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

Sima Yi was initially shocked, but then the corners of his mouth turned up, and he let out a long breath, finally feeling a huge weight lifted from his heart.

Cao Chong is dead.

It wasn't that it was defeated, but that it died, disappearing from this world physically.

This means that Cao Pi's position as heir apparent is now completely secure.

Cao Ang, Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhi, the three legitimate sons, were all dead. The most intelligent of the illegitimate sons had also lost his life, and the remaining illegitimate sons were all mediocre and incompetent.

Who else is qualified to compete with Cao Pi for the position of heir apparent?

With the throne secured, Sima Yi naturally breathed a sigh of relief.

"impossible!"

"The traitorous Big Ears flooded Ye City in just a few days. How could Ye City have fallen, and how could Chong'er have died in battle?"

"I don't believe it, I don't believe it—"

After a brief moment of disorientation, Cao Cao, who had suffered a severe mental blow, suddenly struggled to his feet and hysterically roared at Xiahou Chong.

Xiahou Chong sighed and could only say with tears in his eyes:
"After the traitor Da'er flooded Ye City, we were besieged from both inside and outside. Prince Cang Shu had no choice but to lead us to abandon the city and break out of the siege."

"Who would have thought that Xin Pi's plan would be seen through by the enemy? The big-eared traitor set up a large force east of Ye City to block our army. We could not break through and our entire army was wiped out!"

"Chen Taixinpi and others all died in battle. After being surrounded, Prince Cangshu committed suicide by sword."

"I was wounded and fell into a pile of corpses, barely escaping death. I seized a warhorse while the enemy was off guard and risked my life to escape to report to Your Majesty..."

The truth came out.

Cao Cao staggered and fell back onto the threshold.

"Young Master Cang Shu has indeed abandoned the city—"

Sima Yi was about to kick someone when they were down, but then he realized something and quickly swallowed his words.

Since Cao Chong is already dead, what's the point of attacking and slandering him further?
Moreover, Cao Chong did not die in battle, nor was he killed by Liu Bei; he committed suicide to preserve his honor and reputation!
This really saved face for Cao Cao.

In this situation, you still don't know when to kick Cao Chong when he's down. Aren't you deliberately trying to provoke Cao Cao?

"Chong'er, Chong'er, I never expected you to have such courage. You are indeed worthy of being my son, Cao Cao. You have not disgraced me!"

“But you shouldn’t have abandoned the city and tried to break out. If you had just held on a little longer, your father would have come to save you.”

"You are my most beloved son, how could I abandon you?"

"Chong'er, Chong'er~~"

Cao Cao struck the ground with his cane, tears streaming down his face, and cried out in utter grief.

At this point, Cao Cao could no longer blame Cao Chong for abandoning the city without authorization and losing Ye City.

There was nothing they could do; Cao Chong's death was just too tragic and moving.

As the son of the King of Wei, in order to defend the dignity of the King of Wei, even when he was at his wit's end, he did not cowardly live or seek to survive, nor did he kneel down and surrender to Liu Bei.

Instead, he chose to commit suicide to preserve his honor.

Although Ye City has fallen, Cao Chong has still managed to save face for you.

How can you blame such a brave and fearless son who sacrificed his life?
Of course not.

Not only should you not blame him, but you should also erect monuments and temples in his honor and widely publicize his deeds to your subjects, using him as an example to inspire morale and inspire the people.

"Your Majesty, Prince Cang Shu cannot have died in vain!"

"Your Majesty, please order the entire army to march south and fight that treacherous scoundrel with the large ears to the death, to avenge Prince Cang Shu!"

Xu Chu rushed forward, knelt on one knee, and once again angrily requested to fight.

Cao Cao staggered to his feet, pointed his cane towards Ye City, and cursed angrily:
"You big-eared scoundrel, you've forced another one of my sons to his death! I will tear you to pieces, and I will kill all your sons too!"

Seeing this, Xu Chu thought that Cao Cao really wanted to send troops to take revenge, and immediately once again angrily requested to fight.

Although Cao Cao kept roaring and cursing, shouting that he wanted to avenge Cao Chong, he never expressed any intention to lead his troops south.

While roaring and cursing, Cao Cao was secretly glancing at strategists such as Sima Yi and Jia Xu from time to time.

He was in a dilemma.

How could he not show grief and indignation when his son was forced to death by Liu Bei, and how could he not cry out for revenge?
But his verbal sparring was nothing compared to his intention to lead his army south to fight Liu Bei to the death.

Leading 70,000 men to fight 300,000 Chu troops?

This isn't revenge; this is suicide.

Cao Cao was no longer the Cao Cao of yesteryear. The death of a mere son could no longer cloud his judgment or cause him to lose his reason.

However, Xu Chu, being a simpleton, didn't understand his thoughts and kept asking to fight, insisting on avenging Cao Chong and Xu Yi.

What could he do but personally refuse Xu Chu's request to fight?

He just can't bring himself to say it.

If you want to refuse, you can only do so through someone else.

Sima Yi remained silent, and Jia Xu also pretended to be confused, remaining silent to help Cao Cao out of the predicament.

These two shrewd individuals were well aware of Xu Chu's fiery temper.

Without Cao Cao's orders, they had already beheaded Xu You, a great contributor, with a single stroke. What if these two opposed Cao Cao's southward march and angered Xu Chu, causing him to draw his sword and kill them on the spot?
Xu Chu had such a fiery temper that even Cao Cao couldn't stop him.

How could Cao Cao still kill Xu Chu afterward?

At worst, he'd just get a few lashes and a few drinks as punishment, but he'd just lose his life for nothing.

With this in mind, Sima Yi and Jia Xu, despite their disagreement with the southward march, wisely kept quiet and pretended to be mute.

"Ahem, Zhongkang, we need to calm down~~"

“We must avenge our son, but now that Ye City has fallen, it would be tantamount to walking into a trap if we rashly send our mere 70,000 troops south to attack 300,000 Wei soldiers.”

"We cannot disregard the lives of 70,000 soldiers for our own selfish reasons."

Seeing that no one would play the bad cop for him, Cao Cao had no choice but to take matters into his own hands and patiently persuade Xu Chu.

Xu Chu was simple-minded, not stupid. He finally realized that Cao Cao did not want to march south.

To be precise, it should be that they dare not.

Left with no other choice, Xu Chu had to swallow his resentment and dared not press Cao Cao any further.

The generals understood Cao Cao's predicament, and none of them dared to volunteer for battle again.

Cao Cao immediately issued an edict to set up a memorial for Cao Chong in Liangqi City and ordered the soldiers of the three armies to wear mourning clothes for him.

After the day's worship ceremony, it was already late at night.

Cao Cao gently stroked Cao Chong's memorial tablet, gritting his teeth and silently vowing:
"Chong'er, don't worry, I will definitely avenge you, I definitely will!"

Having sworn an oath and vented his hatred, Cao Cao let out a long breath and turned to look at his ministers.

"Wenhe, Zhongda, now that Yecheng has fallen, what do you think I should do next?"

Cao Cao was naturally dissatisfied with the two men's refusal to "understand the emperor's intentions," but he had no choice but to ask them for advice.

"Your Majesty, Ye City has fallen, the morale of the people in Hebei has collapsed, and it is no longer defensible."

"I still maintain my original opinion: abandon Hebei immediately, and withdraw our limited forces westward across the Taihang Mountains to Bingzhou."

Without hesitation, Jia Xu offered his plan.

Cao Cao frowned slightly and remained silent.

Clearly, Jia Xu's advice did not meet his expectations.

Sima Yi then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said with a sigh:

"Your Majesty, I believe that the situation in Hebei has not yet reached the point of no return, and we still have the strength to fight."

"Ji Province may not be able to be defended, but You Province may not be."

"I believe that we should immediately retreat to Yijing, restart the Yijing defense line to resist the Da'er bandits, and retreat to Youzhou."

Cao Cao's gloomy eyes suddenly lit up.

Yi Jing.

Back then, Gongsun Zan was no match for Yuan Shao, but he relied on the Yijing defense line to withstand Yuan Shao's fierce attacks for nearly two years.

In the end, the fall of Yijing was not due to Yuan Shao's attack, but rather to Gongsun Zan's own foolish move.

Even with his numerous blunders, Gongsun Zan managed to hold off Yuan Shao for two years thanks to the Yijing defense line. Why can't I hold off Liu Bei?

Cao Cao got up, leaning on his cane, and went to the map. He stared at the location of Yijing and fell into deep thought.

Using Jia Xu's plan, retreating to Bingzhou immediately would naturally be the safest option.

But this means that the two provinces of Ji and You will be handed over to Liu Bei.

I really can't bear to part with it.

If we follow Sima Yi's plan, although we will lose Ji Province, we will have a chance to hold You Province.

As long as Youzhou is in our hands, we still have a chance to recover Jizhou and drive Liu Bei out of Hebei.

Although the chances are slim, it's still a glimmer of hope.

"Let's take a gamble..."

After weighing his options for a long time, Cao Cao's eyes narrowed, and he turned to look at his ministers:

"My mind is made up. The entire army shall immediately march north, abandon Ji Province, and retreat to the Yijing defense line!"

Sima Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Jia Xu shook his head and sighed inwardly.

Cao Cao then led an army of 70,000 and abandoned Liangqi City the next day, rushing north to retreat to Yijing.

At the same time, the prefectures and generals of Ji Province also received the imperial edict. The prefects and generals who were loyal to Cao Wei led their troops and stored money and grain to retreat towards Yijing.

After the Chu army captured Ye City, Liu Bei led his main force to garrison Ye City for rest and reorganization, while sending tens of thousands of troops north to take over the counties of Jibei.

The Wei army retreated without a fight, and the Chu army captured Bohai, Hejian, Julu, Zhongshan and other prefectures without shedding a drop of blood.

That summer, Liu Bei gained control of all of Ji Province. (End of Chapter)