Yang Fu snorted coldly: "They are nothing more than two separatist forces, temporarily forced to huddle together for warmth due to the might of the Great Wei. They must harbor evil intentions towards each other."
"Liu Bei has only been dead for a few years. Can the people of Shu really forget him?"
"Okay then." Cao Rui clapped his hands and smiled: "Since Sun Quan wants to buy horses from me, I will buy ships from him."
"Whether it's a warship or a battleship or an oil tanker, as long as it can sail north and south on the river, I am willing to take it."
"Should we send an envoy?" Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi.
Sima Yi was stunned for a moment, then he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you send the imperial servant to go there?"
"Sikong really promotes people regardless of their relationship with him." Cao Rui smiled and pointed at Sima Yi: "Well, send a message to the Luoyang Wei Pushe Office and ask Sima Zhi to go to Wuchang."
"Let the Wei Pushe, the Tai Pu and the Shang Shu Tai discuss the specific conditions proposed by Sun Quan. Overall, I do not want to use military force against Wu for the time being, and I will delay it for two years if possible."
"I thought we could take a two-year break after the battle in Huainan, but now we have another battle in Qinzhou."
"Your Majesty is right." Yang Fu said with a folded hand, "We are currently fighting the Shu bandits in Qinzhou, and we are also trying to convert the Qiang people to farming. The new farming policy decided by Yuzhou is also being implemented in Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou."
"Not only does Sun Quan need to recuperate, but the Wei Kingdom needs it as well. As I just said, without three years, I'm afraid we won't see much results."
"Tuntian is one aspect, and food and grass storage is another aspect." Cao Rui looked at the three people: "Sun Quan and I are ambiguous, so I will also be ambiguous with him."
"In any case, timing is on Wei's side!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Yang Fu bowed.
Cao Rui said with emotion: "We sent out troops in early December, and it has been nearly three months now. The food and grass transported from Guanzhong to Longyou, plus the grain stored in Longyou, can support us until the end of April."
"We need to open up the Xiabian and Hechi areas as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too costly to transport food and grass from Guanzhong via the Longshan Road."
Sima Yi nodded: "I have already summoned Zhang He yesterday. It is expected that Zhang He will arrive outside Xiabian City the day after tomorrow."
Cao Rui sighed: "Zhang He is fast, so we can't be slow!"
"Tomorrow the army will speed up and head south. It's only two hundred miles away, and we must reach Xiabian within three days!"
……
On the same day, that is, on the evening of the 25th, Zhang He received a message from the Qishan camp.
"Commander-in-chief, Your Majesty will send the commander-in-chief to advance to Xiabian immediately, and confront the Shu army from west to east, and wait for an opportunity to besiege the city."
Chen Ping walked in from outside and handed the military report to Zhang He, the governor of Qin and Yong, who was sitting in the tent thinking about military strategies.
When Zhang He heard Chen Ping's voice, he did not make any extra movements but just nodded slightly. Chen Ping immediately understood and placed the military report in front of Zhang He.
"What is the commander-in-chief worried about? Although Dian Man suffered a small defeat a few days ago, it is not enough to make the commander-in-chief so worried, right?" Chen Ping took a small step back, less than three feet away from Zhang He, and asked softly.
Zhang He raised his eyes and glanced at Chen Ping: "Dian Man? He is not worthy of my worrying."
"If I were only asked to conquer Xiabian, I wouldn't have to worry about much. But this is not just a matter of this one city, but a matter of the garrison of the entire Wudu and Qinzhou."
Chen Ping replied solemnly: "I wonder if I can help the governor."
Zhang He was dressed in a scholar's robe, with a wooden hairpin tied in his gray hair, looking almost like a doctor in Luoyang Imperial College. Only his sharp eyes under his thick eyebrows revealed a hint of decisiveness.
Every night when he takes off his armor, he looks like a scholar.
After a light sigh, Zhang He said to Chen Ping, "I also learned about it the day before yesterday. Your Majesty blamed General Wei for humiliating me at the banquet and intended to seize the military power of the Central Army after returning to Luoyang, and told me about it."
"Your Majesty holds me in such high regard. If I violate your majesty's trust in Qinzhou, how can I face the world?"
"The governor seems to be exaggerating, isn't he?" Chen Ping was quite surprised: "The situation in Qinzhou can't be this bad no matter what, right?"
Zhang He snorted, "That's because your majesty and the central army are still here. What if your majesty takes the central army away? There are only more than 30,000 foreign troops left in Qinzhou?"
Chen Ping's face gradually darkened.
Zhang He continued, "Wudu has long been deserted, and there is no food or grass to rely on. Qishan is nearly 300 miles from Xiabian, and Shanggui is almost 500 miles from Xiabian. How can we defend this place?"
Chen Ping frowned and was speechless when he heard Zhang He's words. But after a moment, Chen Ping asked back: "What if the Shu army is not that large?"
"What do you mean by that?" Zhang He asked.
Chen Ping simply replied: "I know the course of the battle of Hanzhong in the past, and I also know that Xiabian is far away from Longyou and Guanzhong. It is understandable that the governor is worried about how to defend it."
"But what if we fight another battle like Lueyang and inflict more casualties on the Shu army? Will they still have the strength to attack?"
Zhang He looked at Chen Ping, sighed and said, "How can a war be so simple? How can I fight another brutal battle just for my own benefit?"
"It's getting late, you should go and have some rest. I will come to present to Your Majesty in a few days." Chen Ping bowed and then walked out of the door.
……
Zhang He's army consisted mostly of infantry, and it took them three and a half days to reach the city of Xiabian. However, they arrived at the same time as the cavalry of the central army led by the emperor himself.
At noon on March 1st, three Shu army scouts galloped back to Xiabian City from the west.
The leading scout went directly into the camp, knelt on one knee and reported: "General, the Wei army is coming from the west, and now it should be seven or eight miles west of Xiabian."
Perhaps because he was too tired from riding so fast, the scout spoke breathlessly and his face turned red.
"How many people are there?" Wei Yan asked.
"Too many." The scout panted and waved his hands vigorously.
Wei Yan's face immediately darkened, and he turned to Ju Fu who was sitting on his right and said, "Xiao Xing, order the troops in the city to prepare for battle, and tell the camps at the eastern mountain pass to prepare for the enemy."
Before Ju Fu could reply, Wei Yan stood up, walked to the scout's side, and lifted him up: "Let's go, I will go with you to take a look, and I will lead the way!"
Although the scouts had brought the news, Wei Yan did not dare to be careless at all.
Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Zhuge at Chiting sent a military order, asking Wei Yan to act according to the circumstances and decide on his own whether to defend Xiabian or withdraw his troops from Chiting.
Wei Yan, who was eager to fight, did not dare to say anything against it after receiving the order, but he still chopped his feet hard several times to relieve the depression in his heart.
Lueyang lost a battle with the Wei army, and was broken through and escaped by Dianman a few days ago.
Wei Yan was filled with indignation.
After receiving the message from the scouts today, Wei Yan will definitely go out in person to check out the strength of the Wei army.
After riding for five or six miles, Wei Yan suddenly became alert out of the intuition of an excellent general. He quickly found a high ground and looked towards the west.
What Wei Yan saw at this moment was a long marching formation that stretched from west to east, with no end in sight. There were thousands of people just within his sight.
If there weren't more troops behind them, these troops alone would never dare to march in this formation! This is being confident!
Wei Yan gritted his teeth and stared at the Wei army in the distance, his face showing his anger without any disguise. After watching for about a hundred breaths, Wei Yan silently waved to his guards, got off the high ground, and then rushed eastward.
Wei Yan abandoned Xiabian City cleanly and decisively.
Just like when Wei Yan retreated from the camp during the battle with the Wei army in Lueyang that day, there was no sign of hesitation or dragging his feet.
This is why Zhuge Liang looked favorably upon Wei Yan.
Compared with his bravery in combat and proper command, Zhuge Liang appreciated Wei Yan's ability to judge the battle situation and obey military orders more.
The reason why Liu Bei chose Wei Yan to garrison Hanzhong was because Wei Yan, as Liu Bei's subordinate for many years, would not act recklessly or on his own on the battlefield, but would implement the commander-in-chief's strategic intentions to the end.
Zhuge Liang's strategic intention at this moment was to rely on the strategic location of Chiting to hold off most of the Wei army until the Wei army was forced to retreat.
With Prime Minister Zhuge stationed in the rear, Wei Yan could not do anything to disobey orders.
The vanguard infantry led by Hao Zhao easily occupied Xiabian City. Then came Lu Pan, Dian Man, Xiahou He and other generals, with Zhang He behind them to support the battle, and finally Guo Huai.
As for the 25,000 soldiers in the central army that Cao Rui brought from Qishan, except for 1,000 infantry stationed in Wudu City, the remaining 24,000 cavalry were stationed 15 miles behind Zhang He's army.
When Hao Zhao arrived at Xiabian, Cao Rui ordered the entire army to stop.
"Your Majesty, look, this is the place." Yang Fu rode on his horse, stretched out his right arm and pointed to a wild and overgrown road in the southwest direction.
Cao Rui stared at it for a moment, then waved his hand and called Xiahou Xian to him. "Inspector Yang was once the governor of Wudu, and he is very familiar with the surrounding roads and terrain. Do you remember everything he said?"
"Remember it clearly!"
Over the past year, Xiahou Xian has been promoted from the rank of Captain of the Central Army to the rank of General of the Central Fortress. Today, he is leading 10,000 cavalrymen of the Central Army to march towards Wujie. It can be said that he has been highly valued.
Although Xiahou Xian felt excited at the moment, he was more burdened with the heavy burden of carrying the emperor's order, leading an entire army for the first time, and marching alone.
"From here, go southwest for thirty miles to the bank of the Xihan River, and go upstream for fifteen miles to the Pingluo River. Go west along the Pingluo River for two hundred miles to Wujie."
After Xiahou Xian repeated the whole story, he immediately bowed to the emperor and said, "I will definitely fulfill my mission! It's a 250-mile journey, and I will try to reach Wujie within five days!"
Yang Fu shook his head slightly, and rode forward to look at Xiahou Xian: "General Xiahou, although there is a road from Xiabian to Wudu, few people have traveled on it in the past ten years. We should be extremely cautious."
"Your Majesty," Yang Fu continued, addressing the emperor, "General Xiahou's courage is commendable, but I think it is still better to repair the roads and march safely."
"If we withdraw from Wujie or further south in the future, we may have to walk back from this road." (End of this chapter)
