Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 35 The Duty of the State
Xiegu plank road.

The muddy current in the river below and the roar of the waves are enough to make anyone who sets foot on the plank road feel terrified at the sight and frightened at the sound.

Zhao Yun personally led the rear of the Han army in a retreat, keeping a close distance on the plank road from the front of the Wei army led by Zhang Hu, the son of Zhang Liao, a famous general of the Wei Dynasty.

Whenever the rear of the Han army tried to destroy the plank road, the Wei army would rush forward regardless of the consequences, or shoot arrows at once, not giving the Han army time to destroy the plank road.

But no matter which side was fighting, they all took the initiative to stay away from the low and simple wooden railings on the edge of the plank road, for fear that they would slip and fall into the hundred-foot cliff below.

As a result, the narrow plank road, which could only accommodate five or six people passing side by side at the same time, now had only three or four people in the front row on both the Han and Wei sides.

The saying "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot break through" is exactly like this.

But not all plank roads are so narrow.

For example, some time ago, the place where Zhao Tong built a pass and guarded it on the plank road was a flat and wide gentle slope.

When Liu Chan arrived here, several wooden stakes had been erected next to the checkpoint built by Zhao Tong, with dozens of bloody heads hung on them, which is the literal meaning of "beheading".

In the middle of the checkpoint, there was actually a high stake, on which hung the heads and seals of a captain and two military commanders who had left a deep impression on Liu Chan.

As for why it left such a deep impression?

That day, when the captains and generals were shouting slogans in the parade ground, saying that they were willing to die for the emperor, Liu Chan, who was standing on a high place, wrote down those who were unwilling to even recite the slogans and whose words were obviously insincere in his little notebook.

I didn't expect that I would meet them in this way in just a few days.

Liu Chan could only silently delete a few names from the small notebook.

"Your Majesty, these people have not been ordered to withdraw and have forced their way through. I will use the imperial sword given to me by Your Majesty to execute them." Zhao Tong's body and face were covered in blood, and his tone lacked emotion.

Liu Chan looked to the side and saw that the soldiers who were responsible for guarding the pass with Zhao Tong were also injured to varying degrees. It was obvious that they had fought with the defeated army that forced their way through the pass.

"Well done!" Liu Chan patted Zhao Tong's arm again in encouragement. "Has anyone tried to leave through the Xiegu plank road in the past few days?"

"Your Majesty, there is not even a single one!" Zhao Tong said as he took off the horse-slaying sword from his waist and handed it forward.

Liu Chan pushed it back and said: "This sword should be given to a meritorious official."

General Xiao Zhao, whose name was Tong, was finally encouraged when he heard this.

Liu Chan suddenly sighed, "At that time, apart from General Zhao and General Zhao, to be honest, I didn't dare to trust anyone else.

"General Xiao Zhao has been on the plank road for the past few days. He should have noticed the changes in the river, right?"

Zhao Tong paused at first, then nodded vigorously.

He was on the plank road, so of course he knew exactly what was happening in the river below.

In fact, on the second day after His Majesty arrived at the military camp, thousands of civilians from Hanzhong or Chi'an began to appear on the plank road behind under the supervision of his father. Then they all climbed down the river along the ladders, dug soil from the mountains, and built dams to block the water.

He immediately thought of the story of Han Xin slaying Long Ju four hundred years ago, and believed that this was the strategy used by His Majesty to defeat the enemy.

However, things that surprised him happened one after another soon.

The dam was only in its infancy, and the originally clear water upstream began to become turbid inexplicably.

In the river channel farther upstream, which was not affected by the dam, the water level, which was originally four or five feet deep, inexplicably dropped slowly, and finally dropped to almost half, exposing the pebble riverbed near the two mountains.

Five days later, just when the dam at the rear was basically built, the water flowing upstream of the slope gradually became clear again.

At the same time, the water level in the river channel upstream, which is not affected by the dam, has basically returned to its original depth.

Zhao Tong, who had stayed in Jigu and Xiegu for more than three years, was not a fool. How could he not understand what His Majesty's strategy was to defeat the enemy?
It was true that the dam below was built to attack the enemy halfway across the river. It was a pity that Cao's army was cautious and did not fall for it.

But it is also true that this dam was used to mask the turbidity currents and water level drops caused by other dams in the valley.

Zhao Tong didn't know how much water the dam in Xiegu could hold back, nor did he know whether the noise caused by the dam bursting would be as turbulent as the water in the river at this moment.

But he knew clearly that every year in June and July, heavy rain in the middle of the night in Xiegu would bring about extremely terrifying mountain torrents!
The west of the Xiegu Valley is high and the east is low. When the mountain torrent rushes along the mountain to the stone gate, the starting point of the Xiegu plank road, the two mountains in the north and south, which are only fifty steps apart, suddenly rush towards each other!
When the mountain torrents are blocked here, the water level will rise suddenly and the flow will speed up suddenly, so that the wide valley with a length of nearly ten miles at the end of the sloping valley will be turned into an ocean full of turbulent muddy currents by the flood trapped there!

Every year in June and July, several miles of plank roads near Shimen are destroyed by mountain torrents after heavy rains, and it is not until September that people are arranged to repair them.

After understanding the emperor's strategy to defeat the enemy, Zhao Tong finally realized why the emperor gave him the imperial sword to kill horses, and why he told him, "If things don't go well, you can kill first and report later," letting him act accordingly.

At the same time, he finally understood why the military supervisor Deng Zhi said to him that day, "Your Majesty has entrusted the important task of the country to you, so you should do your best."

He was so nervous that he ate, slept, defecated and urinated on the plank road every day and night, and he brought his personal guards to guard the road personally, for fear that someone would escape from Xiegu and secretly report the news to the outside, and he was also afraid that the hundreds of people he led would secretly go out to report the news.

Even if the possibility is small.

He even sent a few trustworthy smart guys to the top of a high mountain on the opposite bank to observe day and night, for fear that someone would run out from the opposite mountain to report the news.

Even if that's less likely.

The hundreds of miles of Qinling Mountains are full of cliffs, primeval forests, and bears, snakes, tigers and leopards. It is extremely dangerous. It is almost impossible to get out of the mountains without taking the plank road.

As for those captains and Sima who fled during the war and brought their troops to break through the pass, he was even more afraid that they would cause a big mess after returning to Xiegu, so he could only kill them with his horse-slaying sword. He would not allow the defeated soldiers to form a formation and pass through the pass until the emperor ordered the troops to withdraw.

So, he was indeed a meritorious official.

He deserves the reward of the horse-slaying sword.

He thought so himself.

Even though the outcome of this battle is not known and he may not actually win, these unknowns cannot hinder the heroic feelings surging in his heart.

After all, what His Majesty entrusted to him was truly an important task for the country!
On the plank road, Zhao Yun's two sons, one unified Guangdong and the other pioneered the frontier, commanding hundreds of personal guards and death warriors, protecting the Han emperor who was dressed in armor, carrying a bow and holding a sword, and walking slowly on the plank road, just like Zhao Yun protecting his master back then.

...

...

Xu is positive.

Xieshui Han Village.

The lights are as bright as day.

The flood finally receded completely.

More than two hours had passed since the Han army retreated.

Cao Zhen ordered his soldiers to take off all their clothes and armor, hold them up with their hands, and then find a shallow place suitable for crossing the river to wade across.

After crossing the river, Cao Zhen ordered his soldiers to find firewood and make a fire on the other side of the river. After drying all their clothes, they ate, drank and rested for a while before they began to maintain order and set foot on the plank road.

At this time, more than a hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry came running from the direction of Wuzhangyuan and joined together with more than 1,700 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who waded across the river on the other side of the slope.

"Why don't you die in battle!" Cao Zhen said this with an angry and serious look on his face, which scared the cavalry Sima who had escaped by chance so much that he dared not breathe.

It turned out that not all of the more than 280 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who crossed the river from Weibei to the south today were killed in battle.

Although the Shu cavalry used the well-prepared to attack the unprepared and the superior numbers to attack the inferior numbers, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were obviously better equipped and had better quality horses than the Shu cavalry, and even their riding skills were superior to those of the Shu cavalry.

The so-called famous cavalrymen in the world were all wearing fine armor. How could they not be able to fight against the Shu cavalry who had already consumed some of their horsepower in a sudden attack?
After killing and wounding nearly two hundred Shu cavalry at the cost of over a hundred of their own men, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on the north bank of the Wei River abandoning them and fleeing eastward, the Cavalry Sima led his troops to flee north of the Wei River, no longer pursuing them, and the Shu cavalry did not pursue them closely.

"General, the enemy cavalry commander was struck by dozens of arrows, and I personally chopped off one of his legs. He's probably dead!" The cavalry commander seemed to be trying to appease the general's anger. "Even if he's dead, what's the point?!" Cao Zhen was so angry that his hair stood on end.

"Let alone a Shu cavalry commander, what would happen even if all the Shu cavalry were killed?!

"It was all because of your carelessness that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were unable to cross the Wei River, ruining my grand plan!

"It would be fine if you died in battle, but now you've retired peacefully. Do you think you can still live?!"

Upon hearing this, the cavalry Sima's face turned pale and he trembled with fear.

After a while, several bloody corpses appeared in the sloping water.

After resolving his hatred, Cao Zhen ordered more than 1,800 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to rest on the spot and agreed to set out at 3:00 am the next day and meet at Xiegu at 7:00 pm.

Afterwards, the general, who was determined to capture Hanzhong, led his 22,000 troops with great confidence and set foot on the 40-mile plank road leading into the Xiegu Valley.

It only took an hour for the front unit where Cao Zhen was located to collide with the rear unit of the Wei army that was pursuing them.

Because the plank road was too narrow, the team of 6,000 people was like a long winding snake, with no end in sight.

"Why isn't the team moving? Did the plank road ahead get destroyed by the Han bandits?"

After staying there for almost half a minute, Cao Zhen had a bad feeling.

On such a narrow plank road, it is impossible to even send a message.

The plank road under our feet is so simple that it seems that it may be broken at any time.

Along the way, they did find many traces of the Shu army cutting down the plank roads, but it was a pity that they failed to complete the task. However, this made Cao Zhen even more worried.

He had already thought of several ways to destroy the plank road.

The simplest way is to simply abandon some of the hundreds of soldiers at the front.

For example, they poured tung oil on the plank road and set it on fire after all the soldiers had retreated.

But the Shu army did not do so.

"Military Advisor, is there a trick on this plank road?"

The emperor advised Cao Zhen to be careful during the day, but Cao Zhen did not take it seriously at first, thinking that Liu Adou, who was only good at talking about war on paper, had run out of tricks.

But once he was on the plank road, facing the situation where the team was like a long snake, it was difficult to advance or retreat, and even a message was difficult to pass on, Cao Zhen couldn't help but feel a little irritated and hesitant.

But his military advisor seemed more at ease than he was.

"General, there's a deep abyss more than ten feet below this plank road, and a cliff hundreds of feet high beside it. How can the Shu army set up an ambush?"

Cao Zhen glanced at the surroundings:
"Fire attack? Falling rocks?"

As he spoke, he felt the direction of the downwind, then sniffed hard with his nose, but he didn't smell any odor of combustible substances.

"General, I don't think there's any trickery going on. The Shu invaders have simply left some troops to confront our Wei soldiers, buying time for their supplies and wounded soldiers to retreat."

Du Xi made a rational judgment.

The plank road was so narrow that only a few hundred people would be needed to hold the enemy at bay for a long time. By now, the arrows of both sides had probably been almost used up. A group of armored soldiers fighting hand-to-hand could not advance quickly.

At this moment, the torch at the end of the sight suddenly began to move forward.

Cao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

Soon, the army began to move.

After walking another two miles, a personal soldier finally came back with news.

"General, Captain Zhang Hu reports that it was the bandit leader Zhao Yun who led his men in retreat."

Cao Zhen suddenly understood what was going on.

"No wonder he was unwilling to abandon the hundreds of soldiers at the forefront. It turned out to be Zhao Yun."

At this point, he suddenly laughed:

"Military Advisor, I am truly confused by Liu Adou's water attack strategy.

"Defeat is defeat. Even a captain like Lai Yi surrendered to me on the battlefield. How can ordinary Shu soldiers view Liu Adou?

"The reason why the remaining 10,000 Shu bandits were able to line up against me on the other side of the sloping water in the evening was probably because Liu Adou had finally announced his water attack strategy to the public.

"But my army did not fall into the trap and responded calmly. As a result, those tens of thousands of Shu invaders died.

"If it weren't for the prestige of veteran General Zhao Yun, I think even more Shu invaders would have chosen to surrender like Lai Yi did."

On the side, Du Xi agreed with this.

Without morale, no matter how clever your plans are, they will be of no avail.

The Shu soldiers around you have seen you fail again and again, and it is unlikely that they will believe that your strategy will succeed in the short term.

Even if you have the ability to create another flood, can these Shu soldiers who have lost their morale and no longer believe in you turn around and form a formation to counterattack?

impossible.

That's not human.

In fact, what Cao Zhen and Du Xi thought was indeed correct.

Except for the elite troops of Feng Hu and Fu Qian, who numbered over 2,000, and Zhao Yun's own personal soldiers of over 1,000, almost all the Shu soldiers had lost their morale.

In addition, they were already physically and mentally exhausted after fighting a defeated battle for half a day yesterday. Tonight, they had to carry food and supplies, and carry wounded soldiers on their backs, walking slowly on the plank road without a moment's rest.

The sounds of complaints and groans echoed throughout the valley.

If Zhao Yun had not personally led his personal soldiers to the front to resist the pursuit of Cao's army, if the two or three thousand elite soldiers of Feng Hu, Fu Qian, Zhao Tong, Zhao Guang, Mi Wei and others were not trustworthy, and if everyone's relatives were not in Shu and Hanzhong, some of the defeated soldiers might have mutinied.

By the second half of the night, when they were still twenty miles away from the end of the plank road, nearly a hundred Shu soldiers who were seriously injured and exhausted had begun to fall behind and collapsed on the side of the plank road.

Zhao Yun was at the forefront of the Han army. When he encountered them while fighting and retreating, he had no time to take care of them. He could only let them either throw themselves into the valley or take off their armor and become prisoners of the Wei army.

When this situation of wounded soldiers being abandoned occurred, even the morale of Zhao Yun's personal soldiers began to waver slightly.

This is what is meant by a crushing defeat.

early morning.

In mid-spring, the mountain fog covers the entire mountain and valley.

After capturing three to five hundred prisoners, seizing nearly a thousand weapons and armor, and a huge amount of food and fodder on the plank road, Cao Zhen finally saw the end of the plank road.

Nearly a hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry also appeared in sight.

(End of this chapter)