Cao Rui sighed heavily: "It is difficult for me to deal with Qian Zhao. Has he led his troops into Lueyang City now?"
Sima Yi nodded and said: "Qian Zhenxi has entered the city. The Shu soldiers captured today were also taken into the city by Qian Zhenxi for custody."
"Zhang He's army has 10,000 infantry and cavalry, Qian Zhao's army has 15,000 infantry, the general's army has 8,000 cavalry, and I personally lead 16,000 cavalry." Cao Rui recited softly while tapping the table with his hand.
"The Wei army has a total of 49,000 infantry and cavalry in Lueyang." Cao Rui then asked, "The Sima who surrendered this afternoon from Ma Dai's army said that the Eastern Route Army sent by Zhuge Liang has a total of 30,000 people? Adding the 1,000 cavalry that came this morning, it's 31,000?"
Sima Yi replied: "Your Majesty's calculation is absolutely correct. The number of Shu troops is exactly 31,000."
Cao Rui took a deep breath and said, "Of my 49,000 infantry and cavalry, I actually lost 8,500 infantry and nearly 2,500 cavalry? Even Sun Quan in Huainan was not so difficult to defeat!"
"Today I finally understand why Emperor Wu said that Liu Bei and his party were a serious threat to the Wei Dynasty when he retreated from Hanzhong to Guanzhong."
Cao Zhen was silent for a moment, and after calming down, he said, "Your Majesty, the captives this afternoon have already explained, and I have sent people to verify it from different captives. The total number of Shu troops invading Longyou this time is about 80,000."
"Counting the annihilation of Deng Zhi's troops and the capture of Ma Dai's troops, the total number of Shu army casualties plus prisoners should be more than 10,000, close to 20,000."
"Your Majesty," Cao Zhen said, cupping his hands, "Wei has won this battle in the end."
"We won in Lueyang, but what about Longyou?" Cao Rui said slowly: "As long as the Shu army is still entrenched in Longyou, I cannot consider it a victory! Even if all the Shu army is driven back to Hanzhong, I still cannot consider it a victory!"
"You are causing chaos and trouble on my land. No matter what I say, I can never win!"
Cao Rui turned to look at Cao Zhen: "I know that the general is trying to persuade me not to be discouraged. I lost 11,000 soldiers, and the Shu army lost nearly 20,000. Although it is one for two, I still feel at a loss."
Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, not counting Zhao Yun's approximately 10,000 troops on the southern plateau, the Shu army still has 50,000 troops in Longyou. I just... just want to advise Your Majesty not to worry about the casualties of the soldiers."
"After all, most of the Shu army is still there, and there may be a major battle in the future."
"I know that a kind person cannot lead an army." Cao Rui glanced at everyone in the tent and said, "I have already guessed it. The fighting near Lueyang has become so serious. If Zhao Yun is a man who knows the current situation, he should have retreated south tonight with the support of the Shu army coming from the south. Even if he is a brave general, how can he fight against me in such a wasteland?"
"Can you stop Zhao Yun from returning to Yunnan for me?"
As soon as Cao Rui asked the question, three people in the tent answered at the same time.
"Can't stop it."
"Don't stop me."
"We shouldn't stop them."
Almost at the same time, Cao Zhen, Yang Fu and Sima Yi gave similar correct answers.
Cao Zhen, who answered "I can't stop it", looked at the emperor, then at Yang Fu and Sima Yi, and then kept silent.
Yang Fu and Sima Yi looked at each other, and Yang Fu was the first to respond with a salute: "Your Majesty, the road from Lueyang to Shanggui is narrow, with only two small cities, Lielius City and Xiali City, along the 120-li route. The nearest Lielius City is also 40 miles away."
"In addition, the Shu army is coming north to help us. The mountain roads are narrow and it is difficult to fight. I am afraid we have to go another 40 miles south along the mountain road to the vicinity of Lieliu City."
"If Zhao Yun wants to withdraw tonight, let them withdraw. I don't think I have the energy to stop them."
Sima Yi looked at Yang Fu strangely. He originally wanted to give Yang Fu a heads up, but at this moment he actually laughed, which was a rare moment for him.
Seeing Sima Yi's expression, Cao Rui also frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at, Sikong?"
Sima Yi, who had just sat down, stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, I don't think Zhuge Liang will fight again on the Longshan Road."
Although Cao Rui had already guessed it in his mind, he still asked Sima Yi: "What does Sikong think?"
"The key to this matter is not what I think, but what Zhuge Liang thinks." Sima Yi analyzed: "On the evening of the 21st, when I followed Your Majesty to the Qianzhao Army, I had already made a rough guess with Your Majesty. I wonder if Your Majesty still remembers it?"
Cao Rui nodded gently: "It takes about one day to send a message from Lueyang to Shanggui, or other places where Zhuge Liang is staying. From Shanggui to Lueyang, the fastest time for the infantry is two days."
"That's three days in total."
"The general will arrive on the evening of the 19th, and the reinforcements sent by Zhuge Liang will reach Lueyang on the evening of the 22nd at the earliest." Cao Rui said with emotion: "It seems that the prime minister's plan is correct now."
Sima Yi continued, "In addition to the reinforcements from Chang'an that will be sent by Zhenxi, the reinforcements from Luoyang that will be sent by the general will surely make the Shu army wonder if there are more reinforcements behind the general!"
"We learned from the captives that there are at least 20,000 Shu troops besieging Shanggui City. Zhuge Liang will certainly transfer all these infantry troops to Lueyang. And it is possible that these Shu troops are still blocking the Longshan Road!"
Sima Yi's words became more earnest: "The so-called Eastern Route Army of the Shu Army was originally to fight for Lueyang and cut off the reinforcements of the Wei army from entering Longyou."
"Now there is no possibility that Lueyang will fall into the hands of the Shu army. The Wei Kingdom can go south to Shanggui, west to Xianqin and Jixian, and then west to Nangan and Longxi!"
"Your Majesty," Sima Yi said with a folded hand, "Shu is a small country with a small population. Zhuge Liang must have gathered a large army to invade Longyou. He certainly did not intend to fight Wei to the death and use up all his soldiers and kill them all in Longyou!"
"If he insists on doing this..." Sima Yi snorted lightly: "Don't even mention how Liu Chan treats him. I'm afraid Shu will fall in a moment!" Cao Rui stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked at Sima Yi with burning eyes: "If Zhuge Liang really wants to continue to confront me on Longshan Road, I can send cavalry to Ji County, Nangan County, and Longxi County!"
"By then, Zhuge Liang won't be able to go back!"
Sima Yi bowed and said, "That's right."
After saying this, Sima Yi sat back at his seat.
Cao Rui sighed, "The general is speaking from the perspective of military strategy, Yang Shizhong is speaking from the perspective of tactics, and Sikong is speaking from the perspective of national policy!"
"The Shu army invaded Longyou in order to take it for their own benefit. How could they be willing to fight me and waste their blood? Sikong is right. Zhuge Liang will definitely order a withdrawal!"
Cao Rui did not hesitate any longer and immediately gave the order: "The two camps at Duanshankou and Yuandibei should be well guarded tonight!"
Then he turned to look at Cao Zhen and said, "General, be prepared to lead the cavalry to march to Xianqin and Ji County tomorrow!"
"From Lueyang to the west and then to the south, they will definitely reach Ji County within two or three days! If Zhao Yun and the Shu army do not retreat, they must be prepared not to return!"
Cao Zhen stood up and saluted: "As you wish!"
……
While Cao Rui was assigning tasks to his ministers, a man from afar arrived at the hastily erected Shu army camp on the plateau.
General Wu Yi, who was in charge of the Northern Expedition, actually led his guards to the plateau to look for Ma Su!
Wu Yi was not willing to take the risk, but a few hours ago, when he was marching from south to north, he learned of the news from Wang Ping's troops and was truly shocked by the defeat of the Shu army today.
The anxiety in his heart can only be relieved by meeting Ma Su, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan and others in person.
After two days of traveling, Wu Yi finally found Zhao Yun and other generals exhausted. Everyone in the tent was in real agony.
"Brother!"
When Wu Ban saw his cousin, he rushed forward to hug him, and then he burst into tears: "Brother, you don't know, I was beaten so hard today! I, I almost died here!"
Wu Yi's heart was in turmoil, but as the Shu Han's General of the Northern Expedition and a general commanding 15,000 men, he could only suppress the many problems in his mind and bowed to Ma Su, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan and others.
Wu Yi did not ask how the battle went today, nor did he ask about the casualties. Instead, he asked Ma Su directly: "General Ma, 13,000 of my troops have arrived here. The Prime Minister should be in Lieliu City, 40 miles away."
"Now that the Eastern Army is in this situation, what do you have to say?"
Although Ma Su pretended to be calm, he could not hide the sadness in his expression. He cupped his hands and replied with all his strength: "The Prime Minister sent me to supervise the Eastern Route Army. With such a defeat, I can only ask the Prime Minister to chop off my head to thank the whole army!"
Wu Yi shook his head: "I'm not asking you this. It's not my turn to ask this. The Prime Minister himself should ask this."
"What I want to ask is, your Eastern Route Army is trapped on this plateau, what do you want to do now?"
Wu Yi stared at Ma Su straight. Ma Su stood there with his lips pursed. He didn't even look at Wu Yi or say a word. He just stood there blankly.
Zhao Yun sighed. This veteran had managed to hold the Shu army together for a day. Although his own army had not suffered a major defeat and had managed to maintain its integrity, all his allies, including Deng Zhi, Wang Ping, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and Ju Fu...
All suffered a devastating blow.
At this time when everyone was depressed, Zhao Yun stood up again, his gray beard fluttering in the wind, and he said in a sonorous voice: "General Wu, I intend to withdraw the troops to the south tonight!"
As Zhao Yun's fierce eyes swept across everyone, Wei Yan and Zhao Yun just looked at each other and then lowered their heads, not to mention Wu Ban and Ju Fu.
After waiting for a long time, Wei Yan finally squeezed out a few words from his throat in a hoarse voice: "I second the motion! I agree to withdraw the troops tonight!"
Wu Ban and Ju Fu looked at each other and expressed their willingness to withdraw their troops tonight.
"General Ma?" Wu Yi still felt unsatisfied, so he asked Ma Su again.
Ma Su tried his best to raise his head and nodded gently towards Wu Yi.
Wu Yi took a deep breath and said, "General Zhao, you should have 15,000 men now, right?"
Zhao Yun shook his head gently: "Only ten thousand left."
"Forget it." Wu Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Abandon the armor and baggage, prepare, and retreat in an hour. Don't delay any longer!"
"I'll leave 3,000 men to block the mountain road, so hold on tight!"
Zhao Yun sighed, walked straight out of the tent, called out to his generals, and gave them orders.
...(End of chapter)
