Han wrote:No, thats not my point. My point was, a general was suppose to follow orders in 3k period unless stated otherwise. Without a tiger tally, the appropriate rank or a staff of authority, no general was allowed independent command beyond the original orders.
The trio was ordered to make a first strike against Sun Quan, that I agree and was not a support for their autonomy. However, Zhang Liao follow up at Xiaoyao ford without any of the three things above is what make me believe that he had personal authority shared with the other two. Making him( or them I guess) the CIC. Not Cao Cao who was all the way at HanZhong and did not give orders beyond the initial phase, and definitely not Xue Ti whose job was only to ensure that the generals worked together.
Ok, I mean, I disagree because I interpret the order that Cao Cao gave as being inherently flexible in the way that "if you see an opening that looks safe, go for it" seemed to be, or that pursuing a retreating enemy was also common even if the pursuit was not explicitly commanded, but it literally just seems like we disagree on an interpretation here.
It would be interesting to take a look at the roles that generals/commanders/titles actually played, and the levels of autonomy they had.
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