Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"What happened to Wenzhang?"

Zhuge Liang was riding on his horse, looking sideways at Wei Yan on his right. His eyes were full of bloodshot, as if he had been crying for a long time. Zhuge Liang had never seen him like this before.

Wei Yan calmed down and said in a low voice, "Thank you Prime Minister for your consideration. The battle was urgent yesterday and we didn't have time to clean up the battlefield and sort out the bodies. At dawn today, I took my guards to the place where we fought against the Wei bandits yesterday and found Liu Nan and his body."

Zhuge Liang didn't know what to say, so he sighed and said, "Liu Nanhe is a loyal minister!"

"Prime Minister," Wei Yan calmed down and bowed his hands and asked, "Liu Nanhe has three sons. The eldest son has just come of age and is a Lang in Chengdu. The other two sons are both underage. I would like to ask the Prime Minister for a favor and let his eldest son serve as a Sima in my army and let me teach him."

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and replied in a deep voice: "The son of a loyal minister should be given a favorable treatment. Wenchang should not be too sad."

Wei Yan lowered his head slightly, suppressing the tears that were about to well up in his eyes. Even a person with a strong character like him has times when he has to be sad:
"Your Excellency may not know that Liu Nanhe and I are both from Yiyang, Jingzhou, and we both joined the army of the late emperor at the same time. It has been nearly thirty years since we met, and we are almost like family. With his death, I am the only one who joined the army of the late emperor with me! When I found his corpse, it was already in a terrible state, and I could only confirm his identity by looking at his sword..."

It was rare to see Wei Yan so sad, Zhuge Liang was completely speechless and could only remain silent.

"Prime Minister." Wei Yan turned around and looked at Zhuge Liang. "I am the same age as you. I am already fifty years old this year. If I die in battle one day, I hope you will send my body back to Yiyang for burial!"

Zhuge Liang was no longer silent when he heard this, but said fiercely: "Wen Chang, don't say such things again! It took Emperor Gaozu seven years to unify the country, and Emperor Guangwu twelve years to recover the country. It's only been fifty years, why do you have to act like this! If you want to go back to Yiyang, just follow me and lead the army back!"

Wei Yanchang took a breath and nodded: "Yes."

Zhuge Liang said slowly: "After we capture the narrow mountain, how many troops do you need to defend this place?"

Wei Yan wiped his eyes and forced himself to pull himself out of his sadness: "The terrain of the narrow mountain is narrow, please let me lead 6,000 soldiers to defend it!"

"I will give you eight thousand." Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Our army has won a great victory in this battle. If you hold the narrow mountain without moving, Wenchang will have done a great deed!"

"As you command!" Wei Yan replied, but then he asked again: "Prime Minister, how should the war be arranged afterwards?"

Zhuge Liang said: "That depends on how the Wei army moves. I will let you know when the time comes."

"I understand." Wei Yan said.

For Zhang He and Lu Xun, it was meaningless to stay in the narrow mountain when they could not continue to move east. In addition, the soldiers had no intention of fighting and the eastern camp could not be defended, so retreat was the right thing to do. When Zhuge Liang's 12,000 troops were about to reach the narrow mountain, Zhang He and Lu Xun retreated another 20 miles.

Almost at the same time, the Wei army in the east also began to prepare to form a battle formation to meet the enemy outside the original Shu army camp north of Xiabian.

At the camp gate, Wei Zhen, Guo Huai, Fei Yao and Cheng Xi were riding horses and watching the soldiers pouring out of the camp under the guidance of their respective generals and then lining up neatly in the military formation outside.

"Bo Ji, Gong Wei, what should we do today?" Wei Zhen asked.

Yesterday, after the Shu army led by Wang Ping and Gao Xiang withdrew, the three Wei armies gathered here together. Most of the military decisions made by Wei Zhen were based on the common opinions of Guo Huai and Fei Yao.

Guo Huai said in a deep voice: "Duke Wei, yesterday, the Hetang troops came around the north of the city and explained the situation in the west clearly. Zhang He's infantry is smaller than Zhuge Liang's, and Lu Xun's Qiang cavalry is useless against the Shu army's chariot formation. They must have gone west."

"With Zhang Zhengxi and Lu Huqiang here, we may be defeated, but we won't suffer a major defeat in the end."

Fei Yao interrupted and said, "The Shu army is eager to fight. If the situation is the same with Zhuge Liang's troops to the west, it may not be enough for Zhang Zhengxi and Lu Huqiang to retreat to the camp. They may have to retreat to a narrow mountain or further back to stop this momentum." Wei Zhen's face looked much more haggard. He was already tired during this period, and this was his first time to command a large army to deal with a war. Although he could listen to the opinions of Guo Huai and Fei Yao, given Wei Zhen's serious character, hard work was inevitable.

Wei Zhen sighed, "I wanted to coordinate with the east and west to attack the Shu army in the direction of Xiabian, but I didn't get what I wanted. If the general was here, he might be able to handle the war better."

Fei Yao didn't say anything, but shook his head in his heart. Wei Pushe was being modest again. If the general himself came, he should also play in the same way. What if there are some setbacks on the battlefield? The overall situation is not lost.

Guo Huai said calmly: "According to the current situation, it is difficult for the Shu army to attack the city. Since we cannot join forces with Zhang Zhengxi, the Shu army has an unknown number of troops left in the west to deal with Zhang and Lu. We should be cautious here. The army suffered too many casualties yesterday, so we should wait until we can restore contact with Zhang Zhengxi before making any plans."

Wei Zhen nodded: "That's the only way."

As Fei Yao said, after Zhang He retreated and allowed the Shu army to occupy the narrow mountain, the offensive and defensive situation changed.

Zhuge Liang himself was in Xiabian and was unable to lure Zhang He into another battle as in the previous one. Wei Yan in the west could not lose the key location of Xiashan, so his focus shifted from offense to defense.

When facing the Shu army which was in the same defensive posture, Zhang He could gradually restore the confidence of his soldiers and his command efficiency by taking specific measures such as sending troops to provoke and feint attacks in front of the Shu army camp.

Just like that, after the Wei and Shu Han sides fought this battle near Xiabian, except that the Wei army in the east was closer to Xiabian, the other situations were the same as before without fighting.

The two armies were in a stalemate on the east and west sides for several days. It was not until Wei Zhen's camp outside Xiabian City did they finally receive the imperial edict from Xuchang.

After the messenger announced the decree, Wei Zhen, Guo Huai, Fei Yao, Cheng Xi and others received the imperial edict and were suddenly filled with inexplicable emotion.

Guo Huai shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty's military ability is no less than that of Emperor Wu. Even though we are more than 2,000 miles apart, your wisdom and wisdom can see the situation here so clearly."

"Duke Wei, when His Majesty issued the edict in Xuchang, he was not aware of our recent battles. Now that we have received the edict and the army is short of food, we might as well take this opportunity to withdraw."

"Yes, Lord Wei." Fei Yao said softly, "Regardless of whether this battle should be fought or not..."

"We should fight!" Wei Zhen looked at Fei Yao solemnly and corrected him, "The general has made it clear that Wudu is the territory of the Great Wei. How can we abandon it just because of the lack of food and grass? It doesn't make sense! Your Majesty said to withdraw the troops for the time being, but it was for the general's health, not that we shouldn't fight here!"

"As for the minor setbacks of the eastern and western armies, that was also due to the decision of the general and the execution of it by me, Wei Zhen. It has nothing to do with you, Zhang He, and Lu Xun. The general and I will explain it to Your Majesty!"

"Yes." Fei Yao bowed his head slightly: "Lord Wei, I made a mistake."

"No problem." Wei Zhen shook his head: "Since the imperial edict has arrived, send a message to Zhang He and order him to withdraw with me the day after tomorrow."

"Then how do we retreat?" Guo Huai asked.

Wei Zhen said, "We have received the imperial edict. What else can we do if we don't follow the emperor's order to withdraw? The emperor's edict clearly states that he orders the general's headquarters and the Yulin Right Army to withdraw to the old road, orders the general Guo Huai's troops to withdraw to Wuxing, and orders the general Zhang He and the general Lu Xun to withdraw to Wudu City and hold on."

"Understood." Guo Huai nodded heavily: "I will draft the military order for Duke Wei, and Duke Wei will use the seal later."

"Okay." Wei Zhen nodded, walked out of the military tent, and looked towards Xiabian City not far away: "This winter is coming to an end. When the wheat is ripe and we have food and grass, the Wei Dynasty will definitely take this place again. It will be useless for the Shu thieves to take it!" (End of this chapter)