Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Wenwei!" Yang Yi was only stunned for a moment when he saw Fei Yi, then strode forward to greet him, took Fei Yi's hands in his own, and said with great enthusiasm, "Wenwei, aren't you in Chengdu? What brings you here?"

“Brother Wei,” Fei Yi said with a sorrowful expression, unlike Yang Yi, “I have come here because I have something to do. Otherwise, why would His Majesty have sent me here?”

"The first thing we should do is pay our respects at the Prime Minister's coffin. Please, Brother Wei, take me there to find it."

Seeing Fei Yi's solemn expression, Yang Yi's face also tightened: "Of course. The Prime Minister's coffin has been in the army. Please come with me."

Among the former members of the Prime Minister's household, Fei Yi and Yang Yi were the closest, often considering each other as friends. When conflicts arose between Yang Yi and Wei Yan, Fei Yi was often the one who mediated between them.

Yang Yi considered Fei Yi a close friend. Even if their relationship wasn't good, how could he refuse the Prime Minister's request to offer sacrifices at his temple?
The situation in the army was unusually rushed, and Fei Yi had no offerings or ritual implements, so he could only kneel and bow to show his respect and mourning.

After everything was finished, Yang Yi summoned Fei Yi into the tent and asked urgently, "Wenwei, it's just the two of us here, so please speak frankly! Why did you come here, and whose orders did you receive?"

Fei Yi sighed softly, "Brother Wei, I came here on His Majesty's orders. I thought I would meet you near Guanghan, but I did not expect to see you here."

"However, Brother Wei, there is no need to worry. The Wei army is at its peak, and His Majesty is naturally aware of this. It is normal for Brother Wei to lead his troops to retreat."

Yang Yi frowned and asked, "Where is Your Majesty? The military situation here is urgent, and Your Majesty needs to come to my aid immediately!"

Fei Yi's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged: "Brother Wei, His Majesty should have led his troops to Fu County by now."

Yang Yi then asked, "You've only come from Jiange to Fuxian. Which troops did Your Majesty bring? Was it Hu Ji or Gao Xiang? Why are you so slow?"

Fei Yi replied, "There is no city to rely on here, so His Majesty is unlikely to come from Fu County. Therefore, he sent me here to deliver the imperial decree."

As they spoke, Fei Yi took the imperial decree from his robes and gently placed it in Yang Yi's palm: "The decree is right here. It's just the two of us, so there's no need for any formal announcement ceremony..."

"There are three things in the decree."

"Firstly, His Majesty followed the Prime Minister's dying wish and promoted Wei Gong's elder brother to General of the Guards, placing him at the head of all the generals in the court, not on the same level as us."

"Secondly, His Majesty ordered his brother, Duke Wei, to escort the coffin north to Fu County to assist His Majesty in commanding the Fu County army."

"Thirdly, I will temporarily lead the troops here to block the Wei army from coming."

Fei Yi watched Yang Yi's face gradually change, and sighed again: "His Majesty is deeply saddened by the passing of the Prime Minister. I beg you, Brother Wei, to assist him as the Prime Minister did. Don't worry, Brother Wei, I will take care of things here for you. Brother Wei, please hurry and escort the coffin to Fu County!"

Yang Yi, however, sensed something was amiss and asked:
"Wenwei, since we're going to Fuxian to escort the coffin, can you go there in my place? You're not familiar with the troops here, and changing commanders so hastily might make it difficult for the generals to coordinate well. It would be terrible if we messed up something important!"

Fei Yi remained extremely sincere: "How can I go? The Prime Minister's dying wish was for Brother Wei to be the leader. Who in the court does not know your talent and strategy? Moreover, His Majesty appointed you as General of the Guards. In the Han Dynasty, generals with important titles have the responsibility of assisting in the government! What good would it do for me, a mere Protector of the Army, to go? It is still Brother Wei who should assist in the government!"

"Brother Wei, go ahead. The sooner you arrive in Fu County, the sooner the Prime Minister can be laid to rest."

Yang Yi gritted her teeth: "Wenwei, wait a moment, I need to go relieve myself."

"Alright." Fei Yi remained calm and sat down on the mat in the tent, closing his eyes to rest.

As soon as Yang Yi stepped out of the military tent, he looked around for a few moments and immediately noticed that Commandant Zhao Zheng was standing with his hands clasped to the left of the tent entrance. This tent belonged to Zhao Zheng, and seeing Zhao Zheng standing outside the tent entrance, Yang Yi figured that Zhao Zheng might have overheard their conversation, so he went forward to question him.

Unexpectedly, even though they were a meter apart, Zhao Zheng did not bow to him. Instead, he extended his right hand from his sleeve, his five fingers swaying slightly like waves.

Yang Yi was quick-witted and calmed down instantly, not moving an inch further.

Zhao Zheng habitually uses yarrow stalks for divination, and his gesture just now was the posture used when changing the hexagram during divination. Previously, Zhao Zheng had performed divination for Yang Yi, and the resulting hexagram was the Family Hexagram (Wind over Fire), which, if changed, would become the Difficult Hexagram (Lake over Water).

The word "困" (kùn, meaning trapped or trapped) in the phrase "泽水困" (zé shuǐ kùn, meaning "trapped by the water") says it all.

Yang Yi had to become alert.

Whether it's a war between two countries or a war between two armies, the one who can first discern the trend is often not the commander-in-chief sitting in the rear or the emperor staying in the capital, but the general leading the troops on the front line.

In the half month since Zhuge Liang's death, Yang Yi has played the role of a frontline commander.

When people are not in power, they often feel that once they are in power, they can turn the tide, do things that others cannot, and that everything will change with their arrival. But when Yang Yi was actually in charge, he faced an even greater and more direct sense of powerlessness.

The more setbacks they suffered, the more they hoped for a lucky break and a quick victory. Fei Yi's arrival and the news he brought completely shattered the possibility of a quick victory.

Could Fei Yi possibly lead troops as well as I could?

His Majesty's presence in Fu County clearly indicates his unwillingness to engage in open battle to reinforce the city. The logic is simple: if victory cannot be achieved in open combat, how can one expect to simply hold the city and wait for the Wei army to run out of supplies and retreat?

Holding out in a single, isolated city would allow Wei to seize all the grain supplies for the entire Shu region! Strategically, this is not a viable option. Fuxian is a city, not a formidable pass like Jiange; it cannot withstand the Wei army!

According to Fei Yi, His Majesty would definitely not send troops here. His summons to the north must be a sign that he suspects Fei Yi.

Yang Yi had just read the imperial edict and found no errors or omissions. He believed that obtaining the position of General of the Guards in Fu County would not be difficult, but such a general would likely have no soldiers to command. What use would such a general be?
Without open battle, how can we possibly win by simply defending the city! If His Majesty were to come to our aid, we would now have over 20,000 troops! Including the auxiliary soldiers and laborers we have conscripted, we could barely muster 40,000 combat-ready soldiers. If we were to win, the situation would change dramatically.

But His Majesty didn't come!
If they remain stationed in Fuxian and do not come to their aid, the imperial court has no hope left!

It's all His Majesty's fault!!

Yang Yi was filled with conflicting emotions. He wanted to be a loyal minister of the court and learn from the prime minister. It was you who made the Han Dynasty lose hope, not him!

Yang Yi pondered for a while before returning to his tent to see Fei Yi. Fei Yi was still the same as before he left, resting with his eyes closed. Yang Yi told Fei Yi that he had received the imperial decree and would escort the coffin north early the next morning.

Upon learning Yang Yi's meaning, Fei Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that His Majesty and Chen Zhi had indeed worried too much. How could Yang Yi be in any danger?
But early the next morning, before breakfast, Fei Yi found the camp in turmoil.

Fei Yi hurriedly drew his sword and left the tent, only to run into General He Fu, who had come urgently to find him.

"General He, what has happened?" Fei Yi asked, frowning.

He Fu was anxious for a moment, and after pausing for several seconds, he stamped his foot and said, "Lord Fei, Commander Yang led Commandant Zhao's battalion south at dawn! What can we do?" (End of this chapter)