Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 683: Wancheng Old Dream
In his dream, Prime Minister Cao returned to that night in Wancheng.

The first half of the night is full of mist and beauty. Enemies are at ease, and the widow is plump and ready for you to pick.

In the second half of the night, the whole city was engulfed in flames. The eldest son was left alone, while his close ministers fought to the death and fled in a panic.

He was not unfamiliar with this dream, as he had had the same dream after his reunion with Ding and Xiu.

In the dream, Zixiu gave up his mount to him and stayed behind to lead the troops to fight the enemy on foot. When the eldest son, covered in blood, saw him, he opened his mouth and asked:
"Where is my mother?"

At that time, Prime Minister Cao was speechless and woke up in horror.

Now, returning here in his dream, he experienced it all again with great vividness.

Dian Wei who cut off the gate of the camp with his own body, Cao Ang who died in a bloodbath while standing still to stop Zhang Xiu, Cao Anmin who was killed by the rebellious army and his body could not be found, and Jue Ying who died from a stray arrow after carrying him for a distance.

And now, Cao Cao was experiencing this nightmare again, but his attention was shifted to someone he had never noticed before.

He learned archery at the age of six, horse riding at the age of eight, and began to follow him in his conquests at the age of ten. As a result, he encountered Cao Pi and Cao Zihuan in the Wancheng Incident in his first battle.

The son was frightened and never talked about military service again. Instead, he devoted all his energy to studying. The sword skills he learned in his childhood were only used for playing with sugarcane, and the archery he learned was just a topic of conversation.

Cao Cao once thought that there was nothing wrong with it. After all, the incident in Wancheng made him regret it to this day. Victory or defeat on the battlefield can be changed in an instant. If Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were killed again, what would be the point of building such a great foundation?

But now, the same regret as in Wancheng filled his heart again:

How could we allow Cao Pi and Cao Zhi to focus on civil affairs and not be familiar with military tactics when the great cause has not yet been accomplished?

Such a big and strong city, but after being blocked outside the city, they didn't even have the courage to fight to the death, and actually wanted to lead the troops to Yuzhou to help him finish the battle in one battle?
Poor thing, before today he was still considering that if the war went badly, he could retreat step by step to Hebei, relying on the natural barrier of the Yellow River to defend Hebei and protect the emperor and resist Liu.

In his dream, Cao Cao looked at the Wancheng city in the distance, where flames were rising to the sky, and sighed.

Then he watched helplessly as a group of iron cavalrymen, with blood all over their bodies, stepped into the air like ghosts and gods. In the lead was a general with fluttering beard and a crescent-shaped sword pointing to the sky with a cold glow:

"Don't run away, Cao thief!"

Cao Cao sat up suddenly, and almost subconsciously reached for the sword beside him and chopped it down in front of him with familiarity.

With a "clang", the cup in Cao Zhang's hand was cut into two pieces and fell to the ground, spinning around. There was a sudden silence in the tent.

After touching his forehead, Cao Zhang immediately came over to lend a hand.

He frowned and pushed his son away, then looked at the faces of several counselors in the tent and said directly:
"What is the current situation and how long has it been?"

"Dad, an hour has passed and Liu Bei has not made any movement. He is just camping a hundred steps away on the other side of the river."

Cao Cao remained silent and looked at his son's yellow beard.

As much as his Huang Xuer loved to fight wild beasts and show off his strength, he hated writing and painting. But now...

Cao Cao glanced at Liu Ye inconspicuously and then retracted his gaze:

"The enemy army has a large force stationed in Yingyang, so Xiangcheng and Jiaxian cannot be defended. Order Cao Xiu and Yu Jin to withdraw and defend Fanchang and Linying."

"Since Yan County has been lost, Zhaoling will be hard to save. Order Yuan Rang to deploy defenses along the Fushui River. Ruyang must not be lost!"

"Also, please ask Zitong to go north to reinforce the defense of Xingyang, and...find an opportunity to support Zihuan."

For Cao Cao, facing an increasingly corrupt and still unclear situation, this was the only thing he could do and the only order he could issue.

Jiang Ji accepted the order, bowed deeply, and then turned and left: "My lord, please take care of yourself."

These orders were for external use, and there was no room for discussion for the headquarters he was currently leading: "All troops must be on alert and build fortifications. Do not allow the enemy troops to cross the river!"

The people in the tent dispersed, and it was only then that Cao Cao finally fell back onto the couch, whispering angrily:
"You are short-sighted and lack courage. Even if you can be as good as Yuan Xiansi..."

Finally, the tent fell silent. Then there was the rustling sound of armor leaves colliding. Soon, Prime Minister Cao, who had put on his armor and looked grim, came out of the tent.

The more this happens, the more we must not feel sorry for ourselves. We must work together with our fellow soldiers to have a chance of survival.

But looking back to the north again, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel anxious about his family, and at the same time he had a vague idea of ​​the changes in Yecheng.

The emperor is mediocre and cowardly, and there must be someone else plotting behind the scenes. Although the queen is brave, she is just a woman after all and has little experience in training.

The incident happened suddenly, the timing was just right, and he seemed to have seen through Cao Zihuan's weakness of not understanding military formations. Who could come up with this plan...

Cao Cao vaguely remembered the strategist who had led the incident in Wancheng in the past.

To Cao Cao's surprise, the banks of the Qishui River became quiet in the next few days.

The Qi River, which was only about eighty steps wide, flowed quietly, passing through the middle of the camps of Liu Bei and Cao Cao's armies, and rushed southward.

At the junction of the Pishui River and the Yingshui River in Yinqiang County, the commander of Cao's army in this small county town on the riverside threw away his weapon in despair. The Cao soldiers behind him looked at each other, and finally someone stepped forward and chopped off the commander's head, then scrambled it out of the city in a cloth bag.

The Yingshui River continued to flow, flowing through the cities along the river.

The gates of Xihua County were wide open, and it seemed like an empty city.

All four gates of Ruyang City collapsed. A one-eyed general led his troops in a desperate battle on the ruins, but the soldiers around him either fled or retreated, and the enemy troops around them seemed endless.

Further ahead, the entire Lejia County was already on fire. Although the city of Nandun County was in ruins, it had calmed down. On the top of the city, flags with the words "Han", "Liu" and "Guan" written on them were fluttering in the autumn wind.

The Yingshui River continued to flow and would not stop because of these pauses. It continued to flow forward and merged into the Langtang Canal (also known as the Honggou) built during the Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties. In Xiang County, where the river and the canal met, a general shouted loudly on the top of the city wall:

"Master, please stop performing the ritual. Zang Ba is willing to surrender!"

"We are both Han officials, how could this happen?!"

The river flows through Ruyin, where the county town has also hung the Han Liu flag, and a group of troops have left the city and are heading upstream in the direction of the river:

"Shamoko, do you really not need to rest any longer?"

"Boqi, if you want to rest, just rest. I'm not tired!"

The water of Yingchuan River rushes without stopping, continues to flow southwards and then merges with Feishui River and Huaishui River, then changes course to the eastwards and merges with Woshui River. It can be said to be a mighty torrent, and the waves can be said to be unbridled.

Then the wave was smashed into pieces by a huge ship. A few drops of water clung to the hull and the voices of people on it could be heard.

"Mr. Ji Chang, do you think we can still catch up with this war?"

"Gan Gui, don't be anxious. The navy's contribution is not only to destroy the enemy."

Dozens of water droplets meandered down along the hull and finally gathered into a stream and fell back into the Huai River. They were carried by the mighty river water passing by nearly a hundred ships of all sizes and continued to move eastward.

All rivers converge and finally flow into the sea.

In the tent, Kong Ming looked at his lord who was waiting eagerly on the other side of the river, and said with a smile:
"The Han people will unite to finally destroy the bandits."

"What worries my lord?"

(End of this chapter)