My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

The main force of the Xiongnu was completely wiped out?
Hu Chuquan was beheaded?

Or was he beheaded by the Duke at Jiexiu Pass?

At this moment, Cao Cao was stunned and confused, and in a daze, he thought that he hadn't woken up enough and that his ears were hallucinating.

It wasn't until the hall exploded with a deafening roar, and the officials cried out in astonishment, that he realized he hadn't misheard.

Huchuquan and his 40,000 Xiongnu cavalry were indeed completely wiped out!

"That's impossible. Those were 40,000 Xiongnu cavalry, not 40,000 pigs. How could they be so easily wiped out by the Han army?"

"Didn't the General warn Huchuquan to be wary of the Han army's repeating crossbows?"

"Or is it that Huchuquan is arrogant and conceited, daring to look down on Liu Bei and the Han army?"

"This doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense at all~~"

Sima Yi was the first to react, and he roared almost desperately.

He was unusually excited.

There was nothing he could do; just moments before, he had been reassuring Cao Cao that there was no need to worry too much about the Xiongnu.

He went on to give a lengthy analysis, concluding that even if Huchuquan was meant to lure Liu Bei out of the pass, it would at most result in a minor setback.

No sooner had he spoken than Hu Chuquan's entire army was wiped out, and he himself was killed and his reputation destroyed, a slap in the face.

This slap shocked and excited Sima Yi, leaving him in a state of near hysteria as he questioned the situation.

Cao Cao suddenly came to his senses, pushed away Xu Chu's support, stumbled down the steps, and snatched the battle report.

He threw down his cane, his hands trembling as he picked up the battle report, his eyes wide open as he scrutinized it.

Each word was like an arrow, piercing Cao Cao's fragile heart.

How did Xiao He set up a trap in Baibo Valley? How did he lure the Xiongnu into the valley with grain carts to plunder? How did he use the fire ox formation and repeating crossbows to join forces with the Han cavalry to annihilate 40,000 iron cavalry? How did he capture Huchuquan alive?

Then there's how Liu Bei led his troops to force his way back to Jiexiu Pass, and how he openly executed Huchuquan in front of Xiahou Dun and tens of thousands of Wei soldiers…

Xiahou Dun dared not conceal anything and wrote down the entire process clearly, word by word.

"Xiao He, Xiao He, I should have known it was you again."

"I should have known long ago that the Xiongnu's greatest weakness was their lax military discipline, and that they would surely be used by you."

"Since I knew, why didn't I remind Yuan Rang sooner? Why didn't I remind Yuan Rang sooner?!"

The battle report slipped from Cao Cao's hand and fell to the ground. He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, his face contorted with endless grief, anger, and self-reproach.

Under this heavy shock, he suffered a severe mental blow, and his hands began to frantically pound his head.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Xu Chu was terrified and rushed forward to grab Cao Cao's hands, preventing him from harming himself.

The ministers were also stunned and terrified, thinking that Cao Cao had been provoked into madness.

Only when Cao Cao could no longer break free from Xu Chu's grasp and collapsed onto the steps, panting heavily as if utterly exhausted, did the ministers finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The tide has turned, the tide has turned..."

Cao Cao slumped to the ground, dejected, and let out a long, desperate sigh.

After venting his emotions, he finally calmed down and had to face the cruel reality.

With the annihilation of the Xiongnu army, his last chance to turn the tide was destroyed.

Xiahou Dun could not stop Liu Bei, so he could no longer defend Jiexiu Pass, let alone Bingzhou.

The fall of Bingzhou was a foregone conclusion.

Seeing this, Jia Xu also sighed and cupped his hands, saying:
"Your Majesty, the situation is hopeless. The fall of Bingzhou is inevitable. I believe we should save the people but lose the territory."

Cao Cao was shocked.

Jia Xu's words couldn't be clearer: he was advising Xiahou Dun to issue an edict ordering him to lead the Bingzhou army to abandon Bingzhou and retreat back to Guanzhong.

This is what it means to save people but lose land.

"Your Majesty, the battle at Baibo Valley must have been a treacherous scheme by Xiao He."

"But the problem now is that the situation is what it is, and we can only accept it helplessly."

"Although we have lost Bingzhou, we still have Yongzhou and Liangzhou. We still have the natural defenses of mountains and rivers, and we still have the ability to fight against the big-eared bandits."

“However, with our current strength, if the Bingzhou army cannot be safely withdrawn, we can definitely hold Yongliang.” “I also believe that it is time to issue an edict to the General and have him bring back the 80,000 Bingzhou troops.”

Sima Yi also offered his advice, siding with Jia Xu.

There was no other way; the situation forced us to act.

Even though he was reluctant to give up Bingzhou and didn't get along well with Jia Xu, he dared not ignore the cruel reality for his own selfish reasons.

The reality is that Bingzhou cannot be defended. We must protect the 80,000 Bingzhou troops, otherwise we will not be able to defend even the two remaining provinces of Yong and Liang.

If Yongliang cannot be defended, the Wei Kingdom will surely perish, and his life will come to an end as well.

In order to save his own life, even if it meant merely prolonging his existence, he had to persuade Cao Cao to abandon Bingzhou and protect his precious 80,000 soldiers.

Cao Cao remained silent.

There was a long silence.

Then, a helpless sigh echoed through the hall.

"Issue an edict to Yuan Rang, ordering him to abandon Bingzhou and bring those 80,000 soldiers back to Guanzhong for me."

Cao Cao waved his hand listlessly.

Jia Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

Sima Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

The strategists and generals present all breathed a sigh of relief.

In that life-or-death moment, Cao Cao finally regained his composure and did not act rashly.

Yang Fu immediately took Cao Cao's edict, crossed the Yellow River eastward from Lin County, and headed straight for Bingzhou.

At this time, the situation in Bingzhou had changed dramatically.

After the Han army captured Jiexiu Pass, they immediately built more divine thunder cannons and bombarded the pass relentlessly.

After several days of bombardment, 100,000 Han troops launched a massive offensive against Jiexiu Pass.

Xiahou Dun and his 20,000 soldiers could only struggle to hold on.

Jiexiu Pass is already teetering on the brink of collapse...

It's dusk.

Another fierce attack ended, and the Han army temporarily retreated.

Xiahou Dun slumped down, giving the physician a chance to bandage the wound on his left arm.

To boost morale, this great general had to personally brave stray arrows and supervise the battle from the city walls.

The Han army rained arrows down from the city walls, killing countless Wei soldiers.

Even with his guards protecting him at all costs, Xiahou Dun was still hit in both arms by stray arrows.

"General, the city wall is too badly damaged. Our repair speed can't keep up with the speed of the Han army's bombardment and destruction."

"The Han army's offensive was too fierce and too dense. The soldiers fought hard for days and nights without sleep. Their mental and physical strength were nearing their limit."

"If we continue to hold on like this, I'm afraid we won't last more than a few days before the Jiexiu Pass is breached."

"General, given the current situation, perhaps..."

Guo Huai didn't dare to say his last words.

Xiahou Dun could tell that Guo Huai was trying to find an opportunity to persuade him to abandon Jiexiu Pass and even Bingzhou, and lead the Bingzhou army to retreat westward to Guanzhong.

With a major battle imminent, Guo Huai attempted to undermine the morale of the army. Xiahou Dun, already furious after being shot, found his anger ignited by Guo Huai's actions.

His eyes narrowed, and he was about to erupt in anger.

"General, the Emperor has issued an edict!"

A familiar voice rang out, and a familiar face hurriedly climbed the city wall.

It was Yang Fu.

Xiahou Dun's eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up.

Yang Fu, catching his breath, raised the scroll in his hand high and shouted:

"The Emperor has issued an edict ordering the Grand General to immediately abandon Bingzhou and lead 80,000 Bingzhou troops in a swift westward retreat to Guanzhong!" (End of Chapter)