The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 163 Two Letters

You Chu was jostled quite a bit on horseback, and coupled with the emotional blow he suffered, he was in a daze.

If there wasn't a last shred of hope left in one's heart, one should bite one's tongue on the spot to avoid further humiliation.

Shortly thereafter, the group rode to the vicinity of Kitahara.

Mi Wei glanced briefly at the narrow Wuzhang Plain on the opposite bank.

He made a series of bold and ambitious statements to those around him.

They continued westward without stopping.

You Chu understood immediately.

As expected, they chose to take the Sanguan Road, which is the furthest from Chang'an, instead of the Baoxie Road.

He is indeed very steady and reliable.

The constant jolting on the horse's back made it difficult for You Chu to continue, and he soon fell into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, his men and horses had already arrived at Chencang, a place he knew all too well.

Mi Wei then produced the captured "Supervisor of Grain Supply" seal and easily tricked them out of several grain ships large enough to carry all their men and horses.

They even stole the last remaining horse feed.

You Chu cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do.

I just want to get rid of this gang of thieves as soon as possible.

However, after boarding the ship, he soon realized that the ship was heading in the wrong direction.

Mi Wei did not cross the river to Sanguan Pass in Weinan at all.

Instead, they continued their journey westward.

You Chu finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Where are we going?"

Mi Wei glanced at him indifferently and said:
“From Chencang, we traveled westward, passing through Linwei, and then out of Longyou.”

You Chu certainly knew.

But the key is.

"why?"

Mi Wei gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and gently stroked his warhorse with the other.

Both accompanied him on his repeated journeys between the Longshan Mountains.

The former has nicks and chips everywhere on its blade.

The latter was covered in scars.

"The purpose of leaving Longyou is, of course, to take Longyou."

"If we don't take Longyou, how will we be able to enter the pass and return to the old capital in the future?"

You Chu was greatly alarmed.

Although the past two days have been filled with bad news.

But none of these things made him feel as desperate as hearing Mi Wei's words at this moment.

Because this means...

"Did you see it?"

Deer turns its head:

"You deliberately stayed in Yumi that day, seemingly making a hasty decision, but in fact you were meticulous in your haste, cleverly concealing two truths."

At this moment.

The ship has set sail.

The momentum has been established.

Miwei had no more scruples.

"One of them is what I mentioned earlier, to cover up the truth that the Wei army in Guanzhong was short of food supplies, and to cooperate with Yang Qiu in playing a scene of killing the grain officer."

"Although it's a critical moment, Yang Qiu might actually kill you to appease public anger."

"But compared to that, being kidnapped by the roaming 'Shu bandits' seems like a better solution."

"In this way, Yang Qiu can give a brief explanation to his subordinates, and you will fall into my hands, thus covering up the second truth."

As he spoke, Mi Wei took a small stool and sat down in front of You Chu.

He then took out two wooden slips from the package.

One is blackened, the other is clean.

It was during the Yumi period that the documents were "searched" from You Chu.

Mi Wei first raised the blackened one:
"This is an urgent letter from Guo Huai requesting support from Guanzhong for Longyou."

Then he raised the clean one:

"This is Yang Fu's reply to Guo Huai's strategy of 'using both kindness and severity to appease the Qiang and Hu people'."

After saying that, he placed the blackened one on top of the clean one.

"That day you deliberately sent Guo Huai's letter requesting grain first, and then sent Yang Fu's reply."

"This gave me the illusion that Guo Huai had failed to obtain grain, so he changed his approach to pacifying the Qiang and Hu people in exchange for their grain and supplies to support his army."

"You even deliberately burned smoke to blacken this document in order to conceal the fact that the handwriting has been updated."

"I must say, you do have a quick wit."

"I was really fooled by you back then."

As he spoke, Mi Wei flipped the two tablets over, replacing them with the clean one on top.

"But the order of the two letters is actually reversed."

"Although Guo Huai was short of food at the beginning, he could still manage, so he had the resources to pacify the Qiang and Hu people."

"But when he tried to do so, he found that our Lord had already won over the hearts of the people of Longyou before him."

"Left with no other choice, he could only seek the westward transport from Guanzhong to overcome the immediate difficulties!"

Upon hearing this, You Chu sighed deeply. Indeed.

Such a petty trick couldn't fool him.

I had clearly concealed it very well, so how did he see through it?
"At first, I just instinctively felt that this was different from what I had seen and heard in Longyou, but I didn't think about it in detail."

"But after pondering it for a while in Qishan, I realized it."

"Your plan actually has two flaws!"

You Chu's heart tightened:
"What flaw?"

Mi Wei tossed down the two scrolls and clapped his hands, saying:

"First, if Guo Huai's letter requesting grain was sent first, it should have been sent directly to Chencang along the Wei River post road."

"Instead of passing it on to Yang Fu through your hands."

"In that case, I shouldn't have seen this letter in Yumi at all."

"So the truth is, he and Zhang Ji had already sent a letter to Chencang, but to no avail. Zhang Ji was also killed in an ambush by me. So he had no choice but to join forces with Yang Fu, a famous scholar from Longyou, in order to put pressure on Guanzhong!"

After a slight pause, Mi Wei continued:
"The second weakness is you!"

“Actually, I didn’t have anyone keep a close watch on you along the way; you had a chance to escape.”

"Just because you and I have a bet doesn't mean you'll actually stay put, right?"

"Neither of us swore an oath by any river!"

"Even if it's an oath, as you said, who will believe whom?"

You Chu's body trembled.

Hesitant to speak.

"Being able to walk but not walking, being able to live but not living... can only mean one thing."

"What you really have to gamble on is never just surviving."

"It's not to kill me, but to avenge your actions!"

Hearing this, You Chu finally couldn't hold back:

"You will surely become a scourge to the Great Wei in the future. Killing you is not merely a personal vendetta, but a matter of royal importance!"

"Then I thank you for your kind offer," Mi Wei scoffed lightly.

"Yes, you are so selfless; you are clearly a gentleman!"

"after all."

"How could a prefect who would risk his life to light the beacon fires be a petty person who puts personal interests before public duty and is afraid of death?"

"So the fact that you, a gentleman who puts the public interest before his own, remain by my side is the biggest flaw in this plan!"

After saying this, Mi Wei abandoned the distraught You Chu and returned to his cabin.

You Chu remained seated by the side of the boat.

They sat from dawn until dusk, and then from dusk until dawn again.

It wasn't until dawn broke and the outline of Linwei City became visible in the distance that I awoke as if from a dream.

But his vision was already blurred, and he was weak and powerless.

Even if we wanted to warn the city, we couldn't.

Overwhelmed with grief, he looked up to the sky and cried out:
"I can betray the world if I travel to Chu, but I cannot betray Lord Zhang."

"Now that I have betrayed the world and Zhang Gong, how can I face living on alone?"

Having said that, he used his last bit of strength to plunge into the water.

While doing this, I hope to attract the attention of the sentries in the city.

However, the morning fog in the mountains was still thick at this time, and visibility was poor.

It was a timing deliberately chosen by Miwei.

So, after only a tiny, insignificant splash, it fell completely silent.

A blink of an eye.

The light boat has passed the tens of thousands of mountains.

……

Along the Duangu Creek, nestled among layers of mountains.

Zhao Yun climbed to a high place and looked into the distance.

Nestled in the mountains to the northwest, a town greets the morning sun, with wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys.

Faintly visible, a flag bearing the character "Guo" hangs high atop the city wall, fluttering in the wind.

It seemed to be mocking the Han army, which was powerless to attack the city.

Zhao Yun gazed into the distance for a moment, then turned to Zhang Yi, the prefect of Zitong, who was traveling with him, and said:

"Are all the equipment, such as ladders, siege towers, and battering rams, ready?"

Zhang Yi said:
"Everything is prepared."

"But if I may be frank, Shanggui was built on a strategic location in the mountains, which can be described as taking advantage of the high ground and defending the terrain."

"If we attack a city, siege towers and battering rams may not be effective. Only soldiers can charge in with ladders like ants."

"However, our army is small, and if we attack the city like ants, we may not be able to overcome the challenge... General, do you really insist on a direct assault on this city?"

Zhao Yun gripped the hilt of his sword and said:
"If our army wants to establish a foothold north of Qishan, Shanggui is indispensable."

"If we do not take Qibei as our base, Your Majesty will only have the Qiang River left when you return to Shu in the future."

"That route is isolated, dangerous, and remote; it is not a foolproof plan."

"Therefore, Yide can retreat to Hechi, and Wenchang can retreat to Baozhong, but I cannot easily retreat to the south of Qishan."

Zhang Yi certainly understood this principle, but the difficulties at hand were indeed hard to overcome.

Guo Huai was determined to defend Shanggui, and neither threats nor inducements could sway him. What could be done?
(End of this chapter)