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

"Cao Cao was truly ruthless!"

Even though Ma Chao had long been accustomed to the customs of the Qiang people, he couldn't help but be amazed by Cao Cao's massacre. In terms of ruthlessness alone, Cao Cao far surpassed Ma Chao.

Sun Zi sensed something was wrong and warned, "Cao Cao's reckless slaughter of the Hanoi gentry is likely to secure provisions. Cao's troops have become like mad beasts; we cannot defeat them."

However, Ma Chao, confident in his martial prowess, did not heed Sun Zi's suggestion this time, saying, "Yanlong, you are mistaken. Cao Cao is slaughtering the gentry of Hanoi, which is precisely the time for me to show my mercy. How can I not fight? Moreover, Cao's troops have been fleeing all the way and are already exhausted. I am waiting in comfort and waiting for them to tire themselves out. How can I not win? Yanlong, guard the city well and watch how I capture Cao Cao alive."

Seeing that he could not persuade Ma Chao, Sun Zi resorted to a less desirable option, saying, "If the general wants to leave the city, you can first send someone to inform the strategist to attack from both sides, so as to prevent Cao Cao from escaping by chance and ruining our efforts."

Ma Chao did not refuse Sun Zi's second proposal.

The purpose of actively venturing out of the city to fight was to capture Cao Cao alive. If Cao Cao was defeated but not captured alive, then, as Sun Zi said, all efforts would be in vain.

However, both Ma Chao and Sun Zi underestimated Cao Cao's ruthlessness.

Not long after Ma Chao left the city, he was ambushed by Cao Cao. Caught off guard, Ma Chao was defeated on the spot and returned to the city in a sorry state.

Jia Xu's plan had two main objectives: first, to slaughter Sima Shi and seize his supplies; and second, to launch a swift attack on Ma Chao. Only by achieving these two objectives could they successfully break through the encirclement and enter Guanzhong.

Xiahou Yuan's construction of a watchtower outside the city was both an attempt to provoke Sima Lang and others inside the city and a way to lure Ma Chao out of the city.

The plan is now progressing smoothly.

After swiftly defeating Ma Chao, Cao Cao did not linger in Wen County, but instead quickly seized Mengjin and crossed the river from Mengjin to Hangu Pass overnight.

By the time Liu Bei arrived with Zhuge Liang and his army after hearing the news, it was too late to catch up.

"I regret that I did not heed Yanlong's advice, which led to this defeat."

Ma Chao could have blocked Cao Cao on the north bank of the Yellow River, but unexpectedly, Cao Cao turned the tables and won a battle at the crucial moment. Ma Chao felt ashamed to face Liu Bei and sent Sun Zi to apologize on his behalf.

Liu Bei did not blame Ma Chao for this, but instead ordered Ma Chao to return to Guanzhong.

Because scouts discovered that Cao Cao did not head east to Luoyang after passing Mengjin, but instead headed west to Hangu Pass, Zhuge Liang asserted that Cao Cao was very likely to lead his troops to Guanzhong.

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao was both shocked and furious. The elite troops of Guanzhong were all in Hanoi, and the troops from Hongnong, Chang'an, Youfufeng and other places could hardly stop Cao Cao.

Because Zhong Yao was guarding Hangu Pass, Ma Chao had to travel back to Guanzhong via Hedong, a journey that would take longer than the journey through Hangu Pass.

To prevent Ma Chao from being ambushed by Cao Cao again and to avoid being unable to respond to Cao Cao's next move in time, Zhuge Liang led Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong and other troops to Guanzhong with Ma Chao, while Liu Bei led Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and other troops to stay in Hanoi.

The reason for this arrangement was that Zhuge Liang was more familiar with the geography and customs of the area west of Guanzhong and the southern Yizhou. To outwit and outmaneuver the ruthless Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang needed to go there in person.

With the help of the Five Tiger Generals, Zhuge Liang was even more confident in this battle.

While both sides were preparing to fight for Guanzhong, Sun Quan also received a letter of surrender from Cao Cao.

The letter went even further, stating that Cao Cao had already gone to Guanzhong and that if Sun Quan didn't want Liu Bei to seize power in the future, he should have Sun Quan restrain Liu Bei for Cao Cao. "Cao Cao actually went to Guanzhong?" Sun Quan was taken aback.

To guard against Cao Cao's return to Xuchang, Sun Quan, with the assistance of Zhou Yu, had made complete preparations. He was just waiting for Cao Cao to arrive so that he could use psychological warfare to defeat Cao Cao's troops and capture him alive.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao went to Guanzhong, directly putting Sun Quan and Liu Bei in direct confrontation.

As Jia Xu predicted, Sun Quan, who had seized Xuchang, was blinded by power and was even less willing to hand it over to Liu Bei. Especially after Cao Cao led his troops west into Guanzhong, Sun Quan's number one enemy became Liu Bei, who controlled Qing, Ji, You, Bing, and Xu provinces.

Although Liu Bei has not yet fully controlled Qing and Xu provinces, as well as the counties in Hebei that originally belonged to Cao Cao, if he can stabilize the situation for another two or three years, he will be able to form a stronger force than Yuan Shao in the past.

When Cao Cao first moved the emperor to Xuchang, he had to hand over the Grand General position to Yuan Shao. How much more so for Sun Quan, who seized Xuchang through a surprise attack? Now that the people's hearts are not with him, Sun Quan has no choice but to weigh the pros and cons between himself and Cao Cao.

"It will take time to take control of Xuchang, so we must not cause any more trouble. Cao Cao has gone to Guanzhong and will not be able to return to the Central Plains in a short time. We should not pursue him relentlessly for the time being. Instead, we can use the emperor's edict to appoint Liu Bei as the governor of Ji Province and let him return to Ji Province to stabilize the people's livelihood."

Zhou Yu's idea was the same as Sun Quan's.

The Xudu we seized through the raid will take time to digest. We also need to take this opportunity to promote the scholars from Jiangdong to Xudu, so as to both appease Jiangdong and keep the scholars in check in the Central Plains.

And achieving these things cannot be done in a short period of time.

If Liu Bei was unwilling to accept the position of Governor of Ji Province and return to Ji Province to stabilize the people's livelihood, then it would be even more necessary for him to form a secret alliance with Cao Cao.

Soon, Sun Quan had Liu Xie draft an imperial edict and send it to Hanoi, while also ostentatiously accepting the surrender of Zhong Yao and others.

"That brat Sun Quan is so eager to send me back to Hebei. Is he afraid that I will enter Xuchang and take his position as General of Chariots and Cavalry?" Liu Bei was furious.

If Zhuge Liang hadn't already led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong, along with elite troops, to Guanzhong to pursue and kill Cao Cao, Liu Bei would have had to raise an army in Xuchang immediately after hearing the imperial edict.

Pang Tong sneered, "Cao Cao is simultaneously advancing west into Guanzhong to preserve his military strength, and having Zhong Kui and others surrender to Sun Quan. His aim is simply to have you contend with Sun Quan so he can reap the benefits later. Sun Quan is unaware of Cao Cao's abilities and fears you will enter Xuchang to fight for power, so he's hoping to consolidate Cao Cao's old forces through this method. Hmph, how could such tricks fool me? We can use Sun Quan to fight against Cao Cao's old forces, while you can temporarily return to Hebei to reorganize your army and observe the results."

Xu Shu then said, "Now that Kongming has gone to Guanzhong, we cannot interfere in the upcoming battles. We might as well pretend to agree to Sun Quan's request and return to Hebei to pacify Wei Commandery and other places. As long as our territory is well-supplied with money and grain, whether Kongming wins or loses in Guanzhong will not affect our lord's future plans for the southern expedition."

Liu Bei suppressed his anger and adopted the suggestion of Pang Tong and Xu Shu, saying, "Let's follow Shi Yuan and Yuan Zhi's advice and return to Hebei first."

After a pause, Liu Bei continued, "Hanoi should not be abandoned either. Tian Feng can be appointed as the governor of Hanoi to pacify the people and people of Hanoi."

After months of fighting, even Liu Bei was exhausted, let alone his soldiers. Even the toughest men need rest.

Seeing Liu Bei withdraw his troops, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as Liu Bei doesn't come to Xuchang to fight for power, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu are confident that they can integrate Cao Cao's old troops before Liu Bei marches south again.

As for Cao Cao, who went to Guanzhong, Sun Quan appointed Cheng Pu as the Commandant of the Capital Region, tasking him with both guarding Hangu Pass and gathering intelligence on the battle situation in Guanzhong. (End of Chapter)