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  Liu Bei was formally appointed as the Left General by the Han Emperor, theoretically having the power to independently appoint some low-ranking officials, unlike Sun Quan and other vassals, who had to go through an additional "memorial" procedure when appointing officials.

  Under Liu Bei, the military positions of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were those of Assistant General, which was the lowest rank of general, equivalent to Deputy General. The two men's official positions were appointed by Cao Cao in the name of the Han Emperor that year, and can be said to be "legitimate" Han officials. At this time, Zhao Yun's official position was that of Gate Guard General, created by Liu Bei himself, with a rank equivalent to Assistant General, higher than Deputy General and Gentleman of the Household.

  Compared to the large number of high-ranking generals under Cao Cao, Liu Bei's camp seems a bit shabby. However, this can't be helped as Cao Cao has a big family business and tens of thousands of soldiers, with the capital to appoint great generals. On the other hand, Liu Bei only has 20,000 people, even if he promotes Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's titles, it would have no practical significance and would only make people laugh at him for pretending to be rich when he is actually poor.

  Huang Zhong, a former subordinate of Liu Biao from Changsha, had an inglorious past of surrendering to Cao Cao. As for Wei Yan, he was just a local bully without any official title. Although these two newcomers might have some talent, what reason did Liu Bei have to suddenly promote them to the same rank as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei?

  "My lord, what's going on?" Zuo Ci listened to Liu Bei's tone and sensed his displeasure, and suddenly gained momentum.

  "You see for yourself." Liu Bei handed him that letter.

  Zhang Fei took the letter and examined it carefully, a faint cold smile flashing across his aged face. He pretended to think deeply for a moment, then furrowed his brow and said: "Huang Zhong was coerced into surrendering, so letting him retain his position as General of the Middle Army is already generous enough. As for Wei Yan, although he did capture Guilin County, after all, he's just an unknown commoner. While it's proper to reward him, promoting him from a commoner to a general in one step seems somewhat inappropriate."

  It's not just inappropriate, in Liu Bei's view, this letter of recommendation from Liu Feng is clearly trying to use his father's reward to win over Huang and Wei.

  Liu Bei snorted: "This stinky little kid, last time he wanted to use the strategy of sowing discord and wrote a letter advising me to retreat, that's fine. But now it hasn't been long since then, his brain is muddled again. It seems that although he has some qualifications for being a general, after all, he is only suitable for being a martial artist."

  Liu Bei's displeased expression was exactly what Mi Zhu had been hoping for, so he hastened to take advantage of the situation and said: "If that's the case, then these two generals Huang and Wei shouldn't be promoted. Otherwise, how can we expect other generals to submit?"

  Liu Bei's eyes closed, and he pondered for a moment before speaking: "These two cannot be left unrewarded. If they are not rewarded, it will only discourage those who have yet to surrender. Here's what we'll do: quickly draft a decree on my behalf, appointing Wei Yan as the Commander of the Vanguard, and granting Huang Zhong thirty taels of gold and one hundred bolts of silk. As for Ah Feng, since he has made significant contributions by capturing the two counties of Xiangdong, let us promote him to the position of Middle General. The rest who have made contributions will be rewarded according to their merits."

  …………

  Ling Xiang City, the main camp of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

  More than ten days ago, the document appointing Liu Ba as the governor of Changsha arrived. This talented young man from Jiangnan officially took office, so Liu Feng yielded the governor's mansion and moved to the military camp. At the same time, another governor of Guiyang, Ma Liang, also gladly accepted Liu Bei's recruitment and was on his way from Wuling to Guiyang Prefecture.

  To ensure military control over Guiyang, Liu Bei specially ordered Chen Dao to lead an army of 500 to escort Ma Liang to take office in Guiyang and to recall Wei Yan's troops back to Changsha. After the split with Liu Bei, the Changsha side will inevitably be subject to Liu Bei's key attack, and Liu Bei must concentrate his main force and all capable generals to have a chance to resist Liu Bei's offensive.

  Liu Bei had 20,000 regular troops under his command. If the additional troops from the conquered counties of Wuling and Ziling were added, the total number would be nearly 30,000. Although the combat effectiveness of these 30,000 troops was far inferior to that of the 30,000 Wu troops besieging Jiangling, they were still a formidable opponent for Liu Feng.

  Therefore, after Liu Feng took Changsha, he immediately launched an expansion action.

  After Han Xuan's death, nearly 5,000 troops from the Langya Principality surrendered, but the combat effectiveness of these 5,000 people was really not worthy of praise. Most of them were not only without armor and other protective gear, but also had no regular training every year. Among them, a considerable number were just temporarily recruited farmers, with uneven physical fitness, and many were not suitable for being soldiers.

  Among the 5,000 troops of the county, only over 1,500 troops deployed by Han Xuan in the provincial capital could really take to the field. Except for more than 300 people who died in the internal strife, the remaining over 1,200 people were all incorporated into Liu Feng's army. In other words, the number of troops that Liu Feng can directly command has risen from 800 to 2,000.

  These two thousand men were organized by Liu Feng into four troops. The first troop of five hundred men, all of whom were his own men brought from Jiangxia, belonged to the Imperial Guard and was directly commanded by Liu Feng. The remaining three hundred men were mixed with new surrendered soldiers from Changsha and reorganized into three troops: B, C and D. Troop D was led by Chen Dao, who had already set out to escort Ma Liang south to Guilin. Troops B and C were commanded by Ma Su.

  As for the newly surrendered Huang Wei, they originally had about 500 troops each. Under Liu Feng's intention, Huang Zhong recruited soldiers in Changsha, while Wei Yan annexed a part of the able-bodied county soldiers after taking down Guilin. The number of troops under both men reached 1,000 in a short period of time, which is equivalent to two troops.

  In about three months, the expansion of the army was completed. At this time, the number of horses that Liu Feng could command had rapidly increased from 800 to 4,000. Of course, an increase in the number of troops does not necessarily mean that quality also increases. To train 4,000 soldiers into a battle-ready army requires a certain amount of time. Moreover, Liu Ba and Ma Liang had just taken office, so Liu Feng must give them more time to turn the two counties of Xiangdong into a base that can support himself in a war against Liu Bei.

  Soon after the reorganization of the army was completed, Liu Feng specially set up a small banquet in the camp and invited Huang Zhong and Wei Yan to attend. This was also his first solo invitation to the two senior generals since he surrendered.

  After several rounds of wine, the atmosphere of the small banquet gradually became more harmonious.

  Liu Feng saw that the timing was almost right, so he smiled and said: "General Huang Lao and Wen Chang are both capable of being great generals. I have already sent letters to my father recommending General Huang Lao as a general and Wen Chang as a deputy general. Although it's a bit humble for their talents, this is the highest position I can get for you. I hope you understand."

  As soon as this was said, the two of them suddenly showed a look of surprise and gratitude. This is not surprising, one who had been a Zhonglang General for over a decade suddenly rose two ranks, another ordinary person became a Lieutenant General in one leap, their rapid promotion can be described as rising to fame overnight.

  What's more important is that Liu Feng himself was just a regional commander, yet he could recommend the two of them as generals. Such magnanimity and graciousness were something they had never seen in their lives.

  At this moment, Huang and Wei were still not grateful enough, how could they have any complaints? The two of them, with hearts full of emotion, each raised a cup to toast Liu Feng, to express their gratitude.

  Seeing the two of them being moved and excited about their sudden promotion, Liu Feng gave a subtle signal to the attendants around him.

  After a moment, an orderly rushed in and said anxiously: "Reporting to the young master, there is an urgent order from the lord."

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