Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 41: Not Proud, But Ashamed

"This...is this really Cao Zhen?!"

Feng Hu, whose thighs were severely injured, suddenly left the table, ignoring the pain in his body.

He limped over to the young general in green robe, his expression indescribably strange.

General Zhao stared at the head again and again, then took it from Guan Xing and looked at it for a long time in disbelief.

He had never met Cao Zhen either.

Everyone in the tent gathered around.

Even Liu Chan came to Zhao Yun's side.

Everyone thought Cao Zhen had successfully escaped.

No one could have imagined that this battle could actually lead to the beheading of Cao Zhen, the great general of the Pseudo-Wei Dynasty?!

After all, the plank road was so narrow that it was estimated that there were about one or two thousand Wei army generals and soldiers who waded through the water and successfully escaped along the plank road with Cao Zhen.

Is there no one to cover Cao Zhen’s retreat?

Not long after, a dozen Wei surrendered people who were being held near the emperor's camp entered the tent.

The moment they saw the head, they were first horrified, then distraught, and finally, not a single one of them was not overcome with grief and burst into tears.

For a moment, the Han tent was filled with the sorrow and sadness of the surrendered people of Wei.

Everyone looked at each other.

No words are needed.

This must be Cao Zhen without a doubt.

"The surrendered general of Wei State... Deng... Deng Ai, begs you to bury the great general!" After a long time, a surrendered general of Wei State who was already crying bitterly suddenly knelt down on his knees and prostrated himself on the ground.

"Gao Gao, the surrendered general of Wei, begs for a burial for the great general!"

"Linghu Xin, a surrendered general of the Wei Kingdom, begs to bury the great general!"

"Chen Ba, a surrendered general of Wei..."

Within a few breaths, all the surrendered Wei people who entered the Han tent were lying on the ground, crying and wailing like the surrendered general named Deng Ai.

"I will return his body to Cao Rui." Liu Chan said as he turned around and sat back down.

"Thank... Thank you, Your Majesty!" It seemed that he didn't know what to call Liu Chan. The surrendered man named Deng Ai hesitated for two breaths after saying the word "thank you" before shouting out the word "Your Majesty".

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Not long after, those Wei surrendered people, who were crying bitterly, either out of pure sincerity or with other motives, left.

But no matter what, after hearing their crying, the excitement of the Han army about beheading the general was almost exhausted.

As Cao Zhen was the general of the pseudo-Wei army, the Han army had conducted a lot of investigations on him and knew his character.

I have never heard of him doing anything against the will of heaven. On the contrary, I have heard that he does not rely on the favor of his relatives, nor does he look down on the poor and humble. He is able to win battles, sympathizes with his soldiers, and often uses his own money to reward his soldiers, which has won the hearts of his soldiers.

This kind of command of the three armies made the Han army feel wary and troubled.

That is why when Guan Xing said that the head belonged to Cao Zhen, the Han army was so shocked.

This is really a pleasant surprise.

"The person with the most power in the pseudo-Wei army is undoubtedly Cao Xiu, the pseudo-Grand Marshal who competes with Sun Quan in Huainan, and the second is Cao Zhen." said General Zhao.

“Once he dies, there will be a huge shock in both the political and military circles of the pseudo-Wei State.

"Even if the false emperor Cao Rui didn't want to leave Chang'an and return to Luoyang, he couldn't.

"If this happens, the situation of the war will change drastically."

Cao Rui's Western Expedition this time was no different from Liu Chan's Northern Expedition. Both were gambling their political reputations for a future.

If you win, you will be at the peak of your career.

If you fail, you will fall from grace.

Now that Cao Zhen has been defeated and killed, Cao Rui has to return to Luoyang to deal with some matters.

Just like Cao Cao's defeat at Red Cliff, and the Prime Minister's defeat in the Northern Expedition, they had to quickly lead the army back to the political center to suppress the hidden and brewing undercurrents and intrigues.

I just don't know whether he will bring the Chang'an army back to Luoyang, or return to Luo alone.

But given the current situation, it is more likely that he will return to Luo alone.

"An Guo (Guan Xing) has made great contributions!" Liu Chan had already pulled Guan Xing to his side, sitting at the same table and drinking from the same cup. He had also cast a glance at Dong Yun just now.

There was no other way. Even if he racked his brain for the little political experience he had, he still didn't know how to reward this meritorious official, let alone Liu Chan who had just traveled through time.

For many matters, including sacrifices, the young and ignorant emperor had to seek advice from the veteran ministers around him.

Dong Yun understood:

"Your Majesty, the Central Inspector General killed a general during the battle and deserves to be granted the title of county marquis for his meritorious service!
"Considering that the Central Military Inspector has inherited Guan Gong's title of Marquis of Han Shou Ting, I think he may be granted the title of Marquis of Han Shou County and have his fief increased. I would like to ask Your Majesty to decide." As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed, and many people were envious.

The title of marquis in the Han Dynasty was not as worthless as in the Wei Dynasty, and only a few people were worthy of being granted the title of marquis for their merits.

Inside the big tent, Feng Hu and Fu Qian, the two captains who had made great contributions in the two-day battle, both looked a little strange.

To be fair, besides envy, I also feel a little uncomfortable.

After working so hard for so long, they were easily taken advantage of by Guan Xing, a latecomer. These two must have regretted it so much when they returned, hating why they didn't catch up with the plank road themselves.

Liu Chan, who was sitting at the top, easily caught the expressions of the two men and felt helpless for a moment.

The contributions of these two powerful ministers have not yet been calculated, and even if they were, they would definitely not reach the level of being granted a title of nobility.

"Your Majesty, everyone!" Just when Liu Chan felt a little embarrassed, the young general in green robe and armor suddenly stood up, and then strode to the middle of the tent and bowed to Liu Chan and the generals one after another.

"Guan Xing has made no contribution in this battle!
"I absolutely cannot take the credit for beheading the general!

"Your Majesty planned it first, and the soldiers fought to the death in the back. Guan Xing was just picking up the pieces!

"If Your Majesty rewards me generously for this, I will not be proud, but ashamed!"

Guan Xing's face was stern and his voice was powerful.

Everyone in the tent was shocked again.

Liu Chan was stunned at first, but then he felt a little relieved. General Xiaoguan really knows how to behave.

He was about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, the young general in green robe who attracted the attention of everyone in the tent and made everyone secretly admire him leaned over and bowed to Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty, this battle was not only unsuccessful, but also a crime!"

Everyone was stunned again, their emotions stirred up again by this young general in green robe. Liu Chan was also a little confused, not knowing what this General Xiaoguan, who was quite popular with him, was trying to sell.

"Your Majesty, the thief general Cao Zhen, upon seeing me chasing him, committed suicide by slashing his sword on the plank road and fell into the river.

"I went to the river to retrieve the head, and I thought that the man had committed suicide because all his troops had been killed and he was left with no other options. So I cut off his head and returned with my troops.

"After walking ten miles, I suddenly realized that this might be a plot by the thief general Cao Zhen to deceive me!
"I then hurried towards Guanzhong, only to discover that the plank road had been destroyed by the Wei rebels for over a mile.

"About a thousand Wei rebels escaped!
"My lord is guilty!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent no longer cared whether the young general in green robe was guilty or not, they were just extremely shocked.

One is that Cao Zhen actually committed suicide.

Secondly, the head was taken by Guan Xing by jumping into the river.

The third story is that in order to cover his subordinates' escape and buy them time to destroy the plank road, the fake Wei Cao Zhen used himself as bait to delay Guan Xing's pursuit.

As to why this is so, it is obvious.

His soldiers were starving and cold, and were exhausted. If they had not done this, they would have been unable to escape the pursuit of Guan Xing's Tiger Guards, and would have had no time to destroy the plank road.

There is also a fourth point that surprised everyone.

——The plank road was destroyed.

What should I do next?
Should we withdraw our troops to Longyou to join the Prime Minister?
"No one is perfect, but there is always one mistake." Liu Chan stepped forward to help Guan Xing up.

As long as one is human, it is impossible to be without mistakes.

Many mistakes that should not have been made in hindsight are often inadvertently overlooked in the circumstances at the time.

This is probably the main reason why people who do great things are surrounded by many staff. Even the most cautious and capable people cannot escape this law.

Guan Xing stood up straight, but he was not discouraged:

"Your Majesty, the reason I jumped into the river to retrieve Cao Zhen's head was not to claim credit for it, but because I felt that Cao Zhen's head would be of great use!

"That Wei rebel only demolished a little over a mile of the plank road before withdrawing. I believe he had two purposes!

"One is naturally to use this to delay our army's entry into Guanzhong!

"The second one is unwilling to give up the opportunity to invade Hanzhong from the Xiegu plank road in the future to seek revenge!

"This plank road is over a mile long. I believe it can be repaired in less than a month!
"I have already sent fifty brave soldiers to cross the mountains or wade through the water to the other side of the demolished plank road!
"He also ordered them to put on Wei army uniforms and armor and attack the post station set up by the Wei rebels between Chencang and Meiwu.
"If we succeed, we might be able to intercept the letter sent by the false emperor Cao Rui to Zhang He in Longyou!
"In that case, we only need to send Cao Zhen's head to Zhang He in Longyou. When he learns that Cao Zhen has been defeated and Cao Rui has not sent any envoys, he will surely lead a large army down from Longshan to rescue him!"

When the sound reached this point, the whole tent fell silent.

Liu Chan was already confused and his heart seemed to have stopped beating.

The generals in the tent were also shocked again.

Even Feng Hu and Fu Qian had expressions of respect and admiration on their faces.

"An Guo is brave and resourceful, he really has the style of Guan Gong!" Liu Chan sighed.

How many people did Adou miss?

　stupid!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)