Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

There are many factors that affect the morale of an army, such as whether the food and pay are sufficient, whether the armor and weapons are complete, whether the city is strong, and whether the generals and junior officers are loyal. But the most important factor is the soldiers' own understanding of war.

The arrival of 10,000 Wei cavalry was more shocking than anything else to the Shu soldiers defending the city. These soldiers, who had long been stationed in the heart of Shu and the south, had never seen so many horses and cavalry in their lives!
Cavalry and infantry are completely different concepts. With the city walls for defense, the soldiers did not have to worry about facing cavalry charges directly, but this did not prevent them from recognizing the terror of cavalry. To put it more bluntly, these horses were an extremely large asset.

The arrival of ten thousand Wei cavalry at the city gates was an extremely powerful declaration of strength. Anyone with a modicum of insight would immediately understand that their general's promise of reinforcements would never be fulfilled, and everything would be in vain.

This is the heart of Shu! Have the Wei cavalry actually reached this far? An overwhelming sense of fear for battle spread uncontrollably among the soldiers.

Jiang Wei's troops arrived in Jiangyang on February 2nd, and the city of Jiangyang fell on February 4th.

The tightly bound Ma Zhong was escorted by soldiers to Guanqiu Jian's tent, where a group of attendants and military advisors stared at Ma Zhong's face, which was filled with grief and indignation.

Guanqiu Jian sat calmly in the center, watching as the Shu Kingdom's Yijiang Commander, who had guarded the southern region for many years, was forced to kneel on the ground by two armored soldiers on either side, and slowly spoke:
"General Ma, I have come all the way from Jiaozhi to Jiangzhou, and I have heard of your reputation throughout the south. You govern the south well, and the Han and the barbarians live in peace. You are a capable minister. Now that you have been captured by our army, are you willing to surrender?"

Ma Zhong suddenly raised his head, about to struggle, but was firmly held down by the armored soldiers on both sides. He could only grit his teeth and say, "A subject should prioritize loyalty. The Han and Wei have been at war for many years. I am a subject of the Han. How can I surrender to the Wei? Please kill me."

Guanqiu Jian shook his head slightly, his lips pursed, seemingly not satisfied with this behavior.

Jiang Wei walked a short distance in front of Ma Zhong and said kindly, "General Ma, death is easy, but you have served in the south for a long time, and all your achievements and years of hard work will be in vain. Shu is about to perish. With your talent, how could you not see the general trend of the world?"

"Before us were Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, the two governors; after us were Liu Bei and his son Liu Shan. How different were they? When Liu Bei entered Shu and seized the throne from Liu Zhang, what were General Ma and the people of Yizhou doing?"

"Although the Great Wei is magnanimous, if you insist on not surrendering, you will be like a stream trapped in the mountains, unwilling to flow eastward to the sea. I hope the general will think carefully about this!"

Having said that, Jiang Wei turned away and, like the others in the tent, remained silent. Ma Zhong knelt on the spot, his eyes lowered, his cheeks twitching from time to time.

Fifteen minutes later, Ma Zhong finally made his decision, sighing softly, "General Guanqiu, I am willing to surrender! I hope the general will treat the soldiers and civilians in the city well and prevent chaos here!"

Guanqiu Jian then smiled and stepped forward to help Ma Zhong up: "General Ma has abandoned petty loyalty for the greater good, which greatly pleases me. Jiangyang City is now under the rule of the Great Wei, and the soldiers and civilians in the city are the subjects of the Great Wei. How could I not treat them well? Once the city is somewhat stable, I will submit a memorial to the Emperor to request a title for General Ma."

"General Ma, you probably don't know this yet, but the Emperor is currently in Deyang!"

"In Deyang...?" Ma Zhong muttered to himself, repeating the question, his face growing even paler. "Then..."

Guanqiu Jian stood in front of Ma Zhong, staring at him with a half-smile. Ma Zhong knew he shouldn't ask any more questions, so he bowed deeply and said, "I will follow the general's orders!"

Guanqiu Jian stroked his beard, nodded, and remained silent.

With Ma Zhong's intervention, the situation in the city stabilized quite quickly. Ma Zhong was from Bazhou County in Yizhou, a true native of Yizhou. Liu Bei had only been in Shu for a little over twenty years, and Liu Yan and his son Liu Zhang had also been in Shu for over twenty years. From his perspective, these four people with the surname Liu were like passersby.

Having barely gained a foothold, he was swept away by an even stronger wind. Now that the Great Wei army has entered Shu, where in the world is there a greater power? What else could he do but surrender? He surrendered only after the city fell, and Ma Zhong felt he had done nothing wrong.

Guanqiu Jian and Jiang Wei did not waste any strength. Instead, they reorganized the more than two thousand remaining soldiers in the city into an army, assigned positions in the Great Wei to the officers, and drove them westward the next day.

Thus, a particularly strange scene appeared at the southernmost tip of the Sichuan Basin.

Commander Guanqiu Jian led over 6,000 Jiaozhou soldiers as the central army, with Cangwu Prefect Shi Bao and General Jingbian Pu Zhong each leading 4,000 surrendered Wu and Shu soldiers to his left and right, along with approximately 15,000 infantrymen.

Soldiers from the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu were all under the command of Guanqiu Jian, making it arguably the most complex and peculiarly organized army since the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Jiang Wei left no rear guard and led his entire army of 10,000 cavalry as the vanguard, advancing westward and northwestward.

These two generals, whom the emperor trusted most, maintained optimal teamwork even on the battlefield far from Wei. If Cao Rui had known of their perfect understanding, he wouldn't have needed to send Cui Lin on that extra trip.

In the battles near Guanghan, the Wei army continued to maintain its victories.

On February 4, Yang Yi's troops suffered a defeat at Guanghan and retreated north.

Objectively speaking, the Shu army's defeat at Guanghan cannot be blamed on Yang Yi. With such a large disparity in troop strength, it would have been the same no matter who was in charge; it was just a matter of whether the defeat occurred a few days earlier or later.

The Shu army retreated, but the retreat was difficult.

After sending Jiang Wei's 10,000 cavalry to the southern front, Cao Rui's Deyang still had no shortage of cavalry. Sun Li's 10,000 Hu cavalry, which had been fighting alongside the army for more than half a year, finally came in handy, constantly harassing and nibbling at the Shu troops who were lagging behind or covering the rear.

Several defeats and losses from the retreat reduced Yang Yi's forces to 12,000 by the time they reached Langting, a hundred li from Fuxian, on February 10th. This was the result of Yang Yi's best efforts to maintain the troop strength.

Compared to January, this army has lost more than half its strength.

The journey from Guanghan to Fuxian is about 300 li. After Yang Yi truly took command of the army, he had no time to act arrogantly. Just like Zhuge Liang in the past, he focused all his energy on military affairs.

Such diligence had nothing to do with personal character. Rather, it was because without such effort, the pursuing Wei army would seize an opportunity, leading to the loss of their troops and lives!

Upon arriving at Langting, Yang Yi dared not relax his vigilance for a moment. He immediately personally surveyed the terrain and arranged for his soldiers to set up camp, preparing to guard against any possible Wei army from the rear. Although these Hu cavalry could not break through the heavily defended infantry formations, their agile mobility made them exceptionally brave and fierce when dealing with small groups of Shu troops or out-of-place units.

Having just finished setting up camp, Yang Yi returned to his tent only to find a face that shouldn't be there.

General Fei Yi, Protector of the Army. (End of Chapter)