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

Liu Bei's expression shifted slightly.

What is Cao Chong trying to do?
He held a sword to his own neck; was he trying to commit suicide?

"Liu Bei!"

Cao Chong, standing opposite, shouted loudly, his gaze fixed on Liu Bei filled with both sorrow and resentment, yet also with undisguised respect.

"You are indeed an extraordinary genius, a benevolent ruler rarely seen throughout history!"

"You are fortunate to have such a divine person as Xiao He as your advisor; it is truly a blessing from heaven."

"You are better able to show benevolence and righteousness to the people and win the hearts of the people."

"The mandate of heaven and the hearts of the people are with you. Your destruction of my Great Wei and unification of the world is well-deserved."

The Wei soldiers, who were kneeling on the ground, raised their heads and looked at the young master of the Cao family in astonishment.

They clearly did not expect that Cao Chong, as the son of the King of Wei, would praise his mortal enemy Liu Bei so highly.

They openly declared that Liu Bei's unification of the world was in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, and was well-deserved.
Even Liu Bei was moved, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

After his initial surprise, Liu Bei spurred his horse forward a few steps and said loudly:
"Cao Cangshu, since you say that my gaining the world is the will of Heaven, why don't you follow the will of Heaven and surrender to me?"

Cao Chong raised the corners of his mouth slightly, but it was a bitter laugh.

“If I were not surnamed Cao, I would naturally follow the will of Heaven and submit to a wise ruler like you.”

“But my surname is Cao, and I am the son of Cao Mengde, a descendant of the King of Wei.”

"Anyone in the world can betray my father, anyone can surrender to you, but I, Cao Chong, cannot."

After saying this, Cao Chong turned around, looked north, and his eyes were already filled with tears.

“Father, I have done my best, but fate favors Liu Bei over Cao Cao. We are destined to be no match for Liu Bei.”

"On the road to the Yellow Springs, I will walk slowly and wait for you, Father."

"Father, I'm taking my leave now!"

Taking a deep breath, Cao Chong closed his eyes.

With a gritted tooth, he resolutely slashed down with his longsword.

"don't want--"

Liu Bei was taken aback and hurriedly reached out to stop him.

It's too late.

The sword sliced ​​across his throat, and a spurt of blood gushed out.

The blood-stained sword fell, and Cao Chong crashed off his horse, landing face up on the ground.

Gazing at the sky illuminated by the morning glow, Cao Chong's vision grew increasingly blurry. In his daze, he seemed to see the scene from back in Xuchang, when he weighed an elephant with a boat and Cao Cao praised him profusely, stroking his forehead...

Cao Chong's lips curled up slightly, revealing a long-lost smile.

Then, his expression froze at that moment.

The sound of horse hooves sounded.

When Liu Bei arrived, surrounded by Chen Dao, Zhao Yun, and others, the Cao family prodigy had already perished.

"Cao Cao was a cruel traitor, yet he had such a son. What a pity, what a pity..."

Liu Bei sighed with regret, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Zhao Yun also showed respect and sighed:
"This young man was in dire straits, yet he did not choose to live a life of shame, but instead chose to end his own life. His courage is truly admirable."

Liu Bei nodded slightly, then dismounted, closed Cao Chong's eyes, and ordered that Cao Chong be given a proper burial.

Upon receiving the order, Chen Dao commanded his personal guards to carry away Cao Chong's body.

As Liu Bei mounted his horse again, the Wei soldiers kneeling around him began to shout like a tidal wave.

"We are willing to surrender to Your Majesty—"

"We are willing to surrender to Your Majesty—"

Liu Bei raised his head and looked towards the direction of Ye City.

At this moment, the sky was bright, and the rising sun had illuminated Ye City.

A flag bearing the character "Chu" had already been raised atop the city wall, announcing that the capital of the pseudo-Wei state in the heart of Hebei had changed hands.

Liu Bei let out a hearty laugh, spurred his horse, and rode away.

The massive army marched westward, heading straight for Ye City.

When the group arrived at the east gate of Ye City, the city walls and surrounding area were covered with Chu flags, and the Chu soldiers who had captured the city were waving their weapons and cheering loudly.

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on the recapture of Ye City!"

Xiao He, who had entered the city ahead of time, greeted them with a smile, leading Zhang Liao, Guan Xing, and other generals.

Liu Bei looked at Xiao He with gratitude and said with emotion:
"Without Bowen's planning and the bravery of my generals, how could I have stepped into this Ye City!"

"This glory today, I share with you all!"

Upon hearing Liu's words, the ministers exchanged glances, their faces filled with satisfaction.

After his reflections, Liu Bei burst into laughter and cracked his whip:
"Let's go together into Ye City. Today, I will drink with you all until we're completely drunk!"

Xiao laughed loudly.

All the generals laughed.

The Chu king and his ministers then entered the city in high spirits.

At noon, a victory celebration banquet was being held in the Yecheng Palace.

Liu Bei and his ministers, including Xiao He, naturally drank heartily. Liu Bei, of course, did not forget the merits of his generals and soldiers, and when a banquet was held in the palace, he made sure to take all the wine and meat to reward the soldiers.

So Liu Bei and his ministers drank heartily in the palace, while the Chu soldiers outside the palace drank, ate, sang, and danced in celebration.

On the battlefield east of the city, a man crawled out from a pile of dead bodies, seized a warhorse, and headed straight north.

...

In the southern part of Zhao County, there is Liangqi City.

Inside the main hall of the county government, Cao Cao rested his hand on his forehead, his brows furrowed, his face etched with worry.

Ten days ago, Cao Chong sent a messenger to ask him to send a grain convoy south along the Zhang River and enter the city through the east gate of Ye City.

As a result, Cao Chong's plan failed, and he suffered countless losses of soldiers and generals.

Even Xu Yi, the son of the tiger-like fool, was killed by Liu Bei.

Five days ago, intelligence came again that Liu Bei had dug up the Zhang River and flooded Ye City.

The two pieces of news were like two fires set off in Cao Cao's mind, leaving him in a state of utter chaos.

"Your Majesty, please grant me permission to lead my army south. I will personally slay Liu Bei and those two traitors, Xiao He!"

Xu Chu, who was below the steps, could no longer bear it and angrily asked to fight.

Cao Cao looked up and glanced at Xu Chu.

He naturally knew that Xu Chu was preoccupied with the memory of his son Xu Yi's death, and was blinded by rage, eager to lead his army south to seek revenge.

Cao Cao gestured for Xu Chu to sneer, and sighed:

“Zhongkang, your son is my son. I will avenge Zidu no matter what.”

"But the Chu army is currently too powerful. Even if I were to lead the entire army south, it would only be filling the sea of ​​Chu soldiers with these 70,000 men, which would be of no use."

Xu Chu's face turned red with anger, but he could only swallow back the grief and indignation he felt.

After forcibly calming his emotions, Xu Chu questioned again:
"But now the defenders of Ye City have lost more than half their strength, and that big-eared thief has used the vicious plan of flooding Ye City. Young Master Cang Shu is already in a precarious situation. Are we just going to stand by and watch him follow in the footsteps of General Zi Xiao?"

Cao Cao's expression changed, and a chill ran down his spine.

Xu Chu's words, "Following in the footsteps of General Zixiao," were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

"Sigh~~"

Cao Cao gasped, leaned on his cane to stand up, and walked laboriously to the hall entrance, his gaze fixed on the direction of Ye City.

The tragic battle of Liyang, in which Cao Ren suffered a crushing defeat, is vividly recalled.

With their supplies exhausted, suffering from cold and hunger, resorting to cannibalism, the entire army was wiped out, their bodies and heads separated from their bodies...

Could it be that his prodigy son is really going to experience everything that Cao Ren went through?
Cao Cao gritted his teeth, making a clicking sound.

"Young Master Cang Shu was too soft-hearted and drove the entire city's inhabitants out of the city, which made Liu Bei no longer afraid to act rashly and dare to flood Ye City without restraint."

"With internal shortages of food and supplies, and losses of soldiers and generals, coupled with the flooding of the city from the outside, I'm afraid that Prince Cangshu will not be able to hold out until the day that the big-eared bandits retreat."

Sima Yi analyzed the situation and subtly criticized Cao Chong for his "womanly compassion."

Cao Cao frowned and struck the ground with his cane:
"That child Cang Shu, of all things to learn, he had to learn from that hypocrite, the one with the big ears, only to put himself in a disadvantageous position!"

"Foolish, he really is foolish~~"

Cao Cao gritted his teeth and complained incessantly.

Sima Yi's lips curled into a slight smile, then he coughed a few times and cupped his hands in greeting:

"However, I believe that, given the precedent of Liyang, Prince Cangshu will not continue to hold out."

"I suspect that Prince Cangshu will choose to abandon the city and break out when the water level recedes slightly in order to find a way to survive."

Cao Cao's face darkened, and he angrily said:

"When he volunteered to defend Ye City, he made a solemn pledge before me, vowing to live and die with Ye City!"

"I have not ordered him to abandon the city, so how could he abandon the capital of my Great Wei and flee?"

Sima Yi's eyes darted around secretly, and he sighed:

"Ye City is the capital of our Great Wei. Its gain or loss is indeed related to the survival of Hebei. We must hold it even if it means fighting to the last soldier."

"However, Young Master Cang Shu is still young and has not experienced the test of life and death. It is understandable that he would be afraid in the face of danger and abandon Ye City to save his life."

Sima Yi's words, seemingly to exonerate Cao Chong, were actually adding fuel to the fire.

Cao Cao grew increasingly enraged as he listened, slamming his cane heavily on the ground and opening his mouth to unleash a furious outburst.

at this time.

A group of guards, supporting a general covered in blood, stumbled towards them.

"Xia Houchong?"

When Cao Cao recognized the general, his expression changed drastically.

An extremely ominous premonition suddenly overwhelmed me.

"My king, my king!"

Xiahou Chong pushed aside his personal guards, knelt before Cao Cao, and wept bitterly:
"Our entire army has been wiped out. Chen Tai is dead, Xin Pi is dead, and Prince Cang Shu is dead!"

"Ye City has fallen into the hands of that big-eared thief!"

Like a thunderbolt striking down on your head.

Cao Cao felt a wave of dizziness, staggered back half a step, and collapsed onto the threshold. (End of Chapter)