Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 682: Cursing by the River
Cao Cao was not in Xu Du at this time as Liu Bei expected.

As a prime minister who had to face several wars, staying in Xuchang was not his style.

Before Wuyang fell and the two sides were still in a stalemate, Cao Cao was patrolling in Yingchuan County. He was able to supervise both the battle and the army, and being close to the front line, he could get battle reports faster.

But unfortunately, among the various battle reports sent from the front line, there was no good news that could ease his anxiety.

Since last year, he wanted to retake Jingbei, but Yunchang had been defending Jingbei, and the two sides had been fighting back and forth. Finally, after learning from his mistakes, he gathered his army and marched eastward, intending to use his superior numbers to directly retake Wancheng and force Yunchang back to the Xiangfan line.

He was almost there.

But he soon discovered that he still couldn't understand Yunchang.

When lifting the siege of Bai Ma, Yunchang took Yan Liang's head amidst thousands of soldiers, which makes him a brave general.

When fighting in Jingxiang, he was able to use the navy freely to launch a surprise attack on Wancheng, showing the style of a great general.

During the battle for northern Jing, he was able to send out the armored cavalry to stop him from achieving his goal, and he can be called a famous general.

He can train the navy, train the cavalry in the south, and he is also very good at fighting. He is worthy of being called Yunchang!

Although they were impressed, it was also a fact that they had failed in their attempt to retake Jingbei. Moreover, after seeing the power of the armored cavalry with their own eyes, the army at the border of Jing and Yu could no longer retreat.

At the border, there is still a strategic point separated by four mountains and three passes to serve as a check and balance. If the military order is withdrawn and Yunchang is allowed to enter and exit freely, then wouldn't the armored cavalry be able to charge one by one and reach the city of Xuxu?
Although the situation is a bit difficult to get off, but as the saying goes, I, Cao Mengde, was able to fight with Yuan Benchu ​​for ten months at Guandu and then use the weak to defeat the strong and swallow up Hebei, so why can't I do it now...

Moreover, Cao Cao discussed the current situation with his advisers, and the bedridden Xun You believed that Yuzhou might be difficult to defend at the moment.

However, Xun Gongda, who was suffering from illness, could not come up with a good plan for the time being. He only said that he would need to go to the front to see the enemy army with his own eyes after he recovered before making a final conclusion.

Dong Zhao, Jiang Ji and Liu Ye believed that Liu Bei's stationing of troops in Luoyang was an attempt to win people's hearts and minds. There must be little food and fodder left to support the poor, so the offensive should have to wait until next spring. If you want to launch a surprise attack, you should take advantage of the winter snow.

It seemed like there was nothing wrong with it, but Cao Cao always felt that it shouldn't be like this.

Otherwise, go ask Xun Yu?
Before the defeat of Jingxiang, the matter of being titled Duke had already been discussed in private, which led to a very unpleasant quarrel between him and Xun Yu.

Later, Xu Shu returned to the south, and Xun Wenruo felt guilty about it. In the end, with his tacit consent, he took the post of Shangshu Ling, but was not allowed to leave Xu Du.

But if I take the initiative to ask Xun Yu...

Before he could figure out a result, after mid-October, a series of urgent reports from all directions completely stunned him.

Xu Huang of Yan County reported urgently: The rebel army marched eastward and conquered Wuyang and Xiping, and the lives and deaths of Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren and Li Dian were unknown.

Cao Xiu of Jia County urgently reported: Zhang Fei went south from Yique Pass, Guangcheng Pass and Liang County were lost one after another. Cao Xiu decided to defend Jia County with Yu Jin to stop Zhang Fei and never retreat.

Cheng Yu of Shangcai reported urgently: the enemy troops came to reinforce Wuyin City, and their leader Xue Hong was defeated and killed. Yu has abandoned Wufang and Liyang and is defending Shangcai, waiting for you to defeat the enemy.

Wen Pin of Shenyang urgently reported: the enemy army has come out in full force, Li County and Anyang have both been lost, Zhang Liao was defeated and his life or death is unknown, and there is no news from Xinxi Cao Zhen.

Zang Ba and Wei Zhen of Chen County, Xiahou Dun and Man Chong of Ruyang reported urgently: the main force of the rebel army went north, Xincai, Yingyang and Gushi were all lost, and the four decided to join forces and defeat the enemy with Xiahou Dun as the leader.

These dispatches, which arrived simultaneously within two days, conveyed a message that could not be more obvious:
Liu Bei launched a massive attack, and his attack was extremely swift.

But what he couldn't understand was that Wuyang was defeated and Wuyin was defeated, but how could Guangcheng Pass, a strong pass in the capital city, "hold out for half a day in the face of thunder and lightning but was lost" as described in the military newspaper?

At such a strategic pass, even if an eight-year-old child was placed in the position of commander, he would not be able to hold out for only half a day.

Moreover, could this military report be a little more outrageous? What divine power and thunder? It can't be that Zhang Jue has been resurrected, right?

Not to mention the urgent report from Chen County, saying that the main force of the rebel army was heading north... If that was the main force, what was it compared to the tens of thousands of troops that conquered Yingyang across the Pishui River?
In short, Cao Cao, who was patrolling in Yingchuan County, after careful consideration, temporarily led his troops to station in Yingyin, west of Xuchang, which was only separated from the recently lost Yingyang by a river and fifty miles.

There was no other way. The emergency situation on all sides made him unwilling to stay in Xudu, but it was also the emergency situation on all sides that made him not know where to go for a while.

In short, the sudden turn of events made Cao Cao still feel unreal. Two days ago, he was still planning where to get some more food and warm clothes so that he could launch a surprise attack on Luoyang in winter and drive the enemy back to Guanzhong.

But now...Liu Bei is about to reach Xu Du?
In this kind of war situation, there was very little he could do. In the end, he could only speed up the mobilization of troops and food, while trying his best to send out all the scouts and messengers to report the war situation from all directions as soon as possible.

The war was in full swing, forcing him to try his best to adapt to the war rhythm which was completely different from the past.

The next day, a letter was sent across the river to persuade the enemy to surrender. Cao Cao even opened it with great interest and read it carefully. Finally, he passed the letter to his adviser and shook his head, saying:
"It is Liu Bei himself who has come here."

"Since he is so brave, I must not lose it either. Go tell the other side of the river..."

"The Han Prime Minister who was ordered to fight against the rebels is here. How can the traitors not know the will of heaven?"

Cao Cao said these two sentences very calmly. Several counselors in the tent exchanged glances, with worries almost unavoidable between their brows. It was obvious that the Prime Minister wanted to attract the enemy's attention, but...is this really a good idea?

They had read the battle reports sent in from various places in detail, and none of them were unfamiliar with military affairs, but precisely because of this, they were quite hesitant.

What Cheng Yu and Wen Pin reported was still normal. Xu Huang said that the scouts heard several muffled thunders before Wuyang fell, and saw from afar that the city wall collapsed by itself, and then the enemy troops entered the city without resistance.

Cao Xiu said that Zhang Fei was a demon because he could spit fire and thunder. Every time he thundered, there would be an explosion, fire, smoke, and the soldiers' minds would be broken, and the gate would be breached.

Could it be that there really was an immortal who couldn't bear to see the Han Dynasty decline, so he came to the mortal world? They were at a loss and could only imagine wildly. Among the few people, Liu Ye frowned the most.

Soon, the personal guard entered the tent again and handed over a letter. Cao Cao opened it and laughed when he read it:

"This Liu Bei wants to meet me across the river to reminisce about the past."

"Mingsir, agree to his request!" Liu Ye almost jumped up. "We still have strong crossbows in the army. They can still fire at a distance of 150 steps. We also have crossbows that can be disguised and pushed to the front of the battle!"

Cao Cao remained silent, so Liu Ye almost approached him:

"Mingsir! ..."

Cao Cao has never been one to think ahead and behind, so he simply raised his hand:

"Do it quickly!"

He asked his personal soldiers to go again and arrange for an hour later, and then told him the location.

When Cao Cao arrived, he was disappointed to find that Liu Bei was more than 200 steps away from him, and when he spoke, his personal soldiers shouted in unison to convey the message.

"Is Xuande afraid of my ambush of bows and crossbows?" Cao Cao pretended to be angry.

Liu Bei on the other side of the river laughed and responded:

"Meng De, it's not that I'm afraid of you, but now our army's crossbows can shoot 200 steps away. If I get close, I'm afraid you will die here and I can't escape responsibility."

To Liu Bei, this was the truth, but to Cao Cao, it was more like a mockery after his plan was discovered. In anger, he simply took a few steps forward and shouted loudly:
"In the past, Lü Bu could only shoot his halberd at the gate from a distance of 150 steps. Today, he is talking about a powerful crossbow that can shoot 200 steps. Is Xuande taking advantage of me because I don't know how to fight?"

With a "swish", Cao Cao turned around and saw a crossbow arrow stuck in the ground more than ten steps behind him. The tail of the arrow was still trembling, and a chill immediately crept up his back.

Prime Minister Cao's personal soldiers swarmed forward and hurriedly pulled Prime Minister Cao back.

Although there were some twists and turns, at least the two sides were able to talk to each other, although Liu Bei felt that Cao Cao seemed particularly angry.

"Xuan De disobeyed the Emperor's order and recklessly launched a war. Is this an attempt to rebel?"

"Now that the emperor has temporarily fled to Hebei, your rebellious actions are known to the world. You pretend to be kind and righteous but harbor evil intentions. Do you know that one day the world will spit on you!?"

"If you can cross the river and surrender, I will welcome you as an old friend and explain your loyalty to the emperor, so that..."

"Mengde!"

Liu Bei suddenly felt that these words were a bit annoying, so he interrupted Prime Minister Cao without further ado.

"Don't you really know that your death is near?!"

"Don't you know that Cao is doomed to fail?!"

The effect of these two sentences was outstanding. Prime Minister Cao's blood suddenly surged, and the soldiers around him could see that the prime minister's steps were a little unsteady.

At this moment, fast horses entered the camp from the rear and soon there was a noise, which temporarily attracted Cao Cao's attention. What he was most concerned about now was the military situation in all directions, and he sincerely hoped to have a victory report to boost morale.

Soon, Dong Zhao came over with a few letters, looking anxious:

"Mingsir, there is an urgent report from Zhaoling. Yancheng and Shangcai are both lost. It is unknown whether Xu Huang and Cheng Yu are alive or dead. There is also an urgent report from Hebei. Yecheng..."

Instead of good news, there was the loss of two cities in a row. Cao Cao suddenly felt a sweet taste in his throat.

Dong Zhao's hesitant look made him feel even colder:

"Bring it here and show it to me!"

But after a few breaths:

"Shu Zi!!!"

Then the Prime Minister's personal soldiers were in chaos:

"The Prime Minister has fainted! Hurry up and call the Minister of Rites! Hurry up and call the doctor!"

(End of this chapter)