Chapter 415 Don't blame my son, let us take the blame! Another Cao family member is here, let's kill him!

Cao Cao's expression suddenly changed.

Guo Jia's face turned pale.

Generals Cao Hong, Yu Jin, Pang De and others were also in an uproar.

Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on Jia Xu.

The bad words of this venomous scholar actually came true!

Jiguan was indeed lost!

Even Cao Tai, Cao Ren's eldest son and Cao Cao's beloved nephew, was killed by the Han army.

The person who accomplished all this was actually Ma Chao, the remnant of the Ma family!
"brush!"

Cao Cao snatched the urgent report from Cao Zhen's hand and hurriedly unfolded it to read it carefully.

The remaining hope in his eyes gradually dissipated, he clenched the silk book in his hand tighter and tighter, his face began to twist and deform, the words "angry and ashamed" became more and more obvious on his face.

"The big-eared thief actually played tricks on me again~~"

Cao Cao's face turned red as he uttered these hateful words through gritted teeth.

His wisdom and strategy were naturally far superior to Cao Ren's. He could figure out everything without the need for Guo Jia and Jia Xu to analyze.

He was betrayed by Cao Zhi and fooled by Liu Bei.

What is the feint to the east and attack in the west? What is the feint attack on Tongguan and the actual attack on Bingzhou?

The fundamental purpose of Zhang Fei's 100,000 troops was to pin Cao Ren and his Bingzhou Legion down on the Taihang Mountains.

Only in this way can the insignificant small pass of Jiguan be depleted of military forces.

In this way, Liu Bei could mobilize light cavalry from Tongguan, use the navy to create a time difference with him, cross the river and land in Hedong first, and attack Jiguan with lightning speed!
Fighting his way into Hedong from Henei, blocking the Yellow River, and cutting off the connection between Bingzhou and Guanzhong, this was Liu Bei's real strategy to attack Qin.

"Prince Chenliu was half right. Liu Bei did want to take Bingzhou, but the order was wrong."

"Prince Chenliu believed that Liu Bei wanted to take Bingzhou first, then Hedong, and then march into Guanzhong."

"Liu Bei wanted to take Hedong first, then conquer Bingzhou, and then turn back to cross the Yellow River to the west and enter Guanzhong."

"The order is wrong, so our troop deployment is wrong!"

"One wrong move and the whole game is lost!"

Guo Jia slammed his fist on the map, his face full of regret.

Cao Cao's heart felt as if hit by a heavy hammer. His admiration for Cao Zhi instantly collapsed and turned into extreme disappointment.

The words of blame and rebuke to Cao Zhi were almost out of his mouth.

"However, it is already rare that the Prince of Chenliu can see this extent. Even I and others have not been able to see through Liu Bei's true plot."

"I wonder who proposed this double-layered strategy to Liu Bei. Could it be Xiao Fang again?"

"Or is it someone else?"

Guo Jia was also a shrewd man. He got emotional just now and said something that was unfavorable to Cao Zhi.

To outsiders, his words just now clearly showed an intention to make Cao Zhi take the blame and to lead Cao Cao to blame Cao Zhi.

So, before Cao Cao could get angry, Guo Jia changed the subject and began to tactfully excuse Cao Zhi.

Cao Cao swallowed the complaint that was on the tip of his tongue, and it eventually turned into a helpless sigh.

What Guo Jia said makes sense.

Over the years, have you eaten enough turtles at Liu Bei's place?

Have you been fooled by Xiao Fang many times?
As a father, Cao Cao, you, Guo Jia, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Xun Yu who was forced to death by him, which one of you has not been fooled by Xiao Fang?

You old guys were all fooled by Emperor Liu Bei and his ministers. So why can't you forgive my son Cao Zhi for miscalculating once and being fooled once?

"Alas, Feng Xiao is right. You have all been fooled by Xiao Fangqi's schemes, and I have also been defeated by his schemes more than once or twice."

"If I and you guys are like this, what about Zijian, a newborn calf?"

"I was careless. I thought my son was the son of Qilin and could defeat Xiao Fang's plan."

"I should have discussed the matter with you guys more at the beginning, and I should have made a careful decision."

"I have had it, and so have you..."

Cao Cao chose to take back his disappointment and resentment towards his son, and took the blame on himself and his advisers including Guo Jia.

These words made all the counselors, except Jia Xu, ashamed and they all lowered their heads.

"Ahem, it is indeed our fault that we failed to see through Liu Bei's plan."

"However, Hedong is in danger now, and Bingzhou is in danger of being cut off from Guanzhong. I think we should deal with the crisis first."

Jia Xu coughed a few times and reminded him.

Cao Cao's heart was shocked, and he immediately returned to the present moment from his self-blame and self-reproach, his eyes suddenly focused.

"Wenhe is absolutely right. Saving Hedong and mending the fence after the sheep have been lost are the top priorities!"

Cao Cao threw the urgent report on the ground and said sternly:

"Pass on my order, leave 40,000 soldiers to defend Tongguan, and I will personally lead 60,000 troops north to Fengyi and go to Hedong to stop the big-eared thieves."

At that moment, Cao Cao urgently summoned Xiahou Dun from Chang'an to Tongguan, commanding 40,000 troops to resist the Han army outside the pass.

At nightfall the next day, Cao Cao led 60,000 Qin troops and set out at night, crossing the Wei River and heading north to Puban Pass.

...

Tongguan, the main camp of the Han army.

The imperial tent was already in an uproar at this moment.

Just when Cao Ren's emergency letter had not yet been delivered to Cao Cao in Tongguan, Ma Chao's victory report had already been delivered to Liu Bei.

"It's done!"

"Xiaozhi, your two-pronged strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west has worked. Mengqi has indeed captured Jiguan!" "The gate from Hanoi to Hedong was kicked open by him!"

Liu Bei slammed the table and stood up, holding up the victory news in his hand with great joy, and looked at Fa Zheng with an approving smile.

Fa Zheng stroked his thin beard lightly, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, showing a sense of pride that his plan had succeeded.

But after feeling a little proud, Fa Zheng looked at Xiao Fang:

"If it weren't for Prime Minister Xiao's trick, Ma Mengqi wouldn't have been able to capture Jiguan so easily and kill Cao Tai."

"Besides, I only thought of this plan of a surprise attack on Jiguan after Prime Minister Xiao reminded me of it."

Fa Zheng did not dare to boast in front of Xiao Fang, so he pointed out what Xiao Fang hinted at in public.

Liu Bei thought about it and laughed:
"Then the credit for the plan to capture Jiguan and kick open the gate to Hedong will be shared by the Prime Minister and Xiaozhi!"

All the generals laughed.

Xiao Fangze pointed his feather fan toward the north and said calmly:
"I predict that upon hearing the news, Cao Ren will lead his army south to Hedong. Upon learning that Jiguan has been lost, Cao Cao will also lead his main force north to rescue."

"Although I have instructed Meng Qi to lead his cavalry deep into Hedong, seize Pubanjin, and block the Yellow River immediately after taking Jiguan, his troops are too few after all and cannot withstand Cao Cao's two-pronged attack."

"Your Majesty should lead the army immediately and send it to Henei by navy to meet up with Meng Qi before the Qin army can come back to Hedong to provide assistance."

"At least, we must ensure that the Yellow River is blocked, so that we can free up our hands to deal with Cao Ren and seize Bingzhou without any worries!"

Liu Bei was filled with passion and jumped up immediately.

"Yunchang, listen to my orders. I order you to lead 80,000 troops and continue to threaten Tongguan."

"I will lead 120,000 main forces to Hanoi immediately and go to Hedong in person!"

"In this battle, we will not withdraw our troops until we capture Bingzhou!"

...

On the east bank of the Yellow River, Pubanjin.

The Yellow River serves as the boundary between Hedong and Guanzhong. To the west of the Yellow River is Fengyi County, which belongs to Guanzhong, and to the east of the Yellow River is Hedong County.

On the other side of Pubanjin, there is a fortress across the river, named Puban Pass.

This ferry is also the most convenient and easy ferry connecting the two counties.

At this moment, on the main road east of the ferry, a cloud of dust was covering the sky and rolling towards the ferry.

The battle flags with the characters "马" and "汉" fluttered in the dust and mist, leading the three thousand Han cavalrymen to rush forward.

The outline of Pubanjin came into view, and Ma Chao couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement in his eyes.

He was racing against time with Cao Ren.

According to Xiao Fangzheng's prior deduction, Cao Ren, the commander-in-chief of the Bingzhou Army, would immediately order the Hedong County soldiers to retreat to the government seat of Pubanjin and Anyi after hearing the fall of Jiguan.

At the same time, Cao Ren personally led the elite infantry and cavalry and rushed south to Hedong overnight.

Therefore, Liu Bei's order to him was that after breaking through Jiguan, he should quickly advance westward with light cavalry, bypass the cities in Hedong, and go straight to Pubanjin.

As long as they could seize Puban Ferry first and burn the ferry boats, they would be able to cut off the connection between Bingzhou and Guanzhong in one fell swoop.

Even if Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived at Puban Pass on the opposite bank, they would not be able to gather enough boats and rafts to cross the river to Hedong in a short period of time.

Even if the Qin army on the other side had enough boats and rafts to cross the river, he could attack them halfway across the river and prevent Cao Cao from sending a single soldier to the east of the river.

Therefore, on the day of capturing Jiguan, Ma Chao did not even drink the celebratory wine, but led his light cavalry to march westward overnight.

Along the way, except for the necessary siege supplies, he bypassed the cities in Hedong and headed west.

He even bothered to take a closer look at Anyi City, which was short of troops and had less than a thousand soldiers guarding it, and his troops headed straight for Pubanjin.

This ferry connecting the two counties and blocking the Yellow River was his top priority.

As the sun sets in the west, the ferry is right in sight.

Just when Ma Chao was full of energy and was about to order the entire army to attack Pubanjin in one go.

Ma Dai beside him suddenly pointed his gun to the northeast and shouted in a deep voice:
"Brother, there is dust fog approaching from the north, and it seems that a cavalry is also heading towards Pubanjin!"

"Looking at the flags, they should be Qin cavalry!"

Ma Chao's heart moved slightly, and he looked north in a hurry.

really.

On the fields to the north, dust and fog were also rolling, and the figures of cavalry were looming in it.

The "Qin" flag was clearly visible under the setting sun.

There is no doubt that it must be the Qin cavalry.

Judging from the momentum, this cavalry unit has at least more than two thousand people.

"It must be Cao Chun's Leopard Cavalry!"

Ma Chao revealed the origin of that cavalry in one sentence.

Under Cao Cao's command, there was an elite force of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, among which the Tiger Cavalry was the heavy cavalry and the Leopard Cavalry was the light cavalry, and their numbers were the largest.

According to prior intelligence, in order to protect Bingzhou, Cao Cao specially sent his most elite 2,000 Leopard Cavalry to Bingzhou under the command of Cao Ren.

The commander of this Leopard Cavalry was Cao Chun, a military general from the Cao clan.

This cavalry in front of us must have been the one that Cao Ren ordered Cao Chun to lead the Leopard Cavalry to march southward first after learning that Jiguan had been lost, in an attempt to strengthen the defense of Pubanjin first.

What was unexpected was that, by coincidence, these two cavalry units arrived at Pubanjin almost at the same time.

"We meet on a narrow road, it looks like we have to fight first!"

"Cao Chun, you're from the Cao family again, you came just in time!"

Ma Chao's eyes were bloodshot, and his killing intent was revived. He waved his spear and pointed northward:
"Han cavalry, listen to my order. Follow me and change the route to the north. First, defeat this Qin cavalry, and then take Pubanjin!"

(End of this chapter)