Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 131 War begins

After resting for two hours, Sima Yi led his generals Zhou Tai, Sun Li, Wang Guan, and Wei Ping to abandon Chang'an and head straight for Baling.

They set off under the cover of night, and by the time they met up with Wang Chang at Baling, it was already dawn. This day was the twelfth day of the fifth month of the second year of the Taihe era of the Great Wei Dynasty and the sixth year of the Jianxing era of the Han Dynasty.

Sima Yi entrusted the defense to Wang Chang and ordered him to lead 30,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 civilian laborers and auxiliary soldiers to move eastward along the south side of the canal until they reached the southwest edge of the Lishan Plateau, where they established a fortified camp.

Baling is still forty li from Xinfeng. As the attacking force in this decisive battle, Sima Yi's Wei army obviously could not start from here to attack the Han army. They would need a springboard in between.

After Wang Chang left, he summoned the brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao and gave them a few instructions before going to sleep in the corner tower on the city wall.

When I woke up, it was already noon.

Although the two maids attending to him by the bed kept waving palm-leaf fans to cool him down, even the breeze felt sticky, making it hard for Sima Yi to bear.

It is now the height of summer, and the Guanzhong Plain, surrounded by mountains, has become a scorching furnace.

The areas near waterways like the Wei River, Ba River, and Caoqu Canal are even more scorching, almost indistinguishable from the humid heat of Xiangfan.

Sima Yi pushed open the door from the corner tower, and the scorching air immediately distorted and steamed before his eyes.

Gazing eastward, at the foot of Mount Li, a dozen miles away, the camp of the Great Wei Dynasty stood prominently. Though it was a still object, it seemed to sway in the heat.

The Shu cavalry that had been patrolling near Mount Li had vanished without a trace.

His son, Sima Shi, soon reported that an hour earlier, the Southern Xiongnu cavalry, who had defected to the rebels, saw that Wang Chang and his generals intended to set up camp at Mount Li, so they led nearly a thousand cavalry to harass and attack them.

Finally, Wang Chang lured the enemy deep into his territory, ambushed and killed more than two hundred cavalrymen. After that, all the Shu cavalrymen went to Xinfeng.

"Our Great Wei has suffered repeated defeats, but today we have finally achieved a small victory."

"However, this also shows that the Shu bandits, having won one victory after another, have indeed become arrogant and underestimated their enemy."

"Otherwise, how could we have fallen so easily into Wang Yanglie's trap?"

When Sima Zhao said this, he seemed to feel a sense of relief for some reason.

Since the Shu army invaded, apart from Zhang He's lucky victory in the Battle of Jieting, the Great Wei has rarely achieved any victories.

The only victory he won was probably a few days ago when his father sent Zhou Tai and his men to seize two Shu army camps west of the reed marshes.

But after that minor victory, Guanqiu Jian's fortified camp was as fragile as paper and was breached by Zhuge Liang in one night.

What followed was that Wang Chang's Baling defense line was breached before midnight, and then the Shu army approached Xinfeng.

Therefore, in the eyes of most people, that so-called minor victory was nothing more than falling into Zhuge Liang's trap. It was not a victory at all, but rather the root cause of a series of subsequent failures.

Last night, his father, Sima Yi, personally led a strong attack at the front line, thinking he would surely cut off the Shu army's reinforcements and win a small victory. However, the so-called water ghosts disrupted the entire plan, resulting in the loss of a fierce general and two thousand men.

Today, Wang Chang has killed more than two hundred Shu cavalrymen, finally breaking the myth of the Shu army's invincibility and removing some of the gloom hanging over the heads of the Wei soldiers.

On the other hand, regarding the second son Sima Zhao's statement that "the Shu army is arrogant and underestimates the enemy," the General of Chariots and Cavalry, who tried to appear calm and composed but was actually somewhat restless and uneasy inside, did not agree but did not speak out any further.

Last night's battle, the so-called surprise victory and the so-called command by the generals on the battlefield, ultimately resulted in the Shu army winning by surprise. Such a situation will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the morale of the troops.

Fortunately, he managed to keep the negative impact within a certain range, and not many people knew that General Zhou had died in battle.

He issued a military order appointing Zhou Dang and Guanqiu Jian as generals to remain in Chang'an, in an effort to contain the negative impact within a small number of mid- to high-ranking officers who were aware of the situation.

Sima Shi also disagreed with his younger brother's claim that "the Shu bandits were arrogant and underestimated the enemy."

He wanted to say something in his defense, but after glancing at his father's expression, he obediently shut his mouth.

Sima Yi noticed his eldest son's unusual behavior and immediately sent Sima Zhao away.

Once everyone was alone, he asked Sima Shi what his thoughts were on the upcoming decisive battle, allowing Sima Shi to speak freely.

Sima Shi then spoke freely.

Wang Chang's minor victory today had little to do with the main force of the Shu army; it only shows that the newly recruited Hu cavalry had not yet integrated with the Shu army.

The saying goes that people are overjoyed at the sight of victory, and that underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly is a common problem among the Hu people. Wang Chang came from the Taiyuan Wang clan and had dealt with the Southern Xiongnu who had submitted to the Central Plains for decades. He knew the Hu people's habits better than anyone else, so it was only natural for him to take advantage of their habits to achieve a small victory.

This also shows that Zhuge Liang could not command these few thousand newly surrendered barbarian cavalry as easily as he would his own limbs.

Today they can underestimate the enemy and advance recklessly by following the habits of the Hu people, but once the war goes against them, they can also scatter like birds and beasts, just like the Hu people.

There are probably two reasons why Zhuge Liang withdrew all the Hu cavalry.

Firstly, rather than letting these Hu cavalrymen, who rely on instinct to fight, expose their weaknesses in front of the Wei and suffer futile casualties, it would be better to hide them all as a surprise force, which would also make the Wei wary.

Secondly, in the sweltering heat of midsummer, while humans can endure the heat through sheer willpower, horses cannot withstand the scorching sun for long.

The upcoming decisive battle might be able to be decided by taking advantage of the sweltering heat.

"What kind of article can we write?" Sima Yi asked after gazing in the direction of Mount Li for a moment.

Sima Shi did not hesitate:

"Firstly, Zhuge Liang recently set up a camp on Lishan Plateau. The Lishan Plateau is covered with vegetation that stretches endlessly. However, the current climate is hot and dry, scorching the vegetation. I think we could emulate Lu Xun's strategy of burning the camps and attack them with fire."

"Secondly, since the Shu bandits have established a stronghold at Mount Li, their water source must rely on the streams flowing from Mount Li. We can order people to carry those who have died from the plague to Mount Li and throw them into the upper reaches of the river."

"Based on past experience, the spread of disease can be very rapid during the hot summer months, which may have a remarkable effect."

Sima Yi hesitated for a moment. Although he thought of using fire as a possible strategy, he did not consider poisoning the Shu army's water source upstream.

After all, even if throwing those who died from the disease into the upper reaches of the water source could infect the Shu army, the effect would not be immediate.

It takes several days or even ten days to see results.

However... while this strategy of throwing corpses may not be effective in the upcoming decisive battle, it may still have some effect after the battle.

Upon realizing this, Sima Yi immediately ordered his men to find those severely infected with the plague and to take them to the upstream of the Shu army's water source under the cover of night.

As for whether to wait a few days for this corpse-throwing strategy to take effect, the answer is no.

The longer it drags on, the more variables there will be, and the more preparations the Shu army can make. Meanwhile, Wei has run out of cards to play and has nothing left to prepare. Time is no longer on Wei's side.

Putting everything else aside, every day of delay would mean hundreds more Tiger and Leopard Cavalry trapped in Xinfeng City would die. With all sorts of past examples to learn from, no one dared to say whether Zhuge Liang would display some extraordinary skill and capture Xinfeng City in another day.

If the decisive battle is fought sooner, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry trapped in Xinfeng City can be freed.

More importantly, he had already arranged a meeting day with Bi Gui, the governor of Bingzhou, and Cheng Xi, the prefect of Hedong, a few days earlier.

It will be on May 13th, which is tomorrow.

As a result, the roads were cut off, communication was disrupted, and no new information was received. The six thousand light cavalry sent by Bingzhou had probably already come from Tongguan to the west and were now perhaps in the territory of Zheng County.

This is a trump card to catch the enemy off guard, and there can be no further delay for any reason.

In fact, apart from him, no one in the army knew that tomorrow was the day of the decisive battle.

It's highly unlikely that anyone believes tomorrow will be the day of the decisive battle.

After all, the army had been fighting and marching for days. Logically, they should have rested for at least a day to recover their fighting strength, right?

Since the Wei soldiers think this way, the Shu army will also think this way, which could potentially catch the Shu army off guard.

Besides, his army was exhausted, but wasn't Zhuge Liang's army exhausted from the fierce attack on Xinfeng? Wasn't Zhao Yun's army exhausted from the ambush at Chang'an?

In addition, Sima Yi still harbored two unrealistic expectations:

Zhao Yun might lead a large force to attack Chang'an.

They might also have worried that he would remain in Chang'an and launch another attack, so they left a large force to guard the Wei Bridge and the Xiliu where Liu Shan's dragon banner was located. But in any case, taking advantage of the time when the Shu army could not accurately judge the strength of the Wei forces and might not dare to easily mobilize troops, quickly assembling and starting the war was the best decision for the Wei, without exception.

In the afternoon, the summer heat gradually dissipated.

Sima Yi ordered Chen Gui to lead 2,000 troops to defend Baling, and Xiahou Mao and Qin Lang to lead 2,000 troops to defend Yaoguan. After that, he led his entire army to the camp that Wang Chang had set up at Lishan.

...

Gaoling.

This city, located east of the Jing River and north of the Wei River, was a crucial hub for protecting the Han army's supply lines and the source of the Han army's confidence to penetrate deep into Xinfeng and cut off the enemy's supply route.

After more than a month of construction by Guan Xing, Zhao Tong, Wei Xing, and the Han and Qiang strongholds who had submitted to the city, it was undoubtedly a fortified city.

Liu Shan entered and occupied the city last night, and slept soundly until dawn, not even knowing when Zhao Yun returned with his army.

In the morning, following behind Zhao Guang, the General of the Dragon Cavalry, we arrived at the main camp outside Gaoling City. In the central command tent, Zhao Yun and the other generals reported the battle report from the previous night in detail. He did not show the slightest arrogance or excitement, but instead maintained a calm and dignified demeanor.

Young, steady, pragmatic, wise, kind, generous, decisive, and bold... When such qualities come together in a leader, it is only natural that a group of generals and officers qualified to meet the emperor in person would feel at ease and be captivated by him.

The old general sitting at the upper left not only saw the shadow of the late emperor in this young emperor, but also vaguely saw the shadows of the generals and officers present, such as Feng Xi, Fu Tong, Zhang Nan, and Cheng Ji, who had risked their lives for the late emperor. He was greatly comforted and had many feelings.

"Now that the Wei army has set off to Lishan to establish a camp, the decisive battle is expected to take place in the next two days. It is also possible that they will launch a night battle tonight despite their exhaustion."

"If Sima Yi were to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night before Xinfeng is captured, the Prime Minister would be caught between two enemies."

"Therefore, it is not advisable for our army to remain in Gaoling."

"Immediately move the troops to Xinfeng to support the Prime Minister's right wing, so that the Prime Minister will not be without support."

"Do any of you have any objections? Please speak up."

"If there are no further objections, I will sign this order and move the army eastward."

The emperor sat upright in his seat, his demeanor calm and composed.

General Zhao spoke without hesitation:

“General Liu, it is only reasonable to move the troops to Xinfeng. However, the front line is dangerous and the fighting is fierce. I think you should stay in Gaoling and serve as the rearguard for our vanguard. We can also invite General Liu’s banner to the front line. That would be enough to boost morale.”

The generals in the tent looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some officers and generals who agreed with, supported, and even expected the Emperor to personally visit the front lines were puzzled. His Majesty was already less than twenty miles from the front lines, so why was the old general still urging him to stay here? Was he worried that the Han Dynasty couldn't defeat the puppet Wei? Or was he worried that with so many of them, they couldn't protect His Majesty?

Some officers and generals, who knew that the emperor would most likely insist on going to the front lines in person, were reluctantly agreeing with and supporting the idea, feeling both hopeful and worried. Their hearts were pounding with anxiety, and they had no idea what they were really thinking.

A short while later, General Liu suddenly stood up, shook his sleeves, and said proudly, "General Zilong, now that I have arrived at the front line, I have no reason to look back or consider a way out."

"Once the battle begins, soldiers, fight bravely on the front lines. Do not worry about me. I will personally beat the drums to cheer you on. If things do not go well..."

At this point, the emperor suddenly fell silent, shook his head again, and spoke again with a resolute expression and a firm voice: "What discord? This battle will surely be won!"

These words immediately roused all the generals.

No one raised any objections.

General Liu took out the official seal and signed the military order.

Before long, south of Gaoling City, on the banks of the Wei River, 24,000 infantry and cavalry moved eastward along the Wei River.

Two hours later, night fell.

Twenty-four thousand infantry and cavalry arrived north of Xinfeng City, raising the banners with the character "Han" on them. They crossed the more than ten pontoon bridges that the Prime Minister had already built and entered the more than ten camps that the Prime Minister had already set up.

Nothing happened all night.

It was the early morning of May 13th.

Sima Yi beat the drum in the central command tent to gather his generals.

The first military order for the decisive battle day was issued.

After breakfast, the entire army of over 50,000 soldiers each took a bundle of dry grass and set off for the Han army camp.

Smoke rises from the chimney.

Wei Jun is having a meal.

After dawn, nearly 100,000 Wei soldiers and civilians, leading cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, camels, and other pack animals, escorted the heavy supply wagons and set out in full force.

The Han army's scouts quickly discovered the commotion and promptly relayed the news back to the central army located on the Lishan Plateau.

The water clock indicates that it is 3:45 AM (卯时).

The sun had just risen, and the temperature wasn't hot yet.

The Prime Minister gave all the instructions and ordered the generals and officers to return to their camps and prepare for battle.

Half an hour later, the Han scouts, who were positioned on the high ground of Lishan Plain, were the first to spot the Wei army, which covered half the plain, marching eastward in a grand procession, less than ten miles from the Han army camp.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Bali.

Another quarter of an hour later, we arrived at Qili.

The Han army west of Xinfeng was the first to react.

Twenty-seven thousand Han soldiers under the command of the Prime Minister filed out in single file, led by their respective generals and colonels.

With their backs to Xinfeng City, where enemy troops were still stationed, they faced west and waited for the enemy, forming a huge and complex circular formation.

More than 20,000 auxiliary soldiers and laborers were either pushing supply wagons or armored carts.
Or they filled water in various forms such as wooden buckets, wooden jars, and leather bags, and followed closely behind tens of thousands of soldiers.

Finally, over ten thousand auxiliary soldiers pushed the chariots and supplies into the circular formation, and under the command of the main soldiers, they assisted in setting up the chariot formation.

The laborers returned to their camp and continued their preparations for war under the organization of the military officers.

South of the Wei River and north of the Caoqu Canal.

The central command tent under Zhao's banner quickly responded.

He appointed Feng Hu, the Colonel of the Vanguard, as the vanguard, leading 2,000 armored soldiers and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers. They carried bamboo carts and bridges and traveled one mile west along the canal to observe the movements of the Wei army across the canal, ready to cross the river to the south to provide support at any time.

He appointed Fu Qian, the Commandant of the Expeditionary Army, as the rearguard, leading 2,000 armored soldiers and 2,000 auxiliary soldiers to the north of Xinfeng City to monitor the garrison in the city. Whenever the garrison in the city went out, they would act as the vanguard to repel the enemy.

The rest remained inactive.

Once the military order was issued, the generals prepared for battle.

A young general, clad in silver armor and helmet, carrying a bow and sword, stood atop a watchtower on the banks of the Wei River, his face covered by a lion-shaped mask.

The Zhao-character banner stood beside him, fluttering in the southeast wind.

Two quarters of an hour later.

The entire army was fully armored.

The war is about to start.

The vanguards of both Han and Wei forces instantly became entangled.

(End of this chapter)