Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 41 Knife Pulling Butt

The north wind howled as Xu Yi walked ahead on the Baoxie Road plank road, with Zhong Hui and his men following behind.

Every so often, the group would stop to carefully inspect the boardwalk beneath their feet to see if any repairs had been made. As a result, the group moved very, very slowly.

Walking and stopping like this, a whole morning passed, but Zhong Hui still couldn't find a single problem.

He looked at Du Yu and said, "General Du, please bring your men to investigate."

"Yes, Your Excellency. Rest assured, I, Du, will act impartially and will never show favoritism!"

Du Yu said in a serious and methodical manner.

Zhong Hui nodded noncommittally. He glanced at Xu Yi, then at Shi Shouxin, who stood calmly to the side. He was furious, but he couldn't show it.

He secretly resolved that if he found even the slightest problem with the plank road, he would make a big deal out of it, kill a few people as a warning to others, and deter the entire army!

Zhong Hui's anger was not without reason.

At daybreak, he ordered the drums to be sounded and the entire army to march towards Baoxie Road. He himself, accompanied by his personal guards, arrived at Xu Yi's vanguard, along with other high-ranking officials such as Wei Guan.

He traveled along the way, stopping frequently, and carefully examined every repaired section.

Of course, Shi Shouxin followed behind Zhong Hui. This Grand Commander who was attacking Shu had already declared that if any problems were found with the construction of the plank road, Shi Shouxin and Xu Yi would be beheaded together.

After much effort, Zhong Hui had no luck and could only place his hopes on Du Yu.

"Du Yu, how is the repair going?"

After waiting for a long time, Zhong Hui pointed to the new timber on the boardwalk and asked Du Yu a question, while the latter was still observing and testing it.

"Please wait a moment, Grand Commander."

Du Yu looked left and right, then spotted more than ten people jumping and playing on the newly repaired spot. A moment later, he approached Zhong Hui, bowed, and said, "Grand Commander, the repairs here are complete!"

"Really? You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. If something goes wrong, you'll be responsible."

Zhong Hui squinted at Du Yu, his tone unfriendly, clearly having reached his limit of patience.

However, this tactic was ineffective against Du Yu.

The son-in-law of the Sima family said to Zhong Hui in a serious tone, "Grand Commander, please do not doubt me. Good is good, and bad is bad. I, Du, will not protect anyone, nor will I wrong anyone. If anything goes wrong, please punish me as well!"

Zhong Hui didn't say anything, but rode his horse "speeding" on the plank road, going back and forth several times. The plank road remained as stable as ever, without any problems.

"Hmph, pass down the order to continue the march. Every repaired spot must be thoroughly inspected!"

Zhong Hui left with a single sentence, then turned and returned to the central army.

After being humiliated, what were Zhong Hui's feelings at this moment, the commander of the Eastern Route Army in the campaign against Shu?

Don't ask, the answer is absolutely terrible. This time, he's really embarrassed himself.

Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pulled Shi Shouxin aside, tightly grasping his hands and saying excitedly, "Thank you, Commander Shi. If it weren't for your strict and meticulous requirements, I'm afraid I would have lost my head by now."

He was indeed still shaken. He hadn't quite understood Shi Shouxin's rigid demands at first, even thinking the other was deliberately causing trouble. Now it seemed Shi Shouxin had been incredibly astute, having already predicted Zhong Hui's impending trouble!

"General Xu, it's too early to say everything is alright. Make these preparations over the next couple of days. Once the army is encamped, Zhong Hui will make his move..."

Shi Shouxin leaned over and whispered something in Xu Yi's ear for a long time.

"How dare Zhong Hui act so recklessly?"

Xu Yi looked terrified, lowered her voice and exclaimed, then covered her mouth tightly.

"It's always good to be cautious. General Xu, just consider me a petty person this time. If it turns out not to be, we won't lose anything, will we?"

Shi Shouxin sighed deeply and said.

In fact, perhaps no one in this era understood Zhong Hui better than him.

Whether it's cunning or malice, these aren't inherent traits in Zhong Hui's character; they're things he had to do to adapt to this dark world.

The word "stubborn" best describes Zhong Hui's personality. Once he made up his mind, he would do it no matter what, and he would stop at nothing to achieve it.

This is the true nature of this person; Zhong Hui doesn't care about the means to achieve his desired goals.

With nothing to do during the day, Du Yu, accompanied by his trusted men assigned by Zhong Hui, inspected the various damaged sections of the plank road that Xu Yi had overseen the repair of, and found no problems.

……

As night fell, the army continued its march without pause or stopping. With no place to camp along the way, they were forced to continue until they reached the next open area.

After traveling for two days, the army decided to camp at Yaling. This was a wide canyon on the Baoxie Road. Further south, the roads became fewer and fewer, and the army relied more and more on plank roads.

That night, a small group of several dozen men quietly left the Wei army camp at Yaling under the cover of darkness. They passed through the Yaling pass (a gate tower on the only road leading up the mountain) without any hindrance and continued forward, seemingly searching for something.

After walking for about an hour, the people stopped, lit torches, and stood beside a newly repaired plank road.

Some of them took out tools such as iron axes from their backpacks, seemingly intending to damage the plank road.

Just as they were preparing to break through the wooden stakes on the plank road, a large number of figures approached from both the north and south sides of the plank road. These people did not engage them in close combat at all, but went straight up and started shooting arrows.

Without asking, without answering, without warning, they just killed him!

In an instant, arrows rained down in the darkness, and the dull thud of blunt weapons piercing flesh was deafening.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The air was filled with the shrill screams of death. Even after all these people had been felled by arrows, the archers did not stop shooting at them. Soon, those who had been groaning on the ground after being hit by arrows fell silent.

At this moment, the ambushing troops lit their torches. The leader of the northern troop was none other than Xu Yi! The leader of the southern troop was Shi Shouxin.

The two men each led a squad to attack from both sides, and with their calculated strategy, they easily succeeded against the unsuspecting opponent.

"Shi Gongtai, why don't we capture someone alive?"

Xu Yi asked, somewhat puzzled, but at this moment he was completely convinced of Shi Shouxin's abilities. This Supervisor Shi, once he had made up his mind, his plans were flawless; he was truly formidable!

"These people are all Zhong Hui's confidants. Does General Xu intend to expose them and accuse Zhong Hui, the Grand Commander, of framing you?"

Shi Shouxin asked in return, his expression unchanged.

Xu Yi fell silent. What else could he say? Even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone the Grand Commander!
"General Xu, remove all these arrows, collect and store all the arrows at the scene, and leave the body here. If Zhong Hui asks in public, General Xu, say that it was perhaps the work of Shu scouts."

But Shi estimated that he wouldn't ask. After this battle, at least he'd be more restrained and wouldn't make things difficult for us regarding the repair of the plank road.

Shi Shouxin sighed softly and said, "These days, you really can't expect too much from other people's integrity. Zhong Hui probably wouldn't mind the trouble of framing colleagues and subordinates like tonight."

Shi Shouxin remembered that in his previous life, Zhong Hui had also gone to great lengths to frame Deng Ai.

The night wind howled, and the darkness seemed to harbor countless venomous snakes and ferocious beasts. Yet Shi Shouxin felt that the human heart was colder than the bitter cold of winter, and more terrifying than any venomous snake or ferocious beast.

Shi Shouxin and Xu Yi led their team back to the camp, both with heavy hearts.

"Shi Gongtai, Zhong Hui... will they rebel?"

Xu Yi leaned close to Shi Shouxin and asked in a low voice, even the way she addressed him had changed.

Even someone as politically insensitive as him could sense that something was amiss!
"General Xu, you should keep this to yourself."

Shi Shouxin didn't answer until they reached the camp gate, at which point he replied with a very clear hint.

Xu Yi nodded, patted Shi Shouxin's arm, and promised enthusiastically, "If anything happens, Gongtai, just come to my camp for refuge! With me here, I will definitely keep you safe!"

Shi Shouxin thought to himself: I'm afraid I'll really need your help then.

The next day, the army continued its march, and soon the scouts leading the way discovered more than a dozen corpses left by the newly built plank road the night before, their bodies riddled with holes from arrows.

Seemingly anticipating this outcome, Zhong Hui insisted that Shu troops were active on the Baoxie Road and that these people had been killed by Shu scouts. After that, he stopped urging Xu Yi to rush the repair of the plank road.

As a result, Shi Shouxin's life became much more stable.

He was ordered to join the vanguard army on the expedition, clearing roads through mountains and building bridges over rivers. Although it was hard work, often requiring two shifts to cut down trees and do carpentry, he didn't have to meet with Zhong Hui, so he managed to get by.

The road repair work, which proceeded smoothly for more than ten days, passed quickly. The vanguard army arrived at the site of "Sanjiaocheng", a key point on the Baoxie Road, which is the intersection of the Lianyun Plank Road and the Baoxie Plank Road.

The Lianyun Plank Road, built during the Han Dynasty, has long been abandoned and is not worth mentioning. However, the ancient city ruins and outposts of Sanjiao City were also abandoned by the Shu army, which was something Shi Shouxin and his men did not expect.

This seemingly minor incident appears to illustrate a significant issue: the Shu Kingdom's defensive strategy against the Wei Kingdom in the Hanzhong region has undergone a dramatic transformation! The Baoxie Road is no longer fortified, and the situation in other areas remains uncertain.

Less than a hundred li south of here is Shimen (a place name), the southern entrance to the Baoxie Road. After passing through this place, you will reach the Hanzhong Plain.

Xu Yi dared not be careless and sent someone to ask Zhong Hui for help. This time, Zhong Hui did not act rashly and directly issued military orders: the vanguard army was to be stationed at Sanjiao City and not move, the central army was to establish a command post at Yaling Pass, with Hu Lie as the overall commander of this route, and at the same time, a temporary granary was to be established in the open area of ​​Yaling to receive the grain and fodder from Guanzhong.

As for Zhong Hui himself, he actually turned back with his rear army and main force!
Of course, it can't be said that we went back. We simply withdrew from Baoxie Road and walked back to Chang'an. Then, we supervised the battle from the rear and led the reserve team to support the battle at the front, taking the Tangluo Road!

Most of the generals along the Baoxie Road were at odds with him, from Hu Lie to Xu Yi, as well as a whole bunch of generals who witnessed him being thoroughly humiliated by Shi Shouxin!

Knowing he was in the wrong and lacked authority, Zhong Hui realized he could no longer command his troops on this route, so he quickly changed course.

This is good news for Shi Shouxin.

After Zhong Hui finished explaining the aftermath of the Baoxie Road incident, he left. On the same day, Hu Lie, who had been authorized, directly summoned Shi Shouxin back to his side.

On the day he returned to Yaling, Hu Lie held a welcoming banquet for him on the city wall of Yaling, and they drank and talked happily.

Among those attending the banquet were many cavalry captains and generals of similar social standing and background as Xu Yi. After Shi Shouxin's confrontation with Zhong Hui that night, these men all regarded this military supervisor Shi as one of their own. At the banquet, they addressed each other as brothers, boasting and joking around, having a great time.

After the banquet ended, Du Yu secretly found Shi Shouxin, took him to his tent, and handed him a silk scroll. The scroll described the entire process of Shi Shouxin's confrontation with Zhong Hui that day, as well as the "plank road incident," and included Du Yu's opinion: Zhong Hui is arrogant and may harbor rebellious intentions.

"Yuan Kai, what is this?"

Shi Shouxin asked in confusion.

"Du wrote a secret report to the General and also made a copy for his records. The original has already been given to Wei Guan."

Du Yu spoke slowly, showing the letter to Shi Shouxin, clearly expressing his support in person. In this critical situation, the most important thing is to distinguish friend from foe!

Shi Shouxin nodded, understanding. Reporting others was simple in theory, but it required meticulous attention to detail. Du Yu was Sima Zhao's brother-in-law; besides his official position, he certainly had his own "secret mission."

It's believed that after reading Du Yu's secret memorial, Sima Zhao would have a different perspective on Zhong Hui. In other words, at the very least, Du Yu should have known that Zhong Hui had no chance of returning to Luoyang; it was just a matter of how he would die.

Shi Shouxin sighed and said, "Yuan Kai, I humbly believe that Zhong Hui will not let things rest. He is no fool."

"Who says it isn't?"

Du Yu nodded, then lowered his voice and said, "I'm most afraid of the situation you described before. If Deng Ai really marches into Shu, I'm afraid the mountains will collapse and the earth will split open!"

The two drank and chatted in the military tent. When it was late at night, Shi Shouxin returned to his own tent and fell asleep immediately.

(End of this chapter)