Zhang Hé walked into the tent fully armor-clad, without a trace of blood on his body. However, there were many dry blood stains on the hem of his clothes beneath his armor.
The conversation in the tent between the Emperor and the three important ministers suddenly came to an abrupt halt, and they all turned their gaze towards Zhang He.
The smile on Cao Rui's cheeks gradually faded, replaced by an obvious expression of seriousness.
It was said that they were playing chess to pass the time in the tent.
But among the four, an emperor and three important ministers, who would not be concerned about the battle situation at the front?
Cao Rui straightened his body and looked at Zhang He and asked, "General, did you win today?"
"Your Majesty, we have won!" Zhang He's voice was hoarse as he bowed his hands and said, "Today, the army has taken control of numerous camps of the Shu army and captured a fortress."
But when Zhang He lifted his head, whether it was Cao Rui or Cao Zhen, Sima Yi and others, they all saw Zhang He's eyes filled with blood and his lips slightly pale.
Everyone in the tent is not unaware of military matters. Even a seasoned general like Zhang He shows such a demeanor; how fierce could today's battle have been?
The battlefield is right here, the terrain is like this, and the opponent is fighting with all their might.
Cao Rui knew in his heart that today's battlefield situation must have been gruesome, otherwise Zhang He wouldn't have been in such a state.
After slowly rising to his feet, Cao Rui stepped one by one towards Zhang He and stopped three feet away.
"General, do you know that Your Majesty and the three Generals played a whole day's chess in the tent today?"
Zhang He raised his eyes, his gaze met with the emperor's, a complex emotion that could not be clearly explained.
Zhang He had seen many soldiers die in battle. Three thousand deaths were nothing extraordinary.
But the sight of soldiers scattered across the battlefield, dying in the open, is indeed different from those who die in a valley.
In the past forty years of military service, Zhang He has witnessed countless large and small battles.
The most recent one was at Lueyang. Qian Zhao led fifteen thousand foot soldiers in a fierce attack on Wei Yan and Wu Ban's camps, suffering the loss of six thousand soldiers in just a day and a half, which was incredibly heavy casualties.
But today, Wei troops suffered approximately three thousand casualties, which was much worse than the situation on that day.
In the narrow valley, which was no more than seventy to eighty zhang wide, the battlefield between the Wei and Shu armies was a scene of widespread carnage.
The soldiers, dressed in Wei and Shu uniforms, were either pierced through the belly by long spears or decapitated by ring-shaped sabers. The wounded and dying soldiers lay on the battlefield, silently watching as the soldiers behind them passed over them, continuing to face their own fate of death.
The corpses were densely packed, covering the entire valley.
The last time Zhang He saw such a dense concentration of corpses was forty years ago.
At that time, Zhang He was young, serving as a team leader in the Hejian County army, accompanying Huang Fu Song's forces to besiege Xiyang City.
When Xiyang City fell, Huang Fu Song killed Zhang Bao, ordered the capture of over one hundred thousand Yellow Turbans in the city to the south of the city, and then slaughtered them all and built a mound. Zhang He, who was twenty years old at that time, was among the soldiers carrying out the military orders and witnessed a scene that he would never forget.
The Xiyang City outside the city walls at dusk that day, with the setting sun casting its rays over the Tuohe River, had a faint but vivid sense of sunset like blood.
Today's battlefield is similar to that day, with bodies scattered everywhere.
Cao Rui said without any shyness, "It is because of General Zhang's leadership and valiant fighting on the front lines that I can play chess with you here!"
"General Zhang, are you thinking about the injuries today?"
Zhang He's chest rose and fell first, and he sighed deeply: "Your Majesty, today our entire army suffered about three thousand casualties, and there were more than two thousand injured."
"The valley is too narrow, and the Shu army attacked so fiercely that there was no other way. I really couldn't..."
Cao Rui moved forward and grabbed Zhang He's right hand, squeezing it hard:
"In all the lands, if there are any sins, they lie with me." Standing face to face with Zhang He, Cao Rui said, "Today, the soldiers of the Great Wei did not die because of General Zhang; they died because of me and the Great Wei!"
"I ask you! Since the Yellow Turbans Rebellion, how many people have died unjustly and in battle? Can it be counted?"
Zhang He closed his mouth and shook his head.
Cao Rui let go of Zhang He's hand and looked at Cao Zhen and Sima Yi, then extended his right hand towards the map hanging in the tent.
"I said on that day that the suffering of the people and the constant battles are all because of these self-defending bandits in Wu and Shu! Rather than unifying the land and delaying it for another few decades, why not do it today, right before Your Majesty and General Zhang, without hesitation or fear of death, completely defeat the Shu bandits!"
"General Zhang."
Cao Rui's gaze softened slightly as he looked at Zhang He, "I will not inquire about the details of your battle today. Tomorrow, I still will not ask how you will fight."
"I have only one request. Quickly defeat Zhuge Liang for me and do not delay for a day! Do you understand?"
Zhang He's expression gradually became calm, and he slowly and firmly bowed his hands in a gesture of respect: "I understand! Please, Your Majesty, remain seated in the rear and observe my battle!"
"Go ahead," Cao Rui said directly.
"Submissive!" Zhang He left.
As the commander-in-chief of today's battle, Zhang He's psychological suffering was something Cao Rui could have anticipated.
In the world of military affairs, death and life are common occurrences, and Zhang He has certainly seen many deaths in his hands. However, with such a fierce battle situation, it is indeed something that would tighten any general's nerves and press them to their limits.
Let's see how Zhang He will fight tomorrow.
……
The next morning, as it was still dark at dawn.
However, when the Wei scouts sent out to the east discovered that Zhuge Liang had abandoned two camp bases and several encampments, and had retreated approximately two miles back, they were surprised.
Emperor Cao clearly stated last night that he would wait for Zhang He's battle outcome. Zhang He couldn't ask for more instructions, so he directly discussed with Guo Hui.
"The Shu army must have a trap!" Guo Hui said in a low voice, "Yesterday, our army fought so hard to attack the Shu camp bases, and yet just one night later, Zhuge Liang abandoned such a distance? That's too suspicious!"
"Ba Ji, are you saying there's a trap?" Zhang He asked.
"It must be!"
Guo Hui replied resolutely, but soon hesitated: "General Zhang, but I truly can't think of how the Shu army might act. We'll only know after the battle!"
Zhang He patted Guo Hui's arm and said, "Be careful as the front commander! I'll be coordinating the troops from behind, and if there's anything, I'll be right there with you!"
"I understand," Guo Hui replied promptly.
With the rising sun, the battle in the Qingniu-Shui Valley once again began.
Guo Hui saw clearly in the army that troops of the Shu were arrayed in a formation in front of a nearby camp.
After only a few rounds of archery and crossbow fire, this group of Shu soldiers couldn't hold their formation any longer and retreated eastward back to their camp.
Guo Hui's heart suddenly became alert.
Guo Hui knew there might be traps ahead, but he could not avoid them. Military orders are like mountains, and these mountains weigh not only on the soldiers who charge into the fray but also on Guo Hui, the front-line military commander.
To retreat or delay military operations is a disaster that could lead to the destruction of one's family and even the nation.
Guo Hui bit his teeth and ordered the soldiers to charge forward, almost reaching several hundred people. The front-line commander, Sima, sent someone to report the situation.
"General, there are trenches and earthen hills in front of us!" The scout pointed to the eastward direction of the Shu troops and exclaimed, "General, there are really too many!"
Guo Hui furrowed his brow, pushed the scout aside, and personally climbed up a ladder to stand on the wall and look ahead.
The scout's words were dead on.
What greeted Guo Hui's eyes was one trench after another, followed by earthen hills.
Behind the wall on which Guo Hui was standing, another wall was about a hundred zhang away in the front.
There was a deep trench between the two walls, with a deep trench every few steps. The soil removed from the trench was disorderly piled in the middle.
If the battle was taking place on flat ground, these earthworks could be bypassed. But in the valley, there was no way to hide. They could only move forward with gritted teeth.
Guo Hui led his troops in several charges, but each time they were repelled by the Shu army's arrows.
Charging headlong is impossible, Guo Hui had no choice but to order his men to hold large shields to block the arrows. The arrow rain could be somewhat resisted, but the deep trenches presented another obstacle they had to face.
Arrow rain, trenches, and mounds of earth……
It took Guo Hui the whole morning to barely reach the edge of the Shu army's wall across the way. After leading his troops to continue their advance and over the wall, they were greeted once again with close-range hand-to-hand combat as brutal as the previous day.
On the same day, Wei Yi faced Ju Zhao's attack in the Bai Shui Valley, and for a time, the battle was evenly matched.
Moreover, the intensity of the battle here was entirely unlike that between Zhang He and Zhuge Liang in the Qingniu Valley.
With the emperor's edict in hand and the emperor personally stationed in the rear, Zhang He could be considered to have obtained the highest authorization from the whole world, and therefore had no need to worry about the lives of his soldiers.
As the Chancellor of Shu Han and the main commander of the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang was also responsible for holding back the Wei troops and buying time for Wei Yan and Zhao Yun's advance to the south, which allowed him to be ruthless in his command.
However, the situation facing Wu Yi and Qian Zhao was quite different.
Although Wu Yi felt grateful for Zhuge Liang's arrangements, he could not ignore his own family and personal life. Therefore, he naturally commanded more conservatively.
He simply kept defending the camp, afraid to send soldiers out to fight.
The army under Qian Zhao was not his own personal force, nor was it as elite as his own troops. It was merely a group of county soldiers transferred from Jingzhou by Chen Qun. It could only undertake strong attacks on the camp with limited losses to bear.
Moreover, Wu Yi has always been defending his camp and thus has been in a low-intensity stalemate.
In the late afternoon, Wu Yi received a letter from Zhuge Liang in person in the camp.
Wu Yi read the letter several times carefully, then furrowed his brow while looking at the military officer in front of him: "How can there be such an urgent situation at the general's camp? In just over a day, they have retreated more than three li?"
That's right, the person who delivered the letter from Zhuge Liang was a thousand-stone military officer under Chen Shi, who is always very helpful and has been assigned the task of explaining the military situation today in Wu Yi's camp.
After the military officer concisely described the military situation, Wu Yi shook his head and sighed repeatedly. After a moment, he wrote a reply in person and stuffed it into the officer's hands.
Wu Yi said with firmness, "Tell the Prime Minister that I will not falter in his grand plan! Make him rest assured!"
The military officer bowed his hands and left after saying that.
The letter Wu Yi received was Zhuge Liang's order to retreat.
It was another day of fierce battle.
By the afternoon, Zhuge Liang's main forces had almost no fighting strength left. The five thousand soldiers from Yan Xuan's rear were transferred over, and they managed to hold on for another afternoon.(Chapter ends)
