The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 227 After finishing the last meal, I'm done with life.

Zhang He dared not linger there and led his army and the remnants of Xiahou Ba's troops in a swift retreat.

It is worth mentioning that the 5,000 troops that Xiahou Ba brought back from Jieting were utterly defeated by Wang Ping and Zhao Yun, and less than half of them escaped with Xiahou Ba.

Zhang He led his army to retreat five miles, ordering Xiahou Ba to defend the area, while he himself rushed to the Xianhe Valley to discuss matters with Sima Yi.

To be honest, five li is a bit short. Wang Ping may have arrived before we could even set up our positions.

But there was no other way. Baliwan was only so big. If they retreated any further, they would be right next to Sima Yi. What was the point of resisting then? They might as well just surrender.

On his way to the Trapped River Valley, Zhang He was filled with anxiety and on the verge of tears. He had fought all his life and had never been so completely surrounded by the enemy. He was afraid that this time he might really be doomed.

Thinking of the heavy trust the King of Wei had entrusted to him before the expedition, the consequences of the annihilation of 50,000 elite troops, and the unknown whereabouts of his eldest son, Zhang He couldn't help but curse those bastards in Chang'an in his heart.

Damn you, Zhang Jisu, what are you two old bastards doing? How could you let Zhang Fei cross the Guanzhong Plain and block my retreat? You two are fully responsible for this defeat.

Zhang He once again experienced the devastating impact of having a terrible teammate, leaving him truly speechless with despair.

Xiahou Ba's ambush point was only ten miles away from Sima Yi, and they arrived in no time. Sima Yi received the news and rushed over to greet him. When he saw Zhang He's miserable state, his heart sank, and he asked anxiously, "Has something happened?"

Zhang He gave a brief explanation, and Sima Yi was stunned for a long time after hearing it. He stamped his foot in regret and said, "Zhao Yun actually rushed to Jieting to meet Zhang Fei. Damn it, how could I not have thought of that?"

He only thought about having the garrison at Jieting block Zhang Fei while he focused on dealing with the main force of the Shu army, but he forgot that while Zhang Fei couldn't get through, Zhuge Liang could.

Moreover, the garrison at Jieting knew that they were facing off against the main force of the Shu army right behind them, so they would definitely not be on guard behind them. Under these circumstances, Zhao Yun did not need to bring too many soldiers. Just two or three hundred men were enough to turn the tide of the battle at Jieting and bring Zhang Fei into Longxi.

Damn it, I made a mistake.

Sima Yi was filled with regret, but Zhang He had already accepted reality and quickly said, "There's no use dwelling on this now. How's the situation on your end?"

Sima Yi pulled him to the front of the battle line and pointed to the large camp that the Shu army had already built, saying, "The Shu army has built their camp like a tortoise shell. If we take the initiative to attack, we will suffer heavy casualties."

"However, our cavalry are patrolling around the Shu army camp. The Shu army is all infantry and cannot pursue them, nor dare to leave the camp. In other words, the Shu army cannot obtain any supplies from the Shehu Valley camp. As soon as the supply team appears, it will be intercepted by our army."

Zhang He instantly grasped the key point and said with delight, as if he had seen a lifeline, "Zhang Fei's side won't have much food, but we have nearly two months' worth of food. That means we can continue to hold out against the Shu army at Baliwan?"

The Shu army could stay in their main camp and not come out, but their supply convoys had to be mobile. As soon as they moved, they could be intercepted by the Wei cavalry. The cavalry was too mobile, and guarding the outer perimeter of the Shu army's main camp would prevent the Shu army from transporting even a single grain of food in, leaving them to sit and wait until their reserves ran out.

Sima Yi, however, said pessimistically, "Not necessarily. Zhuge Liang probably carried just as much grain as we do. The fact that the Shu army's grain transport teams haven't appeared in the past few days is enough to prove this. Moreover, after crossing the Wei River, Zhuge Liang only travels less than ten li a day. Such a slow pace is enough to prove that he carried the grain with him. It's unrealistic to think that we can wear down the Shu army by relying on grain."

Zhang He laughed and said, "That's alright. We have enough supplies to sustain us for another two months. Two months should be enough time for Zhang Jisu to open up the Longshan Road and come to our rescue, right?"

Zhang Fei has already entered the Longshan Road, so he doesn't believe that those two old bastards, Zhang Ji and Su Ze, can still stay in Chang'an.

Let alone those two, if Cao Cao knew, he would probably have marched all the way from Luoyang to Guanzhong.

Sima Yi shook his head and said, "It's not that optimistic. First of all, Zhang Fei and Huang Quan have brought 20,000 troops. Even if only half of them are left to guard Jieting, they can still block the reinforcements in the Longshan Road."

"Secondly, our morale is already very low. The longer we drag this out, the lower our morale will become. Do you believe that within ten days there will be deserters in the army? The terrain of Baliwan is complicated. If deserters hide in the ditch, you won't be able to find them."

"Moreover, Liu Bei is known for his benevolence and righteousness. If our soldiers flee to his side, they can at least get a meal. Therefore, we must take advantage of the high morale and fight the Shu army quickly to deliver a fatal blow to them, and then wait for the King to come and clean up the mess."

Zhang He's teeth ached from listening to this. Morale was indeed a problem. In addition, Liu Bei had such a good reputation that the Wei army didn't have much hatred or resistance towards him, making it easy for them to surrender.

Zhang He was already in a terrible state, but Sima Yi, showing no sympathy, continued to stab him in the back: "There's another point. Do you think Xiahou Ba can hold off Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun for a few days? If we don't fight now, and Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun defeat Xiahou Ba and come over, and Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang then press on, we'll only be left to be slaughtered."

"And then there's Ma Chao. I heard Liu Bei has already sent Ma Chao to Jincheng, just like you said, to delay for a month or two, until Ma Chao leads his Xiliang cavalry to attack..."

"Stop talking..." Zhang He didn't dare to think any further and immediately interrupted, "Just tell me what to do, and I'll listen to you."

Sima Yi stared fiercely at the Shu army camp and said, "Immediately cook a meal and let the soldiers have a good meal. Then burn all the grain and fodder. As soon as the sun sets, we will send the whole army to fight the Shu army to the death."

Zhang He's expression changed slightly, and he said with a pained expression, "Isn't it too wasteful to burn the grain? After all, it's grain."

A ruthless glint flashed in Sima Yi's eyes, and he said in a cold tone, "It's better than feeding the enemy. If we lose this battle, the grain and fodder will become weapons for the Shu army to attack us if we don't burn them. But if we are lucky enough to win, we can eat the enemy's food and eat the Shu army's food. Moreover, burning the grain and fodder has another benefit: it can tell the soldiers that we have no way out. If we want to live and eat, the only way is to defeat the Shu army."

Zhang He, still feeling the pinch, said, "I understand the principle of burning my bridges; I'll go prepare now."

Smoke soon rose from the Wei army camp. As the smoke rose, Sima Yi ordered the cavalrymen who were patrolling near the Shu army camp to be recalled and have their last supper with the infantry. Even the warhorses were fed fine bean fodder.

The entire Wei army was prepared to give up after this meal.

Meanwhile, at the Han army camp.

Zhuge Liang sensed danger as he watched the smoke rising from the mountains. Just as he was about to go to Liu Bei to discuss the matter, a messenger rushed over and bowed, saying, "Strategist, General Zhao Yun has returned."

Zhuge Liang was overjoyed and quickly said, "Quickly send General Zhao to see me, or rather, directly to see the King. I will go too."

After saying this, he hurried to Liu Bei's command tent, but instead of going in, he stood outside the tent and waited. Liu Bei, who had received the message, also came out of the command tent and waited with him.

Before long, Zhao Yun arrived. Liu Bei stepped forward, grabbed Zhao Yun's hand as he was about to bow, and asked impatiently, "Did it go smoothly?"

Zhao Yun nodded and briefly recounted the events of the raid on Jieting to meet Zhang Fei, saying, "After meeting up with General Wang Ping and defeating the pincer attack by Zhang He and Xiahou Ba, I handed the cavalry over to Wang Ping and returned to report to Your Majesty and the strategist. Judging by the time, the Third General should have already met up with Wang Ping by now. What should we do next? Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty and the strategist."

Liu Bei exclaimed in amazement, "Wang Ping was able to hold off Zhang He and Xiahou Ba for a whole day and night, that's incredible!"

"Furthermore, it's unusual for Wei Jun to be cooking at this time. They're probably planning to eat their last meal before fighting us to the death. Strategist, what should we do now?"

Zhuge Liang pondered, "The time for the decisive battle has come. Let's cook immediately, eat, and prepare for the final battle with the Wei army."

"Zilong, stop eating and eat some dry rations to continue your journey. Quickly return to Dawanchuan and join Yide in launching a fierce attack on the Wei army's positions. There's no need to hold back during the decisive battle; fight them to the death."

"Yes..." Zhao Yun bowed and took his leave.