Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 789 Disciples of the Cao Family
Cao Cao personally went to work and quickly gathered the scattered and panicked army together.

"The whole army cheered and shouted loudly to boost morale, and at the same time retreated backwards, into the darkness, and then retreated southwards."

After he gave this order, Cao's army quickly followed it. The Han army on the city wall, which was about to continue firing crossbows, could only hear the earth-shaking shouts of Cao's army, but could only vaguely see a large black shadow under the starlight, and it was impossible to tell how many enemy troops there were.

However, soon after Cao's army began to retreat, the sky in the east began to turn pale. Although it was still dark on the earth, the light was already within reach.

In view of this, Cao Cao became more and more anxious, and immediately ordered the army to speed up the march. Otherwise, when the Han army in the city recovered and went out to pursue him, he would lose his life here.

He had just retreated to more than ten miles south of Chenliu City when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him, which made everyone's tense nerves suddenly tighten.

"Could it be that the Han army is catching up so quickly? This is troublesome."

Cao Cao felt something was wrong.

At this moment, two inexplicable shouts came from behind.

"Father……"

"Uncle...wait a minute..."

Cao Cao felt that the two voices were very familiar, so he turned around quickly and was greatly surprised.

"Zixiu, Anmin, have you escaped?"

These two people were Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang, Cao Zixiu, and the eldest son of his younger brother Cao De who had died by Ye Xiang's arrow not long ago, that is, Cao Cao's nephew Cao Shu, Cao Anmin.

The two had originally been training in Xiahou Yuan's army, and were sent out of the city last night to guard the Han prisoners in the camp outside the west gate. Cao Cao originally thought that they must have been killed, and he was heartbroken. Now seeing them return safely, he was naturally overjoyed.

The two of them did the same, riding their horses to Cao Cao and crying with joy.

"Okay, I'm glad you're okay."

He stroked Cao Anmin's head to comfort him: "If something happens to you, how can I explain to my brother? It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

Seeing that Cao Cao and the others were all walking, Cao Ang immediately led his warhorse over.

"Please also, father, ride my warhorse."

Cao Cao retreated quickly: "How can this be possible? My son was able to break through the Han army, and he must have gone through a lot of hardships and fought hard. It is better for you to keep this warhorse for yourself."

He looked at the two men covered in blood and felt very heartbroken.

Cao Ang insisted on asking him to mount the horse: "It is said that filial piety is the most important virtue. How can a son ride a horse while his father walk beside him?"

Cheng Yu looked at Cao Ang and nodded repeatedly, seeming very satisfied.

"My lord, since the eldest son is so filial, you don't have to retreat. Otherwise, wouldn't that make the young master unfilial?"

When Cao Cao heard him say this, he had no choice but to obey and mounted the horse himself.

"By the way, how many soldiers did you two lead to break through this time?"

Cao Ang could not help but look ashamed: "Reporting to father, the two of us... only brought less than 8,000 soldiers, and among them there are more than 3,000 wounded soldiers... The rest of the more than 30,000 troops have either died or surrendered..."

Cao Shu knelt on the ground and said, "It's all my incompetence. When we broke out, we had more than 10,000 soldiers. It was because I went back to rescue a military commander that I lost more than 2,000 soldiers. Please punish me, uncle!"

Cao Cao helped the two men up, his face full of emotion.

"This time our army fell into a trap, Yuan Rang and Miao Cai were both trapped by the enemy, and even I could hardly escape. Not only did you two succeed in breaking through, you also led 8,000 soldiers. This is a great achievement, how can you be blamed? Please get up quickly and follow me back to our headquarters city to regroup and fight again in the future."

"Thank you father!"

"Thank you uncle!"

Cao Cao looked at the two of them with a look of relief in his eyes: "With such sons and daughters in our Cao family, why should we worry about the prosperity of our family? A small defeat is nothing to worry about." "Woo... woo..."

In the distant Chenliu City, a burst of urgent horn sounds rose into the sky. Even though they were ten miles away, Cao Cao and others could hear it clearly.

Cheng Yu's face changed: "My lord, this is the horn of the Han army to gather the soldiers. Maybe they have found out the strength of our army and are coming to hunt us down."

Cao Cao whipped his horse whip and said, "March at full speed. Don't let the enemy catch up."

Every soldier of Cao's army had already been frightened out of his wits. When they heard the enemy's horn sound again behind them, they were all scared out of their wits. As soon as Cao Cao gave the order, the soldiers all jumped out like rabbits without any need for any supervision or command from their generals.

On top of the south gate of Chenliu City, Gao Shun and several generals watched the movements of Cao's army from afar. Although the sky was still dark and they could not see clearly, they all had smiles on their faces. Some even had a hint of teasing in their smiles, and they seemed to be watching with great interest.

Deputy General Ge said to Gao Shun: "General, you are really wise. You don't need to leave the city. You only need to blow the horn to scare Cao's army. It's really a good idea."

General Huang, the commander of the imperial guards, was a little hesitant: "Why don't we really fight our way out, capture Cao the thief, and present him to Your Majesty?"

Gao Shun said calmly, "Although the city is stable, there is still unrest outside the city. Moreover, Your Majesty has made preparations in advance, so Cao Cao cannot escape even if he has wings."

After he said this, although the generals felt a little regretful that they could not capture Cao Cao personally and gain great merit, they did not say anything else.

Cao Cao and his companions ran all the way without stopping for a moment, and no one looked back to see if there were any Han troops chasing them. All of them just ran forward with all their might.

In this way, until noon, Cao Cao was still riding a horse, but he felt quite tired, and the soldiers of Cao's army were all soaked, panting, and their faces were extremely pale.

"My Lord, I see no pursuers behind us. We should rest here for a while. It won't be too late to continue our journey..."

Xizhong held onto a big tree, his legs trembling.

Cao Cao also felt extremely thirsty. He looked behind him and saw no sign of any pursuers.

"That's good. I think the Han army has given up the pursuit. Pass the order down and let the whole army rest on the spot."

He also got off the horse, and then personally helped Guo Jia to rest under the shade of a tree.

Among the other three counselors, except Cheng Yu who frowned slightly, the other two did not show any dissatisfaction. After all, among the four, although these three were not military generals, they all cultivated their character and practiced martial arts and swordsmanship. Only Guo Jia only read books and did not practice martial arts. He usually liked to linger in the red-light district. Even though he was young, his body was the weakest.

Several people sat together under the shade of a tree. Cao Ang personally brought a few water bags. After everyone drank a few sips of water and took a few breaths, they felt much more comfortable.

"I never thought that our army would suffer such a disastrous defeat in this decisive battle of Chenliu. Alas, this is all my fault. I, Cao Cao, have let down the soldiers of the three armies and all of you."

Cao Cao looked up at the sky and sighed.

Guo Jia hurriedly said, "My lord, don't blame yourself. Victory and defeat are common in the military. Although our army has suffered heavy losses, and even most of the counties in Yanzhou will be seized by Liu He, Yuzhou has several times more population and food than Yanzhou. We can hold the main road from Yanzhou to Yuzhou, recruit new troops, and still have hope of revenge."

"Yes, General Cao Ren is stationed in Xuzhou. Most of the population of Xuzhou is under the control of our army. Originally, the lord did not recruit soldiers and collect grain in Xuzhou in order to stabilize the people's hearts. Now, firstly, the people's hearts have been stabilized, and secondly, our army has just been defeated. The lord only needs to issue a conscription notice. It is expected that within a few months, more than 100,000 soldiers and horses will be recruited."

Among the four great counselors, Cheng Yu is the oldest, so he is the most calm in dealing with things and people. His words also gave everyone hope.

"Lord..."

A soldier ran over and said, "My lord, there is a man claiming to be the envoy of General Liang Xi, and he has come to report."

"Liang Xi? He is still alive?" When Cao Cao heard the name, his face was full of surprise and a bit of joy.

Xi Zhong said, "The Lord sent General Liang to ambush Zhang Yong's reinforcements from Liang Province. Considering the situation in Chenliu, we thought that this ambush would not succeed and General Liang would be beheaded. But he is not dead. Could it be that the ambush was successful?"

"If that's the case, it would be a great joy." Guo Jia nodded.

Cao Cao hurriedly shouted, "Quick, bring that man here."

(End of this chapter)