The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Cao Pi knew all too well the nature of his nephew, the emperor. He would only turn his back on someone when he needed them, and would never remember him when he didn't need their help.

Therefore, Cao Ren concluded that something serious had definitely happened in Runan.

Cao Pi took out a crumpled newspaper and handed it to him, saying, "Zixiao Shu, Jiangxia is lost!"

Cao Ren's expression changed drastically, and he snatched the newspaper to read it. When he saw the exciting part, he couldn't help but cough violently. Cao Pi was so frightened that he quickly patted Cao Ren's chest and advised him, "Zixiao Shu, calm down!"

After reading the report, Cao Ren remained silent for a long time before sighing, "Even Tian Yu and Wen Ping have been captured. This battle was lost far too badly. It seems that fate is on Liu Bei's side."

Cao Pi slapped his forehead in regret, saying, "This matter was caused by the rebellion in Runan. It was Tian Yu's failure to quell the rebellion in time that triggered the subsequent great battle. If I had known this would happen, I would not have transferred Tian Yu to Runan. It would have been much better if he had stayed in Youzhou."

Ultimately, this is Tian Yu's fault. If Tian Yu had annihilated Sun Lang's rebel army within Runan instead of driving them to Jiangxia, would this have happened?

Cao Ren, however, had a different opinion and defended Tian Yu, saying, "I think Tian Yu should not be blamed for this. You should know that Guan Xing sent three thousand well-trained spies to the Great Wei. How many of these spies has the court arrested so far? I estimate it's not even a fraction of them."

"If that's the case, why is it that only Runan, under Tian Yu's jurisdiction, is cracking down on spies with such fervor, while other counties haven't heard any news about spies from the Han regime? Is it because their jurisdictions don't have any spies from the Han regime?"

Cao Pi shook his head and said, "Of course not. It's just that those prefects didn't make a big show of arrests like Tian Yu did. To be precise, all those local officials chose to turn a blind eye and pretend that the spies of the Han dynasty didn't exist. As long as I don't investigate the spies, there are no spies of the Han dynasty under my jurisdiction. According to Guan Xing, this is called inaction."

Cao Ren nodded and said, "That's right. The fact that the officials in other counties didn't find the spies of the Han dynasty doesn't mean that the spies don't exist. Thanks to the protection of the local officials, these spies of the Han dynasty are definitely hiding in the shadows, actively inciting the people and winning their hearts. When they surface, they will surely unleash a greater destructive force than Sun Lang."

"You must understand that developing power takes time. Sun Lang has only been developing for half a year and he has already raised an army of 20,000. Those spies who have not yet surfaced must have even more. When they finally show themselves, Your Majesty, how many people do you think they can raise?"

"Compared to the inaction of other local officials, Tian Yu's initiative is commendable. He used swift and decisive measures to force all the pseudo-Han spies in Runan out of the shadows and into the open. He just didn't do a good job of cleaning up the mess. If the other prefects had all done as much as Tian Yu, how could the pseudo-Han spies have been so rampant?"

Cao Pi sighed, “Zixiaoshu is right. Compared to Tian Yu, Gao Rou is much more hateful. He just forced the pseudo-Han spies in Yingchuan to Runan and then immediately ran to the capital. It’s infuriating to think about. It’s a pity that our Great Wei has few Tian Yus but many Gao Rous.”

"Moreover, as the news spreads in the newspapers, the people in the Central Plains will inevitably become restless. If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid the people's morale will completely collapse, and then it will be even more impossible to fight."

More devastating than the loss of cities and territories is the blow to morale; once morale collapses, it is very difficult to recover.

Reality is not a video game. In a game, the soldiers' combat strength is constant, and you only need to consider fighting and not anything else. But reality is different. A defeat will lower the morale of the army, while the morale of the victor will rise. This imbalance will only lead to a faster defeat.

After Xiangfan, Cao Wei suffered repeated defeats against Liu Bei, and even Cao Cao was forced to his death on the battlefield. Under such circumstances, how could the Wei army have any confidence?

Now even Cao Pi and Cao Ren's confidence has collapsed, let alone the other generals and ordinary soldiers.

Cao Ren asked, "What does Your Majesty intend to do?"

After struggling for a moment, Cao Pi gritted his teeth and said, "We must fight a decisive battle. We must fight Liu Bei with all our might. If we win, Liu Bei will naturally not dare to infiltrate the Central Plains so recklessly as he does now. If we lose, we will die a quick death, instead of being half-dead and living in constant fear like this."

"But now that the old generals are dying out, looking at the whole of Wei, only you, Zixiao Shu, are fit to lead the army."

Cao Wei had many capable ministers and generals, but only Cao Ren possessed both the ability and prestige to command the army. Moreover, Cao Ren's health was in its current state, which was truly worrying.

Cao Ren suddenly grabbed Cao Pi's hand, his face showing an unprecedentedly solemn expression. He said in an unusually serious tone, "Your Majesty, rest assured, my body is much better than before thanks to the treatment of Physician Hua. Give me another three months and I will definitely recover to normal. At least I can hold on until the end of this battle. At worst, I will die on the battlefield like the late Emperor."

His opponents were a formidable team of pseudo-Han generals, including Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan, and Zhang Zhao. Normally, the thought of dying on the battlefield would make Cao Ren feel intimidated, but the moment the idea of ​​dying on the battlefield crossed his mind, an unprecedented sense of pride rose in his heart.

Fighting against such an opponent, even if you lose, is a glorious defeat.

Since that's the case, let me use this great battle to bring my military career to a perfect close.

Cao Pi also grasped his hand and solemnly said, "Zixiao Shu, rest assured, I will fight alongside you in this battle. No matter how cowardly I am, I am still a descendant of the Cao family. If I am unfortunately defeated, I will definitely give myself dignity and will never surrender like Sun Quan, wagging my tail and begging for mercy from that big-eared thief."

As Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi also had his own pride. He could admit defeat but would never admit it, and he would never bow down and beg for mercy to anyone. Therefore, he decided as early as the moment he ascended the throne that he would never live a life of dishonor if he was defeated.

As for taking Liu Bei's daughter as a concubine, it wasn't because he wanted to survive by using his status as Liu Bei's son-in-law; he simply wanted to annoy Liu Bei.

Cao Ren nodded emphatically and said, "Then let us, ruler and minister, make one last gamble for Great Wei. If we lose, at most we'll go to see the late emperor together."

Cao Pi stood up and said, "Zixiao Shu, you should rest well. You don't need to worry about anything for the next three months. Just focus on taking care of your health. I will go to Nanyang with you after three months."

After saying this, he turned and took his leave. He went outside and talked to Hua Tuo about Cao Ren's condition before returning to the palace. Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the palace gate, he found Liu Ye waiting for him outside.

Upon seeing Cao Pi's carriage approach, Liu Ye quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, we have just received devastating news from Hefei: General Zhang Liao has passed away."

Cao Pi's expression changed drastically. He quickly stuck his head out of the carriage, snatched the letter, read it, and asked, "How could this be? Didn't General Zhang go to support Jiangxia just a few days ago?"

Liu Ye smiled wryly, "General Zhang has been ill recently. He went to support Jiangxia while he was sick, and he returned..."

Like Cao Ren, Zhang Liao also suffered from chronic illnesses accumulated over many years of warfare. These illnesses were manageable when he was young, but they would all flare up after he turned fifty and eventually take his life.

In comparison, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, who were still lively and energetic even in their sixties, were truly anomalies.

Cao Pi sighed and asked, "What are the arrangements for General Zhang Liao's funeral? What are his family's plans?"

Liu Ye replied, "His son, Zhang Hu, wrote a letter saying that he wanted to bury him at Xiaoyaojin, saying that General Zhang Liao had instructed him before his death that he had been stationed in Hefei for many years and had settled down there, so he would not be buried back in his hometown."

Cao Pi nodded and said, "Granted. You should decide on General Zhang Liao's posthumous title and conferment as soon as possible. The funeral should be grand and not shabby."

"Furthermore, with a major battle imminent, Huainan cannot be left without a general to guard it. Let Sima Yi replace Zhang Liao and take command of the military affairs of Xu and Yang!"