People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 324 Idiot
Fighting in the dark night should have been very difficult, but the raging flames everywhere provided light for both sides to fight. Every second these fires burned, Cao Cao's heart bled countless times.

Damn it! These are all our own food and supplies that are being burned!

However, no matter how painful it was, Cao Cao made the right choice without even a moment of hesitation, which was to abandon the camp and fight the enemy with all his strength.

The Yellow Turbans that attacked from the rear actually did not have many troops. Judging from Cao Cao's many years of experience in fighting, they only had a force of about 10,000 people.

However, Cao Cao knew that this was just the beginning. The Yellow Turbans that attacked from the rear could only be an ambush that the enemy had set up long ago in a secret location in the rear. Since the ambush was launched at this time, the enemy's frontal troops would surely cooperate quickly.

At this moment, there is no time to put out the fire. We must be fully prepared to deal with the upcoming battle.

Although it is painful to burn the baggage, we can still find a way to deal with it. But if the army is destroyed, then it is really gone.

Following Cao Cao's order, generals such as Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan and others soon began to lead their troops to fight the enemy, and the originally chaotic and panic situation in the camp was quickly calmed down.

The Yellow Turbans, whose forces were not numerous, were also defeated step by step under their siege. According to this momentum, the Yellow Turbans might be completely defeated soon.

However, things turned out just as Cao Cao had expected. At this moment, there was a sudden loud shout from the front camp, and the main force of the Yellow Turbans indeed responded to the attack in time.

Fortunately, since Cao Cao had anticipated this, he had naturally made corresponding preparations. In this short period of time, he had stabilized the situation and a large army was ready to stand by in order to deal with possible pincer attacks.

As soon as the front camp was in chaos, Cao Cao immediately led his army to attack. Once the war expanded, it became confusing again.

This night was destined to be an unusual night. The sounds of fighting continued for a long time. For Cao's army, this was a test of fire and blood. If they did not have enough ability to pass this test, not only would Cao's army be destroyed, but everything Cao Cao had would also be ruined.

Although Cao Cao did not actually go to the battlefield to kill people, he was countless times more nervous than the soldiers.

Is today the end of me, Cao Mengde?
Unconsciously, he began to sweat, and he didn't know whether it was because of the fright from the fierce fighting or the burning from the flames all around.

At this critical moment, all he could do was trust his soldiers.

Time passed slowly, and after the fire in the camp had burned up everything that could be burned, it finally died down, and the sounds of fighting in the camp also gradually became weaker.

The final result was that Cao's army gritted its teeth and persevered through this crisis. Cao Cao sat down on the ground, gasping for breath.

Just now, he was almost in despair and was nearly killed by the Yellow Turban ambush.

Although it was fortunate that he escaped, Cao Cao could not feel happy at all when he smelled the smoke filling the camp. The losses in this battle were simply too great.

The Yellow Turbans retreated after one battle, but Cao's army did not relax. Relying on the remaining light, they remained on high alert all night and slowly waited until dawn.

When the sunlight came down, Cao Cao stood up, looked around the camp, and took a breath.

The entire baggage camp was almost burned to ashes. Even now, there was still a little smoke floating in it. Looking at the soldiers around, they were all covered in black ash.

Of course, Cao Cao’s own situation was not much better. The fire was raging and the entire sky was filled with flying ash. No one could remain decent.

Cao Cao couldn't help but feel dejected. With an advantage of more than 100,000 troops under his command, he had to work hard to hold off the Yellow Turbans' offensive. But just one negligence led to a complete loss.

All the baggage was destroyed in this battle. If we want to continue fighting, we can only requisition food from the rear.

Even so, the loss was real and could not be made up. Moreover, the morale of the army was greatly affected. Cao Cao took a deep breath and tried his best to adjust his mood.

As a strong man, he has a strong enough mentality. Failure always runs through life, and one must learn to face it.

It's just an attack, it's no big deal, we can clean up the situation and fight again!

Cao Cao's expression gradually calmed down, but at this time, the bad news was not just that.

Xun Yu walked over, looking a little sad. "I counted the losses and learned that Xi Zhicai was unfortunately engulfed by the fierce fire last night and died."

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this, and felt a little heartbroken. He didn't make a sound for a long time.

As a person who loves talents, he greatly admires people like Xi Zhicai who are extremely intelligent and resourceful. It is inevitable that he feels regretful to lose such a person.

But it was just a pity. Cao Cao certainly would not fight to the death just because of the death of a subordinate. Hearing this, he just sighed and said, "Collect the body and bury it properly. I will remember this vengeance for him and will report it in the future."

Xun Yu could only calm down and shook his head. He said, "After this battle, our army will be in a more difficult situation, but if we grit our teeth, we can hold on."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "That's the only way. Now that the three places are competing, no one can relax. We should hold out as long as we can."

Xun Yu looked into the distance, and beyond his sight was the direction of the Yellow Turban camp. "The Yellow Turban ambush troops that attacked at night this time were completely unnoticed by us, so they must have been hiding in the mountains and forests for a long time. Until today, they have been lurking for at least half a month. It is not too much to say that they can do this and cause our army to suffer a loss."

Cao Cao said gloomily: "You must not repeat the same mistake from now on. Pass on my order."

Just as Cao Cao was about to speak, he suddenly saw a messenger riding a horse and rushing towards the camp, which made him interrupt his words. Just by looking at the messenger's appearance, he knew it must be an urgent report, which made him worried.

The urgent report coming in at this time could only be about the other two battlefields. Could it be that they have already come to a conclusion?
He and Xun Yu looked at each other and both felt a heavy aura from each other. They both knew that this news might determine the fate of the entire battlefield.

The three battlefields are interconnected, and the outcome of any one battlefield will directly affect the other battlefields.

In comparison, the mere night attack we suffered last night was nothing.

"General, we were attacked by the enemy at the Zhongshui battlefield and suffered a great defeat. The governor of Yuanzhou led his army to break through and retreat, but the enemy pursued us relentlessly and eventually caught up with us at Julu. Our army was completely wiped out, and the governor of Yuanzhou was also captured by the Yellow Turbans!"

The messenger dismounted in a panic, saluted hastily, and then reported the military intelligence. However, as soon as he said this, Cao Cao and Xun Yu both lost their reaction.

It’s not that they don’t react, it’s that they don’t know how to react.

There couldn't be more earth-shattering news than this.

They even thought that Yuan Shao would be defeated, but they didn't expect him to be defeated so badly. An army of nearly 200,000 soldiers, just gone like that?
For a moment, Cao Cao had a strong urge to kill.

After a long while, Xun Yu finally said, "Lord Cao, this battle cannot continue. If the Yellow Turbans win, they will immediately support us. We must retreat as soon as possible."

Cao Cao clenched his fists tightly, his face turning the color of pig liver: "Yuan Benchu, you idiot, you really made me suffer!"

(End of this chapter)