Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 39 Shanglong
slanted valley.

The floodwaters have all receded.

About 6,000 pseudo-Wei surrendered soldiers were stripped of their armor and weapons, disbanded, and taken to the Chi'an Depot in Jigu for custody.

As for his middle and high-level military officers such as the captains, Sima, military officers, and dubo, they were temporarily detained by the Huben Imperial Guards near the emperor's camp, and relevant personnel conducted some necessary questioning on them.

The whole valley was muddy.

The Han army tried hard to find a relatively dry place in the mud to make a fire, eat and rest for a while.

The extreme physical and mental fatigue brought about by two days of fighting and fleeing meant that even in the face of such a great victory, the Han soldiers did not have the energy to feel too much or too long of joy.

Many people finally felt a little relaxed and fell asleep right beside the fire.

At this time, the Han emperor, who should have been protected by the Huben guards, had developed a deep comradeship with the brothers Zhao Tong and Zhao Guang in recent days. He ordered the Huben guards to help treat the wounded or supervise the transportation of food, grass and firewood to the various camps for distribution, leaving the brothers Tong and Guang and those familiar personal guards to accompany him.

Such behavior really made the Hu Ben Zhonglang, who had been with the Han emperor for many years, feel jealous.

But nothing can be done.

Who told them to be late?

The mutual trust and comradeship between superiors and subordinates born in blood and fire cannot be compared or replaced by living together in peace and tranquility.

"Your Majesty, you haven't slept for two days.

"These injured soldiers and civilians will have dedicated medical care and treatment, and no soldier will be short of food or drink.

"Please go back to the camp and rest for a while!"

Zhao Yun's second son Guang and the Han emperor have been almost inseparable these days.
I have seen the emperor watching the battle from the general's platform calmly, I have seen the emperor gathering the defeated soldiers calmly, I have seen the emperor moving the flag to the front of the battle line with passion, I have seen the emperor drawing his sword and pointing it forward with anger, and I have also seen the emperor not taking off his armor for three days.

Which general who dreams of the battlefield would not want an emperor like this?

Being young and passionate, he forgot all the rumors and criticisms at this moment. He was completely convinced and devoted to the emperor. He felt that he should be like Mi Wei and suffer some injuries and break a leg for such an emperor.

This is what the Han emperor should be like!

But now, many soldiers were so tired that they fell asleep, but the Han emperor was still walking among the troops to see whether the wounded and disabled soldiers received the care they deserved and whether everyone had food and drink.

He really couldn't help but worry about the emperor's health.

It would be fine if the prime minister had to do everything personally.

Your Majesty, you can't do everything yourself, right?
Liu Chan ignored Zhao Guang's advice and continued to force himself to walk among piles of burning firewood.

When he encountered a soldier who was seriously injured, he would stop, ask someone to write down his name and his affiliation, and ask someone to take charge of his medical treatment.

If he happened to see someone applying medicine, he would stop and watch. Usually at such times, military doctors would handle the treatment seriously and carefully.

After walking for a long time, he stopped again when he approached another campfire.

"Is he...is he okay?" Liu Chan asked.

It was an old soldier with a hole in his abdomen.

Liu Chan had some impression of him.

The doctor was treating the wound carefully. When he heard someone asking a question, he turned around and was shocked when he saw who was asking the question.

Liu Chan also had an impression of this doctor.

It was the old doctor who removed the arrow for Mi Wei that day.

"Your Majesty... I'm afraid he's not going to make it." The old doctor sighed helplessly, "His lungs were injured, and he was soaked in the flood..."

Liu Chan felt confused for no reason, and then he even felt a little palpitation, so much so that he could not hear a word of what the old doctor said next.

This old soldier has no home, no family, no children.

There isn't even a fake one.

Just die?
Liu Chan, his mind in a daze, walked over to the old soldier and squatted down. He took the old, withered hands and shook them for a long time before finally thinking of something. He said in a voice that was almost inaudible:

"I...I...I remember you said you were from Anxi County, Zhongshan.

"No matter whether I can get there or not, I will definitely find a way to bring you back home."

After saying this softly, Liu Chan stood up and left in a hurry without looking at the old soldier whose life or death was uncertain.

...

...

The emperor's camp.

Liu Chan only inspected a small part of the camp before he was asked to return by Zhao Yun's personal soldiers.

Dong Yun, the Shizhong and the General of the Huben Guards, sat at the upper right of the camp.

Zhao Yun, General Zhendong and Marquis of Yongchang, sat at the upper left of the camp.

The other captains, such as Feng Hu, Fu Qian, Liu Yin, Zong Yu, Zong Qian, Zhao Tong, etc., were stationed on the left and right.

Perhaps due to excessive fatigue and tension, or because all the generals including Zhao Yun were injured or killed to varying degrees, almost everyone in the camp was the same as Liu Chan, with none of the joy that should have come from a great victory.

Logically, this victory, which could almost be called the battle for the founding and revival of the Han Dynasty, should have made everyone rejoice and cheer for three days and three nights. However, the reality before Liu Chan's eyes was that the entire Han army, from the bottom up, did not experience the expected excitement and joy.

This slightly depressing atmosphere made Emperor Liu Chan feel uneasy and confused.

"Your Majesty, the surrendered general of the pseudo-Wei said that the Prime Minister was defeated in Longyou." Dong Yun's voice was a little gloomy.

Liu Chan was stunned.

Didn’t you already know this?
Then he finally realized that except for him, no one else present knew the exact news.

Zhao Yun, who was always good-tempered, became furious and slammed the table:
"Humph!

"Ma Su is indeed just as the late emperor said, boastful and unfit for important positions!

"Just as Your Majesty predicted, he was too eager for glory and disobeyed the Prime Minister's orders, allowing Zhang He's 50,000-man army to safely reach Longyou!
"The Prime Minister was about to capture Shanggui and completely control Longnan, but in the end he was forced to withdraw his troops. The Northern Expedition plan almost failed!"

After Zhao Yun finished speaking, the generals in the tent had different emotions. Some were as angry as Zhao Yun, while others were as sad as Dong Yun.

Dong Yun seemed to sense that the atmosphere in the tent was not right, and he quickly bowed to Liu Chan and said in an excited voice:
"If Your Majesty had not anticipated this and made a wise decision to defeat the enemy, the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition would have been completely lost at the hands of Ma Su!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent turned their eyes to the emperor who was sitting upright in the middle.

"Didn't Your Majesty say before that this was the strategy set by the Prime Minister to defeat the enemy?" Feng Hu analyzed something wrong from Dong Yun's words and was in a trance at the moment.

After hearing what Feng Hu said, the other generals finally reacted and were all stunned.

"It was me who told Your Majesty to say so!" The old general looked solemn and took the initiative to take the blame for Liu Chan. In fact, this was not the case.

The generals were shocked.

Even Dong Yun had a look of surprise on his face, and it was unclear whether he was pretending or what.

"So, Your Majesty's coming here to lead the army in person was not at all instructed by the Prime Minister, nor was it for the purpose of gaining merit and prestige as Your Majesty said?
"But after Your Majesty received the news that Ma Su was in charge of guarding Jieting, he realized that he was going to ruin the Prime Minister's Northern Expedition plan, so he came here to turn the tide?!" Fu Qian was dumbfounded.

"Then... yesterday's attack on the enemy halfway across the river, and today's second dam..." Zong Yu couldn't believe that His Majesty had suddenly become so brave. If this strategy was also set up by His Majesty, wouldn't it be too outrageous?

You must know that almost no one in the army knew about the two floods in the past two days.

It was not until the flood hit that Zong Yu realized that the Han Dynasty had not yet been defeated.

There was some noise in the big tent.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhao Yun said in a serious tone and bowed to Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Everyone in the tent looked at each other, and after a moment they all followed excitedly.

Regardless of whether it was a strategy that the emperor came up with himself, or a plan that the emperor and General Zhao conspired together privately, the Han Dynasty won anyway!

As the saying goes, secrets lead to success, while leaks lead to failure. If the emperor and General Zhao really announced their plan to the public, would Cao's army still fall into the trap?

Definitely not!

The fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better.

Otherwise, there might be more people coming.

Liu Chan's mind was already confused.

Are Dong Yun and Zhao Yun deliberately performing a double act in front of all the generals?
Or did Dong Yun and Jiang Wan not mention anything about the late emperor's dream in the letter they wrote to Zhao Yun, and instead attributed all of this to the wise decisions of the emperor himself?

And then, Zhao Yun believed it? !
"Now is not the time to talk about this." Liu Chan, whose head was dizzy and physically and mentally exhausted to the extreme, forced himself to stay calm and tried to appear calm.

"Before I set out, I sent a message to the Prime Minister, asking him to secure a retreat route in Qishan and resist the Wei rebels for a while, and to await news from Jigu.

"But it would take at least six to eight days for the news to reach the Prime Minister from Jigu.

"What should we do these days?
"How should we get the Prime Minister to cooperate with us?

"To be honest, after this battle, my head is dizzy and I really don't know what to do next.

"What do you think?"

This allows the generals in the tent to speak freely.

After the victory at Xiegu, Liu Chan realized that his role was very limited.

It was nothing more than one proposing a water attack, and the other sending nearly 10,000 laborers from Hanzhong to Jigu in advance.

As for the subsequent improvement of the plan, handling of plan details, and even changing some arrangements, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi negotiated together.

It is indeed not advisable to rely solely on one's own imagination and theoretical discussions; we still need to work together.

"Your Majesty, I think we should quickly lead the troops out of Xiegu and then directly enter Longshan from Guanzhong!" Feng Hu, who had several bandages wrapped around his body, spoke first without hesitation.

"The news of Cao Zhen's defeat will soon reach Zhang He in Longyou.

"Zhang He's army of 50,000 has marched a thousand miles, so they must be running low on food and fodder. They must be transported from Chang'an!"

"But they don't know the strength of our army. If they see our army suddenly entering Long from behind, they will definitely think that the false emperor Cao Rui has abandoned Chang'an and fled!

"If this happens, they will be terrified and their army will be in chaos because their food supply has been cut off!
"The Prime Minister's army still has 30,000 to 40,000 men, and with our 20,000-odd troops following behind, we can attack them with the advantage and seize Longyou in one fell swoop!"

(End of this chapter)