Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 34 Success is mine!

The turbid torrent rushed down the sloping river channel which was two to three hundred steps wide.

Although it will not rush into the river, its force is so heavy and the flow is so fast that even a warhorse weighing two or three thousand pounds may not be able to stand for a moment, let alone a human?
Faced with this man-made flood, even Cao Zhen had to put aside his contempt for the false emperor Liu Chan in recent days, and felt that he was not as incompetent as he had imagined.

But just as the Emperor of Wei behind him said: Liu Adou had no choice.

On the other side of the river, the Wei army maintained their formation and kept a close eye on the slowly retreating Shu army.

Cao Zhen pushed the people around him back fifty steps, and then he saluted the emperor of Wei who was riding on his horse.

"Your Majesty, why did you leave Chang'an? The battlefield is brutal and treacherous. Your Majesty, as a king, is not fit to personally visit such a foul place."

Cao Zhen was really afraid that this emperor would cause some scandal like the previous emperor of Wei.

Of course, he was even more afraid that this emperor would seize his power and order him to withdraw his troops.

"Emperor Taizu Wu personally went to the battlefield to fight Liu Bei for Hanzhong. Now I am fighting with Liu A for Guanzhong. What's wrong with that?" Cao Rui said in a serious tone, and he didn't care about what Cao Zhen said about the blindness of swords and weapons.

Cao Zhen could only be speechless.

Opposite him, the emperor of Wei looked at the rolling torrent for a long time before finally speaking.

"Du Zixu told me that day that Liu Adou came with such fanfare, he must have a plan.

"I thought at the time that this was the strategy of luring the enemy deep into our territory and attacking them halfway across. Today, it seems to be true."

Cao Rui's so-called emperor's aura, which seemed to have everything under control, left Cao Zhen speechless, but the emperor had already spoken, so he had to flatter him.

"Your Majesty has made a clear decision!"

Cao Rui remained noncommittal:

"The general has sent his men to pursue us, hoping to seize this opportunity to fight the puppet Han for Hanzhong?"

Cao Zhen couldn't tell whether the emperor wanted him to pursue her or not, so he could only nod his head heavily:
"Yes!"

Cao Rui said nothing more, and looked upstream along the rolling torrent in front of him.

After a long time, he asked again: "General, when will the water recede?"

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, this sloping waterway follows the slope of the mountain, with the upper reaches being higher and the lower reaches being lower.

“The dam built by the Shu invaders is less than two zhang (approximately 100 meters) in height, and the water it can hold is no more than five or six li (approximately 100 meters) in depth.

"In about one or two hours, the flood will completely recede."

Cao Zhen had also analyzed before that the Wei River that Han Xin blocked was on the plain, and the water stored there might be tens or hundreds of miles long.

However, the mountains here are steep, so the water stored is not much, and the flow rate is extremely fast, so it cannot last for too long.

Cao Rui remained silent.

Seeing that the emperor seemed to be in deep thought, Cao Zhen hurriedly created an opportunity for himself to continue his pursuit:
"Your Majesty, this is why I ordered the 6,000 troops in the front to pursue us.

"The Xiegu plank road is thirty or forty miles long. The Shu army is carrying food and supplies, and is also moving slowly to protect the wounded. Our vanguard is pursuing them closely.

"The earliest we can get off the plank road and enter the Xiegu Valley is tomorrow morning.

"The Xie Valley is another twenty or thirty miles long, and the road is smooth enough for horse racing.

"I have used the front troops to slow down the Shu army's retreat, not allowing them time to destroy the plank road, nor allowing them to relax for a moment.

"I have no time to rest, and he has no time to breathe.

"Then tomorrow morning, our army will surely catch up with the Shu invaders in Xiegu!
"Let the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry rest tonight and march tomorrow morning.

"And what will the Shu army, which has not had a moment's rest all night, do when it enters Xiegu tomorrow and faces our well-rested Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?

"The only option is to abandon food and supplies and flee, or wait for death."

After hearing this, Cao Rui remained silent.

At this moment, the soldiers in the front of the Wei Dynasty had already followed the Shu army onto the plank road, and were only a few dozen steps away from the Shu army, pressing forward step by step.

Further away, the Shu army's marching speed was indeed slow, just as Cao Zhen had said.

This is also understandable.

The pseudo-Han state only has one state and the national treasury is insufficient. How could they be willing to abandon their food and supplies and flee?
"Could there be an ambush in Xiegu?" The Emperor of Wei finally expressed his inexplicable worries.

Cao Zhen paused.

It's not like he hasn't thought about this problem.

However, being cautious is a good thing, but being too cautious and overestimating the enemy may not necessarily be a bad thing, but it will also not achieve anything great.

"Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang has been defeated in Longyou, Liu Adou has been defeated in Guanzhong, and even Meng Da of Shangyong, who wanted to rebel and surrender to the Han Dynasty, was killed by Sima Zhongda.

"We, the Great Wei, have won three victories in a row and are unstoppable.

"The pseudo-Han has suffered three consecutive defeats and is in a precarious situation. "I believe that now is a golden opportunity to recapture Hanzhong!

"Your Majesty, please command Zhang He to lead 50,000 troops in the west to attack Yangping, Sima Yi to lead 30,000 troops in the east to attack Chenggu, and I will lead the central army into Xiegu and out of Jigu, following closely behind the false emperor!"
"Our Great Wei army of over 100,000 soldiers is divided into three groups and is approaching Hanzhong!

"The Shu invaders only have 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers, and they have suffered a series of heavy defeats. Their morale is greatly reduced. How can they stop me?!
"Your Majesty is personally leading the expedition this time. If Hanzhong falls back into the hands of the Great Wei, your majesty's divine power will soon spread throughout the world, and Bashu can be conquered with a single decree!"

Cao Zhen spoke excitedly.

Cao Rui was also excited when he heard this.

In fact, from the day he learned of the great victory in Longyou, Cao Rui already had plans in his mind to capture Hanzhong in one fell swoop.

Once Hanzhong is captured, even though they may not be able to continue advancing into Bashu due to lack of food and grass, the people in the two Sichuan provinces will inevitably be in chaos.

Now, a three-way winning streak has become a reality.

Zhuge Liang is not as scary as imagined.

Liu Adou was just talking big but not doing it.

This was the second year of Cao Rui's reign as emperor. He ignored the risk of civil strife in Luoyang and personally led the army into Chang'an. He also went to the battlefield in person after hearing that Adou was going to lead the army in person.

What for?
Isn't it just a breath?!

Isn't it just to prove yourself?!

How can I not complete the unfinished work of my ancestors?!
However, although the Emperor of Wei was excited in his heart, he did not show any excitement on his face.

This made General Cao wonder if he had failed to convince the emperor, and he began to feel a little depressed.

After a moment, he organized his words again.

"Your Majesty, if you hesitate to make a decision, you will suffer the consequences!
"When Taizu went west to attack Zhang Lu, he captured Hanzhong with countless supplies and a strong army.

"At that time, the chief counselor Liu Ye believed that Liu Bei had only recently gained control of Shu and that the people had not yet attached themselves to him. He urged Taizu to seize the momentum of his great victory, mobilize the troops in Hanzhong, and use this overwhelming force to suppress him, and then Bashu could be conquered!

“If you don’t take it, you will have worries in the future!
"Taizu refused to comply and said to Liu Ye, 'People's hearts are full of discontent. Now that we have Long, why should we look forward to Shu?'

"So Liu Bei was able to catch his breath for a while, and people gradually came to his side. Within two years, he had captured Hanzhong.

"Taizu regretted it too late, and so he allowed the Shu rebels to falsely establish themselves, dividing the world into three parts."

At this point, Cao Zhen's eyes suddenly turned red for some reason:

"Your Majesty, the martial virtues of the royal family of the Great Wei are no longer flourishing, and there is no one to succeed them.

"If misfortune befalls me, then my clan will no longer have any generals to support Guanxi!

"By then, to whom will the military power be entrusted?

"If we entrust the throne to the royal family, and they fail to defeat the rebels and instead are defeated by them, the country will be in even greater danger of collapse.

"If we hand it over to outsiders, won't that bring disaster to future generations?"

When Cao Rui heard this, he was finally stunned and began to carefully look at this pillar of the Wei Dynasty.

The general is indeed old.

The Grand Marshal (Cao Xiu) who fought against Wu was also old.

If these two important royal family members passed away, the royal family of Wei would no longer have generals who could lead the troops.

Needless to say, the "foreign minister" mentioned by the general is Sima Yi.

The Great Wei relied on its prestige gained through its strong military and shared the world with aristocratic families such as Sima Yi, Chen Qun, and Zhong Yao.

Once Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Zhong Yao and other aristocratic families took away the military power, what else could we rely on?

Destiny?

Do they believe in destiny?
"Zhao Bo (Cao Shuang) is fine." Cao Rui said helplessly at last. It is not a bad thing for a son to inherit his father's business.

However, Cao Zhen was suddenly excited when he heard this: "Your Majesty, my son has no talent for leadership and should not be used lightly!"

When Cao Rui heard this, he was stunned again, and his heart couldn't help but ripple.

Of course he knew that Cao Shuang's talent was not enough to make him a general.

But he really didn't expect that this great general would actually advise him in person not to use his son for the sake of the Wei Kingdom.

"I understand." Cao Rui nodded slightly after thinking for a long time.

"After returning to Meiwu, I issued an edict ordering Zhang He and Sima Yi to advance from the east and west.

"General, be careful."

"I will definitely live up to your Majesty's expectations!" Cao Zhen was extremely excited.

(End of this chapter)