Chapter 417: First the son died, then the younger brother. The race against time failed, and the elder Cao and the second Cao were mentally broken!
Hedong County, east of Pingyang City.

More than 20,000 Qin soldiers were bypassing Pingyang City and rushing south along the Fen River.

Cao Ren immediately stood by the Fen River and shouted at his soldiers to speed up.

The Qin army had not slept for two days and two nights, and had been running day and night. Now they were so tired that they were almost foaming at the mouth.

Cao Ren did not dare to let them stop for a moment, but urged them to continue running.

"General Huqi, it is not a good idea to keep marching like this. The soldiers are too tired and some have already died on the road."

"General, please give the order to let the soldiers rest in Pingyang City for half a day to rest and recuperate."

Li Dian caught up with Cao Ren, pulled his horse in front, and tried to persuade him while panting.

Cao Ren's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"Jiguan has been lost, the situation in Hedong is critical, and we cannot afford to delay for even a moment!"

"If we are a step late and the big-eared thieves seize Hedong, how can we explain to the emperor?"

Li Dian was blocked and had to turn to Xun You for help.

Xun You rolled his eyes a few times and advised:

"General Hussar, I think what General Li said makes sense. The soldiers are really too tired. It is necessary to rest for half a day."

"General Zihe should be able to lead the way with light cavalry and enter Pubanjin first. As long as Pubanjin is there, the emperor's reinforcements will be able to enter Hedong unimpeded to provide assistance."

"But according to You's estimation, it is impossible for us to recapture Jiguan, and we cannot stop Liu Bei's army from entering Hedong."

"In that case, instead of letting the soldiers run so hard, it would be better to let them rest for a while and recuperate."

"If we continue to rush south like this, and encounter Liu Bei's army that has already entered Hedong, how can our soldiers have the energy to fight the enemy?"

Xun You analyzed the pros and cons in a very eloquent manner.

Cao Ren stroked his thin beard, pondered in silence, and weighed the pros and cons.

After weighing the pros and cons, Cao Ren nodded slightly:

"Gongda's words make sense. It is not realistic to stop the main force of the big-eared bandits from entering Hedong. Our only goal now is to control Pubanjin."

"With Pubanjin in our hands, Bingzhou will not be cut off from Guanzhong. We can form a pincer attack with the emperor to defend Hedong and Bingzhou!"

"The soldiers have traveled all night and are indeed exhausted. Pass the order down and let the army rest in Pingyang for half a day."

Li Dian was overjoyed and hurried forward to pass on the order.

The Qin soldiers, who were so tired that they vomited blood, stopped and sat on the ground to catch their breath, as if they had been pardoned.

Cao Ren found a large stone, spread the map on it, and discussed it with Xun You and others.

To the south, a cloud of dust came from the south.

The Qin army immediately became alert, and Li Dian led thousands of soldiers and horses and lined up in the south to block the approaching army.

Not long after.

Li Dian, with several cavalrymen, came to Cao Ren in a hurry.

"General of the Cavalry, General of the Cavalry!"

A general dismounted from his horse and knelt in front of Cao Ren.

"Liang Xing?"

When Cao Ren recognized the general, his face suddenly changed and an ominous premonition instantly enveloped his whole body.

Didn’t Liang Xing follow Cao Chun and lead the Leopard Cavalry to rush to Pubanjin?

Why did you suddenly turn back to Pingyang City?

He still looked so dusty and dirty, as if he had returned in embarrassment and defeat!

"Could it be that……"

A terrifying thought popped into Cao Ren's mind, and he felt a chill down his spine.

So he forced himself to remain calm and asked:
"Liang Xing, why did you come to Pingyang instead of following Zihe to guard Pubanjin?"

Liang Xing raised his head and looked at Cao Ren with tears in his eyes:

"General, we had already reached Puban Ferry, but we suddenly encountered Ma Chao and his 3,000 Han cavalrymen outside the ferry, and they also attacked us at the same time."

"General Zihe refused to listen to my advice and insisted on mobilizing the Leopard Cavalry to fight Ma Chao."

"As a result, we were outnumbered and defeated by the enemy, and almost all of our troops were wiped out."

"General Zihe had no time to withdraw, and was given by Ma Chao, given--"

Liang Xing hesitated for a long time before uttering two words from between his teeth:

"Behead it!"

hum!
Cao Ren's body swayed and his mind went blank for a moment, as if he had been hit on the head with a club.

At this moment, he was stunned by this shocking bad news!
Two thousand Leopard Cavalry were completely wiped out!
His own cousin Cao Chun was also killed by Ma Chao!
It had only been less than a few days since his son Cao Tai was killed by Ma Chao, and now his younger brother was also killed by Ma Chao?
Within a few days, both relatives died at the hands of Ma Chao?

At this moment, Cao Ren was so shocked that he was in a trance and couldn't believe his ears.

The generals on both sides were shocked and filled with uproar and fear.

Xun You, who was also in a trance and looked stunned, let out a long breath. He seemed to have been drained of all his energy and fell into weakness.

"It seems that we are still a step late. Liu Bei had expected that we would send troops to reinforce the defense of Pubanjin, so he ordered Ma Chao to capture Jiguan and then march westward to seize Pubanjin."

"But I didn't expect that General Zihe would also die at the hands of Ma Chao."

"I never thought that Ma, who slipped through the net back then, would become such a big problem."

"Ugh--"

Xun You's face looked bitter, and he shook his head helplessly and sighed.

Cao Ren gradually came to his senses, his eyes began to fill with blood, his fists clenched until they cracked, and the veins on his forehead seemed to be about to burst. "Ma Chao, you bastard—"

"You first harmed my son, then my brother, and you have put your hands on two lives of my Cao family!"

"If I, Cao Ren, cannot kill you with my own hands, I will not be a human being, I will not be a human being—"

Cao Ren suddenly exploded, like an angry beast, and started cursing in the direction of Pubanjin.

After his anger subsided, Cao Ren pointed his sword southward and shouted:
"Pass the order down, the army will march to Pubanjin immediately, I want to kill that bastard Ma Chao with my own hands!"

"I want to avenge Tai'er, my son, and my brother!"

Li Dian and Xun You were surprised.

The two were naturally indignant about Cao Chun's death, but after all, the person who died was not their own relative, so they were able to remain calm.

Who would have thought that Cao Ren would be provoked to the point of losing his mind. Under such circumstances, he even dared to lead his army to Pubanjin?
Isn’t this seeking death?

"General Hussar, calm down. You must stay calm."

"Now that Ma Chao has captured Pubanjin and cut off the Yellow River, it is a foregone conclusion. He will definitely burn all the ferries, making it impossible for our Guanzhong reinforcements to cross the river for a while."

"By the time General Huoqi leads our army to Pubanjin, Liu Bei's main force of the Han army will have already entered Hedong. By then, he will have cut off our retreat. We can neither return to Bingzhou nor retreat to Guanzhong. What should we do?"

"We have 20,000 soldiers and horses, and we are about to be surrounded and killed by Liu Bei in Hedong."

"If General Huoqi makes a mistake, our Bingzhou army will collapse and Liu Bei will easily take Bingzhou!"

Xun You ignored Cao Ren's eagerness for revenge and tried to persuade him immediately.

Cao Renru was like a bucket of cold water poured on his head. His anger was extinguished in an instant and he shuddered violently.

Li Dian also stepped forward and urged:
"General Huoqi first lost his beloved son, then lost his brother. I can naturally understand this grief."

"It's just that the general is concerned about the safety of Bingzhou and the safety of our Great Qin. I hope the general will be able to contain his sorrow and put the overall interests of our country first."

After much persuasion from both the civil and military officials, Cao Ren finally calmed down completely.

"You are right. I must take revenge, but not now."

"I should put the country first and protect the overall situation of Bingzhou first!"

Cao Ren regained his senses and looked at Xun You with a bitter face:
"But now that Pubanjin has been lost, our connection with Guanzhong has been cut off by the big-eared bandits. How can we defend Bingzhou?"

Xun You remained silent and moved his gaze back to the map.

After thinking for a moment, Xun You sighed:
"At this point, we can only accept the fact that Hedong was acquired by Liu Bei."

"Although Hedong has been lost, we still have 70,000 soldiers and horses available in Bingzhou, and the food and grass can support us for about half a year."

"You believes that the general should immediately station troops at Baibo Pass, relying on the strategic location of the pass to block Liu Bei's advance northwards, and defend Bingzhou to the death."

"At the same time, please ask the emperor to lead the army to cross the river and attack Puban with all our strength, so as to threaten Liu Bei's flank and rear, so that he cannot attack Baibo Pass with all his strength."

"As for the other pass cities such as Jingxing Pass and Hu Pass, we should also order the generals to lead their troops to defend them to the death."

"As long as we can hold out for three to five months, when the rainy season arrives and the mountain roads become muddy and it becomes difficult to transport food and grass, Liu Bei will have no choice but to retreat without success."

"Then, we will have secured Bingzhou, and our Great Qin will be able to turn danger into safety."

Cao Ren stared at the map, savoring Xun You's advice, his thoughts surging.

After a long time, Cao Ren hit the map with his fist, and his hateful and unwilling look turned into determination.

"As of now, that's all it can do."

"Order the entire army to march south immediately and seize Baibo Pass!"

"Send another messenger to Guanzhong to report everything to His Majesty!"

...

Guanzhong, Fengyi County.

Nearly 60,000 Qin soldiers were marching northward along the west bank of the Yellow River towards Puban Pass.

The Yellow River is particularly turbulent in this section. It is possible for a small group of troops to cross the river, but it is impossible for a large army to cross the river.

The narrowest section of the river with the calmest water flow is Puban Pass, fifty miles away.

By crossing the river eastward from Puban Pass, you can land on the east side of the river at Pubanjin.

"Send the order, tell each unit to abandon baggage, and if necessary, even armor and helmets, and march lightly with only weapons and two days' rations."

"I must set foot on Pubanjin tonight at the latest!"

Cao Cao was extremely anxious and waved his whip to issue orders.

The soldiers running along the road began to take off their armor, and the baggage carts were abandoned on the roadside.

The 60,000 Qin soldiers abandoned all their burdens and ran wildly carrying only their swords and guns.

In front, a rider came galloping and headed straight for Cao Cao's horse.

"Your Majesty, the General of the Cavalry has urgent news!"

The messenger dismounted, stopped in front of Cao Cao's horse, and presented a silk letter in his hand.

Cao Cao reined in his horse, his heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition came over him.

Guo Jia, Dian Wei, and other trusted advisers and generals stopped involuntarily, and all eyes were focused on the urgent report from Cao Ren.

After hesitating for a moment, Cao Cao stretched out his slightly trembling hand and took the silk book.

With a nervous heart, he slowly opened the silk book and looked down at it.

The whip slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

Cao Cao felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss, his body frozen on the horse's back.

(End of this chapter)