I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

"Report! Prime Minister! The enemy army has set up camp before the Great Pass, their camp stretching for three miles!"

The soldier's report invigorated Cao Cao, who was preparing to return to camp to rest.

"So, Liu Bei intends to fight me here? Hahahaha!" Cao Cao laughed loudly.

After having a map retrieved from someone, Cao Cao examined it carefully and said, "Hmm, this pass is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Prime Minister, since the enemy army has stationed troops at the Great Pass and intends to fight you to the death, why don't we repeat the strategy of Huangcheng Pass and take the Small Pass first?" Xun You suggested.

"Hmm, that makes sense. I've long heard that Xu Shu is a brilliant strategist who caused our army to suffer defeat after defeat. But seeing him today, he's nothing special. Humph."

Despite his outward expressions of disdain for Xu Shu, Cao Cao was actually still somewhat uneasy about him.

"Report! Prime Minister, we have discovered that the garrison at Xiaoguankou has already stationed troops at Daguankou!" Another soldier entered the tent to report.

"Hmm, this small pass and the big pass are strategically positioned, yet Xu Shu has abandoned this important location and joined forces with his troops to fight me to the death. Hahahaha," Cao Cao laughed again.

This time he felt a little more at ease and shouted outside, "Men! Order the garrison at Huangcheng Pass to make siege weapons overnight! Also, order Cao Ren to make trebuchets overnight according to Mr. Liu Ye's previous blueprints."

After the messenger left, Cao Cao returned his gaze to the map, staring intently at the last of the three passes of Fangcheng Pass: Daguankou.

"Generals, return to camp and rest well. There will surely be a great battle tomorrow!" Cao Cao turned around and said to his men.

Xu Shu's side is also stepping up preparations to face the next fierce battle.

Unlike Cao Cao's preparations, which were aimed at attacking cities, Xu Shu's preparations were all centered around how to "lose in a reasonable way while preserving his manpower."

The three-mile-long camp in front of the pass was one-third empty, a mix of real and fake. Xu Shu even specially sent Li Tong's remaining surrendered soldiers back to the front line from Wancheng and arranged them in the camp.

Aside from a few hundred surrendered soldiers, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun each led a thousand men to camp in front of the pass, Mi Fang led five hundred men to guard the pass, and Liu Yan led the remaining troops back to Bowang.

The next day, when Xu Huang led two thousand siege soldiers to the front of the small pass, and Cao Cao's army from Huangcheng Pass appeared at the rear of the small pass from the outside of the pass, the remaining old, weak and disabled soldiers at the small pass hurriedly beat drums and lit smoke to warn others.

Zhao Yun led his cavalry symbolically to the rescue of Xiaoguankou, but was intercepted by Li Dian's army. After a short battle, Zhao Yun heard that the drums at Xiaoguankou had stopped and withdrew to Daguankou.

With almost no effort, two of the three passes were returned to Cao Cao's hands.

At this point, the garrison at Daguankou began to set up barricades and other barriers, intending to hold out to the death.

Taking advantage of the situation, Cao Ren moved his main camp forward again, connecting it with Xiaoguankou. Cao Cao also began to lower his guard and joined forces with Cao Ren.

For five consecutive days, no matter how Cao Ren and others challenged them to battle, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun held their ground and refused to come out.

"Prime Minister, the enemy army has refused to engage in battle for days, fortifying their positions with deep trenches and high walls, and I fear they intend to block our army from entering this pass." Cao Ren rushed to Cao Cao's camp and reported to Cao Cao.

"Could it be that Xu Shu has run out of tricks and is just bluffing to exhaust my army's supplies here?" Cao Cao smiled as he looked at the civil and military officials in the tent.

"Prime Minister, I observed that the enemy army used many of General Li Tong's surrendered soldiers in the battles of Huangcheng Pass and Xiaoguan Pass. This shows that Liu Bei's troops are not many. Why don't we launch a fierce attack on them tomorrow with infantry and trebuchets?" Guo Jia suggested.

Cao Cao nodded: "It's feasible, but the two victories this time have been too smooth, which I find quite strange."

Xun You echoed, "Indeed, if they were to abandon the pass and flee, why would Liu Bei have gone to such great lengths to come all this way?"

"Could it be... that Liu Bei's intention is not to fight us to the death, but to delay us here?" Guo Jia guessed.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao quickly went to the map and surveyed the various strategic passes.

"Could it be that Liu Bei intends to march north from Yancheng? There has been no military intelligence sent over in the last two days," Cao Cao muttered.

"Prime Minister, I observe that soldiers come and go at the Great Pass every day. Why don't we send Li Tong's former troops to investigate the situation tonight?" Cao Ren suggested.

"With Li Tong dead, most of the soldiers had no choice but to surrender. It's definitely worth a try." Cao Cao agreed with Cao Ren's idea.

Starting the next day, Cao Ren continued to challenge the enemy at the front lines during the day, or used trebuchets to throw stones into the camp. Liu Bei's army remained steadfast and did not come out. At night, he sent Li Tong's former troops to sneak out of Liu Bei's camp to find their former surrendered comrades.

Two days later, Cao Ren led a soldier and rushed into Cao Cao's tent early in the morning.

"Prime Minister! This man has found a fellow villager in the bandit camp and has important news to tell him!"

Cao Cao quickly sat up from his couch and summoned everyone.

"My lord, according to a fellow villager, half of the camps are empty; Liu Bei's main force is not here!" the soldier reported.

"Really?" Xun You asked eagerly.

"That's right. A fellow villager was transferred here from Wancheng just the day before yesterday. According to him, Liu Bei's main force has been leaving Wancheng day and night and is heading towards the west gate of Wancheng."

"What?!" Guo Jia exclaimed in surprise.

Cao Cao rushed to the map and looked westward from Wancheng. An ancient road stretched northwestward, extending all the way to—

Chang'an!

"Liu Bei, you coward! I wondered why you won these two passes so easily. It turns out you were planning a sneak attack on Chang'an!" Cao Cao roared.

"If this plan succeeds, Zhong Yao and Duan Wei will likely face great calamity, and Chang'an will become an isolated city!" Xun You also realized.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu forced Prince Ziying of Qin to surrender by taking this route through Wuguan Pass to the north. Now, Guanzhong is undefended and Wuguan Pass is unprepared... Prime Minister, this battle should be decided quickly!" Guo Jia hurriedly reminded him.

"Cao Ren!" Cao Cao shouted.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"You will lead the vanguard and begin the attack on the camp tomorrow. You have one day to capture the pass!" Cao Cao ordered.

"Wait!" Guo Jia quickly stopped him.

"What good plan do you have, Fengxiao?" Cao Cao turned to look at Guo Jia.

"Instead of a direct assault, we should outsmart him. Since he has already found an inside man, why not have him gather his companions and open the camp gates at night? At that time, breaking through the pass will be a piece of cake!" Guo Jia suggested.

Cao Cao slapped his forehead: "I was too hasty in my moment; Fengxiao's words are absolutely right."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he looked at the soldier and said, "Go to the enemy camp again tonight and ask your fellow townsman to open the camp gate at midnight tomorrow. You will be richly rewarded afterward!"

The attendants quickly fetched gold and silk and handed them to the soldiers.

The soldier knelt down and repeatedly expressed his gratitude before leaving.

As soon as the soldier left, Cao Cao's gaze returned to the map, and he sighed softly, "Liu Bei, Liu Bei, I never imagined that after our parting in Xuzhou, you would become so audacious again."

While marveling at the situation, I firmly remembered Xu Shu's name.

The next day, after Zhao Yun inspected the military camp as usual, he took Zhang Fei to the pass to look for Mi Fang.

"Gentlemen, something may happen tonight," Zhao Yun whispered.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Fei asked.

"During my inspection today, I saw groups of three or five of Li Tong's surrendered soldiers, seemingly plotting something."

"Zilong can capture them all and then we'll know," Mi Fang suggested.

"No, the strategist has already said that we should use a counter-strategy and not alert the enemy. We should prepare to withdraw to Bowang."

"Hmm... I don't quite understand the strategist's strategy this time. After capturing the three passes, when Cao Cao came, we neither attacked nor defended, but instead surrendered them." Mi Fang, who was fighting alongside Xu Shu for the first time, was quite puzzled.

"It's alright! Just listen to the strategist!" Zhang Fei quickly advised.

"Tonight, we can open the gates wide. If anything happens, General Mi will signal the retreat with the gong, while Yide and I will cover the rear." Zhao Yun said, his gaze sweeping over the two men.

"That's feasible," Zhang Fei agreed.

After the discussion, everyone returned to their camp and gave instructions to their respective troops.

That night, around midnight, as expected, thirty to fifty of Li Tong's surrendered soldiers set fire to two tents at the pass, plunging the camp into chaos.

Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun both donned their armor and went out, directing the firefighting efforts while closely observing the situation at the camp gate.

With a loud "Boom!", the two accomplices cut the ropes of the drawbridge at the camp gate, and the gate crashed down.

Upon seeing this, a cannon fired outside the camp, and Cao Ren's army shouted "Kill!" and rushed out of the camp straight towards the pass.

"Zilong! You go to the pass to organize the retreat, I will go to the camp gate to block Cao Cao's army!" Zhang Fei shouted to Zhao Yun.

Zhang Fei led the Xiliang cavalry to the camp gate early in the morning, slaughtering all the internal accomplices along the way, and arrived just in time when Xu Huang's troops were about to rush into the camp.

"Xu Huang, you rat, dismount and prepare to die!" Zhang Fei shouted and charged forward with his spear.

"How dare you speak such nonsense, you defeated opponent!" Xu Huang charged forward, axe in hand.

This time, Zhang Fei didn't feign defeat. Instead, he used all his strength, wielding his spear at the narrow entrance to the camp. Xu Huang attacked several times but couldn't defeat him.

"Gongming, I'm here to help you!" Li Dian, seeing this, also brandished his broadsword and spurred his horse to meet the challenge.

For a moment, the three men wielded their axes, broadswords, and spears in a dazzling display.

Seeing that Xu Huang and Li Dian couldn't even scratch Zhang Fei, Cao Ren shouted, "Archers, prepare!"

Immediately, a row of archers rushed to the front, and Xu Huang and Li Dian, panting, returned to their formation.

Just then, "Ding ding ding ding!" The sound of gongs rang out from the gate, and Mi Fang had already led the gate guards to retreat to Bowang.

Upon hearing the gong, Zhang Fei knew that Mi Fang had retreated. Before the arrows could hit, he immediately turned his horse around and charged straight for the pass, with the Xiliang cavalry following closely behind.

Cao's army was greatly encouraged, and the infantry were the first to rush into the camp, chasing and killing Liu Bei's soldiers who had not had time to retreat.

When the cavalry charged to the pass, they saw a white horse with a silver spear, standing motionless at the pass, and they all stopped their horses and dared not go forward.

Cao Ren still remembered the incident in Yancheng when Zhao Yun stabbed him in the thigh with a spear, so he ordered Xu Huang and Li Dian to go forward and meet the enemy.

Xu Huang dared not be negligent and rode forward to fight again, but after nearly ten rounds, he still could not win.

Zhao Yun was also very steady. When Xu Huang retreated back into the enemy lines, Zhao Yun did not pursue him. It wasn't until Cao Ren moved a large number of archers to the front that Zhao Yun rode away.

"Stop chasing! The road ahead is narrow and overgrown with vegetation; there might be an ambush," Cao Ren ordered the soldiers who wanted to pursue.

After tallying the results, they found that they had killed less than two hundred enemies. Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun's elite troops had mostly fled. They also accepted the surrender of three hundred men, all of whom were former infantrymen of Li Tong. They also captured some grain, supplies, and siege equipment.

The next morning, Cao Cao personally went to the pass to inspect the results of the battle. He was still somewhat doubtful, but he was relieved when he saw a large pile of spoils.

"Prime Minister, ahead lies Bowang Slope. The road is narrow and overgrown with vegetation. I fear Xu Shu may be plotting something, so I dared not pursue him hastily," Cao Ren reported to Cao Cao.

"Hmm, not bad." Cao Cao nodded, then mounted his horse and led a group of civil and military officials and cavalry out of the pass to investigate.

"Just as Zixiao said, there may be an ambush here." After walking five miles, Cao Cao stopped and said this after seeing the continuous valleys and vegetation.

"Prime Minister, the northwest winds are strong this season. Why not set fire to all the forests and mountains in this valley, leaving them nowhere to hide, and then the army can set off again?" Guo Jia looked at the sky and suggested to Cao Cao.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao squinted at the valley before him and ordered, "The army will rest for two days. Where is Cao Hong?"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"You lead the infantry, and as Fengxiao instructed, burn this valley and forest to the ground!"

"Yes, sir!"

At noon that day, the fire began to rage. With the help of the northwest wind, the fire spread rapidly, and the valley from Fangcheng Pass to Bowang was quickly burned to the ground.

At the turn of autumn and winter, most of the vegetation withered, and the fire not only burned the mountains and forests, but also burned down the nearby villages and farmland.

Thousands of people were left homeless by the fire and fled south, flocking to Bowang City.

Pei Yuanshao, carrying Zhang Fei's message, rushed to the Gualijin Watchtower overnight.

At this moment, Liu Bei, Xu Shu, and Wen Pin were staring blankly at the red light filling the northwest sky from the watchtower.

"Fortunately, the strategist did not ambush us at Bowangpo, otherwise our army would have been defeated by Cao Cao." Liu Bei was still shaken.

Xu Shu frowned and said, "This traitor Cao has committed such a heinous act; he will surely be punished by Heaven!"

"Thump, thump, thump!" Pei Yuanshao climbed the watchtower, panting heavily.

"My lord!" Pei Yuanshao shouted.

"What is it?"

"I have come on the orders of the Third General to inquire about the situation. Several thousand civilians have had their fields and homes destroyed by Cao Cao's army and are now homeless, gathering outside Bowang City. What should be done with them?"

"Ah?!" Liu Bei exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so?"

Xu Shu frowned, his mind racing.

"Quickly allow the people to enter the city for refuge. We must not allow the people to be in danger of losing their lives because of me!" Liu Bei urgently ordered.

"Wait!" Xu Shu raised his hand, stopping Pei Yuanshao, who was about to return to Bowang to report.

Everyone looked at Xu Shu.

Liu Bei thought to himself, "Xu Yuanzhi, please don't say anything like 'let's not worry about the people for now'..."

"General Wenping, if the fire spreads to Bowang, it may not be a safe haven. Could we allow the people to temporarily seek refuge in Wancheng?" Xu Shu asked Wenping.

"Hmm..." Wen Ping paused for a moment before saying, "For the sake of the people, we should let them pass."

Hearing this, Liu Bei and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Shu reached out and rubbed his tired eyes, then looked at Pei Yuanshao and said, "Pass on my orders."

"Order Liu Yan to lead his troops to escort the fleeing civilians and the people of Bowang into Wancheng for refuge, and order Zhao Yun to lead his troops to dig deep trenches in front of Bowang to keep out the wildfires."

"Order Zhang Fei to lead his troops back to Wancheng and garrison at Gualijin. As for how to defend Bowang City, tell Generals Zhao Yun and Mi Fang to hold firm and not venture out until I give them further orders."

Pei Yuanshao agreed and left.

Prior to this, Zhou Cang had already led a thousand carefully selected armored soldiers to ambush the enemy from the west of the city towards Wuguan Road, as requested by Xu Shu.

Xu Shu also played a trick, instructing Zhou Cang to have the soldiers wear straw sandals inside out at night and sneak back to the north camp from the direction of Wuguan Road, and then head to Wuguan Road from the camp the next day.

This went on for several days, so every morning when Li Tong's surrendered soldiers left the city, they would see footprints all over the northern camp heading towards Wuguan Road, and during the day they would see more soldiers being transferred to Wuguan Road.

This is why intelligence such as Liu Bei sending his main force to Chang'an was delivered to Cao Cao's camp.

Now that Li Tong's surrendered soldiers, who were used as messengers, have all been used up at the front lines, Xu Shu is finally preparing for a full-scale attack on Cao Cao.

Clearly, Cao Cao's determination and ruthlessness in this battle have consistently triggered Xu Shu's worst-case scenario.

Looking at the distant sky ablaze with fire, Xu Shu took a deep breath without making a sound, his palms already soaked with sweat.