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

Chapter 371 Cao Cao's Exhausted Tactics Lead to Retreat; He Discusses the Overall Situation with Liu Bei in Ye City (1st Update)
What puzzled Liu Bei was that for three consecutive days, Cao Cao personally went out to invite Liu Bei to talk, then led his troops into battle, but after no clear victor, he sounded the retreat and returned the next day.

Something unusual must be a conspiracy, so Liu Bei hurriedly ordered scouts to investigate the changes in Wei Commandery.

Upon learning that Cao Cao was forcibly relocating the people of Wei Commandery across the river to Yan Province on a large scale, Liu Bei's expression changed drastically: "That scoundrel Cao is forcibly relocating the people of Wei Commandery; he intends to turn Wei Commandery into a barren wasteland!"

If the people of Wei Commandery were forcibly relocated, the most direct impact would be that Liu Bei would be limited to the area north of the Yellow River and would be unable to move south for several years.

This move will also severely impact Liu Bei's ability to contain Cao Cao's main force, allowing Runan and Qingxu to once again face Cao Cao's slaughter.

It must be admitted that Cao Cao's ability to gradually grow to his current position amidst the chaos of warlords is rare in his time, in terms of wisdom, strategy, and charisma.

Even when faced with Liu Bei's ten-pronged attack, he was able to handle the situation calmly and set up one obstacle after another for Liu Bei. If he was not careful, Liu Bei would have lost all his previous efforts.

Fortunately, although Liu Bei was not as wise and cunning as Cao Cao, he was able to combine the strengths of many people.

Whether it was Pang Tong and Xu Shu from Jingzhou, or Tian Feng, a former subordinate of Yuan Shao, they were all rare talents of their time.

The group quickly devised a plan for Liu Bei: order Guan Yu's troops to abandon their attack on Handan and instead join forces to besiege Feixiang.

(Note: In the previous chapter, Yue Jin and others were in Handan, but I wrote at the end that they were in Feixiang. This has been corrected.)
This strategy indeed greatly alarmed Cao Cao. When he learned that Guan Yu's troops were coming from the direction of Handan, Cao Cao no longer dared to go out and invite Liu Bei to talk and fight as usual.

If they were surrounded by Guan Yu's troops, it wouldn't be a draw, but a hasty retreat.

Cao Ren and others even advised Cao Cao to retreat to Ye City.

If Cao Cao were in Ye City, Cao Ren and others might have been able to hold Feixiang to the death, but since Cao Cao stayed in Feixiang, the outcome was uncertain.

Now Cao Cao faced two paths: either summon Yue Jin and others to Feixiang for a decisive battle, or abandon Feixiang and return to Yecheng.

If Liu Bei were to send Yue Jin and others to Feixiang for a decisive battle, he would not hesitate to send Zhuge Liang to Feixiang as well. Cao Cao, not wanting to lose all his previous efforts, would have no choice but to send troops from Yecheng and Dongwuyang to Feixiang.

At that time, Feixiang will become the decisive battleground between Cao Cao and Liu Bei. If Cao Cao wins, he will unify Hebei; if Liu Bei wins, he will unify the Central Plains.

For a fleeting moment, Cao Cao considered engaging Liu Bei in a decisive battle, believing that victory would eliminate Liu Bei once and for all.

However, Xun You and Guo Jia advised Cao Cao in time that with the rear unstable, it was impossible to maintain a long-term standoff with Liu Bei as it had been during the Battle of Guandu.

If he is not careful, Cao Cao could be defeated in one battle, just like Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu.

"Liu Bei, this fellow, has truly impressed me."

Under their persuasion, Cao Cao reluctantly abandoned the idea of ​​a decisive battle with Liu Bei.

In truth, Cao Cao understood that Liu Bei was also gambling, betting that Cao Cao wouldn't dare to force a decisive battle given the instability in his rear.

True.

Cao Cao issued edicts appointing Ma Teng and his son, Liu Qi and his brothers, Sun Quan as Acting General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Gongsun Gong as Governor of Yingzhou, but all these appointments had a prerequisite.

That is because Ma Teng and his son, Liu Qi and his brother, Sun Quan, and Gongsun Kang believed that they could no longer take advantage of Cao Cao, so they settled for second best. However, if the various forces knew that Cao Cao was actually fighting Liu Bei in Feixiang, not to mention what Ma Teng and his son and Liu Qi and his brother would choose, Zhou Yu of Jiangdong would definitely persuade Sun Quan to follow Sun Ce's will and launch a surprise attack on Xuchang.

If Sun Ce hadn't died young, it's uncertain whether Cao Cao would have continued to control Xuchang.

If there were a better opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang than during the Battle of Guandu, Zhou Yu, with his strategic vision, would never have missed such a golden opportunity.

Zhou Yu's uncle, Zhou Zhong, once escorted Liu Xie back east and later served as the Commandant of the Guards. Sun Quan's father, Sun Jian, also once fought against Dong Zhuo to rescue Liu Xie.

With these two relationships in place, as long as Zhou Yu and Sun Quan successfully launch a surprise attack on Xuchang, Liu Xie will surely regard Zhou Yu and Sun Quan as he once regarded Wang Yun and Lü Bu.

Regardless of how the overall situation will evolve at that time, Cao Cao's power will certainly disintegrate, and he will lose his momentum in the struggle for the world, just like Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao.

As long as his rear is stable, Cao Cao is willing to engage in mutual exploitation with Liu Bei.

This time, Cao Cao truly dared not fight Liu Bei to the death in Feixiang.

After careful consideration, Cao Cao abandoned the idea of ​​confronting Liu Bei, withdrew the troops from Feixiang and Handan back to Ye City, and ordered Jia Xu to abandon the forced relocation of the people of Wei Commandery, instead preparing boats for the army to cross the river back to Yanzhou.

To prevent Cao Cao from delaying, Liu Bei also led his army step by step, advancing on Ye City and not giving Cao Cao the opportunity to forcibly relocate the people.

Left with no other choice, Cao Cao had to accept Guo Jia's suggestion and invite Liu Bei to speak again.

However, this meeting was no longer about persuading Liu Bei to surrender; instead, it was about discussing the cessation of hostilities and the demarcation of borders with Liu Bei in order to protect their own interests as much as possible.

"Xuande, you have won this battle, and I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. Soon I will withdraw all my troops to the south bank, leaving the city and its inhabitants to you. How about we call a truce?" Despite his resentment, Cao Cao had to appear magnanimous for the sake of the overall situation.

Liu Bei carefully observed Cao Cao's expression and sneered, "Brother Mengde, your words make it sound as if I've gained some great advantage. These past few days, Brother Mengde has plundered a large amount of money and grain under the guise of forcibly relocating people. Shouldn't you have left some behind?"

Cao Cao laughed heartily: "Xuande, you jest. Although I cannot defeat you, you cannot defeat me either. I have heard that you have reinstated the land survey decree in the north, which is a beneficial act for the country and its people, and I deeply admire it. My plundering of these funds and grains is also to reduce the obstacles for you in implementing the land survey decree, and you should be grateful to me. How could you possibly covet my money and grains?"

Regardless of the positions of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Cao Cao's words are indeed true.

The powerful clans openly and covertly opposed the land grants, not only because the grants would harm their family interests, but also because they had a large amount of money and grain to rely on.

Now that Cao Cao has plundered the wealth and provisions of powerful clans, the tenants and slaves who depend on these clans will inevitably leave them and turn to Liu Bei in order to survive.

Without the support of money and grain, and unable to incite their tenants and private slaves to oppose the land allocation, the powerful clans had no choice but to obediently comply with Liu Bei's land allocation order in order to secure a future under Liu Bei's command.

But Liu Bei didn't want to be led by the nose by Cao Cao, so he resorted to shamelessness: "I want the city and the people, I want the money and grain. If Brother Mengde doesn't give them to me, then I'll have to take them by force."

Cao Cao seemed to have anticipated Liu Bei's refusal, so he raised his voice, implying a threat: "Xuande, things shouldn't be taken too far. I have already petitioned the Emperor to appoint Sun Quan as Acting General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Xuzhou, to appoint Gongsun Gong as Governor of Yingzhou and to designate the counties of Donglai as Yingzhou, to appoint Liu Qi as Prefect of Nanyang, and to appoint Liu Cong as Governor of Qingzhou. My subordinate Man Chong has also led troops to attack the remnants of the Yuan clan in Runan."

"If Xuande continues to confront me here and delays the spring planting, Hebei will surely suffer from famine this year. When I lead my troops north again, will Xuande be as lucky as he is this year?"

(End of this chapter)