dognovel Chapter 790 The Final Battle
Chapter 790 The Final Battle
With a heavy heart, Liu Bei led his men on a leisurely stroll through the city, constantly searching for familiar places and hoping to chat with old acquaintances. Unfortunately, they couldn't find many familiar faces even after searching the entire county. It was truly a case of things changing and people being no longer the same.
Afterwards, Liu Bei went outside the city and even returned to Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage. He spent three whole days there before returning to Xinye County, where he adjusted his mood and threw himself back into his work.
The Wei army continued to retreat, and the Han army continued to pursue. After more than half a month of pursuit, the army finally arrived outside Wancheng.
At this moment, the Wei army had completed its assembly, and there were Wei army tents everywhere outside the city, stretching for dozens of miles, seemingly endless.
The Han army and the Wei army set up camp ten miles apart, and their camps stretched for dozens of miles without end.
After setting up camp, Liu Bei summoned his generals for a meeting. In the command tent, generals of three generations, old, middle-aged and young, gathered together. Liu Bei, fully armed in armor, gave a few brief opening remarks and then said, "Prime Minister, tell me about the current situation."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "In terms of troop strength, apart from the 8,000 Wei troops defending Shen Yi at Duyang, the rest have all retreated to Wancheng to assemble, with a troop strength of over 400,000, while our army only has 280,000."
"In terms of terrain, Wancheng is bordered by the Nie River to the west and the Yu River to the east. The Nie River and the Yu River flow from north to south and converge at Xinye. In other words, the two rivers form a triangle at Xinye, and we are located right in the middle of the triangle. We are in a situation where we have no choice but to fight with our backs to the river and can only move forward, not backward."
"As for morale, our army has won one battle after another and is in high spirits. However, the Wei army has been affected by the fall of four passes and its morale has declined somewhat. But this decline is easy to reverse. As long as Cao Ren burns the grain and supplies and goes all out, it is very likely that the disadvantage of declining morale can be turned into an advantage."
The Han army was caught between the Nie River and the Yu River, fighting a desperate battle with their backs to the river. The Wei army burned their supplies and sank their boats in a desperate act. It was truly a clash of titans, destined to be a fierce and bloody battle.
Liu Bei frowned and asked, "Is there a way to break this?"
Zhuge Liang said, "The best way is naturally to delay. Our supply lines are secure, and we can delay for a year without any problem. However, the Wei army's supply lines have been cut off by Shen Yi. Although the grain and fodder piled up in Wancheng can last for half a year, their morale cannot be maintained for that long. The longer we delay, the lower the morale of the Wei army will be. If we delay for half a year, the Wei army will collapse without a fight."
"However, Cao Ren must understand this as well, and he won't allow us to drag this out. So let's set up our defenses as soon as possible and wait for the Wei army to launch an attack."
Now, the balance of power has shifted, and it is the Wei army that cannot afford to drag things out. Given this, Cao Ren, with his fierce nature, would absolutely not allow himself to hide in Wancheng and wait to die.
After pondering for a long time, Liu Bei said, "Then let's do as the Prime Minister wishes. This time, just like last time at Baliwan in Tianshui County, you will still be in command. As for me..."
Liu Bei slammed his double-edged sword on the table and said firmly, "From now on, I am just a lowly soldier under the Prime Minister's command. When a crisis truly arises, I will personally take up my double-edged sword and go to the front lines."
"Everyone, go and prepare yourselves. This time, it will be either me or Cao Pi who dies. Even if I die on the battlefield, I will never retreat a single step."
"Yes..." The generals sensed Liu Bei's determination and, without offering any advice, clasped their hands in acceptance of the order, their tone more resolute than ever before.
Even Liu Bei is prepared to fight to the death, so what do they have to fear?
The Han generals returned to their camp and began to actively deploy defenses according to Zhuge Liang's plan.
The Han army's movements were quickly discovered by Wei scouts, who promptly reported them to Cao Ren.
Cao Ren rushed back to the city to report to Cao Pi, who said, "It seems that the Han army has realized that we cannot afford to drag this out and has decided to wear us down. In other words, we have no choice but to take the initiative to attack in this battle."
When two armies line up in battle formation and fight, the one that attacks first always suffers a loss.
Cao Ren said, "Yes, that despicable traitor has spread the news of the fall of the four passes, causing panic among the soldiers. We only have this one chance to turn the tide and turn the tide. If we don't seize it, we will have no chance at all later."
Cao Pi nodded and said, "In that case, let's do as Zixiaoshu wishes. I should also move out of the city and stay with the soldiers."
Cao Pi donned armor and followed Cao Ren out of the city to personally inspect the various camps. After two days of consolidation and handling all matters properly, he decided to launch a general offensive.
That evening, Cao Pi ordered his army to cook at midnight and eat at dawn. After the meal, he summoned all the generals to the granary, held up torches and shouted, "Soldiers, I believe you have heard that the Guangcheng Valley has been captured, and we have no way out."
"Since there is no way to retreat, then we will not retreat. We will bravely advance, defeat Liu Bei, step over Liu Bei's corpse to kill our way to Jiangling, live in Liu Bei's house and eat Liu Bei's food."
These words were inspiring, and the generals knew this was the final pre-battle pep talk, so they all shouted loudly, "Good...good...good..."
Cao Pi continued, "In the past, Xiang Yu burned the grain and destroyed the boats, defeating the main force of the Qin army of 400,000 with only 50,000 troops. Now we have 400,000 troops, while Liu Bei only has less than 300,000. Our strength far surpasses that big-eared thief, there is no reason for us to lose to him, don't you agree?"
The generals echoed in unison once again. Cao Pi casually tossed a torch into the pile of grain that had been doused with hot oil, and with a whoosh, the mountain of grain instantly burst into flames.
Cao Pi did not leave, but instead stood with his back to the fire and roared again: "Go back and tell your soldiers that we have no food. If you don't want to go hungry, defeat Liu Bei and eat Liu Bei's grain. Move out!"
The moment the word "action" left his lips, Cao Pi raised his arms and slashed down fiercely with his palms like knives. His fearless aura, coupled with the towering flames behind him, made him look just like an ancient fire god emerging from a sea of fire.
This scene was like the descent of the God of Fire to the soldiers, stirring their hearts and making them eager to follow Cao Pi into the Han army's ranks and, like Zhao Yun in the past, charge in and out seven times.
The generals returned to their respective camps and informed their soldiers of the news. The soldiers, seeing the towering flames, knew they had to fight to the death.
Soon Cao Ren boarded the chariot, gripped his sword and seized the chariot shaft, and ordered his army to charge towards the Han army with fearless momentum.
The Wei army had too much food and the flames they set off were so large that the Han army, which was ten miles away, could see them clearly.
Liu Bei climbed the arrow tower and looked at the firelight over Wancheng. He said in a cold tone, "I didn't expect Cao Ren to be so impatient. Since that's the case, let's fight. Let's prove to the world through this battle that I, Liu Xuande, am the true master of the world."
Tactically speaking, what Liu Bei should do at this moment is to retreat. The Wei army's morale is at its peak, and it would be unwise to engage them head-on. On the contrary, if he retreats and delays for a day or two, the Wei army's morale will surely collapse. At that time, if he leads his army to attack again, he will surely be able to defeat the Wei army in one fell swoop.
Strategically, however, he could not retreat; he had to confront them head-on and crush them on the spot when their morale was at its peak.
Only by defeating the Wei army when it is at its strongest can we truly intimidate the people and silence all those ambitious monsters and demons. On the contrary, if we retreat, we will be branded as Liu Paopao in the hearts of the people. Even if we eventually defeat the Wei army, the people will not submit to us because we won by trickery, not by real ability.
Why was Emperor Wu of Han so prestigious? Why could he instantly quell the pent-up public resentment with just one edict of self-reproach? It was because he broke the backbone of the Xiongnu when they were at their strongest.
The same applies now; only by defeating the Wei army when it is at its strongest can the world truly submit to our will.
Just as Guan Xing said, if Liu Bei wanted to become a true emperor, he had to fight a hard-fought battle comparable to the Battle of Changping, one that was deeply tied to his own destiny and worthy of being recorded in history. Only in this way would the people of the world truly submit to him.
Therefore, Liu Bei had no intention of retreating. Besides, it wasn't something he could just do whenever he wanted. Don't forget that the Wei army had far more cavalry than the Han army. Even if he wanted to retreat, he couldn't outrun the Wei army.
In conclusion, Liu Bei decided to confront Cao Pi head-on.