Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

This……

Zhou Duo was silent for a moment as he listened to what Lu Xun said, and fell into deep thought.

Lu Xun's face remained calm. "Jin Ning is younger and hasn't seen many such things, but I have encountered countless of them. When you reach a high position, your ambitions weaken. After making achievements, you always seek stability, not wanting to ruin your reputation in your later years."

"Jin Ning."

"Hey, I'm here." Zhou Duo responded quickly.

Lu Xun half leaned on the couch and said, "If you were in Zhang Zhengxi's position, it would be reasonable for you to achieve merit and win. But if you were defeated or ambushed, it would only damage your reputation. Are you willing to gamble that the Shu army has no ambush? Are you willing to risk the lives of thousands of soldiers just to fight for one or two days?"

Zhou Duo sighed, "I understand what the general said. But, Zhang Zhengxi is so famous, I never expected this to be the reason, and I have never thought about it in this way."

Lu Xun chuckled: "Only by taking good care of your reputation can you maintain your great reputation. Besides, Zhang Zhengxi's contribution to this battle is enough just by Li Zhengfang's surrender. Why take any more risks?"

"Turn off the lights and go back."

Lu Xun waved his hand lightly, then lay down steadily, closed his eyes and lay on the couch, as if he was as comfortable as in the bedroom in Dazhong Mansion.

"Yes. General, please rest early."

Zhou Duo responded in a low voice, tiptoed over to blow out the oil lamp, and then left.

The straight-line distance between Sashan and Xiabian is only forty miles, and the straight-line distance from Cao Zhen's headquarters is no more than fifty miles.

Of course it is possible to send a message, but it requires walking through many mountain roads, and the scouts will need to take a detour and trek for nearly two days.

By the time Cao Zhen received Zhang He's message, it was already November 2nd.

Cao Zhen always trusted Zhang He. In this letter from Zhang He, he focused on explaining three things:

First, Zhang He thought that Lu Xun's 10,000 Qiang cavalry seemed a bit redundant. Qiang cavalry was useful for reconnaissance and harassment, but in a battlefield like this where the mountains were attacked, they would only waste food and grass and would be of no great use.

Secondly, Zhang He thought that the Shu army seemed to have an ambush and backup plan. Sazashan was an important place for the Shu army to transport grain. If this place was lost, the Shu army's grain route from Wujie to Xiabian would be cut off. The Shu army had no reason to put this place in danger.

Third, Zhang He wanted to know when Cao Zhen planned to start the general offensive and how it was planned. Zhang He was in the west and Cao Zhen was in the east. Although they could communicate with each other, they had to go a long way to communicate. It was true that the communication was not smooth.

After reading Zhang He's letter, Cao Zhen remained silent for a long time. He then gave the letter to Du Xi, Fei Yao, Guo Huai, Hu Zun, Cheng Xi, and Yang Dan for circulation.

Deng Ai has returned to Chencang from the camp. As the issue of food and fodder is too important and no mistakes can be made, Deng Ai is more like a full-time grain supervisor in this war.

Just as Zhang He valued Yin Jian, Hu Zun, relying on his contributions two years ago and Guo Huai's attention to him, has now become a general in Guanxi who is gradually being reused, and is also qualified to come to Cao Zhen's tent for military discussions.

After the letter was handed to the general's military advisor Du Xi, Du Xi did not pass the letter on after reading it. Instead, he gave a brief introduction and then returned the letter to Cao Zhen.

"Tell me everything." Cao Zhen held his forehead with one hand and gently rubbed his temple. The war was extremely urgent, and Cao Zhen did not dare to slack off. He had to pay attention to and inquire about everything. His health had improved last year, but he started to have headaches again in the past few days.

Guo Huai spoke first: "Yesterday at noon, when I led the army to arrive first, I followed the general to the enemy to see the situation of the Shu army. Judging from the flags and camps, the Shu army has indeed increased its strength. Perhaps the general put too much pressure on the Shu army here, and Zhuge Liang withdrew troops from the narrow mountains."

"How could Zhuge Liang be so careless?" Du Xi shook his head and retorted, "Every time your majesty wrote to Chen Cang, he would specifically tell us to be on guard against Zhuge Liang. This man is wise and good at using troops, so we should not take him lightly. These are your majesty's original words."

"Military Advisor Du, are you saying that Zhuge Liang is putting on a show?" Guo Huai asked back.

Du Xi said: "I didn't say that."

Cheng Xi then said, "General, General Guo, Military Advisor Du, no matter what, the 33,000 troops of the Shu Army cannot be faked. Yesterday, General Guo led 10,000 people here, and the general's troops reached 25,000. In addition, Zhang Zhengxi's 15,000 troops and Lu Huqiang's 10,000 cavalry, a total of 50,000 people, more than the enemy, just press on from both sides!"

Guo Huai retorted: "Shen Bo has been in the central army for a long time and is not very clear about the border affairs. Although the Qiang soldiers are soldiers, their combat power is not comparable to that of the Wei foreign army."

"Didn't Zhang Zhengxi say that in his letter? Lu Boyan's 10,000 Qiang cavalry are completely useless in the mountain assault, and they also waste military rations and are not reliable. Our 5,000 Qiang soldiers are all infantry, and they can be used for foot combat and guarding the camp."

Cheng Xi showed a hint of helplessness on his face: "An extra 10,000 Qiang cavalrymen would mean more fighting power. Can we really let General Lu go?"

Several people started to discuss noisily. Cao Zhen, who was rubbing his forehead, frowned more and more. His head hurt more and more. He couldn't help but shout out in a low voice:
"Be quiet!" As soon as the words came out, everyone looked over, bowed, and fell silent. The title of general was still useful. As the commander-in-chief of an army, his majesty was not questioned by anyone.

"Speak one by one." Cao Zhen looked up at everyone, trying to sit up straight and said, "Zhang Junyi suggested that Lu Boyan retreat. What suggestions do you have?"

"Military Advisor!" Cao Zhen called out his name.

Du Xi cupped his hands and said, "More combat power is always good."

"Bo Ji!" Cao Zhen pointed to the right.

Guo Huai said: "I have nothing to say, but I will leave it to the general to make the decision."

"Shen Bo!" Cao Zhen asked Cheng Xi again.

Cheng Xi: "I think what the military advisor said is very appropriate."

"Gongwei!" Cao Zhen lowered his head slightly again.

"When the war is approaching, how can we reduce our troops? I know Zhang Zhengxi is also short of food, so we should try our best to defeat the enemy as soon as possible!" Fei Yao was closer to Cao Zhen, so he answered. After seeing Cao Zhen's expression, he asked again: "Is the general feeling better? Is he having a headache again?"

"Don't talk about me, talk about military strategy." Cao Zhen bit his cheeks tightly and said, "The military advisor drafted a reply for me. There is no reason to reduce the number of troops. The first point is rejected."

"Yes, sir." Du Xi bowed.

Cao Zhen took a breath and continued, "What about the second one?"

After a pause, Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "I won't ask you any more. I want Zhang Junyi to break through the narrow mountain as soon as possible, regardless of casualties, to block the enemy's food supply route, surround Xiabian from the west, and attack from the east and west with me."

"Do you have any objections?"

Everyone looked at each other for a few moments, then stood up from their seats, clasped their hands and said in unison: "We will follow the general's orders!"

"Okay," Cao Zhen pointed randomly in the direction of Du Xi again, "Write it down, military advisor, and stamp it with my seal later. This will be a guarantee to Zhang Junyi. I will order that we will start fighting with the Shu army in the east tomorrow afternoon, and draw all the Shu army to the east, creating conditions for him to attack the narrow mountain."

"As for when the decisive battle will take place, I still cannot decide on this matter. I can only tell Zhang Junyi to try to finish the battle this month. Last month..."

The blood vessels at Cao Zhen's temple beat violently again, and a wave of pain arose on the side of his head. Cao Zhen held his head with a look of pain on his face.

"General!"

"General, you should take a rest!"

"General!"

Everyone started to cheer, and Fei Yao quickly walked up to Cao Zhen's side, holding Cao Zhen's shoulders and letting him lean on him.

"It doesn't matter. We can always finish what we have to say." Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and continued, "At the end of last month, Shi Zai brought news from Chencang to Gong Zhen, saying that food and grass can be supplied until the end of December. We can't delay the battle until December. We should try to finish the battle this month, otherwise Wudu County will be lost."

"Yes, sir." Du Xi nodded in agreement. When he was about to write on the paper, he felt uneasy as soon as he put pen to paper, so he stole a glance at Cao Zhen's face.

"Today's military meeting ends here. Gongwei, help me to rest for a while."

Cao Zhen stood up with the help of Fei Yao. Just as he was about to step forward, he spoke again:
"If an urgent matter needs to be decided when I am having a headache, the three of us, the general's military advisor, the general's military commander, and the general who conquers Shu, will make the decision together. If two of them agree, the decision can be made and my seal can be used."

Everyone was panicked, but they could only gradually agree.

Cao Zhen's letter was sent out half an hour later, and Xu Shu in Fancheng, Jingzhou, also received the emperor's reply from Xuchang.

"Your Majesty really drafted a reply letter to Sun Quan." Xu Shu stroked his beard and said calmly: "The emperor's letter is as heavy as a mountain. Even if Sun Quan is stubborn and unyielding, we must respond appropriately."

"I will send someone to deliver this letter tomorrow morning." (End of this chapter)