Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Qinzhou, east of Xiabian, is the main camp of the Wei army.

Cao Zhen's physical condition has been unstable recently, sometimes better and sometimes worse. When he is in good condition, he won't have a headache for half a day or a whole day, but when he is in bad condition, he can't manage anything at all.

While Cao Rui was far away in Xuchang, making decisions with Man Chong, Liu Ye and other ministers, Cao Zhen was still recuperating on the couch under the care of his personal soldiers. Not far away, in the central army tent, Du Xi, Fei Yao and Guo Huai were arguing endlessly.

Du Xi sighed, "In the past two days, according to the orders of the general, the troops have been suppressing the Shu army. Every time they mobilize troops, the Shu army also responds with all their strength. The atmosphere is getting more and more tense, and it seems that a full-scale war is about to break out. The general is in such poor health, can't we retreat a little and avoid it?"

"Boji, I have told you countless times in the past few days, why are you unwilling to withdraw your troops?"

Guo Huai was wearing full body armor and a helmet, his face as cold as the armor on his body: "Military Advisor Du, I have also told you a lot. You cannot retreat lightly in this battle. This is the order of the general. When the general is feeling better these days, you will not be allowed to withdraw your troops!"

"With national affairs like these, can we just ignore and abandon the country just because the general got sick?"

Du Xi was so angry that he stamped his feet: "Guo Boji! The general is sick, who will command? Are you going to command the whole army?"

Guo Huai glanced at Du Xi with the corner of his eye, and his voice was still emotionless: "The day before yesterday, the general said that we should fight and not retreat. You are the general's military advisor, didn't you hear it? The general said that everything should be discussed by you, me, and Sima Fei. How can we not fight!"

"You!" Du Xi pointed at Guo Huai, then put his hand down angrily and turned to ask Fei Yao: "Gong Wei! You never said a word during every decision. The general said that a decision can be made only if two out of three people agree. Don't you know that the army is in danger here?"

Fei Yao cupped his hands and said, "Military Advisor, it's not that I don't want to, but I can't. The general didn't give me such an order!"

"Oh!" Du Xi sighed deeply and walked towards the tent door. As soon as he walked out of the tent door, he saw several riders galloping from the east, holding tokens and rushing straight to the front of the central army tent.

Looking closely, the person turned out to be Wei Zhen.

"Wei Pushe." Du Xi hurriedly came to the front of the horse and said, "Who ordered Wei Pushe to come here? Wei Pushe is in charge of the logistics of food and fodder, but the military affairs are not under the control of Wei Pushe!"

"I asked Wei Pushe to come here." Fei Yao's voice came from behind: "Although the general ordered the three of us to make a decision, there have been many disputes and no decision. It is reasonable to ask Wei Pushe to come here to preside over the overall situation!"

Wei Zhen also dismounted. His usual kindness was gone. His face looked thinner than a month ago, his eyes looked more weathered, and his slightly hoarse voice even sounded more like a general commanding an army:
"Since the general is ill, His Majesty has appointed me as the Guardian of Guanxi and the Supervisor of the Guanxi Army. It is only right that I should do it for the general!"

"Sima Fei." Wei Zhen looked at Fei Yao with a stern face: "Where is the general recuperating now? Take me there quickly!"

"It's only ten steps away, right here. The general is in a better condition now and can be seen." Fei Yao pointed to the east and said, "Guardian Pushe, please come in!"

"Okay." Wei Zhen nodded and went into Cao Zhen's tent alone. Fei Yao did not follow him in.

Du Xi stared at Fei Yao from outside and said, "Gong Wei, when did you call Wei Gong Zhen here? How could I not know?"

"Your Majesty has ordered Wei Pushe to hold the imperial seal, and he is also the Guard of Guanxi!" Fei Yao argued: "If Wei Pushe doesn't come to do it, who will make the decision?"

Du Xi said: "He doesn't know anything about military affairs!"

Fei Yao asked: "Then the military advisor knows about military affairs?"

Du Xi shook his head, turned around and went back to the military tent with an expression of helplessness and resignation.

Fei Yao has been with Cao Zhen for 20 years. Cao Zhen's safety and life are the most important to Fei Yao, and the future of the family depends on Cao Zhen. The best choice for Cao Zhen is to let Cao Zhen let go of his obsession as soon as possible and concentrate on recuperation.

Cao Zhen was determined to fight, and Fei Yao could not persuade him. However, he did not want to go against Cao Zhen's wishes, so he could only explain the reason in a private message and let Wei Zhen come here to take charge of military affairs.

At this time, in the small tent nearby, the guards were ordered by Wei Zhen to guard outside the door, and only Wei Zhen and Cao Zhen were inside.

"How is the general's headache?" Wei Zhen asked softly.

Cao Zhen was half lying on the couch. Hearing this, he sighed and said, "Is Gong Zhen here?"

"It's me." Wei Zhen stepped forward and held Cao Zhen's hand.

Cao Zhen raised his other hand with all his strength and covered his forehead with it. He tried to open his eyes and looked at Wei Zhen for a few seconds, then closed his eyes again:
"Isn't Gong Zhen in charge of grain in Chencang? Who is in charge of the grain and grass?"

"I have entrusted all matters concerning food and fodder to Deng Shizai. He is trustworthy."

"Who asked Gong Zhen to come?"

"That's what Sima Fei said," Wei Zhen replied. Cao Zhen paused for a few moments and sighed softly, "Gong Wei has been with me for twenty years. He is afraid that I will die here."

Wei Zhen asked, "Is the general afraid of death?"

Cao Zhen said calmly: "Of course I am not afraid of dying for my country."

Wei Zhen said: "Then the general is dragging himself here, does that mean he has served his country faithfully?"

Cao Zhen's chest rose and fell slightly, and after a long pause, he slowly and softly responded: "Gong Zhen, I have been experiencing unbearable pains around my head recently. When I have a headache, my eyes are bright and I can't see anything. There is also an inexplicable buzzing in my ears. It is really difficult."

Wei Zhen looked at Cao Zhen's face carefully. He was still plump and bearded, but he looked visibly weak.

"General, can't we not fight this battle? Wouldn't it be better to retreat a little?"

Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "Gong Zhen, you don't understand. The arrow is on the string and has to be shot."

"I don't understand?" Wei Zhen smiled bitterly.

Cao Zhen said, "Gong Zhen, Your Majesty has only been on the throne for four years. You have conquered Shu, Wu, Liaodong, and inspected You and Bing. You have worked so hard. What is all this for? You work hard in the court, and I work hard in Longyou. What is all this for?"

"Of course I know the principle of judging the situation. But in the past twenty years, I have judged the situation too much. The repeated battles with Wu and Shu have made Wu and Shu despair."

"Despair?" Wei Zhen frowned and looked at Cao Zhen: "How did the general say the word 'despair'?"

Cao Zhen asked back: "Doesn't Gong Zhen read history?"

Wei Zhen remained silent.

Cao Zhen paused for a while, gathered some strength, and continued:
"Your Majesty often talks to me about history in your letters. When you talk about Emperor Gaozu of Han, he would personally go into danger whenever he encountered it, without exception, and only then could he overcome difficulties and obstacles and achieve success. Even though I have a headache, I can still recite the sentences Your Majesty picked out from the Book of Han."

"The King of Han rose up from Ba and Shu, whipped the whole world, robbed the princes, and finally killed Xiang Yu. Within five years, the whole country was pacified. This was not human effort, but the work of heaven. When Qin lost its power, the princes and the powerful rose up, and everyone thought they had won the throne. However, the one who finally took the throne was Liu, and the whole world was in despair."

Wei Zhen sighed again: "Although I know what you mean, your majesty's original intention is definitely not to let you ignore your safety and stay here."

Cao Zhen forced a bitter smile: "Shu has lost Hanzhong and is on the verge of extinction. Now I am fighting, not for military purposes, but for the last breath of Shu. Wei can win a great victory, a tragic victory, and both sides can lose soldiers and generals, but we cannot let the Shu army return safely. We will tear a piece of meat off them even if we have to!"

Cao Zhen grabbed Wei Zhen's right hand and said, "Gong Zhen, Gong Zhen! You should understand what I mean!"

Wei Zhen said softly: "Since you know the trust of His Majesty, you also understand your own importance. The Cao family has dominated the world with the military power of the royal family. Cao Wenlie is no longer here. You, Cao Zidan, cannot make any more mistakes."

"I told you to retreat, but you didn't listen. You wanted to consider the overall situation. Do you know that you are also the most important member of the overall situation? Brother Zidan!"

Brother Zidan.

Cao Zhen was shocked. Wei Zhen hadn't called him like this for a long time, and a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

"I understand." Cao Zhen pursed his lips.

Wei Zhen said softly, "Brother Zidan, you should return to Chencang later. Deng Ai will take care of the food and grass issues, so you should take good care of yourself in Chencang. His Majesty told you to take good care of your health two years ago, and you should understand it today."

"I understand." Cao Zhen said again.

Wei Zhen's tone softened a bit, "I know what you mean. I will be here to monitor the troops for you. If there are any doubts about the military affairs, can you make a decision with General Fei and General Guo?"

Cao Zhen sighed: "Gong Zhen's words are very good!"

"Gong Zhen, please invite all the generals here for me. I have something to discuss with them!"

"Okay, General, please wait a moment." Wei Zhen nodded in response, changed back to the title, turned around and walked out of the tent.

Soon, Du Xi, Fei Yao, Guo Huai, Cheng Xi, Hu Zun and other generals and officers all entered the tent and stood in awe. (End of this chapter)