A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Although this plan is risky, it is indeed the most suitable strategy for the current situation."

The Dharma is righteous and praises the Way.

He hadn't expected Liu Bei to have such a wise and brave general under his command. However, it was best if Wei Yan wasn't the kind of person who only knew how to take risks. Even the best swimmers can drown. If this person always liked to take risky routes, he would eventually fall because of it. He couldn't be entrusted with important responsibilities.

Zhuge Liang frowned. He always emphasized stability in his military campaigns and felt that the situation was not yet at a point where such a risky move was necessary.

"Let's do as Wei Yan says."

"Xiaozhi, Zilong, you two come here immediately to entrust this matter to you. I will leave you with 50 troops, and I will entrust Nanyang to you."

After a moment's thought, Liu Bei decided to adopt Wei Yan's strategy, leaving Fa Zheng and Zhao Yun behind while he personally led the army along the Wanluo Avenue to attack Luoyang.

After hearing Liu Bei's orders, Zhuge Liang had a bad feeling.

As the army marched to a narrow path, Liu Bei's heart skipped a beat. Pointing to the path, he asked to his left and right, "Where is this?"

Someone nearby, familiar with the geography of the place, quickly replied, "This place is called Bowangpo, and it is a necessary route on the official road from Nanyang to Luoyang."

"This place is a good ambush spot. Once we enter, the troops lying in ambush on both sides can take advantage of the high ground to attack us."

"Moreover, it is late autumn now, and just a few rockets would be enough to burn us all to ashes."

Zhuge Liang muttered to himself.

Suddenly, a gust of evil wind swept by, and his expression changed abruptly.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

"We'll take a detour!"

"The roads here are extremely dangerous. If someone ambushes us from both sides, our army will be in grave danger!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a large number of Qi soldiers emerged from both sides of Bowangpo, led by Yu Jin.

"King of Hanzhong, I have been waiting here for a long time!"

"Release the arrows!"

The Qi army on both sides unleashed a barrage of arrows. In order to enter the narrow Bowang Slope, Liu Bei's Han army was basically gathered together. They didn't even need to aim; they could get kills with just a few shots.

"withdraw!"

As Liu Bei wielded his twin swords to deflect the arrows, he reined in his horse and turned around.

Adjusting the ranks of millions of troops in advance is no easy task and could not be accomplished in a short time, leaving the battlefield in chaos.

It was late autumn, and there was withered grass everywhere. Yu Jin arranged for people to mount fire arrows, which ignited a raging fire, and countless Han soldiers perished in the flames.

In this battle, the Han army suffered a major defeat.

Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang led their remaining troops in a hasty escape from Bowangpo. When Zhuge Liang looked back, he felt that the raging flames seemed familiar.

It seems that in a dream, he once lit a raging fire at Bowangpo, utterly defeating a Cao army and routing them.

Liu Bei led his remaining troops back to Nanyang, where he met up with Fa Zheng and Zhao Yun. He then withdrew his troops and returned to Jingzhou, eventually reaching Yizhou by waterway.

Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu were left in Jingzhou and Jiangdong to command the military and political affairs of the two provinces.

When the news reached Ji Province, Yuan Shao sighed again, "Heaven favors Cao Cao, not Yuan Shao!"

"Open the city gates."

There's no point in continuing the fight; it will only result in further losses of men and troops, offering no benefit whatsoever.

He still had a chance to defeat Cao Cao, which was to establish a great empire abroad that was in no way inferior to that in the Central Plains.

Cao Cao merely inherited the empire of Chinese civilization, while he himself established a vast empire outside of it. This was the only way he could defeat Cao Cao again.

After opening the city gates, Xu Chu quickly led his troops to take over the city's defenses.

"Brother Benchu, how have you been?"

"snort!"

Seeing Cao Cao, this shameless scoundrel, Yuan Shao was filled with rage. How could he have lost to such a shameless bastard?

Did he lose because he was too proud?

"Mengde, where is Juyi?"

"I will have someone bring him to see you right away. General Ju Yi is also a loyal subject. So much time has passed, and I have tried everything—coercion, bribery, and everything else—but his loyalty to Brother Benchu ​​has not wavered in the slightest."

"How enviable!"

Cao Cao was all smiles, beaming with pride.

Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao with a complicated expression. "Mengde, you've won!"

"But don't think this is the end. I will build another great empire abroad, and one day, my descendants will lead the empire I built to seek revenge on your descendants!"

"I'm ready to serve you anytime."

"If I can defeat you today, my descendants will also defeat your descendants in the future!"

Cao Cao laughed heartily. After so long, he finally saw the dawn of unifying the world.

"snort!"

Yuan Shao let out a mournful cry like a defeated dog.

"Brother Benchu, would you be willing to stay in Kyushu for a while longer, so that I can eliminate Liu Bei, unify the land, and participate in this historic moment?"

Cao Cao smiled, like a fox that had just stolen a bite of meat.

"No need, I'm afraid I'll get so angry I'll die."

"This is a letter from my own hand; it will help you quickly reorganize the northern provinces."

"Beware of the aristocratic families. You are better than me in this regard. I, Yuan Beichu, am ashamed of my inferiority."

"Don't think that the aristocratic families are nothing more than this; beware of their final counterattack."

Yuan Shao glanced at his childhood friend again with a complicated expression. "I will take Tan'er and Xi'er with me, and leave Shang'er behind. There's no need to give him an official position; just let him be a wealthy man."

Establishing a nation abroad is not always smooth sailing, especially since the Parthian Empire has not yet fallen and the Roman Empire is eyeing it covetously.

Keeping Yuan Shang in the country was both to preserve a bloodline and to serve as a hostage.

"Don't worry, brother, I will treat him like my own son or nephew."

Cao Cao said solemnly.

"They're gone, they're gone."

Yuan Shao turned and left, his figure exuding an indescribable loneliness.

After Yuan Shao left Zhongzhou, Cao Cao, relying on the information and seals left behind by Yuan Shao, easily subdued the northern provinces, obtaining countless gold, silver, grain, and a large number of horses.

With these funds, provisions, horses, and weapons, Cao Cao expanded his army once again.

He also wanted that piece of land from the Parthian Empire.

His eldest son, Cao Ang, was destined to inherit his empire, but his other sons were still undecided.

The Central Plains cannot be divided into fiefdoms; this is an ironclad rule established by the Wei family. If their children want fiefdoms, they must go outside the Central Plains.

What place could be better than soil that could give birth to an empire?

After seizing all of Yuan Shao's assets, Cao Cao once again ordered Zhang Liao to turn south and drive Liu Bei out of Guanzhong.

With most of the country in Cao Cao's hands, unifying the country was within reach.

Some ministers, unable to contain themselves any longer, have already submitted memorials requesting that Cao Cao ascend the throne.

But they were all suppressed by Cao Cao.

After spending two years consolidating the newly acquired land, Cao Cao once again marched south to conquer Jiangdong.

Although Cao Cao did not have a navy, he did have a navy, which was even stronger than a regular navy.

With the support of Gan Ning's navy and the departure of Sun Jian, who took away many excellent naval commanders, Liu Bei, despite occupying the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, did not play the role he should have.

It was this naval card that finally drew the world's attention.

Half of Jiangdong's borders are along water, making them places that Gan Ning can attack at will.

This forced Guan Yu to focus on one thing while simultaneously coordinating with Cao Cao's army's offensive, resulting in the fall of one prefecture after another. Even the Jingzhou army sent by Zhuge Liang to provide assistance was held back by Zhang Liao at Jiangxia.