Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 31 Gambling

The east bank of Xieshui.

Several Tiger and Leopard Cavalry sent by Cao Rui to deliver the message went directly through the Han camp and came to the east bank of Xieshui under the banner of General Cao Zhen.

One of the leaders dismounted and strode towards Cao Zhen. It was Sima Wenqin, the cavalry commander whom Cao Zhen was familiar with, a native of Qiao County and the son of veteran general Wen Ji.

"General, two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry have been stopped by the Shu cavalry in the north of Wei!"

Wen Qin and the general had a good personal relationship. They were both from Qiao and knew each other well, so it was normal for them to support each other and form marriages to help each other.

"What's going on? Didn't we ask the Diannong of Chencang to send the boat down? Is he late?"

Although he already knew that there were Shu cavalry on Wuzhangyuan, he still wondered how the Shu cavalry could stop the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry from crossing the Wei River.

"No." Wen Qin shook his head. "More than 30 ships have arrived ahead of time."

"What's going on?" Cao Zhen frowned unhappily.

"The Shu cavalry is only about four or five hundred. They can probably make it across even if they force it, right?"

There are more than 30 large and small ferries, which can carry almost 300 riders at a time. As long as they use arrows to cover the enemy and shields to protect the horses and boatmen, how can they not force a crossing?

Afterwards, a group of elite soldiers were fighting each other on the shore. How could they not hold out for a quarter of an hour or two and wait for the next group of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to come ashore?

Cao Zhen obviously wanted to hold someone accountable for the disruption of the planned tactics.

Of course, he also knew that the planned plan would definitely encounter obstacles of one kind or another, but these obstacles were not something that he, a general, could deal with in every possible way.

Otherwise, why do we need subordinates?

He didn't care about the difficulties or the casualties.

He just had to cross the river.

However, now that the tactic had failed, he couldn't help but be angry.

"General, those Shu cavalrymen have been lying in ambush on the Wuzhang Plateau. They waited until most of our 200-odd cavalrymen had crossed before they swooped down using the Wuzhang Plateau.

"Our Tiger and Leopard Cavalry crossing the river were unable to react in time, and the Shu Cavalry seized the ferry crossing space. They dismounted and shot at the boats with bows. The boatmen were either shot dead or jumped into the river, and all the boats drifted away downstream."

Cao Zhen frowned again, and then quickly imagined the scene of the battlefield.

"So, that means the Cavalry Commander and the first group of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry that landed were incompetent!
"Which piece of crap is in charge of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?"

As for the cavalry commander, he did not even send one or two boats of troops to cross the river to check for an ambush.

As for the first group of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who crossed the river and landed, they did not see the enemy cavalry's intentions and allowed the enemy cavalry to seize the advantageous position and shoot and kill the boatman.

It's all rubbish!

On the other side, Wen Qin's face changed instantly after hearing this. He hurriedly walked to the general and whispered something in his ear, which made the general suddenly horrified and turned his head abruptly to look towards Meiwu.

After a long silence, the general finally sighed and said, "Does the general have any plans?"

Du Xi, who had been standing next to Cao Zhen, suddenly changed his expression.

He was originally wondering what Wen Qin had said that caused the general to change color. Now, when he heard the general mentioned by the general, how could he not react?

The so-called "general" is probably His Majesty?!
There is a fake Han emperor on the other side of the river. Is there also a Wei emperor on this side of the river today?
The last time the Lord of Han and the Lord of Wei faced off was the Battle of Yangping for Hanzhong ten years ago.

Now the emperors of both sides are fighting for Guanzhong again?

Wen Qin shook his head: "The general has not made any arrangements. All is at the disposal of the general."

After hearing this, Cao Zhen finally felt relieved.

In some aspects, His Majesty truly has the style of Emperor Taizu Wu.

In other words, the emperors of the Wei Dynasty were all very willful and loved taking risks.

Not to mention Emperor Taizu, he almost died on the battlefield countless times.

Even Emperor Wen, who was famous for his literary talent, once took the risk to personally lead an expedition against Sun Wu.

As a result, Wu general Gao Shou led 500 death-defying warriors to launch a night attack.

Emperor Wen fled in panic, and the emperor's carriage with a feathered canopy was captured by thieves.

Unexpectedly, even Emperor Wen's son inherited the adventurous spirit of the Emperor of Wei.

Leaving Luoyang and coming to Chang'an was already extremely dangerous, and now he was actually rushing directly to the front line. Cao Zhen really didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, the Shu invaders had been driven to the other side of the river, otherwise he would not have been able to fight with peace of mind.

At this moment, he could finally understand how Zhao Yun felt.

It is said that a general is not bound by the orders of his king when he is away from the battlefield. But if the emperor insists on going to the battlefield in person, taking the flag and taking command, what else can he do?
Nothing can be done.

The emperor is famous for making all the decisions on his own.

If the emperor opposed continuing the pursuit, it would be unknown whether he could successfully "capture the dragon".

……

The west bank of the sloping water.

The Jinwu flag fluttered in the wind.

The Han emperor, dressed in armor, stood with his sword in hand. After looking at the east bank of the sloping water for a long time, he solemnly ordered Zhao Guang beside him:
"Pijiang, send someone to call back Mi Buwu and the others. Prepare to return to Xiegu."

Liu Chan really didn't expect Cao Zhen to be so cautious that he didn't even chase him across the river from the beginning.

It seems that he has already seen through my intention to attack when the enemy is halfway across the river.

Although the Han cavalry on Wuzhangyuan had obtained the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry flag, it seemed that there was some special flag signal that caused Cao Zhen to realize that the cavalry on Wuzhangyuan were not the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, so he continued to keep his troops in place.

Otherwise, Cao Zhen would lead the infantry on the other side of the river to cross the river and "capture the dragon" even at the risk of being attacked halfway across the river.

With one or two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry charging into the battle formation to drive them away, Cao's army, which still had a huge advantage in numbers, was not afraid of being attacked halfway across the river.

As for the few cavalrymen who had just rushed from Meiwu to the east bank of Xieshui, Liu Chan realized that they must be the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who were intercepted on the north bank of Weishui and came to report to Cao Zhen.

At this point, the so-called strategy of emulating Han Xin's act of slaying Long Ju, blocking the water flow, and attacking the enemy halfway across the river was declared bankrupt.

But the Han emperor was not too disappointed about this.

It would be best if the Han cavalry on Wuzhangyuan could trick Cao Zhen into coming over and attack him halfway across the river. If not, it would not affect the overall situation.

Zhao Pijiang took the order and left.

"Your Majesty... should we wait for some of the Cao rebels to cross the river, then dig a dam and fight our way back, or should we just dig the dam and release the water, allowing us to retreat calmly back to Xiegu?"

Feng Hu's weak voice came from the stretcher placed under the Jinwu banner.

Although he still didn't know what the emperor and General Zhao's overall plan was, seeing that the emperor's original strategy had failed but he showed no sign of annoyance, he understood that there must be a follow-up plan.

In fact, he already had some guesses about the follow-up plan.

If it is really as he guessed, it is possible to defeat Cao's army in one fell swoop.

He had been stationed in Jigu and Xiagu for five years and was very familiar with the terrain and water conditions there.

Use the prepared to attack the unprepared. As long as Cao's army dares to pursue, they will surely be defeated.

His only hesitation now was whether Cao's army would chase into Xiegu.

Liu Chan didn't know what Feng Hu was thinking, but his hesitation at this moment was surprisingly consistent with Feng Hu's.

Will Cao’s army chase them?

He thinks so.

In history, both Cao Zhen led their troops to pursue Zhao Yun, who had not suffered a defeat.

What is its intention?
In all likelihood, he wanted to join forces with Zhang He, who had won a great victory in Longyou, and attack from two directions, then use the victory to directly fight for Hanzhong with the Han army, which had suffered repeated defeats.

If they could seize Hanzhong at this opportunity, then Cao Zhen's generation would have a real chance to destroy Shu.

Without Hanzhong, there would be no Bashu.

This is the consensus of everyone.

Once Hanzhong is lost, the Han Dynasty's gateway to sending troops will be blocked, and the hope of a northern expedition will be completely lost. At that time, public opinion will directly explode in the two Sichuan provinces and four border areas.

It is inevitable that soldiers will lose their will to fight and people will want to surrender.

Cao Zhen must understand this.

It's just that in history, Zhao Yun destroyed the Xiegu plank road, making it impossible for Cao Zhen to continue pursuing him, which prevented a battle for Hanzhong.

Combined with the historical line, a few years later, Cao Zhen, despite the opposition of his ministers, actually proposed the Ziwu Valley strategy and marched his troops from the Ziwu Valley. As a result, he was trapped in the valley for a month due to heavy rain. In the end, he returned empty-handed and died of illness.

Based on this, Liu Chan judged that Cao Zhen really wanted to destroy Shu for Cao Rui in his generation.

In addition, he, the fake emperor who was just a "paper talker" in Cao Zhen's eyes, was here, so he didn't believe that Cao Zhen would not come.

What if you really don’t come?

Then you lose.

Just accept failure calmly.

When a small country fights against a big country, there is no other way except to gamble and take risks.

Otherwise, why would Renmin University lose to you?

"As soon as Cao Zhen's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry show up, we'll dig the dam and leave."

Liu Chan walked to the stretcher, squatted down, and held Feng Hu's wounded and bloody hand tightly.

This brave general should have figured out what General Zhao and he were planning by now, right?
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(End of this chapter)