Chapter 225 Wei Wu's Elegy! (Must Read)

Chapter 225: Wei Wu’s tragic song!

"...Fighting him now is too risky!"

"King Wei, there is no time to lose! Retreat!"

The military generals are concerned about the safety of the moment, while the counselors see things more thoroughly.

If it was just Liu Zilie's own troops, it would be fine, but with the addition of the more than 100,000 soldiers from Xiliang, Liu Wu had more than 100,000 cavalry and infantry, but his own side had also divided up 30,000 soldiers, led by Zhang Liao, to pin them down at Wei Yan's place. Just the comparison of troop strength changed the situation.

Moreover, this Prince of Chu was even more shrewd and cunning than his own Prime Minister Cao. He managed to sneak into Tongguan right under the noses of hundreds of thousands of Cao's soldiers and occupied Chang'an. Even Han Sui led the Xiliang coalition forces to surrender to him.

Liu Zilie's series of actions are so unfathomable and difficult to understand.

As for whether Liu Wu had any other backup plans in Tongguan, the Cao camp advisers were really unsure...

"You are right..." Cao Cao didn't want to fight in the first place, but what his advisers said just gave him the upper hand: "Yu Jin!"

Yu Jin: "I am here!"

Cao Cao whipped his horse whip forward and said, "I want you to lead 20,000 of our troops to block the Tongguan line and stop Liu Wu's army!"

Twenty thousand people to stop Liu Wu? !

Looking at the Wu-Chu coalition forces that were surging like a tide and getting closer and closer to Cao's army, the soldiers of Xiliang felt their scalp tingling. The two sides had a huge disparity in strength. How could they stop them?
But at this moment, Yu Jin had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree: "I will obey your orders!"

He then turned his horse around and prepared to lead his troops to meet the enemy.

"Gentlemen!" Cao Cao gripped the reins tightly and said in a hurried tone, "The Liu bandits are now too powerful to be defeated. The army should retreat immediately, take the Xiaohan Ancient Road, and retreat to the Eastern Capital Luoyang!"

"This place is less than 200 miles away from Hangu Pass. We should resist the enemy at Hangu Pass!"

Hangu Pass is a magnificent pass in the world, located in the middle of the old road from Luoyang to Chang'an. From Mount Xiao to Tongguan, the road is mostly in ravines and is as deep and dangerous as a box, so it is called Hangu Pass.

This pass is located on the plateau in the west, faces a steep ravine in the east, connects to the Qinling Mountains in the south, and blocks the Yellow River in the north. It is the throat that leads to Luoyang in the east and Chang'an in the west.

It is a fortress that controls Guanzhong and Central Plains.

Hangu Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. In the past, the Qin State used this pass to march eastward into the Central Plains and unify the world.

If the King of Wei can hold Hangu Pass this time, he will be able to completely lock Liu Wu's army out of the Central Plains. In this way, our army will be safe...

The civil and military officials immediately understood Cao Cao's intention and immediately bowed: "I accept your command!"

Xilulu! ~
Cao Cao did not hesitate, abandoned his horse and mounted his chariot: "The army will retreat eastward!"

……

"kill!"

"Block them!!"

Boom! ~
Amid the rolling yellow dust, Yu Jin had already led his troops to engage in battle with the Wu-Chu coalition forces!
The forwards of both sides collided fiercely.

The sharp blade pierced the flesh and blood spurted out.

At the moment of the battle, a large number of soldiers from both sides fell in a pool of blood.

puff~
The sharp spear blade stabbed into the chest and abdomen of Cao's soldiers one after another.

A large number of Cao's soldiers turned into corpses, but more Cao's soldiers stepped on the corpses of their comrades and rushed towards the enemy army.

Although Yu Jin had a small number of troops, his soldiers fought hard and temporarily blocked the Wu-Chu coalition forces.

"kill!"

Wow~
Yu Jin stabbed the enemy soldier to death with one shot and let the blood splatter all over his face.

He panted heavily, looking at the increasing number of enemy troops ahead, full of worry: "King of Wei, King of Wei, you must retreat quickly. I am afraid that my mere 20,000 troops may not be able to hold out for you for long."

……

Rumble~
"Protect the King of Wei!"

"Armored soldiers, move towards the center of the army!"

"Cavalry lead the way, don't delay!"

"Hurry up!!"

Yu Jin temporarily delayed the offensive of the Wu-Chu coalition forces, and the main force of the Cao Wei army quickly began to retreat.

The army was mobilized and the troops marched eastward.

Amid the shouts and neighs of horses, Cao's army retreated without disorder, but they no longer had the mighty military might they had when they came. All that was left was the panic that could not be suppressed at all.

Rumble, rumble~
Layer upon layer of armored soldiers tightly protected the canopy chariot.

The King of Wei withdrew his large banner along the same path he had come.

A strong wind blew.

The royal flag fluttered gently in the autumn wind, no longer as wantonly as before.

The chariot went farther and farther away,

On the chariot,

Cao Mengde could not help but turn his head and look towards the towering Tongguan again, and towards the battlefield where the sounds of blood and blood were shaking the earth. He had fought all his life, winning or losing, which was almost like a common occurrence and rarely moved him.

But at this moment, Cao Mengde's eyes were dazed, and the days when he fought on the battlefield seemed to reappear before his eyes...

That year, Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the capital, dominated the government, and bullied the emperor!
Yuan Benchu ​​drew his sword and confronted Dong Zhuo in front of all the officials.

Cao Mengde failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo, so he fled Luoyang and went to Chenliu, where he distributed his family wealth, gathered an army of volunteers, and called on heroes from all over the world to fight against Dong Zhuo!

So the eighteen princes held a meeting in Suanzao. Dong Zhuo was afraid of the power of the coalition forces, so he took the emperor and moved west to Chang'an.

However, the Kanto coalition forces had their own ulterior motives and remained inactive.

In the allied army tent, Cao Cao's angry roar echoed: "My original intention was to annoy Benchu ​​and lead the people of Henei to Mengjin and Suanzao. The generals defended Chenggao, occupied Aocang, blocked Huanyuan and Dagu, and controlled the dangerous places..."

"Gonglu, you lead the army of Nanyang, station at Danxi, enter Wuguan, and shock the three prefectures; all the people should dig deep trenches and build high fortifications, and do not engage in battle, so as to increase the suspicion of the enemy and show the world the situation, so that the rebellion can be punished and the country can be established!"

"Now the princes are hesitant and have lost the hope of the world. I feel deeply ashamed... deeply ashamed! Deeply ashamed!!!"

That year, Cao Mengde was completely disappointed with the princes of the world.

……

That year in Yanzhou,

Cao Cao stood on a high place. As he looked around, he saw endless yellow headbands converging into a yellow tide that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Rather than saying they were the Yellow Turban Army, it would be more accurate to say they were starving refugees.

Those starving people with yellow foreheads and skinny bodies looked at the figure high up with great anticipation.

At the beginning, it was this Lord Cao who destroyed the altars and witch sacrifices in Jinan, severely punished those witches who used the name of sacrifice to oppress the people and plunder the common people, and gave the people of Qingzhou a way to survive.

Now, the people of Qingzhou have no way to survive and can only count on Lord Cao.

Cao Mengde, who was in his prime, had a blazing fire in his eyes: "From now on, you will surrender to me!"

"Those who are strong and capable and wish to join the army may do so. Those who wish to return home will be given food and rations!"

"The unowned land will be distributed to the families of the soldiers!"

"I will give you land, food, and clothing, so that you will never have to worry about hunger again!"

in an instant,
The earth-shattering cry resounded through the sky: "I am willing to die for Lord Cao!"

That year, the people of Qingzhou had a way to survive, and Cao Mengde surrendered millions of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans...

……

Xuzhou, White Gate Tower.

Once the world's number one general,

Wen Hou, who once blocked the eighteen princes at Hulao Pass,

Lü Fengxian, who had defeated Cao Cao in Yanzhou and made Cao Cao extremely anxious, was like a bound tiger tied in front of Cao Cao.

Cao Cao just said a few words to the arrogant Lu Fengxian, and then dragged him down the stairs and hanged him to death.

In the future, when Cao Cao mentioned Liu Xuande, he would hate him with gnashing teeth. At this time, he could only bow his head cautiously to Cao Mengde, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

That year, Cao Mengde, who was standing on top of the Xuzhou city wall, watched Liu Bei surrender and Lu Bu be executed. How wanton he was...

……

Guandu,

"kill!"

"Put out the fire! Put out the fire quickly!"

The place where Yuan Benchu ​​stored grain was burned down by Cao Mengde's fire, turning into a sea of ​​sparks. The grain stored by Yuan's army for several months was reduced to ashes in an instant.

Cao Cao knew that he would definitely win this battle.

After Cao Mengde burned Wuchao, Yuan Shao ordered Zhang He and Gao Lan to send a large army to attack Cao Cao's Guandu camp. However, Cao Cao was well prepared and the two failed to capture the camp.

In the end, Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered to Cao Cao. Yuan's army was shaken, internally divided, and collapsed. Yuan Shao hastily retreated to Hebei with 800 cavalrymen. Cao's army successively annihilated and killed more than 70,000 Yuan troops!

Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu, defeated Yuan Shao, and later won the four northern states...

He won this battle passionately and vigorously.

This battle marked the beginning of his magnificent cause of dominating the north!

……

Wuhuan,

Cao Mengde led the army, braved the heat and rain, and advanced thousands of miles to the foot of Bailang Mountain.
Kill towards Liucheng!

Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, Chanyu Tadun, Chanyu Louban of Liaoxi, and Chanyu Nengchen of Youbeiping only learned the news when they arrived. They hastily assembled tens of thousands of cavalry and headed west to meet the enemy.

This battle,
If Cao Cao was defeated, Cao's army would be wiped out in Liaoxi because they had no way to retreat!
If Wuhuan were defeated, Liucheng would certainly be lost, and Wuhuan would be in great decline.

The Wuhuan army was stronger than Cao's, but they were still defeated and Cao Cao won.

This battle,
Cao's army killed Tadun and more than ten famous kings, and captured more than 200,000 people.

After that, Cao Cao recruited the elite troops of Wuhuan and led them to conquer all directions, becoming known as the most famous cavalry in the world, and the people living on the borders were able to live and work in peace...

Those great victories surged in Cao Mengde's mind.

I have lost before, but I am always the winner in the end. I have never lost the battle that determines the final victory or defeat!
But I don't know when the situation changed...

During the southern expedition to Jingxiang, Cao Cao was ambitious. As long as he could capture the six counties of Jiangdong, who else but him could accomplish the great feat of unifying the world?
However, a fire at Chibi turned the 800,000-strong army and Cao Cao's ambition to unify the Han Dynasty into a wisp of smoke that drifted across the river.

In Nanjun City, the moonlight that night was as bright as the moonlight when he was writing poetry with his spear in hand, but in Cao Cao's eyes, there was only a trace of frustration and loneliness...

Battle of Xiangfan

Liu Zilie flooded Fancheng and captured Yu Jin, Cao Ren, Man Chong and Lu Chang alive. He also sent Zhao Zilong to capture Xu Huang, take Wancheng, and conquer the three counties of Nanyang, Xiangyang and Zhangling. He took all of northern Jing and attacked the Central Plains!
The moment Cao Cao got the news, he was shaking all over, so frightened that he even had a headache...

Boom! ~
The loud noise of the army's march woke Cao Cao from his deep thoughts. He was full of bitterness. All this was not over yet. He was now blocked at Tongguan and could not enter Guanzhong...

He looked at the towering Tongguan again, the eastern gateway to Guanzhong.

This was the closest Cao Cao had ever been to Tongguan.
This was the closest Cao Cao had ever been to Guanzhong.

After this retreat, will I still have a chance to come back?
Cao Mengde lowered his head and grabbed the gray beard on his chest, which was black and white, with more white than black.

Drinking and singing, what is life?
For example, the morning dew has a lot of suffering.

"I am old after all." Cao Cao sighed and let his gray beard fall down.

The generals and counselors around looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Cao Cao looked exhausted, as if he was speaking to himself, or to the generals and counselors around him: "I am old, and Liu Zilie is not even in his prime!

"This man's ambition is no longer inferior to mine. Now Guanzhong has fallen into the hands of Liu Zilie. With this man controlling Guanzhong, I am afraid that I will never be able to lead troops into the pass again in my lifetime..."

"Liu Zilie has occupied Jingxiang again. Sun Quan of Jiangdong is his uncle. In this Wu-Chu coalition, Sun Zhongmou even lent Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci, Jiangdong generals, to him."

"With these two families around, I'm afraid I'll never be able to set foot in the vast southern country of Wu and Chu again in my lifetime..."

The generals and counselors around him said nothing, but sighed in their hearts.

The alliance between Wu and Chu is much deeper than the former "Sun-Liu Alliance" between Liu Bei and Jiangdong. Just as the King of Wei said, if the King of Wei wants to take over the Southern Kingdom again... it will be difficult.

Today, both sides of the Yangtze River are where Liu Wu's power lies, and Guanzhong has also become Liu Wu's territory. I think the day when Liangzhou, Hanzhong, and Bashu will be conquered by Liu Wu is not far away.

Cao Cao's eyes became more and more desolate: "Now that things have come to this, Liu Wu's threat to the Central Plains has become a reality..."

"If Xudu falls one day, I should die to thank the world. I should die under Sima's door, so that I can report to the emperor and face the people..."

As soon as Cao Mengde finished speaking, all the civil and military officials around him were shocked.

How could Prime Minister Cao, who has always been heroic and looked down upon all the heroes in the world, end up like this?

All the civil and military officials were terrified and said, "Prime Minister!!!"

"Hehe, hehe..." Cao Mengde didn't explain anything, just smiled bitterly.

He once again looked back on the chariot and looked at Tongguan, the city that he had attacked countless times but ultimately failed to capture. Beyond this pass was Guanzhong.

Guanzhong is the base of the emperor...

Tongguan is the eastern gateway to Guanzhong and is named Tongguan because it is close to the Tong River.

Some people also believe that the Yellow River flows southward here and hits Tongguan Mountain, so it is named Tongguan.

Climb to the top and look down at the torrent.

It is extremely winding and steep, and is truly a natural barrier.

Standing on the top of the pass, looking east, you can see towering mountains, winding one after another; looking west, you can see the vast river road, as flat as a rock. It is praised as the "120-meter-long pass", meaning that it can resist an army twice as strong as yours.

"Oh no, I'm afraid General Yu Jin won't be able to hold on!"

"Faster! Faster!"

"Go quickly!"

Rumble~
The army retreated, moving faster and faster, and the yellow dust it stirred up became thicker and thicker.

The carriage with a canopy is moving fast,

Across the yellow dust,

Looking at the looming Tongguan,

Looking at the mountains and rivers of Guanzhong that are getting farther and farther away from me,
Cao Mengde's heart was throbbing. He clenched his fists, and veins popped out on the back of his hands.

The civil and military officials around him all noticed that Cao Cao looked unusual, and thought that he was sad because he could no longer enter Guanzhong, so they all spoke to comfort him:

"Don't worry, King Wei! As long as we protect the army and return to Xuchang, we will be able to return to Guanzhong one day!"

"Han Sui is fickle. He surrendered to Liu Wu today, but he will definitely rebel against Liu Wu again in the future. That will be a good time for us to return to Guanzhong!"

"Now the Central Plains belongs to the Prime Minister, and the Emperor and the court are also in the Prime Minister's hands. The general situation still depends on the Prime Minister, and a minor setback is not worth mentioning."

"That's right! Although we can't take Tongguan, the main force of the army is still there!"

"..."

Everyone tried to comfort Cao Cao, but he just closed his eyes, his mind surging like a huge wave...

Do you think I must be extremely sad at this moment?

Do you think I must have unspeakable regrets?
No, what I can't bear in my heart,
Liu Wu has just come of age, he is only in his twenties, and he will not stop his pace of conquest. What I cannot bear in my heart is to abandon Tongguan and flee. If I leave here, I will die without a burial place!
……

……

(End of this chapter)