Tiger Guards

Chapter 286: Each Seeking a Way Out
Soon, urged on by the urgent battle situation, Cao Cao once again ascended the high platform in the center of the army.

This time he had changed into a set of ordinary military officer's lamellar armor, but the armor looked out of place on him.

When he wore the gilded armor before, although he was short and stocky, he still had an extraordinary presence.

Now dressed in simple lamellar armor, he looks exactly like a bloated, short gourd, which is quite conspicuous.

After all, middle and lower-ranking military officers were generally strong and quick-moving; even Yue Jin, who was less than seven feet tall, walked with a gust of wind and did not look out of place among the military officers.

Cao Cao ascended the platform and happened to see Zhao Ji charging out from behind the forbidden formation, while 'Lü Bu' led his cavalry to overwhelm Wen Ji's battle banner.

Cao Ren's soldiers rushed to jump into the Bian River, and before the pontoon bridge was even built, the reed rafts used for transporting people back and forth created chaos.

Meanwhile, the burning fire rafts upstream drifted downstream, their smoke and dust rising into the sky.

Shi Huan, who had retreated to the central army camp, did not have time to treat his wounds. He simply cut off the arrow in his shoulder and climbed onto the high platform: "My lord, the situation is critical. Please burn the camp registers."

Military books and records must be burned, as well as accumulated letters; all kinds of written materials must be destroyed.

Cao Cao turned his head and looked to the east, where there was still a battle flag of Lü Bu, and more than two thousand infantry and cavalry continued to watch the battle without participating in it.

Like his central army, it did not participate in the battle.

Lu Bu intended to deliver a fatal blow, and so did he.

But Zhao Ji had no such idea and charged back and forth with his precious knights.

Turning to look at the southeast corner again, Zhu Ling was still holding his ground, exchanging fire with Chen Guo's soldiers. Both sides even had the leisure to send out stragglers to collect arrows.

After circling around for a while, they looked at the southwest Dongping military camp. Zhang Yang had divided his troops into three groups and was firing arrows indiscriminately. The defending troops inside the camp lacked effective cover and were in a very sorry state.

Xu Chu retreated to his camp to treat his injuries. Xu Chu's brother led more than a thousand men out of the camp and through the tunnels and trenches to support the Dongping troops, but they also found themselves in this harsh defensive environment.

Meanwhile, Zhang He's Hebei troops advanced to the cavalry camp, and some archers approached the central army camp through the passageway, firing arrows at the camp from above or using powerful crossbows to snipe at the enemy.

Inside the central army camp, Dian Wei, fully armed, was pacing back and forth.

Cao Cao looked north and saw that the soldiers in Wang Lang's camp nearby were in a state of panic. Many of them had begun to discard their armor, fearing that it would become a burden when they fled.

His gaze then turned to the southwest, where he saw that Sui Gu and Yang Chou, who had been slack in their fighting all morning and at noon, had also begun to fight hard, and the Dongping barracks were in danger of being breached at any moment.

He let out a long sigh: "Send word to all camps that reinforcements are on their way!"

"Here!"

Shi Huan agreed. If they had helped Cao Ren cross the river in advance, or allowed Cao Ren to cross the river in the middle of the night, they wouldn't be in such a predicament.

At the beginning of the war, who could have imagined that Zhao Ji's offensive would be so fierce?

How could Han Meng and Zhang He's two Hebei troops alone capture Lu Zhao and Liu Dai's two battalions?
As for the cavalry camp, they practically gave it up voluntarily.

On the eastern front, Gao Shun captured Le Jin's camp in one battle, which was actually within Cao Cao's expectations.

The original plan was to have Xu Chu launch a counterattack and severely damage the exhausted troops under Gao Shun's command.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ji's offensive was too fierce, and Xu Chu could only go to receive the retreating cavalry soldiers, but he was unexpectedly attacked from both sides by infantry and cavalry, and was even shot and wounded.

With such a huge loss, what would Xu Chu himself think?
Given the current battle situation, it will be difficult to return to Yuzhou in the short term, and they may even have to remain in eastern Yanzhou.

Xu Chu's family business, troops, and relatives were all in Yingchuan, under the control of the imperial court.

Xu Chu was leading his men to break through the encirclement, but who could guarantee the loyalty of Xu Chu's troops?

With the situation deteriorating, Cao Cao first suspected that Lu Zhao's stance on recruiting Chenliu's troops was questionable, and now he began to suspect Xu Chu, and even Zhu Ling was suspected by him.

Zhu Ling's entire family has been killed. Zhu Ling, who was born in Hebei, would never easily return to Yuan Shao's command.

As long as he was half-subordinate to Yuan Shao, given Yuan Shao's personality, he would definitely target Zhu Ling!

It wasn't just Yuan Shao's personality that made him this way; if it were him, he would also kill Zhu Ling to warn the other generals and captains.

Therefore, when Zhu Ling was defeated, he either had to seek refuge with Lü Bu or, through the connections of Zhang He and Han Meng, switch allegiance to Zhao Ji.

As for Lü Zhaodong's troops, they are now severely weakened. After fighting for most of the day, how could they possibly escape unscathed?

At this critical moment, Cao Cao's mind raced, and he had already devised a precise plan for the separation.

Many people, even in times of crisis, are still thinking about preserving as much as possible, but in the end, they can't save anything.

Cao Cao had a wealth of experience with the annihilation of his entire army, and when faced with similar predicaments, he was able to make a quick decision.

After carefully observing the battlefield once more, he left without lingering and quickly descended the steps.

Now is indeed not a good time to break out, but if we delay until nightfall, Zhao Ji and Lü Bu will surely surround the central army layer by layer.

At that point, Zhu Ling and Xu Chu will most likely turn against them.

Cao Cao donned a bright red cloak, mounted his horse Jueying, drew his sword, and addressed the surrounding officers to the north: "Follow me to help Zixiao cross the river!"

"Here!"

Dian Wei immediately led his elite warriors as the vanguard. When they passed through Wang Lang's camp, Wang Lang came to the fortified area to observe. Cao Cao simply nodded to him without saying anything else.

Without any further orders, Wang Lang could only hold his ground. However, Lu Zhao, who had retreated to his camp, had other ideas and watched with a sorrowful expression as Cao Cao's central army passed by outside the camp.

As a native of Chenliu, Lu Zhao faces immense pressure.

If Cao Cao could still maintain his power, Lu Zhao could accept it emotionally, and his family would not be suppressed or abused by his fellow villagers.

However, if Cao Cao were to be defeated, the situation would be dire.

Given the retaliation from the Chenliu scholars, the Lu Zhao family will most likely have to sever ties with Lu Zhao in order to protect themselves.

Once things got to that point, Lu Zhao found it hard to understand.

Rather than being caught in a dilemma, it's better to choose another path.

As a not-so-excellent general, Lu Zhao spent his extra skill points on some strange skills.

In Cao Cao's central camp, Yue Jin, who had retreated there, had his chest armor removed and his wounds hastily bandaged.

He sat on a stretcher and inspected the camp. Seeing that Cao Cao's personal scribes had begun to move various military documents and archives, he knew that Cao Cao planned to withdraw.

Seeing this, Le Jin remained expressionless.

After the Zang Hong incident, Yue Jin's troops were also affected, and his reputation in Dongjun was not very good.

If the people of Dongwu City perish along with Zang Hong, then his reputation can still be salvaged.

But these people survived, and with their connections spreading, it was destined that he would never be able to return home in glory.

Unless those people are all dead and these vile stories are no longer spread, no one will tarnish his reputation.

Now that things have come to this, there's no need for regret.

He was lucky to have followed Cao Cao and to have Cao Cao employ him.

A man who is less than seven feet tall would not be given a second glance by a normal county official.

In other words, Cao Cao did not look down on him and gave him the opportunity to serve in government, allowing him to realize his ambitions, return to his hometown to recruit soldiers, and participate in this chaotic world.

Even if it were someone else recruiting soldiers in Dongjun without Cao Cao, they would most likely have filtered out Le Jin as well.

Such kindness can only be repaid with death.

Le Jin remained calm as he inspected the camp on a stretcher, and order began to be restored within the camp.

After all, the central army's fortifications were very sturdy and could not be easily damaged by the enemy.

Cao Cao's main force marched north from the central camp to join the battle, and the news was quickly spread through the observation posts of each camp.

At the southeast camp, Zhu Ling looked at the local officials and soldiers who had suffered relatively few losses; they were all sitting calmly in the main tent.

Chen Guobing only exchanged fire, so the pressure on the garrison inside the camp was minimal.

After a moment of silence, seeing that no one offered a suggestion, Zhu Ling said, "Lord Meng and Lord Pingyang are both heroes of our time, highly regarded by the Emperor. I originally thought Cao Cao was a hero of the world, but I never imagined that he would twice invade Xuzhou and massacre innocent civilians, which can be described as cruel and inhumane; he also killed my father, which is unfilial. However, this man is ferocious, so I have reluctantly taken refuge under his command, otherwise we would surely have been harmed."

"The Emperor has ordered Marquis Zhao of Pingyang and Marquis Lü Meng to attack Cao Cao, but Cao Cao has raised troops to resist, which is disloyal. Now he is withdrawing his troops northward and deceiving us by saying that reinforcements are coming, which is unjust. Such an unrighteous, unfilial, disloyal, and unjust person should be denounced by our army. How can we associate with him?"

"Gentlemen, do you agree?"

"That's how it should be!"

Immediately, someone glared and spoke up, filled with righteous indignation and uncontrollable anger: "If it weren't for his extortion, why would we be stuck in Henan, separated from our families!"

"Yes, Cao Cao is by no means a wise ruler, and he is not worth our dying for."

The dozen or so military officers inside the tent all spoke up to express their opinions. Zhu Ling's expression was solemn: "In that case, please urge the officers and soldiers to hold their ground. If the camp is breached and the officers and soldiers are scattered, our lives will be in the hands of others, and there will be no room for maneuver."

"Here!"

The crowd responded loudly, and morale clearly rose.

I felt truly unhappy about fighting to the death for Cao Cao.

But if the goal is to fight to the death in order to negotiate surrender under certain conditions, then it is a fight for one's own survival, and naturally, it is a different kind of morale!
Zhu Ling immediately lowered the Cao-character battle flag.

Upon seeing this from within Xu Chu's camp in the northwest corner, he immediately lowered the Cao-character battle flag.

The resistance in the Dongping soldiers' camp in the southwest corner of the main camp gradually ceased, but the Dongping soldiers and their Qingzhou soldiers, fearing retaliation from the Hanoi soldiers, followed Xu Chu's troops and withdrew, giving up their camp.

The situation took a sudden turn, and a camp to the south, which had not been engaged in battle before, was now surrounded on all sides.

At this moment, Xu Chu is to the north, Zhu Ling is to the east, Zhang Yang is to the west, and Zhang He's old camp is to the south.

This battalion of soldiers acted decisively, lowering the Cao-character battle flag and awaiting negotiations.

The situation suddenly changed. Cao Cao's camp was divided into three concentric circles. In the middle was the central army camp; then there were four camps in the middle layer, in the east, west, south and north; and outside were eight outer camps arranged like a nine-square grid.

Thus, five camps in the west and south were lost, the eastern outer camp was defeated by Gao Shun, the western camp where Wen Ji's cavalry was located was abandoned voluntarily, and Xu Chu in the southern camp remained neutral.

Currently, only five battalions remain: the Central Army Battalion, the Eastern Camp Battalion, the Northern Camp Battalion, the Northern Outer Camp Battalion, and the Northeastern Camp Battalion!

(End of this chapter)