Fei Yao stared straight at the distant military formation, sighed softly, and said to Cao Zhen, "Today, General Dajiang can avenge his disgrace."
Cao Zhen put away his smile, nodded silently, "I have been waiting for eight years for this battle."
Beyond Lueiyang City, to the north of Duan Mountain.
In this remote place named Jieting, General Wei faced the Shu Han army for the second time after eight years, as if it were just like the battle of Hanzhong.
In the spring of AD 219, Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought for Hanzhong. Both sides had traveled far and long, facing each other on both sides of the Han River, outside Yangping Pass, and under the mountain of Dingjun.
Cao Cao sent Cao Zhen and Xu Rang to the west of Yangping Pass, intending to cut off Liu Bei's supply lines.
At the same time, Liu Bei sent Generals Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun to simultaneously cut off the food supplies to the Wei army across the Han River.
Although Cao Zhen and Xu Rang's forces were not successful, Generals Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong continued to launch constant attacks, making the Wei army's food supplies and logistics critically vulnerable. This forced Cao Cao to withdraw from Hanzhong and give up the rich land that had been handed over to him by Zhang Lu, who had previously surrendered it willingly.
Although the defeat in the Battle of Hanzhong was not solely Cao Zhen's fault, at that time when Cao Cao himself had arrived, Cao Zhen did not have such great power and responsibility to shoulder the blame for Cao Cao's overall strategy.
But several years passed, and with the successive deaths of Cao Cao and Cao Pi, Cao Zhen himself once again traveled through the Long Pass into Longyou, as if it were just like in the past.
During the nearly two weeks of travel from Luoyang to Lueiyang, Cao Zhen thought of many things. He couldn't catch up with the sunset, and if he had succeeded in cutting off the supplies of the Shu Han army back then, would he have to go through such a journey today?
Cao Zhen, also known as Cao Zi Dan, as the general of the Wei dynasty at this moment, is responsible for coordinating all military affairs domestically and internationally on behalf of the emperor. It seems that he bears more of the regrets from his past years on himself, with determination evident in his eyes and brows.
At the same time, in the Shu Han army camp across the way, from Ma Su, Zhao Yun, and Wang Ping at the top, to the soldiers from the central army, imperial guards, Shu Prefecture, and Ba Xi Prefecture below, nearly everyone's expression was tense.
Zhao Yun's division of 11,000 people was indeed the most elite part of the entire Shu Han army. Nearly 10,000 of them had accompanied Zhuge Liang in their campaigns to the south and participated in the conquest of Yongchuan and Mengfu, who were troublesome individuals.
But are Yongchuan and Mengfu, or the Wei army across the way, really one and the same? If the Shu Han army that could defeat the Yi people of Nanzhong can certainly beat the Wei army, right?
No one dared to make that guarantee.
When facing the Wei's Grand General, at least the Prime Minister should also be present on our side?
Ma Su was thinking this way at that moment.
Ma Su, standing together with Zhao Yun on the observation tower of the camp, kept gazing towards the Wei army camp to the west. His hands were restless, constantly touching here and there, and his eyes and brows were full of tension.
"Zhao General, should we send someone to ask the Prime Minister again?" Ma Su turned to ask Zhao Yun, who was closing his eyes and resting nearby.
Zhao Yun raised his eyes slightly, saw the anxious Ma Su, and shook his head: "Parameter Ma, do not send anyone else. Half a morning has passed, and you have already sent out three batches of couriers."
"The messenger sent out last night hasn't come back yet? The Prime Minister made it clear that before tonight, Wu Yi's troops would definitely arrive here. Besides, didn't the Prime Minister's thousand cavalry arrive this morning?"
Ma Su sighed heavily: "The situation is truly dire. There is little cover on the plain, and even a small camp wall would be difficult to block the enemy army."
"If the day before yesterday's words of Wei Yan are to be believed, we might have already been attacked from both sides by the Wei army! How can we wait for the Prime Minister to arrive? The current plan is to wait for the Prime Minister to come and take charge of the situation!"
Zhao Yun stared at Ma Su for a while, then suddenly sneered: "If the Prime Minister doesn't come, should we not do anything here? Marshal Ma, you can continue to watch the Wei army here. I'll go and supervise the soldiers first."
Ma Su stared in amazement as Zhao Yun was about to leave: "Zhao General, wait a moment. Zhao General..."
Zhao Yun, however, didn't turn back as he descended from the observation tower. As the battle was about to begin, Zhao Yun would rather stay with his close guards and soldiers than listen to Ma Su's meaningless rambling here.
Without pause, Zhao Yun summoned the cavalry captain Ju Fu, who led a thousand cavalry under Zhuge Liang, to his side at dawn.
"Xiao Xing, you have traveled all the way from Linwei to here. Are you still willing to fight today?"
At the age of thirty, Ju Fu was a descendant of the wealthy families from Ba Xi Prefecture. Both in terms of martial prowess and loyalty, he was one of the standout generals among the younger generation.
Ju Fu bowed and said, "My subordinate is not afraid of fighting. Please, General, give me your order."
Zhao Yun heard this and looked up at Ma Su who was still on the observation tower. During the past half an hour, messengers from Wei Yan had come to the camp twice to request reinforcements, but both had been rejected by Ma Su.
Caught in the middle and torn between the two, Zhao Yun could only let Ju Fu's unit head east to offer support.
Zhao Yun pointed to the northeast and said, "Since the two armies are currently in standoff, my infantry must defend the camp walls and cannot leave. Only your unit remains mobile. Xiao Xing, lead your thousand cavalry eastward and find a place to cross the river, then meet up with Wei Yan's troops three li behind their camp."
"You don't need to enter Wei General's camp to fight. If Wei General retreats today, I only ask you to lead the cavalry to cover his flanks for one or two moves! Do you understand?"
Ju Fu bowed and kowtowed, then mounted his horse and rode away immediately. The tense and somewhat strange stalemate outside Lueiyang City between Wei and Shu forces had actually been weighing on his mind for a while now.
It appears that the root of the battle lies with General Wei Yan and General Wu Ban!
Under Qian Zhao's command, the Wei army still advanced in six divisions, but each wave of the offensive had two wings, each with over a thousand men attacking simultaneously.
Unlike the silence from both Ma Su and Zhao Yun, Wei Yan began deploying troops outside the fortifications since this morning, changing from his strategy of hiding behind the ramparts yesterday to directly engaging the Wei army that was attacking from the south.
The extra layer of barricades that was set up last night has been dismantled again, and multiple damaged sections have appeared on the ramparts, making it increasingly difficult to defend.
After having repelled two waves of the Wei army, the soldiers in the Shu camp are beginning to show signs of fatigue.
However, war is not a game. For these soldiers, there is a sword in front of them and an army law behind them! With the strictness of the Shu Han army's laws, the fate of those who retreat is only one - death!
As the Wei army camp to the north once again filled with soldiers, Wei Yan and Ma Dai ordered: "Proceed to further dismantle the earthworks in front of Camp B, leaving a width of three zhang (3 meters), I want to put the Wei dogs in and kill them!"
"Understood." Ma Dai left and followed Wei Yan's order to actively "expose" the breach, but his worried expression was still hard to hide.
In this way, perhaps it could kill and wound more Wei soldiers, but wouldn't it also expose more vulnerabilities to the Wei army?
However, the battlefield is not a place where one can reason, and he Ma Dai had no choice but to follow Wei Yan's command in this situation. If Wei Yan had a way, then he would follow the instructions of General Wei as ordered!
The two divisions that emerged from Qian Zhao's camp attacked the eastern and western sides respectively, with Yin Jin attacking the east and Pan Yi attacking the west, both advancing towards the Shu camp.
On the eastern side, Yin Jian followed the same tactics as the previous two waves of attacks, engaging Wu Ban's troops outside the fortifications in close combat. The line was static about ten zhang (10 meters) away from the fortifications, and Yin Jian was unable to push the line inward even a little.
Pan Yi, on the western side, found that the Shu Han forces were becoming increasingly exhausted during their engagement, unable to hold the line for more than an hour and about to retreat through the breach in the fortifications.
"Order the battalion commanders! Follow me into the camp, Your Majesty is watching from the north, don't let the central army look down on us!" Expressed his surprise, Pan Yi shouted to his orderly standing beside him, intending to break through the breach in the Shu camp's defenses as they retreated.
At this moment, on a small hill to the west of the camp between Wei and Shu, Qian Zhao and Yang Fu were observing the situation in the south.
Yang Fu frowned and looked: "General Qian, are the Shu forces deliberately revealing a weakness to us? How can Wei Yan fight better than Wu Ban here, it's clearly a trap to lure us in!"
"But the breach is indeed rather narrow, I don't know why Pan Yi is charging in so urgently."
Qian Zhao looked at Yang Fu: "With a breach, even three zhang (3 meters) can become thirty zhang (30 meters)! Send out foot soldiers first to reinforce and expand the breach, then let the cavalry enter to separate it."
Qian Zhao's expression showed a hint of ruthlessness: "At this point in the battle, if he reveals a weakness, it may truly become one. General Yang, I am going to request His Majesty's order now!"
Yang Fu and Qian Zhao, each on a horse, directly rode into the main camp to inform the emperor of the matter.
Cao Rui did not hesitate and stood up to look at the eager officials in the tent.
"Qian Zhenfu! You have always asked for a chance to fight. Now that General Qian has breached the fortifications of the Shu camp, you are to lead the vanguard and immediately clear a path for the main army!"
Dian Man stepped forward, his face showing great excitement as he bowed and responded with a wide grin that pulled his beard on the side even more: "I accept your order! I will definitely establish merits for Your Majesty!"
Sima Yi stood with his hands tied in front of Cao Rui's side, adding: "General Dian Man's three thousand men shall dismount and fight on foot, carrying spears and rope weapons, aiming to destroy the fortifications!"
"Return to Your Majesty, I understand. Although it was Sima Yi who provided details, Dian Man still bowed to the emperor and then walked out briskly."
"Cao Huhu, Cheng Xi!" Cao Rui looked at the two middle army generals standing on the right side of the tent: "Each of you lead three thousand cavalry and form an array south of the camp. Once Dian Man establishes a foothold to the south of the Shu camp, cut off the Shu troops into two parts east and west from north to south!"
"Understood!" After both Generals Xiahou He and Cheng Xi bowed, they turned around and walked away. The emperor's instructions were detailed, and there was nothing more for Sima Yi to add.
"General Qian, how many of your troops are still able to fight?" Cao Rui asked.
Qian Zhao bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, there are more than six thousand."
Cao Rui nodded: "Leave a thousand to guard the camp, and the rest of the soldiers will follow me to set out!"
Sima Yi seemed to have difficulty believing what he had just heard. Without moving his body, he slowly turned his head towards the emperor, his eyes wide with surprise, asking: "Your Majesty is going to personally lead the battle? How can a person of your status be so lightly moved?"
"Yes," said Cao Rui with a lift of his eyebrows. "Have I not already moved from Luoyang to here? What are you, Minister of Works, worried about? Are you worried about my military prowess, or about my safety?"
