The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 334 Captive
"Kill me if you want, why dare you humiliate me?!"

The tied-up Zhang Yi struggled angrily. He was forced to the ground and kept roaring as he looked at Deng Ai in front of him.

Wen Yang stood not far away, looking at Sima Jun beside him, his eyes full of envy.

This guy is so lucky.

I have charged so many times, but I only killed some captains and the like. This guy captured the injured Zhang Yi alive in one charge.

The Shu Kingdom's General of the Western Expedition was actually captured alive. What level of achievement does this require?
If I can get this credit, I can let my father be promoted as well, and make him noble because of my son!
Wen Yang's face was full of regret.

The two sides fought outside Zhongdi City. The battle lasted for an hour and a half and ended with Deng Ai's victory.

Jiang Wei abandoned his armor and fled in a panic. Deng Ai almost wiped out Zhang Yi's Western Expedition Army and beheaded more than 10,000 people. Jiang Wei and Xiahou Ba's armies also suffered huge losses. All the things Jiang Wei brought out from Wei were left behind.

It can be said that this is the greatest victory Cao Wei has achieved against Shu in recent years.

They even captured a general who was in charge of conquering the west.

If a general of this level were captured or killed, the impact would be enormous.

The previous year, Shu's bandit-suppressing general Zhang Yi died on the battlefield.

In this year, the General of the Western Expedition of Shu was captured.

So who will be the one to take over next year?

Deng Ai was in a good mood, but his face did not show much joy of victory. He asked people to count the military achievements and the names of the soldiers who died, and repeatedly warned them not to lie about the results of the battle, not to use civilians to impersonate the enemy, not to take credit for the military achievements of their colleagues, etc.
Deng Ai had already anticipated that Jiang Wei would run away. He dared to risk his life to fight Jiang Wei because he knew that Jiang Wei would not dare to risk his life to fight him.

He could destroy Jiang Wei at the cost of 30,000 casualties, but would Jiang Wei dare to destroy him at the cost of 40,000 casualties?
Escape was his only way to survive.

Unfortunately, Jiang Wei ran too quickly and decisively, otherwise his gains could have been even greater.

But now this harvest is enough.

Jiang Wei led an army of nearly 50,000 men, but suffered a severe blow in Didao and Chen Tai, where he was attacked and killed by himself. More than half of his soldiers were killed or wounded, and the General Zhengxi was captured, without any gains.

If he returns with such a record, I'm afraid he won't even be able to hold the position of General Wei.

Wei could totally accept the casualties of tens of thousands of people, but for Shu, it was a serious blow, not to mention the capture of the generals at the level of the Four Expeditions. There would definitely be big problems within Shu!

Deng Ai's eyes suddenly brightened.

Is this chaotic world finally going to be unified again?
But Deng Ai's military strength can only go so far. If he wants to continue the pursuit and capture Shu, the number of people in the central army is not enough, and the logistics cannot keep up.

If you want to destroy the Kingdom of Shu, you must mobilize at least 200,000 troops and at least three states must provide a steady supply of supplies to solve the logistical problems before you can take it down.

Deng Ai fell into deep thought and looked at Zhang Yi in front of him.

"General, General, the general was defeated, and I treated him like a prisoner. How, how can that be considered disrespectful?"

"We all serve our respective masters. The general and I are strangers and have no personal grudges against each other. I will not assault or insult the general."

"I am now preparing to place the general in a prison cart and send him to Luoyang for your Majesty to decide his fate."

"I don't know what happened after that."

Deng Ai spoke truthfully, and there was some despair in Zhang Yi's eyes.

But Deng Ai’s meaning was very clear. I cannot decide your fate. Don’t think about angering me and seeking death or anything else. Just wait to see the emperor.

Deng Ai waved his hand, and immediately the soldiers took him out.

Deng Ai ordered: "Keep a good eye on him and don't let him die."

Wen Yang said disdainfully, "He's just a defeated general. How many of us has he killed? If he wishes to die, I'll present his head to Your Majesty!"

Deng Ai shook his head and said seriously, "Zhang Yi has already failed. Killing him won't change anything. Sparing his life, or even trying to persuade him to surrender, would be a fatal blow to Shu. Shu's generals won't fight us with their full strength in the future."

"Let's organize our troops here and wait for Lord Chen to come and meet us."

In this battle, all the generals made great contributions and their faces were filled with joy.

Sima Jun, in particular, was credited with the greatest achievement by capturing Zhang Yi alive. Even Ma Long, who was responsible for the infiltration and attack, Cheng Ji, who provided support, and Wen Yang, who was the first to charge into the battle, were no match for him.

But there was no joy on Sima Jun's face at all.

He even felt like crying but had no tears.

The Sima family is no longer as powerful as it used to be. Most of the clan members have been sent back to their hometown and kept in captivity just like the Cao Wei royal family.

As the younger brother of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, Sima Jun should have been the first to return home.

But for some reason, Cao Mao had no intention of dismissing him. He even met with him many times and praised his talents, as if he really treated him as a family member.

Sima Jun hadn't planned on making a big splash this time, just completing orders and avoiding making any major mistakes. Who would have thought that during this charge, he would actually capture Zhang Yi alive?

As a member of the Sima family, being too prominent is definitely not a good thing, which easily reminds people of Duke Xuanwen.

In the next few days, Deng Ai stayed here, reorganized his troops, cleaned up the battlefield, and sent back the civilians who were abducted but not killed.

The most pitiful ones were the people. They had done nothing but were captured and forced to leave their hometown. Halfway through their journey, they encountered a war. In the aftermath of the war, they suffered heavy casualties. Neither the Wei army nor the Shu army would show mercy to them just because they were unarmed.

Looking at the people who were too afraid to even cry out, Deng Ai's face was very solemn, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Jiang Wei looked at the young Wen Yang and saw himself when he was young.

But when he saw these innocent people being forced to flee, Deng Ai saw himself as a young man.

Many, many years ago, he was also coerced by Cao Cao and forced to leave his hometown. Along the way, he suffered a lot and truly understood the suffering of the lower-class people.

Deng Ai's greatest achievement in his life was not just conquering the Kingdom of Shu.

He led the people to build the Guangcao Canal and the Baichi Canal.

The canal connects the Yingshui River and the Huaishui River, irrigating 20,000 hectares of farmland, and connecting more than 300 miles of water transport routes to irrigate the farmland in Huaibei.

He held official posts in various places, and wherever he went, wasteland was reclaimed, canals were opened, grain harvests were abundant, and people no longer suffered from famine.

He hated those famous scholars who were good at idle talk and liked to take the lead in construction and military farming. He dismissed those good-for-nothings who could only talk big in various places and promoted many people with real talents and hard work.

In the military field, his achievements are equally remarkable. In history, Jiang Wei has never defeated Deng Ai, not even once.

But he eventually died at the hands of his own people. After his death, Sima Zhao did not rehabilitate him and treated him as a traitor.

Until one day, Sima Yan talked about Zhuge Liang with his ministers and praised Wu Hou every day. One minister took the opportunity to persuade him to pardon Deng Ai. Sima Yan immediately agreed. Later, he issued an edict to rehabilitate Deng Ai, pardon the crimes of his descendants, and appointed him as a doctor.

This action slapped his father's face to pieces.

I can only say that it still has to be Anshi.

Just when Deng Ai had pacified the people and reorganized the army, Chen Tai finally arrived.

Chen Tai led his elite cavalry here.

When Chen Tai received the letter, he couldn't even believe it and was extremely shocked. He was already surprised by the speed at which the court dispatched troops, but he didn't expect that the other side would achieve such a record, defeating Jiang Wei and capturing Zhang Yi alive. This was too scary.

Chen Tai dismounted, and Deng Ai led the generals to greet him.

"Meet the General Zhenxi!"

Chen Tai was the first to salute, but Deng Ai hurriedly returned the salute, not daring to be arrogant.

"Greetings, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Tai had obviously known about the court's appointment of Deng Ai.

Deng Ai also proved himself through this battle. The generals of Yongliang were probably convinced of the new General Zhenxi at this moment and dared not have any dissatisfaction anymore.

Jiang Wei, who led troops to the north every year, was badly beaten this time.

Is this the first time he was defeated?

Several generals behind Chen Tai were also secretly looking at Deng Ai at this moment.

Deng Ai was still very polite to Chen Tai. He called several captains and asked them to pay their respects to Chen Tai. After everyone finished paying their respects, Chen Tai began to praise him, saying, "Our country has a brave general. The Shu bandits have nothing to fear."

Deng Ai then took Chen Tai back to his tent, while the other captains chatted with Chen Tai's men outside.

The two men walked into the tent, and Chen Tai directly asked about the details of the battle.

Deng Ai did not hold back. After hearing the entire story of the battle, Chen Tai's eyes were full of astonishment.

"Mr. Deng is good at fighting, I am far inferior to him."

Deng Ai shook his head. "Chen, Chen, Lord Chen held off Jiang Wei's fierce attack, giving me the opportunity to defeat him. You weren't afraid of the enemy's strength, and you used a small number of cavalry to launch a surprise attack, making Jiang Wei afraid to act rashly. In a critical situation, you defeated Jiang Wei's attack and forced him to retreat. You are a skilled fighter, and I am far inferior to you."

Chen Tai chuckled, and the two of them praised each other for a while. Then, Chen Tai suddenly asked in a low voice: "What's the situation in Luoyang?"

Compared with Jiang Wei's affairs, Chen Tai still cares more about the emperor's affairs.

Jiang Wei has already retreated, so what he has to face next is the struggle in the temple, which is even more frightening than Jiang Wei himself.

What's more, Deng Ai is a close confidant of the Sima family, and now he is leading troops to war. It is a bit confusing that Sima Jun and Chen Tai are also among the captains.

What is going on in the temple?
(End of this chapter)