Chapter 381 Repeated defeats and battles
"Cao Gong has issued an order that anyone who discusses military affairs shall be executed immediately!"

Early in the morning, in the passage of Cao's army camp, patrolling military officers arrived at a small camp and started shouting at the top of their lungs.

The wounded soldiers and corpses remaining in the passage had been dragged away, and at this moment some soldiers were shoveling soil to cover up the bloodstains.

Groups of scattered and disorganized soldiers were gathered together, and their original organization was immediately disbanded and reorganized.

Many defeated soldiers returned to the camp very late and had no idea how many of their familiar comrades and fellow villagers had been killed or wounded.

But they were still in shock. After all, they were soldiers who had escaped death and they had not experienced close combat.

He was very clear that he was being swept away and had no specific understanding of the actual casualties.

It was thus gathered and reorganized.

Cao's military officers and veterans were not unfamiliar with this kind of reorganization during war.

Even after last night's crushing defeat, these senior veterans and military officers did not feel surprised, angry or even ashamed.

In the big tent on the hill, Cao Cao had obvious dark circles under his eyes, and he was wearing a black bear fur cloak and looking towards the northeast.

There was a gully formed by the erosion of a mountain stream, and most of the fallen soldiers had been thrown into the gully.

There were also many casualties last night, including those caused by trampling and crowding.

The specific casualty statistics have not been submitted yet, but based on the reorganization of the defeated soldiers in the front and central armies, only about 230 centurions have been formed so far.

These fully-strength battalions include all kinds of wounded soldiers who have a high probability of recovery, excluding the seriously injured.

As for the seriously injured soldiers, Cao Cao had no good solution and could only wait and see the fate of these seriously injured soldiers.

Cao Cao would not go to inspect and visit the seriously injured, and the sensible people below would also find ways to deal with the seriously injured.

At this moment, Cao Cao was dealing with various problems reported by military officials almost instinctively.

When I stood on the hill and looked into the ravine, my mind was empty, without any thoughts, not even fear or other emotions.

There were footsteps again. Cao Cao turned around and asked woodenly, "What's going on?"

"Brother."

Cao Chun saw that Cao Cao was not in a good mood, so he called out in a low voice. Cao Cao then saw that it was Cao Chun and came back to his senses: "Zihe, how is Zixiao's injury?"

"The enemy's weapon was strange, and my brother's lungs were injured. The doctor said it would be best to rest quietly and not to be disturbed or threatened."

Cao Chun added: "I have conducted a thorough investigation. When the enemy retreated last night, I took back the bodies, so it is difficult to estimate the enemy's casualties. I also did not find any strange weapons used by the enemy generals or soldiers."

Cao Cao listened to Zhan Bi's signal and came to his chariot. Cao Cao grabbed the guardrail and jumped up to sit on the couch. He said to Cao Chun who followed him: "I have instructed Yuan Si to do it."

Hearing the hidden meaning, Cao Chun did not ask further questions and continued, "The enemy soldiers are disciplined, brave and warlike. They showed no signs of cutting off our heads from beginning to end last night. They did not leave a single corpse when they retreated, which shows that they are elite. This shows that they must be veteran soldiers of the Black Bear Yuan Cong, and they are extraordinary. The battle last night was fierce, and at least half of them were killed. Mianchi is empty. Brother, you might as well attack Mianchi to observe the situation."

Cao Cao just nodded and pondered: "The morale of the army is low, and it will be difficult to use them in the near future. What I am concerned about is the act of looting corpses when retreating. If we fight against such an army, it will be difficult to confirm our gains and the merits of the officers and soldiers. In the long run, our army will be demoralized and have no desire to fight. The enemy can save their corpses even if they are defeated, so they will naturally love fighting. This increase and decrease will not be good for me."

Cao Chun also felt that the other side's behavior was very disadvantageous to his side. If he wanted to reverse this disadvantage, he could only learn from the other side and motivate his own officers and soldiers to not seek gains but strive to ensure that the bodies did not fall into the hands of the enemy.

This will reduce the opponent's offensive enthusiasm over time.

But Cao Ren was seriously injured, and the front army had been disbanded and mixed with the central army. Cao Chun did not feel that he was qualified to discuss military reform and improvement of tactics.

Seeing Cao Chun's constrained demeanor, Cao Cao tried to comfort him, saying, "I have sent a letter to the rear army, and will implement the plan of increasing the number of stoves to encourage the army's morale. Zihe, go back and take good care of Zixiao, and don't be distracted by other matters."

"Yes, I understand."

Cao Chun bowed, his expression calm and without any emotional reaction. When Cao Cao nodded, he turned around and got off the car. Cao Cao looked at Cao Chun's back as he walked further and further away, then turned back to look due north.

Last night was not that bad. He had experienced too many terrible things. Xu Rong defeated his entire army in Xingyang; Lu Bu beat him so badly that he had no power to fight back; even Yuan Shu sent people to hunt him down.

There was also Zhang Xiu, who was almost trapped and killed in the camp. In that battle, two-thirds of the army was destroyed.

In comparison, last night's casualties were at most a quarter.

The actual casualties mostly came from being trampled and killed in the melee, and few died at the hands of the enemy...except for his tiger soldiers.

After Cao Chun left, Cao Xiu came over with a plate of food. Cao Cao asked, "How are the soldiers in the army doing?"

"My nephew saw mostly sadness."

Cao Xiu then asked, "Some people are worried that Yuan clan in Hebei will take advantage of the situation to attack. Our army and Yuan clan are mortal enemies. If they attack, Gan Ning will also send troops to support and delay our army, and the situation will be critical."

“Is this a question you are asking, or are you asking it for someone else?”

"My nephew has this concern, and so do Boren and Zidan."

Cao Xiu poured wine for Cao Cao and continued, "After this battle, our army's morale has been greatly reduced, and it is difficult to block the ferry on the south bank. Reinforcements have arrived in Mianchi recently, and the plan of besieging Mianchi and attacking the reinforcements is probably difficult to implement."

Mianchi is not far from Luoyang, and the army's food supply is relatively smooth. With the rear army supervised by Shi Huan to transport the food, there is no need to worry about military rations.

Cao Cao thought for a moment, drank the wine, and said, "Don't panic. The little thief will not sit idly by and watch Yuan Shang annex our army. Our army cannot retreat easily. If we retreat now, the morale of the army is not strong. After we leave the camp, the officers and soldiers will make a commotion and it will be difficult to suppress them. We will die without a burial place."

Signaling Cao Xiu to continue pouring wine for him, Cao Cao then instructed, "When we were attacked last night, Zixiao led his troops to rescue the central army and killed too many defeated soldiers. He has lost the morale of the army and is seriously injured. This is a bad thing, but it is also a good thing in the long run. This way, he can concentrate on studying the art of war, and his future achievements will only be higher, rather than a fighting general or a brave general."

Cao Xiu nodded as if he understood: "Yes, my nephew also studies the Art of War from time to time."

Cao Cao picked up the chopsticks to eat the food, but after a few bites he got tired and didn't want to eat anymore. However, seeing Cao Xiu's eager gaze, he endured the discomfort and reluctantly finished half a bowl of rice.

Cao Cao put down his chopsticks and took another sip from the wine cup as a way of rinsing his mouth. After swallowing, he looked up at the vast sky and said, "What I lost here, I must get back from Yuan Benchu's son. This bastard will surely attack me after hearing that I was defeated. I will use my calmness to control my opponent's power and let him know how powerful I am."

After hearing this, Cao Xiu nodded with a hopeful look on his face.

A victory is urgently needed now.

Now the army cannot leave the camp. They must wait until the emotions are stable and the troops accept and resign themselves to their fate before they can be mobilized, so as to avoid large-scale mutiny and rout.

By the time they were able to go out of the camp to fight, the Hebei army would probably have taken action.

In other words, by the time Yuan Shang had prepared for war and transferred his troops to Mengjin, the main force of Cao's army had regained its mobility.

As for whether Gan Ning will chase and bite relentlessly?

Cao Xiu was not too worried about the terrain of Hangu Road, which made it very easy to cover the retreat. The two armies could stop the pursuers by retreating alternately.

Also, the terrain of Hangu Road is very suitable for ambush.

Gan Ning would not easily launch a pursuit unless it was necessary.

After Cao Xiu left, Han Hao, covered in blood, came to see Cao Cao holding a scroll of bamboo slips.

This was a list of enemy heads captured last night. Cao Cao picked it up and glanced at it casually, then gave instructions: "It is inconvenient to check the heads right now, so leave them outside the camp to dry in the sun."

In three or four days, these heads will be eaten by birds and maggots until only skeletons are left.

Han Hao looked calm and bowed: "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)