As dusk approached, Xiahou Dun finished tallying the army’s casualties.
His face was as dark as thunder.
He had never expected that a single assault on the city would cost several hundred soldiers their lives.
The number of wounded was even close to two thousand.
“Report!”
Just as Xiahou Dun was wavering over what to do next, a cavalry messenger rode up at full speed.
Looking exhausted, he cupped his fists respectfully and reported:
“General Xiahou, I bring the lord’s orders. You are to proceed immediately to Dongping, join forces with General Cao Ren, and station your troops at Fu County to assist the lord in defeating the enemy.”
“Station at Fu County?”
Xiahou Dun looked at the messenger seriously.
“Tell me, has something happened?”
“General Xiahou is most perceptive.”
The messenger replied respectfully:
“The lord said that the Yellow Turbans had not committed all their elite forces. Lu City and Feicheng may each be defended by as many as one hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels. The force sent to Wuyan numbered only a little over one hundred thousand.”
“Hiss—”
After hearing this, Xiahou Dun looked toward Lu City in the distance and felt a chill run down his spine.
He had just led ten thousand troops against a city that might be defended by one hundred thousand soldiers.
“Xiahou Dun obeys the lord’s command!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he immediately withdrew his army from Lu City.
The morale of his troops collapsed.
Before every battle, commanders always gave rousing speeches to boost morale.
They would tell the soldiers:
“Our cause is righteous.”
“We are invincible.”
“The enemy is worthless.”
They would also promise rewards.
As a result, the soldiers would be full of energy and march into battle proudly.
But if the battle went badly and a retreat became necessary, problems would quickly arise.
Ordinary soldiers would begin thinking:
“Retreating? Did the enemy attack our homeland?”
“Do you think the lord has been killed?”
“Have we already lost? Are we never getting home?”
“No, I need to go home! I need to see Cuihua again!”
A retreating army was often filled with fear, anxiety, and rumors.
If handled poorly, this could trigger a camp panic, mutiny, or even a complete rout.
Therefore, when a retreat was necessary, commanders usually made extensive preparations.
The most common method was to withdraw under cover of darkness.
Yet even then, restoring morale was extremely difficult.
Just like Xiahou Dun’s army now.
The Han soldiers looked like defeated roosters, their hearts filled with unease.
…………..
Meanwhile…
Escorted by Yue Jin and others, Cao Cao was desperately fleeing for his life.
After the earlier ambush, only eight hundred cavalry and infantry remained at his side.
“Gongtai!”
Covered in blood and visibly exhausted, Cao Cao said:
“There must be someone among the Yellow Turbans who understands warfare. Otherwise, I would never have suffered such a crushing defeat.”
“Unfortunately, that bandit force earlier was too arrogant and overconfident. Otherwise, we would all have died there.”
“My lord speaks truly.”
Panting heavily, Chen Gong replied:
“There may indeed be someone among the Yellow Turbans who understands military strategy.”
“But they are still merely a bandit army. No matter how brilliant the strategy, their subordinate commanders may not be capable of executing it properly.”
“Hahaha! Exactly!”
The joy of having narrowly escaped death filled Cao Cao’s heart.
He fully agreed with Chen Gong.
Then he pointed toward a forest beside the official road.
“Even if someone among the Yellow Turbans understands warfare, he probably only knows a little.”
“If I were the strategist…”
“I would definitely choose this place for an ambush. The terrain here is narrow, with mountains on both sides. Anyone trapped here would have no way to heaven and no road into the earth.”
Having said that, he lowered his head and continued hurrying along.
“…”
“Hahaha! Cao Mengde, don’t run!”
Before Cao Cao could pass through the mountain road, a burst of wild laughter echoed through the hills.
It was Bian Xi.
He had already set up an ambush and now appeared on the road with his troops, blocking the way.
His face was filled with excitement as he shouted:
“You have fallen into our strategist’s trap!”
“Remember this well!”
“The man who kills you today is the great Qihuo general, Bian Xi!”
After speaking, he paid no attention to Cao Cao’s panic and roared:
“Brothers, loose your arrows! Follow me and kill Cao Cao!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At Bian Xi’s command, countless arrows shot out from both sides of the road.
Within only a few breaths, the already exhausted Han soldiers suffered significant casualties.
“Yue Jin is here! Who dares harm my lord!”
Seeing the situation, Yue Jin immediately organized a defense and shielded Cao Cao behind him.
He shouted:
“Soldiers!”
“When enemies meet on a narrow road, the brave prevail!”
“The road ahead is narrow. The bandits number only a few hundred!”
“As long as we charge forward in one mighty push, we can break through the encirclement and ensure our lord’s safety!”
“Kill!”
With a thunderous roar, Yue Jin took the lead and charged toward Bian Xi.
“Kill!”
The men still following Cao Cao at this point were all his personal guards.
None of them had any thoughts of surrender.
Under Yue Jin’s leadership, they charged straight toward Bian Xi’s position.
“Seeking death!”
Bian Xi shouted angrily:
“Loose the arrows!”
As he spoke, he drew his bow and fired personally.
The arrow struck Yue Jin in the left arm, but the Han soldiers continued charging forward.
“Brothers, kill Cao Cao!”
Seeing the enemy close in, Bian Xi threw aside his bow and led his soldiers forward, wielding a meteor hammer.
He shouted:
“Once Cao Cao is dead, I will personally report your merits to our lord and secure rewards for all of you!”
“Kill! Kill Cao Cao!”
The Qihuo soldiers were instantly invigorated.
They all knew that Cao Cao’s head would be worth an enormous reward.
“My lord, break through!”
Chen Gong’s face was deathly pale as he spoke.
Then he too drew his sword and charged into battle.
“Damn you, Zhang Yuheng!”
Cao Cao looked up at the sky, despair written across his face.
“You truly intend to leave me, Cao Mengde, no path to survival!”
“Kill!”
Looking ahead at Yue Jin, who was gravely wounded yet still fighting bravely, Cao Cao thought of Cao Hong and Cao Chun, who had risked their lives all the way to clear a path for his escape.
A powerful desire to survive surged within him.
After the battle ended, Cao Cao was severely wounded.
Escorted by a handful of personal guards, he managed to break out of the encirclement.
Yue Jin, Chen Gong, and several hundred others remained behind on the road, never to leave.
………….
“Tsk—”
One hand clutching his injured arm, Bian Xi limped toward Yue Jin’s corpse.
His face twisted with anger as he cursed:
“Damn Han general!”
“I’ll chop his corpse into pieces!”
“General.”
A junior officer approached with a serious expression.
“It is already nightfall. Shall we continue pursuing Cao Cao?”
“Pursue him!”
Bian Xi replied viciously:
“Cao Cao escaped with only a few riders.”
“Send one battalion to chase him.”
“I want to see him dead or alive!”
“Yes, General!”
The officer respectfully accepted the order.
Soon afterward, a force of five hundred men set out along the official road in pursuit.
……………
As lanterns lit up the night, Wuyan City glowed beneath the evening sky.
Inside the governor’s residence.
Zhang Jing sat in the seat of honor.
Cheng Yu, Xu He, and the others sat according to rank.
“My lord.”
Cheng Yu respectfully rose and saluted.
“Upon entering the city today, I immediately ordered all granaries to be sealed.”
“Aside from the more than three hundred thousand shi of grain accumulated by Cao Cao, the city’s wealthy households together possessed another hundred thousand-plus shi.”
“After deducting the fifty thousand shi allocated to General Pei…”
“Our army currently has approximately three hundred seventy thousand shi of grain available.”
“You have worked hard, Zhongde.”
Zhang Jing nodded seriously.
“With this grain, our army’s immediate crisis has finally been resolved.”
Three hundred seventy thousand shi sounded like a vast amount.
But for Zhang Jing, it was only enough to feed his forces for a little over ten days.
“To share my lord’s burdens is simply my duty.”
Cheng Yu shook his head lightly and bowed.
Zhang Jing spoke solemnly:
“Today’s great victory at Wuyan City…”
“…is merely the first step toward securing our foothold.”
“The army will rest and reorganize in Wuyan for half a day.”
“Tomorrow, at the Wei hour (around 1–3 p.m.), the army will split into two forces.”
“The first force.”
“Thirty thousand troops under Xu He’s command.”
“You will advance into Jiyin Commandery.”
“Capture every county along the way.”
“Bring away all the grain and all the common people you encounter.”
“As for the fortified estates and strongholds of the great clans and noble families, Master Zhongde will handle them.”
“After I capture Puyang, our forces will reunite and attack Dingtao, the commandery seat.”
“This general obeys!”
Xu He immediately rose and saluted.
Jiyin Commandery was mostly flat, open terrain with no significant natural defenses.
For an army of thirty thousand, taking a series of county towns posed little difficulty.
As for forcibly relocating and absorbing the local population into the army’s ranks
That was something Xu He was already quite experienced at doing.
— The end of the Chapter–
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