"Lüyang"
"Wasn't I just receiving messages from Ma Nü in Lüyang yesterday? What happened today?"
Fei Yu got up and walked to the door, personally taking the military report from the messenger's hands and stepping quickly to deliver it in front of Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang was sitting in the hall with his clothes neatly straight, simply looking at the military report for a moment and then putting it back into Fei Yu's hands. Looking at the people in the hall who were gazing around, he laughed and said: "Last night, the Wei forces attacked our camp, but it was driven back by General Wei Yan. Therefore, Ma Youchang informed His Highness."
Zhao Ling, sitting next to Zhuge Liang, quickly chimed in: "Indeed, the Grand Premier's Manor is a gathering of all the wise and talented. General Wei is a General in the service of the Premier, which also demonstrates Premier's brilliant military strategy."
This is a case of sycophancy.
Compared to Zhao Ling's impromptu interjection, Xiang Lang, Yang Yi, and Fei Yu were more familiar with Zhuge Liang. At this time, they knew that something was wrong.
"These are the merits of General Wei. It is the obedience and effort of the soldiers," Zhuge Liang slowly rose from his seat and walked out with a calm pace: "Wen Wei and Vigilant General, please accompany me."
Zhuge Liang looked at his long history, Xiang Lang: "Let's continue the banquet. It's a rare good mood today!"
Xiang Lang stood up and accepted the order, Zhuge Liang also walked out with big strides, followed quickly by Fei Yu and Yang Yi. Fei Yu still tightly held the military report in his hand.
In the side hall, Zhuge Liang turned and looked at the two behind him: "Wen Wei, please take a look at the military report. Vigilant General, what are the specific movements of each department now? Explain in detail."
Before sitting down, Zhuge Liang stood in the hall and asked questions. Yang Yi also solemnly bowed and said:
"Your Highness, the Eastern Army has lost all 4,000 troops under Deng Zhi, while there are 11,000 troops under Zhao Yun and 4,000 troops under Wang Ping in Lueyang on the border. There are also 8,000 troops under Wei Yan and 3,000 troops under Wu Ban in Lueyang to the east. In total, there are 26,666 troops."
"Three ten thousand troops in the central route, Wu Yi's department and Liao Hua's department have a total of nineteen thousand, still besieging Gaibei. Huang Xi's troops of five thousand are stationed in Jixian, and Zong Xue's troops of six thousand are now staying with the Premier in Linwei."
"The western army has twelve thousand troops. Yuan Min's five thousand are besieging the capital of Longxi Prefecture, Xiangwu, Zhang Yi's five thousand troops are on their way to Xianqin, and Hu Ji's two thousand troops are defending the cities of Kaidao, Xinxing, and Zhongtao."
The strengths and distribution of each department's forces, as well as the locations of each city, were deeply ingrained in Zhuge Liang's mind. There was no need for Yang Yi to introduce it. However, throughout history, rulers always enjoyed having their subordinates report everything in detail, which often had the effect of assisting in thinking and filling in any gaps.
After Yang Yi finished speaking, Fei Yu, who looked pale and cold as water on the side, handed the military report to Yang Yi: "Brother Vigilant, please take a look."
"Premier, Lüyang is in great danger!" Yang Yi merely glanced at it briefly and then exclaimed.
Fei Yu looked at Yang Yi with some disdain, the Premier must be more worried. Why are you still causing trouble for the Premier here?
Zhuge Liang slowly said: "Cao Zhi's eight thousand cavalry arrived east of Lüyang on the nineteenth evening."
"Firstly, Zhang He has ten thousand, then Qian Zhao has fifteen thousand, and now Cao Zhen has eight thousand. The total number of Wei troops near Lüyang has reached thirty-three thousand, which is seven thousand more than the Eastern Army's twenty-six thousand."
"More importantly... Cao Zhen brought eight thousand cavalry. Where are the remaining twenty-two thousand cavalry from the three ten thousand cavalry in Luoyang?"
Fei Yu hesitated as he said: "The distance from Luoyang to Lüyang is a full sixteen hundred li. How can all the cavalry possibly reach there?"
Yang Yi hummed in the background: "Even if all eight thousand horses have arrived, how can we bet that the remaining two tens of thousands will not come?"
After speaking, Yang Yi bowed to Zhuge Liang: "Yesterday, the subordinate suggested that the Premier go east to Linwei in order to take one prefecture of Guangwei. Now that Guangwei has surrendered, please rush to send troops and head to Lüyang to assist the Eastern Army in blocking the enemy!"
Zhuge Liang sighed.
Yesterday, there were indeed people who proposed their opinions. Wei Yan said yesterday that they should reinforce Lüyang, but he probably did not expect the Wei country to send more troops again.
"Vigilant General, Xiang Lang, convey my orders."
Yang Yi and Fei Yu stood solemnly in response.
Zhuge Liang furrowed his brow and declared with a proud attitude: "Rush an order to Wu Yi's department to gather one ten thousand troops tonight. Set out tomorrow at dawn and reach Lüyang within two nights. We must be there by dawn!"
"Rush an order to Zhang Yi. No matter whether he captures Xianqin when he receives the letter, he should immediately head north and take the route from Xingguo to Lüyang to the west!"
"Rush an order for Huang Xi to lead his troops of four thousand, hurry to the outskirts of Shangguan City and assist Liao Hua in continuing the siege of Shangguan!"
After speaking, Zhuge Liang stood silent for a moment. Seeing that both Yang Yi and Fei Yu were staring at him silently, he finally opened his mouth and said: "Tomorrow morning, leave one thousand troops to guard Linwei. The rest of the seven thousand foot soldiers and one thousand horsemen will accompany me to Lüyang!"
Yang Yi spoke up and asked: "Then what should we do with the Governor of Guangwei, Zhao Ling?"
Zhuge Liang said coldly, "He expressed his intentions at the banquet, didn't he? Give him an appointment as a Marquis, and send him back to Hanzhong this morning. Then he can return to Yu Zhang later!"
...
At this moment, the Wei camp is located ten miles northeast of Lüyang City.
"Today's fight was quite a success, Brother Zi Jing!" Cao Zhen walked into the tent and sat down to roast marshmallows by the fire as if he had known the place. He turned and smiled at Qian Zhao.
"Met the General." Qian Zhao bowed and then said, "I arrived here on the eighteenth. We were attacked several times by the Shu army yesterday, and it felt quite urgent."
"Fortunately, last night the General's troops also arrived in Lüyang, giving me some confidence to fight and dare to fight."
Cao Zhen said in a relaxed manner, "The battle was yours. I don't need to compete with you for credit. Be humble about it."
"My department is only two days' journey from the Emperor, and it's expected that His Majesty's sixteen thousand cavalry will arrive in Lüyang tonight. I've just received the military report. The Emperor, citing the need for grain and logistics, has ordered us to come up with a plan to quickly break through the Shu army."
"Qian Zhao nodded: 'Transporting grain from Guanzhong to here via the Longdao Road requires over 500 miles of land travel, which is extremely costly. It's reasonable for the Emperor to order a quick attack.'"
"Do you have a strategy, General?"
Cao Zhen lightly clapped his hands and said resolutely, "We should act swiftly, not delay! Not to mention the grain and logistics, but even if it were just about us traveling a thousand miles from Luoyang to here, it's not for standing in opposition to the Shu army in this insignificant city of Lüyang. It's to quickly rescue Shangguan and the four prefectures of Long right away!"
"Brother Zi Jing," Cao Zhen turned to focus on Qian Zhao, "Although the Emperor has not explicitly said so, it seems that his orders indicate that he hopes we can break through the Shu army as quickly as possible."
"Why not start the grand offensive the day after the Emperor arrives tomorrow?"
"Qian Zhao sighed, sat down next to Cao Zhen, staring at the flickering fire and some out of focus: 'General Cao Zhen, if we want to break through the Shu army's encampments in the south, we need to first penetrate their camps in the north before heading southwest to save Lüyang.'"
"Today morning, I also showed General Cao Zhen the terrain here. Our camp is to the south, with two mountains to the east and west, each with a small camp built on top. The gap between these two mountains is only three li. Within these three li, there are moats, stakes, and fences in abundance."
"From the Shu army's movements today, it seems that the Shu army to our south has at least ten thousand troops." Qian Zhao said with a difficult expression, "Our infantry currently only has over fourteen thousand. How can we break through in such a short time?"
Cao Zhen spoke up and asked, "Were we not both sent by the Emperor, both in the front and rear? How could our forces be insufficient?"
Qian Zhao said, "General Cao Zhen and the Emperor's two thousand plus troops are all cavalry. The region of Long right is also full of hills, so cavalry may have difficulty climbing up, which may mean we have no room to use our strength."
"Not being able to ride horses? Just dismount and fight on foot, right?" Cao Zhen raised an eyebrow at Qian Zhao: "The central army's three thousand cavalry have always been the cream of the crop. Fighting on foot is also a first-rate strong force."
"General Cao Zhen, you also have to part with it?" Qian Zhao asked in amazement.
Cao Zhen replied: "How can I not spare it? I personally rode for half a month. His Majesty's thousand chariots are still on the Long Road."
"In the presence of the Emperor, as long as it benefits the war and breaks through the Shu bandits as soon as possible, who dares to speak in the army or at court?"
Cao Zhen's words did not help clear up Qian Zhao's doubts, but instead made him even more perplexed.
Qian Zhao hesitantly asked: "Will His Majesty agree?"
Cao Zhen suddenly chuckled, took a breath, and addressed Qian Zhao: "Brother Zi Jing, it's natural to have such doubts. His Majesty is quite different in military strategy compared to the previous emperor and even resembles Emperor Wu."
After speaking, Cao Zhen seemed to feel it was not quite appropriate and added an explanation: "Brother Zi Jing can be at ease, the Emperor is even more wise and martial than you think."
Qian Zhao nodded, "In a rough calculation, we have 15,000 in my department, 8,000 under General Cao Zhen, and 16,000 with His Majesty. That's a total of around 39,000 infantry, which should be enough to handle the over 10,000 Shu troops to the south."
"Seems like there are still some excess."
At this time, Cao Zhen had already warmed up, stood up from the cushion and said while walking in the tent:
"Thirty-nine thousand people to fight over ten thousand, the military strength is definitely sufficient, and indeed it's more than enough."
"However, Brother Zi Jing." Cao Zhen asked, "Your department arrived on the afternoon of the seventeenth, right?"
"General Cao Zhen is correct." Qian Zhao responded.
"My department arrived a day later than you, Brother Zi Jing," Cao Zhen slowly said. "How will the Shu army respond? Guo Hui didn't say that there were twenty thousand Shu soldiers outside of Shangguan City before?"
"I have already predicted the possible time of the Shu army's arrival countless times in my mind. I immediately spoke out: 'I arrived here on the afternoon of the previous day. If the Shu army receives news on the nineteenth, their two ten thousand troops outside of Shangguan City began to advance towards Lüyang this morning. It will take at least two to three days for them to arrive.'"
Cao Zhen thought for a moment: "The fastest could be tomorrow night, but it might take longer?"
Qian Zhao nodded: "Exactly."
Cao Zhen immediately said decisively: "The Emperor will have over 16,000 people arrive tomorrow. Brother Zi Jing, your forces here are already sufficient."
"I would rather take these eight thousand cavalry to Zhang Jingye's place through a detour!"
Qian Zhao furrowed his brow: "First, from here we go north, then west to Xingguo, and finally to Lüyang? The distance might be over a hundred miles, right!"
"Already walked for over 1,600 miles, does it really matter if it's one more mile?" Cao Zhen's eyes were filled with confidence: "I'll leave tomorrow morning and should be able to reach Lüyang by tomorrow night!" (End of this chapter)
