Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Qinzhou, Wudu City.

For most ordinary soldiers, the usual way for them to obtain information is the preaching of their direct officers.

But there are exceptions.

Whether it is capturing a position or conquering a city, it is very easy to tell whether a battle has been won.

The Shu army of Wei Yan, who had just captured Wudu City, was in such a situation with great momentum and morale. Not to mention, the capture of Wudu was the result of the Wei cavalry stationed in the city escaping on their own, and the cheers when the city was captured could represent everything.

On the night of the 16th, General Wei Yan of Zhenbei held a military meeting in the city. Wudu City had been abandoned for a long time, and the Wei State had no spare energy to repair it in the past two years. Most of the houses in the city were dilapidated, and only the outermost wall was somewhat useful.

After the 8,000 Shu troops entered the city, they still lived in military tents with no rooms available.

In the central army tent, generals Wei Yan and Liu Yong and military officers Fei Yi and Li Yan sat at their seats.

Liu Yong, courtesy name Nanhe, was also a veteran general in the Shu Han Dynasty. He and Wei Yan were both from Yiyang County, Jingzhou. The two followed Liu Bei into Shu and made many military achievements. After taking Yizhou, he served as the governor of Jiangyang County.

When the army was used two years ago, Liu Yong had been serving as an official in the rear. This time he was also recruited by Zhuge Liang to lead 3,000 soldiers and be under the command of Wei Yan.

Due to his military experience and the fact that they were from the same hometown as Wei Yan, Liu Yong was one of the few good friends of Wei Yan in the army.

Wei Yan stood up straight, looking proudly, and looked at the three people with a slight smile:
"Nanhe, Wenwei, Lord Li, the three of you will patrol the camp with me today to boost the morale of the troops."

"Except for Nanhe and Lord Li, Wenwei and I have been to Qishan before. From Qishan to Wudu, it is only 120 miles. Zhang He will arrive here tomorrow night or the day after tomorrow."

"We have the city as our support, and the terrain is good for ambushes. I plan to ambush Zhang He here, and then retreat calmly according to the Prime Minister's military order. What do you think?"

"Nanhe?" Wei Yan looked at another general leading the troops in the tent.

Liu Yong laughed and said, "It's all right. According to the Prime Minister's military order, my troops are under the command of Wen Chang, so I will just follow the military order."

Wei Yan was very satisfied with this statement, and then he turned his attention to Fei Yi and Li Yan.

"What do Wen Wei and Li Gong think?"

Fei Yi did not look at Wei Yan, but lowered his eyes slightly as if thinking about something. Li Yan paused for a few moments, thought for a while, and asked:
"Wen Chang, it would be better to be cautious and withdraw early tomorrow morning. Just follow the Prime Minister's military orders and don't cause any more trouble."

Wei Yan's original intention of making this military proposal was to make a show. If he returned to the court after a victory in the future, he would also leave a good story in the court. Liu Yong would definitely listen to him. Wei Yan knew that Fei Yi was a military officer who only advised but not executed, and he had always been kind to him, so he would not refuse.

The only variable lies in Li Yan, but unexpectedly Li Yan asked back seriously.

I was just joking with you, but you took it seriously? ?
Wei Yan's smiling face suddenly turned cold, his eyelids drooped, and he looked sideways in the direction of Li Yan:

"I don't understand what Lord Li is saying. Lord Li wants to be safe, but how can he be safe without causing any trouble?"

Li Yan was not stupid. Hearing some bad intentions in Wei Yan's words, he quickly explained: "Wen Chang, I have no other intentions, but the Prime Minister ordered Wen Chang to capture the city and then withdraw. It is better to be safe and not fight with the Wei soldiers."

"No fighting?" Wei Yan sneered, "Where was Lord Li when we went north to fight for Long in the fifth year of Jianxing? Where was Lord Li when we attacked Dazhong and Yangpingguan twice last year? In my opinion, if we don't use Zhang He to establish our authority in the north of the city, we will be wasting our country's military efforts!"

Although Wei Yan kept calling him "Mr. Li", the contempt behind these two words was clearly revealed. Li Yan had felt a lot in the past two days, and today he could no longer bear it.

I was the minister entrusted by the late emperor. Although there were some twists and turns, Your Majesty reinstated me three months after demoting me. The Prime Minister also personally appointed me as a military officer. How could I be humiliated several times by you, Wei Yan?

Li Yan's face was not looking good either. He stood up from the table with a sullen look, and looked at Wei Yan with his hands folded:
"General Wei, there is no need to argue with me. The Prime Minister has issued an order and I am only arguing with you. Why is this necessary?"

Seeing that Li Yan not only refused to give in, but also started to confront him, Wei Yan turned to sarcastically say:

"Not fighting when you can is a sign of fear! How have I disobeyed military orders?" Wei Yan sneered again, "Don't use the Prime Minister's military orders to pressure me. I don't know who has been repeatedly disrespectful and has been personally reprimanded by the Prime Minister!"

"you!"

Li Yan was so angry that he covered his chest and had difficulty breathing. His chest heaved and he was unsteady on his feet. He was about to fall down. Fei Yi, who was sitting next to him, saw this and hurried to support Li Yan.

"Oh? Are they going to start a drama again?" Wei Yan added.

Fei Yi looked at Wei Yan from the side and said anxiously, "Master Wen, please make way for me. You are in charge of the military affairs here and just dispatch the troops. Why do you need to talk to Lord Li?"

Wei Yan realized something was wrong at this moment. After looking at him awkwardly for a few moments, he exchanged a glance with Liu Yong, stood up and said, "Please take care of Wen Wei. I'll go patrol the camp."

After saying that, he walked out. Liu Yong didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he apologized and followed Wei Yan out.

Fei Yi was guarding here alone. Although he had suggested to Zhuge Liang to kill Li Yan secretly before, he did so out of public interest and let the prime minister do it. At this moment, Li Yan fell beside him and covered his chest. How could he bear this trouble?

Fei Yi certainly couldn't hide.

Fei Yi knelt beside Li Yan and comforted him softly. After about half a minute, Li Yan finally came to his senses. Tears flashed in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"I am so angry. When has Li Yan ever been humiliated like this in his life?"

Fei Yi whispered to comfort him: "Lord Li has been wronged. After we finish fighting here and return to the army to reunite with the Prime Minister, I will go and explain the matter to the Prime Minister and ask him to reprimand Wen Chang!"

Li Yan looked at Fei Yi, but did not respond in the end, not even a sigh. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly and squeezed out the last remaining tears in his eyes.

On the second day, Wei Yan led his troops and waited outside for a long time, but in the end, Zhang He's army did not arrive.

That night, Li Yan came to Wei Yan's tent and as soon as he opened his mouth, Wei Yan was shocked. "Wen Chang, what I said yesterday was an unintentional mistake, so I came to you to apologize."

After that, Li Yan bowed to Wei Yan. Wei Yan was stunned for a few seconds, then quickly stepped forward and gently helped Li Yan up. At this moment, Wei Yan's complex emotions, in addition to the joy of subduing this person, also had some thoughts of maintaining his reputation.

Then naturally you have to make some gestures.

Wei Yan held Li Yan's arms and said with a smile, "What's the point of asking for forgiveness? Lord Li and I are both officials in the same court, and we have worked hard for the country. I was a little rash in what I said last night. It was an unintentional mistake. Lord Li will not punish me, right?"

Li Yan lowered his head slightly: "It's my fault, how can I put the blame on Wen Chang?"

"Since the Wei thieves did not come today, they will surely come tomorrow. I am here eating the state salary but doing nothing. Please allow me to join the army in the battle tomorrow to repay the country!"

"Hahahaha, Lord Li finally figured it out." Wei Yan laughed loudly a few times, and then said calmly: "Well, tomorrow Lord Li will follow Sima Feng to the mountain pass north of the city. After the Wei army's vanguard enters, just hold off the enemy for a while."

"The Wei bandits have many soldiers and we have few. We can't stop them. We just need to inflict some casualties on them to boost their morale."

"Don't worry, Mr. Wen. I understand." Li Yan nodded calmly with a firm look in his eyes.

It was not until noon on the third day that Zhang He's army arrived six miles north of Wudu City. After another mile to the south and crossing a ridge, the road to Wudu City was unobstructed.

Qinzhou is mountainous with little plain land, and the place where Wudu City is located is also a valley between mountains.

Military officer Chen Ping, who was leading 4,000 soldiers as the vanguard, stopped here when he saw this situation and sent a messenger to report to General Zhang He, who was three miles behind.

At this moment, behind the ridge of the low mountain on the west side, a thousand Shu Han soldiers have been on guard for a long time.

"Reporting to the Sima, the Wei army has reached a mile north of the mountain pass and stopped there, apparently waiting for the rear army to arrive." A soldier reported with a fist clasped.

"Yes." Sima Feng responded, "Wait a moment. If the Wei army moves, report immediately."

"Follow the order!"

After the soldiers left, Li Yan, who was standing next to Sima Feng, stroked his beard and looked at the man:

"Sir Feng, the enemy situation is fierce and must be carefully observed. I will go to the scouts to see the enemy's situation and then come back to discuss it with you."

Wei Yan was the General of Zhenbei and had been the governor of Hanzhong more than ten years ago. It was understandable for him to act in a pretentious manner in front of Li Yan. But he was only a Sima with a salary of 1,000 dan, so how could he dare to say a word in front of Li Yan?
Sima Feng thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "If Lord Li is willing to go, it would be fine if you go and take a look."

"Okay." Li Yan stroked his beard in response, led his horse, and walked along the forest path in the direction of the scout.

Ten scouts gathered here, and when they saw Li Yan coming, they didn't know what he meant. They didn't know who this person was, but they knew that their Sima respected him very much, so they just greeted him a few times.

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "I am here on the orders of General Wei to persuade the Wei army to surrender. When you see me enter the Wei army, report back to Sima Feng. Don't let the military and national affairs be delayed!"

"Do you understand?"

The scouts looked at each other, at a loss as to what to do. How could a group of small soldiers like them make suggestions or make comments on such a matter as persuading the enemy to surrender?

The middle-aged soldier in the lead raised his head and bowed to Li Yan: "I hope you take care of yourself."

Several soldiers behind him followed suit and saluted as well.

The morning sunlight passed through the branches of the forest, and a ray of light shone obliquely on Li Yan's face.

Li Yan stood in the bright light, looking at the soldiers saluting him under the shadow of the trees, and for a moment he felt a little dazed.

Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Liu Bei...

The faces of the three masters under whom Li Yan had served flashed through Li Yan's mind for a moment, but what finally caught his eye were the ten soldiers in front of him.

Listening to the middle-aged soldier's accent, it turned out to be Nanyang accent, as if he was from my hometown. The soldiers behind him should be only about 20 years old. I think they are all newly recruited soldiers from various counties in Shu after the great defeat the year before last. Their faces are still childish.

How many soldiers from Jingzhou were there in the Han army? After twenty years of wasting time, all they got was displacement. What did they gain in the end?
Li Yan felt a lump in his throat and was about to cry, but he had to hold it back. He held the reins of his horse with his left hand and took a few steps towards the middle-aged soldier.

"Are you from Nanyang?" Li Yan asked.

The middle-aged soldier exclaimed: "How do you know? I am from Guanjun County, Nanyang."

"You and I are from the same hometown."

Li Yan nodded slightly, took out something from his arms with his right hand, and handed it to the middle-aged soldier. The soldier took a closer look and found that it was a jade plate with a warm color.

"What is this, sir?" The middle-aged soldier was shocked.

Li Yan patted his shoulder and said, "I am going to the Wei army. This item is precious and I am worried that it will be lost, so I will leave it with you first. If I can't come back, this item will be given to you."

Li Yan laughed: "They can witness it."

The young soldiers had never seen anything like this before, and they all gathered around to look at the jade tablet, marveling at it. However, the middle-aged soldiers also stood there in a daze when they heard Li Yan's Nanyang accent.

After saying this, Li Yan pulled the reins of his horse and headed towards the Wei army. (End of this chapter)