"General, let's retreat quickly!"
"Yes, Prime Minister, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn!"
"General, preserving our strength is the best policy!"
Cao's soldiers pleaded desperately, as the losses they had suffered were simply too great!
"Walk!"
Cao Cao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down!
We have no choice but to retreat now. If we stay any longer, we'll really be doomed here!
"Where is the Yellow Turban Army? Why haven't they made a move?" Cao Cao asked his strategist Jia Xu, who was standing beside him.
"Prime Minister, I believe the Yellow Turban Army has likely violated the alliance!" Jia Xu sighed.
Perhaps from the very beginning, it was all a trap, designed to weaken both Cao Cao and Jiangdong, so that they could reap the benefits.
However, Cao Cao foolishly walked into the trap, and he had no one to blame but himself.
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's face darkened considerably: "Lu Li, how cruel you are!"
At the same time, the entire Yellow Turban army was mobilized.
Previously, all the troops from Yuzhou had withdrawn to Jingzhou, and now they were all advancing into Jiangdong, led by Lu Li himself.
Meanwhile, Laifu had already set off for Bingzhou, leading troops from Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Yizhou to launch a full-scale attack on Jizhou!
After Cao Cao's army retreated, only corpses and flames remained on the battlefield.
Zhou Yu wanted to pursue Cao Cao, but he received news that the Yellow Turban Army had launched a large-scale invasion of Jiangdong, and Sun Quan urgently summoned them to withdraw their troops!
Left with no other choice, Zhou Yu had to abandon the pursuit!
Without even having time to clean up the battlefield, he led his troops back to resist the Yellow Turban Army!
When Cao Cao learned that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was attacking Ji Province, he almost vomited blood.
"Damn Lu Li! Damn Zhou Yu!!!" Cao Cao roared in fury!
On Laifu's side, due to the limited number of troops in Ji Province, it only took a month to conquer both Ji Province and You Province.
They even marched on Yanzhou, capturing two counties in Yanzhou and advancing directly towards Xuchang!
Fortunately, Cao Cao returned in time, and with the addition of 100,000 troops from Yanzhou, they were able to barely hold off the Yellow Turban Army!
Meanwhile, Lu Li's side fared even better, with his 500,000-strong army capturing three counties and advancing directly towards Jianye!
We can attack from both sides; as long as we capture their capital, it will mean victory!
This is also why Lu Li let Zhou Yu go in the first place, because only Zhou Yu could have set fire to Chibi.
Because Lu Li knew that Heaven would definitely intervene, he once again used Heaven to set up a trap for Cao Cao and Sun Quan.
Once both sides are severely weakened, they can unleash their full power and decide the fate of the world in one battle!
That move was indeed ruthless and powerful.
However, even Guo Jia did not expect that this trap would be so intricately linked!
Lai Fu led Dian Wei, Zhang Liao, Wei Yan, Ma Chao and others to the gates of Xuchang.
In total, an army of 800,000 men swept across the land, their might shaking the world!
When Cao Cao and Sun Quan saw that Lai Fu had arrived with an army of 800,000, their faces turned ashen and they looked extremely ugly!
Currently, Yanzhou only has 150,000 troops. How can 150,000 troops withstand an army of 800,000?
"Jia Xu, think of a plan quickly!" Cao Cao urged Jia Xu hurriedly.
At this moment, his only hope was that Jia Xu could find a way to solve this problem!
Unfortunately, even Jia Xu, the cunning strategist, was powerless to help in the face of such a predicament!
"Prime Minister, there is only one path we can take now!" Jia Xu said.
"What?" Cao Cao asked, frowning.
Jia Xu took a deep breath, then his eyes revealed a hint of ruthlessness.
"Let the people of Xuchang stand in front! Let them be covered in saltpeter!"
"The Yellow Turban Army will definitely not kill civilians. As long as they run towards the Yellow Turban Army, we will launch fire arrows, and the Yellow Turban Army will surely be defeated!"
As soon as Jia Xu spoke, Cao Cao gasped in shock, staring at Jia Xu in utter astonishment.
The others were also stunned!
Jia Xu is utterly depraved! He's a complete butcher!
"Wenhe, that's over 400,000 people!" Cao Cao said through gritted teeth.
"Prime Minister, if we don't do this, we will surely lose!" Jia Xu said, cupping his hands in greeting.
After listening, Cao Cao closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then gritted his teeth and said, "Pass on the order!"
Before Cao Cao could even speak, Xun Yu immediately knelt down and said, "Prime Minister, you absolutely mustn't!"
Then, all the artifacts knelt down, cupped their hands, and said, "Prime Minister, please reconsider!"
"My lord, let us charge into battle!" The generals eagerly volunteered!
Cao Cao looked bitter. If he hadn't been forced into this situation, how could he have agreed to such a method?
"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"
He inexplicably trusted Lu Li several times, only to be tricked each time.
At this point, Cao Cao no longer trusted anyone and uttered these words.
"Do as Jia Xu says!" Cao Cao gave the order, and Xun Yu and the others were stunned.
However, since Cao Cao had said such a thing, they could not disobey the order, even if they were unwilling!
Soon, all the people of Yanzhou were forcibly stuffed with saltpeter and escorted out of the city by a group of people.
More than 400,000 people marched toward the Yellow Turban Army in a massive procession.
"Master, Cao Cao's army... Cao Cao's army actually sent unarmed civilians to block us!" Zhang Liao's expression changed drastically upon seeing this.
"Cao Cao has gone mad! He must be mad, otherwise he would never have done such a thing!"
The generals were all talking amongst themselves, and were quite surprised.
Xi Zhicai suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! Cao Cao's army is about to flee!"
"They sent civilians out to try and stop our advance; they're trying to escape!"
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