Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 195: Fearless and Unafraid of Death
West of the Han River.

Zhao Yun and Gao Xiang led 20,000 Han soldiers and civilians, escorting the baggage carts, and marched north in a grand procession.

The drumbeats that guided the way echoed through the valley.

Apart from the more than 4,000 elite armored soldiers who led the way and brought up the rear, all the soldiers were tied together by their hands with straw ropes to prevent those who were night-blind from falling behind or into the river because they could not see the road at night.

At the foot of the mountain, far from the Han River, Zhao Yun and Gao Xiang stood side by side, directing their troops and observing their condition from time to time.

"Bo Miao missed the deadline by five days. Will he be caught by those rats from Eastern Wu...?" Gao Xiang asked Zhao Yun with some concern during the gap between the departure of one group of soldiers and the arrival of the next.

As the governor of the east of the Han Dynasty, Deng Zhi personally went to the west city to entice Shen Yi, and then went to Xiangyang to make the ambitions of the Han Dynasty clear to Sun Quan.

Gao Xiang never stopped worrying about Deng Zhi.

Under the firelight, the old general, his hair and beard streaked with gray, looked spirited and smiled reassuringly:

"Don't worry, Boyi, I don't think Sun Quan has the guts."

After meeting with Shen Yi, Deng Zhi secretly sent a guard back with a letter, conveying the attitudes of Zhuge Jin and Shen Yi.

At the same time, a date was agreed upon. If the return was not made within three days, it would indicate that Sun Quan intended to break the alliance and had already sent reinforcements upstream.

Deng Zhi is now five days late.

This is the reason for Gao Xiang's anger during the day.

...

"General Zuo, the Shu army has moved!"

In Wu's southern camp, a captain on night duty rushed into Zhuge Jin's tent, breathless.

Zhuge Jin had a feeling that something big might happen tonight, and he couldn't sleep a wink all night.

But his body, now in its fifties, was finally starting to give out. Hearing the news of the Shu army's movement, his fatigue and headache finally subsided.

Upon reaching the banks of the Han River, the sound of the rolling waves blended with the drumming of the Han army on the opposite bank.

The Han River is more than a mile wide, and there are more than a hundred boats on it that obstruct the view, so Zhuge Jin could not see clearly. Only after finding a high place with a good view could he see clearly that the torches lit by the Han army were moving downstream of the Han River.

"General Zuo, what do we do now?" The captain on night duty asked, sounding somewhat helpless.

Zhuge Jin glanced at the western city, then looked again at the torches of the Han army moving north, and hesitated for a moment.

He originally thought that the Han army had driven Sun Gong away on the upper reaches of the Han River during the day and sent people up the mountain to cut down trees, probably because they wanted to build a bridge there to force a crossing of the Han River, since that was the narrowest part of the Han River channel.

It was truly unexpected that the Han army's military operation against the Wu Kingdom would come so quickly.

"Order all soldiers to prepare for battle," Zhuge Jin ordered after observing for a while.

They then boarded a boat and sailed down the river.

Half an hour later, Zhuge Jin appeared in Bu Zhi's northern camp.

Bu Zhi had also received the news, and both camps located on the north and south banks of the Han River were mobilized. The navy began to board ships, and the infantry used the pontoon bridge connecting the north and south to provide support to the north.

Upon seeing Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi was astonished:

"Why did Ziyu leave the camp? What if Shen Yi attacks the camp?"

Zhuge Jin said, "Zishan, don't worry. Wu and Han haven't fought yet, so Shen Yi won't leave the city easily."

Bu Zhi still frowned: "But... it's easy for Ziyu to go downstream, but it's difficult to go upstream to return to camp."

The distance of more than ten miles can be covered in just a quarter of an hour by going downstream, but it takes more than three times as long to go upstream.

If the Han army were to sail down the Han River as they predicted, then the battle at the southern mouth of the Han River would be left without a commander.

As for traveling by land, no matter which way they go, they could be intercepted by Shen Yi of Xicheng.

Zhuge Jin did not answer Bu Zhi, but said only, "Zishan, if the Han army were to start a war with Wu tonight, what should we do?"

Bu Zhi, forcing a smile, said, "What else can we do? Didn't we already conclude that if the Han army crosses the Yangtze River to the east, we would not hesitate to fight them?"

Zhuge Jin said:

"But... what if the Han army doesn't cross the Xicheng River to the east, but instead starts a direct battle?"

"Without the advantage of ships and a navy, how can we possibly be a match for Zhao Yun's fierce and powerful army?"

Bu Zhi was taken aback.

He then understood what Zhuge Jin meant.

Their initial assumption was that the Han army would not easily break the Wu-Han alliance, but would try every means to cross the border to the west.

Once on the water, Wu's army reigns supreme.

When that time comes, the Wu army will not be afraid to fight the Han army.

Now that Zhao Yun is leading the Han army in the north, the best solution might be to withdraw the troops from the north bank back to the south bank.

But what he is doing now is sending his soldiers to the north bank.

"What can Zhao Yun do?!"

General Wei Jing, the general who quelled the enemy, suddenly spoke up, drawing the attention of Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi.

"The Shu army has come from afar and has not even had half a day to rest before daring to show off their power in front of my Great Wu. However, they dare not actually make a move. If they were to fight my Great Wu, it would be uncertain who would emerge victorious!"

"Why does Lord Ziyu dampen the morale of our Wu army and boost the prestige of the Shu bandits?"
"Back then, in the Battle of Yiling, our Great Wu was able to decisively defeat Liu Bei and kill countless Shu generals. Are we going to be cowardly before even engaging in battle?!"

Bu Zhi frowned deeply.

Wei Jing has been his friend since childhood, for more than 30 years. Although he is talented and has been put to use for a time, he is narrow-minded and irritable.

"Ziqi, calm down and don't be impatient."

"Now is not the time to act impulsively."

"The Shu army has won consecutive victories in Guanzhong, and its morale is high."

"They have a long-standing feud with our Great Wu. As the saying goes, a desperate army is bound to win. We must take this into consideration."

Bu Zhi spoke slowly, offering kind words of advice.

Faced with his boss and best friend, Wei Jing could only snort coldly and put on a long face.

Seeing this, the officers and soldiers who had just been stirred up by Wei Jing also spoke up indignantly, defending Wei Jing and pointing the finger at Zhuge Jin.

Wu Jun's forces here were a detached force, and most of his officers and soldiers were mediocre and incompetent. However, despite their mediocrity and incompetence, they were never lacking in arrogant individuals like Wei Jing.

Morale is worthless in the eyes of these people. They firmly believe that the general is the courage of the soldiers. As long as the general is not afraid, the soldiers have nothing to fear.

The Battle of Yiling gave many Wu generals the confidence to look down on the Han army. In their eyes, even the fearless Zhao Zilong was nothing special.

As the calls for protecting Wei Jing and for a battle against the Han army grew louder, Bu Zhi had no choice but to turn to Zhuge Jin:

"Ziyu, if we really abandon the Jiangbei position, the Shu army can occupy the key Jiangbei route and cut off our supply lines."

"Although His Majesty sent Pan Wengui, Pan Wengui only has five thousand naval troops. How can he break through the Shu army's defenses?"

Bu Zhi's reasons for deploying troops to Jiangbei were twofold: firstly, he was swayed by the anger and arrogance of Wei Jing's generals; secondly, he was considering the supply routes and the return journey.

Sun Gong was responsible for guarding the northern mouth of the Han River, where the terrain was narrow and the water flowed swiftly.

Transporting grain and supplies upstream along the Han River required boatmen to pull the boats from the shore.

Unfortunately, the south bank was all cliffs, and only the north bank was accessible to boatmen.

If the Shu army were to capture the northern camp of the Han River, they would be completely trapped in the western city.

If reinforcements and supplies can't get in, the Wu army will have no choice but to scatter like birds and beasts, or they'll be wiped out by the Han army and Shen Yi.

Wei Jing and others did not stop criticizing Zhuge Jin for a moment.

Some even started saying that Zhuge Jin had deliberately let Deng Zhi go to Xicheng.

The words weren't spoken too explicitly, but the meaning was self-evident:

Your brother, Zhuge Jin, is the Chancellor of Shu Han. I'm afraid you might be plotting to rebel against Wu.

Bu Zhi immediately dragged out the outspoken captain and slapped him hard across the face: "What are you trying to do by slandering a minister on the eve of battle?!"

After saying this, Bu Zhi grabbed the man's military seal from his waist and put it away, stripping him of his military power. At the same time, he ordered his men to imprison him and take him to the Supreme Emperor of Great Wu for questioning after this matter was settled.

Zhuge Jin, as the Left General, held the most prestigious official position in the area. Whether or not he deliberately allowed Deng Zhi to go to Xicheng to discuss matters with Shen Yi was not something these captains could comment on, especially at this time.

Fortunately, the captain was promoted by Bu Zhi, so Bu Zhi was not afraid of not being able to command the soldiers under his command.

The little incident happened quickly and ended just as quickly; Wei Jing and the others finally settled down.

Perhaps due to staying up late, Zhuge Jin looked much older and more tired.

"I am not someone who doesn't know what's important."

"However, military strategy says that those who have many plans in the temple will win, while those who have few plans will not win."

"As Zishan just said, the Han army has won one battle after another and its morale is high. Moreover, it has a long-standing grudge against our Great Wu."

"The leader of the army was Zhao Zilong, the top general of the Han army."

"Furthermore, the Han army came prepared, or perhaps they had already resolved to break the alliance and were fully prepared."

"But the Emperor's command has not yet been fulfilled, and Wen Gui's assistance has not yet arrived."

"Even now, we still dare not easily break the alliance with Han, we are hesitant and confused, and our preparations are incomplete."

"Given all these factors, if the Wu and Han kingdoms were to actually clash today, the chances of our Great Wu winning by strategic calculations would be less than 30%."

"Thirty percent is probably too much," Bu Zhi sighed inwardly, then looked around at all the generals and officers.

However, the officers and generals seemed not to understand. Although they did not speak, their expressions were full of anger and resentment.

Some agreed with Zhuge Jin's words, while others simply lacked ambition.

However, they either dared not or were unwilling to easily offend the public by echoing Zhuge Jin, or they simply went with the flow without a care in the world.

How can we defeat the enemy if our leaders and subordinates are not of one mind?

At this point, Bu Zhi also hesitated.

This hesitation, coupled with the eight words Zhuge Jin had just spoken of—"hesitation, confusion, and incomplete preparation"—made him even more frustrated.

"Deng Bomiao hasn't even returned to report yet, so why did Zhao Zilong suddenly take action?!" Bu Zhi muttered under his breath.

Bu Zhi's words were like a wake-up call; Wei Jing seemed to have realized something:
"Zishan, in my opinion, the Han army may not dare to make a move tonight!"
"Deng Bomiao is still in the hands of Pan Wengui and Ma Deyan. If they really want to break the Han-Wu alliance, aren't they afraid we'll just kill Deng Bomiao directly?!"

Bu Zhi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and immediately exchanged glances with Zhuge Jin.

The fact that Hanzhen Dong was still in the hands of Wu Jun was a key factor in their previous failure to believe that Han Jun would break the Wu-Han alliance, which is why they were completely unprepared.

Bu Zhi asked suspiciously, "Could it be... that the Shu ruler is gambling with Deng Bomi's life?"

After saying that, he immediately shook his head, denying himself.

Deng Zhi was the governor of the east of Shu Han. Even if the Shu ruler agreed to let Deng Bomiao risk his life to deceive the Wu army, the Shu chancellor would not agree.

This greatly damages the monarch's prestige and virtue.

Even the most powerful person wouldn't do that.

"In my opinion, it was most likely a scheme devised by Generals Zhao Zilong and Deng Bomiao," Zhuge Jin sighed.

He fell right into Deng Zhi's trap from the start.

Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi clearly knew that he would prioritize the overall situation and would not agree with Wu's attempt to contest Xicheng with Han.

After a long pause, he said to Wei Jing:
"What Ziqi just said—that Deng Bomiao is in Wu's army, and Zhao Zilong might not really dare to take action against Wu—I think not."

"If the Han army can capture Xicheng here and defeat tens of thousands of my Wu troops, wouldn't the morale of the Wu soldiers who are facing Cao Xiu in Xiangfan be shaken?"

"If this happens, Cao Xiu will seize the opportunity to launch an attack."

"The Han army guarding Jiangzhou and Baidi saw the situation and went east downstream, so Jingzhou no longer belonged to Wu."

“Deng Bomiao is a man of strong character. When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor’s orders. If he were to exchange his life for such a favorable situation, I believe Deng Bomiao would say that he would have no regrets even if he died.”

Wei Jing was taken aback upon hearing this.

Bu Zhi was also in a state of utter confusion, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Otherwise... we could order the soldiers on the north bank to retreat to the mountain passes downstream of the Han River, defend the terrain, and then use the naval forces to cover the flanks of the infantry?" Wei Jing thought of a good idea.

Two miles north of Sun Gong's camp lies a narrow, cramped mountain path, bordered by mountains to the west and the Han River to the east. This terrain is advantageous for the Wu army, which has boats, allowing the navy to fire arrows and crossbows at the Han troops on the shore.

Bu Zhi shook his head:

"Once you enter the mountain path, how easy is it to get out?"

"If we enter the mountain path, we will be handing over the north bank camp to the Shu army. Wouldn't that be cutting off our supply line and severing our own limbs?"

Bu Zhi had no idea how his old friend could come up with such a terrible idea.

Xiahou Cheng, Bu Zhi's lieutenant, said:
"General Right, why don't we lead our navy upstream against the current and cut off the Han army's supply lines and retreat?"
“Our army still has enough food to last for half a month. The Han army has just arrived and has abandoned their ships to go ashore, so their food supplies must not be very high.”

"If our army can cut off their retreat, the Han army will surely retreat within five days."

Bu Zhi and Wei Jing and the others fell into deep thought.

It sounds like a feasible solution.

However, after a moment, Bu Zhi shook his head:

"Our army is not elite to begin with. If we divide our forces now, and we can't even hold out tonight, what's the use of cutting off their supply lines and retreat?"

After Bu Zhi finished speaking, his mind was in turmoil.

Their force had very few elite troops, and even their ships were few; apart from the cargo ships, they had only four or five hundred vessels.

The Supreme Being sent them here not to fight a hard battle with Shen Yi or the Shu Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the situation changed too quickly.

Even when the emperor sent Pan Zhang here, it was only to tell him to help them stop the Han army from crossing the river, and Pan Zhang was still on his way.

"Zishan, Ziqi, and the two veteran generals Zhao Zilong and Gao Boyi are all here. It seems that the main force of the Han army is also here, but it may well be a strategy of feigning an attack while secretly advancing."

"I'm going back to the Southern Camp first. You two decide what to do here, and I hope you will be careful," Zhuge Jin said to Bu Zhi and Wei Jing.

Bu Zhi nodded helplessly.

...

West City.

Shen Yi was woken up by his son-in-law in the middle of the night and came to the top of the city wall.

Although he knew that the Han army had arrived, that the Han army was stationed on the west bank of the Han River, and that there might be a battle between Han and Wu.

However, no one expected that the Han army would choose to take action today, and so quickly.

"Uncle, should we send someone to negotiate with the Wu army?" Shen Yi's son-in-law asked, looking at the Wu army waiting in full battle formation outside the city.

The Wu army, which had been at peace with the Han army for more than a month, actually sent people to guard the western city tonight, the night the Han army made its move.

Without a doubt, Wu Jun believed that they had already sided with Shu Han.

“It’s no use, the Wu people won’t believe it.” Shen Yi shook his head helplessly.

He never imagined that his decision to go out of the city to see Deng Zhi that day would cause the Han army to muddy the waters to such an extent.

How could he have foreseen that Deng Zhi would mean that?

He was completely used!

To the northeast, on the pontoon bridge over the Han River, torches representing the Wu army are still being continuously moved towards the north bank.

North of the western city, the torches representing the Han army were already approaching the Wu army camp.

Shen Yi suddenly said:
"The Wu people are no match for the Han army."

"If the opportunity arises, perhaps we can truly lead our army out of the city and help Han destroy Wu."

"In this way, we will have rendered a service to the Han Dynasty. On this basis, we request that the Han army besiege the city for 100 days, no... 60 days. I think the Han Dynasty will not refuse."

"If the Grand Marshal's reinforcements do not arrive within sixty days, we will decide whether to defend or surrender."

"If the Grand Marshal's troops arrive and defeat the Han army, wouldn't we have rendered a great service to Wei?"

(End of this chapter)