Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 7 Zilong
Jigu.

Chian.

The Han army camp.

A white horse took the lead and broke through the darkness of night. It stood with its hooves raised under the dim light of the camp's sentry tower and neighed loudly.

People who have been with horses for many years can tell that this is a good horse just by listening to the horse's high-pitched and passionate neighing.

Soon, more than two hundred riders following the white horse slowly emerged from the night.

After everyone dismounted and gathered around the white horse, the young man in black military uniform on the white horse finally dismounted.

He took out a talisman from his waist and handed it to a round-faced young man with a plump chin and a noble look beside him.

This so-called noble-looking young man, who actually has a heavy double chin, is his cousin Mi Wei who has been accompanying Liu Chan in reviewing horse riding skills these days.

Because of Madam Mi, although they were not related by blood, they were better than blood relatives. Also because of Mi Fang, this person was rather coldly treated in the court.

He took the talisman handed to him by Liu Chan and walked to the gate of the camp to wait.

The Yamen captain came forward and after taking a thorough look at this noble young man, he asked in surprise:
"It's you? Why are you here?"

He couldn't help but be surprised.

Who else in Shu has such great power that he can make this royal relative who leads the Tiger Cavalry leave Chengdu and come here, and have him follow him around and deliver the verification talisman?

He looked directly over Mi Buwu's head, looking for the white horse surrounded in the middle, trying to confirm whether the owner of the white horse was the one he had in mind.

But the night was too dark and the firelight was dim, so I couldn’t see anything clearly.

"Hey, hurry up and put the talisman together." Mi Buwu felt insulted from the moment he heard the words "It's you". What does "It's you" mean?

Although they were acquaintances, the gatekeeper Zhao Tong still took out the talisman that belonged to him from his waist, and only ordered his men to push open the gate of the camp after the conditions were met.

Some soldiers who specialized in horse breeding quickly ran out, took the reins from the group of nobles who came on horseback, and led them to the place where the horses were drinking water.

Only the tall white horse was left unattended.

Zhao Tong strode forward with doubt in his eyes, walking towards the nobleman leading the white horse.

However, before he could see the nobleman's face clearly, he saw the nobleman raised his hand and handed the reins to him.

"General Xiao Zhao, go to Xiegu and tell General Zhao that I am waiting for him here."

General Xiao Zhao was stunned for a moment and took the reins in a daze. Even at this moment, he was still not sure who this person was.

But who else could it be except the emperor?

Mi Wei selected forty Tiger Cavalrymen to surround Liu Chan from front, back, left and right, and walked quietly towards the center of the camp, leaving Zhao Tong, who still had an unbelievable look on his face, standing there holding the horse.

Is he really the Son of Heaven?
Playing in the military camp?

I really don’t know what time it is now?
...

...

Guanzhong.

The mouth of the inclined valley.

On the right bank of the sloping water, at the foot of the Qinling Mountains.

Each camp occupied a certain terrain and stretched for several miles. Judging from its size, the Han army camps seemed to be able to accommodate 40,000 to 50,000 troops and were spread out on the land of Guanzhong.

The sky is bright.

The big tent under the camp commander's banner welcomed an uninvited guest.

Soon, all the guards in the general's tent received orders and left, leaving only Zhao Yun and his son in the tent.

"Sir, His Majesty has arrived at Chi'an."

When Zhao Yun heard this, he thought there was something wrong with his ears and looked incredulous.

"what?"

He wanted to make sure he heard correctly.

"His Majesty has arrived at Chi'an," Zhao Tong repeated softly, "with about two hundred cavalrymen. He said he was waiting for you at Chi'an and asked me not to make it known."

Zhao Yun frowned, digesting the news with difficulty, and asked:

"Did His Majesty tell me what he was doing in Chi'an?"

"No, but considering His Majesty's temperament, I think he might be here for hunting."

Zhao Yun got married only after Liu Bei conquered the four counties in southern Jing. After that, he lost several legitimate sons. His eldest son, Zhao Tong, is only twenty years old now, one year younger than Liu Chan. It is inevitable that his thinking is a little unconventional.

But what he said did fit in with the court officials' impression of the current emperor.

Especially after the prime minister moved north, the emperor seemed to be a little indulgent.

"Your Majesty may be ignorant, but he wouldn't act so recklessly. Minister Dong wouldn't allow Your Majesty to do such a thing." Zhao Yun was suspicious. "Could it be that the Prime Minister sent Your Majesty here?"

Zhao Tong speculated again, "Could it be that the Prime Minister has already won the battle in Longyou and is preparing to enter Guanzhong from Longshan, so he wants Your Majesty to lead the army in person to build up prestige?"

Zhao Yun frowned and said, "No, Prime Minister, if Longyou wins, the news will come directly from Guanzhong to us, and will not return to Chengdu first."

"It can't be that there was a civil war in Chengdu and His Majesty escaped by luck?!" Zhao Tong thought of a horrifying possibility.

"Don't talk nonsense. Forget it. Cao's army has been stationed in Meiwu and dares not leave. I will return to Chi'an now and will be back at noon.

"You stay here. If anyone asks, just say I'm patrolling the battlefield."

Zhao Yun left the camp and rode into the Xiegu Valley with a few guards, and walked onto a thirty-mile-long plank road.

When we rode to a place called Shimen, the thirty-mile plank road came to an end.

The terrain suddenly changed from the narrow mountains and deep valleys between the two gorges to a bright and open landscape.

This is a long and narrow valley carved out by slanting water.

The Han army has been controlling this 20-mile-long river valley for the past few years, and the Cao army showed no signs of wanting to fight for it, so farmland was also cultivated in this valley, where there was not much arable land.

Zhao Yun continued to ride forward, but after walking only four or five miles, he climbed a small slope and suddenly saw a large group of people riding horses slowly in the distance.

The leader was dressed in black and riding a tall white horse. He must have seen Zhao Yun coming in the opposite direction, so he left the group and galloped towards Zhao Yun.

Not long after, the two horses met.

Zhao Yun dismounted without hesitation and bowed deeply to Liu Chan, "Your Majesty, I, Zhao Yun, pay my respects to you!"

Liu Chan then quickly dismounted, stepped forward, and shook Zhao Yun's hand tightly: "General Zhao, it's been three years since we last met. You seem even stronger and more mature!"

The last time Adou saw Zhao Yun was at the grand court meeting three years ago. In the following three years, Zhao Yun was in charge of military farming affairs in Jigu.

In fact, he was not as strong as Liu Chan said.

He was darker now, had more wrinkles, his hair was completely white, and his figure was thinner.

Although the edges of his muscles can still be seen through his military uniform, he is obviously much thinner than he was three years ago, not to mention the younger Zhao Zilong.

After the emperor's abrupt handshake and the words "old but still strong", Zhao Yun completely forgot what he was doing here.

After all, he is sixty-two years old. No matter how much he feels that he is as sharp as he was in his youth, his physical aging and illness will remind him again and again: you are old.

He increasingly understood what it felt like to think, "Is Lian Po old? Can he still eat?"

When the emperor's hands were sweating from clenching his fists, Zhao Yun asked with his gray beard trembling:
"Your Majesty, shouldn't you be in Chengdu? Why are you suddenly here in Chi'an?"

Liu Chan released his hand and said, "This is a long story. General Zilong, please come with me to see the surrounding terrain."

Zhao Yun was stunned again.

He hadn't heard this name for many years.

It has been many years since the death of the late emperor.

Everyone respected him very much, even the prime minister called him General Zhao.

He appreciated the respect.

But it did serve as a recurring reminder that he was getting older.

In addition, his physical pain is getting worse and worse. He knows in his heart that he will probably not see the day when the Han Dynasty recovers the Central Plains.

Liu Chan had already mounted his horse and was galloping slowly along the Xieshui River Valley in the direction from which Zhao Yun came.

Zhao Yun quickly caught up, reined in his horse and rode side by side with Liu Chan.

Soon, the group arrived at Shimen, and Liu Chan led the horse onto the plank road.

After walking for a while and reaching the top of the plank road, Liu Chan tied his horse to the handrail of the plank road, which was as thick as a bowl, and looked at the deep ravine below the plank road.

One has to admire the wisdom of the ancients. They did not need pillars perpendicular to the riverbed. Instead, they drilled holes and pierced pillars on the side walls to build a trestle bridge that could allow a large army to pass through without collapsing.

"General Zilong, it's already the end of February, but it looks like it's still the dry season?" Liu Chan asked his question.

Zhao Yun said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that this place is shielded by the Qinling Mountains, and there are few clouds. Therefore, it rarely rains. If the weather gets warmer, in June, when the clouds gather, the water will begin to rise."

Liu Chan nodded suddenly.

"How far is this place from the entrance of the valley?"

"Less than thirty miles."

"Then let's keep going."

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty, can you tell me now what the purpose of your visit is?"

The plank road was prone to collapse, so it was dangerous for the emperor to walk on it.

Not to mention that the emperor seemed to want to go to the front line, which Zhao Yun could never agree to.

Liu Chan smiled deliberately and proudly:

"I have brought four thousand imperial guards, two thousand Hanzhong County soldiers, five hundred tiger cavalry, and a group of great scholars to help General Zilong defeat the bandits."

Zhao Yun widened his eyes and it took him a long time to digest the news brought by Liu Chan.

"Your Majesty, is this what the Prime Minister meant?"

"No."

"Then, is there any news from Longyou?"

"Not at all."

"Then why did Your Majesty leave Chengdu? Did Minister Dong and Chief Secretary Jiang just watch Your Majesty leave Chengdu and come here to personally lead the army without stopping him?"

(End of this chapter)