Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 200 The Plans Were Ruined
Three years ago, the people of Licheng County, which was formerly the Donghai County of the Han Dynasty, loved the power and virtue of the Han Dynasty and hated the greed and tyranny of the Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, Tang Zi, a surrendered general awaiting death, was chosen as the leader, and an army was raised to rebel against Wei.

"As a result... my strength was insufficient, and I was defeated by the Wei people, including the false General of the East Zang Ba, the false Governor of Qingzhou Wang Ling, the false Governor of Xuzhou Lü Qian, and the false Prefect of Dongguan Hu Zhi..."

"I had no choice but to flee to Wu... The Wu ruler treated me very well, bestowing upon me titles and appointments. This time, as I marched into Xicheng, he even granted me the false title of General Who Conquers the West."

"However, the heavenly army of the Great Han suddenly arrived, and heavenly fire raged. We could not retreat, and there was nowhere to escape. We had no choice but to fight or surrender."

"Some of the Wu soldiers were willing to fight to the death against the Han."

"However, I believe that Han and Wu were originally as close as lips and teeth, and had a prior alliance."

"The Wu ruler raised an army to fight the Han for the western city, which was like stabbing the heart of the Han with a sharp spear. It was an unjust army that started an unjust war."

"Although I wish to repay the kindness of the Wu lord, I cherish even more the lives of thousands of soldiers and do not wish them to die in vain. Therefore, I reasoned with the soldiers and persuaded them to submit to righteousness..."

Tang Zi was brought before Zhao Yun and spoke at length with him, while Zhao Yun listened absentmindedly, observing the battle situation.

Seeing that the land battle was going well and there was nothing else to observe, Zhao Yun interrupted Tang Zi:

"General Tang, do you know who the reinforcements from Sun Wu are, and where they are today?"

Tang Zi was slightly taken aback, and said:
"The General of Chariots and Cavalry was able to guess that the Wu ruler had sent people to reinforce Xicheng. He truly deserves to be called a general with both wisdom and courage, and is unparalleled in the world."

"As far as I know, the reinforcements sent by the Wu ruler consist of 5,000 elite naval troops and 2,000 infantry."

"Commanded by the pseudo-General of Pingbei, Pan Zhang, with subordinate generals Ding Feng and Ma Zhong..."

"Yesterday, after listening to the military discussion of Bu Zhi and Zhuge Jin, the two generals sent a messenger, Pan Zhang, to advance quickly."

"He also said... he also said that as long as they could hold off the Han for a day and a night, Pan Zhang's reinforcements would surely arrive."

"Therefore, I estimate that Generals Pan Zhang and Ma Zhong have already arrived at Xunkou..."

Tang Zi revealed all the military intelligence he knew, speaking with neither arrogance nor servility, displaying the qualities expected of a surrendered general who had served three different masters.

Zhao Yun listened attentively and seriously.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of regret and dissatisfaction.

The Han Dynasty brought secret weapons to the war against Wu, but it was truly hateful that they couldn't wipe out the Wu traitors Pan Zhang and Ma Zhong in one fell swoop.

However, upon further reflection, I became wary of whether I was being greedy or underestimating my opponent.

If Pan Zhang had truly led his elite navy to block Fu Qian and Liao Hua's navy upstream, the battle situation would likely have been quite different.

After all, the navy commanded by the two generals was not a strong force; their ships were not sturdy and their soldiers were not skilled.

Of the more than 6,000 men, only 2,000 were transferred from Baidi City by Chen Dao, the governor of Yong'an; the rest were new recruits trained by Liao Hua on the Han River.

Although Liao Hua had trained the navy under Guan Yu, his qualifications and prestige were rather mediocre, and the quality of the navy he trained was far inferior to that of the Baidi navy, and it was unlikely that it could compare to the elite troops commanded by Pan Zhang.

The main force in this battle is still the infantry. As long as we capture the shore position in one fell swoop and block the northern pass, the Wu army on the east bank will retreat without a fight.

The extent to which Fu Qian and Liao Hua could damage Wu's naval forces was beyond Zhao Yun's current ability to predict.

Just like before the Battle of Red Cliffs, no one expected that Huang Gai's fire ships would burn Cao Cao's thousands of warships to ashes, causing him to suffer a crushing defeat and flee.

"Who commands that navy?" Zhao Yun asked, looking at the Wu army's warships.

Tang Zi replied, "Reporting to the General of Chariots and Cavalry, it is Bu Zhi Bu Zishan."

"Is he on that warship?"

"Yes, I am," Tang Ziwu replied.

Zhao Yun stared intently at the three-story medium-sized ship and pondered.

Tang Zi suddenly interrupted his thoughts:

"General of Chariots and Cavalry, I have something to report. During the military meeting yesterday, Generals Bu Zhi and Zhuge Jin said they wanted to detain the Great Han General Zhen Dong first..."

"Now that Han and Wu are at war, if the General of Chariots and Cavalry captures a Wu general, it would be best to spare his life."

"After the war ends, we will exchange the surrendered Wu generals for the Han generals who guard the east."

Zhao Yun glanced at Tang Zi, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Tang Zi's words, and said, "The late emperor once told me about the East Sea and mentioned the Tang family of the East Sea."

Tang Zi was delighted upon hearing this and said:
"Yes, General Chariot and Cavalry!"
“The Tang family of Donghai and the Mi family have a long-standing relationship.”

"Back then, when Emperor Zhaolie fought against Yuan Shu, Lü Bu seized the opportunity to capture Xiapi from Zhaolie. Zhaolie sought refuge in Haixi and once came to our Tang family to borrow grain!"

“My late father knew that Zhaolie was benevolent and righteous and had great ambitions, so he donated several thousand shi of grain to relieve Zhaolie’s urgent difficulties.”

"As expected, it seems General Tang has some connection with our Han Dynasty." Zhao Yun reassured him calmly.

Tang Zi was initially worried that changing masters three times would displease Zhao Yun, but now that he knew his life was safe and he might even be useful in the future, he was overjoyed.
"Several thousand bushels of grain are insignificant compared to the fact that the late General Mi Gongzi Zhong of Anhan destroyed his own family to relieve the suffering of Emperor Zhaolie. They are not worth mentioning."

After Tang Zi finished speaking, Zhao Yun asked Tang Zi to recommend several surrendered generals who could be entrusted with trivial matters.

He then ordered his soldiers to take him away to rest, separating him from the group of surrendered Wu soldiers who were being guarded by him.

Cheng Pu's son, who was bound outside, saw Tang Zi being led out by the Han army with a smug look on his face. He immediately started cursing and finally used various vulgar and obscene words such as "fuck your mother" to greet Tang Zi's departing figure.

Eastern battlefield.

After Tang Zi led the Wu army on the mountain to surrender, Yang Qun, Yan Zhi, Deng Tong and other generals continued to lead their victorious army eastward.

Because Tang Zi surrendered too quickly, the fire on Wu Jun's mountainside position was still burning and was showing signs of intensifying.

The Wu army to the east of the fire was pursued and killed by Cuan Xiong's more than a thousand Wudang Flying Army soldiers.

Bu Zhi's original strategy was to feign defeat, lure the Han army deep into Wu's territory, and then cut them off from the middle, encircling the Han army from all sides.

Therefore, Liu Zan repeatedly tried to lead his army to hold off the Han army's offensive in the valley, but Bu Zhi rejected his proposal each time.

This allowed the Han army in the valley to penetrate three or four miles deep, almost completely blocking the retreat route of the Wu army on the left-hand hillside and severing their connection with the Wu army below the mountain.

The mountainside position was not spacious, and the Wu army was being chased to their deaths by Cuan Xiong. Tramplings and infighting occurred constantly.

Only a small number of Wu soldiers at the end of the mountain began to flee down the mountain.

Seeing this situation, Gao Xiang no longer ordered Yang Qun, Yan Zhi and other generals to rush up the hillside. Instead, he directly ordered them to attack eastward along the foot of the mountain, making sure to intercept all the Wu troops on the hillside.

Han River.

On a three-story ship.

Liu Zan stared blankly northward.

Seeing that the position on the mountainside had been completely captured in less than 45 minutes, the man's face showed both bewilderment and anger.

Even the best strategy can only succeed if the officers and soldiers under your command can execute it flawlessly.

Now, the Wu army on land has almost completely collapsed, and Bu Zhi's so-called strategy of luring the enemy deep into his territory has instead led to the current situation.

"General Right, what do we do now?!" Liu Zan limped quickly to Bu Zhi's side and questioned him.

Bu Zhi was speechless for a moment.

He understood Liu Zan's anger.

The reason why Wu's army on the mountain was defeated so quickly, to the point that they surrendered without resistance, was partly due to a fire behind them, but it was not fatal.

Most fatally, the Han army deep in the mountains blocked their escape route.

If he had agreed to let Zan Tongjun hold off the Shu army at the foot of the mountain and prevent them from penetrating deep into Wu's territory, the situation would not have deteriorated to this point.

But... on the other hand, if the Han army below the mountain hadn't blocked the Wu army's escape route on the mountain, would that mountain fire have started at that time?

"It was my fault for misjudging people. I trusted Tang Zi, Cheng Zi, Sun Gong, Zhou Tiao and other generals too much. I should have been the one in charge on land." Bu Zhi could only try to appease Liu Zan's anger by blaming himself.

Liu Zan paused for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately cursed:

"General Right, if you were to be stationed on land, the situation would probably be even worse than it is now!"

"The Emperor bestows upon you the talisman. Once you too are defeated by the Shu army, then the defeat will truly be like a landslide, with no chance of recovery!"
"This is not the time to talk about these things, General Right, what should we do?!"

The situation is so bad that anyone would be in a state of panic.

Bu Zhi glanced at Liu Zan, then quickly scanned the battlefield.

Seeing that Bu Zhi's expression had calmed down, Liu Zan finally managed to suppress his bewilderment and anger.

Bu Zhi was not an incompetent person. On the contrary, when Jiaozhou was outwardly compliant but inwardly rebellious and harbored ulterior motives, he was appointed as the governor of Jiaozhou. He dared to go south and take over Jiaozhou with only a thousand soldiers and officers.

At the banquet, he directly ordered the execution of Wu Ju, the governor of Cangwu, as a warning, which greatly enhanced his prestige, and the Shi brothers then led their followers to submit to him.

Later, in the Battle of Yiling between Han and Wu, the Wuling barbarians assisted Han in attacking Wu. Bu Zhi crossed the Yuan River at Hanshou to prevent the Wuling barbarians from harassing the supply lines. After Zhaolie's defeat, the officials and people of Changsha, Guiyang, Lingling and other counties in southern Jingzhou still sided with the Han Dynasty and blocked the army at every turn, causing panic and looting of the Wu army. Bu Zhi was stationed in Changsha to lead the troops to quell the rebellion.

After Lü Fan's death, he became the last pillar and backbone of the Wu generals who crossed the Yangtze River to the south.

Although Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, and others were powerful generals in Jiangdong, they were ultimately just generals. Bu Zhi, on the other hand, held the title of commander-in-chief and was the most militaryly capable and prestigious commander-in-chief after Lu Xun.

Liu Zan was from Kuaiji in Jiangdong, but he still had some respect for this Right General and Left Commander-in-Chief who was on a western expedition.

After a long silence, Bu Zhi finally spoke:
"Now send two thousand elite troops down the river to block the way through the mountains and meet the fleeing soldiers. Order them to retreat to the narrow passage behind and build a defensive line."

"After that... they fought and retreated."

“Once Pan Ping’s reinforcements arrive from the north, the Shu army will not pursue them too far.”

"I will remain here to command the navy, and I will make sure to defeat the Shu navy so that the Shu army cannot cross the Xicheng River to the east."

"Only in this way can the soldiers on the east bank retreat safely."

When Bu Zhi spoke of this, he grinded his teeth and his teeth clenched, making a crunching sound that made the listeners' teeth ache. Clearly, they also found it difficult to accept this result.

But he remained conscious.

The situation on land was too bad, too fast; it seemed he had already lost without having done anything.

When the drums of the Wu army on the mountain stopped abruptly and their flags fell instantly, all the soldiers who witnessed the scene understood that the people there had defected to Shu.

The morale of the troops wavered instantly, and their spirits were on the verge of collapse, beyond human control to save them.

Unless a miracle occurs, like a strong wind breaking Zhao Yun's banner.

Otherwise, there would be absolutely no chance of turning defeat into victory.

Therefore, all he can do now is to bring the more than 20,000 Wu people from the east bank, that is, the north and south of the west city, downstream.

Liu Zan was unwilling to give up and stood there for a long time.

He looked towards the land battlefield north of the Han River, searching for a possibility of turning defeat into victory.

"Hurry up and leave!" Bu Zhi shouted angrily.

"If you won't go, I will!"

"If we do not act quickly to cover the retreating troops on the shore, our Great Wu army will surely be annihilated here!"

Seeing Bu Zhi's serious and earnest expression, Liu Zan stomped his feet hard on the deck twice in extreme resentment and anger before limping towards his own warship.

Back on the warship, his subordinate captain urgently asked:

"General, what do we do now? Is there still any chance to turn the tide and win?!"

"What turnaround? We're lucky to escape unscathed!" Liu Zan roared. "Anchors down, moorings untied, downstream!"

The crew members on the ship were all stunned upon hearing this. After a moment, they reacted and began shouting and cursing in uncontrollable rage.

"General, what's going on?!"

"We've already lost before we even entered the war?!"

"What a pathetic battle! If that Right... that Bu Zhi had listened to us and let us go ashore to fight the Shu army, how could the situation have turned out like this!"

The military system of Eastern Wu was based on the vassal system. Without vassal troops, one could not become a general. Therefore, Liu Zan's vassal troops were all his own clan's private soldiers.

Unlike the prominent Jiangdong clans such as Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang, the Liu clan, being a minor clan in Kuaiji, was very willing to follow the Supreme Wu in expanding their territory.

The five or six thousand infantry and naval troops he brought, like their patriarch, were all putting in their best effort, hoping to share in the credit and spoils of this western expedition.

Now that they had been defeated before the battle even began, they could only vent their anger on Bu Zhi.

Liu Zan didn't say much, but selected two thousand of his most elite and trusted soldiers to go downstream and cover the retreating Wu army.

On top of the watchtower.

Zhao Yun instantly spotted Wu's warships sailing downstream. Without a moment's hesitation, he instinctively sensed Wu's intentions.

"Beat the drums and sound the horns!"

"Wu's navy is fleeing!"

"Push everything towards the Han River!"

"Leave the Wu army on the shore for me!"

Zhao Yun's military orders were decisive and swift.

The messenger guards waiting below the watchtower were overjoyed to hear that the Wu navy, which they had been struggling against on the Han River, was about to flee without a fight.

Zhao Yun, however, did not show much joy.

Upon seeing this, Fa Miao, the Commandant of the Imperial Chariots who had been ordered by the Emperor to accompany Zhao's chariots and cavalry on their training, asked:

"The Wu army suffered a great defeat, so why is the General of Chariots and Cavalry not happy, but instead looks worried?"

Zhao Yun stared intently at the Wu navy on the Han River and snorted:
"The Wu army on the mountain was defeated too quickly."

"The Wu army on the mountain surrendered too quickly."

"Such a situation was truly beyond my foresight."

"Now that Fu Taolu and Liao Zhengbei's naval forces have not yet arrived and the fire attack strategy has not been implemented, Bu Zhi is about to lead Sun Wu's naval forces to flee east."

"We have no boats available, so we cannot meet Fu Taolu and Liao Zhengbei, or even contact them."

“If Fu Taolu and Liao Zhengbei continue to use fire attacks, we will be unable to provide support if the battle goes against us.”

In a world where communication relies entirely on shouting, the strategy of attacking from both sides is very difficult. To achieve great success, there is only one way.

—Strictly agree on the date, and even the hour.

Those who fail to meet the deadline will be executed.

This is why, as soon as the Han army arrived yesterday, they began various operations and deployments almost without rest.

Fu Qian and Liao Hua did not miss the deadline.

However, Wu Jun was defeated far too quickly.

As a result, the battle, which was originally thought to be ending at least by noon, was already decided by sunrise.

Zhao Yun's military order was quickly relayed.

The war drums of the Han army sounded, and the military flag suddenly turned.

Generals Gao Xiang, Yang Qun, and Yan Zhi split their forces into two groups.

They continued their pursuit of Wu's army towards the northern mountain pass.

The other route charged towards Wu's naval forces on the right flank.

On the Han River.

Bu Zhigang ordered the soldiers on the shore responsible for guarding the ship to prepare to board.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he issued his military order, he heard the drumbeats of the Han army suddenly become incredibly dense, shaking the heavens and the earth.

Looking towards the land positions, the Han army, which had been heading north, suddenly turned around.

Even... the Han army that was originally responsible for covering the rear was all mobilized.

"How could Zhao Yun react so quickly?!"

Bu Zhi stared blankly, as if talking to himself, his heart, already pounding from the defeat, suddenly sank again.

On the shore, Wu Jun had just received the order to retreat, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly. Many of them began to orderly turn towards the warships.

Suddenly, they heard the Han army's war drums pounding and their battle cries shaking the heavens. Even the rolling waves of the Han River were drowned out by the sounds of the Han army, and everyone was filled with panic.

"Get out of my way!"

"Get out of my way!"

Before the Han army could arrive, many Wu soldiers had already rushed to escape.

The lower reaches of the Han River are no more than two miles away.

Liu Zan looked south, listening to the deafening drumbeats and shouts of battle, and watching the Wu soldiers constantly boarding ships and falling into the water, his mind went blank.

(End of this chapter)