Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

After scaring Sun Ce away, Li Dian did not dare to delay for even a moment and quickly protected Cao Ren and retreated to Le'an County.

However, the huge Le'an County had less than 8,000 defenders, even with the 5,000 soldiers brought back by Li Dian. It was impossible to stop Li Ji's northern expedition army.

At this moment, Cao Ren was very clear that Qingzhou had in fact been completely lost.

In order to avoid unnecessary losses, Cao Ren, who returned to Le'an County, did not even dare to rest for a night. He immediately arranged to continue evacuating Le'an County and burned the equipment, money, food, official documents, etc. that could not be taken away from Le'an County.

Since Qingzhou could no longer be held, Cao Ren naturally had no need to stay in Qingzhou. After handing over many unfinished matters in Qingzhou to Li Dian, Cao Ren returned to Yecheng to apologize.

……

In Yecheng, after many days of discussion, Cao Wei also initially found a way to provide assistance to Qingzhou.

That is to wait for the Yellow River to freeze and then walk directly across the ice.

In order to ensure that the soldiers who came to Qingzhou to provide assistance in winter would not suffer frostbite in large numbers, Cao Wei was collecting large quantities of furs, firewood, small stoves and other items, waiting for the right time to cross the river on the ice.

Although the timing depends entirely on fate, according to relevant records, the time difference for the Yellow River to freeze over can be as long as two months, but this is the only feasible method after many discussions.

Moreover, the first snow this year came much earlier than in previous years, which made Cao Cao feel much more at ease.

The heavy snow came early, which was beneficial to the Qingzhou defenders and even more beneficial to the freezing of the Yellow River.

Therefore, Cao Cao prepared to send a message to Cao Ren, asking Cao Ren to hold on for as long as possible for a month, after which reinforcements would arrive.

However, before the letter to Cao Ren was delivered, Cao Cao saw Cao Ren first, and knelt down in front of him to apologize in the same manner as Cao Hong had done not long ago.

Even the first words they spoke were exactly the same.

"Brother, I'm sorry for you."

Cao Cao put his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and asked with a glimmer of hope.

"Could it be that Zixiao did something ridiculous and stole my sister-in-law?"

Cao Ren was stunned, unable to react for a moment to why Cao Cao said that, and explained subconsciously.

"Yes, Qingzhou is lost!"

Cao Cao's figure swayed slightly, and he asked softly, "Qingzhou is lost?"

Cao Ren didn't dare to look up at Cao Cao, he knelt on the ground and said.

“Lost…lost.”

"More than 100,000 elite soldiers, 6,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, countless money, food and equipment, and you also managed Qingzhou two years in advance to set up the defense line..."

Cao Cao became angrier and angrier as he spoke. He slammed the table and stood up, questioning.

"In just over a month, not even two months, Qingzhou was lost?!"

Cao Cao, who was far away in Yecheng, knew only about the war in Qingzhou. He knew that Dongchaojin was attacked, Anqiu and Chang'an were breached, and a stalemate was taking place under Chunyu City.

In Cao Cao's view, the war in Qingzhou might have been at a disadvantage, but it was far from being a complete defeat.

But it was just a blink of an eye, how did Qingzhou get lost? !

Cao Ren also responded with a bitter face.

"I am incompetent, please punish me, Your Majesty."

Cao Ren was inferior in skills and seemed to fall into Li Ji's trap at every step, which made him feel almost powerless.

The fall of Anqiu and Chang'an can be attributed to a momentary lack of preparedness.
The fall of Zhuxu City can be attributed to Chunyu Qiong's incompetence;

The attack on Dongchaojin could be said to be the fault of Taishan County;
The fall of Chunyu City can be attributed to the unfavorable weather and the Han army's use of rare warm objects.

Even when Linzi was captured, Cao Ren could cover it up by saying that he had made impeccable arrangements, but it was Cao Xiu who was too eager for quick success, which led to the Han army's capture. However, the attack on the Gail River halfway through the crossing destroyed the last defenders and hopes of Qingzhou, which was undoubtedly the responsibility that Cao Ren could not shirk.

Cao Ren didn't dare to look at Cao Cao's murderous eyes. He waited anxiously for several breaths, but he didn't receive any response from Cao Cao. Instead, he heard the sound of Cao Cao falling to the ground.

"Brother!"

Cao Ren blurted out a cry, and hurriedly went forward with the attendants around him to support Cao Cao, only to see that Cao Cao's face was ashen, his hands were covering his head, he was sweating profusely, and his teeth were clenched tightly.

This familiar scene was actually Cao Cao's migraine attack.

"Quick, quick, summon a doctor..."

Without waiting for Cao Ren to finish speaking, Cao Cao suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed Cao Ren's collar, pulled Cao Ren in front of him, and spoke in a low voice with difficulty.

"The news of Qingzhou's fall must not be disclosed for the time being!"

"Yes Yes!"

Cao Ren quickly explained what had happened, and Cao Cao then let go of his hand in unbearable pain, covering his head and crying out in pain.

After a period of careful treatment from a doctor, Cao Cao felt a little better after drinking the medicine and fell asleep temporarily.

Although Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren not to disclose the news of the fall of Qingzhou for the time being, many people saw Cao Ren's hasty return to Yecheng.

There were also many people and eyes inside the palace.

Therefore, many people had speculations in their minds, and some even asked Cao Ren directly about the war in Qingzhou and why Cao Ren suddenly returned to Yecheng.

Cao Ren did not dare to speak out about this and had to hide back in his own mansion.

For a time, as Cao Cao had to rest due to his migraine recurring, Cao Ren stayed indoors and refused to see guests. However, rumors spread throughout Yecheng and all kinds of remarks appeared in Yecheng.

For five consecutive days, until the news of the Qingzhou war gradually reached Yecheng through other channels, Cao Cao still hid in the palace under the pretext of recuperating from illness and did not show up.

Unlike Liu Bei who handed over all military and political affairs to Prime Minister Li Ji, Cao Cao proclaimed himself King of Wei and established a government. Naturally, he would not set up the position of prime minister to restrict himself.

Although the system of three dukes and nine ministers was still maintained, the official in charge of government affairs was actually the Shangshu Ling, who was the most respected.

The person who served as the Chancellor of Cao Wei was Xun You.

On the sixth day, when it was snowing lightly, Xun You also came to ask for an audience with Cao Cao.

During this period of time, Xun You was not the only civil and military official who sought to see Cao Cao. In fact, Xun You could be considered as one of the latecomers among Cao Wei's high-ranking officials.

When Xun You approached Cao Cao's bed, he smelled a strong smell of medicine, and saw that Cao Cao, who was lying on the bed, had little blood on his face, a white towel covering his forehead, and looked seriously ill.

"Your Majesty."

Xun You knelt in front of Cao Cao's couch and performed the greetings in a very formal manner.

"Ah...it's Gongda...cough cough..."

Cao Cao opened his eyes reluctantly, spoke weakly, and then asked.

"My old illness has relapsed, and for a while... cough cough, it's hard for me to govern. Gongda came to see me. Could it be... could it be that something happened in the office?"

At this moment, Xun You still had a foolish look on his face, but his eyes were deep and distant, and he spoke softly.

"Why does your Majesty have to test me like this? The Xun family and Cao Wei have no reason to separate, and we have no choice but to be loyal to your Majesty. Moreover, I also have a good medicine to cure your majesty's illness."

The next moment, Cao Cao's eyes narrowed, and he sat up suddenly, without a trace of sickness left in his eyes, and asked anxiously.

"Where does the medicine come from?" (End of this chapter)