Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

When everyone entered Yizhou, Cao Cao remembered that he had a son left outside.

Cao Zhang, his best fighting son.

Relying on more than 20,000 troops and with the assistance of Guo Jia, they blocked the attack of Zhang Fei's army that was twice as large as his. Their performance was quite amazing.

It's a pity that I, as a father, couldn't handle it and ended up passing all the pressure on to my son.

Now that Liu Bei has taken Longxi, he can free up his hands to go north to deal with Cao Zhang.

With hundreds of thousands of troops coming towards us, even if you, Cao Zhang, were Xiang Yu reborn, you would not be able to stop them.

If you can't beat them, you can only run away.

However, Longxi was lost, and the northern counties of Liang were cut off by Liu Bei, making it impossible to escape into Yizhou.

There is only one result waiting for Cao Zhang:
The entire army was wiped out, and both the soldiers and the people were killed!
As for the miracle of resisting Liu Bei and defending Liangbei, Cao Cao dared not even think about it.

I haven’t created any miracles myself, so how can I rely on Cao Zhang?

When Cao Cao thought that he would lose another son soon, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He clenched his fists and pounded them hard on the table.

Zhang Song's heart tightened, and he glared at Yan Pu fiercely, secretly blaming him for bringing up something else and insisting on making trouble.

What if Cao Cao, out of concern for Cao Zhang, gave up retreating to Hanzhong and instead led his troops north to support Cao Zhang?
Isn't that just asking for death?

Zhang Song rolled his eyes and said in a comforting tone:

"Prince Rencheng is an extraordinary warrior, and he has Guo Fengxiao to help him with his plans. Although he has only 20,000 soldiers under his command, they are all elite warriors from Liangzhou."

"Besides, he has a fierce general like Wen Chou who can defeat ten thousand enemies."

"Besides, the road to Liangbei is far and remote, and it is inconvenient to transport food and grass. It is impossible for Liu Bei to mobilize 300,000 troops for the expedition. At most, he can only have 100,000 soldiers and horses."

"If Prince Rencheng uses his troops properly, he may be able to defend Liangbei. Your Majesty should have confidence in Prince Rencheng."

After Zhang Song's lengthy analysis, hope gradually rekindled in Cao Cao's heartbroken eyes.

"Yongnian is right, Zhang'er is unparalleled in bravery, and Fengxiao is extremely intelligent. I believe they will be able to stop Liu Bei and defend Liangbei!"

Cao Cao slammed the table, his tone and expression firm, as if he believed in Zhang Song's analysis and judgment.

There's nothing I can do, he has no choice but to believe it.

If you don't believe it, it means you have determined that Cao Zhang cannot stop Liu Bei and his life is definitely in danger.

As a father, can you watch your son die and do nothing to help?

Of course not.

Then you will have no choice but to lead your army north to support Cao Zhang in giving up Liangbei and retreating to Yizhou with you.

Can Liu Bei allow you to take your son back comfortably?
Of course not.

They are hoping that you will come back to attack them, so that hundreds of thousands of troops can attack them and annihilate their only remaining 40,000 troops.

Then he took the opportunity to lead his troops south and attack Yizhou directly. Will you use your head to stop him?

Therefore, if he went north to meet the reinforcements, not only would he not be able to get his son back, but he would also have to lose 40,000 troops and even the last part of Yizhou.

Since I can't go to support Cao Zhang, I can only believe that Cao Zhang has the ability to defend Liangbei and save his life.

Only in this way, as a father, could he retreat to Hanzhong without any psychological burden.

As for this belief, does it matter whether it is a self-deceptive belief or a belief that comes from the heart?
When Yan Pu heard Cao Cao's statement, he fell silent and said no more.

He had naturally realized that Cao Cao had no choice but to decide to let Cao Zhang fend for himself.

You, as a father, have already given up on your son. What else can we, as his subjects, say?

"Your Majesty is wise."

"So our first priority now is to retreat to Hanzhong as soon as possible, rest and recuperate, and regroup."

"Only now can Your Majesty lead the troops north out of the Qinling Mountains one day earlier, and attack from the north and south together with Prince Rencheng to recapture Guanlong!" Zhang Song breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had convinced Cao Cao, and hurriedly flattered him.

Cao Cao already had a stepping stone, so he didn't dare to create any more trouble and jumped up again.

"Yongnian is right. Time is running out and we cannot afford to worry for even a moment."

"Pass on my order, march out immediately, and retreat to Hanzhong!"

Zhang Song secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Except for a few people, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

That night, Cao Cao did not dare to stay in Yinping. He immediately led 40,000 Qin troops, accompanied by thousands of officials and their families, and hurried towards Hanzhong and Nanzheng.

...

Longxi direction.

On the day Liu Bei captured Jicheng, he issued a proclamation and sent it to Tianshui and Nangan counties.

At the same time, tens of thousands of troops were divided into groups and rushed to the key cities and passes in various counties.

Upon hearing that Cao Cao had been defeated and fled to Yizhou, the morale of the counties in Longxi collapsed. After receiving Liu Bei's manifesto and learning that the Han army was on their way, the counties surrendered.

Within a few days, all the counties in Longxi surrendered without a fight.

Then Liu Bei left Huang Zhong, Zhang Liao and other generals to guard Jicheng, and ordered the main army to retreat to Guanzhong one after another to reduce the pressure on transporting food and fodder.

Liu Bei led 70,000 elite infantry and cavalry north to Jincheng County, where they joined forces with Zhang Fei's 40,000-strong army. Together, they launched an offensive against the Liangbei counties where Cao Zhang was located.

The news that Longxi had changed hands and Liu Bei had personally visited the city soon spread to Jincheng County.

...

East of Jincheng County, Jincheng.

Zhang Fei's 40,000-strong army and Cao Zhang's 20,000-strong Qin army had been confronting each other here for several months.

It's dusk.

Cao Zhang stood on the top of the city wall, looking towards the Han camp in the east of the city with a serious expression. He could clearly hear the cheers of the Han army.

Of course he knew that this was the Han army led by Zhang Fei, who were cheering and celebrating upon hearing the news that Liu Bei had captured Jicheng and recovered Longxi.

Cao Zhang looked down at the secret report in his hand and gritted his teeth.

That was also an urgent report from a spy, about Cao Cao's retreat to Hanzhong, Yu Jin's surrender to Han, and Jicheng changing hands.

In addition, there was news that Liu Bei was leading 70,000 elite infantry and cavalry northward and was only 50 miles away from Jincheng.

"Father, the Emperor regards Yu Jin as a member of our Cao family. I never thought that Yu Jin would be so afraid of death and surrender to that big-eared thief!"

"One day, I will personally kill this cowardly traitor—"

Cao Zhang's eyes were blazing with fire and he swore an oath through gritted teeth.

Guo Jia, who was standing by, sighed bitterly:
"Yu Jin is the best general of the Qin State, but he was afraid of death in the face of danger and failed your majesty's trust in him. It is indeed a pity."

As soon as the topic changed, Guo Jia's face became serious, and then he said:

"But now Longxi has been lost, and our way to retreat to Yizhou has been cut off by Liu Bei."

"At present, Liu Bei's main force is rushing towards Jincheng. Once they join forces with Zhang Fei's troops, there will be 100,000 people, which will have an overwhelming advantage over our army."

"If we still want to hold on to Jincheng at that time, I'm afraid we will repeat the mistakes of Jicheng."

"King Rencheng, the moment of life and death is approaching, we cannot just sit there and wait for death!"

Cao Zhang's figure shuddered, and the anger in his eyes was instantly replaced by horror. (End of this chapter)