After saying that, Cao Zhen sighed and said, "I thought Zhang Junyi's health was not bad when the military dispatches from Lueyang came the other day."
"The military dispatches are vague, and with his 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 foot soldiers, it's better for me to take command instead."
"Chian Zhao remained silent for a long time. 'That's the best we can do. As for tomorrow, the 22nd, how will we coordinate our efforts from the east and west sides?'"
Cao Zhen's eyes and brows were filled with gravity: "I will coordinate with Zhang Junyi to hold back the Shu troops outside of Lueyang. If there are more troops from Shu coming in, we will also try our best to resist them."
"You and the Emperor should join forces and defeat the Shu troops in front of us to the south. Then you can unite with the troops at Lueyang to the west! There is no need for any further dispatches."
Chian Zhao nodded, rising to bow deeply to Cao Zhen, who was inside the tent: "I will definitely not let you down, General!"
……
As the morning sun pierced the darkness from the east, more than 20,000 Shu-Han foot soldiers, along with Cao Zhen's 8,000 cavalry, began to mobilize simultaneously from Shanggu, Linwei to Lueyang.
Previously, when Cao Zhen had not arrived, Chian Zhao's military tactics seemed somewhat hesitant. Now that Cao Zhen has gone to Lueyang, the Emperor will lead 16,000 people tonight and Chian Zhao began to launch a fierce attack on the Shu-Han camp early in the morning.
"The enemy is attacking! The enemy is attacking! The enemy is attacking!"
After the sentry on the watchtower in the camp shouted three times, a series of piercing bugles echoed. The Shu-Han soldiers who were preparing to eat hurriedly donned their armor, assembled, and prepared for defense at the northern side of the camp.
Longyou mountainous region is abundant, and the area where Lueyang is located is already narrow. The defense line built by Wei Yan and Wu Ban is no more than three miles long in the east and west directions.
The bugle of Shu troops was clear to the Wei troops. The drum beating and yelling in the Wei troops camp were as if right by Wei Yan's ears.
"Pass my order!" Wei Yan instructed to his personal guards beside him: "The Wei troops just arrived in Lueyang from Chang'an yesterday and must be exhausted. It's best for us to wait tiredness with ease!"
"Make sure all camps are defending their positions behind the camp, and no troops are to be sent out without permission!"
The courier soldiers dispersed in all directions, and upon receiving Wei Yan's military order, the troops in each camp also defended themselves by relying on the fortified positions of the camp. They threw arrow feathers at the approaching Wei troops infantrymen to suppress them.
The dense ranks of Wei troops infantrymen, holding shields and spears, formed up in front, with a formation of archers following behind them by dozens of steps, shooting arrows at the Shu camp in response.
General Wei Yan, who had been defending Hanzhong for eight years without a major battle, had the most urgent desire to contribute to the campaign and defeat the enemy among all the generals.
Even during his time in Hanzhong, Wei Yan had personally gone to sites such as Huangjin and Xingshi to build camps and fortifications, and he was extremely familiar with these earthwork projects. Following the instructions of Marquis Zhuge, and the repeated emphasis by General Ma Su, the Shu army had also made diligent efforts in constructing their camps here.
Between the two mountains, Wei Yan ordered his troops to construct a fortified line three li long and half a zhang high. Trenches were dug inside and outside the camp, with five layers of buckthorn hedges outside. Everything adhered to the military code personally defined by Zhuge Liang.
But today, the Wei troops seemed to be risking their lives as they pressed forward. They didn't charge towards the camp at all, but instead focused solely on uprooting and burning the buckthorn hedges.
Although the Wei troops responsible for destroying the buckthorn hedges suffered many casualties under the arrows of the Shu troops, with five waves of attacks throughout the morning, nearly three layers of the five-layer buckthorn hedges outside the camp were destroyed.
"General Wei! Where on earth did the Wei troops get this newfound bravery from? They're attacking so fiercely today!"
As noon approached, taking advantage of the gap between Wei troops' latest attack and their return to rest, General Wu Ban from the eastern sector of the defense zone came to General Wei Yan's location with a worried inquiry.
Wei Yan's face was stern: "You ask me, and I ask who? From dawn till now, the Wei troops across from us have attacked in five waves."
"Three layers of the five-layer buckthorn hedges have already been uprooted and burned, and by tonight, there may not be a single layer left!"
Faced with the relentless and suicidal attacks of the Wei troops, and with the loss of many archers during the exchange of fire, Wei Yan's mood was not good either. For eight years in Hanzhong, he had known many of the old soldiers by name, and they all died this morning under the arrows of the Wei troops.
General Wu Ban asked cautiously, "If the Wei troops come to attack again in the afternoon, do we need to go out to meet them?"
Wei Yan remained expressionless, saying, "Let's see how it goes. If the Wei troops continue to destroy the buckthorn hedges in the afternoon, let's strike them before they reach the camp!"
"The general on the other side should be Chian Zhao. I've heard that Chian Zhao has always been a cautious commander. How is it that he's launching such fierce attacks, utterly ignoring the lives of his soldiers!"
General Wu Ban replied, "I will decide whether to launch an attack based on the situation."
"You?" Wei Yan glanced at Wu Ban sideways: "I've clearly told General Ma that your duty is to guard the camp. If you dare to attack on your own, I will not take responsibility for it!"
Wu Ban nodded awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to Wei Yan's words.
Wu Ban had a long history in Zipu, having been a prominent figure since his youth. With his family's connection to Liu Bei, he was known for his bold and unrestrained style of behavior.
Prior to arriving in Chengdu, Wu Ban had already heard rumors about Wei Yan being difficult to deal with. It wasn't until the start of the northern expedition that Wu Ban, alongside Wei Yan on the same route, slowly began to understand that the rumors were true.
But the irony is that Wei Yan is not only senior in rank to him but also more accomplished in battle, has more soldiers under his command, and is even stronger physically, standing a full circle taller than Wu Ban.
Such a person who is better in every aspect, yet speaking so rudely, Wu Ban could only bear it.
"Then it's up to General Wei to build a meritorious career. I'll go back to the camp now."
Wei Yan was solely focused on observing the battlefield and only nodded slightly to acknowledge Wu Ban.
On the other side, near the Lueyang city, Zhang He also learned about Chian Zhao and Cao Zhen's strategic move.
The Longyou area is characterized by hills and ravines. Even though mountains can slow down the advance of troops, scouts crossing the mountains is not difficult. The distance from Chian Zhao's camp to Lueyang city is only about ten li in a straight line.
After Chian Zhao set up camp the day before, he sent men to search in the southwest direction towards Lueyang. After two days and finding out the route through the mountains, communication between the Lueyang city and the Wei army camp was finally established through the scouts.
As noon approached, Zhang He received a message from scouts sent by Chian Zhao in the small camp outside Lueyang city.
Zhang He rubbed the general's seal passed by the scout, "Will General Cao arrive at Lueyang tonight? Will the Emperor also arrive at the camp later this evening?"
"Reported to Commander Zhang, it is indeed so," the scout kneeled on one knee and said with a bow, "General Cao and General Chian, the Magistrate of the Western Commandery, are concerned about Commander Zhang's health, so General Cao will come to Lueyang in person."
"I understand," Zhang He looked at the scout and said, "Come over here with me."
Zhang He moved to the outside of the tent, slightly loosened his limbs for a warm-up, then took a long jian from his personal guards and, as if it were light as a feather, swung it for nearly one hundred breaths. Then he stood firmly with both feet and threw the jian with all his might. It flew over three zhang (approximately 3 meters).
Zhang He clapped his hands, seeing the scout's expression of stupefaction and laughing, "Tell Chian Zhao, tell the Emperor! Commander Zhang hears that General Cao and Your Majesty have arrived in Lueyang, and all diseases are cured!"
"Tell the Emperor what you saw just now, and then tell him that I Zhang Juniyi has been serving the Wei kingdom in battles for thirty years and have never let anyone down. I will certainly not fail Your Majesty tomorrow!"
The scout listened carefully and watching Zhang He's chest rising and falling, he replied seriously, "I will certainly convey the Commander's message clearly!"
Zhang He turned and walked towards the tent, and he also said to Chen Ping, the military advisor following him, "This man is good. Give him a reward!"
"Understood." Chen Ping replied with a bow.
Upon learning that a great battle was about to take place and that the eight thousand cavalry of Cao Zhen's army would arrive in the evening, Zhang He hurriedly instructed his troops to make various preparations in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the three-mile-long defense line between Wei Yan and Wu Ban was once again enduring fierce attacks from Chian Zhao's troops.
The Wei troops from the previous wave just retreated, and the next wave of Wei troops has already arrived.
Chian Zhao launched an attack today with no pause. Early in the morning, he divided his troops into six groups, each led by a camp commander of two thousand stones.
Besides the three thousand reserve troops left by Chian Zhao, the soldiers of the six groups launched continuous attacks on the Shu defense line. The afternoon attack was even more fierce than the morning, and by dusk, each group had attacked twice, for a total of twelve times.
The buckthorn hedges outside the Shu camp were completely destroyed by Chian Zhao, and some of the trenches in front of the camp were filled in.
As the evening sky grew dark and the Wei troops who were carrying soil to fill in the ditches withdrew, General Wei Yan finally found an opportunity. He personally led three thousand prepared foot soldiers out of multiple camp gates, attacking along with the retreating Wei troops.
Chian Zhao noticed Wei Yan's movements from the watchtower and immediately ordered the three thousand foot soldiers who had been resting and preparing all day to come out and confront them.
With three thousand Shu troops facing off against three thousand Wei troops, led by Wei Yan, and having spent the entire day preparing in the camp, there was a strong sense of pent-up anger and a strong desire to win throughout the Shu troops.
After the two armies collided, the front-line soldiers engaged in close combat, finding gaps in their shields to fight. The officers and leaders in the ranks shouted slogans, striving to maintain the integrity of the army formation during combat.
The sound of armor, the clanging of weapons, curses, shouts... all at once, instantly stirring up the battlefield.
For a moment, it seemed that neither side had the upper hand.
This area is mountainous, and the camps of the Wei and Shu armies are only about three li apart in a north-south direction.
As Wei Yan's troops pressed the Wei army gradually northward and got closer to the Wei army camp, he seemed to sense something amiss.
"Pass on my orders, the entire army will stop here and then slowly retreat to camp. Do not get too close to the Wei army camp, I do not need to attack their camp!"
While Wei Yan was giving the orders, a bugle call could be heard coming from the Wei army camp to the north. The Shu troops also gradually stopped their steps and separated from the retreating Wei troops.
Both sides retreated back to their camps.
At this moment, Chian Zhao had already descended from the watchtower and, following the instructions of the messengers, led a few horsemen to ride lightly northward to meet Emperor Cao Rui himself, who was about five li away.
Upon seeing the messengers who were sent to report to the emperor, Chian Zhao dismounted and stood by the side of the road waiting.
It wasn't until another group of scouts arrived, followed by a wave of scouting cavalry.
After waiting for a long time, Chian Zhao finally saw a golden-armored knight sitting on an extremely majestic white horse, walking towards him slowly. The golden helmet atop his head faced the setting sun, its brilliance dazzling and causing one to dare not look up.
Chian Zhao knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully: "Subject Chian Zhao, greeting the Emperor!" (End of this chapter)
