My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

"Xu Zhi, Cao Pi has shown you great favor, treating you like a member of the imperial family and a military general, and has given you extremely generous treatment."

Zhang Fei, his gaze filled with deep disdain, questioned Xu Zhi:
"Are you truly determined to betray Cao Pi and surrender to the Han Dynasty?"

Every word Zhang Fei spoke seemed to carry an invisible pressure, directly targeting Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi's face was filled with an undisguised sorrow as he slowly spoke:

"Cao Pi's trust in the hostage was merely superficial. The people Cao Pi truly trusted from the bottom of his heart were always his members of the imperial clan."

“In Cao Pi’s eyes, Zhi was already regarded as a pawn that could be discarded at will. Now that Zhi fought with all his might until the city fell, he had no choice but to surrender to Han. This is my way of fulfilling my loyalty as a subject and repaying the kindness that Cao Pi had shown me in the past.”

“My submission to Your Majesty is in accordance with the will of Heaven, and is not an act of betrayal or disloyalty to Cao Pi.”

After speaking, Xu Zhi kowtowed heavily to the ground, his sorrowful words of defense seemingly welling up from the deepest part of his heart.

These words of defense truly reflected Xu Zhi's heartfelt sentiments.

During that crucial military meeting, Cao Pi's decision to force Xu Zhi to defend Ji County as a rearguard action was like a cold, sharp blade that deeply wounded him.

Xu Zhi knew perfectly well who the outsiders were and who the expendable pawns were.

Therefore, it is understandable that he has always held a grudge about this matter.

At that time, Xu Zhi still had an army of 10,000 men under his command, and he was still able to keep this grudge to himself.

However, the situation is now completely different.

His army had been annihilated, and he himself had become a prisoner.

Everything that once existed—the generals and cavalry, the riches and honors—vanished like smoke in the wind, disappearing in an instant.

At this moment, Xu Zhi had no more worries in his heart, and his only wish was to survive.

In order to save his own life, he was finally able to vent all the grievances that had been building up in his heart.

Zhang Fei listened quietly to Xu Zhi's explanation, and the disdain on his face gradually faded.

"Cao Pi, Cao Pi, you are just like your father Cao Cao, only valuing the Cao and Xiahou families, and regarding generals from other families as worthless weeds."

"If you don't die, it will be an injustice!"

Then, he stared at Xu Zhi, his brows furrowed, and remained silent in thought.

Xu Zhi knelt on the ground, his body trembling, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like a burst dam.

He knew perfectly well that Zhang Fei was currently contemplating how to deal with him.

Is it killing?

Or stay?
These two choices, made in a single moment, determined his life and death.

"Guards, take Xu Zhi to Luoyang and hand him over to the Emperor for disposal."

After some deliberation, Zhang Fei finally made his decision.

In Zhang Fei's view, Xu Zhi was not unforgivable.

Moreover, Xu Zhi chose to dismount and surrender at the last moment.

Killing surrendered soldiers was never his style of doing things.

Moreover, once the news of Xu Zhi's surrender spread, it would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to the morale of the Wei state.

There is absolutely no reason to kill such a person.

"Yide, your decision is correct."

Xiao Fang nodded slightly, a look of approval on his face.

Xu Zhi breathed a long sigh of relief upon hearing the verdict.

At this moment, his heart was filled with gratitude, but also with a touch of indescribable sorrow.

His life was saved.

But he also knew clearly that he could not be used by the Han Dynasty.

This meant he would spend the rest of his life in obscurity. "Many thanks to the General of Chariots and Cavalry for sparing my life, many thanks to the Grand Marshal!"

Xu Zhiqiang suppressed the bitterness in his heart and silently kowtowed.

Zhang Fei waved his hand dismissively, and then his men rushed forward and dragged Xu Zhi away.

"Grand Marshal, Ji City has fallen. What should I do next?"

After dealing with Xu Zhi, Zhang Fei turned his gaze to Xiao Fang and asked him a question.

Xiao Fang pondered for a moment, then slowly said:
"Now that Ji County has been recovered and Longyou has returned to Han, it is an irreversible fact that Cao Pi must have already crossed the Yellow River and entered Liangbei."

"The reason why Cao Pi dared to flee to Liangbei was simply because he thought that Liangbei was far away and remote, and that we would not pursue him relentlessly and kill him to death."

“As long as Cao Pi is not eliminated, Cao Wei will not be destroyed, and Liangzhou will not be at peace.”

"Now that we've come this far, how can we give up halfway?"

"Therefore, I believe we should continue our military campaign northward, recover Liangbei, and exterminate Cao Pi!"

Hearing Xiao Fang's detailed analysis, Zhang Fei nodded slightly, a look of approval on his face.

Xiao Fang then pointed north and said sternly:
"Cao Pi had no more than 20,000 troops under his command, and his brother Cao Yu, who was stationed in Liangbei, probably had no more than 10,000 troops under his command."

"In other words, Cao Pi's entire army totaled no more than 30,000 men."

"Such a force is not worth the full strength of my army to conquer."

"I believe that sending 100,000 troops north to attack will suffice!"

Xiao He calmly and methodically explained his strategy for destroying Wei.

Zhang Fei suddenly understood, and stood up, exuding heroic spirit:

"By my order, take all the wine and meat to reward the army. I want to celebrate with my soldiers the victory in recovering Longyou."

"Once the soldiers have eaten and drunk their fill, I will select 100,000 elite troops to march north and reclaim Liangbei, completely annihilating the pseudo-Wei!"

Xiao smiled slightly.

The generals on both sides were filled with heroic spirit and responded enthusiastically.

...

Hundreds of miles away, in Jincheng County.

Inside the government office, however, the scene was quite different.

The aroma of alcohol permeated the entire government office, and the fragrance of the dishes was irresistible, making one's mouth water.

The officials of Wei disregarded their image and indulged in a feast.

Even Cao Pi, who usually paid attention to his demeanor, disregarded his image at this moment and wolfed down the wine and meat.

There was no other way; they were just too hungry.

Since retreating north from Ji County, Cao Pi had been constantly worried about being caught up by Zhang Fei, so he fled north in a frantic manner.

Along the way, he didn't get a proper sleep, and he only ate a few bites of food before hurrying on his way.

The days of fleeing had left Cao Pi starving.

Even after crossing the Yellow River, Cao Pi did not dare to stop for a moment, fearing that Zhang Fei's pursuers would suddenly appear.

It wasn't until he arrived in Jincheng that he finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped to rest for a few days.

His younger brother, Cao Yu, had also prepared wine and meat in Jincheng beforehand.

So Cao Pi and his ministers disregarded all decorum and began to eat heartily, as if they wanted to make up for the hunger they had suffered over the past few days all at once.

"Brothers fight tigers together, fathers and sons go to war together."

"My younger brother has done a truly excellent job; I should reward him handsomely."

After a hearty meal, Cao Pi couldn't help but lavish praise on his younger brother, Cao Yu. (End of Chapter)