Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

The Wei army was advancing on the three eastern routes, and the general Sima Feiyao, who was in charge of the northern route, was undoubtedly the one under the greatest pressure. Seeing that Cheng Xi was willing to take the initiative to provide assistance, his frown relaxed a lot:
"General Cheng, I am so grateful for your kindness. I didn't contact you much when I was in the central army before. It's my fault. If you have any questions in the future, please let me know!"

Cheng Xi bowed and said, "Please rest assured. The two lieutenants Tu Shun and Li He in my army are your old subordinates when you were in the central army. I will order these two thousand men to dismount and follow you."

"Okay!" Fei Yao nodded immediately.

The Wei army retreated for a short rest, and then, under the command of Fei Yao, they rushed towards the Shu army's Ma Zhong's troops along the valleys between the mountains and the gentle slopes on both sides. Under the defense of the Shu army's locust-like crossbows, it was impossible to attack with a small-scale elite force, and the only correct way was to press forward with a large force.

"Come here." Ma Zhong looked at the densely packed Wei army soldiers advancing from the east with a serious expression, and ordered the messenger in a hoarse voice: "Split into two groups and report to the Prime Minister and General Wang, saying that the Wei army's offensive is swift and fierce. I can only hold out for two quarters of an hour at most, and then I will retreat to the second line of defense."

"Repeat it again!"

"Yes." The two scouts with the rank of squad leader did not dare to be careless at all. They leaned close to Ma Zhong's ear and repeated it. Seeing that there was no mistake, they took the token from Ma Zhong and rode west on horseback.

With a clang, Ma Zhong drew his sword from his waist, turned around and shouted to the guards around him: "Order Chu Sima to fire three volleys and then abandon the chariot formation, and then go to the camp to defend on both sides. Everyone, follow me to the front of the fort and hold on!"

"Yes, sir!" The Shu soldiers beside him shouted loudly, and they all gripped their spears tightly and rushed forward under the guidance of General Ma Zhong's flag.

Fei Yao, accompanied by his personal guards, sat on his horse in the rear army formation, staring at the battle line not far ahead. From his rear perspective, the progress of the battle was relatively clear.

As one thousand soldiers on each side used the mountain terrain to bypass the Shu army's chariot formation and camp, and rushed towards the Shu army camp from the side, the chariot formation that was originally blocking the road was easily climbed over by the Wei army soldiers in front of the camp who withstood the rain of arrows. The wooden carts were also dragged to both sides of the valley, clearing a path for their comrades behind them to advance.

"Report!"

A messenger with a red corner flag on his back ran towards Fei Yao's chess piece. According to military rules, the soldiers in the army also made way for a narrow path so that he could get straight to Fei Yao's horse.

"Report! General, Captain Zhang has sent a message from the front army, saying that the front of the Shu army camp has been breached. General, please give the order!"

"Tell Captain Zhang to move forward quickly and cooperate with the friendly forces on the left and right to occupy the Shu camp and clear a path for the cavalry in the rear!"

"Yes!" The messenger knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and saluted, then left.

Fei Yao calmed himself down, slowly turned around and said to Cheng Xi beside him: "General Cheng, the enemy troops are about to be defeated, it is time for the elite cavalry of the central army to use their strength."

"It's for this moment!" Cheng Xi showed a happy expression, and quickly bowed and said: "General Fei, wait a moment, I will send a thousand elite cavalry to break through the camp and try to kill them in the rear!"

"Okay, I'll wait for good news." Fei Yao smiled slightly.

The cavalry captain named Su Shang received an order from Cheng Xi and ordered his cavalrymen to dress neatly. After the front army captain Zhang sent a message to the rear for the second time, saying that all the Shu soldiers had withdrawn from the camp, they followed the path created by the infantrymen to the left and right, slowly increased their speed, and galloped westward through the valley.

Fei Yaoshang was reorganizing his troops in Ma Zhong's camp which had just fallen into the hands of the Wei Dynasty. The 1,000 cavalrymen he had just sent out actually turned back along the original route.

When Fei Yao heard the news, his face turned ugly. Cheng Xi couldn't save face either, so he went forward to meet the cavalrymen who came to report the news, and as soon as the cavalrymen stopped their horses, he scolded them:
"Where is Su Shang? Ask him to come see me!" Cheng Xi said angrily, "Didn't I order him to lead the troops to attack the Shu army from behind? How come he came back so soon?"

"General, General, Captain Su was killed in the battle." The leading officer dismounted and reported to Cheng Xi with a gasping breath: "General, there is another Shu army camp at the valley entrance five miles to the west. It is wider and thicker than the Shu army camp here. Captain Su approached the front of the army to investigate and was shot dead by a crossbow hidden behind the Shu army camp. Then arrows rained down on him. His comrades fought hard to get Captain Su's body back!"

"Su Shang is dead?" Cheng Xi lost his composure for a moment and quickly stepped forward to grab the cavalry officer's shoulder armor: "Did you see with your own eyes that the Shu camp over there is bigger than this one?"

Fei Yao also stood beside Cheng Xi with a gloomy face, staring at this man.

The cavalry officer swallowed his saliva and answered firmly, "How dare I deceive you? It is true. You will know once you come closer!"

Fei Yao felt his scalp tingling, and he pressed down on Cheng Xi's shoulder, saying in a trembling voice: "General Cheng, we are in trouble today!"

For such a large-scale battle, the death of a cavalry captain in the central army was not a big deal.

Cheng Xi did not ask about the dead lieutenant Su Shang, but said to Fei Yao: "General Fei, 24,000 troops are attacking the Shu bandits from three directions. You and I have the heaviest task in the north. It is so difficult for us to break through the Shu bandits' camp, not to mention Wei Pushe and Guo Zhengshu."

"Inform Wei Pushe and Guo Zhengshu immediately!"

Fei Yao nodded: "That makes sense! I'll send someone to report it right away. But what about the second camp of the Shu army in the west?"

Cheng Xi thought for a few moments and said, "General Fei has walked this road with the general before. I have only one question. If we destroy the camp five miles away, will the Shu army have any more camps to defend it?"

"Absolutely not!" Fei Yao said anxiously, "I remember this road very well. In another five or six miles, we will be out of the valley and reach the flat land north of Xiabian. There is no mistake!"

Cheng Xi gritted his teeth, and after a long struggle in his heart, he managed to say:
"Today, the royal army is attacking the Shu army from the east and west. You and I have a combined force of 12,000 soldiers. If we can't fight to the death and defeat the Shu army, there will be no hope for the overall situation today. We will also be unable to coordinate with Zhang Zhengxi in the west, and that will really put the situation in danger!"

"General Fei, in the past, His Majesty ignored everyone's advice and promoted me to the position of General of the Right Imperial Guards. Now that the situation is critical, I swear to repay His Majesty's kindness even if I sacrifice my life! Although the Right Imperial Guards are elite, we can't care about so much at the moment. We must dismount and fight on foot. Even if the Privy Council punishes me in the future, I will have no regrets."

"Four thousand! I will only leave three thousand cavalrymen behind, and I will dismount and fight with you on foot. Even if it means losing lives and being chased by you like ants, we will fight to the death to defeat this group of Shu troops!"

Fei Yao clenched his right fist, hammered his breastplate hard, and shouted: "General Cheng is so heroic, how can I lose my fighting spirit? Send a message to the whole army, set out to the west in a quarter of an hour to fight to the death with the Shu army!"

"Okay!" Cheng Xi's tone was equally firm.

……

Just when Fei Yao and Cheng Xi made up their minds and drove their soldiers to strive westward, on the battlefield west of Xiabian, Zhang He, the general of the Western Expedition of the Wei Dynasty, also led his army out of the camp and marched towards Wei Yan's camp in an orderly manner.

When Zhang He set out from Qishan, he led 15,000 soldiers, and Lu Xun also had 10,000 Qiang cavalry under his command. However, he had to leave people to defend Wudu City, and sent 2,000 people to guard the camp at Xishan. Lu Xun also sent Zhi Wudai to the West Han River to guard against Wu Yi's troops of the Shu army, and left 1,000 soldiers to defend the camp here.

Some were reduced in the east and some in the west. At present, Zhang He's army only had 11,000 foreign troops and 7,000 Qiang cavalry, totaling 18,000 troops. However, this force was enough to block the entire front in the flat valley between the mountains, which was about two miles wide.

Two miles away from the Shu army camp, Zhang He ordered the entire army to stop, and selected two generals, He An and Guo Ling, to lead two thousand soldiers each, and march forward side by side, one on the left and one on the right, towards Wei Yan's camp.

Zhang He himself led a hundred cavalrymen, following behind the four thousand soldiers of Generals He and Guo at a distance of more than a hundred feet, keeping a close eye on the army formation in front of him. General Lu Xun, who protected the Qiang, also followed Zhang He's army.

Lu Xun couldn't help but sighed, "When your majesty was feasting in Qishan City before, he commented on the generals and said that General Zhang's marching and battle formations were incomparable and he rarely made mistakes. I didn't know it at the time. Today, I followed General Zhang to the front of the army to watch the battle, and only then did I know the key to General Zhang's clever changes."

Zhang He looked solemnly at the battle in the east. He stroked his beard and said in a clear voice, "Boyan, if we really want to explain everything on the battlefield, it can be done in one sentence. If we can understand the military situation earlier, we can make timely responses. This is how we make changes on the battlefield."

"If we were to defeat the Qiang and Hu rebels in Guanxi normally, I wouldn't need to personally go forward to observe the enemy situation and just attack them. But here the terrain is open and there is no need to worry about an ambush. These hundred knights have all been my brave followers for many years. If I go there in person, I can make decisions faster."

Lu Xun nodded: "General Zhang is right."

After saying this, the two stopped talking and stared closely at the battle situation in the east.

For the two generals He An and Guo Ling who were leading the troops in the front, today's progress was indeed smooth.

The two of them had been under Zhang He's command for only about two years. Before that, they were under Qian Zhao's command. In the Battle of Lueyang two years ago, He An and Guo Ling both participated in the assault on Wei Yan's camp. That battle, with heavy casualties, left a deep impression on the two.

A basic quality of a famous general is that he is familiar with the basic situation of the generals and soldiers in his army.

After making the pre-battle assignments last night, Zhang He also had a private conversation with Generals He and Guo. In addition to the normal encouragement from a commander to his subordinates, Zhang He also privately promised the two that if they fought bravely and captured the enemy camp tomorrow, he, the General who Conquers the West and Marquis of Ou County, would personally write to His Majesty to ask for the reward of a Marquis for the two.

Today, He An and Guo Ling arrived in front of Wei Yan's camp under a sparse rain of arrows and easily defeated nearly a thousand soldiers stationed outside the camp. After the Shu army soldiers fled back to the fortification wall, there was no need to ask for instructions in this situation. The reward of being a marquis was in sight, and the two of them drove the soldiers forward without hesitation, pushing down and destroying the thin fortification wall. Under the command of their respective Sima, Qu Chang, and Du Bo, the soldiers rushed towards the Shu army camp, which was no longer blocked.

"Is it done?" Lu Xun asked softly, squinting his eyes and looking eastward.

"Let's take another look." Zhang He's expression did not change at all.

At this moment, the two captains He An and Guo Ling, who were at the front, were each in their own military formation, but their expressions were surprisingly consistent.

First he was stunned, then he was surprised, and then he was terrified.

Almost at the same time, their respective military formations showed signs of chaos.

"He Er, He Er!" He An shouted loudly.

"Brother." He An's biological brother He Sheng hurriedly came forward. He was just a dubo who commanded a hundred people and served as his brother's bodyguard.

"Come closer!" He An swallowed.

When He Sheng came up to him, He An lowered his voice and said, "The Shu army is playing tricks. I'll give you my horse. Go and tell General Zhang about the military situation here and tell him that I will fight to the death today. General Zhang is among the cavalry behind you and me. Protect him and return to the army."

"Understand?"

He Sheng paused for a few moments, then asked with all his strength: "I go with General Zhang? What about my brother?"

"What do you think we should do?" He An stared at his soldiers who were turning to a defensive formation in front of him, gritting his teeth and saying, "The Shu army is plotting this, and I am in the vanguard. I may not survive today. But you and I are the only brothers in the family, you must work hard to save the clan. Tell Mr. Zhang that I will fight to the death, and he will keep you."

"Brother!" He Sheng shed tears and reluctantly grabbed He An's arm.

"Get lost!" He An swung the whip and hit He Er's shoulder hard. After stuffing the whip into He Er's hand, he drew his sword and raised it high, shouting to the soldiers around him:

"Pass the order down. I will hold this place with you. General Zhang's army will be here soon! Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed immediately!"

Thanks to their good daily training and strict military discipline, even in a hurry to fight, the soldiers of He An and Guo Ling were able to quickly form a battle formation, but it still seemed too hasty.

Just now, when the vanguard of the Wei army was about to reach the Shu army camp, with only a few feet away, there was a shrill horn sound, and everyone in the Shu army camp shouted in unison.

Accompanied by the earth-shaking shouts of "Ping" from thousands of Shu soldiers, the last wall in front of the Wei army, which was two miles wide from north to south, was pulled down by the Shu soldiers on the east with long ropes.

The last wall was made of a thin layer of wood covered with mud! From a distance, it looked no different from an ordinary wall.

After the wall collapsed, He An, Guo Ling and the Wei soldiers in front discovered at the same time that there were no tents or baggage in the Shu army camp. On the open plain, there were all Shu army infantrymen who were already lined up in a complete array, wearing armor and holding spears!
With just such a simple strategy, the Shu army actually achieved some ambush effect in the open area. In front of them were 4,000 slightly panicked Wei soldiers, while most of the soldiers led by Zhang He were still more than two miles to the west!
This is an opportunity as precious as real gold, but fleeting.

"Advance." Zhuge Liang stood on a wooden cart about two meters high, drew a sword from a gorgeous scabbard inlaid with gold and jade, and pointed it diagonally to the west. At the end of the sword near the hilt, the word "Zhangwu" was engraved in seal script.

In the first year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei ascended the throne in Chengdu and cast eight swords with iron from Jinniu Mountain. Except for the sword Liu Bei wore himself and the sword he gave to Zhuge Liang, the other six swords were given to Liu Chan, Liu Li, Liu Yong, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Guan Yu's son Guan Xing.

In this era, it was a popular custom for the lord to forge knives, swords, and even tools as gifts to his sons and subordinates.

In the past, Cao Cao forged five Baipi knives, named after dragon, tiger, bear, horse and sparrow. Three of them were given to Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and Cao Lin respectively, and the remaining two were kept by Cao Cao himself. When Cao Pi was competing with Cao Zhi for the throne, he also cast a bronze tripod and gave it to Zhong Yao to show his friendship.

In previous expeditions, Zhuge Liang only kept this sword in his residence. During this Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang deliberately carried this sword with him. Seeing the sword reminded him of the emperor, and it was as if the emperor's voice and smile were still there. When he used the army, his mind became much firmer.

Zhuge Liang's voice was not loud, and the Prime Minister's men in the high carriage might not have heard it. But the tip of the long sword in his hand pointed to Zhang He's army in the west, and the blade was tilted forward, reflecting the flowing light. The concept represented by this action was clear and unmistakable.

Accompanied by the orderly sound of trumpets and drums in the Shu army's formation, Wei Yan in the middle, Liu Yong on the right, and Chen Shi on the left, the three generals pressed forward almost at the same time, and the soldiers at the front of the formation almost instantly connected with the Wei army.

The sound of trumpets and shouts of killing filled the air, drowning out the crisp sound of weapons clashing. For both the Wei army and the Shu army, Zhang He's troops came all the way from Qishan, and the Shu Han army had a long way to go to the north, so both sides were very clear about their responsibilities.

Grit your teeth and hold the line, work together with your comrades to fight the enemy, use the martial arts and fighting skills you have learned and practiced in your daily life, and ignore everything else, just kill the bandit in front of you first!

If the tip of the spear pierces the neck, people will bleed and die. No army is invincible!
When the two armies were engaged in battle, it was a matter of life and death. Zhang He heard the sound of war drums from the Shu army camp to the east. Just as he was getting anxious, one horse and three horses each came out from the army formations of He An and Guo Ling, and rushed towards Zhang He to report the news.

Listening to these people discussing military intelligence anxiously, Zhang He's face became uncertain for a moment.

Lu Xun was not the commander-in-chief. Although he was also anxious at the moment, he was calmer than Zhang He and had a more objective insight into the situation on the battlefield. He reached out to stop the messenger and grabbed Zhang He's wrist and said anxiously:

"The Shu army is used to setting ambushes. They were well prepared today. Zhuge Liang must have gathered a large army here to fight you and me! There are more Shu soldiers in the west, and there must be fewer in the east. If you and I can hold back Zhuge Liang, Wei Zhen, Guo Huai, and Fei Yao will definitely do something in the east. We must not fight lightly!"

"Don't fight lightly? Boyan, those are 4,000 elite soldiers, how can we abandon them so easily? I am the General of the Western Expedition of the Wei Dynasty, and I must save my own soldiers!"

"Go, everyone, return to the battle formation!" Zhang He turned his horse and rode away, gradually increasing his speed while shouting to Lu Xun who was standing beside him, "Boyan, you and Zhou Duo's 3,000 cavalry will be my flank in the south, protecting the gentle slope in the south for me. I will handle the rest of the flat ground myself! Let Cao Ping and Zou Ling pass through the gap between the middle and southern Shu armies to stop the enemy for a while!"

"This is a military order!"

"As ordered!" Although Lu Xun was unwilling, he could only accept the order with his hands clasped in agreement. But a moment later, he shouted, "The Hetang tribe is more powerful. I will let them replace Zou Ling!"

"I only need 4,000 cavalry to get through, and I don't care about the rest!" Zhang He responded, then sped up his horse and galloped back to the camp.

Almost a hundred cavalrymen had just entered the battle formation when 11,000 Wei soldiers, under the command of the sound of gongs and drums, simultaneously headed eastward to meet them.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhang He led his troops to the rear of He An and Guo Ling's army in a mere three miles.

Thanks to their timely arrival, He An and Guo Ling's troops had just been surrounded on three sides by the Shu army and were on the verge of collapse. However, most of the Wei army's infantry behind them fought back along the Shu army's forward extension to the west, and the battle line became further stalemate.

At this moment, the armies on the front line of the battle, both Wei and Shu Han, had exactly 8,000 men each. Zhang He's army had 3,000 men led by Chen Ping behind him, while behind Wei Yan and Liu Yong of the Shu army were Wu Ban, Ju Fu, and Meng Yan, a total of 7,000 men, and Zhuge Liang himself was also in Wu Ban's army.

On the gentle slope to the south were the 3,000 men of the Shu army led by Chen Shi and the 3,000 infantry led by Huang Xi behind them. These were the enemy forces that Lu Xun's 7,000 Qiang cavalry had to deal with.

At this tense moment, Zhang He had no time to give orders to Lu Xun. Lu Xun was in the front line, and saw the Shu army's infantry holding spears and forming a formation, getting closer and closer to him, but he still squinted his eyes and looked east, without making any movement.

Those were the 3,000 infantrymen of Chen Shi’s army.

He Tang leaned over his horse and calmed the horse, which was a little frightened by the noise of the battlefield. He sat up straight and asked carefully, "General, the enemy army is getting closer and closer. When should we charge?"

"Wait a moment." Lu Xun responded calmly.

"Yes." He Tang cupped his hands. This Qiang leader who had volunteered to be a volunteer outside Linqiang City in Xiping County more than two years ago, after two years of training, has now become a qualified cavalry general.

To the north of Lu Xun's Qiang cavalry formation, most of Zhang He's troops were still fighting the Shu army without giving in. The front line of the battle was constantly swinging slightly, like two strong men fighting barehanded, neither giving in.

Compared with these soldiers, the Wei army's Qiang cavalry and the Shu army's infantry on the gentle slope in the south were standing still, which seemed extremely strange.

Zhuge Liang watched this scene from Wu Ban's army and gave the order in a deep voice: "Order Chen Shi's troops to advance and suppress the Wei cavalry. Then let Huang Xi follow behind Chen Shi one mile away, and Ju Fu lead his troops to block the gap between Chen Shi and Wei Yan!" (End of this chapter)