Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Almost at the same time, in the Wei army camp fifteen miles away from the Shu army camp, Wei Zhen and Wang Chang sat side by side at the table next to the stove in the commander-in-chief's tent, staring at the map on the table.

"We cannot retreat across the West Han River!" Wang Chang said firmly, "In the past month, the chariots and cavalry have been retreating again and again in the confrontation with Zhuge Liang. Today, the camp is only eight miles away from the West Han River. If we retreat further, we will have to retreat to the east side of the West Han River. With a river across the way, it will be difficult to come back! By then, the situation will be completely ruined!"

Wei Zhen was still staring at the map in a daze and did not respond to Wang Chang's words.

If a general does not know geography, he will not be able to lead the troops.

In other words, geographical factors are the prerequisite for determining how a general deploys his troops.

Decades ago, when the princes were fighting each other, the quality of the armies under each power was uneven. Lü Bu, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others had their own elite troops, and when facing ordinary armies of ordinary warlords with incomplete armor and low morale, they were often able to fight beautiful battles that crushed the enemy with ease, thus creating many famous generals in the old days.

But it's different now.

Both Wei and Shu had been established for more than ten years. Whether it was the elite Han soldiers under Zhuge Liang or the Guanxi border troops of the Wei Dynasty, they were all rushing towards professionalization and full armor.

In addition, the terrain of Longnan is different from that of Jingzhou, Huainan and other places. It is mountainous and has few roads. Therefore, when the two armies meet, it is very easy to engage in a tough battle of tit-for-tat.

Just like when Zhuge Liang led his troops to fight against Zhang He and Lu Xun three years ago, the loser would have to retreat and bear the consequences of strategic failure, and the winner would be forced to accept the not-so-good exchange ratio and swallow the loss of strength.

"Cheqi, Duke Wei, you should not hesitate any longer." Wang Chang, who was sitting on the side, urged again: "If we don't fight, you and I will really abandon Cao Ping. Then Wujie and Dazhong will no longer belong to the country. You and I will become criminals of the country and have delayed the important affairs of the court!"

Wang Chang spoke clearly.

If the two of them, or most of the Wei army, did not meet Zhuge Liang, it would be difficult for Cao Ping in Wujie to hold on. If they retreated to the West Han River, Zhuge Liang would not give them a chance to push back. At that time, Zhuge Liang could concentrate his forces and increase the intensity of the siege on Wujie.

Then all will be lost.

Wei Zhen thought about it again and again, and then said, "Haven't Chen Ping's 10,000 soldiers arrived yet?"

Wang Chang said: "We should have reached Wudu City. We will arrive in two to three days."

"Duke Wei, you can't hesitate any longer." Wang Chang continued to urge: "With 35,000 soldiers, can't Duke Wei make up his mind to fight the Shu bandits here?"

Wei Zhen sighed softly: "Wenshu, do you want to call Guo Boji again?"

"Guo Boji shouldn't have come!" Wang Chang said firmly, "What he should do now is to lead his troops south, either to attack Baxi via Micang Road or to harass Yang'an Pass. In short, he should do something. Duke Wei has asked him to prepare food and military supplies, but he has been keeping his troops at Yangping Pass. This is really wrong!"

Wang Chang also understood the confusion in Wei Zhen’s mind.

The emperor entrusted the entire Guanxi to him, and Wei Zhen was afraid that if he failed here, it would damage the military strength of the entire Guanxi and lead to a serious situation. Compared with the collapse of the situation, a Wujie City and a few thousand weak soldiers were a relatively small price to pay.

But at this moment, apart from Wang Chang, the General Zhenxi, who else could give Wei Zhen advice and make him have the courage to fight?
Wei Zhen took a deep breath and looked at Wang Chang: "How does Wen Shu plan to fight?"

Wang Chang felt relieved: "There is always a way to fight, Duke Wei, we can do this..."

Wei Zhen listened and nodded in agreement.

...On December 28th, Wu envoy Xu Xiang and his entourage arrived at Shouchun City, one of the five capitals of Wei.

If the letter was sent to Shouchun, it might not be so fast. But Zhang Hu, who was going to report the news, met General Cao Zhen who was inspecting in Dongxing.

As a general, Cao Zhen roughly calculated the time in his mind and made a prompt decision for the court. He ordered Zhang Hu to send Xu Xiang and his party to Shouchun as soon as possible. In this way, they finally delivered the gifts to Shouchun City before the New Year.

"Are you still not awake?" Cao Rui was lying on the warm couch in the bedroom of Shouchun Palace, looking at Sun Luban beside him, whose eyes were still closed but whose eyelids and eyelashes were moving slightly, and teased.

"I'm not awake yet. I'm not awake yet." Sun Luban's fair and soft arms stretched out from under the quilt and embraced Cao Rui's chest in a familiar way: "I'm not awake yet. Your Majesty, you are not allowed to leave. Stay with me and sleep for a while longer."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "You should get up too. Someone gave you a gift today. I also benefited from you. Someone also gave me some."

When Sun Luban heard Cao Rui's words, she opened her eyes instantly and showed some surprise: "Is it my father who brought the New Year's gift to Your Majesty?"

Cao Rui smiled and nodded slightly: "That's right."

"Da Hu, your father sent Xu Xiang this time. According to Zhang Hu, the garrison commander of Ruxu, Xu Xiang is very humble now. I think he must have something to ask of me when he came to Shouchun this time."

Sun Luban buried her head in Cao Rui's chest, and the delicate body in the quilt also entangled her, and said softly: "I also have something to ask of Your Majesty..."

"Okay, let's talk about it tonight. Don't mess around." Cao Rui coughed lightly, "It arrived last night. I have to get up and go see Xu Xiang. You should get up too. I will move all the things I gave you to your room later."

"I don't want it." Sun Luban shook her head. "Among the concubines in the palace, I am the only one who has my father's support. If I accept more of these gold and pearls, I am afraid I will still be ostracized. I will have to give away more to shut up others. I feel bad."

"Hahaha." Cao Rui laughed several times: "Okay, can I not publicize this matter? I will take care of it for you and give it to you after returning to Luoyang. I will give you the gift list first."

"I don't want the gift list either." Sun Luban continued to shake her head.

"What does Da Hu want?" Cao Rui asked again.

Sun Luban muttered softly: "I want to have another child..."

Cao Rui didn't want to chat with Sun Luban anymore, so he reached into the quilt with his right hand and pinched it, then stood up and said, "I'll settle the score with you later."

Sun Luban looked at Cao Rui's back, giggled, and then turned over and fell asleep, as if hearing the news about her father could give her a sense of security.

Sun Luban had long since let it go.

Her husband and her father were fighting, and she saw that her father was weak. No matter who won or lost, what could a weak woman like her do? It would be a better choice to have another child.

After changing his clothes and having breakfast, Xu Xiang was taken to the emperor's study to wait.

"Foreign minister Xu Xiang pays his respects to Your Majesty." Xu Xiang bowed and saluted.

Cao Rui looked up and glanced at Xu Xiang. It was rare for Sun Quan's ministers to kneel down and pay homage to the Wei Kingdom. Combined with Zhang Hu's previous statement, Sun Quan's envoys must have made such concessions in etiquette this time and continued to be humble and tolerant, which meant that they must have something more exaggerated to ask for. (End of this chapter)