Upon learning that Cao's army's food and fodder had been transported to Bowang City, Liu Qi began to deploy his troops in preparation for Cao's final counterattack.
At this time, scouts came to report that Cao Cao had divided his troops into 50,000 each and went to attack Xinye and Anzhong again.
Liu Qi was puzzled and asked, "Cao's camp has run out of food and grass, how can they still have the strength to attack the city?"
Xu Shu frowned and said, "Even if we plunder the surrounding civilians, it will be difficult to help hundreds of thousands of troops. There must be a trick."
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, thought for a moment and then said: "In any case, Cao's army is already at the end of its strength. We must fight to the death to break into the city and seize food, and cut off our way back. We must not let them succeed."
Liu Qi said, "If we send troops from Wancheng, we're afraid Cao's army may have ambushes along the way. We need to transfer troops from Rangxian and Fancheng. So we'll send Zilong and Gan Ning. In a day or two, Cao's army will know that the grain and grass in Bowang have been burned, and they will be in chaos. They won't be able to hold out for long."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Reinforcements are like putting out a fire. Cao's army will have to fight to the death. A desperate army will win. We must be more careful."
Liu Qi immediately went to mobilize troops. Zhuge Liang said to Xu Shu, "Send someone to find out where Cao's army's food and grass come from. I hope the people of Nanyang can escape this disaster."
Xu Shu thought that Cao's army was burning, killing and looting everywhere, and the people were doomed, so it was unnecessary to worry about it at this time.
Before dawn, a rider on a fast horse rushed into Cao's camp and delivered urgent news from Bowang City to Cao Chun.
Cao Chun did not dare to delay and went to see Cao Cao, but was stopped by Xu Chu. The two quarreled and woke Cao Cao up.
Cao Chun entered the tent and after a while, he heard a loud scream from inside and Cao Cao vomited blood and fainted.
Xu Chu chased in with a knife in hand, glaring at Cao Chun with murderous intent. Cao Chun was furious and roared, "Send a doctor quickly!"
Upon hearing the news, all the generals in Cao's camp rushed to the tent and waited outside. Cao Chun only let Cheng Yu in, who saw that Cao Cao had his eyes closed and his face was pale.
The doctor was busy for a long time and said, "The Prime Minister has been overworked for days, and the anxiety has caused him to fall into a coma. He needs to rest for a while..."
"Rest in peace!" Cao Chun cursed and yelled, "Go and boil the medicine quickly."
The doctor left in a panic. Cheng Yu looked at the secret letter that had fallen to the ground, his face gloomy. He immediately ordered Cao Chun, "Go to the tent immediately!"
Cao Chun was startled, realizing that it was urgent to stabilize the morale of the army, so he ordered Cao Xiu to summon all the generals to the central army. Cheng Yu attended on behalf of Cao Cao, saying that he had a headache, and he and Cao Xiu temporarily took charge of the military affairs.
Zhang He said, "Just now there was a rumor in the camp that the food and grass in the rear were lost and the soldiers were rebelling. I am afraid that unless the Prime Minister personally comes forward, it will be difficult to stabilize the morale of the army."
Cheng Yu's hand holding the beard trembled slightly, and he pulled off a few strands of beard. He waved his hand and smiled, "This is Liu Qi spreading rumors. Food and grass will arrive at noon. Generals, please guard your camps carefully to prevent the Jingzhou soldiers from taking advantage of the situation to attack."
The generals were skeptical and retreated back to their camps to comfort their soldiers.
Cao Chun stamped his feet and said, "The army is not a joke. The military advisor is so perfunctory. What should we do if the food and fodder don't arrive at noon?"
Cheng Yu twirled his beard and said, "I have my own countermeasures. The most important thing right now is to stabilize the morale of the army."
When Cao Xiu heard that the food and grass were burned, he was horrified and said in a trembling voice: "It is better to withdraw the troops immediately."
Cheng Yu shook his head and said, "For half a month, Liu Qi has been keeping his troops in place, gathering strength, and must have been waiting for news from Bowang City. Now that he knows that the food and grass have been burned, he must have secretly reorganized his troops. If we retreat rashly, we will be defeated and the situation will be ruined."
Cao Xiu, who was praised by Cao Cao as a talented person of the Cao family, was also confused at this time: "What should I do?"
Cheng Yu said, "I have sent someone to reply to Bowang City. There will be movement at noon. If we do not move our troops now, Liu Qi will not know the real situation and will not dare to send troops rashly. I hope the Prime Minister can wake up soon."
Early in the morning, there was a weird atmosphere in Cao's camp. Everyone was eager to watch in hunger. As the sun rose to the zenith, some soldiers could not help but become restless, like an undercurrent.
At this moment, dust was flying in the direction of Bowangpo, covering the sky and the sun. A large group of carriages and horses were seen coming towards them. They were the grain transport team.
Cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, civilians and vehicles walked across the fields under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Cheers broke out in each camp, like hungry baby birds and beasts.
The grain carts went straight to the central army camp, where Cao's soldiers went out to greet them. Half an hour later, the sounds of slaughtering pigs and sheep were heard in the camp. Soon, fresh meat was distributed to each camp, and blood was dripping along the way.
In the evening, the aroma of meat wafted throughout the camp. The extremely hungry Cao soldiers scrambled for dinner. After eating and drinking their fill, they returned to the camp and lay down. Only then did they remember that they had only been busy eating the meat and drinking the soup, and had forgotten to order rice and bread.
No one noticed that out of the huge grain transport team that came, only a thousand thin and old people left. The accompanying cattle, mules and other livestock were all nowhere to be seen, and even most of the laborers who transported the grain disappeared.
In the central military tent, Cao Cao woke up with a pale face. Under the dim light, he looked as gloomy as a ghost.
Although Cheng Yu managed to stabilize the army's morale in time, he had killed tens of thousands of civilians. What would happen if the news got out
In the extremely oppressive silence, Cao Cao asked in a hoarse voice: "What should we do now?"
Cheng Yu said: "After the third watch, the Prime Minister will withdraw first. I will lead the troops with other generals to force a crossing of the Baihe River and attack Wancheng."
Cao Cao glanced at Cheng Yu and suddenly felt a little scared of this man. He sighed and said, "Thanks to Zhongde for stabilizing the morale of the army, otherwise I, Cao Mengde, would be ruined."
Cheng Yu remained calm and clasped his fists, saying, "It is my duty to be loyal to my lord. As long as I can protect my lord, any price is worth it."
"The Yu River, the Yu River again..."
Cao Cao looked up at the sky and murmured, "Zixiu and Dian Wei are both buried here. I hope those lonely and resentful ghosts will not make things difficult for them."
Cheng Yu smiled and said, "Young Master, you have a guard to protect you. How dare the evil spirits get close to you?"
Cao Cao rubbed his head which was aching like needles. Not only were there stars in his eyes, but he also felt dizzy and was about to faint.
He ordered Cao Chun to hand his sword to Cheng Yu and said, "Everything in the army is in the hands of Zhongde. The Qingzhou army...do your best to protect it."
"Prime Minister, please be at ease. I know the seriousness of the matter." Cheng Yu clasped his fists and accepted the order, then withdrew with Cao Xiu.
Xu Chu went to prepare the carriages and horses. Cao Cao sat there for a while and smiled bitterly: "In the past, Yuan Shao was arrogant and didn't listen to good advice. He was burned by a fire in Wuchao and the whole army was defeated. I underestimated the enemy and rushed forward without listening to Xun Yu's advice. I wanted to fight for my life. Who knew that the plan in Bowang City would burn the food? Is it God's will?"
Cao Chun advised: "How can Yuan Shao compare with the Prime Minister? Now the north has been pacified, the Central Plains is stable, we only need to wait for the autumn harvest, then we can reorganize our forces and march south of the Yangtze River. The advantage is still in our hands."
A moment later Xu Chu came to report: "The carriage and horses are ready, Prime Minister, please leave quickly."
"Liu Qi will definitely notice when we get on the carriage," Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Take the last dose of Wu Shi San, take it, and then ride on the horse."
Cao Chun knew that the situation was urgent, so he quickly took out the medicine powder and fed it to Cao Cao. When everyone left the tent, a fishy wind blew towards them. The two brothers couldn't help feeling nauseous, so they mounted their horses and hurriedly left the camp.
When they were about to reach Bowangpo, they saw torches along the river in the distance like a long dragon and shouts of killing shaking the sky. Cheng Yu had already dispatched troops to launch a surprise attack on Baihe.
After stopping his horse and watching for a while, Cao Cao suddenly laughed out loud towards the sky.
Cao Chun asked in confusion: "Why is the Prime Minister laughing?"