Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

The helplessness in Bu Zhi's eyes deepened. He sighed softly, looked at Sun Deng, and uttered the sentence he hadn't been able to say since the end of March:

"Your Majesty, I believe Zhuge Liang will not come."

Sun Deng felt a sense of panic, as if a bubble had been burst: "Sikong, are you really not coming?"

Bu Zhi shrugged: "Han only has less than 100,000 soldiers. 50,000 is all the troops Han has available. Zhuge Liang has always been cautious. How could he let Han's last reserves be wasted in Jiangling? Jiangling has no natural defenses except for the city itself. Even if Wu and Han's 100,000 troops can defeat Wei's 100,000 troops, what happens after that?"

"If Wei loses 100,000 soldiers, can it raise another 100,000 or 200,000? Can Yizhou raise another 50,000 soldiers?"

Sun Deng's face turned somewhat pale.

Bu Zhi continued, "According to the timeline, the document from the late emperor agreeing to cede Xiling Commandery to the Han state should never have been delivered to the Han court. It should have been in the hands of Zhuge Liang. By returning Xiling Commandery to Wu, Zhuge Liang is essentially returning the western territory to His Majesty, preventing His Majesty from abandoning Jiangling north of the Yangtze River and retreating to Jingnan. At the same time, Xiling Commandery remains part of Wu's territory, and His Majesty can station troops there for defense, without having to lead his troops to a foreign land."

"Zhuge Liang forcibly kept the Grand General in Xiling, firstly for the sake of his elder brother's life, and secondly to leave a final link between Wu and Han, a link that His Majesty could trust Han, and Han could trust His Majesty..."

At this point, Bu Zhi stood up and bowed deeply to Sun Deng: "Your Majesty, please forgive this old minister for speaking frankly."

"At present, there are 40,000 soldiers in Jiangling, and 20,000 soldiers in Zhijiang, Lexiang, Baqiu, Dangyang, Huarong, Jingling and other places. This is the result of Lord Lü drawing all the troops from Jiaozhou to come to the rescue. In addition to these 60,000 soldiers, the remaining ones are more than 100,000 civilian laborers."

"Your Majesty should lead the entire army westward, taking these 60,000 soldiers and over 100,000 laborers to join forces with the Han state. We should use the terrain and mountains of Xiling to resist and defeat the Wei state, and seek a way to achieve victory."

Sun Deng almost burst into tears, wiping them away as he asked, "Is Jiangling truly indefensible? If I lead my troops to Xiling, and the Wei army doesn't attack but instead occupies Jiangling and confronts our main force, what will we do then?"

Bu Zhi bluntly stated, "I have no way, Zhuge Liang has no way, and the General has no way. It is quite possible that Wei can wait for several months in Jiangxia before attacking Jiangling, and then wait several more months before attacking Xiling."

"Your Majesty, what I must say is that the current situation favors Wei, not Your Majesty. We should do our best and leave the rest to fate. If Your Majesty is willing to listen to my words, the state of Wu may survive a little longer. If Your Majesty wishes to defend Jiangling, I will simply accompany you to the death and repay Your Majesty's kindness with my life! If Your Majesty wishes to go to Changsha or Jiaozhou, I will also follow you to the death, but the soldiers from Yangzhou will not go with Your Majesty."

Sun Deng's lips trembled: "Let me think about it, let me think about it some more..."

Summer days are often rainy and overcast. Just as Bu Zhi and Sun Deng were talking, the sky outside the hall was already covered with dark clouds, and several rumbling sounds came from afar. Sun Deng forcibly suppressed the bewilderment and fear in his heart, looked at the sky under the eaves for a long time, and cried a little. Only then did he make up his mind, straighten his clothes, walk back into the house, and bow to Bu Zhi:

"I am willing to heed the Minister of Works' advice and lead all troops westward to join forces with the Han army to fight the enemy! It is not without a chance of victory!"

Bu Zhi simply replied with three words: "Your subject obeys the decree."

The army that set out on this expedition numbered 170,000 soldiers. Not counting the 50,000 men that Man Chong brought from Xiangyang, there were as many as 120,000 who set out from Wuhan alone.

The army set off from Wuhan on August 5th. Lu Xun's 40,000 naval troops served as the vanguard, capturing Puqi on August 7th and Baqiu on August 9th. They then stopped there to await the arrival of the remaining 80,000 infantry and cavalry.

According to the map, the shortest distance from Wuhan to Jiangling is a straight line. However, from Yundu and Huarong to the vicinity of Wuhan, the area is almost entirely covered with lakes and marshes, which is the broader Yunmeng Marshland. Only along the river, relying on the official roads built by the Han and Wu dynasties, is travel convenient, although it is nearly twice as long, it is an unavoidable choice. The army took more than ten days to travel the more than 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers), and it was already August 16th by then.

Evening, in the military tent.

Cao Rui was flanked by eight officials: Cao Zhen, Prince of Hejian; Lu Xun, Prince of Chencang; Liu Ye, Deputy Privy Councilor; Huang Quan, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Pei and Wang, two Attendants-in-Ordinary; Wang Ji, Minister of War; and Guanqiu Jian, General of the Army.

Sima Yi, Xu Shu, and the others remained in Wuhan as usual to guard the city.

"Tomorrow we will divide our forces, and the army will be split in two. One hundred thousand troops will go to Jiangling, while Zhonggong will lead twenty thousand infantry and cavalry south." Cao Rui said in a deep voice, "I will entrust all military affairs south of Baqiu to Zhonggong."

This was a pre-determined military strategy, and Guanqiu Jian bowed in agreement.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. My troops number 15,000 infantry and 5,000 Xianbei light cavalry. Taking the four counties of Jingnan will not be a problem. As for when we can march south to Jiaozhou, I think it will probably be next year, as the journey is too long."

Cao Rui laughed and said, "Zhong Gong is the governor of Jiaozhou appointed by me. As for whether you, as the governor of Jiaozhou, can personally govern Jiaozhou, that depends on whether you can conquer it."

At this moment, Liu Ye spoke up: "Since Zhong Gong returned to the army by boat from Yangzhou in early July, the original imperial army has only left two thousand in Yangzhou. The remaining ten thousand or so private soldiers and surrendered soldiers have been put under the command of Duan Mo to assist Jiang Zitong in handling affairs in Yangzhou."

"Besides the Xianbei cavalry, Zhong Gong currently commands 15,000 infantrymen under Cao Zhao, Zhang Hu, and Pu Zhong. Jingnan is flooded, even more so than Wuhan and Jiangling. I am not worried about Zhong Gong's fighting strength, but I am concerned that the army will not be separated by the water network."

Guanqiu Jian cupped his hands and said, "I have taken all of the Privy Councilor's words to heart and will not make any mistakes."

"There is only one concern," Guanqiu Jian said. "When Jiang Boyue gave me these five thousand Xianbei cavalry, he said that the leader, Xie Gui Ni, was loyal and devoted to military affairs. But for the Xianbei cavalry, the summer in the south is too hot and humid. Since May and June, the Xianbei cavalry and their horses have often been unwell."

"Your Majesty," Guanqiu Jian said to Cao Rui, "If we continue to fight all the way to Jiaozhou, I am worried that the Xianbei cavalry will suffer many unexpected losses. This is not an exaggeration, but the truth."

Cao Rui did not speak, but looked at Liu Ye.

Liu Ye coughed lightly: "Zhong Gong, Wu's main forces should all be in Jiangbei, and there are almost no troops in Jingnan. If I give you 15,000 troops, can you fight?"

"Yes." Guanqiu Jian simply replied with one word.

Liu Ye said, "The court has paid the Xianbei cavalry their salaries, and Xie Guini has also been granted a title, so there is no real concern. As for casualties... if we have to reduce them, let's reduce them a bit. It doesn't matter if the Xianbei lose a few more men."

Guanqiu Jian pursed his lips: "I understand."

Cao Rui nodded and said, "Zhong Gong, you don't need to worry about anything else this time. I give you two guarantees. First, you will not be in danger behind you. Second, you can fight as far as you can. Once the situation in Jiangling is somewhat stabilized, I will send someone to catch up with you."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Guanqiu Jian bowed respectfully. (End of Chapter)