Seeing Xiahou Xian's eyes looking at him, Cao Rui nodded solemnly and said, "Inspector Yang's mature and wise words on state affairs must be listened to." "After arriving at Wujie, you must discuss everything with the General Huqiang. If there are any differences of opinion, it is best to preserve the entire army and try to drive the Qiang soldiers to the front!" Xiahou Xian looked solemn, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have memorized your order." "Go!" After saying these two words, Cao Rui did not linger any longer and immediately rode his horse eastward. After Zhang He's 30,000 infantry and cavalry entered Xiabian, they set up camps on the south, north and east sides of Xiabian City, relying on the city, the southern river and the mountains in the northwest. The camps were intertwined and occupied all the important places within five miles around Xiabian. As for Cao Rui's remaining 10,000 cavalry, they were naturally stationed in the city and on the road back to the west of the city. …… Regardless of how busy the Wei army in Xiabian was in building camps and stationing troops, Xiahou Xian's army had just reached the banks of the West Han River when they encountered the first decision that required them to make. "Inspector Yang is right indeed!"
Xiahou Xian called Generals Fei Yao and Cheng Xi to his side and began to make arrangements: "Please ask General Fei to be the rear wing of our army and station at the valley five miles north. General Cheng is three miles away from our headquarters. We will camp tonight, following the terrain of the mountain and more than half a mile away from the West Han River." "We'll set off at noon tomorrow!" "Let's do as General Xiahou said!" Fei Yao and Cheng Xi couldn't say a word against this reasonable camping assignment. They agreed readily and assigned their subordinates to arrange the camping. When Xiahou Xian was standing beside the West Han River, looking at the water level and direction, Zhou Duo approached from behind. "Is General Xiahou looking at the West Han River?" It was obvious that Zhou Duo was asking the question even though he knew the answer, but this man looked quite kind and it was hard to imagine him refusing to communicate with him. "It's Zhou Changshi." Xiahou Xian replied, "Tomorrow we will cross the West Han River. I see that the water is shallowest here and the distance between north and south is only more than 20 zhang. I think it will not be difficult to cross." He had also heard of Zhou Duo's deeds. He was a real man who went to the enemy camp regardless of his own safety when facing a war. Zhou Duo responded with a smile: "General Xiahou is right. When an army marches forward, they will open roads through mountains and build bridges across rivers. How can a little bit of West Han River block the way?" "That's right." Xiahou Xian asked, "Chapter Zhou came to see me. What do you want to talk about?" "Today, I heard from your majesty that you want General Xiahou to march slower? To be safe?" Zhou Duo asked tentatively: "But just like the plan that the general just proposed to divide the camps, a part of the 10,000 cavalry can be sent out to go ahead and clear the way for the main army, so that they can contact Captain Lu earlier." Xiahou Xian stared at Zhou Duo: "Do you want to contact General Lu as soon as possible?" "exactly!" Zhou Duo did not hide his intentions at all. There was nothing to hide from such a general, so he said directly: "The current situation is that your majesty will send the general to join forces with General Lu to occupy Wu Street." "The general knows this strategy, but General Lu doesn't." Zhou Duo analyzed one by one: "If General Lu could know the general's information one or two days earlier, he would be able to complete His Majesty's assignment better." Xiahou Xian stared at Zhou Duo for a long while, then laughed and said, "Right General is also ignorant. Why did he give a talent like you to General Lu?" "Brother Zhou, you and I are of similar age, so I will call you that." Xiahou Xian coughed and said, "You have been with the Right General for a long time, so you must know the situation in the Wei army."
"According to your majesty's division, Qinzhou is already a border defense area, and General Lu leads the Qiang people on the west side of Qinzhou, which is a border army among border troops." Zhou Duo listened quietly to what Xiahou Xian said. After saying a few words, Xiahou Xian himself chuckled and said, "If you want to come to the Central Army and serve as an official in Luoyang, I would like to personally recommend you to His Majesty! It won't be a problem for you to become a lieutenant with a salary of 2,000 dan!" "Thank you General Xiahou for your kindness. I am truly grateful." Zhou Duo lowered his head and smiled, but when he looked up at Xiahou Xian again, there was no expression on his face. "General Xiahou is a member of the royal family, but I am only from a remote place like Jincheng County in Liangzhou. You must know that Liangzhou is a place full of Qiang chaos, banditry, and rebellion. It is really a mess." "Well, you go ahead." Xiahou Xian heard Zhou Duo's refusal, but did not interrupt him. "When I was in Huainan, the court first transferred me to Liangzhou. I once thought that they were just letting me, a Liangzhou native, do Liangzhou affairs." "But after arriving in Liangzhou, I put down Qu Ying's rebellion and assimilated the Qiang people in the prefectures. In just one year, not only Xiping County, but even my own Jincheng County, had a completely new look." As he spoke, Zhou Duo bowed and said, "Liangzhou has been in chaos for a hundred years. Now that we have just seen a glimmer of hope for the better, how can I abandon the border area and go to Luoyang?" "I hope General Xiahou will show some sympathy." Zhou Duo's words were extremely low, and even his demeanor was such that he did not dare to offend the general surnamed Xiahou. He knew in his heart that Lu Xun, the general who protected the Qiang above him, was just a surrendered person who won the favor of His Majesty. Compared with these nobles of the Great Wei, he did not have much to rely on. What was the use of the title of Wu Hou? Didn't Han Zong also die in a hurry outside Wancheng last year? Xiahou Xian was silent for a few moments, then punched Zhou Duo hard in the chest, shocking Zhou Duo so much that he took two steps back. "Do you know why I hit you with this punch?" Xiahou Xian sneered at Zhou Duo and kicked a piece of gravel at his feet. "You have good character and talent, but your vision is bad! Who do you think I am?" After saying that, Xiahou Xian looked up at Zhou Duo who was in shock. "Tomorrow I will give you 500 cavalrymen from my headquarters and order you to lead the way to Wujie! Send 20 cavalrymen to report back to me every morning. Can you do it?" Zhou Duo's expression changed from surprise to joy. He bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, General Xiahou, for your help! I will definitely lead the army in exploring the way." "Go after crossing the river tomorrow morning. Say hello to General Lu for me." Xiahou Xian glanced at Zhou Duo, then turned and left. Zhou Duo got what he wanted. While he was delighted, he was stunned for a moment when he looked at the surging West Han River not far away. Huainan, Liangzhou, Lu Xun, Xiahou Xian, Your Majesty... It has been less than two years since His Majesty ascended the throne. I wonder what Qinzhou, Liangzhou, and even Wei will look like in the future? The heart of one person is the heart of thousands of people! …… Five days had passed since Cao Rui led his army to Xiabian. Wudu County was not the main base of the Shu army. Many years ago, when Cao Cao attacked Zhang Lu and Liu Bei, he personally led his army here to fight. Not to mention Yang Fu, who is now by Cao Rui's side, was once the governor of Wudu County. Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Cao Hong, Zhang He and other generals have fought in Wudu in the past. If we talk about it in detail, the Wei army was even more familiar with fighting on the left and right sides of Xiabian than fighting in Longyou. "Xiahou Ru should be arriving in Hechi soon, right?" Cao Rui asked the ministers beside him as he sat in the newly built government office in the city. "According to the time calculation, Xiahou Ru should have arrived." Cao Zhen replied: "Xiahou Ru's 15,000 soldiers have arrived at Hechi, which not only replenished the army's manpower, but also transported food and grass directly from Chencang to Xiabian and Hechi." "I think we can order Qishan and Shanggui to stop transporting grain and grass to Xiabian. The grain transportation from Chencang to Longshan Road can finally be stopped."
Cao Rui said: "I see that this place is not far from Hanzhong. How many times have we fought with the Shu army in the past few days?" "Your Majesty," Zhang He replied, bowing, "From the time we arrived at Xiabian to now, in the five days, we had two exploratory battles with Wei Yan at the entrance of the valley on the first and second days, and lost a total of about 400 infantrymen." "On the third day, Wei Yan began to retreat significantly. When the cavalry pursued him, they suffered a minor defeat and lost more than 300 cavalrymen." Cao Rui glanced at the people around him and said, "It seems that Zhuge Liang wants to fight me!" "When do you think I should march?" Sima Yi was the first to bow and say, "According to the assignments made by your majesty and the ministers, it seems that I should discuss this with Zhuge Liang for some time." "But now that we know that General Lu Xun, the Protector of the Qiang, and General Xiahou Xian, the Core General, are attacking Wujie together, the military situation here is not the most important thing. Wujie and Yinping are more important for the deployment of Shu's troops." Cao Rui nodded gently: "In short, Lu Xun and Xiahou Xian can open up the situation. But if I lead my army to confront the Shu army in Xiabian, it will easily fall into a stalemate, right?" Sima Yi nodded. "That's easy." Cao Rui said with a smile: "Since Zhuge Liang wants to stalemate with me, then I will stalemate with him." "He has the advantage of transporting grain and grass via the West Han River. I can also transport grain and grass via the Wei River and the Gudao River to Xiabian and Hechi." "Wait until Lu Xun opens up the situation, then I can march forward calmly. I don't believe that if the Wei army reaches Yinping or Baishui, Zhuge Liang will not withdraw." "Your Majesty is wise. The stalemate between the two armies is just right to improve the defense around Xiabian and make some preparations for the future garrison of the army in Xiabian." Zhang He said calmly as he sat aside. Cao Rui glanced at Zhang He, then at Sima Yi, and said, "Since I am here, can I do something to disturb Zhuge Liang's mind?" "Your Majesty, what does you plan to do?" Sima Yi asked curiously. "You are all unfamiliar with Zhuge Liang." Cao Rui said with a smile, "It will be useless to make an enemy of Zhuge Liang, or to persuade him to surrender or win him over." "What I really want to do is to let Zhuge Liang understand what I have done in Wei." "Bo Yue, come here!" Cao Rui waved to Jiang Wei who was in the corner of the hall. Jiang Wei took a few steps forward after receiving the order, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?" "Boyue has also studied in the Imperial Academy for a long time. How about this, let Boyue write a letter to Zhuge Liang for me today!" (End of this chapter)