Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 46 Psychosis

Cao Rui was panicked.

More than a hundred riders fled in a cloud of dust.

This place is still more than ten miles away from Wugong Bridge.

However, not only were there nearly a hundred Shu cavalrymen galloping towards Wugong Bridge almost parallel to them.

There were also thirty or forty Shu cavalrymen who had appeared in their southeast direction, even closer than they were to the Wugong Bridge!

"Your Majesty, hurry! Last night I sent someone to ask Minister Chen to send three to five hundred cavalrymen to meet us! As long as we cross Wugong Bridge, we'll be safe!"

Jiang Ji, the General of the Eastern Army, galloped on his horse while shouting loudly.

However, he had already developed many resentments towards the Emperor of Wei in his heart that he could not tell others.

I told you to leave last night but you refused. Now the night is long and dreams are plentiful, right?!

I told you to hurry up just now, but you didn't. Now something's wrong, right?!
If I hadn't been more careful, I would have really had to explain myself to you here!

Shocked and angry, Cao Rui quickly looked towards the southeast after hearing Jiang Ji's words.

I saw that Wugong Bridge was only eight or nine miles ahead, but the thirty or forty Shu cavalrymen running fastest in the southeast were even closer to Wugong Bridge!
Turning his head to look due south, he saw that the nearly one hundred Shu cavalrymen who had been almost marching in step with them just now had now surpassed the more than one hundred armored cavalrymen who were left behind him by half a mile.

"The Shu invaders are wearing light armor!" Cao Rui was shocked and angry.

"I've seen it!" Jiang Ji was also frightened.

Fortunately, he and Cao Rui, Sun Zi, Liu Fang, Chen Tai and others were all without armor and were thin, so their horses were well preserved along the way.

At this moment, he galloped on his horse, and his speed was faster than the armored cavalry of both Wei and Shu.

After galloping for three or four miles, they finally overtook the thirty or forty Shu cavalrymen who were ahead of them, and the Wugong Bridge was just four or five miles ahead.

However, just when Jiang Ji was feeling relieved, Chen Tai, the son of the Grand Chancellor of Wei and the Palace Attendant, suddenly slowed down his speed.

"Xuan Bo, what are you doing?!" Jiang Ji turned around on horseback, horrified.

That Chen Xuanbo ignored Jiang Ji, but after just a dozen breaths, the armored cavalrymen behind him came up.

As he galloped forward, he roared something in anger.

A moment later, dozens of armored cavalrymen dropped their food and water bags and threw away their armor. The confused expressions on their faces gradually turned into passionate expressions of being ready to die.

Led by Chen Xuanbo, more than 30 unarmored Wei cavalrymen rushed towards Wugong Bridge.

The speed is indeed much faster.

...

...

"General Zilong, it seems that some Wei invaders have abandoned their armor and are coming to stop us!" Liu Chan galloped along the Weinan Road, lowered his body, and rode his horse like the wind.

"Your Majesty! That man in black leading the charge must be the false emperor!"

Zhao Yun didn't care about the Wei invaders coming to stop him. The opportunity to capture the fake emperor was right in front of him. Even though he was old, he couldn't stop his blood from boiling at this moment.

Liu Chan looked towards the north of Wei River.

He had long noticed the fastest-running Wei man in black in Weibei. It seemed that the rapidly secreted adrenaline was taking effect, and he even had the urge to take off his armor.

But he quickly suppressed this impulse.

He came here just to bear witness.

He really put himself in danger without any consideration, which not only made it difficult for Zhao Yun and others to move freely, but also deprived himself of the opportunity to stay on the front line.

Soon, Wugong Bridge appeared in front of us.

Zhao Yun and Guan Xing led more than thirty armored cavalrymen to charge onto the bridge.

Liu Chan and Zhao Guang crossed the bridge directly and continued to gallop eastward along the Weinan Road.

The black-clothed Wei man who was believed to be Cao Rui and several other men in fancy clothes had crossed the bridge earlier and were now galloping in front of Liu Chan's left.

At the north entrance of the bridge behind Liu Chan, more than 30 unarmored Wei cavalry generals had their horses lying across the narrow bridge surface, using it as a cover and setting up their horse bows.

To the west of the bridge, there were still nearly a hundred Wei armored cavalrymen nearly two or three miles away from Wugong Bridge.

On the south side of the bridge, nearly a hundred Han armored cavalry were only four or five miles away from the bridge.

No matter how fast the horses on the bridge are running, no matter how loud the bows and arrows on both sides are shooting.

Liu Chan, riding his horse at full speed, fixed his eyes on the black-clad Wei man who was also galloping on his horse on the north bank of the Wei River.

A moment later, there came a continuous neighing and wailing of war horses from behind.

After a while, when he found time to turn his head and look behind him, he was surprised to find that Zhao Yun and Guan Xingye had led more than 20 armored cavalrymen onto the Weibei Road.

While relentlessly chasing the black-clad men who had already fled two or three miles ahead of them, they also shot arrows left and right at the Wei armored cavalry chasing them from behind.

Every time an arrow was fired, a rider was knocked down.

At this time, Zhao Tong led nearly a hundred Han cavalry onto the bridge.

After a while, he went down the bridge again.

So the scene became that the Wei people in black and fancy clothes fled in front, Zhao Yun and Guan Xing with more than 20 riders were chasing in the middle, nearly a hundred Wei riders followed closely behind, and finally nearly a hundred Han riders were closely following.

The Wei cavalry who were chasing Zhao Yun and Guan Xing fell down from time to time.

The nearly one hundred Han cavalrymen who were chasing the nearly one hundred Wei cavalrymen fell down from time to time.

Liu Chan, who had been galloping along the road south of the Wei River, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat when he saw this battle situation. He was terrified.

You must know that he initially only thought that there might be a chance to capture Cao Rui on this trip, but it was not necessary to capture him.

Just now, when he saw the black-clad Wei man crossing the bridge first, and more than thirty unarmored Wei cavalry blocking the bridge, he felt that this journey might come to an end.

But he never expected that Zhao Yun and Guan Xing, with more than 20 riders, would still chase desperately after they jumped off the bridge.

With lightning speed.

You chase me and I run away.

Run east for more than ten miles.

Zhao Yun and Guan Xing still had more than twenty riders left.

Behind them, there were still forty or fifty Wei cavalrymen.

Behind the Wei cavalry, there were still fifty or sixty Han cavalry.

Not all of them were killed or wounded in the battle, but in the process of chasing and fleeing, many Han cavalry followed the Wei cavalry and fled from the road one after another.

"Pijiang, why are General Zilong and An Guo still chasing us?!" At this point, Liu Chan was already full of confusion.

The black-clad Wei man on the north bank of the Wei River, who was believed to be Cao Rui, was now four or five miles away from the pursuing troops of Zhao Yun and Guan Xing.

However, the speed of the horses ridden by the two men and their troops was visibly slowing down.

No matter how you look at it, it's impossible to catch up.

However, before Zhao Guang, who was equally puzzled and worried, could reply, he was stunned when he looked at Liu Chan on the north bank of the Wei River again.

I saw a man in gorgeous clothes from Wei in front of me suddenly and inexplicably fall sideways on his horse. The man on the horse rolled several times on the road and staggered to his feet after a long time. When he ran forward again, he was limping. He fell to the ground before he could run a few steps and never got up again.

Liu Chan was shocked.

So now we are just gambling, betting that they will stumble?

Then he was stunned again.

So, perhaps this is the reason why Cao Zhen was defeated?

At this moment, Liu Chan, who was already sweating profusely from the battle, finally realized that he might have underestimated the role he, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, had played in the battles of the previous two days.

Even Zhao Zilong couldn't resist the temptation of "capturing the dragon" or "capturing the thief".

I followed the black-clad Wei people on the north bank fleeing eastward for seven or eight miles in a daze.

Finally, a vast reed marsh that stretched as far as the eye could see blocked his way.

The Weinan Chidao ends here.

Liu Chan certainly knew that behind the reed marsh was Luogu River, one of the eight rivers in Chang'an, and behind that was Mang River, also one of the eight rivers in Chang'an.

It's similar to Xieshui.

All come from the Qinling Mountains.

Both run north-south.

All flow into the Wei River.

Between the two waters is a swamp.

The swamp was a reed marsh twenty to thirty miles wide. My pursuit would end here.

Looking northwest towards the Wei River.

Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and his group were left far behind by him by five or six miles.

There were about forty or fifty riders left.

It seemed that there was no trace of the Wei cavalry.

I don't know whether he escaped or died.

Looking northeast towards Chang'an, the view was blocked by tall reeds, and the black-clothed Wei man who was believed to be Cao Rui could no longer be seen.

Liu Chan felt somewhat discouraged and rode back west.

After walking less than a hundred steps, he found that the forty or fifty Han cavalrymen who were chasing him eastward on the Weibei Road also began to turn around.

"Your Majesty." Zhao Guang suddenly called out to Liu Chan from behind, his voice sounding a little surprised.

Liu Chan turned his head when he heard the voice, and then looked in the direction of Zhao Guang's gaze.

But then, more than ten miles northeast of the Wei River, hundreds of cavalrymen were seen galloping from the direction of Chang'an.

And closer, on the banks of the Wei River, the Wei man in black was slowly riding his horse westward.

Soon, the man walked to the north of Liu Chan, stopped his horse and looked into the distance across the Wei River, which was more than a mile wide.

After looking at each other for a while, the Wei man in black suddenly took out a bow and arrow, bent the bow and shot an arrow at Liu Chan out of thin air.

The arrow hit the water, creating ripples.

After another moment, he casually threw the bow into the water, causing a splash, and finally reined in his horse and rode eastward.

"Psycho!" Liu Chan cursed in his heart and rode back west.

...

...

...

He ran for more than ten miles.

Liu Chan finally breathed a sigh of relief after discovering that the Wei cavalry from Chang'an did not continue to pursue him.

Don't let the situation where Cao Rui fails to catch him and you end up being caught by Cao Rui instead, that would make you a laughing stock for all eternity.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and Zhao Tong returned to Liu Chan with the remaining fifty or so riders and thirty or so war horses.

Many war horses carried wounded soldiers on their backs.

Many war horses carried corpses on their backs.

Including Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and Zhao Tong, the soldiers on horseback had more or less arrows hanging on their light armor.

But at this moment, we can still ride horses and basically avoid fatal places.

Liu Chan rode his horse to the old general and looked him up and down, then was suddenly startled.

There was a rather horrifying wound on the old general's left arm where there was no armor. The skin and flesh at the edge of the wound were torn open, revealing the bloody flesh inside. The flesh was almost deep enough to see the bone, and blood was still flowing out.

Liu Chan quickly dismounted, casually cut off a long piece of his robe, and began to bandage Zhao Yun.

"General Zilong, there's no need to fight so hard."

Only then did he begin to regret coming to capture the thief. Not only did he fail to capture the thief, but the usually invincible General Zhao was also seriously injured.

"It's such a pity that I couldn't capture the bandit leader for Your Majesty." Zhao Yun didn't care about the injuries on his body, and there was only regret on his face.

"Your Majesty, if the Wei rebels had not sent more than thirty riders to stop us, we might have been able to catch up with us!" Even Guan Xing got angry today.

Zhao Tong looked at the area on his father's arm that was being bandaged by the emperor, frowned and sighed:
"Your Majesty, my master got the knife wound on his hand on the bridge.

"The leader of the Wei rebels had clearly been shot down by numerous arrows and trampled by the fleeing warhorse. Your Excellency even went up to pierce him with his spear, but you never expected him to still have the strength to swing his sword vigorously in the end."

Liu Chan paused for a moment in bandaging his hand.

"I was careless." The old general didn't care about it and seemed to still feel regretful for not being able to capture the false emperor.

With the completion of the last knot, the robe that Liu Chan had cut off was tightly fixed on the old general's arm, and the wound was firmly wrapped.

The old general stretched his legs a bit and smiled:
"The late emperor bandaged this old minister like this at Changbanpo. I never thought that in my lifetime, Your Majesty would be able to bandage this old minister again."

Dozens of people present were stunned.

The legend of General Zhao fighting to protect his master at Changban Slope is a beautiful story in the Han Dynasty. Who doesn't know it?

The master he was protecting at that time, or the one who fought in and out of Cao's camp seven times with General Zhao and still led by half a body length, was exactly His Majesty in front of him.

"I hope I won't have this kind of experience in my lifetime." Liu Chan sighed.

...

...

Changan.

Watchtower.

Someone saw from afar that hundreds of Wei's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were returning from the northwest of the Wei River, and hurried to report it.

Not long after, hundreds of ministers who accompanied the emperor left Chang'an City from Luocheng Gate and went to Weiqiao, just north of Chang'an City, to wait.

An hour later, the Emperor of Wei finally arrived at Wei Bridge, escorted by more than 300 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. He looked haggard and embarrassed, without any dignity or bearing.

"Zi Tong, what's going on?" After greeting the silent emperor, Chen Qun, the prime minister of Wei, came to Jiang Ji behind the emperor and asked him questions.

Jiang Ji almost cried when he heard this. He glanced at the ministers who gathered around him to hear the news, but like the emperor, he said nothing and walked away dejectedly.

Sikong Chenqun, who had seen countless floating corpses in the Wei River yesterday and had many horrific guesses in his mind, was so anxious that he stamped his feet in anger.

In the end, he could only look for his son among the returning crowd, that is, Chen Tai, the Palace Attendant who went to Meiwu with Jiang Ji to retrieve the emperor.

However, it was not found.

He suddenly had a bad feeling and turned around and stumbled after Jiang Ji: "Zitong, Zitong! Where's my son A'tai?!"

Jiang Ji listened to the voice that already had a hint of crying, and his dejected figure paused again, and finally stopped.

Looking at his old friend who was shaking his arm, he hesitated for a long time before finally saying in a low voice:
"Changwen... Xuanbo... he... he died in battle while trying to protect His Majesty during the retreat."

After the man finished speaking, he lowered his head and sighed.

All the ministers accompanying him were shocked and speechless.

Not long after, a corpse with dozens of arrows in it and trampled by horses' hooves almost beyond recognition was carried in front of Chen Qun.

Chen Qun, whose hair had turned completely white, kept shaking his head in disbelief at first. In the end, he retreated repeatedly, staggering, and fell to the side of the Wei River, holding his heart.

The ministers accompanying the emperor were in complete chaos.

"Zitong, what's going on?!"

"How could Xuan Bo die in battle?!"

"General Dong Zhonglang, what did you mean by protecting His Majesty's retreat?!"

"Where's the Minister of the Central Secretariat? How come even the Minister of the Central Secretariat is missing?!"

"Where's Yin Damu, the commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry? Didn't he lead two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to help the general launch a surprise attack on the Shu invaders? Why hasn't he returned yet?!"

"What's going on? Where did His Majesty go? Wasn't he going to Meiwu? How could he possibly encounter Shu invaders in Meiwu?!"

"And what about the many corpses of Wei soldiers floating in the Wei River yesterday?!"

"Did the general lose?!"

"The general was defeated? How is that possible?!"

For a moment, there was an uproar near Wei Bridge.

Jiang Ji, with a pale face, was surrounded by the ministers and could not move at all. Finally, he could only say helplessly: "The general... was defeated and died."

All the ministers accompanying the emperor were horrified and could not control themselves.

in the afternoon.

Xieshui Han Village.

Guan Xing suddenly ran into the emperor's camp excitedly.

"Your Majesty, we have intercepted two forged imperial edicts sent by Cao Rui to Longyou!"

　My friends, there are a lot of things to do on New Year's Day. Sorry, I'm late because everything is fresh!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)