Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

At the end of the afternoon, Wei Yan led his 10,000 troops across numerous fortifications and moats from outside the city and returned to the foot of Baidi City.

Today marks the seventh time that Wei Yan has led an army of ten thousand men out of the city to challenge for battle. Whether Wei Yan sends a challenge letter, leads his troops in insults, or deliberately reveals a weakness, Lu Xun's troops on the northern mountain and in the eastern valley remain as still as tortoises, showing no intention of reacting to Wei Yan's military might whatsoever.

This situation truly puts Wei Yan in a dilemma. Moreover, Wei Yan has no complete confidence in the loyalty of his generals. If he leads half of them westward and leaves the other half to guard the city, the city's garrison might sell Baidi City for a good price as soon as he leaves.

Sima Zhao Xi saw Wei Yan's distress but was helpless and could not even offer much advice.

Given the current situation, how could Wei Yan not have made a judgment?
The next morning, when Zhao Xi went to Wei Yan's bedroom to report on the situation in the army as usual, he heard something quite unexpected from Wei Yan.

"Sima, go and invite Zhao Yuanzhi here. I have something to ask him."

"Zhao Yuanzhi?" Zhao Xi asked in surprise, "Did the general have a dream?"

Wei Yan sighed softly: "Among all the dream interpreters in Shu, he is the most extraordinary. Now the situation is beyond human comprehension. If I don't ask him, who else can I ask?"

Zhao Xi pursed his lips, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subordinate understands. I will go find him now."

The person Wei Yan mentioned in his conversation with Zhao Xi was named Zhao Zhi, courtesy name Yuanzhi. He was a military advisor in Wei Yan's army and was extremely skilled at interpreting dreams.

When Jiang Wan was the magistrate of Guangdu County, he was discovered by Liu Bei for neglecting his duties and being drunk. Liu Bei was furious and wanted to kill Jiang Wan, but Zhuge Liang dissuaded him. That night, Jiang Wan had a dream at home in which he saw a bull's head bleeding profusely in front of his house. He felt extremely disgusted when he woke up. Knowing that Zhao Zhi was good at interpreting dreams, he went to Zhao Zhi for advice.

Zhao Zhi believed that the so-called bloodshed was a sign that things had become clear, and that the ox horns and nose in the ox head were the symbol of the character '公' (gong, meaning public official). He said that Jiang Wan would definitely be able to achieve the position of one of the Three Dukes in the future, which was an auspicious omen.

Ten years ago, He Zhi, the prefect of Jianwei, dreamed that a mulberry tree grew in the well in his house. He asked Zhao Zhi about this, and Zhao Zhi replied that the character '桑' (sāng) and '桒' (sāng) have the same meaning but are different characters. The character '桒' consists of four '十' (shí) and an '八' (bā) below. He said that He Zhi would not live to be forty-eight years old.

He Zhi died at the age of forty-eight, having been killed by local Yi people during a rebellion in Jianwei County several years earlier.

This person is truly extraordinary.

Regarding classical studies, the Northern Wei dynasty had completely lost the place of Zheng Xuan's school of thought. Wang Su's school of thought had taken over the Imperial Academy and all the state, prefecture, and county schools. The doctrines of apocryphal texts and natural disasters that predated Zheng Xuan's school of thought had been completely swept into the dustbin of history.

However, there was no such transformation within the Shu Kingdom. Perhaps it was due to a lack of energy, or perhaps it did not actually benefit the national strength. The mainstream scholarship in Yizhou remained unchanged from the period of Huan and Ling.

Although Zhao Zhi was skilled in dream interpretation, he was only considered a scholar with a slightly skewed ability in the Shu Han Kingdom, and not an exceptional one, so he was suitable to serve as a military advisor.

"Greetings, General." Zhao Zhi, led by Zhao Xi, arrived at Wei Yan's bedroom and bowed respectfully. "Just now, I heard from Commander Zhao that you had a dream you wished to interpret. May I ask what you dreamt of last night?"

Wei Yan sat up from the bed, suppressing the urge to ask Zhao Xi to leave, and slowly said to Zhao Zhi:

"Yuanzhi, I had a dream last night. I dreamt that a dragon and a jiao were locked in a fierce battle, both bleeding, and then died by the roadside. I don't know what this means?"

“This…” Zhao Zhi stroked his long beard and glanced at Zhao Xi. Zhao Xi understood what Zhao Zhi meant, but pretended not to see it, standing still with his hands at his sides and his back straight.

Wei Yan urged, "It's alright, Yuanzhi, please speak."

Zhao Zhi coughed a few times, then bowed and slowly said, "Dreams all have symbolic meanings and all refer to something. The so-called 'jiao' is actually a strange python. As a general leading troops, the matter you dreamed of must be related to military affairs." "A dragon and a python both died..." Zhao Zhi sighed softly, "General, please forgive me for not daring to say."

"What is there to be afraid of?" Wei Yan seemed unusually impatient: "I told you to speak, so just speak. Why all the excuses?"

Zhao Zhi pointed to the left: "The so-called dragon and python should both be leaders of troops..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan immediately opened his eyes wide.

Zhao Zhi was pointing west, and isn't that Shu (Sichuan) to the west?
If the one leading the troops is the Prime Minister, who is known as the Crouching Dragon, then the python must refer to Man Chong, who is leading the troops westward!
Wei Yan's heart pounded rapidly in his chest, and Sima Zhao Xi, standing beside him, dared not utter a word, sweat even beading on his forehead. The atmosphere in the bedroom instantly fell into an unusual silence.

After a long pause, Wei Yan forced down his astonishment and asked again, "What about bleeding and dying by the roadside?"

Zhao Zhi sighed and cupped his hands again: "General, the bloodshed refers to the fact that things are clear and likely a foregone conclusion. As for the roadside, the word 'road' has the same meaning as the word 'street'."

As he spoke, Zhao Zhi pointed eastward again.

Having seen the example just now, how could Wei Yan not understand? To die by the roadside probably means to die next to Lu Xun!
“Yuanzhi,” Wei Yan stood up, strode to Zhao Zhi, grabbed Zhao Zhi’s shoulders tightly with both hands, and asked urgently, “I understand what you just said. Is there a solution?”

Wei Yan's hands were incredibly strong, and in his anxiety, Zhao Zhi's face turned red almost instantly: "General, General, please loosen your grip, I can't take it anymore."

Wei Yan withdrew his hand and asked again, "Does Yuan Zhi have a way to avert this?"

Zhao Zhi said, "Since this is a military matter, General, you are the foremost general in the Han army, so why bother asking your subordinate, a dream interpreter?"

After saying this, Zhao Zhi took a step back and bowed: "General, do not focus too much on dreams. Military matters should be discussed from a military perspective."

"Fine, you may leave now." Wei Yan waved his hand impatiently, his face grim.

"Yes." Having received Wei Yan's permission, Zhao Zhi quickly bowed and withdrew. After Zhao Zhi left, facing his true confidant Zhao Xi, Wei Yan no longer concealed his emotions and said in a deep voice:

"If what Zhao Zhi said earlier is correct, then the meaning of this dream is that the Prime Minister and Man Chong will both face danger in Shu?"

Zhao Xi sighed softly. After returning to Baidi, he had mentioned to Wei Yan that the Prime Minister was not in good health. He wondered if it was this remark that caused Wei Yan to have this dream.

Zhao Xi said, "According to Zhao Zhi's interpretation, since Lu Xun is involved, then General, you must not allow Lu Xun to enter Shu. I suspect that General should hold the city to prevent the army here from advancing westward again."

Wei Yan shook his head: "So you're telling me to stay in the city and defend it? Fine, we can't go west, and it's hard to attack east. What else can we do but hold the city and not come out? If we can really stop Lu Xun, then I can at least do something."

"This matter is not to be discussed with outsiders. Later, find someone to bring some offerings. I want to pray in my courtyard for the Prime Minister's health and well-being."

Zhao Xi bowed his head and replied, "Yes, Your subordinate understands." (End of this chapter)