Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Faced with Zhuge Liang's question, Chen Zhi remained calm and answered with his hands clasped in respect:

"So that the Prime Minister may know that His Majesty is currently in Baidi City, Yong'an. His Majesty has sent his subordinates to the army to inform the Prime Minister of His Majesty's relocation and to request that the army temporarily remain in place, and that the Prime Minister personally come to Baidi City to see His Majesty."

Was Liu Shan in Baidi City?
Even someone as wise as Zhuge Liang was momentarily surprised and doubtful.

Why is His Majesty in Baidi City? Why didn't he inform me beforehand?

As Zhuge Liang pondered, he first felt a slight sense of distress, but then he smiled with relief.

The reason is quite simple: what was the purpose of Zhuge Liang's years of painstaking efforts in assisting Liu Shan? Wasn't it to help Liu Shan grow up and fulfill the late emperor's wish to restore the Han Dynasty?

After the failure of the fifth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang voluntarily relinquished the power of the Prime Minister's Office to the Imperial Secretariat, and Liu Shan gradually began to rule in his own right.

Before launching this campaign against Wu, Zhuge Liang and Liu Shan agreed that one would lead the army to the east and the other to the west, with Zhuge Liang leading the main force to rescue Wu, while Liu Shan would go to Baishui to guard the northern border.

As the battle of Xiling drew to a close, whatever Liu Shan's purpose in personally visiting Baidi City, he must have gained his own understanding of the battle situation, the situation between Han and Wu, and the trends of the world, and had something to do, gradually showing the demeanor of a ruler.

After all, he was Liu Bei's son!

This is a good thing! How could it be a bad thing?

Liu Shan's arrival alone was enough. Zhuge Liang didn't even utter a single unnecessary question to Chen Zhi, simply nodding and replying:

"Very well, I understand. Tomorrow, I will leave Fei Yi and Zong Yu here to command the troops and garrison the city. The main army will stay here, while I will take Yang Yi and Wei Yan with me to Baidi City. Is that alright?"

Chen Zhi bowed and clasped his hands: "His Majesty only instructed me to convey the message to the Prime Minister, but did not give me any other instructions. I ask the Prime Minister to make the decision himself."

"Alright," Zhuge Liang said, "Tomorrow you will return to Baidi City with me!"

……

On October 19th, Zhuge Liang, accompanied by Wei Yan, Yang Yi, and Chen Zhi, arrived at Baidi City under the escort of two hundred cavalry.

Liu Shan had been informed in advance, so he and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Jiang Wan, greeted Zhuge Liang and his entourage outside the east gate of Baidi City.

"Your Excellency has led the army with great merit and hard work. Please come into the city and rest as soon as possible," Liu Shan said earnestly, stepping forward and pulling on Zhuge Liang's sleeve.

Zhuge Liang replied, "Your Majesty has summoned me back, and I have many things I wish to report to Your Majesty. Also, has Your Majesty received my petition of apology?"

"What apology? What crime have you committed? Let's not talk about this anymore." Liu Shan smiled and nodded to Yang Yi and Wei Yan, who were bowing. "General Wei and General Yang, you have worked hard. Please come inside with me and the Prime Minister. I have something to discuss with you."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Wei Yan and Yang Yi responded in unison, but both of them were now wondering what Liu Shan was planning to do.

Why can't we wait until the army returns? Why must we summon the Prime Minister back now? What's the rush?
It was already evening when they entered the city. Liu Shan had already ordered a banquet to be prepared to welcome them. During the banquet, Liu Shan only told Zhuge Liang, Wei Yan, Yang Yi and others about what he had seen and heard in Baishui, and also asked in detail about many military details of Wu's defeat. Although Liu Shan also expressed regret for Wu's decline, there was no worry or fear on his face regarding the Wei army.

Throughout the banquet, Liu Shan never mentioned why he had urgently summoned Zhuge Liang back, and Zhuge Liang remained calm as well, which made Wei Yan secretly anxious for a long time.

Finally, as the banquet was gradually being cleared away, Liu Shan finally spoke and asked:
"How long do you think the State of Wu can survive in Xiling Commandery?"

Zhuge Liang replied solemnly, "Your Majesty, I believe that how long Wu can survive in Xiling County depends entirely on when the Wei army attacks again."

“Wei launched its campaign at the end of last year, and by October of this year, it had been nearly a year, which is a rare long period of military campaign for Wei. Most of the Wei army came from Huainan and were not familiar with the southern climate. In addition, the deployment of more than 200,000 troops was extremely costly, and it will probably need at least two years to recuperate. Therefore, I believe that Wu can survive in Xiling County for at least two more years.”

Liu Shan remained calm and asked softly, "So, you also believe that Sun Deng and his troops are completely incapable of fighting and will be annexed by the Wei army as soon as they arrive?"

"That's right," Zhuge Liang replied.

Liu Shan nodded slightly, then asked, "What is the purpose of leaving Fei Wenwei with 20,000 troops in Yong'an, Prime Minister? Even if Wei does not send 200,000 troops... even if they send 100,000 or 80,000, can Fei Wenwei and Sun Deng, together with more than 40,000 men, hold them off?"

Zhuge Liang calmly replied, "If Sun Deng himself cannot hold him off, and if our Han Dynasty sends troops to assist, with 40,000 men defending against 100,000 and awaiting the arrival of the imperial army, perhaps that would be feasible." "Perhaps..." Liu Shan repeated the word softly, "So, even you, my lord, are not entirely confident?"

Zhuge Liang nodded: "Your Majesty, war is dangerous and unpredictable, and the outcome should be assessed on the battlefield."

Liu Shan smiled, then glanced at Jiang Wan, Yang Yi, Wei Yan, and Chen Zhi standing beside him, before turning to Zhuge Liang and speaking earnestly:
"Since Sun Deng is incompetent and the Wu army is unable to hold out, they must wait for the Han army to come to their aid in order to hold out... Then what use is this ally to the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Liang's expression instantly turned serious, and he asked in return, "Your Majesty... what do you mean?"

Liu Shan responded seriously: "I say that the Wu army has a total strength of only over 20,000. Rather than handing it over to Sun Deng to lead, and since it is not under the control of the Han Dynasty, why doesn't the Han Dynasty annihilate these 20,000-plus remnants? Wouldn't it be better for Han generals to guard Xiling than for the Wu people to guard Xiling?"

"To put it simply, the entire world belongs to Han, and both the Cao and Sun families are traitors who betrayed and usurped the Han throne. The alliance between Han and Wu was a poor strategy to guard against Wei's military. Now that Wu can no longer restrain Wei in the slightest and needs Han's military assistance and supplies, in my opinion, there is no need for Wu to exist! If Xiling cannot be defended, defending Yong'an is just as good!"

"Your Majesty!" Zhuge Liang immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Now that Wei's territory is expanding and it holds the advantage, Han and Wu should no longer engage in any internal strife!"

"Is it internal strife?" Liu Shan sat up straight, raising his head to meet Zhuge Liang's gaze directly, showing no sign of stage fright. "I only ask you, Prime Minister, since Sun Deng is constantly seeking help from the Han Dynasty and still cannot hinder Wei in the slightest, why should I keep Sun Deng alive? I know he has more than 20,000 Wu soldiers. Can you help me come up with a way to annex these Wu soldiers and have them commanded by Han generals? Even if some are lost, wouldn't it be better if they were all under the command of the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Liang sighed deeply: "Your Majesty, it's not that I haven't thought about this, but Bu Zishan's 20,000 naval troops have just been mostly defeated by Wei, and even Bu Zishan himself is missing. Wei is watching us like a tiger, and we shouldn't suffer any more losses!"

Liu Shan took a deep breath, stood up straight, put his hands behind his back, and slowly said, "I only ask you, Prime Minister, if we can annihilate this Wu army and put it under the command of the Han Dynasty, will it be beneficial or detrimental to the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Liang pursed his lips and remained silent.

At that moment, Minister Jiang Wan, who was sitting to the side, stood up and answered:

"Your Majesty, I believe it is more beneficial than harmful!"

Zhuge Liang remained outwardly calm, but his heart was inwardly churning with turmoil. Jiang Gongyan, as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was now speaking in the same vein as His Majesty, which meant that he must have completely aligned himself with His Majesty back in Baishui, or even earlier in Chengdu.

Although he felt a slight discomfort, Zhuge Liang, with his clear mind, understood that this was not a matter of betrayal or taking sides, but simply a difference in strategy... Jiang Gongyan had often worried that the Northern Expedition would be costly and yield little, which aligned with His Majesty's thoughts. He was the kind of minister who supported the Northern Expedition but reserved his opinions.

But a slight sense of disappointment still lingered in my heart.

Liu Shan, without pausing, pointed at Wei Yan and asked, "The late emperor once selected General Wei from among the common people, and over the decades, General Wei has achieved remarkable military exploits, truly a pillar of the Han dynasty. I would like to ask General Wei, if you were to guard Xiling, could you do a better job than Sun Deng?"

As a general in command of troops, Wei Yan may have been somewhat stubborn, but how could he not see the proper measure in such a situation?

Wei Yan had previously pondered in Xiling whether the Prime Minister was being too lenient with Wu because of his elder brother Zhuge Jin. However, the overall situation was that Wei was in control of Han and Wu, and the Prime Minister's handling of the situation was not at all inappropriate. Therefore, Wei Yan did not have any further thoughts.

His Majesty and the Chancellor are currently at odds, and Jiang Gongyan has clearly sided with His Majesty. What choice will he make? Just now, His Majesty mentioned the late Emperor's favor in selecting him for a high position…

Wei Yan had expected Zhuge Liang to say something, but after waiting for several moments without hearing a sound from him, Wei Yan had no choice but to stand up and bow.
"Your Majesty, I will certainly defend it better than Sun Deng."

Zhuge Liang was not without ideas.

However, in this situation where the Emperor and the Chancellor disagree, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat has clearly supported His Majesty, and His Majesty is now questioning Wei Yan, the general in command of the army. Wei Yan is the General Who Conquers the East of the Han Dynasty. If Zhuge Liang were to give Wei Yan even the slightest hint at this moment…

This is not something Zhuge Liang could have done.

This is something only Huo Guang, who made the Han emperor feel like he had a thorn in his side, could do.

Upon hearing Wei Yan's answer, Liu Shan nodded slightly in satisfaction, then asked Zhuge Liang:
"Prime Minister, the late Emperor once led a large army to conquer the Wu Kingdom but was defeated at Yiling. Yiling was originally Han territory, but the Wu Kingdom renamed it Xiling. Now that the Wu Kingdom cannot defend Xiling, Prime Minister, could you help me take this place? I will then bestow the title of King upon Zhuge Ziyu and Sun Deng and treat them with great favor."

"If we can take Yiling, we can also comfort the spirit of the late emperor in heaven!"

Seeing Liu Shan invoke the name of the late Emperor Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang felt utterly powerless. Liu Shan was the ruler, Liu Bei was the former ruler, and he was a subject. What could he do when the ruler spoke of such things?
Moreover, the remnants of the Wu kingdom were not insurmountable; the Han dynasty truly had the legal basis to act upon them… Disputes between the Han and Wu were not uncommon…

Zhuge Liang remained silent for a long time, then bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the vanguard and recover the lost territories!" (End of Chapter)