Bai Xiaowen was quite confident that he could recruit Hua Xin.
After Hua Xin pledged allegiance, Bai Xiaowen was naturally "overjoyed." He appointed Hua Xin as an Inquiry Officer and also granted him the position of Adviser in the Grand Marshal's Office.
Hua Xin had never expected Bai Xiaowen to think so highly of him. He naturally thanked him profusely, while secretly thinking, Yuan Xi had risen to a high position at such a young age, yet he could still respect worthy men and treat them with humility. No wonder he had made such a great name for himself.
After being appointed to office, Hua Xin became one of Bai Xiaowen's own people.
Bai Xiaowen asked, "You have been in Jingxiang and Jiangnan all this time, so you should have a fairly clear understanding of the situation there. I heard that Jingzhou and Jiangdong have been frequently embroiled in war recently?"
Hua Xin replied, "Ever since Liu Biao suffered a crushing defeat at Xudu, he has been unable to recover. The Sun Clan of Jiangdong is indeed formidable. Their ranks are filled with talented men of letters and warriors. Taking advantage of the situation, they launched an attack on Jingzhou and occupied five commandery cities in Jingxiang within half a month."
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "I have long heard that Sun Ce is the tiger of Jiangdong, with valor no lesser than Lu Bu's. But who else does he have under his command?"
Hua Xin said, "Among the civil officials, there are Lu Su, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and others, all renowned scholars of their time. Among the military officers, there are Taishi Ci, Sun Yi, Zhou Tai, and others, all fierce generals. Zhou Yu is also accomplished in both civil and military affairs. Recently, he even subdued Gan Ning of