amaotonovel Chapter 195 The Adventure Plan Begins
Chapter 195 The Adventure Plan Begins
Risk and return are directly proportional; the greater the risk, the greater the potential return.
Humans are also born with an adventurous spirit; they are willing to do anything as long as the benefits are there.
The temptation to annihilate Zhang He's 50,000-strong army was too great, so much so that most of the people present, including Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, were only concerned with the gains and forgot about the hidden risks and the impact of Liu Bei's death on the Shu Han state.
Fortunately, Huang Quan remained clear-headed and managed to exclude Liu Bei from his plans.
Upon his reminder, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and the others instantly realized the danger of Liu Bei's involvement in the war. Zhao Yun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Huang Zhizhong is right. We can all die, but you cannot be harmed."
With Liu Bei dead, Liu Shan is no longer capable of leading the country, and Liu Feng is still alive. If another power struggle were to occur, it would be a laughing stock for Cao Wei.
Thinking of the consequences, Liu Bei shuddered and began to have second thoughts, but he couldn't show it.
Liu Bei feigned displeasure and said, "What kind of talk is this? Am I a coward? Besides, is it reasonable for me to let my soldiers risk their lives at the front while I hide in the rear?"
Zhang Fei chimed in, "Brother, that's not right. No one said you're afraid of death, but you have to die with value. Dying on the battlefield would be a bad deal for you. You are the banner of the Han Dynasty if you live, but you will only become a laughing stock of Cao Wei if you die. So leave the matter of dying to us, and you should go back to Hanzhong."
Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Wei Yan, and others all came from humble backgrounds. Those who came from humble backgrounds and managed to rise to their positions were not afraid of death.
It's no exaggeration to say that these guys are all desperate criminals, ruthless to their enemies and even more ruthless to themselves, never hesitating to trade their lives for others.
Liu Bei hesitated and said, "This..."
Seeing that he was still unable to make up his mind, Zhang Fei continued, "Brother, can you think of me even if you don't think of yourself? If my second brother knew that we two brothers died in battle together, he would come all the way from Jiangdong to dig up my grave."
Imagine Guan Yu fighting a major battle against the Wei army in Jiangdong, and suddenly receiving the devastating news that Liu Bei had been killed or captured. How would he feel?
"I'm fighting to the death for my country on the front lines, and when I turn around, I realize my loyal subject is gone, all because of you idiots." Guan Yu would definitely break down on the spot.
That's really unfair to your teammates.
Zhao Yun continued, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the story of Prince Shen of Wei during the Warring States period? When Wei and Qi were at war, Prince Shen accompanied General Pang Juan on the expedition. On the way, Prince Shen asked his advisors how to win. Do you remember how his advisors replied to Prince Shen?"
"The advisors said the best way to win was for you to turn back and go home now, and let Pang Juan fight. You are the crown prince. If you win, you can't advance any further and you will still be the crown prince. If you lose, you will have to take the blame for Pang Juan, which is not worth it. As a result, Crown Prince Shen did not listen and then died in battle at Maling."
"After Crown Prince Shen died, the new crown princes of Wei were not as good as Crown Prince Shen, which led to the decline of Wei's national strength and its eventual destruction by Qin."
"Your Majesty, you are the only hope to restore the Han Dynasty. The future of the Han Dynasty rests on your shoulders. You must not take any risks."
Huang Quan added, "General Zilong is right. Besides, we also need to send messengers to contact the strategist. You can act as a messenger to Longxi to meet the strategist, and then lead the strategist's army to join us in attacking Zhang He. It's the same thing."
Zhang Fei said, "That's right, that's right. You know our plan. Leading the strategist's army to cooperate with us in attacking Zhang He is the same thing."
After saying this, he knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Please, Your Majesty, return to Hanzhong and proceed to Longxi."
Upon seeing this, the others knelt down and bowed, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, retreat to Hanzhong and proceed to Longxi."
They've given us a good way out; there's no need to insist anymore.
Liu Bei bent down to help everyone up and said, "As you all have said, I will go to Longxi to be your messenger. Get up, everyone, and let's discuss the marching plan."
Everyone stood up and began discussing the map.
The question of whether to fight or not has been resolved. The next step is to consider how to fight, such as which route to take, how to deal with the Wei army if they encounter them, and how the Wei army will react if they realize their intentions. These details need to be discussed clearly.
After discussing for two full hours and taking all the details into account, Liu Bei put away his smile and solemnly said, "All generals, listen to my command."
All the generals retreated in unison, bowed and clasped their hands in greeting to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei continued, "I appoint Zhang Fei as the commander-in-chief, Wei Yan as the deputy commander, and Huang Quan as the strategist, to lead the army to Jieting. Zhao Yun and Ma Chao will accompany me back to Hanzhong."
All the generals bowed in unison and said, "Yes..."
After the meeting, the generals dispersed and began preparations. Once this plan was launched, they would be deep into Cao Wei's territory, without food or reinforcements, so they had to be fully prepared.
After resting for a night, at dawn Liu Bei, along with Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and a hundred personal guards, retreated back to Hanzhong, preparing to head to Longxi to meet with Zhuge Liang.
Although the road was long, they were few in number, traveled light without any baggage, and had no enemy troops to hinder them along the way, so they moved very quickly.
On the other hand, although Zhang Fei was closer and the road was flat, he had to carry a lot of supplies and face harassment from the Wei army, which would definitely take a long time. Perhaps Liu Bei would have already joined forces with Zhuge Liang before they even reached Jieting.
After seeing Liu Bei off, Zhang Fei did not act immediately, but continued to wait. Around midnight, he secretly avoided the Wei army scouts and headed to the Wei River to begin crossing.
Wei Yan led two thousand elite soldiers across the river first. After crossing, he waved to Zhang Fei on the other side of the river and disappeared into the night.
While the plan is highly profitable, it also presents many challenges. The first priority is to capture Dazhen Pass before the Wei army discovers it. Only by capturing Dazhen Pass can they successfully enter the Longshan Road. If they fail to capture Dazhen Pass, they will be trapped inside and slowly worn down by the Wei army.
Zhang Fei's plan was for him to lead the main force to attract the attention of the Wei army, while Wei Yan would lead a detachment to sneak towards Dazhen Pass by day and night, and after capturing Dazhen Pass, hold it in place and wait for the main force to arrive.
Seeing that Wei Yan had crossed the Wei River successfully, Zhang Fei ordered the crossing to begin.
The Wei River wasn't very wide, so a few rafts were pieced together to form a temporary pontoon bridge. Zhang Fei spent the whole day cutting down trees and building three pontoon bridges for passage. Once the pontoon bridges were completed, he said to Huang Quan, "Gongheng, I'll go over there first to arrange the army. You can continue to command from the rear."
Huang Quan nodded and watched Zhang Fei leave. Looking at Zhang Fei's back on the pontoon bridge, his expression was complicated. He was a steady person. He had been a good son in his parents' eyes since childhood and the neighbor's child in other people's eyes. His life motto had always been to seek victory through stability. He had never thought of risking his life with others.
But today, he found himself mixed up with Zhang Fei and Wei Yan, two desperate men, to do something with a chance of success of no more than 30%, but which would leave a mark on history regardless of victory or defeat. This made Huang Quan feel uneasy, but at the same time, he felt an unprecedented thrill. Facing the unpredictable future, he was both fearful and excited.
Crossing the river was a huge undertaking. The 20,000-strong army, carrying a large amount of supplies, took nearly three hours to cross the river, and it wasn't until the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) that they had all made it across.
Fortunately, the Han army had been attacking Mei County during the day, which gave Guo Huai and Fei Yao the impression that the Han army only attacked during the day. As a result, there were very few Wei scouts at night, which allowed the Han army to cross the river smoothly without being detected.
After Zhang Fei and Huang Quan successfully reunited and dismantled the pontoon bridge to find a place to hide, Zhang Fei said, "Let's go. First, we'll take Yong County, then Yujun, and then head straight for Qian County to enter Dazhen Pass."