A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

In this life, due to various factors, Zhang Jiao received covert support from many families who had gone to their fiefdoms, and his many leaders received more military training, which greatly reduced the number of mistakes made in history.

Bo Cai was originally a talented general. In the original history, he was able to defeat Zhu Jun even if he grew up wildly. If it weren't for the fire at Changshe, he could have at least restrained Huangfu Song for several months.

By then, the war in Guangdong would be over, and the Yellow Turbans would have swept across Hebei, eyeing Luoyang with hostility.

At that point, the outcome of the battle between the Yellow Turbans and the Han Dynasty would be uncertain.

Having received a better military education in this life, Bo Cai's abilities are even more terrifying, and Zhu Jun is no match for him at all.

There are only a handful of people in the entire Han Dynasty who can truly suppress him.

Even Huangfu Song doesn't have a good way to defeat Bo Cai right now.

Most of the imperial army went north to Ji Province to follow Lu Zhi in his campaign against Zhang Jiao. He only led the five Northern Army Schools, the Three Rivers Cavalry, some of the Northern Army Guards, and an additional 20 troops, which was severely insufficient in strength.

After the general's camp was established, Huangfu Song sent soldiers to fight against Bo Cai's troops, and the two sides had victories and defeats.

Bo Cai fought two opponents alone and held his own.

At this time, Zhang Mancheng's army was also about to arrive. If they were to merge into one, they could only hope that Lu Zhi would quickly quell Zhang Jiao's rebellion and march south to provide support.

On this day, Huangpu Song held another meeting, saying, "I just received news that Zhang Mancheng's troops will soon arrive at Changshe. I intend to send troops to intercept them. Who is willing to take on this important task?"

The soldiers looked at each other in dismay. That was an army of 50 men. Who dared to confront them head-on?

"This humble general requests permission to take command."

At Wei Xue's prompting, Cao Cao stepped forward and asked Huangfu Song for permission to take charge.

"it is good."

Huangfu Song was somewhat impressed with Cao Cao. He glanced around the camp and found that not a single person had the courage to step forward.

Huangfu Song wouldn't send you to your deaths. If you die with the army, how can we fight this battle?

"I left 5 troops to defend the camp."

"Leave the rest to Mengde. We must finish the job in one battle and annihilate Zhang Mancheng's forces."

Huangfu Song's order essentially placed the fate of the war in his hands.

If Cao Cao wins, then this battle can still be fought.

If Cao Cao loses, he will have no choice but to slink away and seek help from Chang'an.

With the imperial court's resources, if a critical moment truly arrives, it is enough to raise a million troops, with corresponding generals, and led by the Wei family, to easily suppress the world.

The relationship between the Liu and Wei families is one of both cooperation and wariness.

Unless in a critical moment, the emperor would never allow the Wei family to command the army of the entire country.

"This humble general is willing to swear a military oath: if I fail to defeat Zhang Mancheng, I will bring my head to you."

As Cao Cao finished speaking, the eyes of the generals on both sides of the tent were filled with contempt and ridicule.

Although Zhang Mancheng was not as capable as Bo Cai, he was still one of the top leaders among the Yellow Turban leaders. Otherwise, he would not have been trusted by Zhang Jiao and sent to Nanyang, the birthplace of Emperor Guangwu.

How many times did Cao Cao lead troops? Could he possibly defeat the Yellow Turbans led by Zhang Mancheng with a smaller force? That's a joke!

He dares to make a pledge like this? What a greenhorn! He loses all sense of direction the moment he's provoked.

He drove everyone else out, leaving only Cao Cao and Wei Xue behind.

"Yingchuan is located in the Central Plains and is home to many powerful families, such as the Chen family, Xun family, Guo family, Xin family, Zhong family, Han family, and Du family. These families have joined forces and gathered an army of nearly 20 during this period, which is hidden behind Zhang Mancheng."

"Once you start fighting Zhang Mancheng, they will attack him from behind. With this pincer attack, Zhang Mancheng will undoubtedly be defeated."

If Huangfu Song had been in command of this war, the results would have been even more glorious.

However, Bo Cai was also watching from the sidelines, and Huangfu Song had to withstand Bo Cai's attack. No one but him could hold off Bo Cai with his inferior forces.

"An army of 20!"

Cao Cao was shocked.

He knew that the powerful families in Yingchuan County were very strong, but he didn't expect them to be this strong.

"How dare they recruit so many soldiers without permission? Are they planning a rebellion too?"

Huangfu Song rolled his eyes at him. "His Majesty has decreed that the three prefectures of Ji, Yu, and Yan, where the Yellow Turban Rebellion is most severe, are allowed to recruit their own troops."

Cao Cao was still astonished; this was a full 20 troops.

These powerful families in Yingchuan are really something else.

These are just the powerful families of Yingchuan. There are also the Yuan and Yang families, whose members have held high office for four generations; the powerful families of Luoyang; and the unfathomable Wei family. Just how powerful are these families?!

Just thinking about Cao Cao is terrifying.

After leaving the tent, Cao Cao stood outside in the cold wind to dry the cold sweat from his palms and back.

When he first made the pledge, he had no idea that there would be reinforcements.

However, out of trust in Wei Xue, he reluctantly agreed.

"Bo Jing, did you already know about the reinforcements?"

Cao Cao asked curiously.

Given the Wei family's intelligence capabilities, there's nothing to be curious about in obtaining such information.

No.

Wei Xue shook his head. "The reason I made you agree, Mengde, is because I am confident that I can swallow up Zhang Mancheng's army."

"When it comes to ambushes, the Wei family is a professional."

What plan should we devise?

Cao Cao asked for advice.

"ambush."

"A series of ambushes."

Wei Xue's face was full of confidence, which he had learned from the methods his ancestor, King Zhongwu, used to deal with the Xiongnu.

In the Battle of Daqingshan, King Zhongwu used this tactic to leave behind hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu soldiers without losing a single one.

Although Yingchuan is located on a plain without many mountains, the Yellow Turbans were not well-trained Huns, who were all cavalry.

"According to the military treatises left by our ancestors, when the enemy is tired, we harass them; when the enemy camps, we attack them; when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance."

Cao Cao pondered these 16 characters carefully, and the more he thought about them, the more profound their meaning became.

"King Chungmu's words are profound!"

"These 16 words encapsulate the essence of harassment and ambush warfare."

"I know what to do."

Cao Cao's eyes gleamed. He was already extremely talented in command, and after Wei Xue's 16-character instruction, he had already developed several ambush methods in his mind.

Since Huangfu Song didn't need cavalry to defend the camp, Cao Cao left all the infantry to him and led the cavalry forward.

Taking advantage of their cavalry's mobility, they constantly harassed the Yellow Turbans along the way, and retreated whenever the Yellow Turbans retaliated.

They even specifically chose to ambush the Yellow Turbans when they were eating, sleeping, or when they were most tired in the early morning.

Although the Yellow Turbans suffered minor losses, their morale plummeted. Everyone looked exhausted, with dark circles under their eyes resembling smeared firewood ash.