Jingzhou, Xiangyang.
Inside the residence of the General Who Guards the South, Wang Ji sat in the seat of honor, his expression solemn as he scrutinized the officers before him.
The officers appointed by the imperial court had all arrived in Xiangyang.
Ma Long, Wen Yang, and Jiang Ban stood before Wang Ji.
On the table before Wang Ji lay a letter from the emperor.
Cao Mao had not issued Wang Ji an imperial edict. He had merely sent a letter describing the situation in the Wu Kingdom and mentioning several people who required particular attention.
Wang Ji had originally intended to strike before waiting for the imperial court's orders, then submit a memorial reporting it afterward.
If a good opportunity arose, he did not want to waste time. If he won merit, the imperial court would not pursue his responsibility too closely.
But now it seemed there was no need for such trouble.
The imperial court had no intention of restricting him at all. The emperor's letter even told him to act as he saw fit, without worrying about pressure from the court: if he could fight, then fight.
Wang Ji felt an indescribable surge of gratitude.
Compared with the deeply suspicious Sima Shi, who had always liked using deputies and army supervisors to constrain commanders, the current emperor was more open-minded. He could trust his generals completely, without sending someone who shared his surname to watch them.
Over these years, in campaigns everywhere, the commanders and army supervisors had invariably borne the surname Sima.
Even if only in name, their presence had been mandatory. This was understandable: the Sima Family, after all, were merely powerful ministers. Sima Shi could not represent the imperial court and was deeply wary of his colleagues.
Having received the emperor's trust, Wang Ji