Upon hearing this, Xiahou Dun and the others suppressed their inner impulses and withdrew.
After everyone had left, Guo Jia looked at Lu Zhi beside him and asked, "Master Lu, what do you think we should do?"
Lu Zhi stroked his beard and said calmly, "Fengxiao's words make sense. If we rashly pursue them, we might really fall into the Yellow Turban rebels' ambush."
"If that's the case, what should we do?" Guo Jia asked, troubled.
Lu Zhi's gaze fell on the map, and after a moment he said, "We need to send out spies to find out why Xu Huang withdrew his troops, and then look for an opportunity to launch a night attack. Perhaps we can give it a try."
Xu Huang's sudden retreat of fifty li made Lu Zhi and the others suspect that the Yellow Turban Army had a conspiracy. After all, Xu Huang was a very cunning fellow and would never retreat without a reason.
Upon hearing this, Guo Jia pondered for a moment and then said, "I agree with Master Lu's decision, but I am still worried that Xu Huang might use the same trick again to lure us out of the city."
"Then let's wait for Yuan Shao and the others. As soon as they arrive, we'll send troops immediately!" Lu Zhi said decisively.
Guo Jia nodded, agreeing with the suggestion, and said, "Alright, then let's listen to Master Lu."
But after Cao Hong and the others left, the generals of the Cao family gathered together again.
"These useless bastards sent by the imperial court are too cowardly to send troops. How can we fight this war? If we continue to stay here, my brother will be in danger sooner or later!" Cao Hong said angrily.
Xiahou Dun chimed in, "Yes, I think these good-for-nothings are only thinking about preserving their own strength and don't care about Mengde's life or death at all."
Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun's words resonated with the others, who also felt that Lu Zhi and the others lacked loyalty and wanted to stay out of it.
"Hmph, in my opinion, how can we let these useless fools dictate our thinking! Let's just lead our troops out and fight our way out!" Cao Chun said.
Although he is still young, he is precocious.
Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, since that's the case, then let's gather our troops now and prepare to charge out," Cao Hong said through gritted teeth.
"Should we attack Ji Province, or the Yellow Turban Army outside the pass?" Xiahou Dun asked Cao Hong.
Cao Hong fell silent; he didn't know which side to choose.
"I think we should attack the Yellow Turban Army outside the pass first and rescue Zixiao and Miaocai. After all, our ability to command troops is not as good as theirs."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement with Cao Hong's words.
Attacking Jizhou is too risky, and it's not something they can conquer, since Jizhou is the stronghold of the Yellow Turban Army.
Cao Chun said, "Let's gather our men now, and we'll attack the Yellow Turban army camp when it gets dark!"
Cao Hong and the others left one after another, each going to mobilize their troops.
At midnight, when everyone was fast asleep, the gates of Hulao Pass quietly opened, and an army of tens of thousands of soldiers marched out and charged toward Xu Huang's camp.
This force of tens of thousands of soldiers was the Cao family army led by Xiahou Dun and others.
"Hurry! Hurry up, don't fall behind!"
Xiahou Dun, riding his warhorse, kept urging his soldiers to hurry on their way.
Their attack was a surprise attack, aiming to catch the enemy off guard, so speed was crucial.
Xiahou Dun led his army on a rapid march and soon arrived outside the Yellow Turban army camp. Looking out from afar, the Yellow Turban army camp was very quiet, and the soldiers seemed to be asleep.
"Hehe! These Yellow Turban bandits don't even have a single patrolman. Heaven is on my side!" Xiahou Dun laughed heartily upon seeing this.
Cao Hong frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
Logically, the Yellow Turban Army should have been on high alert, but instead, they were completely unprepared.
"Yuanrang, don't be hasty, be careful, it might be a trap!" Cao Hong warned.
Xiahou Dun shook his head and said disdainfully, "You're overthinking it. These Yellow Turban soldiers are just scattered rabble. They've won a few battles before, which has made them fearless. They would never expect us to launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night!"
Cao Hong nodded, finding Xiahou Dun's analysis quite reasonable.
"Pass down the order, kill them all, wipe out these Yellow Turban traitors!" Xiahou Dun shouted.
Immediately, the army shouted battle cries and charged towards the Yellow Turban army.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Cao's army soldiers shouted excitedly.
But when they stormed into the Yellow Turban army's camp, they found it completely empty, eerily quiet, like an abandoned camp.
"Oh no! We've fallen for their trap! Run!"
Cao Hong's expression changed drastically. He roared and spurred his horse to leave.
But it was too late!
A deafening roar filled the air as the Yellow Turban army camp exploded instantly, engulfing the sky in flames and billowing smoke.
The sudden change stunned Cao's army.
Upon seeing Xu Huang mounted on his horse, holding a huge Xuanhua battle axe, he sneered, "I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
At this moment, Cao Hong was so angry that he roared and wished he could tear Xu Huang to pieces.
Xu Huang had anticipated Cao Cao's army's surprise attack and had already prepared an ambush.
At this time, the camp was completely surrounded by barricades.
Even more terrifying was that outside the camp, rows of archers stood in formation, ready for battle.
Clearly, this was planned in advance.
Cao Hong gritted his teeth and cursed, "What despicable Yellow Turban traitors!"
Xu Huang smiled slightly and said, "We're even. Surrender your weapons and I will spare your lives!"
"Don't even think about it! I'd rather die on the battlefield than suffer humiliation! Brothers, follow me and kill!" Cao Hong roared, brandishing his broadsword and leading his soldiers in a desperate resistance.
Xu Huang waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Release the arrows!"
"Whoosh..."
In an instant, a rain of arrows fell upon Cao Cao's army, blood splattered, and cries of agony rose and fell. Cao Cao's soldiers fell in droves.
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