Chapter 153: Venomous Plot [Seeking Subscriptions]

In the third year of Jian'an,
Early in the seventh month of autumn.

The initial battle between Cao Cao and the Chu forces had come to an end. Because of Cao Cao's suspicion, which led him to divide his forces to guard Shouchun, he lacked an absolute advantage on the main front, ultimately resulting in defeat.

In this battle, the Chu army killed and captured nearly ten thousand men.
Yet the Chu army itself also suffered casualties exceeding half its total strength.

While the left and right wings fared reasonably well, Chu Feng's central army of over five thousand men was almost completely wiped out. Only twenty-some men of the Tiger Guard remained, and the formidable elite cavalry that had been built with such difficulty was reduced to less than a hundred riders.

All the survivors added together amounted to barely three hundred souls.
For both sides, this battle had been agonizingly brutal.
Had Cao Cao not finally ordered a retreat, preventing the enemy from relentlessly pursuing their tail, the Cao army might have achieved a complete victory.

---

Inside the Cao encampment at this moment.
Cao Cao's face was as cold as frost, his brows furrowed in a dark scowl.

Inside the tent, all the generals kept their heads lowered, while the civil officials calculated silently in their hearts.

After a long while, Man Chong returned to the tent and reported, "My lord, most of the various armies have returned."
"What are the casualty figures?" Cao Cao asked in a deep voice.
"Reporting to my lord, the casualties across the various forces exceed ten thousand. Generals Cao Xiu, Shi Huan, and Cai Yang have fallen in battle," Man Chong said, lowering his head in shame.

Although Cao Cao had mentally prepared himself, his body still shuddered, his pupils burning with rage. A single battle had cost him over ten thousand elite troops.
Furthermore, there were three generals like Cao Xiu; coupled with Cao Chun who had fallen earlier, did that not mean he had already lost four top-tier generals? And Cao Hong had lost an arm as well.

At this thought, Cao Cao felt a stabbing pain rack his skull, and he cried out, "The pain! The agonizing pain! You villainous thief Chu Feng, I will not share the same sky with you!"
As he spoke, the agony caused him to collapse backward into his chair, cold sweat streaming down his face.

"My lord!" the civil and military officials cried out in unison, full of concern.
"Quick, summon the military physician!" Guo Jia shouted, spinning around.

After a long time, Cao Cao finally began to recover.
Consider how long he had weathered the battlefields, campaigning for over a decade, only to be utterly defeated by Chu Feng now. The hatred burned deep!

Yet now that matters had reached this stage, further talk was useless.
"Gentlemen, is there any brilliant strategy to help me defeat the enemy?" Cao Cao swept his gaze across the crowd, asking sincerely, his voice lacking its usual confidence.

"My lord, victory and defeat are routine matters for soldiers. While our army has indeed lost this battle, Chu Feng's forces have also suffered casualties exceeding half their strength. Since that is the case, we might as well continue to mobilize troops for a stalemate; he is bound to perish."

Cao Hong strode out from the ranks.
His forearm had been severed, and having missed this battle, he was now desperate to return to the fray.

"My lord, what General Cao Hong says is entirely correct. If we continue to fight to the death with Chu Feng, he will undoubtedly be defeated," Zhu Ling also declared resolutely.
"This general requests permission to battle!"
Immediately, all the subordinate generals clasped their fists and begged to fight.
Yet, these very same men had hardly been eager to charge forward and engage Chu Feng in mortal combat when he broke through their formations earlier.

Failing to find a suitable answer among them, Cao Cao swept his gaze past them and looked to Guo Jia. "Fengxiao, what do you think should be done?"

"My lord, although Chu Feng has suffered heavy losses in this battle, the morale of his three armies is currently at its peak. In contrast, our army's morale is depressed, which is hardly a favorable sign.
"Moreover, Shouchun is the foundation of Chu Feng's power, and he will inevitably fight tooth and nail for it. Dragging this out into a prolonged stalemate will not be advantageous to our army," Guo Jia said, frowning deeply.

Cao Cao frowned.
Xun You chimed in, "My lord, Chu Feng's forces have suffered significant losses in this battle. Even counting Sun Ce's army, our forces still number a little over twenty thousand; yet we must guard against Shouchun on one hand, and march against Chu Feng on the other, leaving us stretched desperately thin.
"If we let this stalemate drag on, it will work against us."

"Then what is your view?" Cao Cao probed.
"We should take advantage of the fact that Chu Feng has not yet firmly established his footing to scheme against Lü Bu in Xuzhou, thereby taking full control of the Central Plains. We can then conserve our strength and bide our time to deal with Yuan Shao of Jizhou," Xun You said in a deep voice.

"Explain in detail!" Cao Cao frowned.
"Have Sun Ce lead his forces to garrison Danyang, taking root deep within Chu Feng's territory, and have the defeated troops from this battle garrison north of the Huai River to check Chu Feng's incursions.
"As for my lord, you will personally lead the remaining forces to feign a retreat, while in reality striking swiftly and directly at Xuzhou to capture Lü Bu in one fell swoop. Otherwise, once Chu Feng stabilizes his position, he will certainly not sit idly by and watch Lü Bu be destroyed."

Xun You spoke in a deep voice, his plan meticulously mapped out.
Xun You saw things very clearly. As long as Chu Feng was determined to defend, it was entirely unrealistic for Cao Cao to expect to conquer him with a mere twenty-some thousand men.
Rather than persisting in this, it was better to do the exact opposite.

Cao Cao frowned, his heart somewhat tempted, yet he remained deeply reluctant. Was he really just going to let Chu Feng go? Failing to kill him this time was no different from nurturing a tiger to cause trouble later!

Seeing Cao Cao's inner conflict, Guo Jia smiled faintly. "My lord, what troubles you is nothing more than Chu Feng. In my view, it would be better to have Sun Ce lead his forces to garrison Ruyin, and have Liu Bei replace Sun Ce in garrisoning Danyang!
"With these two men keeping him in check, Chu Feng will be unable to stir up any major trouble in the short term."

"Liu Bei garrison Danyang? Danyang is the territory of the Sun clan. If I assign Liu Bei to garrison it, they will inevitably harbor much resentment. Besides, didn't you say earlier that Liu Bei cannot be let off the leash?" Cao Cao asked, frowning in incomprehension.

"Sun Ce's army is largely composed of men from Danyang, and most of their close relatives are still in Wu Commandery. If Sun Ce were to return to Danyang, wouldn't these men, being familiar with the terrain, simply scatter? How could they speak of holding it?
"At present, he can only control these soldiers by relying on military rations. Therefore, it is far better to leave him to garrison Ruyin; my lord only needs to bestow honors and titles upon him, formally appointing him as the Inspector of Xuzhou.
"As for Liu Bei, this man and Chu Feng are like fire and water. Even if he truly is a fierce tiger released back into the wild, that fierce tiger will be biting Chu Feng, won't it?"
Guo Jia stroked his sparse mustache as he explained.

Hearing this, Cao Cao calculated in his mind. Having Sun Ce garrison Ruyin and Liu Bei garrison Danyang—one sword suspended over Shouchun, another sword suspended over his rear flank—was a ruthless strategy indeed.
Unless Chu Feng uprooted these two locations, he would inevitably remain constrained by them.

"Is this war just going to end like this?"
"My lord, had we won this battle, making a show of swallowing Yangzhou whole might have been a good idea. But since we lost this battle, continuing to drag out a stalemate is utterly meaningless!
"Furthermore, my lord is merely changing the method of maintaining the stalemate with him, using this opportunity to seize Xuzhou instead!" Xun You waved his hand in explanation.

This time, Cao Cao finally nodded.
Although reluctance lingered in his heart, what Guo Jia and Xun You had said was entirely correct. Continuing the stalemate would only mean throwing away the strategic initiative; rather than doing that, it was better to make a decisive break.

"Issue the order: appoint Liu Bei as the Inspector of Yangzhou, reinforce him with three thousand troops to garrison Danyang, and let him hold Danyang jointly with Wu Jing to resist Chu Feng.
"Appoint Sun Ce as the Inspector of Xuzhou, have him lead his forces to garrison Ruyin, and use him to check Chu Feng in Shouchun. In addition, spread rumors that we are preparing to withdraw our troops," Cao Cao commanded immediately.

"My lord is wise. However, before leaving, we might as well give Chu Feng one final parting gift!" Guo Jia's lips curled into a faint smile as he spoke.
Xun You's eyes narrowed slightly, and with a trace of admiration, he chimed in, "Fengxiao means... this batch of autumn grain?"
"Precisely. The autumn grain is about to ripen; our army can cut down their wheat to provision our military supplies. Furthermore, we can send men to destroy all the wheat fields crisscrossing these surrounding countryside areas.
"Doesn't Chu Feng love to play the benevolent benefactor? Then let him continue supporting these commoners, draining his finances and exhausting him so he has no military provisions to harass our rear," Guo Jia said, his eyes narrowing coldly.

Clearly, Guo Jia intended to exploit the Cao army's current initiative to increase Chu Feng's burden. Of course, this was hardly the first time the Cao army had done such a thing.
Back in Xuzhou, they had previously engaged in widespread pillaging and slaughter.

Hearing this, Cao Cao let out a hearty laugh. "Ha ha, excellent! This suits my intentions completely. Issue the command to all armies: first, completely destroy all the wheat fields surrounding Shouchun City.
"When the wheat fields along our return route ripen, we will harvest them to replenish our military provisions. Just as Yuzhou's food supplies are limited, we shall use these military provisions to conquer Xuzhou."