Among the three Yingchuan talents, Wei Yan is most interested in Zhao Yan.

To paraphrase modern words, Zhao Yanke is an excellent political worker, comparable to Generalissimo Luo.

Zhao Yan is a very political commissar he saw in the Three Kingdoms, he does not lead the troops, he often follows the army, he can train the generals, and he can raise the soldiers, of course, he can't compare with the real political commissar in modern times, but he is also many years ahead of this era.

Historically, after Zhao Yan defected to Cao Cao from Jingzhou, Cao Cao presented the emperor of the Han Dynasty and appointed Zhao Yan as the head of Langling. Zhao Yan arrested the gangster leader and put him in prison, and after filing the case for review, he was convicted of a capital crime. Zhao Yan went to the county guard again and asked for these people to be released, so as to combine grace and power.

In 200 A.D. (the fifth year of Jian'an), Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought a decisive battle in Guandu. Yuan Shao owns Hebei's Qing, Hebei, You, and four states, with more than 100,000 elite soldiers; Cao Cao only had two prefectures in Yanyu and only 30,000 troops. The disparity in strength between the two sides was very large, and Yuan Shao sent envoys to lure and recruit the counties of Yuzhou, and most of the counties obeyed his dispatch.

Only Yang'an County was unmoved, but Governor Li Tong was in a hurry to collect taxes from the common people. Zhao Yan met Li Tong and said: "Today's turmoil is in turmoil, the counties have rebelled one after another, and the places that are willing to belong to the imperial court will levy household taxes and silk, I am afraid that it will cause resentment among the people." Besides, there are troubles near and far, and these cannot be ignored. Li Tong said: "Yuan Shao and the general Cao Cao were at loggerheads, the military situation was urgent, and the counties on the left and right betrayed one after another. If we don't collect household taxes and transport the silk to the imperial court, those who like to listen to the news will definitely say that we are seeing the wind and steering the rudder, and have other intentions. Zhao Yan said: "Things are just as you considered, but you should still weigh the pros and cons and postpone taxation, and I am willing to help you solve this problem." So he sent a letter to Xun Yu and said: "Now Yang'an County should send the expropriated cotton silk to the imperial court, but the road is difficult and dangerous, and it will cause the enemy to attack and harass, and now the people are poor, and the surrounding neighboring counties rebel together, and our Yang'an County is also facing overturning, which is easy to do." This is a critical juncture for the safety and survival of one party. Moreover, if the people of this county observe the festival of loyalty, and do not have two hearts despite the danger, and must reward the small good deeds, then the faithful will continue to work hard. Those who are good at governing the country must hide their wealth from the people and appease the people. We feel that the imperial court should take pity on and comfort the people of our county, and return all the silk that has been collected to them. Xun Yu replied: "I will immediately report this matter to Cao Gong, and the official document will be sent to your county." Return all the silk to the people. When the officials of Yang'an County heard the news, they went up and down, rejoicing, and their hearts were stable, and they were even more loyal to the festival.

On one occasion, Li Tong's wife's uncle broke the law in Langling County, which was under the jurisdiction of Runan County. Zhao Yan, the upright and upright Langling Chief, in order to strictly enforce national law, lived up to expectations, and did not tolerate the criminals because they were relatives of his immediate boss, but did official business, resolutely arrested the criminals, and sentenced them to "Dapi", that is, beheading, in accordance with the law. When Li Tong's wife learned that her uncle had been arrested for breaking the law and would be killed, she was shocked, beat her chest, and cried and asked Li Tong to find a way to rescue her. She knew very well that although the power to arrest and sentence was in the county, the power of life and death was in the hands of the county, and as long as Li Tong did not approve it, her uncle would not be killed, so she burst into tears and begged Li Tong to intercede. However, no matter how his wife cried and begged, Li Tong was not moved at all, but did not agree. Soon, the case of Li Tong's wife and uncle was approved by the county, and the criminal was finally beheaded according to Zhao Yan's verdict in accordance with the law. When Li Tong's wife learned the news, she cried to death, not only reprimanding her husband for being ruthless and unjust, but also gritting her teeth with hatred for Zhao Yan, the head of Langling. However, Li Tong was not, not only did he not resent Zhao Yan because of this, but admired Zhao Yan very much, praised him for his loyalty to his duties and law enforcement, and sincerely made a special trip to find Zhao Yan and became close friends with Zhao Yan.

When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao rejected each other in Guandu, many people wrote to Yuan Shao at that time, exchanging money and songs, and even Li Tong had plans to send an envoy to Yuan Shao, Zhao Yan told Li Tong that Yuan Shao would definitely fail, and Li Tong stopped. After Yuan Shao's defeat, Cao Cao sent people to search Yuan Shao's military camp, but he didn't see Li Tong's letter, and privately knew that it must be Zhao Yan who drew a plan for him, so he said: "It must be Zhao Boran's credit." ”

Later, Zhao Yan assisted Li Tong to lead the army and people of Yang'an, quelling the Liukou flowing between the Huai River and the Ru River, making Yang'an a strong fortress to protect Xuchang, and avoiding the worries of Cao Cao's decisive battle with Yuan Shao.

At that time, Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Yu Ban were stationed in Changshe, Yangzhai, and Yingyin respectively, and they were not convinced by each other because of their high positions, and often quarreled over trivial matters, so that serious friction occurred, affecting the unity within the army. Cao Cao appointed Zhao Yan as a member of the army to participate in the military of Zhang Liao, Lejin, and Yu Ban. Zhao Yan used the methods of persuasion and guidance to eliminate and resolve contradictions, solve problems, and finally enabled the three generals to eliminate accumulated grievances and ensure the unity of the army. Because Zhao Yan governed the army well, he was often appointed as the governor of the army from then on, and led and coordinated Cao Cao's senior generals to go out on expeditions.

Look at Zhao Yan like a senior political commissar material!

In 208 A.D. (the thirteenth year of Jian'an), Cao Cao conquered Jingzhou, sent Zhao Yan to serve as the Taishou of Zhangling, and promoted him to the capital to supervise the army, supervising Yu Ban, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao, and Feng Kai.

In 211 A.D. (the sixteenth year of Jian'an), after Cao Cao broke through the 11th route coalition army in Guanzhong, he handed over more than 5,000 people who were soldiers under Han Sui and Ma Chao to the general Yin Department and others under the command of Pingnan, and appointed Zhao Yan as the protector of Guanzhong and commanded the armies.

At that time, the imperial court sent an order to Zhao Yan, ordering him to send 1,200 soldiers to Hanzhong to assist in the garrison, and Zhao Yan asked the Yin Department to supervise the escort. The selected soldiers could not bear to be separated from their wives and children, and their faces were full of sadness. Just one day after the Yin Department set off with the troops, Zhao Yan was worried that the soldiers would change, so he personally chased them to the mouth of the valley, comforted the soldiers one by one, and repeatedly admonished the Yin Agency, and then returned to stay at the home of Zhang Ji, the assassin of Yongzhou. Yin Department led the troops forward for another forty miles, and the soldiers really rebelled, and Yin Department did not know where to go for a while, and the good luck was uncertain. The 150 infantry and cavalry who came with Zhao Yan were all in the same barracks as the rebel soldiers, and some of them were in-laws. Zhao Yan planned to catch up and quell the rebellion, but Zhang Ji and others thought: "Now that the soldiers in the camp are not stable, it will be useless for you to go alone, so let's listen to the news." Zhao Yan said: "Although I also suspect that the soldiers of this battalion are complicit with the rebels, as soon as I hear that the soldiers who set out are rebelling, they will also follow the rebellion." However, there are still some soldiers who do not want to rebel but are undecided, and should take advantage of their hesitation to hurry to pacify them. Besides, as the commander, since he can't quell the rebellion, he is in calamity, and his fate should be like this! So he resolutely went. After walking thirty miles, Zhao Yan asked the soldiers to let their horses rest, and then gathered all his followers, discussed their successes and failures, knew the benefits and disadvantages, and sincerely comforted and encouraged them. The soldiers said in unison and impassionedly: "I am willing to follow the guards in life and death, and there will be no two hearts!" Zhao Yan led the troops to continue to advance, came to the first battalions, and asked the main generals to gather their subordinates to check and restrain their subordinates, and disperse the more than 800 people who gathered the rebellion in the wilderness, and only arrested and punished those who took the lead in making trouble, and did not ask about the rest. When the counties heard the news, they also released the deserters who had been contained, and they all returned to their camps one after another. Zhao Yan told the imperial court: "Please send a general to our camp quickly, and then please send the old soldiers of the imperial court to guard the pass." Cao Cao received a report and sent his general Liu Zhu with 2,000 men to support Zhao Yan, and as soon as they arrived at the camp, he sent the original soldiers to Hanzhong. Unexpectedly, the news leaked, and the soldiers of the battalions were frightened, and no matter how much they appeased. Zhao Yan said to the soldiers: "We have few old soldiers in the imperial court here, and the reinforcements from the east have not arrived in time, so many soldiers in each battalion are plotting to rebel, if there is a rebellion, the result is unimaginable." They should take advantage of their hesitation to solve the problem as soon as possible. So he announced in public that he would leave a thousand gentle and kind recruits to guard Zhizhong, and all the rest would be sent to Hanzhong. Zhao Yan also went to meet with the relevant officials in charge and reclassified the rosters of soldiers in each battalion according to their names and places of origin, so that they could distinguish them. The soldiers who approved to stay were relieved, and they wholeheartedly obeyed Zhao Yan's command, and those soldiers who should go to Hanzhong did not dare to act rashly, Zhao Yan sent them all on the road in one day, and scattered the more than 1,000 people left behind in the battalions. Ten days later, the imperial court reinforcements arrived from the east, and Zhao Yancai coerced and urged the remaining 1,000 soldiers to be sent to Hanzhong, adding up to more than 10,000 people.

In 219 A.D. (the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an), the general Cao Ren was surrounded by Guan Yu in Fancheng, and Zhao Yan traveled south as a speaker to participate in Cao Ren's military campaign, and Xu Huang, the general of Pingkou, led his troops to go with him. After arriving in Fancheng, Guan Yu besieged Cao Ren more tightly, and reinforcements from the north route had not yet arrived. The men and horses led by Xu Huang were not enough to relieve the siege of Fancheng, and the generals urged Xu Huang to send troops to rescue as soon as possible. Zhao Yan said to the generals: "Now the enemy has besieged Fancheng very strongly, tighter than the stagnant water, our army's infantry is weak, and Cao Ren is cut off and cannot break the enemy together, and hastily sending troops to rescue is not good for both inside and outside." At present, it is better to order the front army to enter the encirclement, and secretly send spies to inform Cao Ren and let him know that the rescue troops outside the city have arrived, so as to motivate the soldiers. Even if the reinforcements from the north road arrive in only ten days, the soldiers in the city will be enough to hold the city during this time. Then the inside and the outside should be united, and the enemy will definitely be defeated. If there is a blame for the delay in rescue, I am willing to take responsibility. All the generals agreed, so while digging tunnels, while shooting letters into the city with bows and arrows to inform Cao Ren, after several exchanges of news, the reinforcements from the north also rushed to the city, and the armies joined forces to fight Guan Yu. After Guan Yu's soldiers and horses were defeated, the boats and boats of the Shu army still occupied the water, and the waterway between Fancheng and Xiangyang was cut off and impassable, and Sun Quan took the opportunity to attack Guan Yu's baggage. After Guan Yu heard the news, he immediately returned from the South Road. Cao Ren convened all the generals to discuss the military situation, and everyone said: "Now that Guan Yu is in a critical situation, he will definitely panic, and he will definitely be able to capture him alive by pursuing him." Zhao Yan said: "Sun Quan took advantage of Guan Yu's difficult situation and wanted to secretly cut off his back road, and was worried that Guan Yu would return to the army to rescue, and was afraid that our army would take advantage of the exhaustion of their two armies to take action, so he cooperated with us and was willing to serve us, but in fact, he was temporarily on the sidelines to adapt to the situation to watch the victory or defeat." Now that Guan Yu has become a lone soldier, he should be left as Sun Quan's confidant. If he pursues it relentlessly, Sun Quan will change his mind, fearing that after Guan Yu is broken, our army will attack Eastern Wu, and he will create trouble for our army. I think King Wei must have been planning for this at this time. Cao Ren then postponed the pursuit. Cao Cao heard that Guan Yu was defeated, but he was afraid that the crowd would chase him, so he hurriedly sent someone to pass the order to Cao Ren, just like Zhao Yan had planned.

The four levies have a special official kitchen financial register, and when they move, there is no one who does not bring it. And Zhao Yan got into the car without bringing anything, and when he walked to Bashang, he forgot to bring the medicine he used to take. After the Yongzhou government learned the news, it sent someone to chase several boxes of miscellaneous medicinal materials, Zhao Yan smiled and said: "People often say, 'It is not easy to speak', I happened to ask about the medicine I was taking, how can I send it in person? So he did not take the medicine.

Military generals are easy to obtain, but political workers are hard to find, so Wei Yan turned over and tried all kinds of methods to improve Zhao Yan's favorability and loyalty, and finally left Zhao Yan and all three of them.

……

Wang Cang continued to report: "As for Guan Ning and Bingyuan's generation, they have already taken refuge in Liaodong with Taiyuan Wang Lie and others, and the lord's letter of conquest was sent to Liaodong, but it was ignored by Guan Ning and Bingyuan. Wang Cang revered Wei Yan more and more, respecting him like a god, and he did not have any good feelings towards those who ignored and despised the lord.

Wei Yan smiled faintly and said: "I have heard that Guan Ning, Bing Yuan, and Wang Lie all seek to learn from Yingchuan Chen Yu, such well-educated people, in Liaodong and other barbarian places, can implement the Confucian education of our Han people, so that we can collect the border land in the future, and Guan Ning and others have made great contributions." Since they don't want to come to us to be officials, let them spend their lives in the border areas to promote education for our big man. ”

Wei Yan has no good impression of Chen Yu, Chen Ji, and Chen Qun, the three generations of ancestors and grandchildren, and has always felt that they are the children of a sanctimonious family, especially Chen Qun's "Jiupin Zhongzheng System", which makes Wei Yan hate it to the core, because he hates Chen Yu who says that the thief is a gentleman on the beam, and Wei Yan has no good opinion of Guan Ning, Bing Yuan, Wang Lie and other lonely and self-proclaimed people, but Wei Yan does not deny that they do have merit in promoting education.