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

"Xiao He, it must be that Xiao He!"

Jia Xu, who had been silent all along, suddenly called out:
"I suspect it was Xiao He who, after the battle of Baibo Valley, predicted that we would abandon Bingzhou and retreat westward, and therefore ordered Zhao Yun, who participated in the battle, to lead his cavalry to flank and attack Lin County."

"Therefore, the Han army was able to take the initiative and launch a surprise attack on our Lin County, catching us completely off guard."

Jia Xu's voice trembled as he deduced the mystery behind it.

Cao Cao felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, and for a moment he felt a suffocating pain.

"You scoundrel Xiao, you scoundrel Xiao, why is it you again~~"

"Back in Xuchang, Zihuan should have killed you, you country bumpkin, instead of letting you join that big-eared thief!"

Cao Cao beat his chest and stamped his feet, hysterically regretting and cursing.

In a fit of rage, Cao Cao brought up old grievances.

Back then, Xiao He first appeared when he volunteered to join Xiao He's army before their southern expedition to Jingzhou.

Unexpectedly, Cao Pi treated him as a madman and drove him away.

Cao Cao was furious.

He only regretted that Cao Pi hadn't been ruthless enough. Why did he only drive Xiao He away instead of killing him directly as a Yellow Turban rebel?
If that were the case, Liu Bei would not have risen to power, and I wouldn't have ended up in this state...

Everything was because her son wasn't ruthless enough.

"Your Majesty, what's done is done, and blaming His Highness the Crown Prince now will not help."

Jia Xu sighed, then pointed east:
"I predict that when the General learns of the fall of Lin County, he will lead the remaining 60,000 troops to retreat and defend Jinyang."

"When the 300,000 Han troops besiege Jinyang, I'm afraid the general will repeat the same mistake as Liyang."

"In my opinion, the only chance for the General is to immediately lead the army north to Dai County, pass through the grasslands and the territory of the Xianbei, and head west through Juyan into Liangzhou. Only then will there be a glimmer of hope."

Jia Xu pointed out a clear path for Xiahou Dun.

A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared on Cao Cao's face, which was filled with grief, indignation, and regret.

He hurriedly got up unsteadily and went back to the map.

With the capture of Xihe Commandery by the Han army, the geographical connection between Guanzhong and Bingzhou was indeed severed.

However, geographically speaking, the connection between Bingzhou and Liangzhou was not severed by the Han army.

However, traveling from Bingzhou to Liangzhou requires traversing hundreds of miles of the southern grasslands, which are currently under the control of the Xianbei people.

If Xiahou Dun led 60,000 Wei troops, with ample provisions, north out of Bingzhou, across hundreds of miles of grassland, and retreated into Liangzhou, it wouldn't be too difficult.

The key point is that a powerful ruler named Kebineng has emerged in the Xianbei, who has annexed more than ten Xianbei tribes and has the potential to unify the Xianbei and control the southern part of the Gobi Desert.

Xiahou Dun wanted to retreat to Liangzhou via the grasslands, but he needed to obtain Kebineng's first request.

Otherwise, if Kebineng were to send Xianbei cavalry to intercept and harass them on the way, how could Xiahou Dun and his 60,000 troops, whose morale was low, possibly withstand the attack?
I fear that these 60,000 men, instead of dying at the hands of the Han army, will die under the swords of the Xianbei.

"Immediately send someone to Bingzhou and order Yuan Rang not to hold Jinyang to the death, but to quickly send the entire army north out of Bingzhou and retreat from the grasslands to Liangzhou."

"Send another envoy with a large sum of money to the southern desert to befriend Kebineng and ask him to allow our army to pass."

Cao Cao reacted swiftly, issuing two edicts in quick succession.

Jia Xu accepted the order.

Seeing that the 60,000 Wei soldiers had a chance to escape, the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief.

then.

The envoys traveled north, heading straight for the court of the Xianbei Chanyu in the southern desert.

One messenger, carrying Cao Cao's edict, went to Bingzhou to see Xiahou Dun.

Cao Cao then ordered a portion of his troops to be transferred north from the southern front, with over 50,000 men to launch a rapid attack on Pubanjin.

Three days later, Cao Cao, who had been suffering greatly, finally received news that brought him utter despair.

The messenger was still a step too late.

Upon learning of the fall of Lin County, Xiahou Dun immediately ordered his remaining troops to retreat to Jinyang.

By the time the messenger arrived, more than 50,000 Wei troops had already retreated into Jinyang City.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei led an army of 100,000 men, marching north day and night to pursue and kill Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun had just retreated into Jinyang when Liu Bei's army arrived and besieged the city, cutting off Xiahou Dun's route to the grasslands.

The Bingzhou army was thus trapped and died in Jinyang City.

"Yuan Rang, Yuan Rang, why did you retreat to the isolated city of Jinyang? Why didn't you choose to go north to the grasslands? Have you forgotten the Battle of Liyang? Have you forgotten how Zixiao died?"

Cao Cao angrily cursed and threw the military report in his hand to the ground.

Inside the main tent, the generals sighed and lamented once more, their faces gleaming with the light that had only lasted a few days.

Xiahou Dun is finished.

The Bingzhou army is finished.

This is the consensus of everyone at this moment.

Jinyang City was indeed known as the most impregnable city in the world.

But you are not the only fortified city in the world. Liyang, Yecheng, Jixian... which one is not a fortified city in the world?

is that useful?
No matter how indestructible you are, in the end, which one can withstand the siege of the Han army?
Holding Jinyang to the death is truly just waiting to die in Jinyang.

The only hope was that Cao Cao would capture Pubanjin, invade Hedong, and force Liu Bei to lift the siege of Jinyang.

is it possible?

Currently, there are only about 20,000 people in Pubanjin. You couldn't take it even after a month of intensive attack.

Now that Liu Bei's 300,000-strong army has joined forces, he can easily send tens of thousands of men south to reinforce the defense of Pubanjin.

At that time, the balance of power will be reversed, and the Han army may even have to switch from defense to offense and cross the river to attack your Puban Pass.

How naive are you, Xiahou Dun, to expect Cao Cao to come to your rescue?
In short, there's one sentence: Bingzhou is finished, and so is the Bingzhou army.

Apart from the 20,000 troops who had fled across the river beforehand, Cao Cao and the Wei Kingdom had already lost everything in the battle of Bingzhou.

"Is there really no hope for Yuan Rang and Bingzhou?"

After venting his anger, Cao Cao looked at his ministers with almost pleading eyes, hoping they could come up with a brilliant plan to turn the tide.

The ministers all sighed and silently lowered their heads, not daring to meet Cao Cao's pleading gaze.

"His Majesty!"

Sima Yi suddenly looked up and stared directly at Cao Cao, cupping his hands in greeting:
"In my opinion, the only hope to save the General and the 60,000 soldiers is for Liu Bei to withdraw his troops on his own."

"Now, relying solely on our own strength, we have no chance of forcing Liu Bei to retreat. It's time to seek help from other countries!"

The power of other countries?

Cao Cao was both surprised and bewildered, and quickly gestured for Sima Yi to continue.

Sima Yi took a deep breath, a confident look on his face, and pointed south:
"Your Majesty, do not forget that in the world today, besides our Great Wei and the pseudo-Han, there are also Zhang Lu of Hanzhong and Liu Zhang of Shu."

"Why doesn't Your Majesty, in the name of the Emperor, appoint Zhang and Liu as kings, and persuade them to send troops to attack Han on the grounds that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold?"

"At that time, Zhang Lu can lead the Hanzhong army to attack Xiangyang from the Mian River, while Liu Zhang can lead the Shu troops out of Sichuan and attack Jiangling from the Yangtze River."

"Currently, Liu Bei's army is all in Bingzhou, leaving the Jingzhou front line vulnerable. If Liu and Zhang break through, half of Jiangnan will be in danger of falling, and the Central Plains of Xu and Luo will also be in danger of collapsing."

"With the situation in the south changing so drastically, how could Liu Bei dare to ignore it? He must immediately return south with his troops!"

"In that case, wouldn't the siege of Jinyang be lifted on its own?" (End of Chapter)