My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Xiao's Banner!
If it wasn't Xiao He himself who came, then who else could it be?
According to intelligence from spies, shouldn't Xiao He still be in Luoyang celebrating his victory, waiting for Liu Bei to head north to join forces before heading east to Hulao Pass?

Why did Xiao He suddenly appear outside Hulao Pass?

At the crucial moment of ambushing Zhang Liao, they arrived like divine soldiers descending from the sky!
Cao Ren looked shocked and bewildered, as if he had seen a ghost, and was momentarily lost in thought.

In the brief moment when he was distracted, Zhang Liao's confidence surged, and he seized the opening in his sword technique, unleashing a powerful strike.

Cao Ren was suddenly startled. It was too late to sheathe his sword and defend himself, so he quickly dodged to the side.

"puff!"

With a tearing sound, his arm was slashed by a knife.

Cao Ren cried out in pain, losing his grip on the long sword, which fell to the ground.

"Hateful, hateful~~"

Cao Ren gritted his teeth in pain, but his fighting spirit was shattered by Zhang Liao's blow.

Just before Zhang Liao's second strike landed, Cao Ren hurriedly turned his horse around, jumped out of the battle, and fled in panic, clutching his injured arm.

"Cao Ren, don't run! Have the guts to fight to the death!"

Zhang Liao pointed his sword at Cao Ren and shouted wildly.

Cao Ren was mentally broken and dared not turn back. He could only endure the humiliation and flee in disgrace.

With their commander defeated and fleeing, Chu reinforcements arrived, and the Wei army, which had initially held the upper hand, collapsed in an instant.

The three thousand Chu soldiers were greatly encouraged and launched a frenzied counterattack against the Wei army.

The situation then reversed.

Zhang Liao roused himself and was about to spur his horse to pursue Cao Ren.

A troop of Chu cavalry had already rolled in from behind.

The young general at the front recognized Zhang Liao, immediately brandished his spear, and loudly asked:
"General Wen Yuan, am I... too late?"

It was Deng Ai.

Zhang Liao's eyes lit up and he laughed heartily:

"Shi Zai, you've come at the perfect time. If you had arrived even half a step later, I, Zhang Liao, would probably have lost my life to Cao Ren."

Deng Ai glanced at the battle situation and instantly realized that Zhang Liao must have fallen into Cao Cao's ambush.

"Grand Commandant, you are truly a genius! When I received your military report, I deduced that Cao Cao was faking vomiting blood and fainting to lure you out of the pass to pursue us."

"Now it seems that everything is under the control of Grand Commandant Xiao..."

With admiration burning in her eyes, Deng Ai revealed the truth.

Zhang Liao looked startled and asked urgently:
"Could it be that Grand Commandant Xiao, being far away in Luoyang, anticipated Cao Cao's plan to lure us out of the pass for a battle?"

Deng Ai smiled and then explained that Xiao He had judged Cao Cao to be cunning and worried about the instability of Hulao Pass, so he had led his troops to Hulao ahead of time. When he received Xiao He's report on the way, he judged that Cao Cao was...

The causes and consequences were fully explained.

"Grand Commandant Xiao was afraid that you might suffer some losses, so he ordered the entire army to come quickly with light equipment. Unexpectedly, they arrived just in time."

"I'm leading the cavalry ahead; the Grand Commandant's main force is still behind... behind them, they'll be here shortly!"

Zhang Liao took a deep breath, his expression a mixture of admiration and shame, and sighed:

"In our eagerness for glory, we fell into Cao Cao's trap. Fortunately, Grand Commandant Xiao's brilliant strategies saw through Cao Cao's treacherous scheme and our greed for merit; otherwise..."

Zhang Liao felt ashamed and embarrassed to continue.

Deng Ai smiled and comforted him:
"Grand Commandant Xiao said that although you are responsible for being greedy for merit and reckless, if Cao Cao really uses trickery, we can turn the tables on him, defeat his army, and take Xingyang City as well."

"At that time, Yanzhou will be settled in one...one battle!"

"The three of you have made amends for your mistakes."

Although Deng Ai spoke haltingly, Zhang Liao immediately discerned the strategic intent in his words.

Cao Cao used an ambush to deal with him, and his 60,000 troops would surely come out in full force, determined to win.

At this moment, Xiao and his reinforcements arrived, broke through their ambush, and caught them off guard.

Cao Cao will surely be terrified and retreat, and the morale of the 60,000 Wei soldiers will be greatly dampened.

Xiao He's army seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, and Cao Cao was no match for them.
Not to mention that the main camp cannot be held, the 60,000 troops will surely be routed and flee for miles, and even Xingyang City will fall.

At that time, Xiao He led his army westward in pursuit, and was invincible and unstoppable!

Yanzhou will be taken with overwhelming force!

"Grand Commandant Xiao actually thought of taking advantage of our setbacks to defeat Cao Cao and seize Yanzhou. His application of military strategy is truly masterful, reaching the point of doing whatever he wants!"

Zhang Liao clicked his tongue in admiration, his eyes filled with nothing but the words "utterly impressed."

Then his spirits lifted, and he raised his sword and shouted:

"Then what are we waiting for, Shizai? Let us be the vanguard and pursue Cao Cao!"

Deng Ai laughed heartily, and the two spurred their horses and galloped forward.

The two Chu armies merged and pursued Cao Ren's Wei army, which had been routed to the east, relentlessly.

Meanwhile, from the direction of Hulao Pass, ten times the dust was rolling eastward.

Xiao He's nearly 40,000 Chu troops, which he personally led, had already followed.

The Chu army was in fierce pursuit, while the Wei army was fleeing in panic.

Despite his wounded arm, Cao Ren frantically whipped his horse and fled towards the Wei camp.

After running about a mile, they encountered the Wei army pursuing them from the east.

Xu Chu charged ahead like a hungry beast, waiting to devour the remnants of the Chu army.

Zhang Liao failed to catch up, but instead ran headlong into Cao Ren, who was returning home looking disheveled.

"General of the Cavalry, what is this?"

Seeing Cao Ren, half-covered in blood and in a disheveled and panicked state, Xu Chu's ferocious expression instantly turned into astonishment.

"Zhongkang, Xiao He, that sorcerer, is far away in Luoyang. He actually saw through Cheng Zhongde's plan to lure the enemy out and personally led the main force of the Chu army out of Hulao Pass..." Cao Ren, still shaken, briefly recounted the events, gritting his teeth as he said:
“Our troops have been routed. Xiao and Zheng Tong’s army are personally pursuing us. We cannot possibly withstand them. We must quickly inform the King and retreat to our camp.”

Xu Chu was shocked and speechless, not knowing what to do.

Cao Ren didn't bother to explain any further and immediately spurred his horse to continue galloping.

Xu Chu was stunned for a while before he had no choice but to turn his horse around and follow.

Thus, the Wei army pursuing from the direction of the main camp also suffered a severe blow to morale and joined the fleeing troops, running all the way back towards the main camp...

The sky was already bright.

Cao Cao was urging his horse forward with a whip, his face showing a long-lost ease and confidence.

In the night raid, Zhang Liao lost more than half of his troops.

Ahead, along the forest path, lay an ambush of over ten thousand of Cao Ren's troops, waiting to intercept Zhang Liao's remaining forces.

After these two battles, the seven thousand Chu soldiers will be completely wiped out, wiped out in one fell swoop.

Hulao Pass will then become an empty city.

It's only ten miles from here to Hulao Pass, so there's no need for him to rush. He can simply hum a little tune and stroll along the way, taking over Hulao Pass without bloodshed.

"Zhongde, with your plan, taking Hulao Pass should be a piece of cake. I just don't know if Zixiao's ambush force can take the head of that traitor Zhang Liao!"

Cao Cao looked westward, his eyes and tone still revealing a hint of anticipation.

After all, Zhang Liao should be considered the most important among the traitors who surrendered to Chu.

If we can kill Zhang Liao in one battle, we can severely deter those who intend to betray Wei and surrender to Chu, and also deal a heavy blow to the morale of the Chu army.

This was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the Wei army, whose morale was currently low, and a great encouragement.

“Zhang Liao’s remaining troops number only about three thousand, while the General of the Flying Cavalry’s ambush force is three times larger than the enemy’s. Moreover, the terrain of that forest path is quite narrow. As long as the General of the Flying Cavalry’s troops are deployed properly, Zhang Liao should not be able to escape his grasp.”

Cheng Yu, standing beside him, chuckled.

"That would be ideal. We would annihilate 7,000 enemy soldiers, kill one of the big-eared bandits' generals, and recapture Hulao Pass. Our morale would surely be greatly boosted."

"Next, with our morale restored, holding Hulao Pass and blocking the 200,000-strong army of the Big Ear Bandit should be a piece of cake."

"Zhongde, Zhongda, Wenhe, you should now think about how to recapture Luoyang."

Cao Cao looked expectantly at his advisors.

At this point, he clearly believed that the recapture of Hulao Pass was a foregone conclusion and had begun to work on the next strategic step: the recapture of Luoyang.

"Your Majesty, I believe..."

Cheng Yu spurred his horse forward a few steps, about to offer his advice with hands clasped.

On the main road ahead, their own troops, like ants fleeing from their nest, surged forward in a dense, overwhelming mass.

Armor and weapons were lost, flags were tattered, and soldiers were in a state of panic…

It was clearly a sign of a crushing defeat.

Cao Cao abruptly reined in his horse, his smug expression instantly turning to astonishment.

Cheng Yu's expression changed drastically, as did Sima Yi, Jia Xu, and the others.

Soon after, Cao Ren and Xu Chu arrived one after the other.

Cao Ren dismounted, filled with grief and indignation, and said:

"Your Majesty, following Cheng Zhongde's plan, I set up an ambush halfway there, intending to surround and kill Zhang Liao and his remaining troops."

"Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, Xiao He led the main force of the Chu army to attack."

"I was unaware of this. We were wounded by Zhang Liao and had no choice but to retreat with the entire army."

"Your Majesty, the bandit Xiao's army is about to arrive! We must retreat to the camp immediately!"

Cao Cao swayed, his legs losing their grip on the horse's belly.

Fearing that Cao Cao might fall off his horse again, Xu Chu rushed forward and helped him up.

"Wasn't that traitor Xiao still in Luoyang, waiting for Yu Da'er to join him? How could he have appeared outside Hulao Pass overnight?"

"Your Majesty, this, this..."

Cheng Yu's forehead was covered in sweat as he looked at Cao Cao with disbelief.

Cao Cao's face was ashen, and he was so shocked that he couldn't utter a single word.

"Your Majesty!"

Sima Yi spurred his horse forward and called out in a deep voice:

"I deduce that Xiao He must have feared the loss of Hulao Pass, so he led his troops there ahead of time, which gave him enough time to catch up with Zhang Liao's forces."

"Commander Cheng's plan to lure the enemy backfired by sheer luck, and that scoundrel Xiao just happened to fall into it!"

Everyone suddenly realized.

Cao Cao suddenly awoke, lashed out with his whip, and shouted in a frenzy:
"How hateful! My plan was about to succeed, but it was ruined by that scoundrel Xiao, and all my efforts were in vain!"

"Why, why do my schemes always manage to be thwarted by that scoundrel Xiao?"

"Why? Why is this happening?"

In his anger and frustration, Cao Cao felt a surge of anger rising to his head, a sweet taste on his tongue, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

This time, he was so enraged that he vomited blood.

"Your Majesty~~"

The officials were shocked and rushed forward to help Cao Cao up.

"Your Majesty, it is my incompetence that led to my plan being seen through by that traitor Xiao. I am guilty, and I beg Your Majesty to take good care of yourself!"

With tears in his eyes and a face full of shame, Cheng Yu pleaded with him.

Cao Cao took several deep breaths to calm his blood and qi, then looked up to the sky and let out a mournful sigh:
"No wonder. It must be because I slaughtered too many cities in the first half of my life, and my sins were too heavy, thus angering the heavens, who sent down Xiao He to punish me..." (End of this chapter)