That night, at 2:00 am.
In the newly built Wei army camp on the north side of the plateau, tiger guards were still lighting fires and patrolling around the camp outside the central army tent, and they were not negligent at all because of the late night.
Outside the central military tent where the emperor lived, in a much smaller tent, the attendant Chen Jiao was sorting out the correspondence between the various armies and subordinates in the army by the light of an oil lamp.
Among the four ministers, Xin Pi stayed in Chang'an to be in charge of logistics and Guanzhong affairs, Yang Fu was responsible for military strategy and confidential matters, and the burden of being in charge of logistics dispatch with the army naturally fell on the shoulders of Chen Jiao, the former Shangshu Ling.
Your Majesty has personally led the army twice, and has never set up military advisors and subordinates in the army like during the reign of Emperor Wu. The expedition to Huainan at the beginning of the year was not a big deal, but this time Your Majesty is leading the army personally, and the burden on the attendants has become even heavier.
From the perspective of officials in Luoyang, this was another way of using the inner court to control the outer court. However, Chen Jiao, the person involved, quite enjoyed this feeling of exhaustion.
A guard outside the tent lowered his voice and said, "Minister Chen, there is a military report from the Left General's camp."
Chen Jiao placed the brush on the pen holder, stood up and went out to take the military report. After opening it and taking a look at it, he held the brush in his hand and walked towards the emperor's tent where the lights had been turned off.
As a minister, Chen Jiao was an attendant of the inner court, so no one stopped him and he walked straight to the outside of the emperor's tent. Duan Yu, the lieutenant on guard, heard that there was an urgent military situation at night, so he took out a small copper bell from his bosom and kept shaking it outside the tent.
Chen Jiao was no longer surprised.
After this expedition, in order not to delay military duties, His Majesty gave this copper bell called "alarm bell" to the Tiger Guards.
Cao Rui, who had just fallen asleep for half an hour, woke up from the couch, sat up and asked in a deep voice: "Who is on duty outside the tent?"
"Your Majesty, I am on night duty and it is already 2:30 am. Minister Chen said there is an urgent report from General Zuo, and he is waiting outside the tent."
Chen Jiao also said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, it is you, the Minister Chen Jiao, who is outside the tent."
Cao Rui put on his cloak, sat up, put on his shoes, stood up and said, "You two come in together."
Duan Yu lit the lamp skillfully. Chen Jiao entered the tent, bowed, and handed over the military report.
Cao Rui looked not surprised: "Zhao Yun really went south. Has Zhang He figured out which Shu army is heading north?"
"General Zuo doesn't know at this moment." Chen Jiao replied: "It is inconvenient to march at night. According to the order of your majesty in the evening, he did not send anyone to pursue."
Cao Rui chuckled and shook his head: "I thought we would reach a conclusion tomorrow morning, but it seems we will know the result tonight. I wonder if Zhuge Liang can fall asleep now. I don't plan to sleep."
"Minister Chen, go and call the general, the minister of works, and Minister Yang." Cao Rui instructed Chen Jiao, "Also let Wen Qin lead 500 cavalry to follow me. I want to go to the camp of the left general to take a look."
"As you wish." Chen Jiao responded and hurried out to make arrangements.
A quarter of an hour later, Cao Rui and several others rode on horseback and headed for the camp at Duanshankou in the southwest. Wen Qin, the commander of the Fifth Battalion, led 500 knights, each holding a torch, to escort them on both sides.
"Your Majesty should not be asleep yet, right?" Cao Zhen asked tentatively.
"I slept for about half an hour." Cao Rui asked, "How is the general? Is your body still able to bear it?"
Cao Zhen was silent for a while, and after a few moments, he smiled bitterly and said, "If I say that everything is good just like when I came to Longyou ten years ago, then I am lying."
"I am forty-five this year. The rest of my body is fine, but I am not as energetic as I used to be. I still feel dizzy and have tinnitus from time to time. This afternoon, I just had this tinnitus for half an incense stick of time."
Cao Rui stretched out his left hand to signal to stop, and then he took a torch from the tiger guard and shone it on Cao Zhen who was riding on the horse, examining him carefully from head to toe.
Not only Cao Zhen was confused, but Sima Yi, Yang Fu, Chen Jiao and others who were following the emperor at the time were all puzzled.
Obesity, stress, anxiety, drinking, dizziness and tinnitus...this is clearly high blood pressure!
Cao Rui said to Cao Zhen with a stern face: "I have a plan that can extend the general's life by twenty years."
"How could I not know that Your Majesty is studying medicine..." Cao Zhen had just said half of the sentence, but when he saw that the emperor had a stern face and did not mean to joke at all, he also restrained his expression and bowed his hands and asked: "Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
"General, just do as I say." Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen, then pointed at Sima Yi behind him and said slowly: "Starting today, stop drinking and lose weight until you are as tall as Sikong!"
"Don't die early like the last emperor did!"
After saying that, Cao Rui tapped his horse's belly lightly and moved forward, and the team also moved forward.
Although Cao Zhen did not understand the emperor's intention, he became serious when he heard the "late emperor" "left early". Sima Yi helplessly spread his hands and followed.
There was no obstacle when entering the camp. Everyone rode their horses straight to Zhang He's tent. Zhang He, who heard the noise, came out of the tent to greet them.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Zhang He was also awake at this time. When he saw the emperor and his men appear in front of his tent, he was surprised and bowed deeply.
"General Zuo, please stand up." Cao Rui dismounted and helped Zhang He up. Looking at the old general's thinner face, he said, "I entrusted the Yongliang affairs to you in Luoyang last year. It has been a year since we last met, right?"
"Last night I asked Qian Zhao if I could see the general tonight." Cao Rui chuckled, "It's not even midnight yet, so my words haven't been in vain."
"Come into the tent. I have some military strategies to share with you."
Zhang He nodded and stood outside the tent waiting for Cao Zhen, Sima Yi and others to enter before letting them in.
Cao Rui did not delay at all and immediately asked: "Zhao Yun has fled south, and the Shu army in Lueyang has been defeated by Wei. How to drive the Shu soldiers back to Hanzhong is what I am concerned about next."
"The road from Lueyang to Shanggui Mountain is narrow. There are only two cities, Lieliu and Xiali, within a 120-li road. It is not suitable for a large army to fight." "Today, I have counted with the generals. The Wei infantry and cavalry total 49,000, with 11,000 casualties. The casualties of Qian Zhao's troops attacking the Shu army camp were too great. The whole army is exhausted and cannot fight for a short time."
"Excluding Qian Zhao's current 8,000 infantry, there are only 30,000 troops capable of fighting."
"How should we fight this battle?" Cao Rui looked at Zhang He seriously and asked, "General Zuo is the governor of Yongliang. I want to hear your opinion first!"
Zhang He stood up and bowed, saying, "Today I have sent people to inquire among the Shu army captives, and all the officers above 500 dan have not heard of the news that Shanggui has been captured."
"According to the large number of troops Zhuge Liang has assembled, I am afraid that most of the four counties of Longxi, Nangan, Tianshui, and Guangwei have already fallen into the hands of the enemy."
"The key points at the moment are nothing more than two places: one is Shanggui, and the other is Longxi County, where Xiahou Ba and Lu Xun came from Liangzhou and ran into each other head-on."
"Shanggui and Xiangwu." Cao Rui whispered the names of the two cities, and then asked, "Is there any news from Longxi County?"
Zhang He shook his head: "I have no news from Longxi."
Yang Fu also responded: "It's the same here."
Cao Rui said: "It depends on how much Lu Xun and Xiahou Ba can do for me in the west."
"After all, there are two routes from Lueyang to Shanggui, and from Lueyang to Nan'an, Longxi, and Jixian, right?"
Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Sima Yi, and Yang Fu all nodded in agreement.
Cao Rui continued to look at Zhang He: "How do we capture Shanggui? Does General Zuo have any plans in mind?"
During the ten days of being trapped in Lueyang, Zhang He had already made up his mind about the overall situation of the war. He did not hesitate and said directly: "We should divide the troops into two groups, one to Ji County and the other to Shanggui!"
"Shanggui and Jixian are located at the east and west ends of Tianshui County. Tianshui is sandwiched between Guangwei County and Nan'an County. Taking these two cities will control the overall situation in Longyou!"
Cao Rui nodded: "General, Left General, the two of you will split up into two groups! Do you have any explanation for me?"
Cao Zhen immediately replied: "I will go to Ji County!"
Before Zhang He could respond, Cao Zhen asked him, "How many soldiers does General Zuo want to lead?"
Zhang He bowed to Cao Zhen and said, "General, I still have nearly 7,000 men. The mountain roads are narrow, and more troops will be useless."
"Is that enough?" Cao Rui said with a smile, "General Zuo, don't try to show off. I will give you Xiahou He's 3,000 cavalrymen and make up 10,000 for you."
"In the past, General Zuo followed Xiahou to fight in the west. Today, I hand his son over to you. Remember to avenge him."
Zhang He responded solemnly: "I will obey your order! I will not let your majesty down!"
Cao Rui then looked at Cao Zhen and said, "General, in addition to Fei Yao's 4,000 cavalry and Wen Qin's 3,000 cavalry, I will give you Sun Li, Dian Man, and Cheng Xi's 8,000 cavalry!"
"Fifteen thousand cavalrymen, intimidate Zhuge Liang for me!"
Cao Zhen immediately accepted the order.
Cao Rui sighed and said, "I will stay in Lueyang with Huan Fan to watch over your retreat and food supplies."
"Remember, don't worry about casualties when fighting the Shu army. I only want Longyou!"
Everyone in the tent stood up and saluted.
……
The road was difficult to travel at night, and Zhao Yun's troops had no baggage with them, so even the dry food they had to fill their stomachs was squeezed out by Wu Yi's troops.
On the morning of the 23rd, the sun gradually rose higher.
Zhuge Liang personally stood outside Lieliu City to welcome the remnants of the Eastern Army who had returned in defeat.
Wu Yi, Ma Su, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Wu Ban, Ju Fu and others saluted Zhuge Liang one after another. Zhuge Liang's expression moved slightly, but he still suppressed the waves in his heart and looked at the people who were exhausted and haggard at this time.
"Go into the city first. I will talk to you after I get in."
After saying that, Zhuge Liang turned around and walked towards the city gate, his back looking a little desolate.
"Prime Minister..." Ma Su just called out these two words softly, but when he realized something was wrong, he forced himself to hold it back, wiped away his tears, and then followed closely.
Rather than saying that Lieliu is a small town, it is more accurate to say that it is a large fortress built during the Qiang rebellion and frequent rebellions in Liangzhou in the past.
Xiang Lang stood at the city gate, watching with a worried look on his face as all the generals entered the city one after another, while he himself arranged for the defeated soldiers to set up camps outside.
Ma Su's tearful expression just now made Xiang Lang feel unbearable.
However, he had important matters to attend to, so after all the generals entered the city, Xiang Lang sighed and went back to arrange for the clerks to do their work. (End of this chapter)
