Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 103 Flowers Bloom and Fade
Countless historical examples have proven that when faced with certain dangers, humans can often unleash unparalleled courage.

Whether it's a venomous snake or a ferocious beast, whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made calamity, there are always people willing to seriously study them, find their patterns and weaknesses, and use their intelligence to overcome them.

However, people are less courageous when faced with unknown dangers. Especially when their fate is in the hands of the enemy, that fear and trepidation are even harder to resist.

At this moment, Liu Shan was just like that. In the imperial palace in Chengdu, in that magnificently decorated imperial study, he was as restless as an ant on a hot pan.

He paced back and forth, feeling like there were needles under his buttocks even when he sat down. The unspeakable fear in his heart was almost written on his face.

Liu Shan submitted a letter of surrender to Deng Ai. If Deng Ai had followed the rules, Liu Shan, and even the entire royal family of Shu Han, would have been properly settled.

However, there have never been any fixed rules since ancient times; so-called rules are all made by people.

Disregarding the rules is itself a form of "rule," isn't it?

Liu Shan was panicked. He himself was not afraid of death, but he did not want the Liu family line to end with him.

He was mediocre, but not evil, and he had no intention of destroying everything. All he wanted now was for his descendants to survive.

Suddenly, Liu Shan saw the eunuch Huang Hao lurking suspiciously outside the door, looking like he wanted to come in but didn't dare to.

So Liu Shan shouted at Huang Hao, "What are you doing there?"

Liu Shan was already in a bad mood, but Huang Hao's annoying demeanor caused him to explode as well.

Deng Ai's ability to secretly cross Yinping is largely Huang Hao's fault! Liu Shan is now furious with Huang Hao!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you should leave now!"

Huang Hao walked in while crying.

Leave? Where else can we go?

Liu Shan, driven by malice, went up and slapped Huang Hao across the face, finally stopping the eunuch from crying.

"Your Majesty, let me escort you to the south. If Deng Ai's troops reach Chengdu, he... he won't let you go!"

Huang Hao tugged at Liu Chan's sleeve, pleading, his old face looking utterly pitiful. If one didn't know what kind of person he had been in the past, his current appearance would easily evoke pity.

"Go ahead, I won't go. I'm staying in Chengdu."

Liu Shan sighed softly, unmoved by Huang Hao's attempts to seduce him.

Upon hearing this, Huang Hao's eyes darted around. He first knelt on the ground and kowtowed, then left the imperial study.

At this point, there's no point in saying more; the best course of action is to leave!

Liu Shan watched Huang Hao's retreating figure, too lazy to bother with him; after all, this guy wasn't going to escape.

He muttered to himself, "Let Deng Ai deal with you. I don't want to kill anyone."

Liu Shan understood Huang Hao's thoughts perfectly; he simply didn't want to cause any more trouble.

Half an hour later, the Imperial Son-in-Law Deng Liang and the Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhang Shao returned. The two went to the Imperial Study, bowed to Liu Shan, and then handed him Deng Ai's reply.

After reading the letter, Liu Shan looked puzzled, unable to understand what Deng Ai was trying to do.

Liu Shan thought this way not because Deng Ai's conditions were too harsh; on the contrary, Deng Ai's conditions were extremely generous, almost unrealistically so.

In his letter, Deng Ai offered the following conditions:

The first provision was that Liu Shan was appointed General of the Cavalry, the Crown Prince of Shu Han was appointed Commandant of the Imperial Carriage, and the princes were appointed Commandant of the Imperial Sons-in-Law. All civil and military officials were appointed, though of course, their positions would not be as high as before, but no one would be deliberately dismissed.

Secondly, the Wei army will take over the defense of Chengdu and manage the city's granaries, but they will not enter the palace where Liu Shan resides, nor will they live in the city.

Thirdly, the Wei army will strictly enforce military discipline, will not disturb the people, will not plunder the local area, and will not seize civilian residences to use as barracks.

Article Four: The Shu garrison will be disbanded on the spot, and military officers will be relieved of their duties and sent home to await further orders. Deng Ai will not pursue their past actions. Even those who have fought against the Wei army and achieved many victories will not be punished.

Article 5 stipulates that Liu Shan must immediately issue edicts, in his capacity as Emperor of Shu, to the prefects and magistrates throughout Shu, ordering them to surrender to Wei.

Liu Shan, of course, would not refuse Deng Ai's generous terms. He immediately sent Deng Liang and Zhang Shao to inform Deng Ai that the Wei army could come to Chengdu to accept their surrender.

Early the next morning, Liu Shan had him bound up, then took a coffin and waited outside the east gate of Chengdu. Behind him were the Shu Han officials who had remained in Chengdu.

Everyone knelt on the ground, without saying a word.

In fact, Deng Ai did not demand that Liu Shan and the Shu Han officials be so humble, nor did he mention any consequences if they did not kneel down.

However... when entrusting your life and fortune to others, you still have to put on a show of respect.

Deng Ai can be left out, but Liu Shan cannot fail to kneel! The defeated must have the awareness of the defeated.

Soon, Deng Ai, who had long been prepared to accept surrender, led his Wei army in a grand procession slowly toward this place. As soon as he saw Liu Shan and other Shu Han officials kneeling on the ground to surrender, Deng Ai immediately stepped forward and ordered his men to untie Liu Shan's ropes.

Then he personally set fire to the coffin next to Liu Shan and burned it.

Subsequently, Qiao Zhou, who had been on Deng Ai's side, publicly read out Deng Ai's order, which was almost identical to the letter Liu Shan had received, except that it included an additional clause: Execute the treacherous officials!

Who is the treacherous official?
This clause was not mentioned in the surrender document given by Deng Ai; it was added simply to maintain deterrence.

Because Deng Ai's surrender terms did not include any deterrent clauses, Deng Ai readily accepted Shi Zuan's advice, thus hanging a sharp knife over the heads of the surrendering Shu Han rulers and officials.

Anyone who disobeys is a treacherous official.

Then, in front of everyone, Deng Ai ordered his personal guards to take away Huang Hao, who was by Liu Shan's side, setting an example for all the Shu Han officials.

If anyone wants to cause trouble, Huang Hao is their role model.

After dealing with Huang Hao, Deng Ai ordered the army to camp outside Chengdu and sent Liu Shan back to the palace with the Shu officials to implement the terms of the surrender.

He then ordered Shi Zuan and Deng Zhong to divide their forces and take control of the imperial palace and granaries within Chengdu. He himself personally took charge of Chengdu's defenses.

Deng Ai was no fool; he understood the principle that one should always be wary of others.

Although Deng Ai offered generous terms for surrender, it was only to avoid provoking resistance from the local powerful clans; it did not mean he had no precautions at all.

Soon, edicts from Liu Shan ordering officials in various regions to surrender spread like wildfire to surrounding counties, southwards, and towards Jiange. Local military and political officials who received the edicts announced their allegiance to Wei and sent letters to Chengdu expressing their loyalty.

The Shu Han state, which had existed for forty-three years, fell.

The tripartite balance of power in the world has turned into a two-way battle.

……

On the city wall of Jiange Pass, Jiang Wei, clad in full armor, rested one hand on his sword and the other on his hip, gazing at Xiaojian Mountain in the distance. Although Zhong Hui commanded an army of 130,000, he had not even breached the Xiaojian Mountain defenses, nor reached the Jiange plank road.

For the past few months, Jiang Wei had been puzzled as to why Zhong Hui was such a useless person, or rather, why Sima Zhao would send such a good-for-nothing to attack Shu.

He had fought against the Wei army on the front lines for a long time and was well aware of the Wei army's capabilities.

Today, Jiang Wei finally understood why Zhong Hui was so obedient: Liu Shan's surrender edict had been delivered to Jiange and into his hands.

War is not a matter for one person, especially a war of annihilation.

A loss is a loss. Chengdu has been captured by the Wei army, and the emperor of Shu has surrendered.

Even if Jian Ge remains impregnable, even if none of Zhong Hui's troops can get past Jian Ge, what's the point?

Even if we beat Zhong Hui, what's the point?

"General, all the generals are waiting for you to join the military council, what do you think..."

Behind Jiang Wei, the veteran general Liao Hua asked in a low voice, his tone tinged with helplessness and bitterness.

Clearly, Liu Shan's surrender edict could not have been shown to only Jiang Wei, and such news could not have been kept secret from the generals and soldiers.

Morale plummeted, and a sense of pessimism and despair spread rapidly. If Liu Shan had surrendered, what was the point of continuing the fight?
This reflects the sentiments of the Shu generals of Jiange, including Liao Hua.

A loss is a loss. There's no point in arguing. Trying to cover your tracks will only make you look like a clown!
They hoped Jiang Wei would say something.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Jiang Wei answered calmly, his voice revealing nothing of his emotions.

He turned around and followed Liao Hua to the study of the Governor's Mansion inside the Great Sword Pavilion. The main generals of the Shu army, such as Zhang Yi and Dong Jue, were already sitting at the table, waiting for Jiang Wei to take his seat so that they could begin a military discussion.

There was only one thing to discuss: where they should go from here.

Jiang Wei sat down in the main seat, looked around at everyone, and asked, "Have you all read His Majesty's edict?"

"We have seen it, and we are just waiting for the general's order. We will follow him to the death."

"This is what Zhang Yi, who is usually quiet and reserved, said."

The Shu army stationed at Jiange, along with its generals, were among the most loyal to Shu Han and formed the main force of Shu Han's standing army.

Zhang Yi's meaning is very clear: whether to surrender or fight, it all depends on Jiang Wei's word!

"Let's retreat to Qi County first, and then make further plans."

Jiang Wei said in a deep voice.

He neither spoke of war, nor of surrender, nor of returning to Chengdu!
So what exactly did he want to do? Everyone present was shocked.

Qi County is no ordinary place.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a State of Qi in Qi County, which was located between the States of Ba and Shu. It was on the edge of the Chengdu Plain and the front line of the battle between the two states.

When the Shu Kingdom attacked the Qi Kingdom, the Ba Kingdom supported the Qi Kingdom. This small "neutral" country actually stood firm for a long time.

Jiang Wei's choice of Qi County is also very interesting. It allows him to advance and take Chengdu, or retreat downstream to Dianjiang to protect Ba County.

As expected, Jiang Wei stood up, walked to the map of Shu's territory hanging on the wall, pointed to Qi County, and said, "Let's go here and observe the situation. Let go of Jiange and let Zhong Hui in. After Zhong Hui enters Shu, the situation will be different."

His voice was calm and powerful, which reassured the generals.

"General, we have no problem retreating to Qi County, but what should we do next?"

The veteran Liao Hua asked, somewhat puzzled.

"General Liao, if I may ask, why are Zhong Hui's more than 100,000 troops blocked outside Jiange and unable to advance an inch, their efforts fruitless?"

Deng Ai's troops, who probably crossed the river from Yinping, numbered at most a dozen or so, yet they managed to capture Chengdu and force His Majesty to submit a letter of surrender.

If you were Zhong Hui, what would you think? Would you want to be of one mind with Deng Ai?

Jiang Wei looked at Liao Hua and asked.

This question stumped Liao Hua.

Yes, anyone with eyes can see that this battle was almost entirely due to Deng Ai, who single-handedly destroyed the Shu Kingdom.

So, how would others view Zhong Hui? And how would Sima Zhao view Zhong Hui?
The Shu army generals present looked at each other upon hearing this, and the solemnity on their faces gradually eased.

Interesting, really interesting!
None of the generals who could infiltrate the high command of the Shu army and lead troops into battle were fools; everyone immediately understood what Jiang Wei wanted to do!

Let Zhong Hui, that vicious dog, in, and he and Deng Ai will fight each other.

When two tigers fight, one of them will surely be injured!
They were happy when Zhong Hui was injured; they were also happy when Deng Ai was injured!

Why not do it?
If they return directly to Chengdu, Liu Shan will intervene, and the Shu army at Jiange will surely surrender.

If we surrender to Zhong Hui now, we might not even be able to save our lives while living under his roof, and there is no possibility that the entire army will be massacred.

If they hold Jiange to the death, they will have lost logistical support from Chengdu, and Jiange's food supplies will not last long.

With no way to go in any direction, retreating to Qi County was actually a brilliant move.

"What do you all think?"

If there are no objections, our main force will withdraw from Jiange tonight.

General Liao led three thousand men to hold the rear, temporarily defending Dajian Pass and stabilizing Zhong Hui. We will meet up in Qi County.

Jiang Wei looked around at everyone and said.

"This humble general has no objections!"

Liao Hua looked at Jiang Wei and said, his gaze firm.

"The general seconded the proposal!"

"The general seconded the proposal!"

None of the generals in the study stood up to object; they all seconded the order and obeyed Jiang Wei's command.

(End of this chapter)