Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

After Zhang He led his troops to occupy the camp abandoned by Wei Yan, he discovered that the Shu army was withdrawing, so he dispatched the Qiang cavalry of Lu Xun's army that remained behind to pursue them.

This was the first time that Zhang He issued a military order to Lu Xun. Lu Xun did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and ordered his captain Zhi Wudai to lead 2,000 cavalry to give chase.

By the time Zhang He had set up the camp defense and Lu Xun led his troops to reunite with Zhang He, several hours later, Zhi Wudai also led his troops back to the camp.

Zhi Wudai originally wanted to go directly to see Lu Xun first. After asking around, he found out that Lu Xun and Zhang He were in the central army tent together. Feeling embarrassed, he still went in anyway.

Zhi Wudai walked into the tent in small steps, and with fear in his heart, he knelt on the ground and said, "General, I am incompetent. I was ambushed by the Shu army fifteen miles east of here, and lost five hundred cavalrymen."

Zhang He took a long breath and asked, "How could five hundred cavalrymen be killed? Where were they defeated? Which Shu army defeated them? Tell the truth!"

Zhi Wudai raised his head carefully and instinctively glanced in the direction of Lu Xun. Before he saw Lu Xun's face, Zhang He scolded him, "Why are you hesitating?"

"Yes, yes, I will report it right away." Zhi Wudai lowered his head again and said, "I led the army to chase them. These Shu soldiers had already fled for more than ten miles, leaving their helmets and armors behind. Even one of their flags was lost. I was careless and chased them too hastily. I didn't expect that the Shu army had a formation behind a low mountain, which cut the cavalry formation in half. This is how we fell into an ambush."

"What about the military flag you captured?" Zhang He asked again.

Zhi Wudai lowered his head and replied: "It was lost during the chaos of the battle..."

After all, Zhi Wudai was under Lu Xun's command. When he was reprimanded by Zhang He in public, Lu Xun felt a little embarrassed and quickly tried to mediate:

"General Zhang, I think Zhi Wudai must have encountered an ambush by Wei Yan's troops. Wei Yan was cunning and brave in his use of troops. Zhi Wudai's ambush this time can be regarded as a warning to the army. I hope that General Zhang will allow him to make up for his crime and make meritorious service."

Zhang He nodded, stroked his beard and said, "Bo Yan's words make sense, but this is the first time that Zhi Wudai has suffered a defeat. How can we convince the people if we don't punish him? Zhi Wudai, I will temporarily record your crime of defeating the army and allow you to make meritorious contributions. But now you go outside the tent and receive ten military sticks, so that you can learn a good lesson!"

"I obey your command!" Zhi Wudai bowed again and then stepped back.

Soon, the sound of military sticks came from outside the tent. Lu Xun listened carefully in the tent, and there were exactly ten military sticks. Zhi Wudai was a tough guy, and he didn't make any sound, which was considered not to embarrass Lu Xun again.

When Cao Zhen's letter was delivered to Zhang He last night, Du Xi also wrote in the letter that Cao Zhen had a headache.

Zhang He's troops were separated from Cao Zhen by dozens of miles. No matter how worried he was, Zhang He had no choice but to pray secretly at night, begging God to protect Cao Zhen's safety.

More than ten years ago, when he led troops to fight in Hanzhong, Xiahou Yuan was killed in the battle. The situation in Hanzhong collapsed instantly. Zhang He managed to hold on for many days. In the end, even though Cao Cao came to support him, Hanzhong was still lost to Liu Bei. Zhang He did not want to encounter such a thing again in his life.

Zhang He did not mention Cao Zhen's physical condition to Lu Xun. He asked Cao Zhen three questions. The first one was that Lu Xun's troops had run out of food and needed to be withdrawn. Of course, he could not mention this to Lu Xun. The third one was that Cao Zhen was not clear about the general attack, so Zhang He could only talk about the attack on the narrow mountain.

Lu Xun bowed and asked, "General Zhang, since the narrow mountain has been conquered, the food supply route of the Shu army has now been cut off by the Wei army."

"Li Zhengfang once mentioned that there were only 7,000 soldiers led by Shu general Wu Yi stationed at Wujie. Now our army has 25,000 soldiers. Should we send troops to harass one or two, or try to capture Wujie? If we can defeat Wu Yi's troops, then Zhuge Liang in Xiabian will be even more isolated and helpless!"

Zhang He shook his head in opposition without even thinking about it. It was obvious that he had already predicted this matter: "It will take several days to march from Sazashan to Wujie. What if we miss the battle here? Then I, Zhang He, will really become a national criminal."

Lu Xun didn't know why Zhang He's words were so sharp today. He thought for a moment and continued to say with all his strength: "From Wujie to here, you need to cross the West Han River. Why don't we send a few thousand soldiers to block the West Han River? This should not cause any trouble. I know that road. Two years ago, when I led the army to attack Baishui, Xiahou Kangren led the troops to Wujie by that road!"

Zhang He glanced at Lu Xun and said, "Since Boyan wants to defend that place, then select some troops to do it. In my opinion, select 2,000 men from your army to go there. Who can be used?"

Lu Xun thought for a moment and said, "Why not let Zhi Wudai do it? He has always been a good person and I think it was an accident that he encountered an ambush today. After losing 500 cavalrymen, he still has 2,500 Qiang cavalrymen, which should be enough to garrison along the West Han River."

Zhang He nodded and said, "Very good. Since Boyan is promoting this man, let him go."

Lu Xun finally smiled: "According to the time, the two books that General Zhang ordered Army Officer Chen to record Li Yan's words should be delivered to His Majesty in Xuchang soon. This is another great achievement for General Zhang!"

However, Zhang He did not respond to Lu Xun's words. He stood up, looked at Lu Xun and said, "I am a little tired after working hard today. Boyan should go back and have a rest." This was an order to expel the guest.

Lu Xun also understood the situation and stood up and said, "General Zhang is busy with military affairs, please take care of yourself."

"Yeah, Boyan too." Zhang He said lightly, and then walked out of the tent.

From Lu Xun's perspective, Zhang He was really confused today. Wasn't it just the loss of 500 Qiang cavalry? You are the General of the Western Expedition, a powerful general, why do you have to show off your power over a mere 2,000-stone official? There is no need!
This is the disagreement caused by information asymmetry.

For Lu Xun, this battle was no different from the defense of Dazhong last year. Zhuge Liang had more soldiers, so he could fight if he could win, and retreat if he couldn't. Wudu, Xiabian, and Hechi were all empty, so it wouldn't be a pity to leave them to Zhuge Liang, who couldn't defend them.

This is a purely military issue. Lu Xun is the emperor's brother-in-law and a political role model for the future surrender of Wu. Losing territory or being defeated would not affect Lu Xun's status at all, as long as he did not surrender to Shu. Of course, Lu Xun could not do that.

But for Zhang He, this battle brought him considerable psychological pressure.

One is being burdened by fame.

Just as Lu Xun had said to Zhou Duo a few days ago, Zhang He was over sixty years old and didn't want to take risks. Even the loss of thousands of people in a narrow mountain had to be reported to Cao Zhen for approval. Before many Shu troops were captured, Zhi Wudai's troops had lost 500 cavalrymen, which was not a good sign.

The second reason is because of Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen had a headache so severe that he could not manage his affairs. This news directly aroused the fear that Zhang He had subconsciously harbored for many years. When Zhang He and Xiahou Yuan led troops to confront Liu Bei in Hanzhong, Cao Cao had already led his troops to Chang'an, but because of poor health and frequent headaches, he stayed in Chang'an for several months. It was not until Xiahou Yuan died that he forced himself to come to Hanzhong to provide assistance.

Cao Cao was like this, Xiahou Yuan died in battle, and now Cao Zhen was suffering from a severe headache. This made Zhang He, who was already cautious, even more nervous.

Third, there is really no confidence in winning.

Although Zhang He had led his army to attack and defeat Zhuge Liang's troops at Chiting the year before and had established a great reputation, that was based on the combat effectiveness of the central army, and was not the achievement of Zhang He alone.

Last year, Zhuge Liang invaded twice, once at Dazhong and once at Yangping Pass, and Zhang He led his army to confront Zhuge Liang. However, Zhang He felt uneasy when he saw that the Shu army was calm and confident, and even wanted to fight.

Not to mention, Cao Zhen was determined to attack!
For a moment, Zhang He wanted to suggest Cao Zhen to withdraw his troops and abandon Wudu County. What would it matter if Zhuge Liang gave up a few broken cities and a piece of broken land? He could take it back next year when there was enough food!

But Zhang He couldn't say such words. In Jingzhou, Xu Shu led tens of thousands of troops to confront Wu soldiers, and Xiangyang and Fancheng were both in danger. In Yangzhou, the last news Zhang He learned was that Chen Qun led his troops to build a city in full preparation for war.

Zhang He was fighting with the enemy in Qinzhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou. It was impossible for him to be the first to want to retreat, which would give people a reason to criticize him.

With such a dilemma and a feeling of a mountain pressing down on his heart, it's no wonder that Zhang He was in a bad mood today.

Zhi Wudai's defeat marked the end of today's war.

The next day, Zhang He was still organizing his troops in the camp, and sent Lu Xun's Qiang cavalry to the front for harassment and reconnaissance. After Zhi Wudai left, Lu Xun sent a thousand cavalry under his own chief historian Zhou Duo to execute the order.

It was not until the third day that Zhang He led his army eastward.

Twenty miles was only half a day's march for the Wei army in the battle array. This time was enough for Wei Yan to send someone to report to Zhuge Liang in Xiabian.

Sure enough, before Zhang He's troops arrived at Wei Yan's camp, Zhuge Liang's order had already been sent from the rear.

Wei Yan pulled out the bamboo slips from the wooden tube and read the words on them carefully.

The Prime Minister wants me to feign defeat and withdraw my troops today? (End of this chapter)