Yang Fu snorted: "These are just two secessionist powers. They are currently united out of fear of the might of Great Wei, but there is no doubt that they harbor malevolent intentions towards each other."
"How could the people of Shu forget about Liu Bei in just a few years?"
"Alright." Cao Rui smiled and patted his hands: "Since Sun Quan wants to buy horses from me, I will buy ships from him instead."
"Whether it is the galleon, ram boat, or even the fighting ship and oil tanker, as long as it can navigate the Yangtze River from north to south, I am willing to take it."
"Shouldn't we send an envoy to go?" Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi.
Sima Yi was taken aback for a moment, then promptly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, perhaps it would be better to send the Imperial Steward."
"Chairman Xiao is truly a man of virtue and righteousness." Cao Rui laughed and pointed at Sima Yi: "Alright, send a message to the Imperial Steward of Luoyang, and let Sima Zhi go to Wuchang."
"Discuss the specific terms of the proposal to Sun Quan with the Imperial Steward, the Minister of Works, and the Secretariat. In general, I do not wish to wage war against Wu for the time being, and I would rather drag it out for two years if possible."
"I originally thought that after the Battle of Huainan could wait for two years, but now there is another battle in Qinzhou."
"The emperor is absolutely right," Yang Fu said, bowing. "Currently, there is a battle with the rebel forces in Qinzhou, and the new policy of cultivating land with the newly civilized Qiang people in Huiyang State, which was established in Huizhou State, is also being implemented in Huizhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou."
"Not only does Sun Quan need time to recover and regroup, but the Great Wei does as well. What I mentioned just now would not yield much fruit without a period of three years."
"Cultivating land is just one aspect, and food reserves are another. Looking at the three of you, Your Majesty," Cao Rui said, turning to the three people: "If Sun Quan is ambiguous with me, then I will be ambiguous with him as well."
"Regardless of the circumstances, the timing is on the side of Great Wei!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Yang Fu bowed respectfully.
Cao Rui sighed and said: "We launched the campaign on December 12th, and it has been nearly three months. The grain transported from Guanzhong to Longyou, combined with the grain stored in Longyou, can still sustain us until the end of April."
"We need to quickly open up the lower Lian and Hechi areas. Otherwise, it's really too much trouble to transport the grain from Guanzhong to Longshan through the Longshan Pass."
Sima Yi nodded: "I sent a message to Zhang He yesterday, and he is expected to arrive outside of Xiaobian City in two days."
Cao Rui sighed: "We cannot lag behind Zhang He!"
"Tomorrow, the main army should accelerate southward. Only two hundred and several li away, we must arrive at Xiaobian within three days!"
...
On the same day, that is, the evening of the twenty-fifth day, Zhang He received a message from the main camp at Qiyama.
"Commander, the emperor has ordered Commander to immediately advance to Xiaobian, confronting the Shu troops there, and seizing the opportunity to besiege the city."
Chen Ping walked in from outside, and the report was handed to General Zhang He, who was sitting in the tent, deep in thought about military strategies.
Zhang He heard the voice of Chen Ping and made no extra movements, just nodded lightly. Chen Ping immediately understood and placed the report in front of Zhang He.
"Commander is worrying about what? Although a small defeat occurred a few days ago, it should not be the reason for Commander's worry?" Chen Ping took a small step back and stood less than three feet away from Zhang He, speaking softly.
Zhang He looked up at Chen Ping: "Dian Man? He doesn't deserve to make me worry."
"If it were just to capture Xiaobian, the things I would worry about would be fewer. But it's not just about this city; it's about the defense of the entire Wu and the entire Qinzhou."
Chen Ping said solemnly: "I don't know if I can relieve Commander's worries."
Zhang He was dressed in a plain robe of a scholar, with his silvery white hair tied with a wooden hairpin, almost like a doctor in the Luoyang Academy. It was only the sharp eyes beneath his bushy eyebrows that hinted at a hint of decisiveness.
Every time he takes off his armor at night, he looks like this literatus.
Sighing lightly, Zhang He said to Chen Ping: "I only learned of it the day before. The emperor reprimanded General Wei for humiliating me at the banquet, and he intends to take away his central military command once he returns to Luoyang, and he informed me of this."
"The emperor holds me in such high regard. If I were to fail in my duties in Qinzhou, how could I face the world with my face?"
"Commander seems to be taking things too seriously," Chen Ping said with surprise: "The situation in Qinzhou cannot be so bad, no matter how the situation goes."
Zhang He snorted softly: "That's the case as long as the emperor and the central army are still here. But what if the emperor leaves with the central army? There are only more than thirty thousand troops left outside of Qinzhou?"
Chen Ping's expression gradually darkened.
Zhang He continued: "Wudu has long had no civilians or grain to rely on. The distance from Qiyama to Xiaobian is almost three hundred miles, and the distance from Wangqiu to Xiaobian is nearly five hundred miles. How can we hold this place?"
Chen Ping, upon hearing Zhang He's words, furrowed his brow and could not speak. But after a moment, he asked back: "What if the Shu troops are not that numerous?"
"How do you mean that?" Zhang He asked.
Chen Ping answered directly: "I know the process of the Battle of Hanzhong in the past and also know that Xiaobian is far from Longyou and Gansu. Commander worries about how to defend, which is reasonable."
"But if another battle like Lueyang were to occur, killing many more Shu troops, would they still have the strength to attack?"
Zhang He looked at Chen Ping and sighed lightly, saying: "War is not so simple. How could I possibly start another fierce battle for my own interests?"
"It's getting late. You should rest yourself. I will have a report ready for the emperor in a few days."
Chen Ping made a bow and then left the door.
...
Zhang He's army consisted mostly of foot soldiers, and it took them three and a half days to reach the city of Xiaobian. In contrast, the emperor himself led the mounted army, which arrived at the same time.
On March 1st at noon, three Shu scouts rode quickly back to the city of Xiaobian from the west.
The leading scout directly entered the camp, knelt down on one knee, and reported, "General, the Wei army has come from the west and should now be about seven or eight li west of Xiaobian."
Perhaps because of the exhaustion from riding at such high speed, the scout's speech was gasped and disconnected, and his face had turned red like a tomato.
"Wei Yan asked, "How many?"
"It's too many," the scout gasped, waving his hand vigorously.
Wei Yan's face immediately turned dark, and he turned to Situ Feng on his right and said, "Xiao Xing, order the army inside the city to be ready for battle and tell the camp at the east mountain pass to be prepared for battle."
Situ Feng hadn't even replied when Wei Yan stood up and walked over to the scout's side, grabbing him by the arm: "Come with me, General Wei and I will go and check it out together. Lead the way!"
Although the scout had brought the message, Wei Yan was still cautious to the slightest degree.
Just a few days ago, the Military Adviser Zhuge Liang at Chiling ordered Wei Yan to act according to circumstances, and decide whether to defend Xiaobian or withdraw to Chiling.
Wei Yan, who longed for battle, received such an order, dared not say anything against it, but still chopped his feet several times hard to dispel the resentment in his heart.
The Wei army lost a battle at Lueyang, and just a few days ago, Dian Man broke through and escaped.
Wei Yan's heart was filled with dissatisfaction.
After the scout brought the message today, Wei Yan would definitely go out personally to explore the situation of Wei's troops.
Riding out for five or six li, Wei Yan suddenly felt an alertness rise in him, stemming from the intuition of a skilled general, and he immediately looked for a high ground to survey the west.
At this moment, the scene that Wei Yan saw was a long line of soldiers that could not be seen in the distance, winding eastward from the west. Just within his sight, there were thousands of people.
If there were not more reinforcements behind, these troops alone would never dare to march in such an array! They have no fear at all!
Biting his teeth, Wei Yan stared at the distant Wei army, and his anger was shown on his face without any disguise. After staring for about a hundred breaths, Wei Yan silently beckoned to his personal guards, descended from the high ground, and rode eastward at full speed.
Wei Yan left Xiaobian City with great ease and simplicity.
Just as he had retreated from the camp behind the battle lines at Lueyang, Wei Yan showed no hesitation or reluctance whatsoever.
This is why Zhuge Liang had a favorable opinion of Wei Yan.
Compared to fighting courageously and coordinating troops well, what Zhuge Liang appreciated more about Wei Yan was his ability to judge the situation and follow orders.
Back then, Liu Bei chose Wei Yan to defend Hanzhong because Wei Yan, as Liu Bei's veteran troops for many years, would not go astray or act on his own accord in the battlefield. Instead, he would fulfill the strategic intentions of the commander.
At this moment, Zhuge Liang's strategic intention was to rely on the dangerous terrain of Chiting to hold out against the majority of the Wei army until they were forced to retreat.
With Zhuge Liang's presence in the rear, Wei Yan would not dare to act disobediently.
Huo Zhao led the front troops of infantry and easily occupied Xiaobian City. Then followed Lu Pan, Dian Man, Xiahou He, etc., with Zhang He at the rear to maintain order, and finally Guo Hua.
Cao Rui brought with him from Qiyama a central army of 25,000 troops. Of these, 1,000 infantry troops were stationed to defend Wudu City, while the remaining 24,000 cavalry troops followed behind Zhang He's main force at a distance of fifteen li.
When Huo Zhao arrived at Xiaobian, Cao Rui ordered the entire army to stop.
"Your Majesty, please look over here. It is along this path with sparse grass and rugged terrain." Yang Fu rode his horse, stretching his right arm towards a road to the southwest.
Cao Rui watched for a moment, then waved his hand to call Xiahou Xian in front of him: "Governor Yang once served as the Prefect of Wudu, and he is extremely familiar with the local roads and terrain. Have you taken his words to heart?"
"I have taken his words to heart!"
Xiahou Xian had been promoted from Camp General to Central Tower General in over a year, and today he was leading 10,000 Central Army cavalry to advance towards Wujie. He could not be said to have been underutilized.
Xiahou Xian felt a sense of excitement in his heart at this moment, but more so was the weighty responsibility of carrying out the emperor's command, leading his own army for the first time, and marching independently.
"From here, heading southwest for thirty li can reach the bank of the Han River, and traveling downstream for fifteen li can reach the bank of the Pingluo River. Traveling upstream along the Pingluo River for two hundred li can reach Wujie."
After repeating it all carefully, Xiahou Xian bowed to the emperor on his horse and said, "I will fulfill my mission without fail! I will reach Wujie within five days, covering 250 li!"
Yang Fu gently shook his head, spurred his horse forward, and looked at Xiahou Xian: "General Xiahou, although there is a road from Xiaobian to Wudu, it has been seldom used for over a decade. You should be extremely cautious."
"Your Majesty," Yang Fu continued to say to the emperor, "General Xiahou is a brave and ambitious man, but I believe that it is more important to focus on repairing the roads and proceeding cautiously in march."
"If we have to withdraw from Wujie or further south in the future, we may have to take this road back." (This chapter ends)
