readytorunbook Chapter 503 Cao Cao Leaves Wuguan Pass
Chapter 503 Cao Cao Leaves Wuguan Pass
Energy is conserved; for every gain, there is a loss; for every joy, there is sorrow.
Liu Bei's successive victories brought him a second spring in his life, while his arch-enemy Cao Cao was forced to fight desperately despite his ailing health.
Upon receiving Cao Ren's letter, Cao Cao immediately abandoned the attack on Hanzhong and, along with his trusted confidants Zhang He, Xu Huang, Guo Huai, Cao Zhen, and Sima Yi, rushed to Lantian, entered Yaoguan Pass, and headed straight for the Xiangfan front line along the Wuguan Road.
After many days of trekking, Cao Cao finally left Wuguan and entered Nanyang. This time, unlike Guan Yu who went to Mopo to supervise the battle when attacking Xiangfan, Cao Cao went directly to the Xiangfan front.
Xiahou Shang, who was rebuilding Fancheng and stabilizing the Xiangfan front, rushed to meet Cao Cao upon hearing the news and successfully reunited with him in Yin County.
Xiahou Shang dismounted and trotted to Cao Cao's carriage. After bowing, he was summoned into the carriage and bowed to Cao Cao, who was lying on the bed and barely breathing, saying, "Your subject Xiahou Shang greets Your Majesty."
Cao Cao raised his hand to make him sit down, and then said, "Has the Crown Prince arrived?"
The most urgent matter now is to summon Cao Pi to entrust him with his affairs after his death. This is more important than the decisive battle with Cao Pi and must be completed as soon as possible.
Xiahou Shang replied, "We've arrived. We're currently in Wancheng."
Cao Cao said unhappily, "What are you waiting for? Summon him here immediately, cough cough..."
After Xiahou Shang accepted the order, he continued, "Tell me about the situation at the front. Has anything changed recently?"
Xiahou Shang sighed bitterly, "The situation is not optimistic. Here's what happened..."
He recounted in detail how Cao Ren sent Jia Kui to Jiangling, but before Jia Kui arrived, internal strife broke out. He then recounted how, at Pan Jun's invitation, he sent Jiang Ji and Yu Jin with 30,000 troops redeemed from Sun Quan to support Jiangling, only to be defeated by Guan Xing. Finally, he sighed, "General Yu Jin died in battle, covering Jiang Ji's retreat. After leaving the city, Jiang Ji was relentlessly pursued by Guan Xing, Hu Zong, and others, and was forced to abandon his army and flee to Fangling, where he notified the garrison in the three eastern commanderies to retreat."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes revealed an unprecedented complexity. After struggling for a long time, he sighed helplessly, "Wenze (Yu Jin) has atoned for his foolishness. I will not blame him. Issue an order that Yu Jin's title will be inherited by his son."
He and Yu Jin were longtime comrades-in-arms, and when Cao Cao received the news that Yu Jin had surrendered to Guan Yu, he was more heartbroken than angry.
However, Yu Jin's actions in Jiangling warmed his already cold heart, leading him to choose to forgive.
After all, the person is dead, so what's the point of not forgiving them?
Cao Cao continued, "And then?"
Xiahou Shang replied, "After catching up with Jiang Ji, Guan Xing did not retreat back to Jiangling. Instead, he led Hu Zong, Xu Xiang and other Wu troops from Jiangling, as well as Zhu Ran, Sun Huan and other Wu troops from Yiling, northward to the three eastern commanderies, attempting to join forces with Liu Bei to annihilate General Xu Huang."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao gasped, and Xu Huang, who was kneeling beside him serving, broke out in a cold sweat, secretly relieved that he had narrowly escaped death.
Look at the people he's facing. In front of him is the big-eared bandit Cao Cao, who has fought Cao Cao for decades and not only survived but has grown stronger with each battle. Behind him is Guan Xing, who has risen to prominence with a series of victories and is known as the living Huo Qubing. Xu Huang wouldn't be confident against either of these two on his own. With the two of them attacking from both sides, even if Xu Huang were a lump of iron, he would probably be crushed into a piece of iron.
It was so thrilling.
Fortunately, Cao Cao noticed in advance and ordered him to retreat back to Guanzhong along the Ziwu Road; otherwise, Xu Huang might have already joined Yu Jin in death.
Xiahou Shang continued, “General Cao Ren has successfully retreated to Jiangbei and is on his way here. In addition, Lü Fan and Sun Shao have killed Zhou Tai. More than 20,000 Wu troops, including the 10,000 Wu troops that led Zhou Tai from Ruxukou to Chaisang and the 7,000-8,000 Wu troops that Lü Fan was stationed in Chaisang, have surrendered. However, we dare not use the Wu troops, so we had Jia Dafu lead them to Jiangxia.”
Cao Cao's expression finally improved; this was the only good news since the start of the war.
In this battle, they captured 20,000 Wu troops, including Lü Fan and Sun Shao, making up for Yu Jin's losses. They also recruited Zhu Huan and his navy, filling the gap in Cao Wei's lack of naval commanders. So it wasn't a complete loss.
But compared to Liu Bei's gains, this amount of profit is negligible.
Cao Cao asked for some more details and then ordered Xiahou Shang to leave the army and return to Fancheng, as the front line at Fancheng could not be left unattended.
Due to Cao Cao's health condition, the army moved much slower than usual. Before they even reached Fancheng, Cao Pi, the heir apparent who had come from Wancheng, caught up with the army, got into the carriage, and bowed to Cao Cao, saying, "Father."
Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Everyone, get off here. Xu Chu will personally guard a hundred paces away from the carriage and forbid anyone from approaching. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."
This may be the last conversation between the father and son, and it should not be overheard by outsiders; the privacy of the conversation must be guaranteed.
After everyone bowed and took their leave, only the father and son remained in the car.
Cao Cao had Cao Pi sit by the bedside, and after thinking for a long time, he sighed and said, "In this battle, Eastern Wu was destroyed, but we did not gain anything. The big-eared scoundrel has dominated Jiangnan. The big-eared scoundrel has become unstoppable. Your father is also terminally ill. The rest depends on you."
Cao Pi's nose tingled, and he choked out, "Father, you will get better. The court cannot do without you..."
Cao Cao was too lazy to argue about how much sincerity and how much pretense were in those words. He raised his hand to stop them, saying, "Man cannot fight against Heaven. We mortals must accept our fate at a certain point, but I'm afraid your path ahead will be difficult."
"Liu Bei's ambition is to restore the Han Dynasty. After stabilizing the south of the Yangtze River, he will definitely launch a northern expedition. If you are not careful, you will become the next Wang Mang. Zihuan, tell your father, are you afraid?"
Can you not be afraid?
Wang Mang's head was preserved and is still lying in a warehouse; Cao Pi even had a close look at it.
While fearing, Cao Pi's eyes also revealed a hint of longing for power. He said firmly, "I'm not afraid. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei are all over sixty. I can outlast them even if I have to."
Cao Cao said with satisfaction, "That's right. The most prosperous Central Plains and Guanzhong are still in our hands. In terms of population, troops, and supplies, we are still superior to Liu Bei. If we switch from offense to defense and defend with all our might, that big-eared rascal can't outlast us."
"Moreover, the Big Ear Bandit has seized the entire territory of Liang, Jing, Yang and Jiao. It will take a lot of time to digest such a large amount of land. We can take this opportunity to win over and incite the barbarians in the southern part of Jiaozhou and even the Qiang and Di tribes in Longxi to rebel, constantly creating trouble for the Big Ear Bandit and keeping him busy suppressing rebellions everywhere. This will prevent him from quickly consolidating his strength, accumulating money and food, and launching a northern expedition."
"Big Ears Thief is over sixty years old and doesn't have many years left. He can only live for another ten years at most, so the first ten years after my death will be the hardest to endure. You must hold on."
Cao Pi nodded emphatically and said, "Father, rest assured, I will definitely protect the Cao family's foundation and prevent the big-eared thief from succeeding."
Cao Cao nodded and said, "Preserving our foundation isn't something you can just talk about; it requires concrete actions. After I die, if you want to withstand Liu Bei and preserve the Cao family's legacy, you need to do the following: First..."
At this point, Cao Cao paused for a moment, then said with a complex yet resolute expression, "To declare myself emperor..."
Cao Pi's eyes widened suddenly, revealing unprecedented shock, along with a hint of barely perceptible fear and fanaticism. The interplay of these emotions made his expression exceptionally complex.
The topic of declaring oneself emperor was taboo. Although he had thought about it in his heart before, he had never said it out loud. Now that the words "declaring oneself emperor" came out of Cao Cao's mouth, Cao Pi was shocked as if struck by lightning.
Cao Cao, however, said calmly, as if he had considered this countless times before: "With Wang Mang as a lesson, apart from idiots like Yuan Shu, other non-Liu-surname warlords have an inexplicable fear of becoming emperor. We, father and son, are no exception. But you must become emperor; you cannot do otherwise."
“You are not your father. You do not have my skills and prestige. You cannot control my arrogant and fierce troops without becoming emperor, let alone your ruthless brother-in-law (Liu Xie).