Wuyan, Taiping Administration.
After the council meeting concluded, everyone departed, leaving only Zhang Jing and Cheng Yu in the main hall.
During this session of governance, Zhang Jing had chosen not to reduce the army.
Partly because of the threat coming from Ji Province, and partly because he had not yet made up his mind.
Since defeating Yuan Shu, his forces still numbered more than 180,000 men.
The surrendered soldiers had all been returned to civilian life, with only a handful of officers such as Le Jiu remaining in service.
Such military strength was already formidable.
However, if he wanted to forge an elite army, the current circumstances of the Taiping Administration made that extremely difficult.
In the end, Zhang Jing abandoned the idea of downsizing.
Everything would wait until after the autumn harvest.
“Zhongde.” After some thought, Zhang Jing said:
“In the previous campaign, Yuanshao rendered outstanding service. How do you think he should be rewarded?”
Pei Yuanshao had held Yuncheng.
To exaggerate only slightly, he had defended the city with five thousand men against an assault by more than a hundred thousand troops under Yuan Shu, and had even slain the enemy vanguard commander.
Yet within the Qihuo Army, positions among the officers were already fully occupied.
Each rank was tied to a specific command structure.
Surely they couldn’t simply recall Pei Yuanshao to Wuyan?
Zhang Jing found himself troubled by the issue.
The Qihuo Army had simply been established too recently.
It lacked a mature promotion system.
The creation of the Taiping Administration itself was proof that the Qihuo regime was gradually maturing.
“Does my lord think highly of General Pei?”
After pondering for a moment, Cheng Yu looked toward Zhang Jing.
“Haha!” Zhang Jing laughed.
“Zhongde, you shouldn’t put it that way.”
“I think highly of every officer in the Taiping Administration.”
“Even if a man lacks martial skill or military talent, as long as he has earned merit in battle, he deserves an opportunity.”
Zhang Jing was not speaking falsely.
Among the famous founding generals of history, how many had started out as accomplished scholars and warriors alike?
Many had been completely illiterate.
Their success came primarily from following the right leader and continually growing throughout the process, until their names were eventually recorded in history.
As for Pei Yuanshao’s martial abilities, he ranked near the bottom among the army’s officers.
In the martial world, he would scarcely qualify as more than a third-rate fighter.
“My lord is wise.” Cheng Yu was momentarily startled before bowing.
“Your subordinate spoke improperly and allowed personal bias to cloud his judgment.”
“Then what do you think?” Zhang Jing waved his hand dismissively.
“How should I arrange things?”
“My lord.” After some consideration, Cheng Yu replied:
“The Qihuo Army inherited much from the Way of the Great Peace, and its military structure reflects that.”
“At present, the commanders of the Seven Garrisons and Twelve Passes all hold the former rank of Canal Commander.”
“In my opinion, the military system should be reformed.”
“Between the ranks of Canal Commander and Sima, every two divisions should be organized into a battalion.”
“A new rank of Colonel should be established, and the title of Canal Commander should be renamed General.”
“Once the reforms are completed,” he continued, “more than half the troops stationed in the Seven Garrisons and Twelve Passes can be transferred to the Wuyan military camp for unified, standardized, and more rigorous training.”
“As for Yuncheng, where General Pei is stationed— a battalion may be established there without reducing its troop strength by half.”
“Le Jiu can also be dispatched there as deputy commander.”
The Seven Garrisons and Twelve Passes contained a combined force of more than 130,000 soldiers.
Given the low likelihood of major warfare in the near future, keeping so many troops scattered outside was no longer appropriate.
Moreover, from Cheng Yu’s perspective, having so many independent Canal Commanders was not conducive to the development of the Taiping Administration.
After hearing Cheng Yu’s proposal, Zhang Jing fell silent.
According to Cheng Yu’s plan, rewarding Pei Yuanshao essentially meant demoting all the other Canal Commanders.
And quite drastically at that.
After all, once the military reforms were implemented, every commander of the Twelve Passes—except for Pei Yuanshao—would automatically be reduced to the rank of Military Sima.
“What about Bian Xi and Geng Ling?” After a long silence, Zhang Jing finally asked.
The two men had been placed under Cheng Yu’s command from the very beginning.
They had been responsible for gathering grain supplies and assaulting the fortified strongholds of the great clans and noble families.
Both commanded full-strength forces, with twenty thousand troops each.
Now that the Four Commanderies were stable, they too would be affected if the military system were reformed.
“Thanks to my lord’s trust and favor,” Cheng Yu replied with a respectful bow.
“During this period, both generals have obeyed my orders without hesitation.”
“They have handled their duties efficiently, worked diligently, and spared no effort.”
“They are fully worthy of the rank of Colonel.”
Zhang Jing stared at Cheng Yu.
Seeing the sincerity on the latter’s face, he almost wondered whether he had misheard.
“Very well.”
After quite some time, Zhang Jing finally made up his mind and said solemnly:
“I will draft the military order shortly.”
“The reorganization of the military system must be completed within ten days.”
“Zhongde, can you accomplish that?”
The decision was similar to the downsizing he had previously considered, though less troublesome.
The greatest challenge would be managing morale.
However, with Zhang Jing’s prestige holding everything together, even if the officers felt dissatisfied, they would have little choice but to endure it.
“Please rest assured, my lord.” Cheng Yu bowed respectfully.
“Ten days will not be necessary.”
“Seven or eight days will suffice.”
“Good.”
Zhang Jing nodded slightly and looked at Cheng Yu with genuine concern.
“Zhongde, ever since you left retirement to assist me, you have shouldered one heavy responsibility after another. Over this period, you have grown noticeably thinner.”
“I want to make use of Gongda and the others to share some of your workload, but I find it difficult to entrust them with full confidence.”
“Zhongde, do you have any strategy to teach me?”
Through the day’s council meeting, Zhang Jing had also discovered that there were capable people among the county magistrates below him.
Unfortunately, like Xun You, the circumstances under which these men had come to serve him were something Zhang Jing understood perfectly well.
Because of that, he still felt uneasy about entrusting them with major affairs.
People often say, “Do not employ those you suspect; once employed, do not suspect them.”
The word trust sounded simple enough when spoken, yet in reality it was as heavy as Mount Tai.
Even Cao Cao in his later years, who loudly proclaimed that he would not use those he doubted, still placed the greatest military authority in the hands of his own relatives and long-time household retainers.
This was not to say that Cao Cao did not trust other generals.
Rather, it was a matter of degrees of trust.
And precisely because of that, in this era, mutual trust between ruler and subordinate was among the rarest and most precious things of all.
Zhang Jing now faced the same problem.
He wanted to establish departments such as a Ministry of War and Ministry of Revenue, yet he could not find people he trusted enough to place in charge.
His trust in men like Xun You was still relatively limited.
“My lord,” Cheng Yu said, both moved by the concern and unable to suppress a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth as he bowed.
“Your subordinate does have one method that may perhaps ease your worries.”
“Zhongde, speak quickly!” Zhang Jing’s eyes lit up.
As expected of my strategist, he thought.
He even has a solution for this kind of problem.
Faced with such a situation himself, Zhang Jing could only brood over it endlessly and eventually resign himself to letting matters take their course.
“The method is recommending worthy men.” Cheng Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Gongda and the others come from great clans. They possess exceptional talent and also maintain extensive connections. If they can recruit capable men, then those men will likely come to devote themselves to you, my lord.”
“Hahaha!” Zhang Jing first showed a strange expression, then looked at Cheng Yu and laughed heartily.
“Zhongde truly deserves to be called my strategist — the very repository of my wisdom!”
He genuinely had not expected that testing the loyalty of Xun You and the others could be done in this way.
The method was not merely crafty; it was brilliant.
If Cheng Yu had not pointed it out, Zhang Jing would almost have forgotten that Xun Yu had earned the reputation of being Cao Cao’s “recruitment machine”; Xun You could hardly be much worse.
“You flatter me, my lord.” Cheng Yu smiled and shook his head with a bow.
To him, this was merely a routine measure.
— The end of the Chapter–
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