Cao Mao went along with the portion they had set aside, raising Wang Ji's noble rank slightly and rewarding the generals under his command.
Bestowing rewards was a profound art in itself.
If he gave no rewards, the men under Wang Ji would certainly grumble, and problems might arise when Wang Ji governed the south in the future.
If the rewards were too generous, Guanqiu Jian's and Hu Zun's officers would grumble instead, believing the rewards and punishments unfair.
Everything had to be balanced: he had to placate Wang Ji's subordinates without making the others feel anything was amiss.
Still, Cao Mao had no particularly unfavorable opinion of Wang Ji himself.
That was simply Wang Ji's nature. He handled matters steadily, which was both his strength and his weakness. Although an all-out offensive might lead to the awkward situation of him alone refusing to move, when it came to governing a region, Wang Ji was unquestionably the man for the job.
Who could be better suited than Wang Ji to hold the fort in the Wu Kingdom?
He was, after all, a famously accomplished farming general.
Different people had to be put to use in different places, and everyone was bound to have shortcomings and flaws. If one looked only at those shortcomings and flaws, there would truly be no one left to employ.
Cao Mao rewarded a great many people this time.
And he bestowed the rewards in person.
That was somewhat different from issuing an imperial edict granting rewards.
Only after the rewards had all been bestowed did the ministers resume presenting their memorials.
This time, the Imperial Secretariat again raised the matter of sending Chen Tai and Wang Jing to Wu territory.
Wang Chang and Cao Mao had settled this matter long ago; now it was merely