Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 236 Conferring Titles and Appointing Generals, and Establishing a Separate Family Genealogy? (Bonus Chapter! Requesting Monthly Tickets!)
"Your Highness, we thank you for your great kindness!"

In the county government office of Mayi County, Yanmen Commandery, Bingzhou, a group of civil and military officials bowed and expressed their gratitude to the Crown Prince for his kindness.

"Your Highness's imperial grace is boundless! Who would have thought that we roughnecks from Liangzhou could become generals? Hahahaha!"

Guo Si was the one who was smiling the most, and many of his comrades from Liangzhou looked at him with envy.

Today's announcement only revealed the list of Liangzhou generals who will be stationed in the four northern counties of Bingzhou. It is not yet a formal conferment of titles, rewards of gold and silver, and promotions for others. These will have to wait for some time.

Dong Zhuo looked at the smug Guo Si, coughed lightly, and reminded him, "Ahem, we can only use the phrase 'the Emperor's grace is boundless' at the beginning of next year."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later..." Guo Si, who had just become a little carried away by Dong Zhuo's icy gaze, immediately became obedient after being glared at by him. He suppressed his joy and changed his words, saying, "Uh, yes, Your Highness's kindness is deeply appreciated by this humble general!"

Zhu Zhi, the Crown Prince's son who read the imperial decree, did not care about Guo Si's choice of words, after all, as Guo Si said, it was only a matter of time.

Moreover, he could understand Guo Si's joy. The imperial court naturally conducted background checks when appointing people, and he had browsed through the files of the generals of Liangzhou in the archives of the Ministry of Personnel.

Even though they all came from Liangzhou, just as Dong Zhuo came from a powerful family in Longxi County and Huangfu Song came from the Huangfu clan of Anding, their backgrounds were still different.

Li Jue had the best background; he was from the Li clan of the North, and tracing his lineage, he could be traced back to the same source as Li Xin, who conquered Chu, Li Mu, who resisted Qin, and Li Guang, the Flying General of the Former Han Dynasty.

Li Tan of the Li family of Ku County was the Marquis of Bairen in the State of Zhao. Later, he entered Qin and became the Grand Secretary. He had four sons: Chong, Bian, Zhao, and Ji.

The eldest son, Li Chong, entered Longxi Commandery and became the progenitor of the Longxi Li clan. His grandson was Li Xin, a general of the Qin Dynasty, who was also an ancestor of Li Guang.

The second son, Li Bian, returned to Henan and became the progenitor of the Li clan of Henan Yin.

The third son, Li Zhao, entered Beidi County and became the progenitor of the Beidi Li clan.

The fourth son, Li Ji, entered Zhao County and became the progenitor of the Li clan of Zhao County. He gave birth to Li Mu, a general of the State of Zhao.

Therefore, Li Jue's background was not bad. Although the Li family of Beidi did not perform as well as the Li family of Longxi and the Li family of Zhaojun, they had served as generals in Beidi for generations and had accumulated a certain amount of wealth and prestige.

Although Guo Si was a friend of Li Jue, he was far inferior to him. Born in Zhangye County, he was a mixed-race Han and Qiang, and did not even know who his parents were. He did not have a courtesy name and could only use the pseudonym "Guo Duo" as his courtesy name, and was called Guo A Duo.

Guo Si made a living by stealing horses in Zhangye County. Sometimes, when his comrades from Liangzhou drank too much, they couldn't help but jokingly call him "Horse Thief".

It's not that I despise his experience of stealing horses. After all, Liangzhou is a godforsaken place, especially Zhangye County. Just surviving is a remarkable skill. But who told Guo Si to steal it from Dong Zhuo back then!
That year, Dong Zhuo had just been dismissed from his post as the Commandant of the Western Regions. When he was passing through Zhangye County on his way back to his hometown in Longxi, Guo Si secretly sneaked into Dong Zhuo's guards at night and stole a batch of fine horses. He was chased by Dong Zhuo, who was furious after being dismissed from his post, and was beaten until his hair was scalded. After that, he was captured and taken back. Only after that did he follow Dong Zhuo in his campaigns.

But who could have imagined that this mixed-race Han and Qiang bastard, born of unknown origin and raised by no one, who was once a "horse thief," would one day rise to the rank of two thousand shi and become the General of the Clouds in the imperial court!
Guo Si's friend Li Jue was appointed as General Linrong and stationed in Shuofang County.

It wasn't that the Crown Prince disliked Li Jue and insisted on sending him to the most desolate Shuofang County, but rather that the Crown Prince had other plans.

Shuofang Commandery was headquartered in Sanfeng, and its jurisdiction included six counties: Sanfeng, Linrong, Woye, Guangmu, Shuofang, and Dacheng. However, the total population of the entire commandery was less than 10,000, with only 8,000 people.

Zhu Zhi conveyed the Crown Prince's message, implying, "His Highness hopes that General Linrong can lead his clansmen to contribute to the court's governance of Shuofang County."

Li Jue immediately understood the Crown Prince's meaning, patted his chest to show that he understood the Crown Prince's meaning, and would return to Beidi County after the abdication ceremony to gather the clansmen in his clan who were willing to go to Shuofang County with him to reclaim wasteland and defend the border for the court!
It can only be said that Liu Bian underestimated the temptation of creating a separate family genealogy.

Are you kidding me? This needs encouragement? Is this what you call enduring hardship?
What man could resist the temptation of having a separate family tree?

A separate genealogy for someone who was exiled is a disgrace, while a separate genealogy for someone who was ennobled and appointed as a general is an honor. From then on, he became the ancestor of the Li family of Shuofang!
As long as his descendants are not all dead, he will definitely have a place in the ancestral hall sacrifices!

Zhu Zhi said that General Li Jue's awareness was truly commendable, making him a model and example among military men. He would suggest to His Highness the Crown Prince that the Li clan members who had moved to Shuofang County be given generous treatment, at least a tax exemption for three years, or even five or ten years!

What? You're worried that the Li clan will become too powerful in Shuofang County and seize control of the region?
Try growing a border prefecture with only 8,000 people into a large one. If you can really grow it, Liu Bian will actually be grateful to Li Jue for his contribution to the development of Shuofang Prefecture.

Later, Zhu Zhi privately informed Li Jue that His Highness the Crown Prince would select a fertile area in the Three Auxiliary Regions or the Three Rivers Region as his fiefdom as a reward for Li Jue's cooperation with the court in stabilizing the border.

Li Jue was so moved that he almost cried. He felt that he could never repay the Crown Prince's kindness, even for generations!

Xu Rong was then appointed General Baideng and stationed in Yanmen County.

Xu Rong, a native of Xuantu County in Youzhou, had always been at odds with the generals from Liangzhou. He stood arrogantly isolated under Dong Zhuo, which, besides his military strategy, was a key reason why Dong Zhuo entrusted him with the elite Flying Bear Army. However, Xu Rong's command of the Flying Bear Army further fueled the discontent among the Liangzhou generals.

His deployment to Yanmen County, the most powerful prefecture, can be seen as a way to check and guard against the others.

Finally, Fan Chou, who had fallen out with Li Jue and Guo Si, was appointed as the General Who Crossed the River and stationed in Wuyuan County.

After serving as the General Who Pacifies the Liao River for only three months, Jia Cong was transferred by the court to Jiaozhou to serve as the Governor of Jiaozhou.

At the end of the intercalary seventh month, turmoil broke out in Jiaozhou. Zhou Cheng, the governor of Jiaozhou, was an upright man. He wrote to the court that corrupt officials and their clans had committed numerous evils and wantonly harmed the interests of the people. He wanted to eliminate these treacherous officials for the court. He cleaned up many corrupt officials and lawless clans, but unexpectedly, he was kidnapped and killed by villains when he went out of the city to inspect the fields.

At the end of August, the imperial court received news that corrupt officials and lawless clans had submitted a memorial falsely accusing Zhou Cheng of numerous evils and causing chaos among the people of Jiaozhou, and fabricated a list of his crimes, begging the court to pardon them for killing Zhou Cheng.

Liu Bian naturally refused, so some of the troops stationed in Jiaozhou rebelled, calling themselves "General Pillar of Heaven". Liu Bian then prepared to transfer Jia Cong to serve as the governor of Jiaozhou to quell the rebellion.

The candidates for the four battalion military supervisors, captains, chief clerks, registrars, and military advisors were also announced, which generally helped to check and balance the four battalion generals, ensuring that internal factional struggles would not affect military operations.

Everyone was overjoyed. After all, the Crown Prince's initial rewards showed that he was very satisfied with their results and that the rewards would be substantial. It was unknown how many more people would be granted titles and ranks.

Unfortunately, people's joys and sorrows are not shared.

While some rejoice, others grieve; Ding Yuan, the prefect of Taiyuan, was one of those who grieved.

Dong Zhuo looked at the astonished Ding Yuan, patted him on the shoulder, and a bitter smile of guilt appeared on his ferocious face. "Jianyang, you have been implicated by me. I will make it up to you in the future."

Ding Yuan looked at the generals who were celebrating with a feast, sighed softly, and shook his head slightly, saying, "Lord Dong, there is no need for this. This is because we are not fortunate enough to have it, and it is not your fault."

Ding Yuan originally sided with Dong Zhuo, hoping to get promoted to Governor of Bing Province with Dong Zhuo's help.

As the prefect of Bingzhou, Ding originally had the right to be appointed as the governor of Bingzhou. Moreover, his performance in the Bingzhou war fully demonstrated his loyalty and bravery. If he had the support of Dong Zhuo, he should have been able to avoid the possibility of the court parachuting in a governor of Bingzhou or appointing another prefect to fill the vacancy.

Unexpectedly, his final appointment was to be transferred from Bingzhou to replace the executed former Song Xiao as Zuo Fengyi.

The imperial court chose to parachute in a new governor of Bingzhou, transferring Xu Qiu, the governor of Jingzhou, to serve as the governor of Bingzhou.

Xu Qiu fought as the governor of Jingzhou during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and performed outstandingly. Because there were still rebels and remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Jingzhou, he was not transferred for the time being and was granted the title of Marquis of Guannei.

Xu Qiu's father, Xu Shu, once served as General Who Crosses the Liao River. From a young age, he was familiar with the culture and geography of Bingzhou with his father and had no connection with Dong Zhuo or his generals and officers.

Liu Bian's reason for choosing Xu Qiu was thanks to Empress Dowager Dong.

When Xu Qiu first took office as the governor of Jingzhou, Empress Dowager Dong sent Feng Xu, a court attendant, to convey a message to Xu Qiu, hoping that he would take care of Empress Dowager Dong's nephew, Zhang Zhong, the governor of Nanyang.

Then Xu Qiu directly reported Zhang Zhong's crime of embezzling 100 million coins during his tenure. He also submitted a memorial to the emperor, summoning and punishing all five prefects of Jingzhou who had colluded with Zhang Zhong in embezzlement and the corrupt officials in the subordinate counties. As a result, Empress Dowager Dong resented Xu Qiu and often slandered him to Liu Hong.

Such an upright and incorruptible minister, who has also incurred the wrath of Empress Dowager Dong, should naturally be given an important position!
As for why Ding Yuan did not get his wish to become the governor of Bingzhou, it was because Bingzhou had newly established four battalions of troops, most of which were generals from Liangzhou under Dong Zhuo.

Both Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan understood that this was not a case of the court discarding Dong Zhuo after he had served his purpose, but rather a perfectly normal check and balance mechanism.

The four battalions of soldiers are former subordinates of Dong Zhuo, and the governor of Bingzhou is also a former official of Dong Zhuo. Your Shanzi Battalion... your Bingzhou is under the Dong family?
It can only be said that Ding Yuan was unlucky enough to be contrary to the court's plans. If he had not become a former official of Dong Zhuo, he might have been appointed as the governor of Bingzhou. But fate is so cruel.

What you painstakingly try to obtain will ultimately elude you.

Fortunately, Zuo Fengyi is also part of the Sili and Sanfu regions, so Ding Yuan's future prospects are not bad, and he should be able to look forward to the position of one of the Nine Ministers.

(3130 words)
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P.S.: I don't want to include the list of officers and soldiers of the four battalions of Bingzhou in the main text. It's over 500 words long, and that would be padding the word count. It would be irresponsible and insulting to the readers. So, I'm releasing the list as a separate free chapter.

P.S.: I had Lanzhou noodles for lunch today, and they were pretty good, so I'm adding a short update of 1000 words. Please, dear readers, shower the author with monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)