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

Chapter 178 A Solar Eclipse
Wu Palace in Jianye.

General Jianwei, accompanied by Prefect Lü Fan of Danyang, hurriedly entered to pay his respects with a letter in hand.

Seeing the worried look on his face, Sun Quan's heart tightened, and he said:
"I had a sweet dream last night, and I thought Ziheng would come to bring good news today."

Realizing he had lost his composure, Lü Fan quickly straightened his brow and said:

"Your Majesty is fortunate, for Fan has indeed come to bring good news today."

"Grand Commander Zhu Ran, leading the three armies, has already defeated Cao Xiu at the foot of Wan City."

"By the time the letter was sent, Cao Xiu had retreated to Jiashi and was no longer able to advance south."

"Is it simply that we are too weak to fight anymore?" Sun Quan was clearly not satisfied with this outcome.

He then pointed to the two letters in Lü Fan's hand and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be one letter from Zhu Xiumu (Zhu Huan), right?"

Lü Fan sighed inwardly and could only present two letters.

Sun Quan opened it and, sure enough, it was true.

Zhu Huan believed that Cao Xiu, as a member of the imperial clan, was appointed as a general, but he himself lacked wisdom and courage and was not worth mentioning.

Now his troops are isolated and deep in enemy territory, and their reckless fighting has backfired, causing their morale to plummet.

If troops can be dispatched to cut off Cao Xiu's retreat, there is hope of capturing him alive.

Once Cao Xiu is captured, we can press our advantage, advance on Shouchun, and establish a foothold in Huainan.

After reading it, Sun Quan couldn't help but laugh and shake his head:
"Zhu Xiumu's courage is commendable, but to say that Cao Xiu alone can occupy Huainan is wishful thinking."

"However, if we could capture Hefei, which is right in front of him, it would be far more useful than capturing Cao Xiu!"

"What a pity that Zhang Liao, that old fool, is still not dead!"

"Why has Heaven been so cruel to me?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Fan could only offer words of comfort.

But my heart never relaxed.

Because Sun Quan seemed to be criticizing Zhu Huan's rash strategy.

But the smile on her face couldn't lie.

He then said, "Your Majesty, I haven't read Lu Boyan's letter yet!"

Sun Quan's smile vanished abruptly, and he said:
"Do we even need to look at it?"

He then pointed to two letters at his feet and said:
“He sent three letters in five days, back and forth, all of which were nothing more than contacting Guan Yu to advance together and steadily drive away the Wei army... Even if he didn’t remind me, I could have thought of such a plan, so why did he need to say more?”

Lu Fan's brows, which he had forced open, finally furrowed again:

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with being cautious?"

"Moreover, Lu Boyan's plan was originally discussed and agreed upon with Grand Commander Zhu Yifeng, and it is a consensus among the officers and soldiers of the Wancheng army!"

Sun Quan was slightly surprised to see Lü Fan rarely show such emotion, and softened his tone:
"Ziheng, don't be anxious. I only have higher expectations for Lu Boyan because Lu Ziming and Zhuge Ziyu have both praised him highly."

"Seeing that he is only of average appearance, I can't help but feel somewhat disappointed."

Lü Fan refused to yield an inch:

"At this point in the battle, the outcome is already clear. How much more ingenious can a strategy be?"

"If Your Majesty does not trust the generals facing the enemy at the front, do you expect to rely on someone like Lü Fan who only talks empty words from the rear?"

Sun Quan remained silent for a long time before finally giving in:
"Then let Wancheng and Ruxu each adapt to the situation."

"We need not say more about how to advance, or whether to divide our forces to intercept Jia Shi. Let the commanders do as they see fit!"

This is different from what Lü Fan hoped to see.

But as he just said.

At times like these, you can only trust the commanders at the front.

……

The third year of Huangchu, at the end of November.

The moonlight was dim.

Cao Xiu hadn't slept for two whole nights.

It's not that I can't sleep.

Instead, they were afraid to sleep.

Looking back on half a lifetime, since the beginning of the Chuping era, I have followed Emperor Taizu Wu in raising an army, serving him all the way and fighting for more than 30 years.

Cao Xiu experienced countless battles, both large and small.

They have experienced the joy of great victory and the shame of defeat.

For a general, temporary setbacks are not terrible.

I'm afraid that failure will turn into a complete rout.

Just at this time.

By taking advantage of the cold winter to advance deep into hundreds of miles of desolate land, he was already taking a risk.

Now that the attack has failed, morale has plummeted.

As the commander-in-chief, he could only lead by example and patrol the camp day and night.

Especially at night.

Limited vision and poor communication of military orders.

This was compounded by low morale, insufficient military supplies, and other unfavorable factors.

One wrong move could trigger a mutiny and lead to utter ruin. It's like a string stretched to its limit.

Fortunately, Cao Xiu's thirty years of military experience gave him plenty of options.

After several days of hard work, the camp was finally stabilized without any major incidents.

Tomorrow is the last day of this month.

Judging by the time, the reinforcements should arrive in at least three days.

Perhaps there's still a chance to counterattack the Wu traitors?
We do not seek a great victory, but only to halt the enemy's northward advance and retreat with our entire army intact.

As he pondered, dawn broke in the east, and the auxiliary soldiers rose one after another to prepare breakfast.

Seeing that there was nothing to do around him and that he could no longer resist his sleepiness, Cao Xiu finally agreed to go and rest.

I had been sleeping for two hours, but before I could fully relax, I was suddenly awakened by a loud noise.

Why are you making such a fuss?

Cao Xiu, still grumpy from waking up, loudly questioned him.

However, none of the guards who were supposed to be waiting outside the tent responded.

Only the increasingly chaotic sounds of men and horses could be heard from outside.

Cao Xiu was startled and rushed out of the tent.

The sky, which should have been bright, had inexplicably darkened again.

Cao Xiu felt that his nerves were constantly on edge and that it was impossible for him to sleep for a whole day.

unless……

"General..."

A chilling sound rang out.

Cao Xiu turned around and saw Xue Qiao, the Commandant of the Yue Cavalry.

The latter was pointing to the sky, trembling all over.

Cao Xiu looked in the direction he was pointing.

next moment.

The pupils suddenly dilated.

……

[On the last day of the eleventh month of the second year of Zhangwu (646 AD), a solar eclipse occurred.]

Yang Xi made a note on the yellow paper and habitually placed the paper by the window to dry.

But the next moment, a gust of wind blew, and the piece of paper was instantly lifted up and floated towards the stove.

Fortunately, Li Shao, who was nearby, was quick-witted and grabbed it in time.

This piece of "history" has thankfully escaped the wrath of the charcoal fire.

Yang Xi couldn't help but laugh awkwardly:

"This 'Mi Shi paper' is light and convenient, but I'm so used to the weight of bamboo slips that I've forgotten the difference between light and heavy!"

"You're just being hypocritical after getting a good deal!" Li Shao said dismissively.

"If I really asked you to go back and whittle bamboo for roasting, you definitely wouldn't want to!"

Yang Xi chuckled and turned to find a stone to weigh down the paper.

"I have heard that His Majesty has decreed that all memorials to the throne must henceforth be written on 'Mi Shi paper'?"

"That's certainly true!" Li Shao nodded slightly.

"Not only that, His Majesty has also decreed that the Ministry of Works shall henceforth be solely responsible for papermaking."

"From now on, all officials of the Ministry of Personnel will receive a fixed amount of Mi Shi paper each month according to their rank and seniority, just like the officials of the Ministry of Personnel in the Later Han Dynasty received 'Yu Mi ink' each month... This is to be distributed as an additional salary!"

Yang Xi immediately showed an envious expression:
"It's a pity I'm just a local official, not a high-ranking official!"

Li Shao deeply agreed.

"Speaking of paper replacing bamboo slips, a batch of bamboo slips that Prime Minister Zhuge copied for the Crown Prince were unfortunately lost on the way."

"His Majesty was deeply saddened upon hearing of this matter, but did not wish for the Prime Minister to trouble himself with it any further. Therefore, Mi Zhaohan submitted a memorial requesting to write for the Crown Prince and to use 'Mi's paper' instead, which His Majesty granted."

As a seasoned official, Yang Xi naturally understood the true intention behind this move.

It was nothing more than having the Crown Prince set an example by vigorously promoting paper books.

There is nothing wrong with that.

Why would a general like Mi Zhaohan, who has real military achievements, personally participate in such trivial matters?

……

"Is your 'carving plate' finished?"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's question, Mi Wei blushed slightly and replied:

"The first version of the mold had already been carved, but a few days ago a solar eclipse occurred. In the panic, the craftsman broke the wooden board and had to start carving it all over again."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei simply smiled and did not seem too disappointed.

After all, he had spent most of his life accustomed to bamboo slips and wooden tablets.

The fact that one can still use hemp paper soaked in medicinal liquid in old age is enough to amaze people about how times have changed.

Who would have thought that there was an even more epoch-making woodblock printing technique?
However, the solar eclipse that Mi Wei had just mentioned was more of a concern to him.

He said in a deep voice:
"A few days ago, a Confucian scholar submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting the abolition of the Three Dukes due to celestial calamities."

(End of this chapter)