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

Life is unpredictable, and the universe is unfathomable.

Originally, the intention was simply to drive Cao Cao's forces out of Hebei to prevent Cao Cao from invading every year, but unexpectedly, it has turned into the current chaotic situation.

Although Cao Cao was defeated, Liu Bei was not a winner either.

The counties in Hebei, which originally belonged to Liu Bei, exhausted their manpower to fight Cao Cao in the south, and the corvée labor and taxes increased several times more this spring than in previous years.

In the counties of Hebei, which belonged to Cao Cao, there were countless refugees and starving corpses on the roads. Even Ye City was burned to the ground by Cao Cao.

Even Sun Quan, who had managed to seize Xuchang by chance, was still fraught with worries. The battle line from Yangzhou to Xuchang was too long. Liu Biao was in Jingzhou, Chen Deng was in Xuzhou, Chen Yu was in Runan, and many local powerful clans in Yangzhou were eyeing Sun Quan with covetous eyes. In Xuchang, the old Cao family subordinates, led by Xun Yu, were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.

The provinces were devastated, and the people suffered greatly. In reality, none of the three factions—Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan—truly benefited from this battle.

As the war drew to a close, the counties north and south of the Yellow River entered a brief period of cessation of hostilities, and officials and commoners in the various prefectures, counties, and states devoted most of their energy to agricultural production.

In this era where people depend on the weather for their livelihood, farming must always be the top priority.

Compared to the brief period of peace in Hebei and the Central Plains, Guanzhong was plunged into war and famine again due to Cao Cao's arrival.

Cao Cao led more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry, and along the way, he either requisitioned grain under the banner of the imperial court, dug up graves to dig for gold to buy grain, or directly robbed grain.

Although this move angered the powerful clans of Guanzhong, Cao Cao, who had more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry under his command, was not afraid of any dissent.

In chaotic times, those with soldiers have power.

With military power, one no longer needs to reason. Even a hundred years later, no powerful clan in Guanzhong would dare to utter a word against Cao Cao.

Although Zhuge Liang's side was pursuing Cao Cao, they still needed to collect provisions for military use.

Even with Ma Chao and other generals in Guanzhong in charge of procuring supplies, Zhuge Liang dared not let this situation continue in Guanzhong for too long.

Otherwise, the people of Guanzhong would hate not only Cao Cao but also Liu Bei, and even if Liu Bei unified the country in the future, Guanzhong would become a major area of ​​rebellion.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang had to act quickly and decisively, either to destroy Cao Cao in Guanzhong or to drive him to Yizhou.

Since Jia Xu's initial plan for Cao Cao was also to conquer Yizhou, Cao Cao did not stay in Guanzhong for long. After plundering grain for a month, Cao Cao went directly south to conquer Hanzhong and arrived at Yangping Pass in July.

As Jia Xu had predicted, news from Hanzhong was cut off. When Zhang Lu heard that Cao Cao had arrived at Yangping Pass, he subconsciously assumed that Cao Cao had already defeated Liu Bei and Ma Chao.

It's not fair to blame Zhang Lu for not seeing the situation clearly. The previous intelligence report was about Liu Bei's southern campaign against Cao Cao. Before the new intelligence report could be received, Cao Cao led more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Hanzhong.

Zhang Lu couldn't possibly believe that Cao Cao was actually chased to Hanzhong by Liu Bei, could he?
Without the ability to see clearly, even if Zhang Lu and all the civil and military officials of Han Dynasty racked their brains together, they would never be able to figure it out.

In his fear, Zhang Lu wanted to surrender to Cao Cao to save his life, but his younger brother Zhang Wei refused, believing that the natural defenses of Hanzhong would be enough to keep Cao Cao at bay outside Yangping Pass.

Generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren also believed that Yangping Pass was defensible and that Cao Cao would naturally retreat once his supplies ran out.

Seeing that Zhang Wei and the two Yangs were determined to fight, and that Zhang Lu did not want to hand over Hanzhong to Cao Cao, he ordered Zhang Wei, Yang Ang, and Yang Ren to lead tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to defend Yangping Pass.

However, although Zhang Wei and his men were confident in the perilous nature of Yangping Pass, they were no match for Jia Xu's calculations.

After several days of fierce attacks, Cao Cao feigned a retreat. Zhang Wei mistakenly believed that Cao Cao was withdrawing his troops and thus withdrew most of his forces back to Hanzhong, realizing that this was merely a ploy by Cao Cao to lure the enemy away from their stronghold.

Discovering that the defenses of Yangping Pass had weakened, Cao Cao ordered his fierce generals and soldiers, including Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Jie Piao, and Gao Zuo, to launch a surprise attack on Yangping Pass at night. They routed the defending army and even killed Yang Ren, a general under Zhang Lu. They then took advantage of the situation to attack Zhang Wei, who was caught off guard and could only lead his remaining troops to escape under the cover of night.

Cao Cao then ordered Cao Ren to guard Yangping Pass to prevent Zhuge Liang from advancing south, and then to march straight to Nanzheng.

With Yang Ren dead, Zhang Wei fleeing, Yang Ang missing, and Yangping Pass captured by Cao Cao, Hanzhong was wide open. Zhang Lu could no longer compete with Cao Cao militarily and could only adopt Yan Pu's plan to first lead his army to Bazhong, relying on Du Hu and Pu Hu in Bazhong to resist Cao Cao. After Cao Cao entered Nanzheng City, he led the remaining troops from Bazhong to surrender.

Cao Cao then lavishly rewarded his generals and soldiers, and after a brief rest, continued his southward campaign to attack Xichuan.

Because Cao Cao's arrival was so sudden, and because news was scarce in Western Sichuan, Liu Zhang was completely stunned by Cao Cao's fabricated claim of "unification of the world".

In Liu Zhang's eyes, Cao Cao, who had suddenly appeared in Xichuan with a large army, had defeated Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, Ma Chao, and Zhang Lu, and was no longer someone he could contend with.

Nishikawa Bunbu was also mostly unwilling to fight again.

Therefore, Liu Zhang disregarded the advice of Fa Zheng and others and insisted on surrendering to Cao Cao.

In less than half a year, Cao Cao had acquired Hanzhong and Xichuan, and the ferocity of his offensive was astonishing.

It wasn't until after surrendering that Liu Zhang was shocked to learn that Cao Cao had lost Xuchang during Liu Bei's southern campaign, which forced him to move all the way from Hebei to Yizhou.

But now that Xichuan has been acquired by Cao Cao, it's too late for Liu Zhang to regret it.

Cao Cao's greatest strength was his swift and decisive tactics. Whether it was Zhang Lu or Liu Zhang, facing Cao Cao and his cunning generals such as Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang, along with over 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry, it was already a testament to their pragmatism that they managed to survive despite the lack of intelligence.

Let alone Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, even the fierce generals under Cao Cao felt a sense of unreality.

Jia Xu, who was usually low-key, only found a way out for Cao Cao when he was in dire straits, which directly enabled Cao Cao to not only get out of trouble but also occupy Yizhou.

"No wonder that in the Battle of Wancheng, not only did Young Master Ang die, but even Lord Ming almost died in Jia Wenhe's scheme. This man is incredibly insightful and far-sighted, even more so than Guo Jijiu and Xun Junshi."

Jia Xu paid no attention to such news from the military.

After months of struggling to survive against all odds, Jia Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief when he captured Chengdu.

For Jia Xu, survival was the top priority.

In order to survive, Jia Xu's intelligence could soar to the top of the world under the threat of death. Even Zhuge Liang could not have predicted that Jia Xu would lead Cao Cao to take Hanzhong and Xichuan all the way, and even succeed!

Although shocked by Cao Cao's swift conquest of Yizhou, Zhuge Liang also knew that once Cao Cao held Yizhou's natural defenses, even with the help of the Five Tiger Generals, it would be difficult to break through Yizhou.

Unlike during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, Cao Cao now occupies the entire Yi Province, possessing the population and resources at its peak, and has no shortage of strategists, fierce generals, and elite soldiers.

Even without Jingzhou and Yongliang, Cao Cao could easily lead his army out of Yizhou.

In other words, Cao Cao's only problem now is time. He needs time for his soldiers, who have been fighting for more than half a year, to rest and recuperate, and he also needs time to take control of the counties in Yi Province. (End of Chapter)