Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 700 Failure at the beginning
Zhang He was shot in the knee, and the Wei cavalry was ambushed and fled. Shi Ran and Meng Yan led their troops to chase them.

Because Zhang He was shot by an arrow, the morale of Cao Wei's infantry was shaken. The Han army took advantage of the victory to attack them and defeated their infantry again.

The Wei army's infantry and cavalry fled along the way they had come, and the Han army pursued them for more than ten miles until dark before they withdrew their troops and returned to the camp.

After daybreak, Shi Ran sent scouts to inform Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang respectively, and led his troops down the Ying River, intending to attack the Wei army again.

However, Han Kan and Zhang Xiong heard the news that Zhang He was ambushed and defeated. Not knowing the strength of Shi Ran's troops, they gathered Zhang He's defeated troops and retreated to Luyang.

Shi Ran led his troops to the city of Luyang, but found that the city was strong and difficult to break. In addition, they had little food on hand, so they had no choice but to return to Muzhaling and ask Zhuge Liang for the next step.

At this time, Zhang He was seriously ill due to an arrow shot in the knee and the cold weather and the long journey.

Luyang City, county seat.

The hall was filled with a strong smell of herbs. Zhang He was lying on the bed with a flushed face and a hot forehead.

Even though Zhang He was covered with a thick quilt, he could still feel waves of cold. His body was trembling slightly due to the fever, and his teeth could not help but chatter.

Zhang He's son Zhang Xiong sat beside the couch, holding a cup of cold herbal soup. Seeing that Zhang He's condition was so serious, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Hearing his son crying, Zhang He tried hard to open his eyes, his eyes a little blurry.

"Father!"

Seeing Zhang He open his eyes, Zhang Xiong shouted happily: "Son, can you make another bowl of soup for me?"

Zhang He shook his head gently and said, "My father was shot in the knee by an arrow and caught a cold. He is now terminally ill and there is no medicine to cure him."

Zhang Xiong said anxiously, "Now there is a prescription from the doctor, why do you say there is no cure?"

Zhang He pointed to his knee bandaged with herbs and said with difficulty: "The arrow has penetrated into his tendons and bones, and the cold has invaded his body. His life is at stake. As a father, you know it."

"Can I take father to Luoyang?" Zhang Xiong said with tears in his eyes.

"Listen to your father!"

Zhang He interrupted his son's nonsense with a heavy tone, saying, "Your father has served three emperors. Now I wanted to follow the order of Your Majesty to conquer Zhao Yun and make achievements. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang knew that your father would take a shortcut. His wisdom is like a demon, and it is hard to guard against. Your father has not succeeded in his expedition and will die soon. I have an important matter to entrust to you!"

"Please explain clearly, father?" Zhang Xiong said, wiping his tears and choking.

Zhang He opened his dry lips and said, "The Wei Dynasty is in trouble now. Xiong'er should lead his soldiers to surrender to the Han Dynasty to extend the wealth and honor of the Zhang family in Hejian. It is not appropriate to go to the disaster with the Wei Dynasty."

"what?"

Hearing Zhang He's words, Zhang Xiong's thoughts exploded.

He didn't expect that his father, who had served Cao Wei for more than 20 years, would persuade him to surrender to the Han Dynasty!
Zhang Xiong couldn't believe it, and said carefully: "Father, since you said that you were deeply in the grace of Wei and served three emperors, why did you let me surrender to the enemy?"

Zhang He panted and said, "The world is in turmoil, with endless disputes. My father was originally a general of the Han Dynasty. He was employed by Yuan Shao because he ruled Hebei. After Yuan Shao, my father believed that Emperor Wu had the ability to rule the world, so he led his troops to surrender to him on the battlefield. However, Emperor Wu was defeated at Jinkou and Hanzhong, and there was no hope for him to unify the world."

"Liu Bei revived the Han Dynasty from Wu and Chu, and divided the world with Wei. Huo Jun had great ambitions and led his army north to attack the Central Plains. Looking at the current situation, the rise of Han and the decline of Wei are inevitable. My father was deeply grateful to Wei, and he died for his country, which was enough to repay Cao. Now my son should seek the orthodoxy to protect the Zhang family in Hejian."

As the war progressed to this point, how could Zhang He, a famous general of Cao Wei, not know the current trend? When Sun Quan was defeated and fled to Qing and Qi, it was only a matter of time before Southern Han took over Qing and Qi.

After Qingqi fell, with Huo Jun's troops advancing into Mount Tai and Zhao Yun attacking Luoyang, and Zhang He being ambushed and defeated, it was hard for Zhang He to imagine how the situation in Henan would deteriorate.

The only way to resolve Cao Wei's current predicament is for Huo Jun to withdraw his troops, for Sima Yi to defeat Zhuge Liang, or for Cao Zhen to repel Lu Xun.

But judging from the current situation, Sima Yi was being suppressed by Zhuge Liang, and it was a blessing that Wang Ling could confront Huo Jun. The situation in Guanxi tended to deteriorate.

Not only that, Ke Bi was able to lead tens of thousands of cavalry to plunder Hebei, and the situation of Cao Wei being surrounded by wars made Zhang He feel desperate. He could no longer see hope for Wei. And from his military perspective, Han would unify the world sooner or later.

Since the Han Dynasty was able to unify the world, how could the Zhang family perish along with the Cao family?
It is enough for the Zhang family to have him loyal to the country!

His son should jump onto another boat as soon as possible before the boat capsized, so that the Zhang family of Hejian would not be affected by the fall of Cao Wei.

"Do you understand, Xiong'er?" Zhang He asked.

Zhang Xiong held Zhang He's hand, nodded repeatedly, and said with a sob: "Son, I will remember your words!"

Zhang Xiong then added, "In your opinion, when can I surrender to the Han?"

Zhang He used all his strength and said in a deep voice: "When the Han army surrounds Luyang City, Xiong'er can surrender the city and then obey the orders of the Han army. Don't have any other thoughts."

Listening to Zhang He's instructions, Zhang Xiong's eyes became moist and he held Zhang He's hand tightly.

"I will follow my father's teachings!"

As the sky outside the window gradually darkened, the breathing sounds in the room became shallower. Amid Zhang Xiong's exclamations, Zhang He took a few quick breaths and died directly on the bed!

Not to mention that Zhang He instructed his son to surrender to Han before his death. When the Wei king and his ministers in Luoyang heard the news of Zhang He's death, they all lamented.

In the court, Cao Rui looked sad and sighed, "The pirates are not yet pacified, and the generals have been killed or injured on the way. What can we do now?" While speaking, Cao Rui asked everyone, "Who can replace the former general?"

Chen Qun looked depressed, and said quietly: "Zhang He is indeed a famous general, but now he has failed in his campaign and the country has no one to rely on!"

Chen Qun was already worried about the worsening situation, and when Zhang He was ambushed and killed on the road, it became even more difficult for Chen Qun to conceal his anxiety.

Cao Wei is not the Northern Wei or Former Yan in history. One of these two dynasties came from the grassland and the other from Liaodong. If they failed in their struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains, they could just run back to their hometown. After all, the Northern Wei and Former Yan were not deeply sinicized at that time and still retained the customs of the Xianbei people.

If Cao Wei failed in their fight for hegemony over the Central Plains, they would be destined to accept the rule of Southern Han because their roots were in the Central Plains.

There are people in Wei who are depressed, but naturally there are also those who strive for self-improvement!
Xin Pi stood up from his seat and said loudly, "Chen Sikong, why do you say that?"

"At the end of the Jian'an period, the world could not do without Emperor Wu for a single day. When Emperor Wu passed away, the late emperor took over. When the late emperor passed away, the scholars were terrified and said that the late emperor could not be done without. However, our Great Wei still has the land of China, so how can a mere Zhang He be the support of our Great Wei?" Xin Pi said.

Chen Qun knew that he had said something wrong, so he forced a smile and said, "Mr. Xin is right. I have lost my manners!"

Cao Rui boosted the morale and said, "Although General Zhang is dead, it does not affect the overall situation. General Xu is stationed at Yique Pass, so Zhao Yun has no choice but to lead his troops to retreat. Luyang has soldiers defending it, so the enemy can only harass the border towns."

After a pause, Cao Rui ordered, "Now that General Zhang died for his country, our dynasty should posthumously honor him and treat General Zhang's descendants well."

"promise!"

"Your Majesty is benevolent!" everyone responded.

Chen Qun thought about the many letters he had exchanged with his pen pal Zhuge Liang and sighed secretly. He hoped that one day he would meet Zhuge Liang offline.

At the same time, when the news of Zhang He's death reached the Jingwan front, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi reacted differently.

In the big tent, Zhuge Liang was overjoyed when he heard the news from Shi Ran.

Zhuge Liang paced back and forth, smiling, and said to the crowd, "Liang ordered Yifeng to hunt in Funiu Mountain, and he finally hunted down the great general Zhang He for the country. Now Zhang He has been shot and killed, and one of the Wei people's arms has been cut off, which is a happy event for our country!"

"The Prime Minister is resourceful. He shocked Luoyang in the north and hunted Zhang He in the east. I admire you very much!" Ma Su praised.

"The Grand Marshal wanted to kill Zhang He for a long time, but unexpectedly he was captured by the Prime Minister. If the Grand Marshal heard the news, he would be very happy." Ma Liang said with a smile.

"The Prime Minister is wise!"

Listening to the praise from the crowd, Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, saying: "Now hunting down Zhang He is only a small achievement. If we can advance to Yingchuan, it will be a great achievement."

Ma Liang couldn't keep up with Zhuge Liang's thoughts and asked, "What does the Prime Minister mean?"

Zhuge Liang's eyes stayed on the map, and he said, "Liang wants General Zilong to turn east and join forces with Yifeng's troops. While Xu and Luo are empty, he will lead his troops to plunder the cities and disrupt Sima Yi's food supply, making Sima Yi restless day and night."

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang waved his fan at the map and said, "If we can disrupt Xu and Luo, Sima Yi will have only two options to quell the rebellion. Either divide the troops and go back to suppress them, or withdraw the troops to Yingchuan."

"If we divide our forces and go back to suppress the rebellion, Zhang He will be ambushed and killed, and General Zilong will be able to resist. If Sima Yi withdraws his troops to Yingchuan to quell the rebellion, our army can advance along the Xia Road and push the Wei army to Yingchuan. Once our army reaches Yingchuan, the capital will be in sight."

The present is different from the past. The Jingwan area is vast, which is very convenient for Zhuge Liang to implement strategies, such as sending special troops to harass Sima Yi's grain route and Yingchuan, an important place for military farming. However, due to the Yu River, the Han Dynasty can use the canal to transport military grain, which makes it difficult for Sima Yi to rob.

The only thing we can say is that when Zhuge Liang led his troops to Yingchuan, due to the lack of water transport via the Yu River, he had to recruit farmers to transport grain, which would make it easier for Sima Yi to rob the grain.

"color!"

Ma Liang cupped his hands and sighed, saying, "First, General Zhao was ordered to scare the capital and force Sima Yi to go to war. He was able to predict that Zhang He would take a small road, so he ambushed and killed Zhang He on both sides of the road. I thought the Prime Minister's plan was limited to this, but I didn't expect that the Prime Minister knew the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and sent troops to plunder the cities in the hinterland. The Prime Minister's far-sightedness is beyond my comprehension, and Sima Yi is far from being the Prime Minister's opponent."

"hehe!"

Zhuge Liang said modestly: "The future is not yet completed, how can we underestimate it!"

"promise!"

Compared with Zhuge Liang's foresight and the sadness of Cao Wei's monarchs and ministers, Sima Yi felt mixed emotions of sadness and joy when he learned of Zhang He's death in battle.

The reason for his joy was that Zhang He was ambushed and killed, and Sima Yi was happy that he had one less opponent. The sad thing was that Sima Yi was sad because even though Zhang He had fought on the battlefield for many years, he was ambushed and killed.

Seeing his father's uncertain expression, Sima Zhao asked tentatively: "Father, is there something wrong with General Zhang?"

Sima Yi looked calm and said, "General Zhang took a small road to attack Zhao Yun. Unexpectedly, the Han army was prepared and ambushed Zhang He on both sides of the road. Now he was shot and killed. His troops fled to Luyang."

Sima Zhao was shocked for a moment, then laughed and said, "Zhang He died in battle. From now on, no one can restrain my father. This is a great joy!"

"No nonsense!"

Sima Yi glared at Sima Zhao and said, "General Zhang was a famous general for the country. Now that he has died for the country, no one will help my father to fight the enemy!"

ps: There will be another chapter tonight

(End of this chapter)