Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

The gates of Chengdu open, and a group walks out. The man at the front is holding something with both hands. It was Liu Zhang, coming out to surrender and hand over his seal of office.

Whether it was because he had a good nature despite his incompetence, none of those following Liu Zhang were without tears. It was a somber sight, but isn’t that how the world works? The principle of survival of the fittest has only changed its packaging over time, but its essence has always remained the same.

Liu Bei, who was waiting for them outside the city gate, greeted them with confident strides in contrast to Liu Zhang’s careful steps. The generals following him also stood with straight backs and shoulders, unlike the officials following Liu Zhang.

It was a clear contrast between victors and the defeated.

“Due to my lack of virtue, I have brought harm and discord to the people and officials of Yi Province. I humbly request that Lord Liu govern Yi Province in place of this unworthy one.”

Liu Zhang bowed his head as he offered the seal of Yi Province.
Liu Bei took the seal of Yi Province that Liu Zhang was holding.

“Lord Liu, please raise your head. How can relatives of the same imperial family speak of fault? Come, let’s enter the city together.”

It was a statement announcing that the master of Chengdu had changed from Liu Zhang to Liu Bei. Realizing this, the cries of Liu Zhang’s former officials grew louder.

However, the common people inside Chengdu had quite a different reaction from the officials. They were trembling with anxiety. Ancient sieges were almost always followed by plunder. Although there had been no battle, since they had lost the war surrounding Yi Province, they worried that Liu Bei, as the conqueror, might take away their assets.

However, Liu Bei, who had subdued Liu Zhang and ascended to the governorship of Yi Province, dispelled their anxiety with a single proclamation. Liu Bei resolved the rewards for the soldiers who had followed him so far by opening the treasury, and returned the people’s assets to them intact without touching them.

Yi Province stabilized at a surprisingly fast rate. While the countryside had already been subjugated as Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, and my father had swept through once, even Chengdu quickly assimilated to the new ruler.

It was a moment when Zhuge Liang’s administrative ability shone, but Fa Zheng’s shrewdness and Liu Bei’s inclusiveness also shone.

There was a man named Xu Jing. Though his ability was mediocre, his reputation was high – a typical case of an empty cart making noise. Liu Bei looked down on him, but Fa Zheng advised employing him. The reason being that although Xu Jing’s fame was undeserved without the backing of real ability, people truly considered him a famous scholar, so treating him well would make talented people follow Liu Bei. Liu Bei accepted Fa Zheng’s advice and welcomed Xu Jing.

If Xu Jing was an example of Fa Zheng’s foresight, Liu Ba shows Liu Bei’s inclusiveness.

Liu Ba, a man from Jingzhou, was originally a guest of Liu Biao, and after Cao Cao occupied Jingzhou, he submitted to him and worked for him. Then when Cao Cao was crushed at Chibi, Liu Ba fled to Jiaozhi to avoid Liu Bei, and later sought asylum in Yi Province. He had lived a life of avoiding Liu Bei.

Although such a Liu Ba might be unpleasant, Liu Bei sought him out saying that this time he would surely make Liu Ba his man, and with even Zhuge Liang joining in the persuasion, Liu Ba finally became Liu Bei’s subject.

Besides these, Liu Bei actively employed people like Huang Quan who had served Liu Zhang to the end, and Fei Guan who was Liu Zhang’s son-in-law, sending a message of reassurance to the existing Yi Province personnel, while sending Liu Zhang to Jingzhou, uprooting him completely.

Anyway, it’s not that important a story. You can just think of it as Zhuge Liang being Zhuge Liang, and Liu Bei being Liu Bei.

While Zhuge Liang handled administration and Fa Zheng took charge of personnel to assist Liu Bei’s control of Yi Province, Pang Tong was active in military matters.

He persuaded Zhang Ren, who had become a prisoner but refused to surrender, to follow Liu Bei, and was in the process of completely reorganizing the organization and deployment of soldiers according to the newly adjusted positions of the generals.

Ah, and I was appointed to the position of General Who Protects the Flank. It was a miscellaneous general position of the 5th rank, still lower than my father’s 3rd rank General Who Suppresses the East, but it was a tremendous rapid promotion compared to the previous General position.

Because Liu Bei was not yet an emperor or king, there were limitations to the positions he could appoint. Therefore, my father’s title was still General Who Suppresses the East. Of course, there was some change, as my father’s post changed from Nanzhong to Baxi. He became Governor of Baxi.

The officials in Jingzhou also experienced changes such as promotions or transfers. Guan Yu became the Military Governor of Jingzhou, and my friend Ban Jun became an Assistant to the Governor of Jingzhou. Since Guan Yu was essentially the Governor of Jingzhou, it could be said that Ban Jun was the third-in-command after Guan Yu and Lady Mi.

‘I should send a letter congratulating him on his rapid promotion.’

The digression has become too long. Anyway, Liu Bei’s forces were busy. With the balance between stability and change, along with coordination between existing Liu Bei forces and newly incorporated talents, the civil officials were really having a hard time.

On the other hand, the military officials had quite a bit of leisure.

In fact, what military officials have to do after a promotion is all the same. Except for special cases like Guan Yu. Of course, I belonged to the former.

Still, if there was something I had to do, it was to gather soldiers I would command and form my own unit. While the number of soldiers itself wasn’t a problem since there were already Liu Zhang’s former troops, this damn gender was again an issue.

Among those who would assist the general, like Junhou and Dunzhang, there weren’t any proper ones. They all just kept glancing at my face. Anyone who has served in the military would know how important non-commissioned officers like Junhou and Dunzhang are.

Since my unit itself is small, I only have about 2 officer-level (Colonel) positions. Including me, it would be about 3. The roles of Dunzhang, the leader of a hundred, and Junhou, the leader of five hundred, are important, but with this…

“Haha, you must be having a hard time.”
“How about you, General Wei?”

Wei Yan, like me, received the 5th rank miscellaneous general position of General of the Standard for his merits so far. Since he wasn’t taking the soldiers he had commanded as a Colonel, Wei Yan was in the same situation as me.

“I gathered mine quickly.”

Wei Yan, who was noted even in historical records for his talent in training soldiers, must have easily gathered Junhou and Dunzhang. Someone of Wei Yan’s level would even be able to train a Dobaek (leader of fifty) well and promote him to Dunzhang. I wonder who’s worrying about whom.

“How about requesting from our lord to select from existing soldiers? They know General Zhang’s abilities well, so they would follow you well.”

“That won’t do. That would be admitting my incompetence. If I start using the reason of being a woman, others will also start picking on the fact that I’m a woman.”

“Hmm… that’s true. But isn’t it not simply a matter of being a woman…”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Fortunately, since Liu Bei’s forces are still small, even with a general’s position, the number of soldiers under command isn’t that many. In fact, in terms of the number of troops commanded, it wasn’t much different from a Colonel.

I was assigned about 2,000 soldiers, so 4 Junhou and 20 Dunzhang should be assigned under me, but after one training session, it seemed half of them needed to be replaced.

No, more than that, I don’t even have any Colonels right now, do I?

“General, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest?”

The soldiers who had been with me from A’dou’s rescue to Xichuan were assigned directly under me, and among them, Zhang San, who was the closest to me, was also serving as my attendant now.

Looking at Wei Yan, the guest who had arrived first, I answered Zhang San:

“I’m sorry, but please tell them there’s a prior guest.”

“Understood.”

“Wait. Who is the guest? I need to know in case I need to find them again or request something later. If you don’t know, ask directly and let me know.”

“Well, they say it’s the General Who Pacifies the West.”

“General Who Pacifies the West?”

If it’s the General Who Pacifies the West…

“Isn’t that Lord Mengqi?”

It’s Ma Chao. When I looked at Wei Yan in surprise, he nodded as if he had the same thought as me.

“I’m fine, so please meet with them together.”

“Thank you. Zhang San, escort Lord Mengqi. No, I should go myself.”

Hurrying to the main gate, I saw three men standing outside the already open door waiting. One was Ma Chao, one was Pang De, and one I’m sure I’ve seen before but can’t remember who he was.

Anyway, Wei Yan and I greeted Ma Chao, who had the highest position here.

“For Lord Mengqi to come all the way here. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. Please come inside.”

“No. I came without notice, so I’m just grateful for such a warm welcome. Ah, and this one beside me is my cousin, Ma Dai.”

“It’s an honor to meet two generals of such great renown. I’m Ma Dai, courtesy name Bochang.”

So it’s Ma Dai. I was thinking he looked a lot like Ma Chao.

In the Romance, he acts as Ma Chao 2.0, but I remember there weren’t many records about him in official histories. Still, since he did reach high positions, he must be at least above average talent.

“I’m Zhang Ran. I haven’t received my courtesy name yet, but I hold the position of General Who Protects the Flank.”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

“Do you know General Wei?”

“Yes. We met briefly after the discussion of merits and rewards. Lord Pang De was there too.”

“Oh my. Leaving me out completely. I hope General Pang and General Zhao weren’t there too?”

“Ha, hahaha.”

Pang De laughs awkwardly. Wow, this seems real. Even though it was a short time, it’s disappointing for comrades who shared life and death experiences.

“We met by chance. General Yijun wasn’t there either. We didn’t intentionally exclude General Zhang, so please don’t be angry.”

“Hmm, I see. We’ve kept the guests standing outside for too long. Let’s go in quickly.”

“Then excuse us.”

The first time I saw Ma Chao was when we went to rescue his family. When he heard we were being chased, he rushed from Wudu. Of course, by then we were leisurely returning after smashing the pursuit team.

At that time, Ma Chao looked very emaciated and gloomy, but now much of that shadow had lifted. Although the nickname “Golden Ma Chao” is a later creation, there’s no smoke without fire, and now that he had regained his complexion, he was quite a handsome man.

Even though I offered him the seat of honor, Ma Chao politely refused and yielded it to me. Of course, I felt awkward sitting in the seat of honor too, so I naturally left it empty and sat facing each other on both sides.

Just before sitting down, Ma Chao suddenly gave me a formal bow.

“Lord Mengqi?”

“I heard it was General Zhang who argued that my family and Pang De should be rescued. I was too flustered to properly express my gratitude before, so I’ve come like this. Truly, thank you.”

“How could we neglect the family of the Golden Ma Chao of Xiliang when inviting him? I didn’t do it to receive such thanks, so please withdraw this.”

“Hahaha! Golden Ma Chao… The one who should be called ‘golden’ (jin, meaning brocade) is not me, but General Zhang. It’s a name too grand for a defeated general who lost Liangzhou to Cao Cao.”

At these uncharacteristically passive words, Pang De, who was beside him, said:

“Lord Mengqi, what are you saying?”

“Yongning, I’ve only now realized why I was defeated. I wanted to be a ruler, but I lacked the virtue to lead subordinates, so I was bound to fail.”

“By that logic, isn’t that Cao Cao fellow just as lacking in virtue?”

“Yes. That’s right. So won’t Cao Mengde meet the same end as me?”

Ma Chao’s eyes were blazing. Those were not the eyes of someone suffering from burnout and fallen into pessimism.

“Since I am now under one sent by Heaven to oppose Cao Cao, won’t this Ma Mengqi be able to make Cao Cao’s neck cold once again someday?”

That’s it.

I had worried that Ma Chao might become depressed and lose his former spirit as I had hoped, but the current him was still the pride of Xiliang, the Divine Might General Ma Chao.

Despite gaining Ma Chao, Shu did not achieve results befitting the grand reputation of the Five Tiger Generals. To the extent that making Chengdu surrender was Ma Chao’s greatest achievement under Liu Bei.

But this time will be different.

“The conversation has strayed, but I’m here to repay the favor I received.”

“Favor? That’s too much. And I have no intention of being treated respectfully as a benefactor, so please speak comfortably.”

Ma Chao pondered for a moment with an “Umm,” and then said:

“You seem to be more uncomfortable with the respectful speech, so I’ll speak casually. We Xiliang people value benefactors as much as enemies. Even if General Zhang doesn’t consider it a favor, I consider it one, so please don’t refuse.”

“If you insist so much, I’ll gratefully accept.”

“It wasn’t my intention, but while looking into those who rescued my family, I also learned about the difficulties General Zhang is facing. I hear you’re short on Colonels and Junhou?”

“Yes. With our lord’s forces growing and recruiting people from various places, even the military is facing a talent shortage. We have many excellent generals, but we lack people to assist them.”

“So, how about using my cousin?”

“You mean Lord Ma Dai?”

“It’s not because he’s my cousin, but he’s quite capable and should be helpful.”

“I’m confident I can be of help.”

Ma Dai, not bad. First of all, even though he’s Ma Chao’s brother, the fact that he has independent records in historical texts means he must be more outstanding than ordinary people. As long as he’s not like those recorded in historical texts in a bad way, like He Hou Wu.

‘But is it okay for me to use Ma Chao’s cousin, who is practically an independent military faction within Liu Bei’s forces, as a Colonel?’

Seeing that I couldn’t readily answer, Ma Chao, who seemed to have noticed my concern, added:

“Don’t think it difficult because he’s my brother. Actually, before I brought it up, that fellow wanted to serve under General Zhang.”

“Bro, brother!”

“Did I say something wrong? Isn’t that why you refused the general position our lord was going to give you?”

“That’s…”

“But remember, brother. It’s not a horse you can ride. Rather, you should become a warhorse yourself.”

“How could I harbor such thoughts? My desire to assist General Zhang is not out of romantic feelings, but gratitude and admiration.”

“Did you hear that? This fellow says so, will General Zhang accept him?”

Ma Dai is really too good to be just a Colonel. I can distinguish lustful gazes that see me as a woman. As he said himself, Ma Dai’s feelings towards me were close to pure respect.

There’s no reason to refuse. I was planning to organize my unit mainly around cavalry anyway. With Ma Dai, there would be momentum in fostering cavalry.

“Then, I’ll gratefully accept.”

And so, one Colonel position was filled.