jdhmnovel Chapter 243 Cao Cao: You left me some?
Chapter 243 Cao Cao: You left me some?
On the official road from Luoyang to Chang'an, an army of about 20,000 men was advancing with difficulty, carrying the banner of Cao. In the center of the army was a luxurious carriage drawn by five fine horses, and sitting in the carriage was none other than Cao Cao, the King of Wei.
Cao Cao's carriage was exceptionally luxurious, furnished with a bed and a table, and although several people were seated inside, it did not feel crowded at all.
Sitting next to Cao Cao were Zhong Yao, who had been reinstated; Du Ji, the head of the Du family of Jingzhao, who held the official positions of Minister of Works and Director of Justice; Cao Hong, who had been dismissed for making a mistake during the Battle of Hanzhong but was later reinstated; and an old man with gray hair and beard, the legendary physician Hua Tuo.
Historically, after Hua Tuo treated Guan Yu by scraping his bone to remove poison during the Battle of Xiangfan, he went to Luoyang. Soon after, Guan Yu's head was sent to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was shocked and his headache recurred. He sought treatment from Hua Tuo, who suggested that Cao Cao have craniotomy. Cao Cao was worried that Hua Tuo was there to avenge Guan Yu, so he imprisoned Hua Tuo and tortured him to death. Cao Cao also died shortly afterward.
However, with Guan Xing's time travel and Guan Yu's raid on Jianye, Cao Cao's headache did not flare up as violently as it had in history, and Hua Tuo thus escaped a calamity.
Knowing his health was failing, Cao Cao brought Hua Tuo with him on this expedition.
In fact, Cao Cao did not intend to launch another campaign, but his subordinates were too troublesome, and Zhang Fei led a large army across the Guanzhong Plain straight to Dazhen Pass. It was infuriating to think about.
When Cao Cao received news from Zhang Ji that Zhang Fei had launched a surprise attack on Dazhen Pass, he was so anxious that he coughed up blood on the spot.
Although the idea of Zhang Fei raiding Dazhen Pass sounds absurd and is too difficult to actually carry out, with a very slim chance of success, it also depends on who is carrying it out.
Cao Cao had dealt with the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for decades and knew them better than he knew his own wife. Therefore, as soon as he received the news, he concluded that Zhang He and Sima Yi were finished. So, despite his serious illness, he hurriedly mobilized troops and rushed to Chang'an.
After several days of trekking, Cao Cao finally arrived at a point twenty li outside Chang'an. He had barely coughed a few times when he heard someone outside the carriage shout, "Your Majesty, Zhang Ji, the governor of Yongzhou, is ahead to greet Your Majesty. May I ask if Your Majesty wishes to receive him?"
Cao Cao couldn't help but curse, "What's the point of them coming here to meet me instead of blocking Liu Bei and Zhang Fei? Do they think they can catch Liu Bei and Zhang Fei to death?"
These damn bureaucrats are shrewd in interpersonal relationships, but they're utterly useless when it comes to getting things done. It's infuriating to even think about.
Even so, he still had to see him. Cao Cao struggled to his feet and, with Cao Hong's help, got off the carriage and walked forward.
Ahead, banners fluttered in the wind, and Zhang Ji, Du Xi, and other officials from Yongzhou were there to greet Cao Cao. Upon seeing Cao Cao approaching, they hurriedly ran forward, bowed, and said, "Your subject Zhang Ji greets Your Majesty."
Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Tell me about the situation in Longxi. Has Dazhen Pass already fallen?"
Zhang Ji and Du Xi exchanged a glance and said weakly, "A few days ago, Wei Yan led two thousand elite troops to raid Dazhen Pass. Zhang Fei led the main force of the Shu army to follow closely behind. Generals Guo Huai and Fei Yao tried their best to stop them, but they still failed to stop Zhang Fei from entering Dazhen Pass smoothly."
"Two days ago, Colonel Su sent back a message saying that Wei Yan had voluntarily abandoned Dazhen Pass and retreated to Jieting. I have ordered them to rush to Jieting along the Longshan Road to rescue General Zhang He."
This was definitely bad news, but Cao Cao was already mentally prepared, so he did not show much surprise. He sighed helplessly, "There is only one possibility that Wei Yan has voluntarily withdrawn from Dazhen Pass, which is that the Shu army has already taken Jieting and no longer needs Dazhen Pass."
"Hopefully, Zhang He and Sima Yi can hold out until Su Ze arrives, and then they can launch a pincer attack to retake Jieting. But we must also prepare for the worst-case scenario of Zhang He's entire army being wiped out."
"Let's go. Let the army camp outside the city. This time, I will not enter the city. I will stay in the camp with the soldiers and wait for the battle reports from the front and for the supplies from the rear. Once the supplies arrive, I will march into Hanzhong and try to keep the big-eared thief forever out of Longxi."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji, Du Xi, and the others felt a pang of sorrow. Cao Cao had even refused to enter the city, which showed his extreme dissatisfaction with them.
Zhang Ji dared not refute, and hurriedly led Cao Cao's army to the pre-prepared encampment.
Cao Cao rushed to the camp for a temporary stay, but less than three days later he received the devastating news that Zhang He had returned.
Upon receiving the news, Cao Cao's face turned pale. Without thinking twice, he rushed out of the camp. Standing outside the camp, he looked up and saw three figures in the distance, using weapons as canes and supporting each other as they moved forward. Their figures looked as disheveled as refugees fleeing a disaster. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were Zhang He, Sima Yi, and Cao Zhen.
The three men also saw Cao Cao, threw away their canes, accelerated their charge, ran to Cao Cao and knelt down with a thud, wailing with tears streaming down their faces, "Your subject Zhang He has failed Your Majesty's trust and deserves to die ten thousand times. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Cao Cao's lips trembled, his arms shook, and even his body swayed uncontrollably. Finally, he had no choice but to take a half step back and lean on Cao Hong, asking in a trembling voice, "Of the 50,000 troops, only the three of you have returned?"
After speaking, he stared intently at the three of them with wide eyes, his heart pounding in his throat, afraid that they would be so tactless as to say "uh-huh" or nod at him.
Zhang He said nervously, "Only 8,000 cavalry and 7,000 warhorses returned. The remaining 1,000 warhorses were eaten on the way back. The army is currently resting in Chencang."
After escaping Zhao Yun and Guan Ping's pursuit that day, Zhang He bypassed the Chencang Pass, led his army into the Qinling Mountains, crossed the Chencang Pass, and returned to Chencang along the Wei River.
Knowing that their mistake was too grave and they could not escape punishment, the three men did not dare to linger in Chencang. Upon returning to Chencang, they abandoned their troops and hurriedly came to Chang'an to plead guilty.
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao not only did not blame him but also breathed a sigh of relief, and said with infinite sorrow, "Fortunately, there is still some left for me."
A person's resilience increases with experience. For example, if you lose ten million the first time you gamble and feel you can't bear it and want to commit suicide, but lose eight million the second time, you won't feel as bad as the first time. Not only will you not feel as bad, but you will comfort yourself by saying that this time you only lost eight million, which is better than last time.
In the last Battle of Xiangfan, Cao Cao's army was completely wiped out by Guan Yu, and even his commander Yu Jin surrendered.
Although they were defeated this time, they managed to bring back eight thousand cavalrymen, and Zhang He, Cao Zhen, and Sima Yi all returned safely without being killed in battle, captured, or surrendering. They were much better than that bastard Yu Jin.
The eight thousand cavalrymen that Zhang He brought back were some psychological comfort, making Cao Cao feel much better.
Zhang He and his two companions were so ashamed that they wished they could disappear into the ground.
Cao Cao pondered for a moment and sighed helplessly, "Let's go. Come into the tent and tell me the details of the battle. Zilian (Cao Hong's courtesy name), send a message to Su Ze and Guo Huai as quickly as possible to tell them that we don't need to attack Jieting anymore. Let's go back and prepare to attack Hanzhong."
After bringing the three men into the tent to learn about the situation in Longxi, Cao Cao, feeling troubled, walked out of the command tent and strolled around the camp. He said to Hua Tuo, who was following behind him, "Divine Physician Hua, I can feel my life slipping away. If nothing unexpected happens, this should be my last battle. So please, Divine Physician Hua, extend my life by at least six months. I only need six months. You can use every means except craniotomy, even if it means sacrificing your future life. Can you do that, Divine Physician?"
Hua Tuo pondered, “It is possible, but it would require strong medicine. Your Majesty may not be aware of the side effects of strong medicine. To put it this way, if we treat you with the usual methods, I am confident that I can save Your Majesty’s life by three more years. But if we continue with the treatments Your Majesty desires, it will take at most six months, maybe even less than six months. You will be gone in three months.”
Cao Cao smiled slightly, his face showing an unprecedented nonchalance, and said calmly, "Three months should be enough. Let me use the last of my life to fight that big-eared scoundrel one last time. We've been fighting for most of our lives, so we should have a dignified ending, shouldn't we?"
After saying this, he continued to stroll around the camp. However, his health was too poor, and he only strolled around for half a quarter of an hour before preparing to return to his tent. As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of a grain transport team rushing towards the camp along the official road. Cao Cao was taken aback and couldn't help but walk over.
Cao Cao became interested in the grain transport team because it was quite different from other grain transport teams. Not only did each grain cart maintain the same distance, but the soldiers' positioning was also very particular.
To put it simply, these grain-carrying soldiers maintained a defensive posture while on the road, so that if they were attacked, they could react quickly and enter combat mode, thus preventing the enemy from launching a sneak attack.
This grain transport official is no ordinary person.
Having fought battles for half his life, Cao Cao could discern the superiority or inferiority of a battle formation at a glance. After observing the supply convoy for a while, he waited until the convoy arrived at the camp gate to negotiate before saying, "Xu Chu, go and bring the supply officer over so that I may take a look."
Xu Chu bowed and took his leave, and soon brought a young man in his twenties or thirties with an ordinary appearance to Cao Cao.
Before the young man could even bow, Cao Cao asked, "What's your name? Where are you from?"
The young man was somewhat flattered by his first audience with the King of Wei, and stammered, "Your Majesty, my name is Deng... Deng... Deng Ai, from... Xinye..."