Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 47: Three Counties Rebelled
"Two?" Liu Chan was a little surprised.

"When was it intercepted?"

"One letter was sent late at night and was intercepted at Yequ Post, thirty miles east of Chencang.

"A letter arrived around noon today at Qianyang Post, thirty miles north of Chencang."

Liu Chan pondered for a moment and said, "When we were chasing Cao Rui today, they stopped for a while on the road. Then there was a rider heading west. He must be a messenger."

Guan Xing nodded:

"The fact that Cao Rui issued several false edicts in one day is enough to show his caution.

"I guess the letter on the highway today won't take the main road again, so we didn't intercept it."

Liu Chan pondered for a few breaths and said indifferently:

"It doesn't matter. Now that the Wei invaders in Meiwu are holding their ground, the traffic between Chang'an and Longyou has actually been cut off by our Han Dynasty.

"If the messenger doesn't take the main road, doesn't go to the post station, and doesn't change horses, it means that the delivery time will be at least four or five days later.

"At that time, Cao Zhen's head had already been sent to the Prime Minister, who then sent it to Zhang He.

"Zhang He must make a decision as soon as he receives Cao Zhen's head, deciding whether to rescue Guanzhong or continue to defend Longyou.

"But no matter what, it is inevitable that he will withdraw his troops and return to Tianshui."

Liu Chan has received a letter from the Prime Minister today.

Wei Yan led 5,000 elite troops into Qishan Fort, and got stuck on the road that Zhang He had to take in pursuit of the Prime Minister. Zhang He had to divide nearly 10,000 troops to protect the grain route.

The Prime Minister's army had also entered Shanglu City in Wudu, and was unable to resist the 50,000 troops of Zhang He and Guo Huai.

"Your Majesty, what should we do if Zhang He does not leave Longshan?" Feng Hu asked in a muffled voice.

Liu Chan did not reply.

He removed the seal, opened the imperial edict from Cao Rui that was intercepted in the middle of the night, and handed it to Zhao Yun after reading it.

Guan Xing, Zhao Tong, Zhao Guang, Feng Hu and others were not restrained and all surrounded Zhao Yun.

"Your Majesty, this forged edict only states that Cao Zhen's army was defeated and ordered Zhang He and Guo Huai to defend Longyou to the death. It doesn't even mention Cao Zhen's death."

Zhao Yun was unsure for a moment. He wondered whether the false emperor had deliberately omitted it in order to stabilize the army's morale, or whether he still felt that Cao Zhen might have survived.

At this moment, Liu Chan had opened another edict from Cao Rui, and after reading it, he handed it to the generals.

"This second fake edict has the same meaning." Liu Chan said.

"At the end, he only added the news that Cao Zhen might have been defeated, and ordered the two men not to be deceived by our army, and not to abandon Longyou and go to Guanzhong.

"He also ordered two people to find a way to collect grain from the Han and Qiang people in Longyou as a follow-up and to balance the supply."

The so-called "equalizing the taxes" means collecting more taxes this year and less taxes in the future.

Guan Xing snorted coldly upon hearing this:
"The false emperor lost his marshal yesterday and was nearly captured today, yet he still wants to protect both Longyou and Guanzhong. How arrogant!"

After returning today, the Xieshui camp has prepared the materials for building a pontoon bridge, and the two thousand Tiger Guards are also ready to cross the Wei River and prepare for a tough battle.

As a result, the Meiwu defenders did not come out to harass.

Thus, the traffic from Guanzhong to Longyou was easily cut off by the Han Dynasty.

The grain route from Guanzhong to Longyou was also cut off so easily by the Han Dynasty.

This is a signal.

This shows that the Wei army’s strength in Guanzhong was no longer sufficient to maintain transportation and protect the food supply routes.

Liu Chan suddenly thought of some anecdotes: "Is there anyone in the army who is good at writing?"

Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and others all cast puzzled looks at Liu Chan.

"I was wondering if we could change the wording of the fake edict and order Zhang He to come down quickly to bring aid?"

He remembered that Liu Fang, the Minister of the Central Secretariat of the pseudo-Wei, had altered the document that Sun Quan handed to the Prime Minister in an attempt to break the alliance between the Han Dynasty and Sun Wu.

Later, Zhong Hui altered Deng Ai's documents, causing Sima Zhao to believe that Deng Ai had rebellious intentions and to lead his army to attack him.

Zhao Yun was stunned. He stared at the two edicts for a long time before shaking his head.

"Your Majesty, I never imagined that there would be such a capable person in the army.

"The handwriting on this forged edict and the ink used to seal it cannot be imitated without the greatest skill and experience in calligraphy."

Liu Chan paused when he heard this.

It seems that this job is not as easy as I imagined.

Feng Hu stood up and offered a suggestion:

"Your Majesty, I believe we should quickly advance into Longyou, seize Jiequan Pavilion, and then implement the strategy of cutting off Long!
"Now our army has won a great victory, and Cao Zhen has been killed.

"The Han army has marched into Longyou, and the people and soldiers there are in awe. Zhang He will not be able to collect food and fodder easily!"

Ma Su's defeat caused the Han and Qiang tyrants in Longyou to no longer believe that the Han Dynasty could defeat the Wei State in the short term.

It was indeed feasible for Zhang He to collect grain at that time.

But now that the Wei army was defeated and Cao Zhen surrendered, the situation has been slightly reversed, and it is more likely that the powerful people in Longyou will become fence-sitters.

If the Han army could break up the enemy line again, it would be difficult for Zhang He to collect food.

"I think this strategy is feasible." General Zhao agreed with Feng Hu's plan to cut off the Long River. If the Han army could wear Wei army armor and seize the post station, it might not be impossible for them to do the same and seize Jieting.

“Moreover, I believe that after Zhang He receives Cao Zhen’s head, he may not actually go down to Long. He may still retreat to the Tianshui County seat and hold on until reinforcements arrive.

"Let us first seize Jieting, then we can march westward and join the Prime Minister in encircling Zhang He at Tianshui.

"We can retreat and implement the Prime Minister's strategy of cutting off Longyou, severing the grain route between Longyou and Guanzhong, and then slowly make plans!"

Zhang He was shocked and disoriented after receiving Cao Zhen's head. He divided his troops and sent them down Longshan Mountain to support Chang'an, which was the most ideal situation for the Han army.

If this was true, the Wei army that had left Longshan had neither sufficient food nor fodder to follow up, and their morale was low.

The morale of the Han army in Guanzhong was high, and they could take advantage of their rest to deal with the 10,000 or 20,000 Wei troops without any problem.

They can also safely cut off the line on the banks of the Wei River and retreat to Xiegu at any time. The prime minister of Longyou can also concentrate superior forces to seize Longyou.

But as Zhao Yun said, Zhang He might not really go down to Long, and the decisive battle might still take place in Longyou.

Now the Han people have the upper hand.

The prudent view is that we should not wait for Zhang He to make a move before responding, but should strike first.

Liu Chan thought about it again and again and nodded:
"I also think that the strategy of seizing Jieting is feasible.

“But this strategy must not only be fast but also stable.

"We only send a few hundred people to Jiequanting to deceive the city. If something unexpected happens, we may lose our troops and generals, and the city will be unstable.

"The number of troops defending Jieting is unknown. If the attack fails and Zhang He sends reinforcements, as long as the defending commander is not Ma Su, it will be impossible to capture it without at least 10,000 or 20,000 men.

“But now my Xieshui camp has only a little over 3,000 soldiers, which is really stretched to the limit.

"We must guard the Weishui floating bridge and cut off traffic between Longyou and Guanzhong.

"We must also prevent the Wei bandits from Meiwu from leaving the dock and raiding the camp.

"We must also guard the two camps here to prevent the Wei invaders and their nearly 20,000 captives from causing chaos."

Liu Chan fell into deep thought when he said this.

There are no soldiers available and time is tight, both of which are problems.

Zhao Guang, who was protecting Liu Chan, said, "If we want to be safe, we can only wait for the Xiegu army to come out."

Liu Chan shook his head:

"The Xiegu army is still recuperating, and if we attack Longyou again, we may not be able to fight.

“Plus, the plank road is destroyed, making it difficult to leave the valley.

"It was already two days later when their troops came out. It was really too late."

General Zhao and generals Guan Xing, Zhao Tong, and Feng Hu fell into silence for a moment.

Time is too tight.

If we wait until Zhang He reacts and sends troops to reinforce Jieting, and Zhang He still refuses to leave Longshan, then we will have no choice but to enter Longyou from Chencang Road.

As a result, the 20,000-strong army of Xieshui could only follow behind the prime minister, unable to encircle Zhang He, let alone effectively cut off his food supply and his way back.

Guan Jin stood up and asked, "Your Majesty, I would like to lead two hundred Tiger Guards to replace the armor of the Wei invaders and recapture Jieting! I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

This is the situation.

We cannot seek stability, we can only seek speed.

However, Liu Chan suddenly thought of something:
"The Prime Minister's letter states that Yang Tiao, a prominent figure in Anding, led 5,000 brave men from the county to chase and kill the pseudo-Wei governor and the county magistrates. Together with the officials and civilians, they occupied Yuezhi and Pengyang to respond to the Prime Minister!
"Now that our Han has cut off traffic to Longyou and defeated Cao Zhen in a great victory, can we order him to lead his troops to attack Jieting?"

Anding is not in Longyou, but to the left of Longshan Mountain and due north of Guanzhong.

When Yang Tiao rebelled in Anding County, the three food routes of Wating, Jitou and Fanxu in the four roads of Longshan were completely blocked by him.

This is also the important reason why the Prime Minister sent Ma Su to guard Jiequanting on Longdi Road and why Zhang He entered Longyou from Longdi Road.

Liu Chan really didn't know how the prime minister managed to make the stable nobles, officials and people in Longzuo all respond to his request while he was still in Longyou.

But this is enough to show that the Prime Minister could not have been more fully prepared for this Northern Expedition.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Yuezhi to make peace with them!" Guan Xing immediately stepped forward to ask for permission.

Before Liu Chan could think about whether to agree, Zhao Yun shook his head:
"Your Majesty, now that Ma Su has been defeated, people's hearts are unpredictable. It is better to let this old minister go!"

It is hard to say whether Yang Tiao is now loyal to Wei or Han.

But the other party has sent the entire county, so it would definitely not be possible to send an ordinary envoy, not to mention wanting to take him with them to seize Jieting.

Therefore, it is necessary to send a capable general who can not only show the Han family's respect for those who have returned to peace and stability, but also be able to fight.

But General Zhao was absolutely unwilling to send Guan Xing to take risks.

Liu Chan was also a little hesitant. He had no soldiers or generals around him, and the only person he was willing to take the risk, Dong Yun, was still in Xiegu.

The round trip would take at least one day.

time does not wait.

Just as Liu Chan was hesitating, Zhao Tong stepped forward, holding the imperial sword and saying, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead a hundred men to Yuezhi to ally with them!"

(End of this chapter)