Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 64 Although I am incompetent, I dare to take on this responsibility!
According to intelligence, Tian Yu, the commander of the Wuhuan Guards who was sent by Cao Wei in Bingzhou, was currently in Mayi outside the Great Wall, surrounded by Kebi Neng's 30,000 cavalrymen.

Meanwhile, Qian Zhao, the prefect of Yanmen in Bingzhou, was on his way to rescue Tian Yu.

It was easy to judge from the route that the man was leading the Yanmen light cavalry northward to Pingcheng, intending to go west from the grassland to Shengle, the Xianbei royal court.

Using the tactic of stealing homes that nomadic peoples feared the most, they attacked the enemy where they were most likely to come to the rescue, forcing the Xianbei to withdraw their siege.

Pingcheng is two thousand miles away from Chang'an, and Yanmen is one thousand six hundred miles away from Chang'an.

Calculating the time, even if Cao Rui had sent a message to Qian Zhao on the first day he fled back to Luoyang, it would have been impossible for Qian Zhao to arrive here today, not to mention that he couldn't get away at all!
In order to deal with the increasingly powerful Xianbei invading Bingzhou, Cao Wei has always used cavalry to counter cavalry and Hu to counter Hu. Most of the light cavalry that can be mobilized are under the command of Tian Yu, the captain of the Wuhuan Guard, and they are the so-called elite cavalry of the Wuhuan.

Another small half was under the command of Yanmen prefect Qian Zhao, and was composed of Han people.

Therefore, since the commander of the two thousand light cavalry that suddenly appeared in Meiwu at this moment was not Tian Yu, there was almost only one possibility.

——The Left Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu stationed in Pingyang, Hedong, Luan Tibao, or Liu Bao.

However, Liu Bao had clearly led his troops north to help Qian Zhao relieve Tian Yu's siege.

He suddenly appeared here. Could it be that he was called back by Cao Rui?

"Pijiang, who is the Protector of the Xiongnu, the captain of the left wing of the Xiongnu, assigned by the pseudo-Wei?"

Liu Chan had now arrived at the northern end of Wuzhangyuan and looked into the distance. He saw that a well-organized cavalry unit had indeed appeared to the east of Meiwu.

He squinted his eyes and tried hard to see, but still couldn't see the details clearly. Liu Chan had an unprecedented desire to find someone to make him a telescope.

"Your Majesty, if there has been no change, it should be Lü Zhao, Lü Zizhan, whom Cao Rui promoted in the past two years."

Lu Zhao?

Liu Chan felt a little relieved.

He knew that there was such a person, but he didn't remember or hear of any outstanding achievements of this person.

All we know is that he served as the General Zhenbei of Cao Wei in the original historical line, and Jizhou Governor Huan Fan was ashamed to be under him, so he claimed illness and did not take up the post.

But it must be said that Cao Rui was quite resourceful. Within two years of ascending the throne, he had placed his trusted aides in various places to control military and political power.

For example, the current Bingzhou governor Bi Gui was originally the literary official of Crown Prince Cao Rui. After Cao Rui ascended the throne, he first married Cao Pi's daughter to Bi Gui's son, and then Bi Gui went directly to Bingzhou to take up the post of governor.

There is also the current Hedong prefect, Cheng Xi, who originally became the Qingzhou governor in the historical line. He was also a mediocre person promoted by Cao Rui.

While serving as the governor of Qingzhou, he also framed Tian Yu, who was falsely accused by Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, and was forced to become the prefect of Qingzhou.

"Your Majesty, after Cao Cao divided the Southern Xiongnu into five tribes, Liu Bao led the left tribe, which at the time consisted of only about 2,000 tribes.

"As of today, there are about four to five thousand light cavalry available." Zhao Guang continued to inform the emperor of the information he knew.

"I wonder if he brought only the two thousand cavalrymen from Meiwu, or if he brought all of them, with the rest arriving later or hiding somewhere else."

Liu Chan was a little worried when he heard this:
"Whether it's two thousand or four thousand, once this Xiongnu cavalry arrives, An Guo and Yang Tiao will find it difficult to cut off the enemy's food supply.

"In this case, wouldn't it be very dangerous for General Zilong to station his troops in Chencang?"

According to Zhao Yun's plan, he wanted to use more than a thousand cavalry to tie down the 10,000 to 20,000 reinforcements from Bingzhou and Hedong. Now it seems that this is impossible.

A quarter of an hour later, Dong Yun and Deng Zhi and Zong Yu, who were stationed in Zhongzhou on the Wei River, all arrived at the emperor's camp.

Zong Yu's face was solemn and worried.
"Your Majesty, the Wei invaders in Longyou have already left Sanguan Pass, and the reinforcements from the eastern Wei invaders include Xiongnu light cavalry who are specifically responsible for protecting the grain route.

"If they are allowed to successfully join forces, not only will General Zilong be in danger, but even more serious consequences may arise."

"Does the Right General of the Central Army have any countermeasures?" Liu Chan asked Zong Yu.

Zong Yu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the waters of Jing and Wei are turbid. The Wei invaders cannot find our sunken ships blocking the river, and our grain ships will be blocked in the Zhongzhou waterway.

“At that time, we can either transport the food on board to shore near Zhongzhou, or go down the river to Meiwu first and then transfer there.

"I think we can take advantage of the fact that they have not yet joined forces with the Wei invaders at Sanguan and are transiting in the north of the Wei River. We can send a small group of elite troops to bravely cross the Wei River and launch a night attack.

"Try to create some chaos and burn some food ships and supplies."

The other side brought more than a hundred grain transport ships, estimated to be carrying about 30,000 to 40,000 tons of grain, enough to supply the 20,000 to 30,000 people coming from the west for one month.

It took seven or eight days to get here from Hedong, and I'm afraid a quarter of the supplies have been used. If we want to feed Zhang He's tens of thousands of troops, we must return to Chang'an or Hedong for more transportation.

Grain ships are strategic materials. It takes two or three years just to dry the wood. They cannot be built immediately. If one is destroyed, it will be one less ship.

Furthermore, it is not easy to transport grain unloaded. We can indeed launch a small-scale surprise attack when their grain ships are blocked and the transportation is chaotic.

See the results and then decide whether to send the elite troops of Central Plains to cross the river to fight them.

In short, we cannot just sit and wait for death.

Testing is necessary.

"I think the Right General of the Central Army's plan is acceptable. What do the Minister of the Interior and the General of Yangwu think?"

"I second the motion!" Dong Yun and Deng Zhi said in unison.

Even the emperor understood that this was necessary, and Dong Yun and Deng Zhi had no objections.

However, apart from this stupid method of launching a surprise attack with elite suicide squads, the people in the wooden house seemed to have no idea what else to do.

So the few people who had just gathered in this wooden house fell into a strange silence for a while, and everyone racked their brains to think.

Zhao Tong suddenly spoke:

"Your Majesty, since we are trying to find a solution, I believe An Guo will not just sit there and wait for death because of the appearance of two or three thousand Xiongnu cavalry. He will definitely find a solution."

Liu Chan thought for a moment and asked:

"What solution does Pijiang think the An Kingdom will come up with?"

Zhao Guang thought for a moment and then tentatively said, "We can show the enemy our weakness, lure the Xiongnu cavalry deeper into Mount Qishan, and then ambush them!"

Liu Chan thought about the terrain of Guanzhong and shook his head repeatedly: "This group of people came from the east and west of the river. Their purpose is probably not to fight with our Guanzhong army. It is more likely that they are just delivering food and grass to Zhang He.

"That way, they won't easily fall for our strategy of luring the enemy deeper, right?"

Zhao Tong was stunned when he heard this.

Dong Yun, Deng Zhi and Zong Yu nodded slightly.

The Wei River is sixty or seventy miles away from Mount Qi, and the area between them is flat. The Xiongnu cavalry only needs to be on guard from a distance, wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, and prevent Guan Xing's light cavalry from getting close to the grain team.

Once Guan Xing attacked from a long distance, and the Huns' cavalry caught up with him when his horse's power was almost exhausted, it would be difficult for Guan Xing to escape unharmed.

Unless the Xiongnu Left Wise King Liu Bao saw Guan Xing's thousand-plus cavalrymen from afar and rushed forward to fight relying on his large numbers.

But the Xiongnu Zuoxian King, who had begun to assimilate into the Han culture and changed his surname to Liu, was probably not so stupid.

Furthermore, the Southern Xiongnu were not free. If they wanted to use military force, they had to obey the orders of Cao Wei's Protector of the Xiongnu Colonel and Protector of the Xiongnu Lieutenant General.

Liu Chan finally said: "The captains and military commanders of various departments are all in charge of defense. If they were to gather together and brainstorm, perhaps there would be some good ideas.

"Minister of the Interior, General Yangwu, and Right General of the Imperial Guard, please return to the camp and ask the lieutenants and military commanders for any suggestions or countermeasures.

"If you have any, please record it on bamboo slips and send someone to deliver it to my camp."

"only!"

The three loyal ministers all bowed.

...

...

evening.

Yin Damu, Du Xi, Le Lin, Zhang Hu, Zhu Shu and other defenders who had been trapped in Meiwu for half a month and had never left the fort finally left the fort to welcome the reinforcements and food from Hedong.

When the troops from Sanguan learned that reinforcements and food supplies from the east had arrived in Meiwu, they quickly sent more than ten elite cavalrymen to communicate the news.

So the three parties got together.

The area north of the Wei River seemed to be under the control of Wei again.

Lü Zhao, the commander of the Xiongnu guards who came to support from Pingyang in Hedong, brought with him three thousand Xiongnu light cavalry and one thousand county soldiers.

Guanqiu Jian, the General of Agriculture who was in charge of transporting grain from Luoyang to Shaanxi, ran into Cao Rui who was returning to the east. He brought 3,000 grain-supervising soldiers from Shaanxi County and 2,000 county soldiers from Hongnong.

Xiahou Ru, the general stationed in Chang'an, brought 3,000 soldiers to defend Chang'an. Cheng Xi, the governor of Hedong, received an imperial decree and sent Commandant Linghu Yu to lead 2,000 county troops.

In addition, the powerful families in Hedong, such as the Jia, Pei, Wei, Xue, and Liu families, contributed 3,000 troops and temporarily obeyed Linghu Yu.

Niu Jin from Sanguan digested the news and looked a little unhappy:
"In other words, excluding the 2,000 Meiwu defenders who remain stationary, there are 14,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and 10,000 civilian auxiliary soldiers, totaling 27,000 people."

Guanqiu Jian looked at Niu Jin and asked with a questioning tone:

"General Niu, didn't His Majesty order the Right General to hold Longyou firmly and not to enter Guanzhong under any circumstances? Why is General Niu at Sanguan?"

Guanqiu Jian served as Cao Rui's literary official when he was demoted to Marquis of Pingyuan. He and Cao Rui could be said to be friends in need. Now he was even a close minister to the emperor, and his say was even greater than that of his relative Xiahou Ru.

Niu Jin, who looked a little depressed, was startled:
"Your Majesty actually issued such an imperial decree? We... the Right General in Longyou didn't receive it!"

Yin Damu and other Meiwu defenders were shocked when they heard this.

Du Xi was stunned and said, "On the day of your Majesty's departure, he sent three imperial edicts ordering the troops to enter Long. The last one even ordered the envoys to avoid the postal service and take the mountain roads to enter Long. Yet, they were intercepted by the Shu bandits?"

Niu Jin was extremely shocked.

Guanqiu Jian's expression froze. After a moment, he pressed the issue again, "General Niu, where is the Right General now? Has he and General Guo repelled Zhuge Liang?"

According to the emperor, Guo Huai led 20,000 men to enter from Chencang Road and joined Zhang He's 40,000 main forces to encircle Zhuge Liang in Wudu.

Niu Jin hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

Lü Zhao, the captain of the Xiongnu defense force, suddenly had a bad feeling. He frowned at Niu Jin and asked, "Could it be that the Right General and Envoy Guo were defeated by Zhuge Liang?"

He was also a close minister during the emperor's time as Marquis of Pingyuan. Although he was only a captain, he had the confidence to question Niu Jin, the lieutenant general.

Niu Jin hesitated for a few breaths and nodded with difficulty:
"The Right General was in a standoff with Zhuge Liang at Shanglu, and he received the General's head... but no news from Your Majesty. The Shu invaders in Guanzhong also blocked Sanguan Pass, cutting off any information.

"The Right General feared that Your Majesty would be surrounded by Shu invaders in Chang'an, so he quickly withdrew his troops to Xialong. As a result... they were ambushed by Zhuge Liang in Wudu."

Niu Jin covered up for Zhang He.

In fact, Zhang He said at that time that the emperor must have returned to Luoyang in the east. If he had not been worried about the army's food and grass being cut off, he would probably not have been willing to go down to Long.

Everyone's expressions changed.

Guanqiu Jian was stunned: "How could the Shu invaders be so cunning?"

It was not known whether the emperor was surrounded. If Zhang He dared not to come down the mountain to rescue him, he would inevitably be charged with disloyalty. For a minister, this was an unsolvable situation.

Linghu Yu said in a daze:
"Your Majesty should have sent the mission to Longyou when you learned about the death of General Xiegu, right?
"How could the Shu invaders intercept them all?
"How swift and thorough is this?"

Yin Damu, Guanqiu Jian, Lu Zhao and others immediately stared at Linghu Yu, but saw that he did not check at all, but was just thinking blankly.

"Where is the Right General now? Has he also arrived at Sanguan?" Guanqiu Jian looked at Niu Jin.

Niu Jin shook his head at first, then hesitantly said, "The Right General is in charge of the rear guard and is still on the Chencang Road. It will take... two days before he can come down the mountain."

Guanqiu Jian noticed Niu Jin's strange expression and immediately asked anxiously, "General Niu, why are you acting so awkwardly? Are you hiding something from us?"

Niu Jin hesitated again and again.

The right general was unconscious and the army was leaderless. As someone who only knew how to fight, he had no idea whether he should hide it from the people here to stabilize the morale of the army, or confess directly.

"General Niu?!" Guanqiu Jian had a worse premonition in his heart.

After much thought, Niu Jin finally confessed:
"On the day the General of the Central Army and the Right General were ambushed, they were shot by poisonous arrows from the Shu invaders... They've been in a coma for several days. The military doctor said... they probably won't make it!"

Everyone was horrified!

Amid the astonishment and fear in the eyes of everyone in the dock, Niu Jin then told them the news that Guo Huai had fled to Tianshui at night and that Fei Yao, Dai Ling, and You Chu might have been defeated by Wei Yan.

Everyone was horrified.

"How many tens of thousands of troops are there now? How many tens of thousands of civilians, and how many days of food?!" Guanqiu Jian finally couldn't care less about being surprised and asked repeatedly.

The 17,000 infantry and cavalry coming to support from the east can be described as a mob!
It was originally assembled in a hurry to escort food and grass to the Longyou army, and there is not even a commander-in-chief of the three armies!

If we face off against the victorious Shu army of 10,000 elite field troops, it is hard to say whether we can stand a chance!
They could only rely on their large numbers and the Xiongnu's 3,000 light cavalry to scare the Shu invaders so that they would not dare to cross the Wei River to attack easily.

"General Zhonglang, the troops outside Sanguan Pass are the vanguard, with 20,000 soldiers.

"The area inside Sanguan Pass is the central region, with nine thousand soldiers.

"The rear is inside Chencang Road, with 14,000 soldiers remaining.

"A total of 43,000 soldiers, 30,000 dan of grain left, and less than 30,000 civilians and auxiliary soldiers."

Niu Jin still concealed some things. The central and rear parts lost more than 6,000 of the most elite soldiers, more than 5,000 sets of the best quality iron armor, and 6,000 to 7,000 long and short weapons and horn crossbows.

But even though he didn't say it, the smart people here had guessed it almost exactly.

Guanqiu Jian didn't know what to do for a moment and looked at Lu Zhao in confusion.

If Zhang He is no longer able to fight, the more than 60,000 troops in Guanzhong will be left without a commander!

Except for General Niu Jin, there is no general here who commands more than 10,000 people!
Who dares to boast that he has the ability to command 60,000 troops?!
It’s terrifying to think about it!

"What should we do now?" Captain Lu Zhao, who was in charge of protecting the Xiongnu, was the first to speak.

"General Sima Gong, I'm afraid it will take another twenty days to reach Guanzhong.

"What if the Shu invaders find out that our army of 60,000 is leaderless and they launch an attack?

"Can we hold out until twenty days later, when Sima Gong arrives?"

Yin Damu, Du Xi, Le Lin and others, who had been waiting in Meiwu and thought that hope had finally come, all fell silent.

Why is the situation even worse than before the reinforcements arrived?!

After a long time, Lu Zhao spoke bitterly:
"How about... bringing over the Right General's 40,000 troops, leaving some to guard Meiwu, and some to guard Huaili in the east.

"The rest of you, just withdraw your troops and defend Chang'an.

"When General Sima Gong arrives in Chang'an, the Shu invaders will be no match for us. As long as we hold on, we will never run out of firewood!"

However, before anyone else could react, Linghu Yu suddenly asked:

"But are we going to let the Shu invaders seize Longyou so easily?

"Don't forget, His Majesty has ordered the Right General to defend Longyou to the death!
"Longyou cannot be abandoned!

"Not to mention that Envoy Guo of Yongzhou is still waiting in Tianshui for our army's support!

"Could it be that the Great Wei is simply going to abandon its loyal ministers?"

Linghu Yu's mother and Guo Huai's wife are sisters, and both are Wang Ling's sisters.

In other words, Guo Huai is Linghu Yu's uncle.

Anyone can give up Guo Huai, but he can't, otherwise he will be criticized when he returns.

Everyone was silent.

Lu Zhao looked at Linghu Yu:
“But… the Right General is unconscious.

"Who dares to say that he can lead an army of 60,000 without making any mistakes?
"What's more, leading 60,000 troops over the mountains into Long?!"

Everyone was confused.

However, Linghu Yu stepped forward, shaking his clothes, and then faced him proudly, his voice like the clanging of metal:

"During the reign of Emperor Ling, Minister of the Interior Cui Lie believed that Liang Province should be abandoned!

Fu Xie sternly rebuked him, "Behead the Minister of Justice, and the world will be at peace!"

"How are you all today different from Cui Lie?!

"Emperor Lingdi didn't execute Cui Lie, but the Emperor of Wei might execute you all today!"

Everyone's face changed.

Your Majesty did say that he would rather give up Guanzhong than allow the Right General to give up Longyou.

Linghu Yu looked around:
"The Art of War says, 'If one is not frightened by danger, and has a chest filled with thunder but a face as calm as a lake, he can be made a general!
“Although I am incompetent and dare not boast that I can lead 60,000 troops in front of Hai, I am willing to lead an army into Long!
"Are you all worse than a fool like me?"

(End of this chapter)