God Three Group Chat: Three Kingdoms

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From a personal standpoint, choosing not to attack is the most correct choice.

But for Cao Cao at this moment, was his stance truly only a personal one?

Recalling his previous bold and commanding actions, leading his troops into battle, he felt as if he were reliving those days.

"What was the meaning of your dream?" Cao Cao, looking straight ahead, murmured softly to Xi Zhong, who was somewhat puzzled.

Xi Zhong simply couldn't understand the meaning behind Cao Cao's words. Even though he had followed Cao Cao for so long, he still couldn't grasp the deeper meaning behind Cao Cao's words.

"Lord Cao, since that's the case, shall we still attack?" Ma Chao turned his horse around and quickly approached Cao Cao, looking up to ask the question without caring about the occasion or atmosphere.

Or perhaps Ma Chao was completely unaware of anything unusual about the atmosphere at the moment; he was simply excited about the war and, seeing the enemy army gradually fleeing, he made an almost instinctive question.

"In Mengqi's opinion, what should our army do?" Cao Cao, who was already deep in thought, was instantly brought to his senses upon hearing Ma Chao's voice and words. He then turned to look at Ma Chao and asked him directly.

"In my opinion, we should continue the pursuit. Such a good opportunity will never come again once it's missed. This is a chance to significantly weaken the enemy's manpower..." Under Cao Cao's somewhat surprised gaze, Ma Chao directly pointed out the biggest advantage.

That is to eliminate more of the Yuezhi's manpower. Apart from that, there are basically no other benefits to the subsequent pursuit war.

After all, given that their territory consisted almost entirely of cavalry, they were unable to capture the Khyber Pass fortress.

We can't really dismount and use them as infantry. If we were 70-80% sure we could take the fortress, that would be understandable. But the problem now is, let alone 70-80%, even a 50% chance is questionable.

"Since Mengqi has already said so, then let's do as Mengqi says and pursue them with the whole army!" Cao Cao took a deep look at Ma Chao, then slowly nodded, confirming the main theme for the rest of the campaign, and passed on the order.

Upon hearing Cao Cao's order, Xi Zhong looked at Cao Cao with great surprise, not understanding why such an order would be issued.

Given their current state, choosing to attack all the way might bring them some gains, but in the end, it will probably do more harm than good. It's not a good choice.

"Thank you for your support, Lord Cao. I will go and pursue the enemy immediately." Upon hearing Cao Cao's order, Ma Chao instantly became like a wild horse, entering a state of continuing to fight and pursue, rushing out like a madman.

With a series of roars and commands, Ma Chao's army quickly assembled and continued to pursue the fleeing soldiers in Jiaqie, regardless of whether there were ambushes or traps along the way.

"Lord Cao?" Upholding his loyalty to Cao Cao, Xi Zhong casually inquired when no one was around, wanting to understand the reason so that he could deal with the subsequent planning and schemes more calmly.

“Zhi Cai, you’re right. If our army didn’t launch an attack, there wouldn’t be so many hidden dangers and worries, nor would we need to worry too much about retaliation from the enemy. But we can’t only think of ourselves; we also have to think of the country…” Cao Cao, with his hands crossed in front of him and his sword planted firmly on the ground, gazed into the distance and said rather casually, “Although our army has worked so hard for so long, the Han Empire has also contributed a lot. Moreover, this move is ostensibly to reduce the pressure on the southern Han army, not to occupy the Kabul Valley. We have to take some real action to make it believable.” A country is a country, a family is a family, and a nation is a nation. Having experienced so many hardships, Cao Cao naturally understood the difference between them, as well as the costs and hidden dangers they contained.

Expanding territory and establishing new borders, using one's own surname to lay the foundation of a nation, one must always have something of substance to become the true foundation of the country, the foundation to build, and the unyielding pillar.

Although the current battle was fought well, it still lacked something, especially when facing the Han Empire, where the lack was more obvious.

These deficiencies are something that every prominent family and clan that has emerged from this society can basically sense, and can even figure out the reasons behind them. Although each family has different reasons, they all agree on the essence of these deficiencies.

"Understood." Xi Zhong looked at Cao Cao's expression and instantly understood Cao Cao's thoughts. He then stopped trying to stop the army from attacking the Khyber Pass fortress and instead focused on how to strike the Khyber Pass fortress more effectively.

To serve one's lord and reduce his losses is simply what a person like him should do.

"Let's go and see for ourselves the power and spirit of the Khyber Pass fortress built by the Yuezhi people, which gives the people of Peshawar the grandeur and decisiveness of an empire." Cao Cao waved his hand gently as he watched the civil and military officials return one after another, deciding on their direction.

After leaving ample personnel to clean up the battlefield, the remaining army, less than half of the total strength, began to pursue the Yuezhi army in the direction of their retreat, forcing the Yuezhi to retreat towards the Khyber Pass fortress. Cao Cao's troops also followed the road indicated by the Yuezhi to the Khyber Pass fortress.

After confirming the information from the front lines, Barak, the commander stationed at the Khyber Pass fortress, made plans while coordinating his elite troops to better prepare for the Han army and keep the enemy outside the Khyber Pass fortress as much as possible.

To this end, he set up four defense zones and seven regional commanders to deal with any army that might attack the Khyber Pass fortress, and to effectively resist and defend against any army that came from any direction, and to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

This reinforcement does not refer to the royal army within Peshawar, but rather to the army within Barak's command system.

The various regions were divided out and coupled together to form four major command areas and seven regional commanders, which also served to enhance the troop mobility.

With this arrangement, no matter which direction the enemy appears from or which area the Yuezhi people attack first, the troops in the two adjacent areas can be coordinated nearby to provide flank support. The area where the troops are drawn can also coordinate its troops more easily with the help of the more abundant troops in the adjacent areas.

Under this regional deployment, although the troops north of the Khyber Pass fortress were somewhat dispersed, they still maintained a fairly high level of competence, with excellent military and command capabilities.

If we cannot divide our forces to annihilate them, then we can only annihilate them by force, but the cost will be much higher.

However, as long as the Khyber Pass fortress can be held, some sacrifices are understandable, and even necessary.

In their attitudes toward people and soldiers, the Yuezhi people of the north were already influenced by a portion of the Brahmans, and besides, nomadic peoples genuinely didn't care about this. (End of Chapter)