Sima Yi stood in the courtyard of the palace, his heart excited, his hands trembling, his lips pursed and stubbornly soaked in the rain...
I never thought it would rain at this time!
It's clear that the sun is shining brightly in the morning, and I'm happy. It's obviously spring, but it's actually raining so heavily?
At the same time, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu were in completely different moods. They thought they were doomed this time, but unexpectedly, a heavy rain extinguished the fire all over the ground.
Although there were many Ji Zao soldiers and grassroots generals who were burned or choked to death, especially when the heavy rain had just started pouring down, and the smoke produced was extremely thick, but... in the end, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and most of the soldiers were killed by the heavy rain.
Saved.
Under normal circumstances, after such a disastrous defeat, the army would definitely be demoralized, completely defeated, and at the most, they could escape with some of their personal guards and confidants.
However, the situation is different at this time, not because of Zhuge Liang's great wisdom, nor because of Guan Yu's ability to lead an army, but because... this is in Ziwu Valley!
We can't defeat this place even if we want to, so we must either turn back to find the enemy and throw ourselves into a trap, or continue southward to join the Chu army.
Even so, Guan Yu's Qi army has been reduced by more than half since its troops left the Pass, with only more than 15,000 remaining soldiers returning.
Naturally, he was discovered early by Chu's daily scouts along the way. When he arrived in front of Chu's defense line, Hao Zhao, who was stationed here, made a special effort to stop the intruders.
I saw Hao Zhao giving instructions to the surrounding artillery and soldiers. He first put on armor himself, crossed three barbed wire fences, and shouted to the Qi army through the last one: "Is General Guan here? Please come forward and speak!"
"Guan is here!" Guan Yu said and stepped forward in time.
The armor styles of the main generals on all sides had been exposed and printed in books in the Chu State for a long time. Hao Zhao could not recognize Zhuge Liang, but he could recognize Guan Yu.
After all, it is easy to fake a feather fan, but it is difficult to fake a suit of armor.
"I have long heard that the Sima clan and Zheng Hou in Guanzhong caused trouble to the Han Dynasty court. Fortunately, I saw that the general is fine, so I am relieved!" Hao Zhao was very polite, but he directly referred to the Han Dynasty as the Han Dynasty.
Obviously, the official argument is that Chu State is no longer recognized as a vassal state of the Han Dynasty...
In a different time and place, Guan Yu would not have spared his words earlier, but now... Facts are stronger than people, and he will not disobey Chu State's official attitude just because of this matter!
After all, this was not a gaffe made by a general named Hao Zhao...
"Come here, bring the pick pole and let the compatriots of the Qi army in!" After Hao Zhao was sure that everything was correct, he ordered his people to open the barbed wire fence and let the defeated Qi army in in an orderly manner.
The Chu State does not recognize the Han Dynasty, but still recognizes everyone as "compatriots".
After that, I saw many people in armor coming over. At the layers of barbed wire, a group of six people used poles to lift up a section of the barbed wire as an entrance for the Qi army to enter.
But just when he entered the first floor, Hao Zhao suddenly said: "Huh? Many of our comrades in the Qi army are injured? Come here, ask the people from the medical camp to send someone over! General Guan, there are medical personnel in our army
There is also a field medical center behind the camp, let the injured brothers come in first!"
"That's very good." Guan Yu was naturally very satisfied.
It's just a little unfamiliar, what are medical camps and field medical centers...
"Let all the cooking teams work hard to make food. The brothers in the Qi army are also hungry." Hao Zhao issued another order to the soldiers.
It seemed that the arrangements were very thoughtful, and the Chu army was also very enthusiastic. Many of the down-and-out Qi army shed tears when they saw this scene.
But at this moment, the Qi army entered the second level and met some Chu generals...
"It doesn't matter. It's safe in front. Put down your weapons first."
"Don't wear armor. It's just sunny today and it's still wet... We have dry clothes here."
"Ahem, the military talismans and the like will be replaced by everyone in Chu Kingdom later."
Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang also noticed that the lower-level Qi army generals were given military symbols by the Chu people, and "ordered" Ji Zao's soldiers to also remove their armor.
However, after being silent for a while, the two secretly ordered to cooperate with the Chu army...
Hao Zhao was careful not to cause too much resistance to the Qi army.
Zhuge Liang sighed even more when he saw that an unknown general from the Chu State had such a well-founded approach and retreat - I'm afraid that without Sima Yi, his Longyou strategy would be successful, and the Han Dynasty... might not be able to benefit from the Chu State!
And it didn’t take long for Zhuge Liang to realize that he was too late!
Naturally, Hao Zhao would not show any confidential matters in front of the Qi army officers and soldiers who had not yet been completely integrated into the Chu army, but...since the Qi army had nominally surrendered, he was now suffering from hunger and cold, and many of them were injured.
Qi Jun will naturally not treat him harshly in terms of food and medical treatment.
Not to mention medical treatment, Chu's military rations were an eye-opener for Zhuge Liang.
Previously, Chu State also had dried meat, dried fish supplemented with pickles, and emergency compressed biscuits, all of which were sufficient to supply the army.
And last year, the most primitive "can" appeared - that is, a method of preserving food ingredients sealed with glass and metal after high-temperature treatment.
Hao Zhao is obviously in the Ziwu Valley, and it is reasonable to say that it is some distance from the rear. However, because of the existence of "cans", there is a large amount of canned meat, not just dried meat!
Needless to say canned fruits and vegetables and dehydrated vegetables...
It is spring now, and in Xuzhou, even eating fruits and vegetables in the city is a relatively grand thing. Although it is not a luxury, ordinary people will definitely feel distressed if they want to eat it.
Originally, when Hao Zhao invited Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu to have a meal in the commander's tent, he saw that Hao Zhao was quite extravagant and even "hosted a banquet" in the army. He felt a little lower than him. However, later he discovered that... even ordinary Chu soldiers
The military rations also include broth, braised pork, and cold dishes...
And Zhuge Liang made a special observation, and found that the Chu army was very calm about this, and there was no resentment at all - it was not like they were trying to show off their wealth just for the arrival of the Qi army!
On the contrary, the performance of the Qi army made Zhuge Liang a little stunned, and even confused him to reflect on whether he was treating his soldiers harshly...
But it was just a slight change of thought - the Marquis of Qi did not treat his soldiers harshly. Liu Bei usually didn't eat with the orthodox troops in Xuzhou City. Hao Zhao, who was guarding the wild fortress, felt so comfortable!
And Zhuge Liang thought about it, he had never had the opportunity to inform the Chu army in Ziwu Valley in advance that he would break out of the Ziwu Valley, so there was no reason why the Chu army here had sufficient logistics.
That is to say...
Is this the normal state of Chu?
When Guan Yu and Hao Zhao mentioned the wounded soldiers of the Qi army, Hao Zhao took them directly to the wounded soldiers camp and saw batches of injured Ji Zao soldiers, as well as grassroots generals...
The medical soldiers who treat Ji Zao soldiers are also Ji Zao soldiers, but both Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu understand that this kind of special manpower can only be obtained from doctors!
As for Hao Zhao, a Chu army stationed in the wild, the ratio of medical soldiers to real army doctors had silenced the two of them.
Some wounded soldiers who had been initially treated were dragged back one by one. It is said that... there is a "field medical center" at the entrance of Ziwu Valley, which specializes in treating seriously wounded soldiers who cannot be recuperated in the camp!