Zhuge Liang left behind the jade ring, and Jiang Wei did not admit defeat in words either:
"Although the jade ring you presented, Your Majesty, is made of Kunshan jade, Kunshan itself is already under the control of the Western Regency Office of Wei.
"Let alone one jade ring, even if there were ten or a hundred, what damage could it do to the wealth of the Great Wei?"
"Zhuge Liang looked at Jiang Wei intently for a moment, then sighed softly and said, 'Go on, the envoy. I still have military affairs to attend to, so there's no need for you to be here.'"
Jiang Wei bowed and said, "Farewell!"
Said, he turned and walked away.
...
It took another day and a half for Jiang Wei to return to the city of Xialian.
Cao Rui and the ministers sat in the hall of the mansion, where they opened the box brought back by Jiang Wei. After reading for a moment, Cao Rui smiled and shook his head, setting down Zhuge Liang's letter:
"Zhuge Liang has no words to say to the emperor."
Cao Cao was curious and asked, "Your Majesty, I wonder what Zhuge Liang wrote in his reply letter?"
"Besides some useless words, he also wrote a passage from the Analects for me!" Cao Rui chuckled a few times before reciting it aloud:
"Qi Jinggong asked Confucius about governance. Confucius replied, 'The ruler should rule as a ruler, the officials should act as officials, the fathers should be filial, and the children should be respectful.'" Cao Rui chuckled and recited it out loud:
Cao Cao paused for a moment and sneered, "Zhuge Liang has run out of tricks! All he knows how to do is say these empty words to cover up for the emperor."
"After this defeat in Longyou, how could the Great Wei give him even a fraction of an opportunity again? It's just his way of venting anger with ancient words!"
Cao Rui nodded gently, then looked at Jiang Wei and asked, "What have you gained?"
Jiang Wei bowed and then replied, "I have two things to say."
"The first is that the Shu rebels blindfolded me and brought me to Zhuge Liang's camp. However, I am accustomed to horse nature and have some estimate of distance. It should be between a hundred and one hundred and fifty miles."
"Cao Rui waved his hand towards Yang Fu and said, "Get the map."
"Yang Fu stood up to fetch the map, but he was already speaking, "If it is between a hundred and one hundred and fifty miles, it must be in Chiling or even further south in Panyuxi Pavilion. It's certainly not on the north side. Have you ever changed boats, Jiang Wei?"
"Jiang Wei replied, "I changed horses once on the way and once just before arrival."
Yang Fu had already unfolded the map in front of the emperor and pointed to the locations of Chiting and Panyuxi Pavilion with his finger.
Cao Rui looked at Yang Fu and asked, "How dangerous are these two places?"
Yang Fu thought for a moment and replied, "Both are wild valleys, with few people living there in the past. Previously, when the Great Wei advanced to Han Middle through Chenjiang Road, it set up a military station at Chiting."
"Panyuxi Pavilion is also along the river, but the open areas are much smaller."
"A military station?" Cao Rui chuckled and said, "Then it seems that this must be Chiting. The surrounding mountains are like an ocean, and the setting sun is like blood. Chiting should be the place where blood is shed."
"Wasn't Jiang Wei supposed to say two things?"
"Yes," Jiang Wei nodded and said, "The second thing is that Zhuge Liang is using my kinsfolk in Ji County who were captured and brought to Hanzhong as leverage. He wants me to reveal to him when Your Majesty received the military intelligence from Longyou in Luoyang and how many days passed before the troops were dispatched."
Cao Rui did not ask Jiang Wei about his reply to Zhuge Liang.
Since Jiang Wei can tell him, it means that the man's heart is straightforward and has no intention of hiding anything.
Cao Rui merely waved his hand lightly and then said, "Now that Jiang Wei has returned, I have a second letter for Zhuge Liang. Please write it for me again."
Jiang Wei slightly opened his mouth, surprised for a moment, but he quickly recovered and smoothly moved the desk to the hall, ready to prepare brushes, inkstones, and silk.
Cao Rui spoke in a low voice and said, "Tell Zhuge Liang that I had kindly persuaded him last time, but he showed no compassion for my heart."
"However, despite his disrespect towards me, I have remained magnanimous and am prepared to show him a clear path."
Cao Zhen and others of the officials turned their gaze towards the emperor. Last time, they were all out of suggestions when Zhuge Liang used the phrase "ruler ruler, minister minister, father father, son son" to reject their peace offer. What could they say this time?
Cao Rui calmly said, "There is no blood feud between Wei and Shu. It was Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu who killed Guan Yu first, then harbored traitors who killed Zhuo Yi, and finally defeated Liu Bei at Xiangling, leading to his death."
"Based on his past assessment, Zhuge Liang had the strategic advantage of having control over Jingzhou and Yizhou, which was repeatedly obstructed by Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu. Both in terms of public interest and personal enmity, Sun Quan's grudge against Shu is far greater than that of the Great Wei."
"The Great Wei is willing to send troops to help the Shu Han retrieve Jingzhou, without taking a single inch of land, just for the sake of good relations between the two countries! If he is willing, I will even give him Wu Dushi as a token of goodwill, just for the sake of good relations between the two countries!"
Cao Zhen spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang is no fool; how can he be believed? The Great Wei will not help him retrieve Jingzhou."
Cao Rui glanced at Cao Zhen and said calmly, "How can't we?"
"Let me ask you, is there any difference between Jingzhou being in Sun Quan's hands and being in Liu Shan's hands for Wei? It's just like two dogs fighting over one bone. They will inevitably damage each other's strength. What's the problem with that?"
"There are many unpredictable things in the world! Could Zhuge Liang have predicted that Sun Quan would kill Guan Yu?"
"This..." Cao Zhen shook his head gently, "It just delays time, Your Majesty. Whatever you write, I'm sure it will be fine."
Jiang Wei stopped writing and tentatively looked at the emperor.
"That's all, there's nothing more to say." Cao Rui looked at Jiang Wei, "After you see Zhuge Liang, tell him that I have high expectations of him and do not want to be disappointed again!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Jiang Wei agreed immediately.
It was another three days of coming and going.
When Jiang Wei returned once more from the Shu army camp, the troops of Zhou Duo, serving as the vanguard of Xiahou Xian's army, had just arrived in Ta Zhong.
That's right, Zhou Duo took twelve days to travel the entire 420 miles.
Qinzhou and Yizhou are considered remote states throughout the realm. The border area between Wudu and Yinping counties is even more remote.
The road from Wudu to Wujie exists mostly in the records of the Wudu Prefecture and has not been used by large military forces for countless years.
To travel up the river from the junction of the Han River and the Pingluo River for two hundred miles, nearly a third of the way was blocked by bushes and rocks.
Even Zhao Diao, eager to return, had to personally return to Xiahou Xian's side and join the main army.
Cutting through the bushes, removing stones, opening paths through mountains, and building bridges over rivers—this is how they traversed the two hundred miles along the banks of the Pingluo River.
Only after arriving in Wujie did they see a clear path.
Zhou Duo rode at the rear of the 4,000 cavalry led by Fe Yao, racing northwest towards Ta Zhong.
Lu Sun had already occupied Ta Zhong, but he had not moved south towards Wujie; instead, he had stationed his troops there.
"Fe General, Xinning, how are you here?" Lu Xun heard that there were large numbers of horsemen approaching, bearing the banner of 'Wei,' and he led his personal guards to welcome them.
After a brief exchange, Fe Yao pointed to Zhou Duo, the head of the department for the protection of Qiang people: "Let Zhou General explain to Lu General."
After Zhou Duo calmly and steadily reported the arrival of the Wei army at Xia Bie and Xiahou Xian's troops at Wujie, Lu Sun sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to continue southward. One, I haven't received the emperor's reply yet; and two... there have been some troubles in Tangchang and Ta Zhong."
"What do you mean?" Fe Yao curiously asked.
"Nothing else, it's just that some people have surrendered and then rebelled again!" Lu Sun said. "After selecting Yang Chao to command the Di people in Tangchang, I led all the troops of 10,000 Qiang cavalry southward to Ta Zhong."
"The troops led by Dang Tan in Ta Zhong were quickly conquered, but I only stationed there for three days before Yang Chao's close followers came south from Tangchang to Ta Zhong to find me."
"After I left for just two days, the Yang family in the Bai Ma Di tribes killed Yang Chao under the pretext of treason."
"I had no choice but to turn back to Tangchang, kill the newly established leader, and execute all the Yang family except for Yang Chao's branch."
"I selected Yang Long, Yang Chao's half-brother, as the leader and then returned to Ta Zhong."
Lu Xun helplessly shrugged, "You arrived just as we were resting for a few days."
The situation in Wudu and Yinping counties, along with all the details, had already been reported by Zhou Duo and Fe Yao to Lu Sun.
After a few more words, Lu Sun sighed, "Although we can march the troops southward, I am still worried about the possibility of losing our rear supply lines."
"If there were no large Wei forces stationed in Ta Zhong, I would never be able to rest assured. It would be better if Fe General left 1,000 riders here and I kept the 1,000 newly recruited volunteer troops here from Xiping County."
"1,000 horsemen for the rear wing, one thousand Qiang cavalry, that should be enough to ensure that the retreat route is not lost."
Fe Yao pondered for a moment, reflecting on the emperor's instructions to Xiahou Xian regarding Lu Sun, and finally made up his mind to answer, "Since General Lu has such a plan, I will split off 1,000 cavalry!"
"But with 1,000 mounted troops from the Wei army and 1,000 Qiang cavalry, couldn't they be led by different generals?"
Zhou Duo, upon seeing this, stepped forward with a bow and said, "I, Zhou Duo, can stay here to assist in managing the two camps."
Lu Sun nodded satisfactorily, "Jin Ning, I will leave a thousand cavalry at your command in Tang."
"Now that there are General Fe's and Xiahou's mounted troops nearby, I don't need to keep the volunteer forces I recruited in Linqiang to serve as my vanguards for other Qiang cavalry."
Fe Yao also looked at Zhou Duo, "Zhou General is a man of great bravery, worthy of Xiahou Xian's praise. I will leave 1,000 cavalry under the command of He Feng Marshall for you!"
"General Lu, when will we set out?"
Lu Xun answered without thinking, "It's already dusk. We will set out for Wu Street at dawn tomorrow!"
"I guess the emperor has been in a standoff with the Shu army at Xia Bie for some time now. We must speed up and arrive soon to assist the emperor from the side!"
Fe Yao nodded heavily.
......
General Lu Sun and General Fe Yao, with a total of 9,000 Qiang cavalry and 3,000 central army cavalry, set out for Wu Street early the next day.
Jiang Wei also returned to Xia Bie for the second time, bringing Zhuge Liang's reply letter from the Shu army camp.
"Your Majesty, this is Zhuge Liang's reply to Your Majesty." Jiang Wei presented the letter in both hands.
Cao Rui opened it and glanced at it for a moment, then tossed the document to Cao Zhen: "General, have a look at this. Let the Chancellor see it too!"
"Zhuge Liang has also learned to be smart. When I deceived him with my words, he returned the favor by tricking me back."
Cao Zhen read it and smiled without saying anything, passing the document to Sima Yi.
Sima Yi read it several times, shook his head, and said, "Withdraw in batches, with Wei and Shu mutually supervising each other? And they want to exchange hostages as well?" (Chapter ends)
