Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Hmm, the intelligence from a few days ago says Ma Mengqi has taken the position of King of Qiang, and because of his achievements in pacifying the Qiang, he was promoted to Second Rank and ennobled as a Marquis," said Jia Xu with a certain satisfaction, seemingly talking to himself, but in this context, it was clear whom he was addressing.

"Second Rank? I remember all the Second Rank positions had already been filled. Who vacated?" Fa Zheng asked curiously, showing no hint of apprehension. Perhaps he believed that even if Ma Chao reached this level, he posed no threat to him, as Ma Chao only had two paths to follow in the future!

"The position was specially granted by His Majesty. Previously nonexistent, it was given this time specifically in recognition of his accomplishments," Jia Xu explained, looking at Fa Zheng, hoping to pique his interest, but Fa Zheng simply stared back at him.

"It seems your self-cultivation skills have improved. Meng Qi was given the title of Divine Might General, though this title was entirely to satisfy the desires of the Qiang People. Originally, he should have been given the title of Auxiliary General," Guo Jia interjected, cutting off Jia Xu's next words, leaving Jia Xu momentarily speechless.

"Is there any intelligence on how that guy won?" Fa Zheng wasn't particularly interested in the official positions Ma Chao had received, but he was very interested in Ma Chao's abilities, especially since it's rare to see someone so formidable at such a young age.

"There's no very precise intelligence, only that he killed an Elder of the Qiang who had Inner Qi Manifestation, defeated two ordinary Inner Qi Manifesters, and one with Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation," Jia Xu shook his head.

His intelligence network hadn't been established in Liangzhou to such a refined degree yet, and the information he got was thanks to Li Youu's intelligence network that hadn't been completely destroyed back then, otherwise he would be in a worse situation now.

"Alright, let's not talk about these things for now. Gongsun Shengji has deployed troops, and we also need to make some adjustments within Jizhou. Even though the armistice clearly states not to initiate hostilities, it doesn't prohibit conducting maneuvers on home territory," Chen Xi said, cutting off the topic about Ma Chao and returning to the main subject.

The outcome for the Western Xianbei is already determined. The supporting Qiang and Hu have all been subdued by Ma Chao. With a little manipulation and cooperating with Cao Cao, the Qiang and Hu attack from behind while Cao Cao attacks from the front. As long as they can block the Xianbei's desperate breakout for a while, breaking their morale, it's hard to imagine tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of Xianbei surviving to return home—it would be a miracle!

That battle had almost no chance of success. Xianbei's southward invasion of Bingzhou doomed them to a grim end. You could say if it weren't for using hundreds of thousands of civilians as bait, it would have been a classic encirclement and annihilation battle.

However, seeing the battle reach this point, Chen Xi scoffed at it. Using civilians as bait, without the ability to protect them, even if it was due to a shortage of veteran soldiers, was indeed disgraceful.

"Leave this matter to me; only Xiaoo Zhi and I have time to deal with it," Guo Jia said without thinking.

Everyone else nodded after hearing this. It was indeed the case. Besides Guo Jia and Fa Zheng, everyone else had prior engagements. Of course, Chen Xi actually had nothing official at the moment, but once the Money Exchange's central repository moved to Mount Tai, he would be swamped, and only Chen Xi could handle that matter.

"In that case, let's have Fengxiao..." Liu Bei saw everyone agreeing with Guo Jia's self-nomination and prepared to grant him military command to make preparations for going to the Jiyou border.

"I don't think we should let Fengxiao go," Chen Xi immediately interrupted, pulling his lips with a hint of urgency. Even though Guo Jia seemed relatively healthy now, honestly, his current physical state was only stable under normal conditions. Going to such a harsh place might be life-threatening.

"Why?" Guo Jia raised an eyebrow, just about to ask when Liu Bei already voiced the question on his behalf.

"His physical condition isn't good enough. That area is already considered part of the Northern frontier. Summer might be tolerable, but in winter, even with adequate heating and personal care, someone like Fengxiao, who is 'disabled yet determined'..." Chen Xi stopped talking, as saying more would be akin to cursing someone.

"Cough, cough, cough, Fengxiao, perhaps you should sit this one out," Liu Bei coughed a couple of times; no need to trouble such a small group, better to send someone with a more robust physique. With Guo Jia's physical state, as Chen Xi mentioned, he might just end up a martyr.

Ignoring Guo Jia's helpless gaze, Liu Bei started looking at the high-ranking civil officers in front of him, realizing most of them needed care to some extent. The most pitiable one, Lub Su, was still wrapped in a thick quilt, though fortunately, Liu Bei didn't mind such minor issues.

"I think you all need to have Physician Hua check you again," Liu Bei said after glancing at the group, recalling Hua Tuo's last health assessment report for them.

Among his high-ranking civil officers, the healthiest turned out to be Jia Xu, who seemed a little out of sorts, and Mann Chong, who wasn't here. The rest either had one ailment, another, were overworked, or indulged in unhealthy food, not a single one free of worry.

After scanning the group present, he couldn't find a suitable candidate. Then, one person sprang to mind, followed by another, and then a whole bunch more.

[Seems like I need to promptly bring over the medical officers; if not for Zichuan's reminder, I almost forgot that more than half of these people's health is not up to par.] Reminded by Chen Xi, Liu Bei also remembered this matter.

"How about assigning Yuanzhi to the junction of Youji for military deterrence?" Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said. Among his civil officers, perhaps Xu Shu was the healthiest, who could also act as a military general!

"That's the only option." Li Youu was the first to nod, as he had thought similarly; no one present was suitable. Fa Zheng was entering his marriage period, having already requested leave. His presence here meant only fulfilling obligations, and none of the others could be spared.

"Deploy Wei Wenchang and Huang Hansheng's corps northward for pressure," Liu Bei continued after some thought.

"That works," Lub Su estimated his available forces. "But for Yanzhou and the western part of Yuzhou, we'll need to select new leaders to garrison, and also rotate the Yuzhou Inspector and the leaders of Yuzhou's garrison."

Liu Bei nodded slightly. The Qingzhou Army led by Yu Jin was currently stationed in Yanzhou, assisted by Chen Chi. But with Chen Chi moving back to his original position after Wang Xiu became the Prefect of Fenggao and Jiangh Wan became the Prefect of Bohai, Yu Jin, renowned for drilling soldiers, couldn't stay in Yanzhou long-term either.

The initial plan was to transfer Wei Yan to Yanzhou to defend Chenliu against Cao Cao and to move Huang Zhong to press against Jingzhou near Yuzhou. Huang Zhong, with his vast renown in Jingzhou, could save some forces; due to the rapid territorial expansion, even Mount Tai faced a shortage of forces. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)