Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

In mid-October, at the central camp of the Shu army below Xiling City.

"We will begin withdrawing our troops tomorrow." Zhuge Liang sat in the center of the military tent, his face still showing obvious signs of fatigue: "Of the 50,000 troops we sent out, about 5,000 were lost, yet we still failed to stop the destruction of Wu. This is my fault."

"After returning to Yong'an, I will personally submit a memorial to His Majesty to plead guilty."

Yang Yi and Fei Yi exchanged a glance. This situation seemed familiar. After the first Northern Expedition failed, the Prime Minister had requested to be demoted. However, the ministers of Shu Han and the Prime Minister's staff all knew that for Zhuge Liang in the past, whether or not he held the title of Prime Minister would not have any impact on his performance of duties or his command of political and military affairs.

But... things are a bit harder to say now. The Prime Minister's office has relinquished its power and lost its direct control over political and military affairs. His Majesty is also getting older and has begun to take control himself.

In the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, have we not seen the story of Huo Guang before us?
While the Prime Minister himself is undoubtedly of noble character, the ministers who were originally under his command still need to rely on him for protection. How can they afford to make a mistake?

Yang Yi took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, I have something to say."

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly: "Speak, Lord Wei."

Yang Yi had always been Zhuge Liang's chief secretary in the Prime Minister's office, and now he had also received the title of military advisor general, making him the recognized head of the Prime Minister's inner circle.

Yang Yi said, "I believe that the Prime Minister's military campaign this time should not be considered a mistake, but rather a merit! If it weren't for the Prime Minister's efforts to manipulate the Wu Kingdom in Xiling and Jiangling to resist the Wei army's attack, the Wu Kingdom would probably not even have the current number of troops left, and Yong'an and other places on the east side of the Han Dynasty might also have been swept away by the Wei army."

"Moreover, the Prime Minister also communicated with Sun Deng, General Zhuge, and others to bring 60,000 Wu laborers into Ba County for land reclamation, which is a great achievement!"

"Allow me to repeat myself, the Prime Minister is not only without fault, but has also rendered meritorious service, and a great one at that!"

Wei Yan also replied in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, what Lord Yang Wei said is absolutely right. It was clearly the Wu Kingdom that lost its naval advantage and abandoned thousands of miles of land. The Prime Minister led 50,000 troops from afar to rescue them, and we subordinates were on the front lines clearing obstacles for the Han Dynasty. Where is this wrong? If this is wrong, then what is right? Is it only right to capture Xiangyang in three days and Luoyang in five days?"

"If even the Prime Minister has made mistakes, what about us subordinates? We hope the Prime Minister will be discerning and not give the villains in the court any ammunition to criticize us!"

Compared to Yang Yi's words, Wei Yan's words were much more direct. Upon hearing Wei Yan's words, Zhuge Liang's originally calm gaze instantly turned sharp, sweeping over Yang Yi and Wei Yan. The two immediately dared not meet his eyes and lowered their heads.

"Alas," Zhuge Liang sighed again.

Yang Yi was highly capable, but narrow-minded, self-serving, and overly ambitious. Wei Yan was arrogant and often judged others by his own standards. These two, ironically, were the two most capable representatives of the Han Dynasty, one a civil official and the other a military leader.

They all possess talent, but their character is not very good! Zhuge Liang certainly knew what they meant; was this the attitude a subject should have?

Although they were subordinates, they were also important ministers of the state. Zhuge Liang could not directly and bluntly refute the two men, so he could only advise them:

"Lord Wei, Wenchang, this is not the way a subject should act. A subject should know his place and be loyal, humble and modest. He should consider all matters in relation to the emperor. I wish to apologize so that the responsibility for the consequences of his actions can be left to His Majesty to decide, rather than for me to decide for myself... You two should understand this principle. I will not say any more."

"As for the aftermath of this battle, I will leave it to Wenwei." Zhuge Liang pointed to Fei Yi, who had not spoken until now: "Wenwei will replace General Zong and lead 20,000 troops to guard the Yong'an area. Wenwei has always been well-versed in the overall situation and knows when to advance and retreat. In all matters of communication with Wu and war and peace, if the situation is urgent and there is no time to report to Chengdu, Wenwei can make decisions in Yong'an and then report to the authorities."

Fei Yi bowed slightly: "Your subordinate understands."

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, about to say something else, but Fei Yi continued, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, if I am in Yong'an in the future, there are only two kinds of matters related to Wu."

"If the Wu Kingdom goes mad and leads its troops westward, then I will lead the army in Yong'an to resist them. If the Wei Kingdom attacks again, then I will lead troops to the Wu County, Zigui, and Xiling areas to assist the Wu army in holding out and awaiting reinforcements, and report the military situation to the court, waiting for the court's army to come to our aid. I believe the Prime Minister understands both of these outcomes."

"But I would like to ask the Prime Minister another question," Fei Yi said, bowing. "The mutual trust between the Han and Wu kingdoms is currently maintained almost entirely by the personal relationship between the Prime Minister and General Zhuge Liang. Over the past few months, it has become clear that the character and abilities of Wu's ruler, Sun Deng, are far inferior to those of his father, Sun Quan. Now that Wu has only a small piece of land left, if General Zhuge Liang were to lose power in Wu, or be forced to resign, what should I do?"

"I am not exaggerating. Given Sun Deng's character, this is not impossible!"

Zhuge Liang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Fei Yi, then slowly shook his head and said, "There's no need to consider this matter. Zhuge Ziyu is a loyal minister of Wu. This is the path he chose himself. Whether it's good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, no one can blame others. Even I can't persuade him otherwise; it's his own choice."

"I reiterate once again, although Sun Deng insists on not relinquishing the title of emperor and still considers himself the emperor of Wu, the Han Dynasty must now treat Sun Deng and his more than 20,000 troops as guest generals. There is no need to consider too much. As long as he does not surrender to Cao Wei and remains firmly rooted in Xiling, that will suffice!"

"understand?"

"Understood, Your subordinate." Fei Yi bowed respectfully. Meanwhile, on Gucheng Island, Sun Deng was also seeing off Zhuge Jin.

Compared to the previous territory of the Wu Kingdom, Xiling County was cramped, mountainous, and had few plains, making it far from a suitable place for people to live.

Forced by circumstances, Sun Deng had no choice but to agree to the plan jointly agreed upon by the brothers Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang. He agreed to transfer 60,000 Wu laborers to Shu Han for management and resettlement in Ba Commandery. One-third of their taxes would go to the Shu Han court, and two-thirds would be supplied to Sun Deng in Xiling.

It seemed like a generous clause, but Sun Deng knew that these 60,000 Wu laborers, once they returned to the Han state, might one day be completely under the Han state's control and lose all contact with the Wu state.

With the situation so dire, Sun Deng had no other options left.

The original Xiling Commandery of the Wu Kingdom extended from Wu County, which bordered Yong'an in the west, to Yidao County in the east, encompassing a total of ten counties. Now that Yidao County has been occupied by the Wei Kingdom's navy, only nine counties remain.

Having only one commandery was not a good enough position, so Sun Deng decided to divide Xiling Commandery in two. The western part became Jianping Commandery, which governed five counties: Wuxian, Shaqu, Jianshi, Xingshan, and Zigui. It was to be governed by General-in-Chief, King of Qi, and Grand Commandant Zhuge Jin, who commanded 3,000 troops and was also responsible for handling all matters related to communication and exchanges with the Han state.

The remaining four counties of Xinling, Henshan, Yichang, and Xiling were designated as Xiling Commandery, which was administered by Sun Deng, who led the remaining 20,000 troops to cultivate land and defend the area.

If the rulers and ministers of Wei knew about this futile attempt to perform a grand ceremony within a snail's shell, they would probably burst out laughing; it would truly be a rare laughing stock in the world today.

Indeed, the Wu Kingdom now only has 23,000 troops left. Of the 60,000 troops that Sun Deng brought to Xiling, nearly 20,000 were lost in the battle against the Wei army. Several thousand deserted before the battle, and Sun Deng himself sent Bu Zhilang to send out more than 10,000. Only this pitiful amount of belongings are left.

Although Meng Zong and others often encouraged Sun Deng by citing the miraculous victory of Emperor Guangwu of Han at the Battle of Kunyang, claiming that even an army of 20,000 could achieve great things, Sun Deng himself had completely given up hope.

Where can one see the future? There are countless people in the world who just drift through life, so one more Sun Deng is not much of a difference.

With tears welling in his eyes, Sun Deng grasped Zhuge Jin's hands tightly and said in a trembling voice, "General, please take good care of yourself on your journey! Although Wu is in such a state of decline, it still has more than 20,000 soldiers and the ally Han! If the situation in Wei changes and chaos breaks out in the country, Wu still has a chance to revive."

"Take care, General!"

After saying this, Sun Deng released his hand, took two steps back, bowed deeply to Zhuge Jin, and then knelt down as if to kowtow.

Zhuge Jin seemed to have lost his soul, his face and movements somewhat dazed, until Sun Dengzhen kowtowed, then he suddenly came to his senses and stepped forward to help Sun Dengzhen up:

"Your Majesty, I was a little slow. How can I accept such courtesy? I have done what I was supposed to do. My health has indeed been poor lately. I know that I can still be of some use to Your Majesty if I remain alive. I will live well in Wu County. Please take care, Your Majesty."

After saying this, Zhuge Jin bowed and kowtowed to Sun Deng, then got up and left without lingering.

As Sun Deng watched Zhuge Jin's departing figure, he gradually lost heart and then sat down on the ground.

Meng Zong, who was standing nearby, hurriedly tried to pull Sun Deng up, but Sun Deng raised his hand to stop him: "Let me rest for a bit, I'm just too tired..."

For Shu Han, the return journey did not involve the same level of sorrow as the parting between the Wu ruler and his ministers; on the contrary, morale was quite high from top to bottom.

That's how the army works; there can only be one voice from top to bottom. Although Yang Yi, Wei Yan, Fei Yi, and others couldn't dissuade Zhuge Liang from submitting a memorial to Liu Shan to apologize, they all announced to their own troops that they had made great contributions in this battle, preventing the complete annihilation of Wu and bringing back 60,000 laborers for the Han Dynasty to cultivate the land. They were credited to everyone, from top to bottom.

Upon returning to the capital, the time came to reward those who had rendered meritorious service.

The boats sailed westward along the river, while the majority of the army remained on the shore, also heading west. The road from Xiling to Yong'an Baidi City was about 500 li, and the army could arrive in eight or nine days.

When the vanguard of the army reached Zigui, a place on the way, Zhuge Liang encountered an unexpected figure there.

"Your subordinate greets the Prime Minister!"

"Fengzong? What are you doing in Zigui?" Zhuge Liang frowned.

The visitor was named Chen Zhi, eight feet tall with a dignified appearance. He was not yet thirty years old and held the position of Selection Officer in the court. Because he was the same age as Liu Shan and the grandson of the former Minister of Works Xu Jing, his family was of high status. Therefore, he had a very good personal relationship with Emperor Liu Shan and often entered the palace to accompany him. (End of Chapter)