Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Man Chong sighed deeply, looked back at the river, and slowly said, "Minister Huang, you said His Majesty ordered you to come to my army to oversee logistics, so why did he also grant you the authority to act on behalf of the emperor?"

"Your Majesty previously granted Lu Xun the titles of Special Envoy, Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, and Grand Master of the Palace to command the navy. Why did you still grant him the authority to act on behalf of the emperor when he returned to Luoyang last year?"

"This..." Huang Quan took a deep breath, not wanting to answer directly, but said, "The mobilization of 100,000 troops carries a heavy responsibility, perhaps for this reason they are granting me the authority to act on their behalf."

Man Chong glanced at Huang Quan.

Huang Quan, who rose to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and became one of His Majesty's confidants, how could he not understand imperial power? The imperial authority granted by the emperor, such as the "Acting Imperial Guard" or "Acting Imperial Insignia," is a means for the emperor to exercise his authority on behalf of his subjects. So here's the question: assuming Man Chong remained in power, and Huang Quan stayed with him, what could possibly justify Huang Quan exercising imperial authority in this situation?
The answer is quite obvious: if Man Chong dies, Huang Quan can exercise the emperor's authority and take command of the eastern army. Similarly, Lu Xun also holds the title of "Imperial Advisor," which allows him to do the same in times of crisis.

When Emperor Wu was fighting Liu Bei for Hanzhong, the commander-in-chief Xiahou Yuan died, and the generals elected Zhang He to take command of the army. This is a similar case. Moreover, this time it is a campaign against Shu, a place known for its strange and unpredictable nature.

For the officials of the Great Wei, the most recent dynasty was the Later Han. When considering many practical and strategic issues, they often used the figures and stories of the Later Han as a point of reference.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu launched a campaign against Gongsun Shu, who was based in Shu. The commander of the northern route, Lai Xi, was assassinated by Gongsun Shu's men. The commander of the eastern route, Cen Peng, was also assassinated by Gongsun Shu. The later commander, Wu Han, fell from his horse and into the water in the chaos of battle. If he had not been lucky, he might have died in battle as well.

In fact, the prevailing view at the time was that it was an inauspicious thing for the emperor to lead an expedition against Shu. The emperor himself was the commander of the northern route, while Man Chong of the eastern route took on this responsibility. In reality, Man Chong was prepared to die on the battlefield.

Man Chong sighed and slowly said, "Minister Huang, you and Lu Boyan both have the authority to act on behalf of the emperor. If anything happens to me, you can take over and continue the attack on Shu. I am also getting old. I have been leading an army of 100,000 men and working hard. I don't know how much longer I, who am almost eighty years old, can hold on."

"I have a disagreement with Lu Boyan regarding military strategy. He wants a slower, more cautious approach, valuing the lives of his soldiers. I want a rapid and decisive attack. If we can capture Xiling, Baidi, and Jiangzhou sooner, we can enter Shu and draw Shu's forces to our side, allowing Your Majesty to more easily break through the pass and advance south from the north!"

“Lu Boyan is now the King of Lu. Over the decades, his military achievements have surpassed mine, and his contribution to the destruction of Wu is greater than mine. But today I am the commander-in-chief. I, Man Chong, am acting on imperial orders to lead an army of 100,000 westward. I will not allow him to disobey my orders!”

"Minister Huang," Man Chong said calmly to Huang Quan, "As the commander-in-chief, I request that you personally go to Lu Xun's ship and convey this message to him. He says he will wait for the wind direction, so I will allow him to wait for fifteen days. If he still does not attack after fifteen days, I will personally go to his army and, with the authority of a general, relieve him of his command!"

"Yes." Huang Quan replied solemnly, "Please rest assured, Lord Man, I will go to the Lu Wang ship to deliver the message."

Man Chong stroked his beard and nodded, but his brows furrowed even more deeply.

They were colleagues, not enemies, just different in their military philosophies. Huang Quan came to Lu Xun's army and had a long talk with Lu Xun for an hour before returning to Xiling City. Lu Xun expressed his obedience to Man Chong's military orders and also apologized to Man Chong.

Man Chong readily accepted the apology conveyed by Huang Quan.

Meanwhile, on the ship in the river, Wang Jun watched as the small boat carrying Huang Quan landed on the riverbank, and asked Lu Xun with a worried expression:
"Does Your Highness truly intend to launch a full-scale attack after fifteen days, as you just stated?"

Lu Xun watched Huang Quan and the others land, ride away on horseback, and slowly said, "Let's put it this way for now to reassure him. If the wind is still not right after fifteen days, I will still not launch a forced attack."

Wang Jun asked in surprise, "What if Lord Man were to harm Your Highness?"

Lu Xun, leaning on the railing, slowly said, "Man Chong has a scale in his heart, and I also have my own standards of measurement."

"For the Great Wei to build a ship, it would require felling timber from the mountains of Yuzhou and Yangzhou, then sending people to perform corvée labor to transport it out of the mountains, and finally transporting it by waterway to Chaohu Lake, where the Imperial Workshops would painstakingly build the ship. Ships are extremely expensive, and something that could be solved by waiting for the right wind direction is instead done by destroying dozens of ships to fill the river?"

"Even if the court has money, what about the navy? Does Man Chong really think that my naval soldiers are as cheap as his infantry? I have been training these naval forces since the seventh year of Taihe, and so far we only have 40,000 elite soldiers. His Majesty has long told me that in the future, the Great Wei fleet will not be limited to operating on the river, but will sail the seas, expand the territory of Great Wei, and transport copper, iron, gold and silver, as well as various other resources from overseas for Great Wei."

"Are these people just throwing thousands or tens of thousands into the fray because Man Chong is afraid of dying and is in a hurry to attack? There aren't many times in July, August, and September when the wind is in my favor, but if I can seize one day, that's enough. Can't they really wait? When I have no choice but to launch a strong attack, I will naturally attack!"

"He knows more about Xiling than I do??"

"He is indeed the commander-in-chief, and I respect his authority. But the 'Acting General' is no more noble than the 'Acting General'; both are acting on behalf of the emperor. Unless His Majesty issues an edict, he cannot remove me from my post!"

At this point, Lu Xun turned to Wang Jun and asked, "Shizhi, this is an attack on Xiling. Do you think His Majesty will really dismiss me from my post?"

Wang Jun smiled and bowed obsequiously, saying, "I dare not speak presumptuously about how His Majesty treats His Highness. But if you, Lord Man, truly wish to ask His Majesty to dismiss His Highness from his post, His Highness will remain the Prince of Chencang, while you, Lord Man, will likely never be granted the title of prince in your lifetime." Lu Xun said calmly, "Isn't he worried about his lifespan? Let's wait until he lives to see the conquest of Shu before we discuss it!"

……

The right wing of the Guanzhong army was led by General Wang Chang, and they set off from Wujie City, which Zhuge Liang had besieged for a long time but had never been able to capture during his fifth Northern Expedition.

After the war, the imperial court rewarded Cao Ping for his valiant defense of the city by granting him the title of Marquis of Ting and a fief of five hundred. However, he suffered heavy losses in the battles he fought before leaving the city, and because of this, he was not promoted. Therefore, Cao Ping remains a Lieutenant General.

Even though he was only a lieutenant general, Cao Ping's previous meritorious service in battle, along with his status as a distant relative of the royal family and the nephew of the Prince of Hejian, was enough for him to be on equal footing with Generals Zhou Duo and Deng Ai, and to serve under Wang Chang.

Following the emperor's decree, Wang Chang led 15,000 troops from Wujie on July 1st, repairing roads as they traveled south. Wujie was 250 li away from Yinping Bridge, and Wang Chang did not arrive at Yinping Bridge until July 6th.

Both Tazhong and Wujie were built along the Qiang River. To get from Tazhong to Wujie, and from Wujie to Baishui, one had to travel through the Qiang River valley. The Qiang River flows into the Baishui River at Yinping Bridge, and Baishui Pass is located downstream of this point.

The so-called Yinping Bridgehead is actually a necessary passage for crossing the Baishui River and traveling from the north bank to the south bank. The water here is calm, making it suitable for building a pontoon bridge and facilitating passage. Therefore, it has always been a key transportation hub north of Baishui Pass.

Wang Chang, riding along with Zhou Duo, Cao Ping, and Deng Ai, arrived at the front of the army. Looking across the river at the Shu army camp on the opposite bank, he said in a deep voice, "I have been to Guanzhong for many years without ever being here. Today I see that it is indeed a vital transportation route. It seems that the Shu army knew that our troops were coming, so they destroyed the pontoon bridge to block our way."

Zhou Duo chimed in, “General, this place is remote and has always been under the control of the Shu army. When I and Prince Lu attacked Baishui years ago, we passed through this area. For dozens of miles around, there are only steep mountains and ridges, making it difficult to pass. There is no way for the army to take a detour. The only solution now is to launch a strong attack to cross the river.”

"Hmm." Wang Chang nodded: "If we want to launch a strong attack, we can only build a large number of rafts, cross the river and advance while we are under attack. There is no other way. Fortunately, there are plenty of trees nearby, so we don't need to worry about a lack of materials."

"General Deng's troops will cut down trees for timber, and General Cao's troops will build rafts. The main army will retreat fifteen li and set up camp here! Colonel Zhou's troops will be responsible for defense."

"Yes, sir!" everyone responded in unison.

At the same time, Ju Fu, the Shu general guarding the opposite bank of the Baishui River, became alert upon seeing the Wei army arrive and then retreat. He quickly ordered his men to relay the news of the Wei army's attack to Zhuge Liang at Baishui Pass.

Zhuge Liang was certainly not at Yang'an Pass, which was 120 li away from Baishui Pass. By the time Zhuge Liang received the news, it was already July 8th.

Holding the military report, Zhuge Liang slowly said, "Ju Fu's main force has six thousand men, with one thousand stationed at Yinping City and five thousand soldiers at Qiaotou. I have been to Qiaotou many times, and the forces there are already sufficient, so there is no need to reinforce them. However, if Wei sends troops out from Wujie, the forces at Micang Road on the east side will only be more numerous."

"Fengzong, send a message to Wu Yuanxiong in Bazhou, ordering him to head north to find a strategic location to garrison and actively engage the Wei army to prevent them from penetrating deep into Bazhou. If any military situation arises, he must report back immediately, without delay!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will send word immediately." Chen Zhi replied, then said with some concern, "Prime Minister, let's not even consider the distance to the south. Even if the Wei army has 200,000 troops on the northern and eastern routes, there are probably at least 100,000 troops on the eastern route near Xiling."

"Before the Prime Minister came to Baishui, he ordered Wei Zhengdong in Chengdu to strengthen the defense and make his own decisions. However, the troop strength there is too disparate. Should General Wei also increase his troops? If we can keep the enemy outside the country's borders, that would be the best plan."

Zhuge Liang slowly looked at Chen Zhi: "Where should we increase our troops?"

Chen Zhi said, "The imperial court still has 40,000 troops in Fuxian, Guanghan, and Chengdu. I believe they can all be used to reinforce them!"

Zhuge Liang shook his head: "Wei Yan has not yet reported back, and the military situation there is unclear. His 30,000 men are already sufficient, which is due to the geography. If 30,000 men cannot hold the position, even if we add another 10,000, the force will still be inferior to that of Wei, and it will be of no use."

"These 40,000 troops are for patching up leaks; they should not be moved lightly."

Chen Zhi bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "Your subordinate understands. I will go and send a letter to General Wu immediately."

"Hmm." Zhuge Liang nodded. (End of Chapter)