was caught in the middle, which was not too difficult, but he was not always satisfied.

For example, Sun Ben almost deserted him like Sun Xiang did and went to follow Yuan Shu.

Therefore, even close relatives and generals are not necessarily reliable. Sun Ce must find another reliable candidate who can complement him and split up the troops for battle.

Therefore, Zhou Yu was a very suitable candidate.

Zhou Yu was neither a former subordinate of Sun Jian, nor a relative or in-law of the Sun family. He had no other complicated relationship with Sun Ce's group, only an extremely good personal friendship with Sun Ce himself. Under these circumstances, it would be unreasonable not to give Zhou Yu an important position.

In this short period of time, Zhou Yu was able to freely enter and leave Sun Ce's Rear General's office and participate in military affairs.

At this moment, Sun Ce glanced at the imperial edict a few times and then handed it to Zhou Yu, saying, "Gongjin, the situation in the court is volatile, and I am uneasy."

Sun Ce also drew some conclusions: the imperial court's current edict seeking talented individuals was itself an explanation.

Intelligent people will naturally understand what happened in Xudu, while those who are not intelligent will simply obey the imperial edict.

Sun Ce could also understand some of the information that Man Chong could decipher.

Zhou Yu was no exception. He flipped through the imperial edict, his expression changing slightly: "Is what Bofu is worried about—that the two traitors Lü and Zhao have joined forces?"

"Exactly."

Sun Ce answered seriously, without avoiding the question.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu chuckled and said, "Bo Fu, there is really no need to worry. Both Lü and Zhao are domineering and stubborn by nature. It is better for them to be on different sides. If they join forces, it will be like two tigers meeting. Even if there is peace for a while, how can their power last?"

After Zhou Yu's analysis, Sun Ce also felt that there was some truth to it. He had only considered the powerful alliance between Lü Bu and Zhao Yun, but had overlooked the conflict between their personalities.

After figuring this out, Sun Ce became bright and cheerful; "Gongjin's words make perfect sense!"

(End of this chapter)