Cao Rui sighed heavily, "It's difficult for me to entrust the task to Qian Zhao. Has he led his troops into Lueyang City by now?"
Sim Gui nodded, "Qian Zhenxi has already entered the city, and the captured soldiers from the Shu forces are also under Qian Zhenxi's supervision inside the city."
"Zhang He's cavalry and infantry of one thousand, Qian Zhao's infantry of fifteen thousand, the cavalry of eight thousand under the General, and personally led by me a thousand six hundred horsemen," Cao Rui muttered softly, tapping lightly on the desk.
"The Great Wei has a total of forty-nine thousand infantry and cavalry in Lueyang," Cao Rui asked immediately, "The commander who surrendered this afternoon from Ma Dai's force said that Zhuge Liang's eastern army consists of thirty thousand men? Including the one thousand cavalry that arrived this morning, is it thirty-one thousand?"
Sim Gui replied, "Your Majesty, your calculation is accurate without a single mistake. The Shu forces have a total of thirty-one thousand men."
Cao Rui took a deep breath, "My forty-nine thousand infantry and cavalry have suffered eight thousand five hundred losses in the infantry and nearly two thousand five hundred losses in the cavalry. Sun Quan of Minyuan was not this difficult to defeat."
"I understand today why Emperor Wu said that Liu Bei and his group were a great internal threat to the Great Wei when he retreated from Hanzhong back to Guanzhong."
Cao Zhen was silent for a moment, then said after calming down his emotions, "Your Majesty, the captured soldiers have already explained this afternoon and I have also sent people to verify from different captives. The total number of Shu forces invading the Longyou region this time is approximately eight thousand."
"Including the Deng Zhi force that was completely wiped out and the Ma Dai force that was captured, the total number of casualties and captives among the Shu forces should be over one thousand and close to two thousand."
"Your Majesty," said Cao Zhen, bowing his hands, "In the end, it was the Great Wei that won this battle."
"Have you won in Lueyang, but not in Longyou?" Cao Rui slowly said, "As long as the Shu forces remain entrenched in Longyou for one day, I cannot consider it a victory! Even if all the Shu forces are driven back to Hanzhong, I still cannot consider it a victory!"
"On my land, causing turmoil and disaster, I can never consider it a victory no matter what!"
Cao Rui turned to look at Cao Zhen: "I know that General Cao is advising me not to be discouraged. I have lost eleven thousand soldiers, while the Shu army has nearly twenty thousand missing. Although it's one for two, I still feel like it's a loss."
Cao Zhen bowed his hands: "Your Majesty, if we don't count the nearly 100,000 people under Zhao Yun on the southern plateau, the Shu forces in Longyou still have over 50,000. I just want to advise Your Majesty not to worry about the casualties."
"After all, most of the Shu forces are still intact, and it's possible that there may be a major battle in the future."
"Mercy does not govern the military, I know that," said Cao Rui as he swept his gaze over the people in the tent. "I have a guess in my mind. Given the state of affairs near Lueyang, if Zhao Yun is a man of discernment, he should have retreated south tonight under the support of this group of Shu forces coming from the south. Even if he is a brave general, how can he hold out against me in this desolate land?"
"Can you stop Zhao Yun from returning south for the King?"
After Cao Rui's question was asked, three people in the tent spoke out at the same time.
"Cannot stop."
"Do not stop."
"It is not appropriate to stop."
Almost simultaneously, Cao Zhen, Yang Fu, and Sim Yi gave answers that were nearly identical.
Cao Zhen looked at the emperor, then at Yang Fu and Sim Yi, and then closed his mouth without saying anything.
Yang Fu and Sim Yi exchanged a glance, and Yang Fu raised his hands first to respond, "Your Majesty, from Lueyang to Shangguan, the road is narrow for a total of 120 li. There are only two small cities, Lie liu City and Xia Li City. The nearest Lie liu City is 40 li away."
"Additionally, with the Shu forces now arriving from the north to aid them, it will be difficult to fight on the narrow mountain roads. Perhaps another 40 li along the mountain path to near Lie Liu City is the best option."
"Tonight, if Zhao Yun wants to withdraw, let him. I think there is really no strength left to stop him."
Sim Yi gave Yang Fu a rather strange look, and someone who usually kept a stern expression found it hard to suppress a smile this time.
Seeing Sim Yi's expression, Cao Rui also furrowed his brow and asked, "What are you smiling about, Sim Yi?"
Sim Yi, who had already sat down, stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, I think Zhuge Liang will not fight on the Longshan Pass anymore."
Although Cao Rui had already formed a guess in his mind, he still asked Sim Yi, "What do you think, Sim Qi?"
"The key does not lie in how I think, but rather in what Zhuge Liang thinks," Sim Yi analyzed. "On the evening of the twenty-first, when I accompanied Your Majesty to Qian Zhao's army, we had a general guess, Your Majesty. Do you remember?"
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "From Lueyang to Shangguan, or the other places where Zhuge Liang is staying, it takes about one day to send a message. The fastest on foot from Shangguan to Lueyang is two days."
"Add that up, it's three days."
"General Cao arrived on the evening of the nineteenth, and the reinforcements sent by Zhuge Liang will arrive in Lueyang no later than twenty-second night," Cao Rui said with a sense of appreciation. "From this, it seems that Sim Qi's plan is still correct."
Sim Yi continued, "In addition to the reinforcements from Qian Zhao's army in Chang'an, the General's aid force will undoubtedly raise suspicion among the Shu forces about whether there are even more aid forces behind him!"
"From the captured soldiers, we learned that there are at least twenty thousand Shu soldiers surrounding Shangguan City. Zhuge Liang is undoubtedly going to move all these infantry troops to Lueyang, and perhaps some of these Shu soldiers are even blocking the Longshan Pass right now!"
Sim Yi's tone became more urgent: "The so-called Eastern Army of the Shu forces, was originally meant to seize Lueyang and cut off the aid from the Great Wei. It was meant to achieve these two goals."
"Now, it is impossible for Lueyang to fall into the hands of the Shu forces, and the Great Wei can move south to Shangguan, westward to Xianqin and Heixian, or further westward to Nan'an and Longxi!"
"Your Majesty," Sim Yi bowed his hands, "The Shu State is small in area and narrow in population, and Zhuge Liang's strong army is invading the Longyou region. It is certainly not to fight to the death with the Great Wei, to consume all of their soldiers and troops, or to be defeated completely in the Longyou region!"
"If he insists on doing so……" Sim Yi snorted softly, "Even if he decides to go that route, it won't take long before the Shu state falls apart."
Cao Rui stood up, hands behind his back, his gaze sharp and piercing as he looked at Sim Yi, "If Zhuge Liang truly intends to confront me on the Longshan Pass, I can send cavalry directly to Jixian County, Nan'an Commandery, and Longxi Commandery!"
"At that time, Zhuge Liang will really have nowhere to go!"
Sim Yi bowed deeply, "That is indeed the case."
After saying that, Sim Yi sat back down on his seat by himself.
Cao Rui sighed, "General Cao speaks from the strategic perspective of the army, Yang Fu from the tactical perspective, and Sim Qi from the national affairs!"
"The Shu forces' invasion of the Longyou region was intended to take advantage of the region to enrich themselves. How could they be willing to waste their blood and resources fighting against me here? Sim Qi is right; Zhuge Liang must order his troops to withdraw!"
Without further hesitation, Cao Rui immediately issued an order: "Prepare defenses at the Duanshan Pass and the northern plateau, both camps must be ready by tonight!"
Turning to look at Cao Zhen, he said, "General Cao, prepare for tomorrow's ride to advance towards Xianqin and Heixian!"
"From Lueyang, westward and then southward, it should take two to three days to reach Heixian. If Zhao Yun and the Shu forces do not retreat, they must prepare for the possibility that they may not be able to return!"
Cao Zhen rose to his feet and saluted, "As you command!"
...
As Emperor Cao Rui and his ministers were dispatching tasks, in the camp of the Shu forces hastily set up on the plateau, a person who had come from afar arrived.
General Wu Yi, who had led his guards to the plateau to search for Ma Qi!
Wu Yi also didn't want to take this risk, but several hours earlier, while he was still advancing from the south to the north, he received news from Wang Ping's army. The Shu forces' heavy defeat today truly shocked him.
His anxiety was so great that he couldn't be relieved until he saw Ma Qi, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, and other commanders in person.
Wu Yi rushed for two days, arriving exhausted and bedraggled. The people in the tent were also suffering in their own way.
"Brother!"
Wu Ban, upon seeing his cousin, hurried forward to hug him and then burst into tears: "Brother, you don't know! Today's battle was so hard! I almost died here!"
Wu Yi's mind was turbulent, but as the commanding general of the Shu forces and a heavy-armed commander who leads 15,000 soldiers, he could only suppress the many questions in his heart and bow to Ma Qi, Zhao Yun, and Wei Yan.
Wu Yi didn't ask about how the battle was fought today, nor did he inquire about the casualties. Instead, he directly addressed Ma Qi, "Marshalls Milady, my troops of 13,000 have arrived here. Premier Zhuge should now be at the Lie Liu City 40 li away."
"Given the current situation of the Eastern Army, what do you have to say?"
Although Ma Qi pretended to be calm, the sadness in his expression couldn't be hidden. He raised his hands weakly and replied, "Premier Zhuge sent me to command the Eastern Army. Given such a defeat, I can only ask His Excellency to decapitate my head as a sacrifice to the entire army!"
Wu Yi shook his head, "I'm not asking you this. It's not my place to ask. This is a matter that the Premier himself must address."
"I want to ask, now that the Eastern Army is trapped on this plateau, what do you plan to do?"
Wu Yi stared straight at Ma Qi, who stood motionless and silent, not looking at Wu Yi.
Zhao Yun sighed, the old general was rare to maintain the Shu forces for a day. Although his own troops were not heavily defeated and managed to maintain their formations, all his allied forces, Deng Zhi, Wang Ping, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and Ju Fu...
had all suffered devastating defeats.
At this time, Zhao Yun stood up, his white beard and mustaches moved without the wind, and he spoke with a clear and forceful voice: "General Wu, I propose that we withdraw and retreat southward tonight!"
As Zhao Yun's eyes swept over the crowd, Wei Yan and Zhao Yun exchanged a glance and then lowered their heads. It was even more so for Wu Ban and Ju Fu.
After waiting for a long time, Wei Yan hoarsely forced out a few words from his throat, "I agree! We should withdraw and leave tonight without delay!"
Wu Ban and Ju Fu looked at each other before expressing their willingness to withdraw and leave tonight as well.
"Marshalls Milady?" Wu Yi still had more to say and addressed Ma Qi again.
Ma Qi struggled to lift his head and gently nodded to Wu Yi.
Wu Yi took a deep breath and asked, "Zhao General, your current 15,000 troops should still be intact, right?"
Zhao Yun shook his head slightly, "Only one thousand left."
"Never mind," Wu Yi gritted his teeth. "Discard the armor and supplies, get ready, and withdraw an hour later. Don't delay any further!"
"I'll leave 3,000 people to guard the mountain passes and delay them. Hurry up!"
Zhao Yun sighed deeply, walked straight to the tent's entrance, and called out to his subordinates.
...
