The Mi Cang Pass was bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun, staining the battlefield with bloodshed.
Following rounds of artillery fire, the Wei army launched its final charge. Spears thrust relentlessly, and shield-bearers, discarding their shields, swung their blades at the fleeing Shu forces.
The battle banners of Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Zhang, and Cang Ba began to flutter in the wind.
Xiahou, leading his personal guards, had already pushed into the treeline where Guang Dudu stood. Through the flames, they pressed on, drawing ever closer to the remnants of the Shu army's main force.
"Father Commander, the enemy ahead is numerous. Wait a moment for the other generals!"
Xiahou reminded him...
Xiahou, holding his steel spear, gazed into the distance, observing the dust-covered Shu soldiers. He let out a hearty laugh, "Does my son not know that when pursuing victory, the strength of the army matters less than the momentum? Do not fear a fleeing foe's numbers! Wait? If we wait, your father would not be worthy of being the Great General of Wei's forces. Guards, follow me to slay the enemy and capture these... Shu troops all at once!"
He spurred his horse forward, and his personal guards followed without hesitation, surging ahead.
At this, the Wei army's command banner moved, charging forward with unwavering resolve. Instantly, the Wei soldiers were filled with renewed courage. Driven by the command banner, they targeted the heads of the Shu soldiers, these being crucial for their rewards!
...
"Attack... attack!"
Elsewhere, Li Yan surveyed the battlefield. He too had not expected that their meticulously planned "guerrilla" tactics would be utterly shattered by inexplicable firepower, leaving them in disarray!
Now, hiding was no longer an option; they could only fight with everything they had!
The only fortunate aspect was that as the Wei army surged onto the battlefield, the enemy's firepower did not continue. For Li Yan, he had not yet lost. Eliminating the Wei army's fighting strength was the immediate priority.
"Attack... all troops attack!" Li Yan waved his hand.
More Shu soldiers surged forward.
It was like a relay.
There was no longer any retreat.
No matter the cost, as long as they could eliminate the Wei army before them, Mi Cang Pass would remain impregnable!
Damn it... we fight!
...
At the artillery encampment.
"This thing... is truly formidable!"
Cao Anmin gazed at the bare jungle, at the last vestiges of flames within it, his emotions stirring.
Not long ago, he had submitted a memorial to His Majesty, stating that the Ministry of Works' annual expenses were too high, and the workshops' consumption was bottomless. Now, reflecting on it, how naive his memorial had been!
To say nothing of anything else, this "fire cannon" developed by the workshops alone was worth twenty thousand troops!
But...
Cao Anmin steadied himself and inquired, "Why aren't you continuing the bombardment? Strike while the iron is hot and bombard the Shu army's camp as well."
Ma Jun paused, his gaze drifting towards the cannons, and sighed, "After all, their range is not that great."
"Then..." Cao Anmin quickly suggested, "Can we not move the cannons closer? The cannons are inanimate, but we are living beings!"
"Look..." Ma Jun pointed below the mountains, "The decisive battle has begun, and the enemy and our forces are now entangled. If these cannons fire, it's difficult to kill a thousand enemies without harming eight hundred of our own."
Upon Ma Jun's reminder...
Cao Anmin finally realized his oversight. He had been too excited and forgot that there were still many of his own men below the mountain.
But...
Cao Anmin turned his head, watching the smoke billowing from the cannons, and shook his head in regret.
"A pity, such a pity..."
Just then, a scout arrived.
"General Cao, Commander Ma, General Xiahou has an order!"
Hmm...
Upon hearing of a military order, Cao Anmin straightened his back.
However, what the scout said next nearly made Cao Anmin's jaw drop.
—"The Great General orders that the artillery battalion also leave some heads for the brothers. Consider it the Great General's thanks to the artillery battalion!"
Uh... this...
Cao Anmin scratched his head, turning to look at Ma Jun, who also appeared embarrassed.
Looking again at the battlefield below the mountains, it was a massacre, a one-sided slaughter!
Setting aside the terrain, if one were to purely discuss combat strength, the Shu army and the Wei army were not on the same level.
...
...
After a fierce battle, the morale of both sides had completely flipped due to the artillery. Facing such a huge advantage, the Wei army charged into the enemy camp like hungry wolves.
Crushing everything in their path...
The Shu army could never have imagined that they would collapse so quickly, so fast that they couldn't even hold their last positions.
By the time they realized it and attempted to counterattack, the well-trained Wei army gave them no such opportunity.
Steel halberds fell, disemboweling them!
Faces contorted in agony, showing no mercy...
In the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, within the Shu army's camp, Xiahou, covered in blood, walked with heavy steps into a fortified area.
Inside, a fifty-year-old elder was seated cross-legged, with a contingent of Wei soldiers pointing their halberds at him.
Xiahou said, "Father Commander, this man has the most guards around him and the most luxurious attire!"
Xiahou nodded in agreement. Who this elder was, was already evident...
He accepted a portrait...
For important figures of the Shu army, the Great Wei would try to obtain their portraits. This was related to the ranking of merits, and such portraits were found everywhere in the Wei army.
Xiahou Dun peered closely and realized something was wrong!
The person in the portrait was an older man, with a face full of wisdom, his wrinkles seemingly filled by experience.
But the old man before him was disheveled, with a foolish expression, even somewhat greasy!
Xiahou Dun shook his head, "His Majesty once said, 'He with a rough face doesn't necessarily have rough skin.'"
As the words left his mouth...
"It is I!" the elder seated cross-legged slowly rose. He looked calmly at Xiahou Dun and spoke with composure, "I am Li Yan!"
Oh... Xiahou Dun smiled.
He sternly ordered, "Tie him up and escort him back to Hanzhong for His Majesty to decide his fate! Furthermore, guard all the Shu captives here on the spot!"
Xiahou Dun handed his long spear to the soldier holding his weapon, his heart filled with excitement...
Li Yan was the overall commander of the Shu army; capturing him would be a great merit.
However... "Hahahaha... Hahahaha!"
Li Yan laughed, "If I were you, I wouldn't capture me! Nor would I send me to Hanzhong?"
"Why?" Xiahou was startled.
Li Yan asked, "Does the Emperor of Great Wei wish to confront Chancellor Zhuge Liang of Shu?"
These words... were full of meaning.
Xiahou Dun scratched his head, unable to comprehend it for a moment. His son, Xiahou, quickly reminded him, "Father Commander, he means that if you release him, His Majesty's opponent will still be him. But if you capture him, Liu Da Er, will certainly ask Zhuge Liang to come out of retirement again."
Oh...
Understood.
Xiahou nodded, "So that's how it is!"
Li Yan, on the other hand, puffed up his chest arrogantly, seemingly confident that Xiahou Dun would release him.
Who would have thought, "His mouth is too foul, stuff his mouth with a foot-binding cloth."
"Ah!" Li Yan was stunned.
"Hahahahaha!" This time, it was Xiahou who laughed heartily, "Zhuge Kongming? I am precisely here to fight him!"
...
...
The sounds of hurried footsteps echoed from the Hanzhong yamen, startling the sparrows nesting on the branches. A man less than forty years old was being escorted in, bound.
His gaze was sharp, and even as a prisoner, he stood before Lu Yu with neither humility nor subservience, nor did he kneel.
"Fa Zheng, Fa Xiaozhi..." Lu Yu spoke, "I have long heard of you, long heard of you! Guards, quickly untie Fa Xiaozhi."
Lu Yu's "long heard of you" was not mere politeness.
Historically, Fa Zheng was truly someone to be admired.
If history had followed its original course, in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei would ascend to the throne as King of Hanzhong.
He would enfeoff Fa Zheng as Minister of Personnel and Central Protector of the Army... this was equivalent to the commander of the Central Army. His grand-scale battlefield command capabilities were considered the peak of that era, but he died young.
Fa Zheng was also the only minister of the Liu Bei era to be granted a posthumous title—Marquis Yi!
It was important to note that even Guan Yu did not receive this posthumous title.
Furthermore, Chen Shou, the author of "Records of the Three Kingdoms," compared Fa Zheng to Cao Cao's Cheng Yu and Guo Jia, which showed how formidable this person was.
Lu Yu thought of this...
A guard had already untied Fa Zheng.
Fa Zheng turned around, his hands clasped behind his back, not looking at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu smiled, "I have heard that Fa Xiaozhi is skilled in stratagem? This capture, it wasn't on the battlefield, but due to a mutiny by the soldiers at Jianmen Pass... I have a question, did you, Fa Xiaozhi, not foresee the mutiny at Jianmen Pass? If you could not prevent it, you should not have surrendered so readily, right?"
Fa Zheng was captured due to the rebellion at Jianmen Pass.
Of course, the origin of this matter lay with Yang Xiu...
It lay with Yang Xiu successfully instigating the defection of generals Zhang Da and Fan Qiang.
But as a military advisor, Fa Zheng? Lu Yu did not believe he knew nothing. In fact, when Yang Xiu executed his plan, Lu Yu had prepared a second plan, precisely to deal with the possibility of Fa Zheng seeing through the plan or even saving Zhang Fei.
However...
"I did not expect... that the ruler of Great Wei would be so young!" Fa Zheng still stood with his hands behind his back, sighing with emotion.
As the words left his mouth...
Fa Zheng shook his head helplessly. "Your Majesty asks me if I knew about the mutiny at Jianmen Pass? Heh heh... not only did I know, but from the moment Zhang Fei, despite repeated dissuasion, insisted on going to battle, I knew he wouldn't survive the night!"
For a moment, Fa Zheng's tone became sharp and cold, as if all his anger was being vented at that instant. "Heh heh, because of the cannons, the three armies were reluctant to fight, their morale had fallen to rock bottom. But Zhang Fei? He acted stubbornly, disregarding the soldiers' feelings, insisting on leaving the pass, insisting on a decisive battle. But to these soldiers... it was no different from seeking death? Someone had to die? If not the soldiers of the three armies, then Zhang Fei!"
Phew...
Fa Zheng's words made Lu Yu let out a long sigh.
It was fortunate that he did not intervene, or rather, that he did not succeed in preventing it.
"As for running, where could I have run?" Fa Zheng lamented helplessly. "I prided myself on my ability in troop deployment, attempting to challenge the armies of Great Wei, trying to use my skill in large-scale troop operations to compensate for the disadvantages in combat strength, weaponry, and talent. But what was the outcome? In the face of cannons, in the face of absolute combat power, all of this was futile, all in vain."
Fa Zheng's eyes became desolate.
They were filled with infinite sadness. He spread his hands, despair etched on his face. "Facing cannons, what else could I have done besides holding our ground? What use was my strategy?"
Phew...
Lu Yu sighed again. He continued to ask Fa Zheng, "Then what do you think? Would holding our ground necessarily guarantee success? Could it be that you believe the walls of Jianmen Pass could withstand the immense firepower?"
"No..." Fa Zheng shook his head. "They cannot stop it. No pass can stop this massive demolition. But... I understand Your Majesty. Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler. If the purpose of launching this war was to devastate the land and the people of Shu, then a full-scale attack on Shu could have been launched five years ago. Why then propose that so-called 'If we have gained Long, shall we seek Shu?' Behind every formidable pass are villages, people, and villagers. Your Majesty would not open fire. Your Majesty desires a prosperous Shu!"
Astonishment...
Shock.
For the first time, Lu Yu felt his thoughts being seen through so clearly by another person.
Fa Zheng was no ordinary man!
"Heh heh..."
Lu Yu smiled faintly. "Alright, since Xiaozhi has been captured by Us, and your true thoughts have been revealed, then let Us tell you a secret. A secret on how We will unite the realm while maintaining Shu's past prosperity and peace!"
Hmm...
Fa Zheng raised his eyes.
Lu Yu continued, "The battles in Jinniu Pass and Mi Cang Pass, the deterrence of the fire cannons, Our goal was merely to lure Zhuge Kongming out. We want him to come to the front lines. We can even give him a few victories, because..."
As he spoke, Lu Yu's voice lowered further.
But it was the subsequent words that made Fa Zheng's pupils dilate instantly. He was dumbfounded, gaping, staring blankly at Lu Yu.
So... all of this was a game.
A grand, all-encompassing game!
Indeed, the contest between Wei and Shu had been decided five years ago, no... since Guan Yu passed through five passes and slew six generals, the outcome had already been... sealed.
Was it not so?
Lu Yu's words became even more earnest. "On the beach, people saw a turtle being attacked by vultures. They saved the turtle. But who would have thought that people's kindness would lead to more severe consequences? The turtle returned to the sea, and the turtles in the sea believed there was no danger on shore, so they appeared on the beach one after another. And the vultures circling in the sky, because they let one turtle go, could now crazily hunt down all the turtles on the beach! Xiaozhi, tell me, did people's act of kindness help the turtle? Or did it help the vultures?"
Uh...
Lu Yu's words plunged Fa Zheng into contemplation.
Lu Yu returned him with a brilliant smile. "As long as Zhuge Kongming does not return to Chengdu, everything will be manageable!"
"Xiaozhi, please rest in Hanzhong for a while. How can the future Shu be without the governance of your Dongzhou faction?"
...
...
In Zizhou, within the yamen hall.
Liu Bei stared blankly at the few messengers before him.
He was dumbfounded, bewildered.
"Impossible! My third brother, my third brother, who could pluck a general's head from amidst ten thousand enemy troops as if plucking something from his pocket, how could he die? How could he have his head severed by a mere rat?"
"Impossible! Jianmen Pass is as solid as gold, one man guarding it can hold off ten thousand. How, how could it..."
Have fallen? Where is Fa Xiaozhi? Where is Fa Xiaozhi? My most trusted Fa Xiaozhi?"
Liu Bei cried out...
His voice grew louder and more urgent with each exclamation, like a raging tide about to collapse, a great mansion on the verge of ruin!
"Report..."
Just then, a scout reported, "Mi Cang Pass, Mi Cang Pass has fallen entirely! Generals Huang Quan and Wu Yi have been captured, General Yan Yan died fighting valiantly! Minister of Personnel and Central Protector of the Army, General Li Yan, is... whereabouts unknown."
This...
Boom... rumble!
At this moment, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck!
Perhaps... perhaps it truly was a raging tide about to collapse, a great mansion on the verge of ruin!
...
...