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

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty——"

A general, weeping and wailing, galloped over, dismounted, and knelt heavily before Cao Cao's horse.

"Who is coming?"

Xu Chu, who was standing next to Cao Cao, shouted a question.

"It's Liang Kuan!"

Cao Cao recognized the man and shouted:
"Why are you here? Where is Yang Fu? What exactly is going on with the national treasury?"

Liang Kuan knelt on the ground, his face contorted in grief, and sobbed:

"Your Majesty, by the time Attendant Yang led us to the national treasury, it was already too late."

"After Zhang Ji was killed by that scoundrel Zhang He, the Hebei army set fire to all the state granaries."

"Upon seeing this, Yang Shizhong did not hesitate to lead us to charge at the rebel army in an attempt to recover the national treasury and salvage some grain."

"Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, many officials in the city rose up in rebellion, leading their private armies to attack from all directions."

"The Hebei army launched a fierce attack from the front, while the rebels attacked from the rear. Under the combined attack from both sides, we were ultimately outnumbered and suffered a crushing defeat."

"Yang Shi was also unfortunately beheaded by Zhang He!"

Liang Kuan said this at this point.

Cao Cao's body suddenly stiffened, as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt, and he stood there frozen in place.

The national treasury is empty?

That's 300,000 bushels of grain!

That was money he had painstakingly saved up, solely for the purpose of defending Chang'an.

It was his and General Liu's lifeline.

Now, it has been reduced to ashes by a huge fire.

The reserve corps also either defected or collapsed.

What pained him even more was that so many of his ministers had rebelled and joined forces to stab him in the back.

This betrayal caused him more pain and despair than the enemy's swords.

Yang Fu, one of the few remaining loyal ministers, actually died just like that?
He was still killed by that traitor Zhang He!

At this moment, Cao Cao felt as if his heart had been pierced by countless sharp blades at the same time, causing him unbearable pain.

"what--"

Suddenly, Cao Cao let out a heart-wrenching cry to the heavens.

His body swayed unsteadily, like a candle flickering in the wind, and he was about to fall off his horse.

"His Majesty!"

Xu Chu, Jia Xu, and others were shocked to see this and rushed forward to catch Cao Cao just before he fell off his horse.

"Heaven is blind! Why does it treat me this way?"

Cao Cao was already in tears. He raised his head, pointed to the sky, and cursed angrily:

"What have I done wrong? Why are you treating me like this? Why, why?!"

He roared in fury, suddenly shoving aside the people supporting him, drawing his sword from his waist, and hoarsely shouting:

"By my decree, continue the attack on the national treasury! I want Zhang He dead!"

Cao Cao was filled with grief and rage, and even in this state, he still insisted on fighting again.

He thought to himself that even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would take the gamble.

The Wei soldiers behind him were terrified and at a loss.

They stood there, their eyes filled with confusion and fear, whispering amongst themselves.

The national treasury contained their life-saving provisions, a fact known to everyone in the Wei army.

Now that their supplies have been burned, it's as if they've been cut off from food supplies immediately.

The rebellion of the people of Hebei and the uprising of high-ranking officials and nobles in the city dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Wei army.

The news that the national grain reserves have been burned has further dampened their morale and plunged them into panic.

At this point, which of the soldiers still had the will to quell the rebellion and kill the enemy for Cao Cao?
Without supplies, what good is winning the battle?

They were still going to starve to death by the Han army.

Even the generals around him looked bewildered. Everyone knew that fighting again would not only be futile in turning the tide, but would also mean certain death.

"Are you deaf? I order you to storm the granary and kill Zhang He with me!"

Cao Cao roared like thunder, his angry gaze sweeping across his generals and soldiers like sharp swords.

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of plumes of flame and thick smoke rose into the sky from all directions of Chang'an City almost simultaneously.

The deafening shouts of battle then filled the city, drowning out the sounds of fighting between the two armies in the east.

"Kill Cao Cao—"

"The Han Dynasty has surrendered!"

The sounds of battle echoed throughout the city like a surging tide, wave after wave.

Cao Cao's body trembled, and his furious expression immediately turned into one of panic and helplessness.

He looked around in horror, as if in the blink of an eye, the entire city's soldiers and civilians had rebelled.

"How could this be? Is it not just Zhang He who has rebelled against me, but all the people of Chang'an who have rebelled against me?"

Cao Cao surveyed the flames on all sides, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Jia Xu quickly scanned the surroundings and shook his head, saying:
"Your Majesty, it is not that all the people of the city have rebelled against you. It must be those traitors who have secretly conspired to set fires at the same time, attempting to create the impression that the entire city has rebelled."

"They are trying to demoralize our troops and cause them to collapse, Your Majesty!"

A flash of clarity crossed Cao Cao's eyes, and his anger flared up again like a raging fire.

"Immediately dispatch troops to annihilate all those traitors who set fires!"

Cao Cao brandished his long sword and shouted hysterically.

The generals looked at each other, but no one moved.

The situation has now deteriorated to an extreme degree.

Hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain were reduced to ashes by the fire, the army's food supply was cut off, and the morale of the soldiers plummeted.

The morale of the army is on the verge of collapse!
Given the situation, you still want to quell the rebellion?

Do you think that by quelling the rebellion, you can protect this crumbling Chang'an?
Abandoning the city and retreating to Liangzhou is the wisest choice at present.

But none of them dared to utter a word of advice, for fear of offending Cao Cao.

"His Majesty!"

Jia Xu finally couldn't contain his anxiety any longer, and said solemnly with his hands clasped:
"Our supplies have run out, and the morale of our soldiers is on the verge of collapse. At this point, Chang'an is no longer defensible."

"Your Majesty, abandon Chang'an in time and lead the army to Liangzhou."

Jia Xu finally spoke for the generals, expressing their true feelings.

He knew in his heart that if Cao Cao continued to act so recklessly, everyone would die here once Chang'an fell.

Including himself.

All eyes turned to Cao Cao, hoping he would make a wise choice.

"You want me to leave Chang'an to guard the city?"

Cao Cao's expression changed drastically, and he roared at Jia Xu:

"I will not abandon the city, I will never give up Chang'an, I will never give up—"

Upon seeing this, Jia Xu panicked and knelt down with a thud.
"With the situation deteriorating to this point, does Your Majesty not know that Chang'an is absolutely indefensible?"

"Holding out to the death will only lead to certain doom!"

"Does Your Majesty truly wish to fall into Liu Bei's hands, become a ruler of a fallen kingdom, and be humiliated by Liu Bei?"

As he spoke, Jia Xu kowtowed to the ground, his voice trembling with tears, and pleaded:

"Your Majesty, I implore you to make the difficult decision to abandon Chang'an!"

The generals knelt down in unison and kowtowed in agreement.

The raging fire in Cao Cao's heart was finally extinguished by Jia Xu, and he collapsed onto his horse.

Involuntarily, the image of himself kneeling before Liu Bei, allowing him to humiliate him from his high position, came to mind.

That's a thousand times more painful than death.

After a long, exhausted sigh, Cao Cao waved his hand weakly:

"Abandon it all, abandon Chang'an, retreat to Liangzhou~~" (End of Chapter)