Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

When Fei Yi retreated to a place twenty miles away from Fu County, Gao Xiang's five thousand soldiers lined up there to wait.

Liu Shan had long known about Fei Yi's predicament of being pursued and had already sent Gao Xiang to meet him there.

Five thousand soldiers were already the result of Liu Shan's best efforts; he couldn't muster any more. Of the ten thousand soldiers that Yang Yi left behind for Fei Yi after his escape, about eight thousand remained, and these were also placed under Gao Xiang's command.

Fei Yi himself took Zhuge Liang's coffin north to Fuxian. Beyond military matters, he had more important things to do.

Outside the south gate of Fuxian County, Liu Shan personally greeted Zhuge Liang. Facing Zhuge Liang's coffin, Liu Shan knelt beside the carriage and wept bitterly until half an hour later when Chen Zhi, who was beside him, helped him up.

Fei Yi, being astute and discerning, did not wait until they were settled in the city. Instead, he spoke with Liu Shan about the current situation right in front of Zhuge Liang's coffin.

"Your Majesty, Yang Yi has surrendered to the State of Wei. Although this is unacceptable to the court, fortunately, I am in the army. Yang Yi only took two thousand soldiers south, and I brought back the rest of his troops."

"The current issue is how the court should defend itself. Forgive my bluntness, but Guanghan has already collapsed, and Fuxian cannot be defended either!"

Liu Shan's eyes were already red and swollen. He wiped away the tears from his cheeks and said in a hoarse voice, "I understand that Fuxian cannot be defended. Fuxian is a vital location in Yizhou, the heart of Zitong Commandery. If we lose Fuxian, the court will only have the three commanderies of Guanghan, Shu, and Jianwei. But if Fuxian cannot be defended, can Chengdu be defended? Can Wuyang and Zizhong be defended?"

As he spoke, Liu Shan sighed deeply, his voice trembling with tears again: "The Prime Minister is no longer here, and my heart is in turmoil. I cannot think of so many things. General Fei is a pillar of the court; does he have any advice for me?"

Fei Yi chuckled softly, “Your Majesty, the Wei army has not yet reached Fuxian. Of course, we have a plan. Yang Yi knows that Your Majesty is here, and he will surely inform the Wei people. I am willing to impersonate Your Majesty and stay in Fuxian, pretending to negotiate and communicate with the Wei people, in order to delay them for a while.”

"Your Majesty, please return to Chengdu first and organize the city's defenses. Shu Commandery has a large population and abundant food supplies, so it can hold out for a long time. Chengdu, Xindu, and Guangdu can support each other, and there are also Mianzhu and Luocheng available for defense."

"Your Majesty, we have not yet reached the end of our rope."

Liu Shan glanced at Chen Zhi, who stood solemnly with his hands clasped beside him, gave a wry smile, and spread his hands: "General Fei, the Wei army has occupied most of Yizhou. What good is it to defend these places?"

Fei Yi's voice suddenly rose several octaves, his cheeks clenched, a stark contrast to his previous composure: "Your Majesty, what else can we do but defend it? The Prime Minister's dying wish had three parts. The last one must have been forged by Yang Yi, but the first two must have come from the Prime Minister himself!"

"Prime Minister, please do not be cowardly, Your Majesty. You are the son of the late Emperor. How can you be afraid to fight now? Not to mention that there are still three prefectures to hold out, even if there is only one city, Fuxian, are we just going to abandon it?"

"Yang Yi has surrendered to Wei and can obtain a high-ranking position there. If we were to surrender to Wei, although we would encounter setbacks, we could still obtain official positions. If Your Majesty loses your will to fight, how will Wei treat you?"

"Have you not heard that Sun Quan cut off Cao Cao's head as a sacrifice when the Wei army offered sacrifices to Heaven? He too became an emperor, yet he met the same fate as the three sacrificial animals! The Sun family has also been exterminated; where are they now?"

"Your Majesty, we cannot surrender!"

Liu Shan looked quietly at Fei Yi and asked, "But how can we win? At this point in the battle, I truly see no hope of victory."

Fei Yi could no longer contain himself. He gently touched the Prime Minister's coffin with one hand, his face flushed, his chest heaving, and he sobbed, "How can there be no hope?"

"What if there are torrential rains and floods in Shu, and the Wei army runs out of food? What if a plague breaks out and the Wei army suffers more than half its casualties? What if a meteor falls from the sky and hits the Wei camp, killing the Wei ruler Cao Rui? What if Emperor Guangwu and the late emperor appear in spirit, and the imperial army wins battle after battle, just like the story of Kunyang?"

"We have toiled for so many years, how can there be no hope? How can there be no hope?!" Liu Shan sighed deeply at this moment: "General Fei wants to defend Fucheng for me?"

Fei Yi's eyes were resolute: "I have come to defend! If anything happens to me, it will only be a matter of dying for my country, nothing to boast about!"

Liu Shan stepped forward and grasped Fei Yi's hands, saying slowly, "In that case, I will take three thousand soldiers back to Chengdu and bring the Prime Minister's coffin with me. I will leave everything here to General Fei."

After saying this, Liu Shan took half a step back and bowed deeply to Fei Yi.

Fei Yi knelt and returned the greeting, then said, "There are seven thousand soldiers in the city. If we transfer another three thousand from the south, Your Majesty can lead ten thousand soldiers. There will be about eight or nine thousand soldiers left. I will defend Fuxian for Your Majesty without wavering."

"Alright." Liu Shan's eyes gradually hardened.

Gao Xiang stayed in Fuxian to help Fei Yi defend the city, while 10,000 troops led by Hu Ji set off towards Chengdu at noon that day.

Among the large procession of carriages and horses, Liu Shan's imperial carriage followed behind the one where Zhuge Liang's coffin was placed.

Chen Zhi sat in the same carriage as Liu Shan. After a long while, he finally said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not."

Liu Shan's gaze remained fixed on the hearse ahead, his eyes somewhat dazed, as he replied, "Please speak freely, Fengzong."

Chen Zhi coughed lightly. Only his trusted confidant of many years could say such things: "Your Majesty, I have no intention of advising you to be complacent or cowardly. As a monarch, Your Majesty should always assess the situation and act arbitrarily."

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask your opinion first. If the cities of Fuxian, Mianzhu, and Luocheng truly cannot be defended, and the Wei army is indeed at the gates of Chengdu, is Your Majesty willing to die?"

"When the late emperor attacked Liu Zhang, it was already proven that places like Fuxian, Mianzhu, and Luocheng could not be used as defensive strongholds."

Liu Shan appeared extremely confused: "I...I don't know."

Chen Zhi said, "I will say it again: I dare not disobey the Prime Minister's dying instructions, and I have no intention of making Your Majesty cowardly or afraid of war. I just wanted to discuss this with Your Majesty in advance."

"What are we going to discuss?" Liu Shan asked in return.

Chen Zhi sighed deeply: "I have remembered everything that Fei Gong said. But Fei Gong is wrong about one thing. Your Majesty is not the same as Sun Quan. Sun Quan first served Cao Cao and then rebelled and declared himself emperor. He is a traitor! Shu Han and Wei are enemies of each other. Your Majesty previously exchanged letters with Cao Rui, the ruler of Wei, at Baishui. The letters made this point very clearly."

"In other words, if Your Majesty were truly willing to surrender to Wei, you would never end up like Sun Quan. Based on Wei's long history of magnanimity, I speculate that you would at least receive a title and have your ancestral tombs preserved from being abandoned."

Seeing Liu Shan staring at him with wide eyes, Chen Zhi explained, "Your Majesty, I am loyal to you. But even though you are the emperor, you are still a human being. If Your Majesty truly does not wish to die, as your loyal subject, I must find a way out for you! How can I bear to see Your Majesty driven to the brink of despair?"

Liu Shan looked through the carriage door at the Prime Minister's coffin in front of him and murmured to himself, "Don't say these things in front of the Prime Minister. We'll talk about everything when we get back to Chengdu."

"Yes," Chen Zhi replied, bowing his head. (End of Chapter)