Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Zhong Hui was intelligent from a young age, so much so that anyone who looked at him could tell he was exceptional.

As an envoy, there are things one should say and things one shouldn't say. Zhong Hui believed that Zhuge Liang's claim of inquiring about Jiang Wei's situation was actually just an attempt to probe the strength of the Wei army.

After regaining his composure, Zhong Hui cupped his hands and replied, "So that Prime Minister Zhuge may know that I have come here on orders not to deliver a declaration of war, but to deliver a letter of surrender. His Majesty has said that the conditions offered to Prime Minister Zhuge today are exactly the same as those offered ten years ago."

"If Shu can realize its mistakes and return to Wei, Your Majesty is willing to enfeoff Prime Minister Zhuge as a king, and the Guanzhong region can also be enfeoffed to the Liu family as kings."

"How dare a mere child like you!" Wang Ping was displeased and instantly drew his precious sword from his waist, pointing it at Zhong Hui's face from a distance of ten feet: "How dare you humiliate a great man! Do you have a death wish?"

Zhong Hui's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked at Wang Ping with a surprised expression: "Why do you say that? Isn't Guanzhong better than Yizhou? These are two princes, and there is no record of such magnanimity in the history books!"

Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "General Wang, please sheathe your sword. Zhong Hui, since your surname is Zhong, are you from the Zhong clan of Yingchuan?"

“What you say is correct.” Zhong Hui nodded: “My late father was the late Grand Commandant Zhong of the Great Wei, and Zhong Yu, the magistrate of Jiangning, is my elder brother.”

To ensure Zhuge Liang wouldn't know where Jiangning was, Zhong Hui added, "Jiangning is the former capital of Wu, Jianye. After Wei conquered Wu, they renamed it Jiangning."

Zhuge Liang was unwilling to argue with a teenager, so he calmly said, "Someone, bring this document here."

"Zhong Hui, now that you have become an envoy, regardless of your age, I will only speak to you what an envoy should say. How many troops has Wei sent this time, and from where are they advancing?"

Zhong Hui hadn't expected Zhuge Liang to ask so directly. Recalling the instructions he had received before coming, he cupped his hands and replied, "Your Excellency, the Great Wei has launched a three-pronged attack with a total force of 230,000. His Majesty instructed me to speak the truth to Your Excellency, and there is not a single lie. As for the three-pronged attack, they are the Hanzhong route, the Jingnan route, and the Jiaozhi route, making a total of three routes."

Wei has also sent troops from Nanzhong?! Zhuge Liang's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but curse Sun Deng inwardly. If this man hadn't acted on his own initiative and sent troops to harass Jiaozhi without communicating with the Han Dynasty, Wei would have had a hard time advancing along this route.

The southeastern part of Yizhou, such as the Jincheng area, had never been effectively governed by the Shu Han court. Even when Zhuge Liang campaigned to quell the rebellion in the south, he never reached such a far distance. In other words, before Sun Deng's expedition, there had been no precedent of launching a military campaign from the south to Jiaozhi. He set an example for Wei through his own advance.

Sun Deng really should take the blame for this.

At the same time, Wang Ping, Hu Ji, and others in the hall gradually showed solemn expressions. Two hundred and thirty thousand troops—this number sounded so reasonable that they immediately believed the truth of Zhong Hui's words.

Zhuge Liang did not speak further, but instead took the proclamation written by the Wei Kingdom, read it several times, and placed it on the table:
"I have read this proclamation. Han and Wei have been at odds for many years. I would like to ask you to inform Cao Rui that the Mandate of Heaven is not in Wei but in Han. The unjust army will eventually be defeated. If he understands the principle of victory and defeat, he might as well surrender to the Han. I will make the decision to ask His Majesty to enfeoff him as the King of Qiao, based on his place of origin, Qiao County."

Zhong Hui had no way to respond to such words, so he could only cup his hands in greeting to indicate that he had heard them.

"Let's end our meeting here for today," Zhuge Liang said. "Go back and tell Cao Rui that I am waiting for him at Baishui. Also, I will send another person to accompany you to Yangping Pass."

"Captain Chen." Zhuge Liang pointed to Chen Zhi, who had come to Baishui with him from Chengdu: "I will also draft a letter later, and have Captain Chen go to Hanzhong to deliver it to Cao Rui."

"Your subordinate obeys." Chen Zhi replied without hesitation, bowing in response.

Chen Zhi was Liu Shan's most trusted confidant. He was appointed as a court attendant at the age of thirty. When Zhuge Liang went north, Chen Zhi was also given the position of Colonel of the Changshui Cavalry, responsible for commanding Zhuge Liang's personal guard.

In other words, the power conveyed by letters can never compare to that of messengers. Cao Rui sent a fourteen-year-old boy, who was also from the prestigious Zhong family of Yingchuan, so he sent Xu Jing's elder brother's grandson to the Wei camp, thus establishing a reciprocal relationship.

Zhuge Liang gave the order, and no one dared to delay. Less than half an hour later, after Zhuge Liang finished writing the letter, Chen Zhi led ten attendants and set off north with Zhong Hui from Baishui Pass.

Chen Zhi was tall and imposing, and he frequently conversed with Zhong Hui along the way. Although young, Zhong Hui was always proud of his noble family background and his own intelligence, and his early appointment as a Gentleman Attendant at a young age made him even more proud. During their conversations, Zhong Hui also admired Chen Zhi's wisdom and eloquence, which were comparable to his own. In essence, it was a process of Chen Zhi repeatedly trying to elicit information, while Zhong Hui repeatedly understood and countered the attempts to elicit information—a constant, subtle competition between the two.

Zhong Hui arrived at Yang'an Pass on the evening of July 1st.

On July 1st, Cao Rui set up an altar south of Mianyang City to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and ordered the northern army to march out. At the same time, Man Chong, in his capacity as acting general, governor of Jingnan, general who conquers the south, and duke of Changyi, also offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth on behalf of the emperor south of Zhijiang City, and announced the start of the campaign.

Two hundred thousand troops from the northern and eastern routes mobilized simultaneously within a single day.

On July 2nd, about 100 li northeast of Yang'an Pass and 50 li from Yangping Pass, Zhong Hui and Chen Zhi, along with their entourage, encountered the majority of the Wei army. The two were personally led into the rear central army by Fei Yao, the rear general who was serving as the vanguard.

Cao Rui didn't rush to see Chen Zhi, but instead summoned Zhong Hui to his side and asked him the first question:
"Zhong Hui, when I appointed you as my envoy, you were still fearful. Now, several days later, do you see anything frightening about it?"

Zhong Hui bowed deeply and said, "I was timid before. This time, I have come back from the Shu army's Baishui camp to observe the enemy's strengths and weaknesses for Your Majesty!"

Zhong Hui's words drew the attention of Wei Zhen, the four attendants, and the other three cavalrymen in the tent. Zhong Hui felt their gazes but was not afraid; instead, he gradually straightened his chest.

Cao Rui laughed and said, "What, have you discovered some advantage or disadvantage of the Shu army?"

Zhong Hui solemnly said, "When I served Your Majesty before, I heard Your Majesty speak of Zhuge Liang's outstanding qualities to us. However, when I met him the other day, I found that he was quite different from what Your Majesty had said."

"Firstly, when I observed Zhuge Liang sitting on the mat, his body was hunched forward, as if he were weak, and his face was pale and his breath was short, as if he were unwell."

"Secondly, when I told Zhuge Liang that the Great Wei had dispatched 230,000 troops, he only asked a few perfunctory questions and then ended the meeting. Although there was no clear evidence, I always felt that this man was not very interested and, moreover, seemed to lack confidence."

Upon hearing this, Cao Rui nodded noncommittally.

Cao Rui was aware of Zhong Hui's intelligence. He was not as intelligent as Xiahou Xuan in terms of reasoning, nor as intelligent as Jiang Wei in terms of general strategy. In fact, he seemed to be born with a talent for reading people's expressions and understanding their hearts.

Simply put, Zhuge Liang was in poor health!

Cao Rui slowly said, "The commander-in-chief is unwell, which is indeed a military situation worth noting. I heard you say that an envoy named Chen Zhi is coming. Where is he?"

Zhong Hui replied, "I'll wait outside the camp."

Cao Rui nodded: "I will not see this person. I will have Master Wei meet with him later. Go and fetch the letter that Zhuge Liang brought me."

"Yes," Zhong Hui replied, bowed, and quickly walked out.

Not long after, Zhong Hui arrived with a letter from Zhuge Liang. Pei Qian, the Chamberlain, took it, unfolded it, glanced at it a few times, and then handed it to Cao Rui for preview.

Cao Rui glanced at it a few times, then shook his head and laughed, “Gentlemen, Zhuge Liang’s letter is as usual, saying that the Mandate of Heaven belongs to the Han and that the Cao family is traitors, and using the story of Emperor Guangwu of Han defeating the enemy as an example. However, his calligraphy is excellent. Pei Shizhong, please keep it for me. I want to keep this silk letter.”

"Your subject obeys the decree," Pei Qian replied. (End of Chapter)