NOVPUBAs dawn gradually broke, the expressions of Guo Jia and the others relaxed considerably. Unless something unforeseen occurred, Cao Cao was doomed. Unlike the chaotic night battle where they, as strategists, had to grasp opportunities based on instinct alone, once it became light, the general commander would handle the situation on the battlefield himself.
"Cao Mengde shouldn’t be so lucky this time," Jia Xu sighed and said, "We placed Yunchang there because he is considered the most outstanding military general under Lord Xuande, and he’s balanced in all aspects, hardly leaving any leeway for mistakes. With the advantage of waiting at ease for the weary enemy, and now in daylight, plus Yunchang recognizing Cao Cao, he definitely won’t misidentify him. If Cao Cao manages to escape under these conditions..."
Jia Xu let out a cold laugh repeatedly. At that point, Guan Yu didn’t even need an ambush; he’d simply lead his troops to crush Cao Cao’s forces and then find and execute Cao Cao.
It seemed that the only ones who had a deep impression of Cao Cao among them were Liu Bei and Guan Yu. The others either had never met Cao Cao directly before or Cao Cao was just a passerby in their memories. Jia Xu couldn’t believe that, with Guan Yu targeting Cao Cao and holding every advantage, Cao Cao could still escape.
"Well, Jia Wenhe, you might as well jump into the river," Guo Jia teased, "Right, why didn’t we capture a single Cao Army military general?"
"They were all Cao Cao’s clan brothers. I issued an Annihilating Kill Order directly," Li Youu said with a cold smile. "If Cao Cao somehow escapes death, I would at least have crippled a few of his clan brothers. Anyway, those people would not possibly surrender."
"... I didn’t see any of them. You didn’t kill them all, did you?" Liu Ye asked, taken aback as he stared at Li Youu.
"Who could tell one from another in that chaos? Aside from the two Xiahou cousins who stood out, who knows if the rest were killed." Guo Jia looked at Liu Ye sidelong. You wouldn’t even know whom you had killed at that time.
"You have a point. We’ll investigate thoroughly when we bury the bodies later. Maybe we did kill a few of them," Li Youu nodded and said.
"Let’s wait for news from Yunchang. In the end, there’s no need to seize any opportunities when you can recognize Cao Cao, and if he still can’t finish Cao Cao, I can only say that Cao Cao’s fate was such, plus we fought a battle of no value," Jia Xu casually waved his hand and said. If Guan Yunchang couldn’t kill Cao Cao with so many advantages, there was nothing Jia Xu could say. It truly would be a problem of divine proportions.
"Why do I have a feeling that Cao Cao won’t die?" Guo Jia jokingly said, as if tempting fate.
"If Cao Mengde does escape death, we’ll beat you first, you damned crow’s mouth." The three people present all had a jolt in their hearts and then glared at Guo Jia venomously. If Cao Cao still didn’t die under those circumstances, then they could only say that his life was not meant to end, having fought a battle of little worth.
"Just joking, just joking," Guo Jia said sheepishly and then unhesitatingly changed the subject, "I discovered Wei Wenchang lead troops quite well."
All three gave Guo Jia a cold glance and collectively sneered. Jia Xu didn’t assign them to bring the military generals across the river because they were excellent at commanding troops, but because only they could choose the best moments to cooperate when it was pitch black and ambush from all sides.
The crux of Jia Xu’s plan was cooperation, and the presence of Guo Jia and the three was to ensure seizing the perfect moment to deploy troops without any intelligence. At other times, the military generals would lead the charge and command the troops; letting them command was just a joke. Even Liu Yan knew his place, didn’t they? Did they really think they were Ma Su?
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"I don’t know how the epidemic is doing in the rear." After the atmosphere cooled down, Li You changed the subject, "Cao Mengde has killed too many, and with the digging up of ancestral graves, nowthat the weather is warming up, there is a high likelihood of an outbreak of disease. I wonder if Physician Hua is up to the task."
"It shouldn’t be a big problem, according to Zichuan, as long as we isolate the cases. If Physician Hua prepares the prescriptions well, and then we simply grab medicines according to the prescriptions, as for the herbs, we can fill baskets with ginseng, what’s there to fear?" Liu Ye thought back to the hurried visit to Chen Xi.
"It seems, I heard Physician Hua saying that you shouldn’t drink ginseng soup when you have a fever." Li You looked up at the sky, "But I remember ginseng is the king of all herbs, and a little bit of it is beneficial regardless of the illness. Could it be that I’m remembering wrong?"
"I recall Taishi Ziyi once gave ginseng powder to the feverish Gongsun Bogui, and now Gongsun Bogui has become irritable." Liu Ye said indifferently, following quickly after Jia Xu toward Liu Bei’s encampment, while the military generals were still capturing the defeated Cao Army.
"This is really unfortunate news," Guo Jia said with a troubled expression, "It would be best not to mention this matter in front of the lord."
"..." Li You’s face showed a hint of melancholy. Gongsun Bogui, the only person in the world he could count as a comrade-in-arms, already had his mind affected by the medicine he took. And with Xuzhou, even if they didn’t speak up, with Cao Bao dead, Ze Rong overthrown, Quexuan exterminated, and Chen Deng on their side, having drawn the Mi Family and the Zhao Family to their side, whether they spoke up or not, Xuzhou had already fallen into their hands. Keeping a good demeanor, it would be just a silent wait for Tao Qian’s death.
"It seems we truly have enemies on all sides now," Jia Xu sighed ahead, it’s never a good thing to have enemies everywhere at any time.
"Do conquests really need comrades?" Liu Ye said casually.
When they returned to the place where Liu Bei set up camp, Jia Xu saw Liu Bei waiting for them with a smiling face.
"Wen He, this time it all hinged on you! I couldn’t believe that our imminent defeat could turn around so quickly, victory and defeat in the blink of an eye!" Liu Bei laughed heartily as he grabbed Jia Xu’s hands.
"It’s all thanks to our lord’s mighty courage and concerted efforts of all generals and soldiers. I merely took advantage of the situation," Jia Xu said with a calm demeanor, showing no signs of arrogance.
In fact, Jia Xu was very clear that this battle was one that they could not possibly lose. At worst, it would be a night of chaotic fighting. Another reason he had dispatched Guo Jia and others was what if Cao Cao, disregarding the casualties, chose to fight Liu Bei to the death in a desperate situation?
If such a situation arose, where there was no communication, no military reports, and one could only rely on guesswork, the absence of a top strategist’s sensitivity could have led to tragedy. Therefore, as a precaution, Jia Xu placed the most sensitive to military opportunities, Guo Jia, closest, so that even if Cao Mengde really disregarded the casualties and stubbornly fought Liu Bei to the death, he could come to the rescue in time.
"Hahaha, Wen He, why be so modest? Although it was with the concerted efforts of all generals and soldiers, without your ambush from all sides, how could we have defeated Cao Cao in one night?" Liu Bei waved his hand and laughed loudly, "I have already arranged a feast waiting for Yunchang and the others to return. Wen He, Fengxiao, Wen Ru, Ziyang, please take your seats first!"
Clearly, after this incident, Jia Xu’s status in Liu Bei’s eyes had risen greatly. Although he had heard from Chen Xi before that Jia Xu was formidable, there was no first-hand impression. Jia Wenhe, who usually kept a low profile, did not like to reveal his actual ability, but this time, after Cao Cao’s army of more than fifty thousand was disbanded overnight, Jia Xu’s prowess was undeniable.
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
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