Mythical Three Kingdoms

Truth be told, despite Fan Qin’s current jests about Xun Yu, he had been quite startled himself when he first deduced Xun Yu’s plan. Xun Yu’s strategy had no flaws, and he had accounted for everything conceivable, to the point where Fan Qin couldn’t help but concede respect to Xun Yu!

Yet as the saying goes, ”Man proposes, God disposes.” Xun Yu had calculated everything, but he had not foreseen that Cao Cao would sacrifice all his soldiers on the Xuzhou Plain in one fell swoop, turning all his plans into a mockery.

”Does Huber have any good advice?” Xun Yu asked calmly, having composed his emotions, ”As a minister to our lord, Huber should not be modest.”

”It’s beyond anyone’s power to reverse this situation,” Fan Qin said, spreading his hands helplessly. ”Nothing we say will make a difference, unless Yuan Benchu is willing to lend us troops. Otherwise, we are no match for Lyu Fengxian. This is no longer a matter of strategy, but purely a question of strength. But Yuan Benchu...”

Xun Yu frowned. He almost didn’t have to think to know what conditions Yuan Benchu would propose—nothing short of moving his entire family to Ye City to serve as Yuan Benchu’s claws and teeth. This was absolutely unacceptable.

”If we hold the city, we might manage for a short time, but when the siege drags on, I don’t believe we can hold out for very long,” Fan Qin said with an expression that read ”I am truly considering Cao Cao’s best interests,” causing Xun Yu’s expression to grow slightly dissatisfied.

”Our biggest problem now is the lack of available soldiers. Unlike Yuan Gonglu’s infantry-centric legions, Lyu Bu’s Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry make it impossible for us to engage in open-field battles,” Xun Yu sighed.

Although Lyu Bu did not have many soldiers, the more than ten thousand Wolf Cavalry were a deadly threat to Yanzhou. Other troops could be blocked with some effort, but did that mean abandoning most of Yanzhou’s cities in the face of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry?

”It’s not that we can’t fight in the field, it’s just that the new recruits can’t,” Xi Zhicai said with a dark expression as he walked in from the front. ”Sixty thousand veterans are still with us. With a little effort, we could annihilate the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. As for the new recruits, can they even withstand a probing charge from the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry without crumbling?”

”You’re unharmed, Zhicai?” Xun Yu asked, looking at Xi Zhicai.

”Ill or not, I had to come down. If I didn’t, Yanzhou might be left with nothing but Chenliu,” Xi Zhicai said, frowning.

”Do you have any good strategies?” Xun Yu asked with a sigh, not holding much hope.

”There are no good strategies. We need to hold off Lyu Bu first. Our Tuntian soldiers in Yanzhou might not be good at fighting, but they can still work the land. With that the case, let’s dig a network of ditches to negate the speed advantage of Lyu Bu’s Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, stalling them for now. But this isn’t a long-term solution,” Xi Zhicai said with a bitter smile. He too was out of ideas. With so few soldiers remaining, what could he do?

”We have no choice but to do that for now. It seems we’ll have to reduce the garrison at Wancheng. However, this will leave gaps in Nanyang’s defences,” Xun Yu sighed, highlighting their dire shortage of troops.

”We’ll take it step by step. We need to withstand the combined assault of Lyu Bu and Chen Gong first. Otherwise, all is lost,” said Xi Zhicai helplessly. ”Should it truly become untenable, we might have to seek refuge with Yuan Benchu. What a favorable situation this had been!”

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Xi Zhicai now also spoke with an air of frustration, as if angered by their lack of competitiveness. He had only been absent for a couple of months, and not by Cao Cao’s side for merely half a year, and yet, upon his return, such an incident had occurred, nearly causing Xi Zhicai to cough up blood in fury.

Given Xi Zhicai’s understanding of Xun Yu, he naturally knew what Xun Yu had originally intended. Now, no matter how many ideas they had, none held value anymore. Cao Cao had successfully squandered their fortunes, essentially handing over all the cards they had saved as their ace in the hole—weapons, equipment, and seasoned veterans with battle formation experience were all gone.

”I was careless with this matter,” Xun Yu sighed as he spoke.

”It’s not a matter of being careless or not, but the fact that we absolutely never expected a defeat so total. What’s going on with Gong Da and Zhongde? Over sixty thousand men, and though they may not be of elite rank, they were still veterans. How could they be so utterly routed? Let’s not even mention a minor victory over Liu Xuande—even if defeated, it shouldn’t have been a major loss. Now this is a downright rout!” Xi Zhicai said, suppressing his anger. He could not understand how Cao Cao’s army, once setting out from Xuzhou, could have met with such a debacle.

”...” Xun Yu smiled bitterly. He also couldn’t comprehend the situation. With Xun You and Cheng Yu as masterminds, Zhao Yan managing logistics, Cao Cao as commander-in-chief, Xiahou Yuan as the vanguard, Xiahou Dun leading the central army, and Cao Hong, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, Mao Jie, Lyu Qian, Shii Huan, Hann Hao, and others as henchmen, it seemed impossible for them to be defeated to such an extent. Any scheme should have been preventable; it was inconceivable for this to happen.

”Forget it, let’s drop the subject. It’s all due to being overeager for quick success,” Xi Zhicai sighed and said, ”I’ll go and figure out how to slow down Lyu Bu’s advance. You try to suppress the internal unrest and, by the way, gather the Tuntian Soldiers and intensify their training. Try to solve the food problem with the help of the Weii Family. This is really troublesome. Wen Ruo, you also need to be prepared.”

Xun Yu remained silent. Indeed, this time they had made a grave error. While others flourished, Cao Cao had been dealt a heavy blow, and the path ahead would be extremely difficult. Even if they were lucky enough to stave off Lyu Bu, recovering to the strength they had at the time they set out from Xuzhou would be impossible without at least a year or two.

After giving his instructions to Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai left immediately. At this stage, he could not afford any delay. Every second was critical. Whether they could withstand Lyu Bu’s assault depended on his arrangements. Alas, there were no available troops...

In the end, Cao Cao still set out on his return journey from Pei County, Yuzhou. However, before he could celebrate his narrow escape, he had already learned of his own dire situation in Yanzhou—the majority was now in the hands of Lyu Bu—through whispers on the wind in Pei County.

This piece of information left Cao Cao, who had already been dealt numerous blows, reeling. Although these were merely rumors, he pieced together a complete picture from many versions of hearsay: Yanzhou was in real trouble.

Left with no choice, Cao Cao, who had planned to detour to Yanzhou Shanyang County and then return to Chenliu, did not hesitate to head towards Yingchuan in Yuzhou. That was also his territory. He would go there and, upon learning the real situation, make further plans.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shu’s only son, born into wealth, upon learning of the epidemic in Pei County, decided to emulate his father’s younger days by providing relief to the disaster victims, displaying his noble and chivalrous character, and his closeness to the people. Thus, with a retinue of guards, he hurried towards Pei County, Yuzhou. Of course, he also brought a lot of medicinal materials with him, like ginseng, deer antler, bear bile, and other strong supplements, a full cartload, ready to save lives.

”Eldest Son, it’s best if we don’t go to Pei County. The epidemic is rampant there. How can your noble personage risk going there?” one of the guards, stopping the genuinely prepared Yuan Yao from entering Pei County, said.

”Hmph, don’t worry. I have the Inner Qi passed down to me by my brother Bofu. I am now strong and hearty,” said Yuan Yao, flourishing his Precious Sword with satisfaction. Having always been frail, Yuan Yao was overjoyed at the prospect of possessing Inner Qi, and naturally, his admiration for Sun Ce, whom he had always held in high regard, had reached new heights of approval.

(To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to visit to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)