On the afternoon of January 11th, the Wei and Wu armies were engaged in a fierce battle with tens of thousands of soldiers around the truck.
Sunlight entered the battlefield from the west, and the lower sun shone over the highest peak of the northern Dabie Mountains, beginning to draw a large shadow to the north of the battlefield.
At this moment, Cao Rui and the 5,000 cavalrymen who had not yet participated in the battle were observing the dynamics of the entire battlefield from here.
Just as the emperor said that he wanted the cavalry units to force the Wu army into the mountains, Sima Yi suddenly seemed to have an idea: "Your Majesty, even if our army does not pursue them into the mountains, we can still let Wang Ling's unit reenter the hills to the south of the truck and return to their camps they had occupied yesterday and before yesterday."
"If we do it this way, we can prevent the Wu troops from breaking out in the direction of Wan City to the west."
After hearing Cao Rui's words, Sima Yi squinted his eyes to gaze at the distant battlefield, and at this moment, Liu Ye, riding behind the emperor, spoke up to express his differing opinion.
"In my humble opinion, I believe Sima Yi has overthought things," Liu Ye said with a bow.
"Oh? What does that mean?" Sima Yi raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Ye. Since the southern campaign, Liu Ye had many military recommendations, and among the four attendants, he had the most. The emperor's military strategy was almost either to listen to his advice or to listen to Liu Ye's advice.
Liu Ye gave a light cough and replied, "Sima Qiang, the Wu army is also made of flesh and blood. After attacking the truck for two days yesterday and the day before, their troops have already been exhausted. Let alone today, when they were first chased and then engaged in fierce fighting, how much fighting spirit can the Wu army still have left?"
"Your Majesty personally led the campaign here, and the troops of the Great Wei are here. Now, another hour until sunset. The Wu army is moving towards the hills to the south. If our army continues to press them, it's not impossible that within a moment, the Wu army's ranks will collapse."
Cao Rui instantly understood Liu Ye's meaning. Liu Ye was actually saying that now the Wu army had shown signs of defeat, how could tens of thousands of troops be under the command of Lu Xun alone and obediently go into the mountains? Lu Xun is not a god!
Cao Rui looked at Liu Ye and pointed at a flag held by a knight not far behind: "Liu Attendant, are you suggesting that we use the emperor's name to scare the Wu army?"
Liu Ye smiled and bowed: "At this point, the situation has already become clear. If the Wu army knows that Your Majesty is here, they will certainly become greatly shaken."
Cao Rui also smiled and nodded.
However, Cao Rui still said, "Liu Ye's words are indeed reasonable, but Sima Yi's words also reflect his experience and wisdom in statecraft."
"Gently order, let Jia Kuai's unit approach the truck, and be ready to take over from Wang Ling's unit at any time. Tell Wang Ling that if the Wu army advances into the mountains, he must lead his troops to their camp south of the truck as quickly as possible."
"Surround the Wu troops with cavalry units, but do not engage in battle."
Cao Rui looked at his ministers and said, "Is there anything else I have missed?"
Xin Bi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the two thousand and more troops of General Man Chong should be quickly brought into our camp from yesterday."
Cao Rui nodded slightly, "Xin Zhongshu's suggestion is correct. Let Man Chong go to our camp from yesterday. His troops should rest well and wait for the military order from me."
After the general's orders were distributed, Cao Rui turned to Wen Qin, who was behind the several attendants: "Zhongruo, come here to me!"
Wen Qin, also known as Zhongruo, was the supervisor of the five battalions under the command of the General. He was originally from Qiao County and had been highly respected by Cao Pi.
Wen Qin dare not delay and quickly rode towards the emperor. He sat on his horse and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Cao Rui said, "Hoist the emperor's standard of imperial sovereignty! Lead my five auxiliary regiments to the front of the Wu army. I want the Wu army to know that today, it is I who has come in person!"
Wen Qin had no hesitation and immediately led his army southward after receiving the order. The five auxiliary regiments, handed down from the Han Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, were now under Cao Rui's control. This mounted unit was also slowly marching southward.
The imperial banner, standing at nearly two zhang (approximately 6.5 feet) in height, was jointly carried by four cavalrymen. In this battlefield scene, it stood out distinctively.
Wen Qin's 4,000 cavalrymen were in the lead, advancing at a leisurely pace, while Emperor Cao Rui, accompanied by Xiahou Xian's tiger guards, followed behind Wen Qin's five auxiliary regiments.
However, within the Wu army's ranks at this moment, there was a different scene.
Lu Xun had only two choices before this point.
One option was to continue the fierce attack on the truck, but there was a risk that the army might not succeed by nightfall and face the possibility of total annihilation. The other option was to lead the entire army into the mountains to avoid the Wei cavalry, but whether they could complete this task calmly before nightfall remained uncertain.
At the southernmost end of Lu Xun's army of five thousand Wu troops, as they were about to approach the edge of the hills, a crucial issue had to be faced.
How should they enter the mountains? How should they respond after entering the mountains?
Moreover, the Wu army currently has very little supplies!
Any mistake could lead to a similar outcome as the first option - a complete annihilation of the army.
Although from a distance, Lu Xun appeared no different from usual, albeit with more fatigue and paler lips. However, if one approached and looked closely at Lu Xun, they would notice that his hands holding the horse's reins had been trembling for some time, indicating that he was under tremendous pressure and close to the edge of exhaustion.
However, as Lu Xun was at a loss for what to do, he suddenly noticed that the Wei cavalry was no longer charging at the edges of his own formation but had instead spread out like a fan, encircling the north side of his army.
Lu Xun saw that the Wei army's offensive had somewhat subsided, and he urgently dispatched messengers to gather the high-level generals of each of his armies. Before the entire army could move into the hills, if they could not coordinate and issue commands as usual, there was a danger of collapse at any moment.
Although the Wu army's formation had returned westward from its confrontation with Jia Kuai, spreading out more than ten li away, the good preservation of the array allowed the troops to suffer heavy casualties. Yet, almost all of the generals in each department remained intact.
After a moment, the Wu army's generals gathered around. Lu Xun, leaning on his saddle with one hand while sitting on his horse, managed to maintain his posture with effort, and began to arrange military matters with the Wu army's generals.
Lu Xun's voice was hoarse as he said, "Our army is surrounded now, and the only way out is through the hills to the south. The sun will set soon. If we can control our soldiers and restrain them in the mountains tonight, we may still be able to attack and take down the truck tomorrow."
The generals looked at each other in silence. Each staring at the other, for a moment no one spoke up.
Only Hu Zong, the Supervisor of Jie Fan, who had always been on good terms with Lu Xun, became quite angry and threw his sword to the ground: "General Lu, wake up! What are you thinking? Still wanting to take down the truck? Look at our soldiers around you; how much fighting spirit do they have left? Entering the mountains at night, how many soldiers will actually follow?"
Lu Xun's expression was somewhat dazed: "How can they not be from it? Our army of 80,000 people is here. It will be difficult to take it down today, but tomorrow will be another day."
Hu Zong dismounted quickly and walked over to Lu Xun's horse, gripping his left hand tightly with both hands: "General Lu, how can you still be so confused? Can't you see that we have already been defeated today? Once we enter the hills, it's ninety li away from Wan City and a hundred li away from Wan Port. How can our army survive?"
"General Lu, quickly take your personal guards and save yourselves! If you can preserve your valuable life, there will be time for long-term planning. Perhaps one day you can reclaim this place for His Majesty!"
Upon hearing Hu Zong's words, Qun Cheng, Sun Shaozhao, Bзу Ji, and Chen Biao also dismounted and gathered around Lu Xun's horse to advise him.
After everyone's persuasion, Lu Xun seemed to realize the situation in a moment.
Sitting on his horse, Lu Xun heaved a long sigh to the sky, "I have always been the one who kills others, but today, do they want to kill me?"
Lu Xun had served in the army for nearly two decades and had won countless battles, almost carrying the weight of the Wu Kingdom. Today's defeat completely shattered Lu Xun's confidence. Seeing Lu Xun's appearance, everyone understood that Lu Xun's mindset at this time was clearly disordered.
However, there was no extra time to dwell on this matter at the moment.
The battle was clearly a defeat, and the gathering of the Wu army's officers here was just to seek an order for escape. If they could survive and escape, they could then report back to King Wu with an explanation.
Qun Cheng saw that Lu Xun was still hesitant and shouted loudly, "General Lu, the Great River is still there, and Jiangling and Yu Province are still intact. Everything can be calculated!"
"General Lu, even though Cao Cao lost at Red Cliff and Liu Bei lost at Xiling, they were able to recover and come back stronger. Don't hesitate, General Lu!"
As Lu Xun was about to give in, Pan Zhang, standing beside him, could no longer bear to see it. With an angry gaze, he looked at his fellow officers: "The Supreme has raised you all for twenty years. With six or seven hundred thousand soldiers still in our ranks, how can we abandon the army and run away? Go ahead if you must, but Pan Zhang will have no face to see the Supreme again. I will fight the Wei army to the last moment!"
As soon as Pan Zhang spoke, he turned his horse and rode towards the main army, seemingly ready to fight the Wei army to the death.
After Pan Zhang left, the generals could no longer contain themselves. Qun Cheng shouted directly: "General Lu, your entire Lu family is in Wu Prefecture. If you do not return, what will become of your family?"
Lu Xun opened his mouth as if to say something, but a stream of blood spat out from his mouth, and he nearly fell from his horse.
Lu Xun tried to hold back the blood and looked at the generals with a look of great effort, then nodded lightly: "Don't... don't go to Wan City. Instead, go over the mountains to Wan Pass!"
Qun Cheng understood and immediately signaled for the close personal guards on either side of Lu Xun to lift him up.
At this moment, aside from Lu Xun, the highest-ranking person present, the Right Sector Supervisor Qun Cheng, turned to his fellow officers and said, "If we do not enter the mountains, there is no way to survive. General Lu is right to say that we should go to Wan Pass. I hope that after our army has entered the mountains, each of you will lead your troops away separately!"
The officers of the Eastern Wu army all agreed.
About a quarter of an hour later, as the Wu army approached the foot of the mountain and had not yet entered, Wei army's Wen Qin's forces, carrying the imperial banner, slowly approached to within a short distance from the Wu army.
Suddenly, the army of Wen Qin began to shout loudly.
"Deploying for the king's direct inspection! Deploying for the king's direct inspection! Deploying for the king's direct inspection!" The four thousand horsemen shouted in unison. The sound of their shouts spread immediately to the surrounding army formations.
The rest of the cavalry in the middle army also understood at once, and under the command of various officers, they shouted "Deploying for the king's direct inspection" in unison.
The more than 40,000 cavalrymen, arranged in a fan shape around the northern side of Wu Prefecture, all shouted "Deploying for the king's direct inspection" at the same time. With each shout, the Wu army's formation trembled.
After several shouts, the Wu army's formation became unstable, and the elite units of each general protected their own generals and charged out of the army, rushing towards the southern hills.
Clearly, the officers of the Wu army heard the words "Deploying for the king's direct inspection" and knew that the Emperor of Wei was just opposite. Completely disregarding their agreement made fifteen minutes ago, they hurried to escape southwards.
In an instant, like ice and snow melting away, the massive formation of the Wu army began to disintegrate.
(Chapter complete)
