Han officials

Chapter 292 At that time, exactly at this moment

In the fourth month of summer in the first year of Xingping of the Han Dynasty.

The weather was uncooperative, with dark clouds covering the sky.

Perhaps their luck has run out, as this year is another year of disasters and calamities for Guanzhong.

"An earthquake struck Guanzhong on the day of Dingchou; another earthquake occurred on the day of Wuyin. Unexpectedly, a solar eclipse occurred on the day of Yisi."

Inside the commander's tent, Xun Chen, who had just arrived from Ye City, was filled with emotion:
"The emperor had no choice but to retreat to the main hall, lay down his troops, and sleep there, to show that he dared not slacken his vigilance and was always on guard."

"Unexpectedly, Heaven has not been kind to Han. Seven days ago, a locust plague broke out in Guanzhong. Coupled with the fact that there has been little rain in Guanzhong since the beginning of spring, it seems that a severe drought in the Three Auxiliary Regions this year is inevitable!"

"I've heard that a bushel of grain in Guanzhong now costs 500,000 coins, and a bushel of beans and wheat costs 200,000 coins. In Guanzhong, people are resorting to cannibalism, and piles of bones lie scattered everywhere. Alas..."

Upon hearing this, the command tent fell into a deathly silence.

Even Wei Zhe, who doesn't believe in the interaction between heaven and man, couldn't help but have his worldview shaken at this moment.

As for the civil and military officials in the tent, needless to say, many of them suddenly had four words in their minds—their fate was sealed!
Fortunately, Wei Zhe didn't say much, after all, Xun Chen's visit this time was not just to report on the situation in Guanzhong.

For example, a minor incident recently occurred in Ye City.

"Cao Mengde's son, Cao Ang, took advantage of the guards' inattention half a month ago to hide in a manure cart and sneak out of the city. The guards discovered him and chased him all the way to the riverbank, but he still managed to escape by jumping into the water with a log."

"Unexpectedly, this man was truly lucky and managed to cross to the other side. He is now in Cao Cao's camp."

After Xun Chen finished speaking, he respectfully presented the official document from the Ye City government, which contained a group of people's apology letters.

Wei Zhe took it and flipped through it quickly, but didn't say anything.

After all, crossing the Yellow River is a matter of life and death, and Cao Ang's survival can only be attributed to his good fortune.

Furthermore, Cao Ang was not Cao Cao after all. Even if he didn't return to Yanzhou, there were still Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and Cao Zhang.

Just as Sun Ce was gone, there was still Sun Quan; Cao Cao's army has never lacked qualified successors.

In contrast, Wei Zhe was more concerned about the battle situation in Yanzhou.

A moment later, Wei Zhe closed the official document in his hand with satisfaction.

As expected, Wei Zhe knew that the army he had built himself would not disappoint him!
It is said that ever since Wei Zhe mobilized all the troops in Hebei to attack Yanzhou, the counties and prefectures of the Central Plains have been shocked.

Wei Jun's performance did not disappoint the attention of all parties.

In less than a month, Taishi Ci led 20,000 troops from Youzhou Prefecture to conquer Jibei Kingdom and set his sights on Dongping Kingdom.

Zhang Liao led the troops of Jizhou Prefecture to successfully capture Dongjun; they penetrated deep into the heart of Yanzhou and watered their horses at Daye Marsh.

Xu Rong's garrison from Bingzhou arrived a few days late, so they have only captured most of Chenliu County so far.

Even so, nearly half of the six commanderies and kingdoms of Yanzhou had fallen.

Even if Cao Cao manages to escape back to Yanzhou by chance, the fall of Yanzhou is still inevitable.

Of course, it would be best to finish off Cao Cao right here.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe asked with a serious expression, "How are the counties south of Pei?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai immediately bowed and said:
“The three counties of Hongxian, Guyang, and Xiaoxian have submitted their surrender documents, and Colonel Mao Kun has led his troops to take them over.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe was not particularly surprised.

After all, with Cheng Yu and Xiahou Yuan killed in the fall of the city, the main force of Cao Cao's army in Pei was almost wiped out. The remnants of Cao Cao's army in Hong County, Guyang, and Xiao County had no means to resist.

Surrender is to be expected; not surrendering would be surprising.

After Wei Zhe's gaze lingered on the map for a moment, his eyes suddenly fixed on something:
"In that case, let's wait for him here!"

……

Three days later, they gathered at Gaixia.

The barren fields were overgrown with weeds and stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Dong dong..."

As the rhythmic sound of drums and gongs gradually approached, countless horse legs slowly emerged from the tall grass, moving forward unhurriedly.

Infantrymen with shields at the front, armored archers at the rear, spearmen in the center, and cavalry protecting the flanks. A seemingly ordinary Han army formation gradually appeared before Cao Cao.

As the saying goes, "The number of people exceeds ten thousand, and there is no end to it."

When the 30,000 Wei soldiers spread out on the open wilderness, it seemed as if the entire world was filled with Wei army flags. The sight of that vast expanse of dark uniforms made one's heart sink.

Especially after a command was given by the commander, the massive Wei army formation came to a smooth stop.

Whether infantry or cavalry, no formation was chaotic; everything was orderly.

It may seem ordinary, but to those who understand military strategy, it is shocking.

At that moment, even with over ten thousand elite troops by his side, Cao Cao still felt a chill run down his spine.

After a long while, Cao Cao, riding on his yellow horse, suddenly sighed with a complex expression:
"Now I understand the difficulty of becoming a hegemon!"

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu's face darkened, and he remained silent.

Yes, Xiang Yu's situation back then was no better than this.

Although there was no Wei army formation behind Cao Cao's army at this moment, Xun Yu knew that their way out was dead.

Even though they had tricked and killed Zuo Rong a few days ago and successfully escaped Zhang Zhao's pursuit and left Xiapi, they had already suffered a complete strategic defeat.

Especially after Sun Ce's surprise attack on Xiaqiu and his killing of Que Xuan, who had falsely claimed to be the emperor, they had no way out.

To the north was the Xuzhou army led by Zhang Zhao, and to the south was the Huai River defense line led by Lu Su and Bu Zhi;

To the east, Zhong Hu and Sun Ce's Qingzhou army were hot on their heels, while to the west, Wei Zhe's army was also in the lead.

Today, this plain south of the Sui River and north of the Huai River has become a dead land!
The "ambush from ten sides" formation that Han Xin laid out back then must have been no more impressive than this.

It seems like there's room for maneuver everywhere, but in reality, it's calculated to the last detail, leaving no room for maneuver whatsoever!
Whether Cao Cao's army is making a desperate struggle or fighting to the death, Wei Zhe seems to be prepared for it all.

For a moment, even with Xun Yu's talent and wisdom, he couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

Perhaps it was precisely because he was intelligent enough that he realized how dire the situation was for Cao Cao's army.

However, seeing Cao Cao's resolute expression, Xun Yu hesitated for a long time but ultimately could not bring himself to say the word "surrender".

Although Cao Cao understood his own predicament, he remained highly motivated.

That's just how he is; even if it means death, he will fight to the very last moment.

Wei Zhe may be Liu Bang, but Cao Cao is definitely not Xiang Yu.

If he had the chance to cross the Wujiang River like Xiang Yu did this time, Cao Cao would not care about saving face at all.

After a brief moment of thought, he summoned Cao Hong and gave him a few instructions.

Then a fast horseman galloped out from Cao's army and arrived at the Wei army's front to deliver a message.

"What? You're inviting me to have a chat on the battlefield?"

When Wei Zhe heard these words from the messenger under the central banner, he burst into laughter.

"Tell Cao Mengde that there will be plenty of time to talk to him once he enters the prisoner-of-war camp, so let's skip it now."

Wei Zhe was not one of those armchair strategists; he had no unrealistic fantasies about war.

War is war; everything is aimed at killing, and there is no romance to speak of!

If those pedantic literati wanted to show off their refined and elegant demeanor, they could simply go to the Bridge of Helplessness to compose poems and couplets; there was absolutely no need for them to harm themselves and others on the battlefield.

After the messenger left, Wei Zhe immediately waved his hand and ordered an attack.

Upon witnessing this scene, Cao Cao, at the heart of Cao's army, sighed with regret.

He then gently waved his hand, signaling the archers lying in ambush to retreat.

Since scheming won't work, the only option now is to confront it head-on...
-
Cao Cao is so much harder to write about than Yuan Shao!
Sigh, my writing skills are limited. It's so hard to capture the feeling of a hero's downfall. No matter how I write it, I'm never satisfied. It's like squeezing toothpaste; it's incredibly painful to write.

Tomorrow I will try my best to bring this part of the story to a complete conclusion, hoping not to disappoint Prime Minister Cao's skill level.

(End of this chapter)