Three Kingdoms: Heir of Wolong, my father-in-law is Guan Gong

"General Zuo, you disappoint me."

Cao Rui's eyes were slightly cold.

Zhang He was appointed as the vanguard because he was the most experienced general under Cao Rui who was good at using troops.

however.

Zhang He's performance disappointed Cao Rui.

Before the main force arrived, Zhang He's vanguard camp was lost.

Before he even fought with Zhuge Qiao, he was already frustrated.

Even though Zhang He was the Left General and had made outstanding contributions, he could not be exempted from military law.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to take the blame."

Zhang He carried a bramble on his back and knelt on the ground to apologize despite the early spring chill.

In fact, Zhang He's response did not need to be so humble.

Although the vanguard camp was lost, Zhang He also successfully withdrew most of his troops.

As long as the lieutenant general who disobeyed orders and left the camp was punished according to law, Cao Rui would at most give Zhang He a symbolic punishment.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the person who disobeyed the order was Zhang He's only son Zhang Xiong.

The child does not teach, the father too.

Zhang He is over sixty years old and has only one son. How could he dare to let Zhang Xiong take the responsibility?
Therefore.

Zhang He took all the blame for the defeat and even confessed to Cao Rui that the commander-in-chief did not know how to use his men properly and should be punished by military law.

Seeing Zhang He's despair, Jiang Ji stepped out and advised, "Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common in war."

"Although General Zuo was defeated, he was not badly defeated. Your Majesty, please temporarily remember General Zuo's mistakes and let him atone for his sins with merits."

With Jiang Ji taking the lead, Sima Yi also stepped out to defend him, saying, "Your Majesty, Zhuge Qiao is good at using tricks, and it is not surprising that General Zuo fell into his trap."

"Morale is low now. If we blame the general again, it may discourage the soldiers."

"Your Majesty, please allow General Zuo to atone for his sins."

Generals Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and others also came out to persuade them.

Cao Rui didn't really want to kill Zhang He, but when he saw the generals pleading for mercy, he thought about forgiving Zhang He.

Just as Cao Rui was about to speak, Zhuge Ke suddenly spoke first: "Your Majesty, we know exactly why General Zuo is asking for forgiveness."

"If it was in the past, your majesty would have shown favor to the left general and absolved him of his guilt."

"But now, His Majesty has mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops, including many private troops of aristocratic families."

"If we can't make the military rules clear, how can we issue consistent orders?"

"Yuan Shao was defeated in the past because he had too many soldiers but they were not well organized. We must pay attention to this!"

"Therefore, I believe that General Zuo can be spared the death penalty, but he cannot be spared the punishment of living."

"They should punish him with caning to deter the three armies!"

The words fell.

All the generals were shocked.

Jiang Ji said angrily, "Zhuge Ke, General Zuo is old. If he is caned again, wouldn't that be asking for his life?"

Zhuge Ke said coldly: "The caning is for the soldiers to see. It will not be fatal if it causes some physical pain."

"If the son of General Zuo makes a mistake, General Zuo can take the blame for him, and all the generals in the army will surely follow suit."

"You have all seen Zhuge Qiao's ability to command troops. Just considering the dangerous situation of Zhang Xiong disobeying orders and leaving the camp, your response would not be more meticulous than that of General Zuo."

"But General Zuo still lost!"

"Even General Zuo was defeated. Can you guys handle it more carefully than General Zuo?"

"If we want to defeat Zhuge Qiao, we must take precautions before it happens. No one can disobey orders and send troops!"

"I, Zhuge Ke, always act in a public manner and never show favoritism."

"This move is not aimed at General Zuo, but for your majesty, for the victory of this decisive battle!"

Zhuge Ke's arguments were well-reasoned and his attitude was clear.

Even Jiang Ji, who was good at military strategy, was speechless for a moment.

Although Jiang Ji was worried that Zhang He would not be able to withstand the caning, Zhuge Ke's concerns were not unreasonable.

If military law is not enforced, the soldiers in the army, especially the private soldiers of the aristocratic families, will become complacent and think that they will not be in danger of their lives if they disobey military orders. Then this war cannot be fought!

Cao Rui suddenly felt embarrassed.

See this.

Zhang He pleaded again, "Your Majesty, I am willing to be caned to uphold military law!"

Jiang Ji wanted to say something but stopped himself, tilted his head and sighed.

Cao Rui closed his eyes and said: "Left General Zhang He lost his camp and was defeated. He should have been beheaded, but considering his past merits, it will be changed to caning."

"Zhuge Ke, you are responsible for supervising the execution!"

Zhang He knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

The left and right guards took Zhang He outside the general's tent, and Zhuge Ke read out the punishment for Zhang He in public.

He then moved closer to Zhang He and whispered, "General Zuo, you have to scold me, otherwise all this suffering will be in vain."

Zhang He looked at Zhuge Ke in astonishment, then suddenly realized what was happening and spat at him: "Zhuge Ke, you filthy little man, if you want to hit me, just hit me, don't pretend to be the cat crying rat in front of me."

"I made a mistake and I deserve to be punished! But I will never accept favors from a traitor like you."

"Listen carefully! If one of your staffs lacks strength, I will punish you!"

Zhang He's scowl and angry eyes frightened the two executioners so much that they could hardly hold the sticks in their hands.

The two executioners looked at Zhuge Ke and asked for his opinion.

Zhuge Ke also pretended to be angry at this moment: "Why are you looking at me?"

"Since General Zuo doesn't appreciate it, then we'll just fight as usual!"

"Okay, okay! You are a loyal subject, and I am a traitor!"

"I was blind to think of giving you fewer strokes."

The heavy stick fell on Zhang He's back, and the executioner, not daring to spare any strength, gritted his teeth and executed Zhang He.

soon.

Zhang He's back became a bloody mess.

In the handsome tent.

Jiang Ji rushed out in a hurry and shouted, "Zhuge Ke, are you going to kill General Zuo?"

Zhuge Ke glared and said, "Jiang Ji, please don't wrongly accuse me! This was General Zuo's own request. I gave you good advice but you still scolded me for eight generations."

"Since General Zuo wants to set an example and uphold military law, how can I let General Zuo's ambition go to waste?"

Zhuge Ke looked at the soldiers around him and shouted:

"All soldiers, listen up."

"Don't blame His Majesty for not reminding you: Military law is the most important in the army. Even if General Zuo made a mistake, he must be punished!"

"If you want to disobey military orders, then consider whether you can bear the punishment!"

Seeing Zhang He being beaten to a bloody pulp, the soldiers around him felt a chill in their hearts.

Even the Left General Zhang He could not escape punishment, let alone them?
"General Zuo has fainted!" the executioner suddenly shouted.

Jiang Ji glared at Zhuge Ke fiercely, and hurried forward to shout: "General Zuo's crime does not deserve death, so stop fighting!"

"Hurry up and ask the military doctor to treat General Zuo's injuries!"

The executioner did not listen to Jiang Ji, but just looked at Zhuge Ke.

Jiang Ji was even more angry: "Zhuge Ke, do you really want to kill General Zuo?"

As they were talking, Sima Yi came out of the commander's tent and said, "Your Majesty has ordered that the punishment of General Zuo be temporarily suspended and he be sent back to the camp to recuperate." "Your Majesty has ordered that military law does not allow for personal feelings. You all should take care of yourself!"

"It's all gone!"

With Cao Rui's order, the executioners stopped the caning and let Jiang Ji and others carry Zhang He away.

Sima Yi looked at Zhuge Ke coldly, suppressing his murderous intent in his tone: "Zhuge Ke, you won't be arrogant for too long."

"Don't think that you can use military law as a shield to help Zhuge Qiao get rid of his majesty's generals."

Zhuge Ke smiled and said, "Sima Yi, if there is no evidence, don't speculate. Is there any falsehood in what I said today?"

"Don't think that just because you made a promise to those noble families, their private soldiers will obey your majesty's orders."

"In the military, only military law can make those people obey."

"It just so happens that General Zuo is of noble status, so it is most appropriate for him to enforce military law."

"Everything I did was for your majesty and for the Great Wei."

"And you, I'm afraid, are just trying to protect the interests of the Sima family?"

"This is why you, as the minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, are not as trusted by His Majesty as I am."

"Sima Yi, your majesty is not a fool."

"Compared to external threats, your majesty is more concerned about internal troubles."

"If the emperor of Wei can only use eunuchs to check and balance ministers like Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling did, then what use are you, Sima Yi, to His Majesty?"

"Useless people are not worth living."

Sima Yi's expression changed drastically: "Zhuge Ke, watch your words!"

Zhuge Ke snorted, "You don't need to teach me how to use my words. Sima Yi, you should take care of yourself!"

When Zhuge Ke left, Sima Yi broke out in cold sweat on his back.

Zhuge Ke’s ridicule can be summed up in a nutshell: Sima Yi is forming a clique!

Although Sima Yi's purpose was to help Cao Rui defeat Zhuge Qiao, Sima Yi's behavior already constituted the suspicion of "forming a clique".

For any emperor, it is intolerable for his subjects to form factions!

Just as Zhuge Ke said: Compared with external threats, Cao Rui was more concerned about internal troubles.

If an emperor had to be checked and controlled by aristocratic families like Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, had to give power to eunuchs, and even had to recognize eunuchs as his father and mother, it would be a great shame and humiliation!
Cao Rui also inherited Cao Cao's ruthlessness of "I would rather let others down than be let down by others".

If Cao Rui really felt that Sima Yi posed a threat to the imperial power, he would have eliminated Sima Yi without hesitation.

"Zhuge Ke!"

Sima Yi clenched his fists.

In this battle, Sima Yi was completely defeated!

It’s not that Sima Yi is not as wise as Zhuge Ke, but that their status and goals are different.

Sima Yi is now a foreign minister, and he has to safeguard the interests of the Sima family and the aristocratic families related to the Sima family; Zhuge Ke is a close minister and a lone minister, and on the surface he only protects the interests of Cao Rui.

Therefore.

Even if Sima Yi saw through Zhuge Ke's conspiracy, he could do nothing to Zhuge Ke.

Everything Zhuge Ke does now is to protect Cao Rui's interests!
The news of Zhang He's punishment quickly spread throughout the three armies.

The private soldiers of the wealthy and powerful families, who had originally had some hope of survival, also began to behave themselves.

After reporting to Cao Rui, Zhuge Ke came to the outside of Zhang He's tent.

Seeing Zhuge Ke coming, Zhang Xiong drew his knife on the spot and stared at Zhuge Ke fiercely.

"If I were you, I would not draw my sword, but would respectfully invite me into the tent!" Zhuge Ke looked at Zhang Xiong with contempt.

A tiger father and a dog son are nothing to worry about!
Wang Ji and Xu Zhi quickly grabbed Zhang Xiong to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

"Zhuge Ke, what are you doing here?" Wang Ji tried hard to suppress his anger.

Zhuge Ke straightened his clothes and said, "Of course I came to visit General Zuo in accordance with the decree of your majesty. Do you think I would be so idle as to visit a warrior who angrily called me a traitor in public?"

Zhang Xiong became even angrier: "Zhuge Ke, I'm going to kill you!"

Zhuge Ke hooked his finger and said, "I'm standing here. I'll give you my neck. Do you dare to chop it off?"

Xu Zhi forcibly removed Zhang Xiong's sword and said, "Don't cause trouble for General Zuo! Zhuge Ke came here on the orders of His Majesty, how can we stop him?"

Zhang Xiong clenched his fists, his eyes filled with anger, yet helplessness.

Zhuge Ke spoke in a tone of an elder admonishing a younger one: "That's right. A general must be calm and composed, and remain calm even when Mount Tai collapses in front of him!"

"Learn more from General Zuo, and you will achieve something in the future."

After admonishing Zhang Xiong, Zhuge Ke lifted the door curtain and came into the tent.

"Left General, can you still bear the injury from the beating?" Zhuge Ke changed his tone to a gentle and polite one in front of Zhang He.

Zhang He looked at Zhuge Ke with a complicated expression: "Zhuge Ke, why do you want me to scold you in public?"

Zhuge Ke said calmly: "General Zuo, why do you still ask when you already know the answer? Your Majesty of the Great Wei has been deceived by treacherous ministers, and to humiliate the general is just the right strategy to use the self-torture trick."

Zhang He sneered: "Will Zhuge Qiao be fooled by such a small self-torture trick?"

Zhuge Ke shook his head: "Of course not, but if General Zuo gives Zhuge Qiao some more military merits, then Zhuge Qiao will follow suit even though he knows it is General Zuo's self-torture trick."

Zhang He frowned: "Zhuge Ke, what do you want to say?"

Zhuge Ke glanced outside the tent and lowered his voice: "General Zuo, do you know why His Majesty is so anxious to mobilize troops to march south?"

Zhang He thought without hesitation: "Zhuge Qiao has built a city at Baimajin. We are facing a threat. If we don't march south, won't we be shackled by the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Ke shook his head again: "General Zuo only knows one side of the story, not the other."

"Your Majesty's purpose of the southern expedition is, of course, to drive Zhuge Qiao back south of the Yellow River."

"However, your majesty's real purpose is to use Zhuge Qiao to get rid of the wealthy families in Hebei who are wantonly annexing land and population."

"Your Majesty, I don't want to be the second emperor of Wei, Huan and Ling!"

"Similarly, Zhuge Qiao also adopted tough measures to suppress the wealthy and powerful families south of the Yellow River."

"As long as General Zuo cooperates with Your Majesty, we can use Zhuge Qiao to get rid of those soldiers who come from wealthy families and are not on the same page with Your Majesty."

"General Zuo is the most meritorious official of the Wei Dynasty!"

"The so-called "torture strategy" is not used to paralyze Zhuge Qiao, but to paralyze the group of people Your Majesty wants to get rid of."

Zhang He was shocked: "Zhuge Ke, is this really the order from His Majesty?"

Zhuge Ke said: "If it succeeds, it will be the emperor's order; if it fails, it will be that I, a treacherous minister, am falsely conveying the emperor's order."

"General Zuo, you have to understand His Majesty's difficulties."

"There are many things that Your Majesty cannot say or do openly."

"I have always believed that General Zuo is different from Sima Yi. He will not forget the kindness that three generations of the Cao family have shown to General Zuo just for the sake of family interests."

"Whether you are willing or not, it all depends on General Zuo's decision."

"I won't recognize you once you leave this door."

Zhang He was silent.

Zhuge Ke's words contained too great a risk.

Everything can only be judged by Zhang He alone!

Cao Rui would not admit this openly.

Just as Zhuge Ke said, if the plan succeeded, it was because of Cao Rui's oral order; if the plan failed, it was because Zhuge Ke falsely conveyed the imperial decree.

a long time.

Zhang He's eyes were more resolute: "After the matter is accomplished, I hope Your Majesty will allow Zhang Xiong to return to Hejian and no longer serve as a general in the army."

At this moment, Zhang He's idea was exactly the same as Zhang Liao's. Neither of them wanted his sons to join the army as generals.

As long as he doesn't fight or compete, Zhang He's contributions will be enough for Zhang Xiong to enjoy his life.

Zhuge Ke still smiled: "Your Majesty will agree." (End of this chapter)