SFS Chapter 477 Cao Cao was so angry he vomited blood.
Chapter 477 Cao Cao was so angry he vomited blood.
After seeing Zhuge Liang off, Liu Bei began to actively prepare for the expedition.
But a large army's expedition is not a journey that can be taken on a whim. There are too many things to prepare. First of all, there is the food and fodder. Liu Bei's continuous wars and military campaigns have led to a huge consumption of food and fodder. Now, a large amount of food and fodder needs to be raised in a hurry. It is necessary to squeeze out every last bit of food and fodder. Every single grain of food needs to be carefully calculated.
Secondly, there's the matter of troops. Currently, Liu Bei's troops are stationed in various places to defend against the Wei army's attacks. It would be a very challenging task to recall the troops while ensuring the defensive line remains intact and is not breached by the Wei army.
Liu Bei was a veteran general who had fought for decades, so he naturally knew what to do at critical moments. After running around all day, he didn't have time to rest and actively devoted himself to the pre-battle preparations.
He was anxious, but Cao Cao was even more anxious.
After Cao Cao arrived in Guanzhong despite his illness, Liu Bei had already withdrawn his troops. Unwilling to accept defeat and knowing that his days were numbered, Cao Cao did not launch a counterattack on Longxi. Instead, he decided to take a gamble and directly seize Hanzhong to cut off the connection between Bashu and Longxi before dealing with them one by one.
That's what he thought and that's what he did. He sent four armies to attack Hanzhong simultaneously while he himself rushed to Mei County to oversee the battle.
Cao Cao's ideals were lofty, but reality was harsh. The terrain leading from Guanzhong to Hanzhong was too hopeless. This terrain meant that unless there was internal strife within the Shu army, the probability of a frontal assault was almost zero.
Therefore, the Wei army fought bitterly for more than a month without achieving any results, and suffered heavy losses, which led to a sharp drop in morale, infuriating Cao Cao so much that he vomited blood several times.
That day, Cao Cao sat by the bed as usual, letting Hua Tuo give him acupuncture. Just as he was about to lie down and rest, Zhang Ji, Su Ze, Du Ji, Man Chong and other important ministers rushed into the room with grave expressions and said, "Your Majesty, something has happened."
That's right, General Man Chong has also arrived.
The army suffered repeated defeats in this battle, leading to the fall of Longxi. Zhang Ji, as the governor of Yongzhou, was to blame. Therefore, Cao Cao dismissed Zhang Ji as soon as he arrived in Guanzhong and appointed Man Chong as the new governor of Yongzhou, who took full control of the Guanzhong defense line.
This was also Cao Cao's preparation for defeat. If the attack on Hanzhong failed, Guanzhong would become the front line between Cao Cao and Liu Bei, constantly facing the threat of Liu Bei. He had to replace Liu Bei with someone who was both civil and military and had outstanding abilities. He chose Man Chong as that person.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Ji, the former governor of Yongzhou, died in the past two years. After his death, Guo Huai succeeded him as the new governor of Yongzhou. However, Guo Huai had previously failed to stop Zhang Fei, which allowed Zhang Fei to enter the Longshan Road and thus Longxi fell. Like Zhang Ji, Guo Huai was punished and demoted instead of promoted. He was temporarily out of luck for the governorship of Yongzhou.
Seeing the grim faces of the men, Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition rose in his mind. He hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Du Ji replied, "I just received a message from General Cao Ren saying that Guan Xing annihilated the Eastern Wu army led by Lu Xun in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor, and captured Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, He Qi, Lü Dai and more than a dozen others. This is the battle report."
He handed over a piece of silk, which Cao Cao quickly snatched. He was stunned when he saw the string of familiar names on it. His hands trembled as he forced himself to read it, then he angrily cursed, "Fifty thousand elite Wu troops were wiped out by Guan Xing, a mere eighteen-year-old brat! Are Lu Xun and Han Dang pigs? Even if there were fifty thousand pigs, Guan Xing couldn't have captured them this quickly! Cough..."
When he got too excited, he couldn't catch his breath and started coughing violently. He coughed so hard that he spat out a mouthful of blood, which startled Hua Tuo. He quickly patted the man's chest to help him catch his breath and comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't get excited. You should avoid getting too emotional right now."
Hearing this, Cao Cao wanted to punch someone. How could he not be excited when such a big thing happened?
Although it was the Wu army that was completely annihilated, not the Wei army, once the Wu army was wiped out, it would be the Wei army's turn. The key point is that with the annihilation of the Wu army, the strength of the Big Ear Bandit was strengthened again. He was already struggling to deal with the weak Big Ear Bandit. If the Big Ear Bandit continued to grow stronger, would he have any chance of survival?
Thinking of this, Cao Cao felt a deep sense of regret. Why didn't he kill the big-eared rascal when he had such a good opportunity in Xuchang?
If I had killed that big-eared thief back then, I would have already unified the country by the time of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and none of this mess would have happened now.
"It's too late for hindsight to talk about it now. Let's think about how to deal with it," Cao Cao sighed weakly, lying in Hua Tuo's arms. "Tell me everything."
The group exchanged glances, and Du Ji spoke first: "The defeat of the Wu army has had a huge impact on the overall situation. First of all, the Guan family has completely secured Jiangdong, and it is almost impossible for General Cao Ren to take Jianye and seize Jiangdong again."
"Secondly, Guan Xing, who annihilated the Wu army, certainly could not stay in Kuaiji. After a short rest, he would definitely set out again to capture Nanchang and then Jiangling, so as to connect the Jiangnan region as soon as possible and join forces with Liu Bei."
"In the end, with the annihilation of his 50,000 elite troops, Sun Quan had completely lost the right to contend for the world, and surrender became his only way out."
"Given this, General Cao Ren has already ordered General Jia Kui to go to Jiangling to persuade Sun Quan to surrender. I think we don't need to fight to the death in Hanzhong anymore. We should withdraw our troops as soon as possible and head to Xiangyang to support Jiangling. As long as we take Jiangling and occupy the Hanjiang Plain, we can cut off Liu Bei's connection with Guan Yu and isolate them. Then we can store grain and cultivate land with Liu Bei and Guan Yu on the Hanjiang Plain and slowly wear down the big-eared thief and the red-faced thief."
"Judging from the current situation, as long as Liu Bei and Guan Yu are alive, Your Majesty has virtually no chance of unifying the world. However, both Liu Bei and Guan Yu are over sixty years old and have only a few years left to live. We can take advantage of the Han River Plain, a natural granary, to wear them down and then plan our next move."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao was troubled. Liu Bei indeed didn't have many years left to live, but his own lifespan seemed to be measured in days. Damn it...
Cao Cao sighed helplessly, "Bo Ning (Man Chong's courtesy name), what's your opinion?"
Man Chong did not answer immediately, but pondered for a long time before saying, "Bo Hou (Du Ji's courtesy name) is right, but all of this is based on the premise of successfully capturing Jiangling. What if we fail to capture Jiangling?"
"Your Majesty, war is always about fighting people, and only secondarily about fighting over cities and land. Since it's about people, we should attack people. Let's start with Guan Xing. This young man's strength is no less than Huo Qubing's, and he has just won a great victory and is in high spirits. It will be difficult to take back Jiangling from him."
"And then there's Sun Quan. No matter what, Sun Quan is the father-in-law of Guan Xing, Liu Bei's brother-in-law. As long as he bows his head to Liu Bei, he can enjoy high-ranking positions and generous salaries under Guan Xing's protection. There's really no need for him to surrender to us."
"Therefore, I believe that since things have come to this point, we should no longer harbor any illusions and should abandon all hope and prepare for the worst."
Cao Cao countered, "What's the worst-case scenario?"
Man Chong said, "We need to see what the best outcome would be for Guan Xing. For Guan Xing right now, as long as Guan Yu keeps General Cao Ren occupied and prevents him from causing trouble on the Poyang Lake plain, Guan Xing can quickly capture Nanchang and head straight for Jiangling. After taking Jiangling, whether he goes to the three eastern counties to join Liu Bei in attacking General Xu Huang, or leads his army east across the Han River to attack General Cao Ren, he can deal a fatal blow to Your Majesty."
"In comparison, it seems more ideal to rush to the three eastern counties to block General Xu Huang's retreat, annihilate General Xu Huang, join forces with Liu Bei, and then turn around to attack General Cao Ren from both sides."
"Your Majesty, we have suffered heavy losses and cannot afford any more. Therefore, we must make a tough decision and cut our losses. I suggest that we abandon Jiangnan completely and have Generals Cao Ren and Xu Huang retreat to Xiangyang immediately. Then, we can confront Liu Bei in Xiangyang for a long time."
"Liu Bei's years of war have led to the devastation of the people in Bashu, and there is not much food left. The same is true for Jingzhou and Jiangdong. First, Lü Meng crossed the river in disguise, then Guan Yu launched a surprise attack on Jianye, and then Guan Xing annihilated Lu Xun. For two years, there have been various chaotic battles. Even if the food in Jiangnan is piled up like mountains, it must be almost exhausted after such a long period of high-intensity fighting."
"So we've assembled our army in Xiangfan. We'll either fight Liu Bei or wear him down. As long as our hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed on the banks of the Han River, Liu Bei will have to mobilize a large force to defend against us, no matter how unwilling he is. But the problem is that the army needs to eat. If Liu Bei sends all the able-bodied men in the country to the front lines, who will farm? If no one farms, there will be no food. If there is no food, the army will not be able to eat. If the army cannot eat, it will collapse. Does Your Majesty think this makes sense?"