Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 239 Cao Cao: The only heroes in the world are those with skill and strategy.

"Zilian?"

When Cao Cao saw who was coming, he still couldn't believe it. He then let out a bitter laugh, with tears still welling up in his eyes.

"I remember last night with a beauty in my arms, Wancheng at my fingertips, a night of revelry and feasting, and I finally fell asleep drunk."

Who would have thought that before dawn, under the bright moonlight, the armor was already stained with blood, nephews and sons were all dead, and the generals were scattered and in chaos.

I only hate that wicked woman for setting me up. I was momentarily bewitched, which led me to flee east and west, lose my home, and live or die in imminent danger. My life is in grave danger, and I have no chance of survival. Only my two or three sons have followed me to this day, and I have nowhere to go in my panic.

"To have met Zilian today is truly a stroke of good fortune!"

Cao Cao patted him on the shoulder, grasped Cao Hong's hand tightly, and was reluctant to let go.

"Hong is incompetent, causing our lord to suffer."

Before Cao Hong could finish speaking, a voice rang out from afar, "Cao traitor, don't run!" It was the dozens of riders who had been sent out to pursue Cao traitor.

Cao Cao was startled, but he quickly realized why he should be afraid.
Things are different now. With Zilian by my side and about a thousand soldiers under his command protecting me, why should I be afraid of your mere few dozen people?

After pursuing the truth all the way, the offensive and defensive strategies have changed!
However, before Cao Cao could react, Cao Hong changed his mind and shouted loudly at the pursuing Zhang army!
"The traitor Cao is here!"
He's a traitor to Cao Cao!

Cao Cao is doomed!

"The traitor Cao has been captured by me; you gentlemen can bear witness to this."

Cao Cao: “???”

"Zilian, why have you changed your mind?"

How could this be?

This is impossible!

In the end, even Cao Hong is going to betray me?
Cao Cao found it unbelievable!

Seeing this, Zhang Xiujun, who was chasing after them, no longer had any doubts.

Didn't you see that Cao Cao, whom they had been chasing all the way, has been captured and is now firmly held in someone's hands, with no chance of escape?

Seeing that their mission was accomplished, they smiled broadly and came forward to share the spoils with the young general who had captured Cao Cao.

After all, they were the ones who drove Cao Cao all the way here. If they hadn't been chasing after him, would you have been able to capture Cao Cao and achieve such a great feat?

However, just as they were getting closer and closer, and were about to speak to this lucky young general in their capacity as Zhang Xiu's personal guard cavalry, they were about to give him a lecture.

Suddenly I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Why does this young officer look so unfamiliar? I don't think I've ever seen him in the army before.

That's strange. If he's not in our own army, then where did this young general come from?

not good!

"Oh no! Cao Cao is cunning; we've fallen into his trap!"

Retreat immediately and report this intelligence to General Zhang.

But it's too late.

In the midst of the perilous situation, Cao Hong gave the order, and Cao Cao personally led over a thousand men who had been lying in ambush to surround and kill twenty-three of Zhang Xiu's personal guards, annihilating the enemy army and saving Cao Cao.

When the last Zhang Xiu soldier was beheaded by a long sword, his head rolling away, he still stared intently at Cao Hong, dying with his eyes wide open.

Beast!
You led a thousand men against twenty-three of us, and you even wore our army's armor, deceiving us into entering your encirclement before ambushing us?
Is this something a human can do?
General Zhang, it's not that we lack strategy, but Cao Cao is truly cunning. This astonishing scheme of leading a thousand men to deceive and ambush us twenty-three is impossible to defend against. Who could have imagined it?

On the other side, seeing Cao Hong lead his men to surround and kill the pursuing soldiers, Cao Cao realized it was a false alarm. After recovering his composure, he looked at Cao Hong with a strange gaze.

Adversity reveals talent, and turmoil reveals strategist; I never imagined that Zilian possessed such astonishing wisdom.

However, he then thought about what this guy had just done!
More than a thousand people used a trick to kill twenty-three enemy soldiers.
Cao Cao: "."

Such a scheme can only be described as very Cao Hong-esque.

"The situation is critical, and Hong has no choice but to take this plan in order to prevent these bandits from escaping, leaking the news, and attracting Zhang Xiu's army here."

"For causing my lord such distress, I deserve to die a thousand deaths."

"Great minds think alike, and Cao Cao thinks the same way. At this time, we must be cautious."

Zilian and I are of one mind. I was just startled, but it was just a ruse to deceive the enemy soldiers. Why was I startled?

"Now that you have saved me from danger, how could I possibly blame you?"

Cao Hong: "???"

"My lord's acting was so convincing that Hong didn't see the slightest flaw. Thanks to my lord's cunning, these bandits died a worthy death."

After Cao Hong finished speaking, he immediately asked:

"Now Zhang Xiu's army is all around us, searching for our lord. We fear we will have no chance of escape. What should we do?"

"Indeed, our troops are currently scattered, while Zhang's forces are strong. E'lai, Miaocai, and Gongda have all been separated from us, and their fates are unknown."

As Cao Cao was analyzing the situation, he suddenly looked up at Cao Hong in surprise. "That's right!"
Given the current situation, everyone is being hunted down by Zhang Xiu's army, and all have gone through bloody battles, their fates uncertain.

What gives you, Cao Hong, the right to openly and legitimately gather an army, even with a thousand men under your command, in perfect order and almost without any damage?
In an instant, Cao Cao's gaze fell on Cao Hong's Zhang Xiu military uniform. He recalled how Cao Hong had captured him so skillfully just now, and the words "Cao thief, don't run away!"

Cao Cao's eyes lit up!
Sure enough, after hearing Cao Hong recount his experience of infiltrating Zhang Xiu's army, Cao Cao's gaze towards Cao Hong changed.

Oh my god!
Under normal circumstances, it would be extremely easy to infiltrate the enemy ranks, but now Zhang Xiu's army and Cao Cao's army have fought from the city to the outskirts, scattered into small teams, searching for him, and in the darkness of night, it is impossible to identify him.

Having made up his mind, Cao Cao immediately stripped the armor off the twenty-three men who had been ambushed and killed. He even thoughtfully ordered his men to replace their armor with Cao Cao's own, cut off their heads, and pretend to have achieved some merit in battle.

Anyway, they weren't really looking for credit from Zhang Xiu, but if they were questioned, they could produce these "heads of Cao soldiers" to prove their innocence.

Zhang Xiujun, who died with his eyes wide open: [Was this even human?]

Thus, among the scattered teams searching for and capturing Cao Cao, there appeared a man with a short beard who enthusiastically raised a large banner with the character "Zhang" on it and shouted, "Cao Cao, don't run away!"

Their troops, when encountering large numbers of Zhang Xiu's army along the way, did not commit any offenses against them. When they encountered dozens or hundreds of people, they immediately shouted "Cao traitor, don't run away!" and launched a heavy attack.

With thousands of men fighting against dozens or hundreds, and employing a combination of deception, trickery, and ambush, and with Cao Cao leading the troops and Cao Hong as general, those who were fooled and deceived were often killed without a trace, immediately regarded as traitors of Cao Cao.

Afterwards, they would skillfully dress them in Cao Cao's army uniforms and armor, take their heads to make a mound of heads, and use it to intimidate the Cao traitor!

Therefore, whenever someone raised suspicions or questioned them, they would immediately point to the small mound of heads piled up from the "traitor Cao," boasting of their achievements and rebuking them, saying:

"I've killed more of Cao Cao's traitors than you've ever seen!"

I have rendered meritorious service to General Zhang, I have shed blood for General Zhang, and now you actually suspect me of being a traitor to Cao Cao.
This is outrageous!

The interrogator was immediately rendered speechless, after all, how could someone so capable of killing Cao Cao be Cao Cao himself?

Seeing how well they killed Cao Cao, more people came to relay messages for them, either requesting reinforcements when fighting Cao Cao or requesting to surround and intercept Cao Cao when he fled.

Cao Cao was overjoyed upon seeing this, and continued to use the pretext of killing the traitor Cao to take the opportunity to gather the scattered Cao army and consolidate military strength.

Shortly after, Xiahou Yuan was defeated by Zhang Xian's relentless attacks and barely escaped Wancheng. Unexpectedly, he ran into Zhang Xiu's army, which had received intelligence and was there to ambush him. He heard the cry, "Cao Cao, don't run!"

Xiahou Yuan thought his death was imminent and was about to fight to the death when he unexpectedly saw the enemy leader smiling at him and saying:
“I have been waiting for you here for a long time. You traitor Cao, now you are in my trap.”

Xiahou Yuan: "???"

Isn't the man in front of me who keeps calling Cao Cao a traitor his lost lord?
Isn't that Cao Hong, wielding a large sword beside our lord, ready to kill the traitor Cao?
Xiahou Yuan felt that something was vaguely wrong, as if he needed to start thinking.
Thus, another great general was added to the large force that captured and killed Cao Cao!
Before they could get far, and were even preparing to pull off another heist, a faint, cold laugh came from the dark bushes.

"Which unit under General Zhang's command do you belong to? I've never seen you before."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that there was only one person who came out of the dark forest slowly, dressed in Zhang Xiu's army armor.

The generals were all terrified!

Cao Hong immediately reunited them with Xiahou Yuan, obtained the information from him, and loudly reported the identity he had discovered that was most useful.

"My ancestor was Zhang Xian, whose given name was Zhang Gong!"

I am the great-great-grandson of General Zhang Xian, and my ancestor was the nephew of General Zhang Xiu!
"You traitorous Cao, how dare you impersonate our army, distort the truth, and slander your Grandpa Zhang?"

He proved his identity and asserted his righteousness in his words, so Cao Hong was about to step forward to kill him to silence him, but was stopped by Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was startled but remained calm. He carefully examined the newcomer and suddenly smiled.

"Why is Gongda joking with me?"

The newcomer looked up, adjusted his helmet, and it was none other than Xun You, who had been separated from him during the escape.

Xun You also smiled.

"You had been hiding himself and not showing his face, but suddenly he heard that Zhang Xiu's army had a new force that was very active in pursuing Cao Cao and had even erected a mound of Cao Cao's heads. He had already guessed that it was his lord."

After all, the real Zhang Xiu army wouldn't need to go to such lengths to prove their identity; it would be redundant. They came specifically to meet him.

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned serious, and his tone became urgent.

"My lord, in all things, excess is as bad as deficiency. The saying 'one thing can be done once or twice, but not three times' is exactly the principle."

You Neng could guess that Jia Wenhe would surely realize this as soon as he heard the news.

"Our lord's actions have already caused quite a stir; we must not remain here any longer and must leave immediately."

"But what about General Dian and his men?"

Before Cao Hong could object, Cao Cao raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Gongda is right. The matter is urgent. We cannot lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of a small matter. We should leave quickly!"

The generals sighed softly and obeyed the order.

Cao Cao's remaining troops had now amassed three thousand men, all clad in Zhang Jun's armor, and continued shouting, "Cao traitor, don't run!" as they hurried northward.

They hadn't gone far when they came upon an army of 20,000 men blocking their path.

Everyone was filled with despair, thinking that Zhang Xiu's main force was waiting here for them to walk into his trap.

Fortunately, a large banner was quickly erected among the army, with the character "文" (wen, meaning literature) written on it.

It turned out that Zhang Xiu launched a surprise attack at night, mainly with Cao Cao's army, without alerting Wen Ping's troops.

However, seeing the chaos in the city and not knowing the truth, Wen Ping dared not be careless. He hurriedly gathered his troops and left the city to avoid disaster. Although there were some losses along the way, they were mostly preserved.

Upon seeing a small group of Zhang Xiu's troops pursuing them, they immediately raised their flags, picked up their broadswords, and prepared to lead their troops into battle.

Cao Cao was overjoyed upon seeing this and hurriedly cried out, "General Wen, please do not make a move! It is I who am acting!"

Wen Ping never imagined that the man waving a banner with the character "Zhang" on it, wearing armor embroidered with the character "Zhang," and shouting, "Cao traitor, don't run!" was actually Cao Cao.
He paused for a moment, then frowned and rebuked him.

"You short-bearded thief, how dare you deceive me?"

Brother Mengde, you have a long beard, how could I not recognize you?

"General Wen, you're really something!"
Take a closer look.

As Cao Cao spoke, he stepped forward a little further, took off his helmet, and held up a torch to illuminate Wen Ping's face, thus recognizing him.

The two had a past friendship built on their joint campaign against Yuan Shu in Lujiang. In addition, Cao Cao had intended to recruit Wen Pin into his ranks after he persuaded Wen Pin to return to Luoyang. Therefore, he tried to win him over and reward him along the way.

Wen Ping, mindful of his lord Liu Biao, who had been sent to Luoyang for questioning and would have to rely on Cao Cao in the future before the emperor, also had a pleasant conversation with him.

Therefore, the two had gotten along well before and had a mutual respect for each other. Now that they had met again in times of trouble, they naturally sighed and talked about each other's shortcomings, and then joined forces to head to Luoyang.

As the sun rose, Cao Cao took one last look at Wancheng, his face showing a mixture of sorrow and joy, and deep regret.

He arrived full of vigor and ambition, wielding his long-term strategies to govern the world, personally taking on perilous situations, and ultimately sacrificing the nation's fortunes to overthrow Huainan.

From north to south, the entire land, including Sili, Yan, Xu, Yu, and Jing provinces, was filled with soldiers, yet none could quell the Yellow Emperor's wrath.

Cao Cao, the Left Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, along with Lü Bu, the Governor of Xu Province, Liu Bei, the Governor of Yu Province, and Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, united the four warlords and sought to unite the hearts of the people, yet they failed to recapture Shouchun.

Instead, they defeated Cao Cao's entire army, and Liu Biao sent him to Luoyang!
Thinking of Dian Wei, Cao Ang, and Cao Anmin, who had been captured in Wancheng, Cao Cao was filled with sorrow.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu, Zou Shi, and Jia Xu were all spies planted by Yuan Shu. Upon closer reflection, this trap set specifically for him last night was not something hastily laid out.

It was clear that from the moment Jia Xu sent the letter, he was deliberately luring me to take a false route through Nanyang, gradually gaining my trust, all for the sake of what happened last night.

Such a profound and subtle arrangement, like a gentle rain nourishing the earth, makes him look up but never see the sky.

All that could be seen was a figure shrouded in mist, obscuring the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty like a dark cloud, manipulating all living beings like puppets, and seemingly about to rise above the mighty Han.

Cao Cao gritted his teeth in resentment, then suddenly looked up at the sky and laughed loudly.

"To wreak havoc across the land and lay the foundation for the imperial dynasty."

To seize power and establish hegemony.

"If all the heroes of the world were to abandon Shu and Cao Cao, who else would they choose?"

Like the setting moon, Cao Cao left, departing from Nanyang, this place of sorrow.

Like the rising sun, Yuan Shu has arrived!
In reality, with his army fully prepared, Yuan Shu could have arrived in Nanyang long ago. The reason he didn't arrive for so long was that he was waiting for Zhang Xiu to make his move.

This is different from the imagined enemy Cao Cao had in mind, who had long intended to adopt Zhang Xiu as his son and deliberately used the pretext of passing through Nanyang to plot against him.

Yuan Shu merely had Zhang Xiu test people's hearts once, and before the results of the test were known, Zhang Xiu's stance was actually wavering.

Therefore, he couldn't come before the incident happened.

The saying goes, "Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but unite against external humiliation." If Yuan Shu had arrived earlier, Zhang Xiu, who had not yet seen through Cao Cao's true nature, might have joined forces with Cao Cao to resist Yuan Shu under the persuasion of Jia Xu, due to the pressure of Yuan Shu's 100,000-strong army pressing on the border.

But we can't be too late, otherwise Jia will most likely run away.

Therefore, Yuan Shu, who had been waiting for news, was shocked to hear of the upheaval in Wancheng. He immediately led his army to Wancheng like lightning and surrounded the city.

(End of this chapter)