Chapter 396 Becoming Illiterate
On Hangu Road, Cao's army was retreating in an orderly manner.

But in order to confuse Gan Ning, Cao's army deployed its troops in a manner of retreating three steps and advancing one step.

During the day, a grain transport team of a thousand people will set out from the old Hangu Pass to transport grain to the front camp in Mianchi.

After nightfall, three thousand people will be evacuated.

In order to avoid being discovered, many tents and equipment in the camp had to remain in the camp and could not be packed up.

On the eighth day after the withdrawal plan began, there were still 6,000 elite troops left in the camp.

Cao Cao left the camp and headed eastward to inspect the terrain of the Hangu Road, searching for a suitable location for an ambush.

We have to retreat, but if Gan Ning dares to pursue us, we must fight back fiercely.

Given the terrain of Hangu Pass, no matter who it is, if they encounter an ambush, they will be unable to protect both ends.

Cao Cao set out for his return to the camp in the afternoon. On the way, he met a messenger, who breathlessly handed him a secret letter: "Mingsir, the military advisor is urgently summoned!"

Cao Cao looked at the messenger with doubtful expression before he took the secret letter that Xu Chu had opened. He saw more than twenty words on it, which made Cao Cao's eyes dazzled for a moment.

The twenty or so words on the secret letter suddenly had their structure and order disrupted, and the reorganized words impacted his thinking.

So much so that in half a breath, some of the characters became so unfamiliar that they were unrecognizable and difficult to identify.

Cao Cao closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

After re-reading it, he still felt that the text information was too confusing. He handed the secret letter to Xu Chu as if nothing had happened, and turned around and instructed: "Go back to the camp quickly, and don't keep the military advisor waiting for too long."

"Here."

The horse under him was well-matched with him, and he controlled the horse instinctively. The horse was in the middle of the cavalry team and carried Cao Cao to complete the remaining ten miles.

In the camp, Jia Xu was warming himself by the fire when Cao Cao returned.

Cao Cao took off his helmet only after he entered the tent. He also sat down in front of the fire pit and said to Jia Xu, who had sat down again, "Wenhe, tell me in detail."

"Yes, it has been confirmed that more than 100,000 Qiang rebels from Hehuang surrendered in the battle of Yuzhong. The Grand Marshal will withdraw his troops and return to Guanzhong soon."

Jia Xu handed several secret letters to Cao Cao. The letters were unsigned and the handwriting was sloppy and unfamiliar.

Cao Cao picked it up and wanted to have a look, but the problem he had just experienced in the wild came back to him. At the same time, he felt the heat from the fire pit making his temples throbbing and pain coming over him.

What frightened Cao Cao even more than the dire changes in the military situation was that he really seemed unable to understand the words.

To cover up, Cao Cao picked it up and flipped through it casually, laughing dryly, "This is not surprising. His use of troops has always been unpredictable. However, the Qiang people who surrendered in Yuzhong should be mostly old, weak, and small tribes, as Wenhe had previously estimated."

"Yes."

Jia Xu picked up another letter and handed it to Cao Cao with both hands: "This is a letter from Duan Wei."

Jia Xu did not tell Cao Cao the content of the letter. Cao Cao took it in his hand and read it up and down, but he still could not understand the familiar yet unfamiliar handwriting.

It is not known whether Duan Wei was trying to persuade Jia Xu to surrender or to inform the people of Liangzhou and Wuwei of the change in attitude.

However, based on the changes in the situation and our understanding of Jia Xu's character, this letter could never have instructed or instigated Jia Xu to rebel.

So Cao Cao returned the letter to Jia Xu and raised his hand to rub his temple. The throbbing pain was spreading to his eye sockets.

It was as if another eyeball had grown inside the eyeball, jumping around and trying to push the original eyeball out.

At this moment, Cao Cao tried hard to suppress his discomfort, his expression slightly stiff: "Now that things have come to this, we will burn the camp and flee tonight."

"Yes, I have ordered Lu Zhao to send more scouts to cover the mountains and fields on both sides of the Hangu Pass."

Jia Xu restrained his expression and said seriously, "Please dispatch the generals to deal with Gan Ning's pursuit."

Cao Cao thought for a moment, stood up and paced, then said: "After nightfall, Wenhe and Yuan Si will lead 4,000 men to set up an ambush in sections at selected locations; after an hour, I will burn the camp and evacuate."

As he said this, he turned around and looked at Jia Xu: "Now it seems that Gan Ning is also a man who knows military tactics. My ambush troops are divided into two sections. If he comes to pursue, even if his brave and elite troops break my ambush troops in the front, he will definitely conclude that I have no more ambush troops. When he pursues again, he will be unprepared and his formation will be out of order, so he will definitely be broken by my ambush troops!"

"I obey your command."

Jia Xu stood up, and Han Hao, who had followed Cao Cao in, also stepped forward and bowed: "I obey your orders."

Cao Cao said again: "How to set up an ambush is up to Wenhe himself."

Jia Xu responded again, and Cao Cao walked to the table at the head. Jia Xu tactfully left with the letter of surrender given to him by Duan Wei.

Before leaving the tent, Jia Xu threw the letter of persuasion into the fire, which ignited a flame and brightened the slightly dim tent. Cao Cao saw it with a blank expression.

After the others left one after another, Cao Cao endured the pain and called out to Xu Chu, "Zhongkang, come in."

"Ming Gong?"

"Bring two buckets of ice water."

"Here."

Xu Chu agreed and frowned as he turned and left.

Inside the big tent, Cao Cao flipped through the military books and letters piled up on the desk that needed to be dealt with, and suddenly he felt overwhelmed.

He couldn't help but think of his eldest son Cao Ang. Sometimes when he was resting on his side on the couch, Cao Ang would read letters and military books to him.

As for the others, he didn't trust them.

He could make judgments on the origins of the military books and letters he read, and Cao Ang would also make comments without changing a single word. Apart from Cao Ang, he could not find such a suitable and trustworthy person.

Thinking of Cao Ang, Cao Cao regained his strength and suppressed the feeling of discomfort in his head.

Soon Xu Chu came in with two buckets of ice water. At Cao Cao's instruction, Xu Chu took a cloth, soaked it in the ice water, wrung it dry, and applied it to Cao Cao's forehead.

Cao Cao lay lazily on the couch, looking like he didn't want to move.

With a wet towel on his head, he said to Xu Chu, "Zhongkang, send the fast riders. I want to deliver an urgent letter to Luoyang."

"Here."

Xu Chu turned around and went out, telling the clerk outside the tent about this trivial matter, and he would take care of it.

During this period, Cao Cao thought about his older sons and excluded Cao Pi at the first opportunity.

On the night of the Wancheng incident, Cao Pi was also in the army.

This is the thorn between them, father and son. It would be very painful if it wasn't pulled out. If they wanted to pull it out, they would have to break the skin and flesh to find the thorn.

Only by the shedding of blood, or the utter demise of one of the men, will the thorn disappear.

Given the current situation, this foundation is not suitable for Cao Pi to take over.

Cao Ren has been ruled out as seriously injured, and Cao Chun's personality is not suitable either.

Cao Xiu had a shallower foundation. Even though he inherited most of Cao Hong's troops and power, it was difficult for Cao Xiu to be recognized by others.

Only Cao Zhang, the son who has already demonstrated his bravery and tough tactics, is suitable.

Cao Cao struggled to get up and wanted to pick up a pen to write a letter, but he was afraid that he would not be able to write and would be noticed by Xu Chu.

He sat beside the couch and said to Xu Chu who came in, "Zhongkang, write this letter to Ziwen and ask him to come to Hangu Pass overnight after receiving the letter."

Xu Chu was stunned, raised his hand and smoothed his hair: "Yes."

He ground the ink honestly, then lay on the table, holding a piece of silk steady with his left hand and holding the pen with his right hand to write carefully stroke by stroke.

Soon he finished writing a brief letter of only a dozen words.

At this time, Cao Cao also came to the table. His head was much better now. At least looking at these handwritings would not aggravate his symptoms.

He took out two private seals and gave them to Xu Chu, who used them respectively: "Mingsir, would you like to use the official seal?"

"No need."

Cao Cao watched Xu Chu fold the silk book and put it into a secret box. He sealed it with mud and then wrapped it in a roll of bamboo slips. After tying it up tightly, he went out and handed it to the courier who was waiting outside the tent.

Cao Cao felt slightly relieved when he heard the sound of the cavalrymen's horses riding away.

There was a military operation at night, and Cao Cao was no exception. He endured the discomfort and began to eat a full meal. The officers and soldiers in different parts of the camp also tacitly ate more and packed important luggage.

Two or three miles north of Cao's main camp, Gan Ning was surrounded by thousands of cavalrymen and looked at the smoke rising above the Cao camp.

After carefully observing the flags of both sides, Gan Ning said to those around him, "Send an order to Shanjin and Shancheng to close the gates and guard tightly. Do not move rashly. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed immediately!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)