Chapter 135: An Old Tradition of Cao's Army

Inside the camp, the air was thick with the suffocating stench of blood.

Looking over the thoroughly cleared military encampment of Ji Ling, Cao Cao furrowed his brow slightly. The assault on this stronghold had cost him and Sun Ce’s coalition forces at least several thousand dead—a rather unexpected toll.

"Lord, that mere Ji Ling is nothing more than a rat, a worthless canine. Lacking adequate supplies to hold the camp, he nonetheless dared to fight to the bitter end. This Chu Feng is a threat we cannot afford to underestimate!" Guo Jia pointed out with a frown.

Had it not been for their sheer numbers and fierce assaults, there was a genuine chance Ji Ling could have held out until Chu Feng arrived!

Cao Cao nodded in deep agreement.

At that moment, a fast rider came galloping frantically into the camp, shouting in urgent tones: "Reporting! The Lord! The Chu army has already reached the northern territory of Hefei, covering well over fifty li a day. They will likely arrive here in three days!"

"They have reached Hefei?" Cao Cao frowned.

This Chu Feng truly moved with the speed of the gods in warfare.

"My Lord, this general requests permission to lead the vanguard, to execute Chu Feng and bring you his head!" Cao Xiu shouted, cupping his fists.

Cao Chun had fallen in battle, Cao Hong was injured, and Cao Ren was holding the garrison. He had to shoulder the great banner of the Cao clan.

Furthermore, as the commander of the elite iron cavalry—with Cao Ren stationed elsewhere and Cao Chun dead—these several hundred picked horsemen now fell under his command. These were elite troops, the precursors of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Naturally, they numbered only a few hundred riders for now, and having previously been under Cao Ren's sole control, he had to seize this opportunity.

"General Cao, do not be impatient. Chu Feng commands a repeating crossbow corps. Unless our iron cavalry can strike by surprise, we will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat akin to Gongsun Yuan's rout at the Battle of Jieqiao," Guo Jia hurriedly interjected.

"Fengxiao speaks truly. How can a military commander be so rash and hot-headed!" Cao Cao raised a hand, offering a stern admonition.

After all, with only these few hundred warhorses left in his entire command, he could ill afford to squander them.

With that, Cao Cao turned to Guo Jia and asked, "Fengxiao, now that Ji Ling's detachment has been eliminated, how should we proceed to crush Chu Feng?"

Guo Jia pondered for a moment before replying, "My Lord, there is no need to rush this battle. The one who should be anxious is Chu Feng. For now, we simply need to order all divisions to pitch camps, build fortifications, conserve their strength, and await developments in quiet readiness!"

"Quiet readiness?" Cao Cao raised an eyebrow, inquiring.

"Overcoming movement with stillness!" Guo Jia answered with a smile.

"Then how should these corpses be dealt with?" Cao Cao surveyed the surroundings, looking at the armored soldiers lying dead in pools of blood in every direction, feeling a twinge of regret.

His military grain was limited. If Cheng Yu were here, would they ever run short of provisions? What a pity.

After all, other civil officials would never dare to do such things. It was precisely because Cheng Yu engaged in those practices that he failed to attain the rank of one of the Three Excellencies in later generations.

As is well known, both in terms of seniority and capability, Cheng Yu possessed the qualifications of the Three Excellencies, yet he lost that opportunity solely because of the practice of consuming human jerked meat.

Guo Jia chuckled softly. "My Lord, why not hang the heads of Ji Ling and Le Jiu from the camp gates? As for the interior of the camp, there is no need to clean it up—just leave everything as it is."

"Strategist, won't such actions only make Chu Feng all the more furious?" Xu Huang asked, frowning.

"Heh, an enraged man lacks all wisdom. Besides, Ji Ling was a fierce general under Yuan Shu, enjoying long-standing prestige in the Jianghuai region. Now that he has fallen here, the Chu army will inevitably be seized with terror upon hearing the news."

"Their main army is already an expeditionary force arriving from afar, and with fear gripping them from top to bottom, how difficult could it be to shatter the enemy?" Guo Jia explained with a light chuckle.

"Well said! Yue Jin, lead your division to fall back ten li, pitch a camp right across the road, and block the Chu army's northward route." Cao Cao nodded and shouted loudly.

"Understood!" Yue Jin assented.

He was renowned throughout the Cao army for strict discipline and absolute fairness, and outside of Cao Cao’s own clan and the Xiahou clan, he was the most heavily relied-upon general of a different surname.

Watching Yue Jin wheel his horse around to reorganize the troops, Cao Cao turned to Cao Xiu and Cai Yang, saying in a low voice, "The provisions within the army are nearly exhausted. Previously, Ji Ling guarded the strategic passes, and many commoners in northern Jiujiang fled southward. The two of you shall lead a detachment to borrow some rations."

"Understood!" Cao Xiu and Cai Yang acknowledged.

They understood full well that when their commander spoke of "borrowing," it was merely a polite phrasing. To put it bluntly, it meant looting; if people refused, they would be slaughtered, and even if they complied, they might still be slaughtered.

In short, they were more than happy to engage in the work of sacking the populace.

This had long been a tradition of the Cao army; every time they went to war, the troops eagerly awaited the order to plunder. Back in Xuzhou, they had previously ordered two frantic sprees of pillaging.

So severe was the devastation that even the waters of the Si River ceased to flow—a tragedy truly too horrific for human eyes.

"Very well, you are all dismissed. I am going to go check on Cao Hong!" With that, Cao Cao took his personal guards and returned to his tent to visit Cao Hong, seeing that Cao Hong’s valor had surpassed all three armies in this battle by slaying Ji Ling.

Two days later, north of Chengde.

A serpentine army wound its way northward in an imposing procession. The commander’s standard bore the character for "Chu," while the vanguard banners displayed names such as Gan, Xu, and Lü, unmistakably revealing the identity of the Chu army.

Chu Feng’s expression was grave, his heart burning with scorching anxiety.

Shouchun was the foundation of his enterprise; under no circumstances could it be allowed to fall.

"Xingba, how much farther is it to Shouchun?" Chu Feng looked left and right, testing the waters with a question.

"My Lord, we have already entered the territory of Chengde. We likely have another hundred li before we can reach Shouchun," Gan Ning replied, sweat pouring down his face as he cupped his fists.

"Shouchun cannot be allowed to fall! Order the entire army to accelerate their march!" Chu Feng furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice.

"Understood!" Gan Ning hesitated for a moment before nodding in compliance.

Lü Meng, however, hesitated. He cupped his fists and said, "My Lord, the three armies have been campaigning for months and have now marched a thousand li for a rescue. They have long since reached their limits as an exhausted force. How can we possibly continue to accelerate the march?"

At Lü Meng’s words, the surrounding subordinate generals all nodded in agreement.

"Shouchun sends emergency dispatches one after another; we cannot delay!"

"My Lord, your heart is in turmoil!" Lü Meng lowered his head, cupping his fists as he spoke with earnest sincerity.

Chu Feng cast a frowning glance at Lü Meng.

"My Lord, Shouchun is in critical danger, and your anxiety is clear to us all. But as you often say, military contention is no child's play. Cao Cao is ruthless and vicious—how could he fail to set ambushes for you?"

"If the Lord suffers defeat due to reckless advancement, wouldn't that plunge the three armies into deadly peril and cast the millions of Shouchun's citizens into fire and water? Wouldn't Shouchun be left with even less hope?"

Lü Meng’s gaze was resolute, his words ringing with a powerful, metallic echo.

Chu Feng closed his eyes slightly and fell into deep contemplation. He suddenly realized that he had indeed grown anxious imperceptibly, likely because Shouchun held too many deep ties for him.

Slowly opening his eyes once more, Chu Feng wore a solemn expression as he looked earnestly at Lü Meng and asked, "Ziming, what do you believe should be done at present?"

Lü Meng immediately replied, "My Lord, since our army has already reached this point, Cao Cao will inevitably detach forces to intercept us. What we must do right now is drive back Cao Cao's forces!"

"The Jianghuai region is filled with rolling hills and level plains, flat as a mirror. If the Lord rashly presses forward light of foot, you will only make it easier to fall into an ambush. Instead, it would be far better to pitch camps right across the road and advance with linked fortifications."

"Linked fortifications and an advancing chain of camps?" Chu Feng frowned.

This was undoubtedly the safest method, but its drawback was equally obvious: it would be exceedingly slow.

If he remembered correctly, back when Xu Huang received the imperial decree to rescue Xiangfan, he had advanced through a chain of connected camps until he met the enemy face-to-face. This was also the best method to prevent being ambushed and slaughtered.

"While advancing through linked camps is secure, it is far too slow. We are still a hundred li away from Shouchun here, and advancing via connected camps at a rate of mere miles a day would take a full month to draw near."

Chu Feng waved his hand, flatly rejecting the notion.

Back then, Xu Huang was only dozens of li away from Guan Yu, his forces outnumbered Guan Yu’s, and Guan Yu was merely besieging Xiangfan without urgent pressure.

With his own base foundation besieged, how could he not be anxious?

Just at that moment, a scout from afar came galloping frantically, shouting urgently, "My Lord, ahead... ahead we have found several villages, and everyone in the villages is... all dead!"