Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 118 The Promise of War

Hu County.

West of the floodwaters.

More than three thousand mixed barbarian cavalry, tiger and leopard cavalry, and scouts received Sima Yi's orders and thoroughly cleared the entire area west of the Lao River, driving all the Han army scouts to the east of the Lao River.

Whether it was a deliberate act of letting the Wei army come to scout, or because they believed they were no match for them, the Han army did not use its precious cavalry to fight a preliminary battle against the Wei cavalry this time.

All mobile forces were concentrated within a five- or six-mile radius of the Fengshui camp, which they had just captured that morning.

As the sun began to set in the west, the Han army had by then completed its transfer.

Some of them were sent to garrison the Fengshui Camp of the Wei army.

Another group went to Xiliu Camp, north of Fengshui Camp, to recuperate.

Another group crossed the Feng River to the east and entered the territory of Chang'an, which was only ten miles away.

The three camps are very close to each other, only about half a mile or a mile apart, forming a pincer movement.

After receiving news that the roads along the route had been cleared and that the Han army had no intention of hindering the Wei's nearby observation, Sima Yi...

He then personally led his generals to rein in their horses and arrived at a safe distance ten miles south of Fengshui Camp.

The Shu cavalry were lurking about five or six miles ahead.

Behind the Shu cavalry, the outline of the Fengshui camp, which originally belonged to the Great Wei, could barely be seen.

However, it no longer matters.

Because they did see that a supply train of Shu troops, about one or two miles long and arranged in three or four columns, was continuously entering the camp under the escort of thousands of cavalry and thousands of infantry.

Without a doubt, that camp had indeed been captured by the Shu army.

They conquered it in one night.

All the generals were horrified.

"What...what exactly happened?"

"One night? How could this fortified position be captured in just one night?"

"Could it be that, like Gaoling City, Guanqiu Jian was also unprepared, allowing the Shu bandits to take advantage of the situation and invade?"

Someone had a sudden thought: "Could it be that the Shu bandits brought siege equipment from Xiliu Camp?!"

"Nonsense! The Shu bandits of Xiliu Camp crossed the river hastily, and could only build a simple pontoon bridge to cross south. How could their siege weapons, which are so cumbersome, possibly cross such a pontoon bridge?"

There was a great deal of discussion.

Before long, Zhou Dang, Jia Xu, Wei Ping, and other generals who had strongly advocated for leaving the camp to fight the Shu army the day before, disregarded the distinction between superiors and subordinates and directly expressed their dissatisfaction with Sima Yi's passive avoidance of battle.

Some people even started to make sarcastic remarks:

"Hmph, I say, General of the Flying Cavalry, the Shu bandits are now at the gates of Chang'an!"
"In my opinion, we should stay in that fortified position and wait until the Shu bandits have captured Chang'an and suffered heavy losses before sending troops to cut off their supply lines and retake Chang'an!"

Upon hearing these words, the brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, who were standing beside their father, were immediately dejected and ashamed.

On horseback, Sima Yi remained silent, showing no emotion, only gazing towards the Feng River as if lost in thought.

The more Sima Yi acted this way, the more the generals vehemently expressed their dissatisfaction with the General of Chariots and Cavalry's avoidance of battle.

After a long time, Wang Guan, who strongly agreed with Sima Yi's avoidance of battle, finally sighed: "With such a strong fortification, Zhuge Liang actually launched a strong attack overnight and captured it in one night. Who could have imagined that?"
"As the saying goes, 'to see the whole leopard from a spot,' it can be seen from this that the Shu bandits are far superior to the likes of Meng Da and Wu the bandits, and should not be underestimated."

"Therefore, General of the Flying Cavalry was undoubtedly right not to accept the challenge from the Shu bandits at noon yesterday. However, attacking a large force with a small one could have resulted in a defeat for the army!"
"Last night, it was not wrong for me to stop you from hastily leading troops to the rescue. If there had been an ambush, we could have risked defeating the army by attacking the exhausted enemy!"

"Now the enemy is attacking while we are defending, the enemy is the guest while we are the host, and the initiative is still in the hands of our Great Wei..."

"The initiative is still in the hands of our Great Wei," General Zhou Dang said with a disdainful smile.

"I think if we don't act quickly, the Shu bandits will take Chang'an from Xiahou Mao tomorrow!"

"You scoundrel, still talking about initiative?!"

Wang Guan frowned and looked at him:

"Now that the enemy is the guest and we are the host, and the enemy is attacking while we are defending, instead of relying on deep trenches and high walls to repel the enemy, we are fighting the Shu bandits in the open field. Isn't this exactly what the Shu bandits want?"

"General Guanqiu has followed Your Majesty since the time of Pingyuan. He is Your Majesty's trusted confidant and right-hand man. There is absolutely no way he could have fled without a fight last night!"

"Therefore, although the Shu bandits captured this fortified stronghold, their losses must have been considerable!"

"The saying goes, 'One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane on the second attempt and be exhausted on the

"Why not use the defeated and weak troops under the command of General Guanqiu Zhonglang and Protector of the Army to suppress Shu to block the Shu bandits layer by layer, deplete the Shu bandits' elite troops and generals, and boost their morale, and then seek an opportunity to fight them decisively?"
"It's just that we didn't expect the Shu bandits to be able to conquer it overnight."

Wei Ping snorted coldly, responding sharply:

"In warfare, one engages with the orthodox and wins with the unorthodox. For our Great Wei, defending the city is the orthodox strategy, and fighting in the field is the unorthodox strategy."

"If we hold our camps and fortresses, the battle will be unfavorable. It is time to employ unconventional field tactics!"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. What kind of twisted logic was this?
If you want to fight in the field, how does that relate to using surprise tactics?
While everyone remained silent, Sima Yi, on horseback, suddenly stroked his beard and nodded:

"I think Wei Ping is right. To confront the Shu bandits in a fair and square manner under the walls of Chang'an is indeed a brilliant strategy for our Great Wei."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Sima Yi, on the other hand, appeared calm and composed:
"I wish to challenge Zhuge Liang to a duel in Chang'an in three days, with a grand battle array to determine the victor. Is there anyone willing to go as an envoy?"

Sima Yi's words left even the pro-war faction somewhat bewildered.

After all, this General of the Cavalry has given people the impression of being a coward these past few days!

Wei Yan led his men to insult the emperor and the Wei soldiers, but he remained unmoved by the fact that his sons were also to be ridden!

Who would have thought that he would suddenly have an epiphany?

Could it be that he was so angry that he didn't expect Zhuge Liang to steal his home?
However, Chen Gui, Zhou Tai, and others believed that what Wang Guan said was correct.

But the General of the Flying Cavalry has suddenly made a decision to fight the Shu bandits in open field.
This... either the General of the Cavalry is very confident in his abilities, or...

If we don't engage the Shu bandits in open field battles soon, I'm afraid that those under my command, such as Zhou Dang and Wei Ping, who strongly advocate for open field battles, will start to have conflicts and become uncontrollable.
"Lord Sima, I am willing to go on this mission." General Chen Gui volunteered.

Sima Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded and ordered someone to issue the special tokens and credentials for envoys, sending Chen Gui with more than ten riders to the Han camp.

When two countries are at war, envoys are not to be killed.

Yesterday morning, the Han army also sent envoys to challenge the Wei army to a duel in front of their camp. Sima Yi refused them outright, not allowing them into the camp. Only then did Wei Yan lead his men to the camp to engage in a verbal battle.

Chen Gui led two riders slowly toward the Feng River.

After Chen Gui had gone a mile or two, Sima Yi ordered Wen Qin and Zhou Tai to lead three thousand cavalry straight to Chang'an to ask the defeated army that had fled Chang'an what had happened the night before.

Ultimately, his heart was still slightly unsettled.

After all, the Shu army broke through the camp overnight, but he knew nothing about how the battle started, how it ended, how Zhuge Liang did it, or whether Guanqiu Jian, Linghu Yu, Xiahou Ru, and others were captured alive.

Ignorance leads to confusion.

The saying "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated" becomes meaningless without it. Even the question of whether Chang'an is still in the hands of the Wei Dynasty is now in doubt.

Even if the possibility is small.

But yesterday he also believed that the possibility of Zhuge Liang launching an attack overnight was very small.

Why?

One reason is that since entering Guanzhong, Zhuge Liang has been traveling thirty li a day, proceeding steadily and surely.

Furthermore, when the Shu army arrived at this fortified stronghold east of the Great Wei reed marshes the day before yesterday, they also only traveled thirty li and did not launch a direct attack. Instead, they rested for a night to recuperate before challenging it.

Who would have thought that he would not rest and recuperate, but instead launch a direct attack, after leaving his troops at noon and trekking more than forty miles to reach Guanqiu Jian's Fengshui camp?

Before Chen Gui could return, Sima Yi and his generals led over a hundred cavalrymen back to the rear, and then gave orders to prepare for the military operation.

The camp of over 40,000 men was divided into north and south camps. In addition, there were several thousand shi of grain captured from the Shu army camp, bringing the total grain to over 30,000 shi.

In modern units of measurement, this would amount to over a thousand tons; if all of it were piled together, it would be enough to form a small mountain several tens of feet high.

Meanwhile, most of the Wei's supply wagons and grain ships, and even the tens of thousands of laborers and slaves transporting the grain, were in the east, preparing for the next grain transfer.

Now that the camp must be broken up in haste, how to transport the grain and supplies back to Chang'an is a real problem that cannot be ignored.

In the original historical timeline, a major factor in Sima Yi's great victory in attacking Liaodong was the availability of supplies.

Gongsun Yuan mobilized all the country's grain supplies to the Liaosui front line. As a result, Sima Yi attacked the area the enemy was forced to defend, directly attacking the capital Xiangping. This caused Gongsun Yuan's troops, who were blocking the front line, to abandon their supplies and flee. In the end, tens of thousands of troops returned to Xiangping and ate the city's stored grain.

In the end, Xiangping City was not captured by Sima Yi through a strong attack. Instead, Gongsun Yuan ran out of food and supplies, and when his surrender request was rejected, he had no choice but to abandon the city and flee in panic.

Sima Yi, now facing the same problem, is being attacked by the Han army, which is forced to defend the enemy's rear.

The lower reaches of the Wei River were still under the control of the Han army, and dozens of ships could not be taken away and had to be burned to prevent them from being used by the Han army.

This has led to an even greater shortage of transportation capacity.

The simplest solution would be to let the more than 40,000 people in the village continue to eat until most of the grain is used up, and then return to Chang'an lightly equipped.

But if that happens, the Shu army might even capture Chang'an!

If this clumsy method is not feasible, then there is only one option left: travel more than ten miles a day and rely on manpower to slowly move the grain eastward.

As for burning the grain and leaving.

Sima Yi was unwilling to do it unless absolutely necessary.

The Guandong region is suffering from a severe drought, and all waterways have been cut off. As a result, the Wei dynasty's provisions in Guanzhong have become extremely scarce. And now, this battle has come to a head, and it may well be a matter of whose provisions can last until the very end.

An hour later, the three thousand cavalrymen sent to Chang'an returned to their camp.

The number of Shu cavalry was no less than that of Wei cavalry.

Although not as elite as the Wei cavalry, Sima Yi clearly did not want to waste his elite cavalry on such a meaningless battle.

This is perfectly understandable.

In the eyes of many insightful people in the Great Wei, these Qiang and Xiongnu cavalry who defected to the Shu bandits had not undergone training and integration. Even if the Shu bandits had an experienced general like Zhao Yun who was proficient in cavalry warfare, it was impossible to expect these useless Hu cavalry to use any infantry-cavalry coordinated tactics on the battlefield.

Small-scale skirmishes and logistical battles were the strengths of these nomadic cavalry, as they could be accomplished without requiring a high degree of organization.

Therefore, rather than letting the elite cavalry of Wei engage in a meaningless battle of attrition with the barbarian cavalry of Shu, it would be better to use Wei's best resources wisely and put them to good use on the main battlefield.

After Xiahou Ru, who had brought over three thousand cavalrymen to report the situation, arrived at the central command tent, he recounted the events that had occurred in front of the Fengshui camp the previous night to all the generals and officers in the camp, as if pouring out beans.

All the generals were astonished.

"Can more than thirty well curbs be assembled in just two or three hours?"

"They've even built a battering ram?"

"I say, Commander Xiahou... could it be that you're conspiring to deceive us to shirk responsibility for the defeat?"

Xiahou Ru was annoyed by these questions and glared at them:

What do you mean by this?!

"There are tens of thousands of people in the camp. Once you return to Chang'an, just ask anyone and you'll know if it's true or not!"
"What good would it do for the greater good if I were to deceive you here?!"

"Commander Xiahou, I... I didn't mean that. I know you wouldn't lie to us, but this is truly unheard of!"

"Yes, Commander, the forest around the camp has been completely destroyed. Where will Zhuge Liang get the timber to build the well siege tower? Such large timbers, are they transported by supply wagons?"

"Furthermore... logically speaking, even if all the materials are prepared and complete, assembling a well curb would take at least half a day, wouldn't it?!"

Inside the tent, chatter and discussion continued unabated.

Paradoxically, compared to the initial fear and disbelief upon learning of the camp's fall,

After learning that the Shu army had suddenly used siege weapons to capture the camp, many officers felt somewhat relieved.

This at least shows that the Shu bandits were not some kind of superhuman, superhuman soldiers!

In contrast to the generals' relief, Sima Yi hoped that the Shu army would capture the fortified village at the cost of lives, rather than relying on siege equipment.

Because only now did he truly understand one thing:

The Shu army has been marching slowly and hesitantly for a month, actually in order to prepare siege weapons that can be quickly disassembled and assembled along the way!

Upon realizing this, Sima Yi then thought of the several repeating crossbows captured on the battlefield.

It was incredibly ingenious and precise, with almost no error in the parts between different crossbows. If a part of one crossbow was broken, it could be directly removed from another crossbow and installed.

This ingenious skill is probably the key to why the Shu bandits were able to assemble siege equipment in such a short time.
How come he didn't notice this?
Thinking back to the more than 20,000 armored soldiers of Shu who lined up outside the camp to challenge him yesterday, this general felt even more bitter and speechless.

He had already realized that the Shu army was not expecting him to hold his ground and refuse to fight, but was genuinely challenging him and wanted to fight the Wei army to the death in front of this camp.

The reason for venturing deep into enemy territory to seize Guanqiu Jian's fortified camp was merely a last resort after failing to challenge him.

Even the alternative plans were prepared to the fullest extent possible, which is why they were able to capture the stronghold unexpectedly in one night.

If this isn't being prepared for any eventuality, then what is?

Fengshui Camp.

Wei envoy Chen Gui took the reins from the Shu soldier, mounted his horse, and rode away.

The Prime Minister of Shu has agreed.

Three days later, the armies of Wei and Shu will deploy their forces outside Chang'an and decide the victor in a decisive battle.

He rode his horse for more than a hundred paces, then suddenly stopped, gazing back at the camp that originally belonged to the Great Wei. After a moment of sighing, he let out a heartfelt lament.

"The Prime Minister of Shu truly has the demeanor of a prime minister."

"I wonder what General Piaoji is up to this time."

"Are we really going to abandon the fortifications of our camps and cities, and instead engage in a decisive battle with the Shu bandits in a grand formation?"

(End of this chapter)