Chapter 120: The Rats of Eastern Wu Strike

The most critical thing for Shu Han now is to digest its current battle gains.

One fact that must be admitted is that the comprehensive national strength of Shu Han is indeed inferior to Cao Wei.

With Shu Han's current strength, even if relying on the power of divine weapons and sharp implements.

It can defeat Cao Wei, but to completely annihilate Cao Wei, it will still take some time.

The most critical thing now is to digest the current battle gains, and then rest and recuperate for a period of time.

And then find another opportunity to annihilate Cao Wei.

Of course, there is another way.

That is to seek help from the Heavens Chat Group.

Either invite members of the group to descend into this World to help him restore the Han house.

Or join the Heavenly Court directly.

Whether to do this or not, Zhuge Liang still needs to ponder for a while.

Zhuge Liang instructed the people beside him, "Tell the Son of Heaven to pay attention to the movements of Eastern Wu."

Eastern Wu rats; although Zhuge Liang has never taken this group of rats seriously.

But at this time, the Eastern Wu rats are likely to give Shu Han another backstab.

In any case, it is not the first time the Eastern Wu rats have done such things.

Luoyang City, inside the Great Wei Imperial Palace.

The Great Wei Son of Heaven Cao Rui received news of Cao Wei's defeat and was furious.

And when Chang'an City was occupied by Shu Han, Cao Rui could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood directly.

Originally, Cao Rui's health had been getting worse and worse over these years.

The attendant nearby hurried over to support him.

Cao Rui pushed the attendant away and looked coldly at the ministers present.

He sneered at the Great Wei ministers and said, "Great Wei's hundreds of thousands of elite troops were defeated by a mere Shu Han, and what is even more outrageous is that even Chang'an City was occupied by the other side. What are you all doing? What is Sima Yi doing?"

He trusted Sima Yi so much and handed over the command of Great Wei's hundreds of thousands of elite troops to him.

Is this how Sima Yi repays him?

The ministers present felt the aura emanating from Cao Rui and all knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty, calm your anger!"

"This battle was entirely caused by Sima Yi's incompetence; Sima Yi truly deserves to die ten thousand deaths."

"Yes, Your Majesty, Sima Yi single-handedly buried our Great Wei's excellent situation; Sima Yi should be hacked into a thousand pieces."

The ministers present were all cursing Sima Yi.

In reality, they also did not understand how Sima Yi had lost.

Cao Wei's strength was simply not something Shu Han could compare to; how could Shu Han win?

In other words, even if Shu Han won, with Cao Wei's strength, the entire army should not have been wiped out, let alone having Chang'an City occupied directly.

Isn't this Sima Yi someone who should be hacked into a thousand pieces?

That is Chang'an City, after all.

The political significance of Chang'an City outweighs its strategic significance.

Back then, when the Han founding emperor Liu Bang established the Great Han, he set the capital in Chang'an City.

It was only later when the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu restored the Great Han that the capital was moved to Luoyang.

Only then did Luoyang slowly replace Chang'an City as the new political center.

But even so, the political status of Chang'an City did not change much.

In the hearts of countless Great Han subjects, it even holds a sense of faith.

The ministers present did not even need to think to know the thoughts of the people of the world upon hearing that Shu Han had occupied Chang'an City.

At that time, I fear countless people will defect to Shu Han, believing that Shu Han is the only orthodoxy.

After all, even though decades have passed, the afterglow of the Great Han still shines upon the Thirteen Provinces of the Han.

Countless people in this world still consider themselves Han people.

It is just that Shu Han's strength has not been strong, and they have been defeated by Cao Wei time and time again.

These people became obedient and grew pessimistic in their hearts, having to abandon that unrealistic dream.

But if they learn that Shu Han has occupied Chang'an City, I fear these people will have ideas again.

Perhaps they will not do anything due to reality, but for Cao Wei, it is trouble.

"Sima Yi indeed deserves to die ten thousand deaths; he is not worth pitying."

Cao Rui said coldly, "It is a pity that this old thing died on the battlefield. The key now is, you tell me, what should our Great Wei do now? How do we deal with the aggressive Shu Han?"

The ministers present had different thoughts at this moment.

They naturally saw the scene of Cao Rui spitting blood.

If this Great Wei Son of Heaven is in poor health, then they must choose a new investment target.

However, Cao Wei is, after all, the heroic ruler of Great Wei; as long as he is not dead, these ministers dare not have any other thoughts.

"Your Majesty, the current plan is to contact Eastern Wu."

"Your Majesty, in this humble minister's view, Shu Han's current strength is already very strained to occupy Chang'an City, and it will not pose a threat to our Great Wei capital for the time being."

"Your Majesty, we can contact Eastern Wu while redeploying our defensive lines, and incidentally see if we can recover Chang'an City."

The ministers present spoke up one after another.

Hearing the words of the ministers present, Cao Rui also knew that this was the only way.

For the current plan, he can only unite with Eastern Wu.

Although Cao Rui also looked down upon the Eastern Wu rats very much, especially that old thing Sun Quan.

That old thing Sun Quan was his grandfather's opponent, yet even now he has accomplished nothing.

If Cao Cao were still alive and facing the second-generation successors of Shu Han and Eastern Wu, he would likely have unified the world long ago.

Only this Sun Quan, who was Sun Shiwang back then, is still Sun Shiwang now.

For so many years, he has been lingering on in that place of Eastern Wu.

If it were not for Shu Han standing against the great army of Cao Wei, Cao Wei would have easily wiped out Eastern Wu by now.

But there is no other way for the current plan; we can only ally with Eastern Wu.

One thing that must be admitted is that after Shu Han occupied Chang'an City, they drove a nail into the heartland of Cao Wei.

Capable of both attacking and defending, Shu Han already has the ability to threaten Cao Wei.

Therefore, an alliance with Eastern Wu is very necessary.

As for whether Eastern Wu will agree, Cao Rui does not even need to think about it.

Without Cao Wei even having to make a trip, Eastern Wu is likely already unable to sit still and may take the initiative to attack Shu Han.

Do not say that Eastern Wu and Shu Han have always been allies; backstabbing Eastern Wu is not the first time such a thing has been done.

Moreover, relations between nations have always been determined by interests.

Any alliance is just a piece of paper that can be torn up at any time; the moment an alliance is signed, it is meant to be torn up.

Back then, Guan Yu shook Huaxia and flooded the three armies, almost shaking the Cao Wei regime and destroying it.

Fearing that Shu Han would grow too large, Eastern Wu directly backstabbed them.

Now that Zhuge Liang occupies Chang'an City, Sun Quan will likely have the same thought and directly backstab Shu Han again.

Cao Wei and Shu Han have been fighting back and forth all these years, both wanting to unify the world.

And Eastern Wu is like a stirrer of trouble, watching whoever is strong and attacking them.

Sun Quan of Eastern Wu has long since lost the ambition to unify the world.

That Battle of Hefei back then had long since beaten away all his grand ambitions.

What he seeks is nothing more than to hold a territory and linger on.

But he will absolutely not allow the birth of any nation that has the opportunity to unify the world.

Cao Rui immediately ordered, "Good, then contact Eastern Wu, ally with Eastern Wu, and threaten Shu Han. At the same time, deploy heavy troops to retake Chang'an City."

After saying these words, Cao Rui carried a hint of self-mockery.

Clearly, Cao Wei's comprehensive national strength is the strongest, yet it is always one step away from unifying the world.

If not for Eastern Wu, this stirrer of trouble, Cao Wei would have unified the world long ago.

Perhaps if only Eastern Wu remained, Cao Wei could also unify the world.

Yet no matter how strong Cao Wei's power is, there is a Shu Han, and there is an Eastern Wu.

What is even more ridiculous is that it was originally Cao Wei that deterred Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

In Cao Rui's view, Shu Han and Eastern Wu cannot hold on for much longer.

Because as one wanes and the other waxes, Cao Wei's strength will only grow stronger.

Because Cao Wei occupies the power of the north, its comprehensive potential is enormous.

Sooner or later, Cao Wei will be able to accumulate the foundation to unify the world.

It might even be that without waiting for that day, Shu Han and Eastern Wu will be dragged to their deaths.

But who would have thought that in this battle, Shu Han directly occupied Chang'an City.

In an instant, the one occupying the advantage has become Shu Han, and Cao Wei has to start defending.

After Cao Rui arranged everything, he returned to the imperial palace.

After returning to his sleeping quarters, he could not help but vomit blood again.

"Your Majesty, are you alright!"

The attendant said with worry, "Your Majesty, this servant will go and summon the imperial physician."

This attendant served Cao Rui and was a house slave of the emperor; he shared glory and shame with the emperor, so naturally, he did not want anything to happen to Cao Rui.

Just now in the imperial court, the Emperor had vomited blood, and now he had vomited blood again.

Could something be wrong with the Emperor's body?

Cao Rui stopped the attendant and said, "No need, I am fine."

His gaze carried a deep sense of unwillingness and sorrow.

He was naturally clear about the state of his body now; his inner self was hollow, and perhaps he could not hold on for much longer.

He was only in his thirties, in the prime of his life, yet his body was decaying.

Is Heaven so harsh to him?

Cao Rui's heart was filled with grief and indignation, yet he was helpless.

If given sufficient time, he had the confidence to unify the world in his lifetime.

It is a pity, he has no time left.

He did not know how many more years he could hold on; the most important thing now was to cultivate a qualified successor for Great Wei.

Thinking of this, Cao Rui summoned the secret guards and directly ordered them, "Go and wipe out the Sima Family for me, leave no one behind, remember, leave no one behind."

The secret guards had no thoughts of their own, but upon hearing this order from Cao Rui, they were momentarily confused.

What does the Emperor mean by this?

Is it because Sima Yi was defeated and committed a grave error, so he is preparing to punish the Sima Family?

But why not punish them directly in the imperial court, instead of resorting to assassination?

Even if the secret guards did not understand, they knew that in politics, mutual assassination was a major matter, especially for one as noble as the Son of Heaven.

Cao Rui, however, offered no explanation; in reality, it was because he had already received the play that Zhuge Liang had performed regarding Sima Yi.

Although Sima Yi was already dead by this time, the Sima Family still remained.

Cao Rui deduced things based on those plays, and it seemed that the empire of Cao Wei really might fall into the hands of the Sima Family.

After all, he did not have many years left to live.

If he could not cultivate a qualified Son of Heaven, and this Son of Heaven could not suppress the Sima Family,

then the great power of Cao Wei might truly be seized by the Sima Family.

For something like this, it is better to kill by mistake than to not kill at all.

Even if Cao Wei were to fall, it would still be far better than it falling into the hands of the Sima Family and the tragedy of the Five Barbarians Invading China occurring again.

The Five Barbarians Invading China, heh!

The Five Barbarians, who were beaten black and blue by the warlords of the Three Kingdoms, actually became the greatest threat to the Han Ethnicity later on; it is truly ridiculous.

One thought after another drifted through Cao Rui's mind, and finally, he wearily closed his eyes.

He had to cultivate a qualified successor for Great Wei to inherit his legacy and unify the world.

He hoped that Heaven would have mercy and let him live for a few more years.

Although the secret guards had doubts in their hearts, they still accepted the order to go and slaughter the Sima Family clean.

The Sima Family had not yet recovered from the grief of Sima Yi's death when they were all executed.

This family, which could be said to have directly led to the tragedy of the Five Barbarians Invading China in later generations, was wiped out just like that.

In Eastern Wu, within Jianye City.

Sun Quan, whose body was gradually growing old and decaying, also received the news that Shu Han had occupied Chang'an City.

Sun Quan was also somewhat unable to believe it.

"What? Zhuge Liang has occupied Chang'an City? Zhuge Liang actually achieved such a battle result?"

As his age increased, this monarch of Eastern Wu had long since lost his sharpness.

Or rather, after that battle at Hefei, he no longer had the dream of unifying the world.

He only wanted to guard this small patch of land, rule as a separatist, and act with power and authority.

In the Three Kingdoms, Cao Wei had the ambition to unify the world.

Shu Han also had the ambition to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains and restore the Han Dynasty.

Only Eastern Wu had long since lost such spirit.

Over these years, watching Zhuge Liang's northern expeditions fail time and time again,

Sun Quan even had a mentality of watching a show.

It could not be denied that seeing Zhuge Liang fail time and time again gave Sun Quan a strange sense of schadenfreude.

No matter how you mock my Eastern Wu, we remain unmoved.

Sometimes, Sun Quan would even have pleasant dreams.

If Cao Wei and Shu Han both suffered, then his Disciple of Jiangdong would march north, unify the world, and become the master of the world.

Of course, most of the time, Sun Quan was only thinking about it.

At his current age, Sun Quan no longer had so many pursuits.

In these final days, feeling his increasingly aging body, he only wanted to hold power tightly in his own hands and honestly enjoy this final period of time.

After he died, he would then pass the power to his sons.

Of course, the premise was that he gave it to his sons, and only then could his sons take it.

Now, looking at his increasingly heroic and youthful sons, Sun Quan even felt a sense of threat.

Therefore, in order to balance the court and keep power tightly in his own hands, Sun Quan even played one faction against another, letting partisan strife erupt in the court.

It must be said that Sun Quan might not have been great in military affairs or governance.

But he had put all his ability into political maneuvering, using the art of checks and balances to perfection.

To this day, he still controlled the great power of Eastern Wu.

But it was understandable; even at this point, the small patch of land in Jiangdong was still caught in internal strife.

Sun Quan had always considered himself a smart person; others looked down on him, but he looked down on Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

So what if Cao Cao had great talent and bold vision?

So what if Liu Bei had the support of the people?

They were all dead, and only he, Sun Quan, had lived to the end.

The great empire and supreme power were all left for others to enjoy.

Only he, Sun Quan, remained the master of Jiangdong, holding great power, with life and death entirely under his own control.

In these final days, Sun Quan did not want any accidents to occur; he only wanted to honestly enjoy himself.

But who would have known that at this time, Zhuge Liang would quietly pull off something big.

Zhuge Liang had actually defeated the great army of Cao Wei and occupied Chang'an City.

For Sun Quan and for Eastern Wu, this was absolutely unacceptable.

Sun Quan looked at the ministers present and said, "Gentlemen, Zhuge Liang has occupied Chang'an City. What should my Eastern Wu do now?"

Almost all the ministers of Eastern Wu understood that there was a blood feud between Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

Guan Yu of Shu Han died directly because of Eastern Wu, and Zhang Fei died indirectly because of Eastern Wu.

More importantly, the former master of Shu Han, Liu Bei, could also be said to have died because of Eastern Wu.

This was a blood feud.

If it were not for the fact that Cao Wei had been involving the energy of Shu Han all these years.

If it were not for the fact that they had to face the powerful Cao Wei, Shu Han would have had to form an alliance with Eastern Wu.

In that case, Shu Han would certainly seek to avenge this blood feud.

Now that Shu Han has occupied Chang'an City, they have dealt a heavy blow to Cao Wei.

Originally, in the confrontation with Cao Wei, Shu Han had always been in a disadvantageous position.

But now the situation has changed, and the officials of Eastern Wu present could not help but worry.

Once Shu Han frees up their hands, will they take action against them?

Of course, there is an even more important point: Eastern Wu must never sit idly by while Shu Han's strength grows and they gain the power to unify the world.

Sun Quan thought of this instantly.

According to his understanding, there is a group of people within Shu Han who harbor hatred toward Eastern Wu.

If Shu Han has the opportunity to destroy Eastern Wu, they will absolutely not hesitate.

And as Sun Quan, who indirectly caused the deaths of Guan Yu and Liu Bei, he naturally would not have a good end either.

Sun Quan instantly thought that at this time, they must use military force against Shu Han to weaken Shu Han's strength.

The Three Kingdoms stand in opposition; it has always been this way.

Whoever is powerful gets attacked.

This is a clash between nations, where not a shred of sentimentality can be spoken of.

However, Sun Quan would not say these words; he, Sun Quan, does not want to bear the infamy of backstabbing an ally.

Just like when Lv Meng crossed the river in white clothes and severed Guan Yu's head, that was not his decision, and he was unaware of it.

Hearing Sun Quan's words, someone immediately understood Sun Quan's meaning.

In this imperial court, there is always a need for someone to take the blame for the monarch.

Moreover, in the current situation, apart from backstabbing Shu Han and uniting with Cao Wei, there is no second choice.

"Great King, the only plan for now is to deploy troops to Jingzhou to guard against Shu Han."

"I observe that Zhuge Liang has the ambition of a wolf; after taking action against Cao Wei, the next one might be us, Eastern Wu. We must be on guard."

The officials present all felt a bit embarrassed.

There was still a portion of Eastern Wu that was close to Shu Han, and these officials immediately stepped out to denounce the proposal.

"Great King, do not listen to his nonsense. Eastern Wu and Shu Han are allies; how can we abandon our covenant for the sake of our own power?"

"Indeed, Great King, this must absolutely not be done. To act in such a way, how would the people of the world view our Eastern Wu?"

Sun Quan's face grew darker and darker upon hearing these words; was this not pointing at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree?

The main point was that he, Sun Quan, had already done the deed of backstabbing an ally, and now these people were effectively pointing at Sun Quan's nose and cursing him.

Sun Quan rebuked them angrily, saying, "Enough."

(End of this chapter)