The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 344 Liu Bei's advance is unstoppable, Cao Cao leads his troops into Anping Kingdom (3rd update)
Liu Bei had no intention of letting Cao Chun go so easily, nor did he intend to let Cao Chun return to Nanpi safely. So he led his troops to attack while sending a fast order to Mi Fang of Chengping to lead troops to intercept him.

Although Mi Fang's military command skills were limited, it was not difficult for him to bluff and intimidate a Cao army that was already demoralized and short of supplies.

In order to frighten Cao Chun, Liu Bei also had Mi Fang display Zhuge Liang's banner. When Zhuge Liang's banner appeared, Cao Chun, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Li Dian all fled in fear.

After being chased all the way to Nanpi, Cao Chun and his men finally made their way back to the Nanpi camp with the help of Zang Ba.

The two armies, totaling 20,000 infantry and cavalry, came with great momentum. Now, Cao Cao's army in the Nanpi camp had only a few thousand men left, and even Xiahou Yuan, the commander of the western army, had been captured.

The generals were all deeply ashamed of how the battle had turned out this way.

As the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

Before Cao Chun and the others could recover their morale, more bad news arrived.

However, Xu Shu had gathered a large number of righteous soldiers in the southern counties of Bohai, preparing to cut off Cao Cao's army's retreat.

Upon hearing this news, Cao Chun was even more alarmed: "How could that treacherous Xu Shu be behind us?"

Soon, Cao Chun realized the key point and stamped his foot in regret, saying, "It must be that before Liu Bei went to Lecheng, he secretly ordered Xu Shu to take a detour to the southern part of Bohai to incite the counties to rebel. We can't stay here any longer. We must quickly retreat to Anping and report the battle situation to the Minister of Works for a decision! Lü Qian and Zang Ba, you two should return to Pingyuan first to guard against Xu Shu."

Cao Chun's military order was issued very hastily. Although the generals were very angry, they were helpless. The current situation was no longer under the control of Cao Chun and his generals. Only Cao Cao, who was stationed in Ye City, could control the situation.

As soon as Cao Chun issued his military order, the banners and flags of the Nanpi camp immediately began to flutter.

Lü Qian and Zang Ba dared not delay and immediately led their troops south to the plains overnight. Cao Chun, along with Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Li Dian, and others, abandoned the heavy baggage in their camp and hurriedly retreated southwest to Anping Kingdom.

People along the way were filled with fear, especially the soldiers who had been incorporated into Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan's army, who took the opportunity to flee.

Although Cao Chun was furious, he could not stop it. The former soldiers of the Yuan clan who had recently joined Cao Cao had no sense of belonging to him. Moreover, the 70,000 Yuan soldiers that Cao Cao killed at Guandu were more or less connected with the former soldiers of the Yuan clan. Now that Cao Chun had been defeated, the former soldiers of the Yuan clan would naturally choose to flee first.

Even living as a hermit in the mountains is better than being oppressed in Cao Cao's army.

Liu Bei learned from his scouts that Cao Chun had abandoned his camp and fled west. He immediately led his army to advance at full speed. When they arrived, they found the Nanpi camp empty, the gates wide open, flags and armor scattered all over the ground, a scene of utter devastation.

Liu Bei's army occupied the camp that Cao Cao's army had painstakingly built without losing a single soldier.

Before long, Mi Fang, who was in charge of the initial interception mission, also led his troops from the direction of Chengping to join them, and along the way they searched and captured many of Cao army soldiers who had either fallen behind or fled.

Liu Bei handed over the defeated soldiers to Xu Xun, the governor of Bohai, to settle them properly. These were all able-bodied men, and even if they could not join the army, they could be allowed to settle down and cultivate the land.

Once everything was ready, Liu Bei compiled the battle report and sent it to Zhuojun by fast horse.

This battle.

Liu Bei demonstrated exceptional military prowess, commanding and deploying his army of around ten thousand men with remarkable ease. He employed meticulous planning, keeping Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun constantly on the move, and repeatedly creating situations where he outnumbered his opponents in local battles. This earned the admiration of Xu Xun, the governor of Bohai, and Ju Shou, who was assisting in the defense of Nanpi.

On the battlefield, unless the troops you lead are all elite, it is rare to win against overwhelming odds.

In most cases, the strategy is to divide the enemy forces, concentrate superior forces to annihilate the scattered enemy forces, gradually narrow the gap in troop strength with the enemy, and ultimately achieve a complete victory over the enemy.

Ju Shou then seized the opportunity to offer a strategy: "Cao Cao's western and eastern armies have been defeated, leaving Qingzhou's military forces depleted. My lord, you can send troops south directly into Qingzhou, opening up access to Qi, Le'an, Beihai, and the coastal counties of Donglai. This would allow you to join forces with Gongsun Du's troops in Liaodong and force Cao Cao's troops in Pingyuan to return to defend. Once Cao Cao's troops return to Qingzhou to fight Gongsun Du's forces, you can then turn back and seize Pingyuan, relocating the people of Pingyuan's counties to Bohai, thus completely cutting off any possibility of Cao Cao advancing through Qingzhou in the future!"

In times of chaos, population is paramount. Whether it's acquiring land or maintaining an army, a large population is required. In comparison, the number of cities and lands one possesses is secondary.

Ju Shou's strategy was exactly what Liu Bei wanted. Immediately, Liu Bei ordered Ju Shou and Qian Zhao to lead troops south into Qingzhou, and cooperate with Xu Shu to open up the coastal counties of Qi, Le'an, Beihai and Donglai, forcing Cao Cao's troops who had retreated to Pingyuan to return to their aid.

Subsequently, Liu Bei led 3,000 elite troops south to Anping Kingdom and seized Guanjin City, which was located on the border.

Since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Guanjin has been a strategic location in Hebei. During the struggle for hegemony between Qi and Wei, it was captured by the State of Qi. Guanjin County was first established during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Liu Bei's sworn brother Qian Zhao was a man from Guanjin.

By seizing this place, we can not only look westward to Anping and southward to the plains, but also establish effective intelligence communication and strategic complementarity with Pang Tong and Zhang Fei in Zhongshan.

Cao Chun was resentful but had no choice but to endure being chased all the way to Anping by Liu Bei.

Both armies were defeated by Liu Bei and Xiahou Yuan was captured. Cao Chun now had no idea how to face Cao Cao's wrath.

While Cao Chun was retreating to Anping, a messenger rushed to Ye City ahead of him. On the same day that Liu Bei seized Guanjin City, the messenger also delivered battle reports from the western and eastern routes to Cao Cao.

After reading the report three times, Cao Cao finally put it down with a gloomy face.

"Cao Chun and Xiahou Yuan have actually been defeated."

Cao Cao had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined that Xiahou Yuan would be captured alive by Liu Bei.

In fact, Cao Cao should have personally commanded both the western and eastern routes.

Firstly, Cao Cao was too busy with many affairs to handle everything personally; secondly, Cao Cao felt that Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun were already enough to defeat Liu Bei.

Especially for Xiahou Yuan, if he can make great contributions in this battle, Cao Cao can take the opportunity to promote Xiahou Yuan and give him a higher rank and title, which would be a win-win situation.

Cao Cao has spent a lot of effort supporting Xiahou Yuan, a beloved general from his clan who once took the blame for him, hoping that Xiahou Yuan could grow up to be able to stand on his own.

Unexpectedly, Xiahou Yuan not only failed to grow stronger, but was also defeated and captured, which also implicated Cao Chun, who also suffered a defeat.

Now that two of the five armies have been defeated, if Cao Cao wants to continue fighting Liu Bei without having to redeploy troops from the other three armies, he will have no choice but to personally lead his troops to Anping.

"Issue my order: the Tiger Guard Army is to proceed to Anping Kingdom. I will personally go to fight Liu Bei!"

Cao Cao's reaction was surprisingly calm; he did not lose his temper or become enraged at the capture of Xiahou Yuan and the defeat of his two armies.

For Cao Cao, these years of campaigning in the east and west, and fighting in the south and north, had brought him bad news more than once or twice.

Even when Chen Gong rebelled with the full force of Yan Province, Cao Cao regained Yan Province and destroyed Zhang Miao's forces; even when he was almost captured alive in Wan City, Cao Cao regained Wan City and subdued Zhang Xiu's forces.

A defeat in a local battle could not affect Cao Cao's already resolute will.

Cao Cao was more concerned with how to defeat Liu Bei!

As long as Liu Bei is defeated, defeats on local battlefields are insignificant.

　I haven't been feeling well lately, so updates haven't been as frequent. Please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)