Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Yangzhou mobilized a total of 145,000 cavalry, infantry, and naval troops. If we start counting from the time of the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven on January 10th, it took only about twenty days to basically secure victory throughout the entire Yangzhou area. If we start counting from around January 20th, it took less than ten days.

The reasons are multifaceted. Strategic deception was used to lure the main Wu army, employing a new siege tactic primarily using stone cannons to bombard the city, and the construction of a naval force to enter the river via the coast…

Even so, this swift and decisive offensive exceeded the expectations of most of the officials and generals of the Great Wei Dynasty.

The fate of the small Shu Han court, far away in Yizhou, was even more unpredictable.

Wei Yan and Fei Yi acted swiftly. They set off from Chengdu around January 20th, and within twelve days, the vanguard had arrived in Yong'an by boat.

Yong'an Governor and Andong General Zong Yu welcomed Wei Yan's fleet at the dock outside the city.

"Greetings, General Wei and General Fei." Zong Yu bowed respectfully.

"General Zong, it's been a long time." Wei Yan laughed heartily and stepped forward to help the bent-over Zong Yu up. "It's been four years since we last met, hasn't it? How's your post in Yong'an? Is it relatively easy?"

Zong Yu smiled wryly: "It's not just leisurely, it's utterly devoid of anything to do. Yong'an is such a formidable city, with high mountains and great rivers as its natural defenses. It's completely different from Hanzhong, where you used to serve. I have absolutely nothing to do here, so I can only train the troops every day."

"It's good that the troops have been trained." Wei Yan nodded in response.

Fei Yi, who had been standing aside for a while, interrupted the two, saying, "General Zong, has Bu Zhi of Yiling received the imperial court's letter? How did he respond?"

Zong Yu cupped his hands and replied, "General Fei, the letter sent by Bu Zhi arrived a few days ago, and I have already read it. However, the person Bu Zhi ordered to deliver the letter is my own second son, named Bu Chan. I wonder if the general would like to see him?"

"To see him, of course I must see him!" Wei Yan replied loudly. "It's just a matter of delivering a message. Bu Zhi could easily send a junior officer. Why send your son? Perhaps he saw that Yiling was captured and difficult to defend by Wei, so he sent his son to live here to continue the family line!"

"Let's go, I'll go see him right now!"

Zong Yu was somewhat surprised: "General, why don't you rest for a while?"

"No need, I came here for the sake of the country." Wei Yan strode into the city, and Fei Yi and Zong Yu exchanged a glance before following him.

Before long, at the post station in the city, the clerk on duty led the way, taking Wei Yan, Fei Yi, and Zong Yu directly to the door of Bu Chan's room. Wei Yan coughed lightly and pushed the door open to enter.

"General Zong, what is this?" Bu Chan asked in surprise, and hurriedly stood up.

“These are General Wei Wenchang, the General Who Conquers the East of the Great Han Dynasty, and General Fei Wenwei, the Protector of the Army. General Wei and General Fei heard that you were in the city, and without even a moment's rest, they came straight to see you,” Zong Yu said hurriedly.

"Greetings, General Wei. Greetings, General Fei." Bu Chan had never expected Wei Yan to come, and bowed repeatedly in greeting.

“Nephew, no need for such formalities.” Wei Yan, dressed in official robes and wearing a pheasant-feathered hat, with the air of a military man, walked straight to the front and helped Bu Chan up, patting Bu Chan’s shoulder forcefully: “Your father and I were good friends, and it has been about twenty years since we last met. I did not know that you had grown up so much. Looking at your eyebrows and eyes, you really resemble your father back then!” “General, you were good friends with my father?” Bu Chan was a little confused, looking at Wei Yan blankly.

"Please sit down, please sit down." Wei Yan pulled Bu Chan's arm, treating him like a nephew, and sat him down at the table. Then he sighed, "We're more than just friends! We're best friends! Nephew, please don't call me General, just call me Uncle!"

"Could it be that I, the General Who Conquers the East, am not worthy of being called your uncle? When your father was the Prefect of Poyang, I met him many times. Twenty years ago, I said that your father was both a scholar and a warrior, one of the few outstanding talents in Jiangdong, and would become a pillar of the country in the future. Now I am the General Who Conquers the East, and your father is the General of Chariots and Cavalry. We two friends, one in the east and one in the west, complement each other well."

"Uncle, please don't be offended. It was my rudeness." Bu Chan, in a daze, accepted this relationship on behalf of his father, Bu Zhi.

Zong Yu had also served in Jingzhou in his early years, but he was unaware that Wei Yan, who was then a general under the late emperor, had such a private relationship with Bu Zhi. Fei Yi, seeing Wei Yan's expression and manner, was secretly delighted.

Did Wei Yan know Bu Zhi? He probably hadn't even seen Bu Zhi's face!

However, such words are very effective at coaxing a young man in his twenties like Bu Chan. How could he possibly deny it to his face?
Wei Yan seemed to have truly become Bu Chan's uncle, repeatedly inquiring about Bu Zhi's situation in Xiling, and even worrying that Bu Zhi might be overworked and ruin his health due to excessive concern for the war. Bu Chan was also an honest boy, and seeing how concerned Wei Yan was about his father, he made several oversights in his speech, fully describing the predicament that Bu Zhi was in leading his troops to defend Xiling.

About half an hour later, Wei Yan and the other two ended their conversation with Bu Chan.

As he was leaving, Wei Yanchang sighed and patted Bu Chan on the shoulder: "Brother Zishan is a friend of mine for many years. If anything happens to him, I will certainly do my duty without hesitation! Nephew, please stay in Yong'an for a few days. After I have drafted a reply for Brother Zishan, I will send someone to take you back to Yiling. What do you think?"

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle." Bu Chan's voice was already choked with emotion: "The Wei army of 60,000 is rampaging through Jingzhou, and the General's troops are already showing signs of decline in Jiangling. My father has lost contact with the General in Jiangling in Xiling!"

"Thank you so much for your help, Uncle!"

"Go back, go back. I treat you like my own nephew." Wei Yan replied casually, and then left with Fei Yi and Zong Yu.

The three rode on horseback, speaking little along the way. When they arrived at General Zong Yu's residence in the city, the doors closed, and Wei Yan immediately burst out laughing:

"The Wu dogs have been occupying Yiling for over ten years, and today they've finally been overwhelmed and beaten from the east? How delightful!"

While Wei Yan was deceiving Bu Chan, Fei Yi sat silently by, memorizing everything. Now, instead of commenting on Wei Yan and Bu Chan's words, Fei Yi spoke up:
"According to what Bu Chan just said, the Wei army has a complete advantage in Jingzhou. Lexiang, southwest of Jiangling, has been occupied by the Wei army, as has Bailizhou in the river. Furthermore, the Wei cavalry has cut off communication between Yiling and Jiangling by blocking communication between Zhijiang and Yidao."

"If Sun Quan does not send troops from downstream to support Jiangling, Jiangling will be in imminent danger this time."

Wei Yan stroked his beard and smiled, "Given the situation in Wu, I can only say that the Prime Minister is wise! Of the 30,000 troops, 15,000 have already assembled in Yong'an, and the remaining 15,000 will arrive by water in three or four days."

"Wenwei, General Zong, I intend to send troops tomorrow to escort my nephew Bu Chan back to Yiling. What do you two think?" (End of Chapter)