"Good, Zhuge Liang is charging towards the emperor!"
Cao Rui sneered: "General, you may not be familiar with Zhuge Liang. The emperor is well aware of the man's habits. Every time faced with a major issue, he cannot rely on others and always believes that only he is most secure."
Bringing Zhuge Liang himself to launch an attack must mean something has occurred that alarms him. It must be the news of Lu Sun reaching Bai Shui that has been learned by the Shu army!
After saying that, Cao Rui suddenly stood up from his seat, spread his legs and looked at the gathered officials in the hall.
Chen Ping is no more than a military aide, and today is only his second audience with the emperor. How could he have ever seen the emperor in a rage?
However, as everyone in the tent stood up and walked to the front of the hall to face the emperor, Chen Ping was blocked by General Dai and other officials. He felt a little more at ease in his heart.
Cao Rui stood in front of the crowd, his face expressionless, and spoke in a deep voice: "Lu Sun and Xiahou Xian are stationed on both sides of the army to attack Bai Shui. The purpose of attacking Bai Shui is to support the battle here. Now, Zhuge Liang has broken with tradition and come to attack the emperor himself. This can only mean that he has already dispatched reinforcements to the south."
"Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and these people have been acting like bandits for so many years! They don't retreat when faced with difficulties; instead, they confront them head-on. After suffering defeat, they flee thousands of miles away. Our army must crush their edge!"
Cao Zhen immediately spoke up: "Your Majesty, I wish to go to the front to supervise the attack. Please grant my request!"
"General Dai, accompany the emperor." Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen: "General Dai is responsible for aiding the emperor in commanding the armies across the realm. The Shu region's military force is merely that of a single state. How could General Dai be needed?"
"There is enough with Zhang He facing the front."
Cao Zhen gave a slight bow, and then remained silent.
Cao Rui looked at the officials in the tent: "Gentlemen, do you know why the emperor prefers Liu Ye?"
Sima Yi was somewhat confused by the emperor's thought. Why mention Liu Ye, who is far away in Youzhou, at a time when the great army is facing the enemy?
"The emperor likes Liu Ye because he is very good at reading people, and he always speaks the truth!" Cao Rui let out a faint snort: "When Liu Ye said in the past, 'Although Shu is narrow and weak, Liu Bei's plan is to show strength through military might by gathering people, indicating his surplus.'"
"But on this day, Zhuge Liang attacked the emperor in the most critical moment, which is very similar to Liu Bei's way of doing things."
"Yang Minister, convey the emperor's edict!"
Yang Fu stepped forward half a step, bowing and responding: "Here I am."
Cao Rui spoke coldly: "Send a message to Zhang He. Today is the day of death. Let him attack Zhuge Liang head-on today, regardless of any casualties. He has thirty thousand troops, doesn't he? The narrow valley offers no room for trickery. Just kill and slaughter!"
"Tell Zhang He that the emperor is right behind him, watching over him as his General of the Western Expedition!"
"According to the edict." Yang Fu responded.
"Order Qian Zhao and Xiahou Yu to attack southward at dawn." Cao Rui looked up at Yang Fu: "Let Qian Zhao bring the same spirit and vitality he had in Lueyang. Tell Xiahou Yu that this is the time when the emperor is using him, and do not bring shame to his surname!"
"Go on, Yang Minister!"
Yang Fu gave a bow, immediately took the order, and didn't forget to drag Chen Ping away either.
Cao Rui turned around and sat down on the mat.
The remaining officials in the tent, including Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, and Chen Jiao, looked at each other in confusion.
Cao Zhen spoke up: "Your Majesty, what can my officials and I do here?"
Cao Rui laughed: "Of course there is."
"Chen Minister, bring the emperor's checkers and chess."
Sima Yi's eyes revealed a hint of confusion, but he soon expressed admiration: "The emperor's courage is impressive! Treating the battlefield of Qin and Yizhou as a chessboard, he moves the pieces with his fingers, as if commanding thousands of troops."
"This kind of elegant matter should be recorded by me, and after returning to Luoyang, I will hand it over to the historian!"
Cao Rui waved his hand: "Don't exaggerate so much. The battle between the Wei and Shu forces in the valley is just a fierce struggle. There's no need to talk about strategies or tactics. It's just a fight to the death here."
"What else can we do here? We can only sit and watch the outcome of the battle at the front."
"Your Majesty is exactly right," Cao Zhen said with a bow. "With Zhang He in command, that is sufficient. Since the great army moved from Lueyang to here, everyone from top to bottom has been holding back a surge of blood and vigor."
"Today is the decisive moment."
While the conversation was in progress, Chen Jiao had already arranged for the chessboard, carrying two silk pouches in his hand, each containing the chess pieces.
The so-called "tapping chess" is actually a game similar to billiards.
On a two-foot square wooden base, there is a jade chessboard of the same size.
The square chessboard has a central mound and four low edges. The chessboard surface is polished smooth and glossy.
The chess pieces are made of polished mulberry wood, shaped like very small pillows, with six pieces for each side of the game.
There are two cí-shaped holes on the left and right sides of the chessboard.
The game rules are similar to that of billiards. Both sides use their fingers to pop their own pieces out, preventing the opponent's pieces from entering their holes. The side that gets all its pieces into the opponent's hole wins the game.
In the past, Emperor Cao Pi was very skilled at playing the game of checkers. This game became popular among the elite of the entire Great Wei over several years.
Cao Zhen saw this and asked: "There are four people in the tent now. Please the emperor to order and select two people to start."
Cao Rui smiled and said: "Playing checkers with the emperor is not possible without stakes. Taking turns to play, the loser must step down. Losing one game means having to drink an extra cup at the celebration of this battle's victory!"
"The emperor will play with the black pieces, and General Dai will be the first to play against the emperor."
Cao Zhen smiled, bowed his hands, and said: "I apologize for the inconvenience. I will play with the white pieces."
The game of checkers takes very little time to complete, with a two-foot square chessboard and twelve pieces. According to the timekeeping methods of later generations, it can be completed in less than ten minutes, and in fast games, it may only take three or five minutes.
Drinking a cup for each lost game cannot be considered a small bet.
While the emperor was playing checkers with the General, the Chancellor, and the Governor of Qin State, the battle in front was becoming increasingly fierce.
Yesterday, Zhang He divided his forces into twenty groups for a rapid attack, but when he captured two camps and found the third one difficult to take, he slowed down the pace of the attack.
Today's battle is similar to yesterday's, without any room for relaxation!
The battle between Wei and Shu started in the morning and by midday, more than 1,000 corpses had been discarded near the front lines of the battle in the narrow valley.
The number of dead and wounded is not as many as when Qian Zhao conquered Yiyang, but the intensity of the carnage is higher than during the Battle of Lueyang.
Qian Zhao's attack on the Shu camp in Lueyang was on a frontline of three li wide, with tens of thousands of troops attacking.
Today, Zhang He's battle was on a front of more than seventy li in width, with relentless fighting. In such a narrow area, with such heavy casualties, it can truly be described as a battlefield littered with corpses.
Huang Xie stood by Zhuge Liang's side. With his temporary command taken away, he looked at the faintly reddish-brown mud on his left hand and said with a slight reluctance: "Prime Minister, should we sound the bugle to take a moment's rest, allowing the soldiers to gather the corpses?"
Zhuge Liang's face was ashen as he looked at the battlefield.
In less than one morning, a thousand soldiers had been lost. At this rate, it was unknown how long his ten thousand men could hold out here!
Huang Xie spoke again to disturb Zhuge Liang, who showed a slight impatience: "Should we sound the bugle now? It's still early in the day, waiting until the sun is at its highest will be fine."
"Huang Xie, if we are defeated today, both of us will be left here. Do you understand?"
Huang Xie laughed awkwardly and bowed to apologize: "It was my oversight, your honor. Prime Minister, with your divine command and brilliant tactics, you are naturally invincible. How could there be a defeat?"
Zhuge Liang did not respond, but continued to stare at the front line from the observation tower.
At noon, Zhuge Liang wanted to sound the bugle to withdraw. As soon as the gong and drum were struck, the Shu troops had just retreated, and under Zhang He's command, the Wei troops immediately pursued.
Zhang He, like Zhuge Liang, was on a watchtower built at the rear, overlooking the entire battlefield.
It can be said that this is the simplest battle Zhang He has fought in his forty years of military service.
The simplicity of a battle is not related to the number of casualties. Battle in a narrow valley, is just about who among the commanders has a colder heart, and who can bear more damage.
And the emperor is behind.
Having received the emperor's edict, it is the highest authorization in the world. How can Zhang He possibly care about the lives of his soldiers?
In fact, it is just a matter of who among the two sides is more willing to pay the price, and who is not afraid to die!
As the Shu army retreated and was chased by the Wei army, they had to retreat into their camp after being forced back, changing from a battlefield battle to an offensive and defensive war.
What surprised Zhuge Liang was that the Wei army seemed to have no fatigue, charging forward with heavy casualties.
It's not that the Wei army has no fatigue, but simply that the Wei army has more troops, and every wave of troops fighting on the front lines are fresh.
From noon until the evening, the casualties of both the Wei and Shu armies increased. As evening approached, Zhuge Liang had already lost four camps left by Huang Xie, along with a fortress, all to the Wei army.
In fact, it was proven that in such a battlefield where no strategy or tactics were needed, Zhuge Liang's command here would not be any greater than Wei Yan's.
But compared to Huang Xie, it is still stronger. The Prime Minister leads the way, and naturally, the morale is higher and the tolerance for casualties is a bit more.
Moreover, with the command center moved forward, the rotation of soldiers and the efficiency have increased significantly.
As the sky grew dark, both the Wei and Shu forces sounded the bugle to withdraw.
As the Wei army retreated, they set fire to the last camp they had captured, and also filled in the trenches, burned down traps, and knocked down walls as they went.
"How many casualties were there today?" Zhuge Liang closed his eyes and asked Chen Shi, who was standing by his tent.
"Report to the Prime Minister," Chen Shi said, "Just now I asked each camp to roughly count. The number of dead and severely injured soldiers is approximately 2,500, with about 1,200 wounded."
Zhuge Liang remained silent.
The reason for the situation where the number of dead is greater than the wounded is because the Shu army has been continuously retreating and losing camps along the way.
The Wei army advanced rapidly, and if they couldn't keep up with the retreat, they would inevitably be left behind on the battlefield. With most of the Wei army surging forward, what would there be left for them to live?
Meanwhile, in the Wei camp, the four men—Cao Rui, Cao Zhen, Ji Yi, and Chen Jiao—who had been playing checkers all day long were also exhausted.
Cao Zhen won the most, but lost only a dozen games.
Cao Rui came second, losing over twenty games.
Ji Yi and Chen Jiao both lost around forty games.
Losing one game means drinking one cup of wine, losing over forty games...
It can be said that when he lost twenty games, Ji Yi had a sense of frustration and helplessness.
There's no way to dodge the responsibility in the presence of the emperor. Twenty cups of wine, how is one supposed to drink that much!
But as Ji Yi continued to lose more and more games, when he lost over thirty games, he didn't seem as worried anymore. This was because the emperor had also lost nearly twenty games.
As the four of them were looking at today's record of lost games together, Zhang He walked in from outside the tent.
The wind blew in from the door, carrying a trace of blood. (Chapter ends)
