Boss Cao never expected that his long-planned plan of using food and grass to lure the enemy to attack would end in a disastrous defeat for his side.

This made him extremely angry, but the situation in Hanzhong became increasingly unfavorable to his own side.

Especially the school officials, finally got in touch with Sili Colonel Zhong Yao.

Boss Cao confirmed that Zhong Yao was misled by the false news released by Guan Ping and led the army out of Chang'an.

He went to Liangzhou to prepare for the appointment of the prime minister, but Guan Ping took advantage of the opportunity and captured the city of Chang'an.

He is indeed good at using deceit.

Otherwise, how could Chang'an City be captured by him?

Now Guan Ping is using Zhao Yan's official seal to act recklessly in Guanzhong and orders the soldiers in all counties to surrender.

Cao Cao has asked Zhong Yao to quietly station himself in Yi County and control the valley entrance of Baoxie Road.

If Guan Ping dares to rob the road, Chang'an City will not be unable to be recovered.

Although morale is low, Boss Cao believes that the abilities of his soldiers in field combat can definitely defeat the rabble in Guan Ping's hands.

The two sides had been in confrontation for more than a month. As the war went unfavorably, the news that Chang'an City had been captured by Guan Ping was increasingly fermented in the army.

Xu Huang reported that the phenomenon of soldiers fleeing from the military camp was also increasing day by day.

Boss Cao has always governed his soldiers with strict military laws, and has severe punishments for soldiers who flee.

But many soldiers still began to flee, and they could no longer hold on.

In front of him, Cao Cao was unable to expel Liu Bei from Hanzhong in the short term, but behind him, Zhang Lu of Nanzheng County was determined to fight to the end.

Once Zhang Lu publicized the massacre, everyone in Nanzheng County worked together to resist to the death.

Xia Houshang was even more determined and unable to conquer.

The successive setbacks in the war made Boss Cao deeply realize that

Since you can't defeat Liu Bei, don't be trapped in Hanzhong. It's time to make a choice.

On this day, the atmosphere in the main tent of Cao's army was extremely solemn.

"I intend to withdraw from the army." Boss Cao took the lead in setting the tone.

Everyone in the tent also breathed a sigh of relief. Now the war is becoming more and more unfavorable to our side. If we continue to fight, we will only suffer greater losses.

Why not go back to recuperate and fight again later.

"But there are also regulations for withdrawing the army. Can you tell me how to withdraw the army?"

Xu Huang cupped his fists and said: "Prime Minister, the five roads from Hanzhong to Guanzhong are all monitored by Guan Ping.

If the army leaves the valley for too long, it will be attacked from both sides. It is better to go to Jingzhou.

On such a mountainous road, there are many terrains that make it easy for enemies to ambush and pursue them, as well as the support of General Zhengnan."

Everyone also nodded, feeling that what Xu Huang said was extremely safe.

A safe exit from Hanzhong is the safest choice for the army.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Cao Cao looked around at everyone in the tent.

Sima Yi stepped forward, cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, I think we should divide our troops into two groups to confuse Liu Bei."

"Talk about it."

Sima Yi then repeated what he had said to Cao Pi.

"There are mostly suspended wooden planks along the Baoxie Road, which are dangerous and easy to be ambushed by Liu Bei.

Please also ask the Prime Minister to send the vanguard troops to guard the dangerous places in the road, so as to be safe."

Xu Huang retorted: "But if Guan Ping controls Chang'an, he will definitely send people to explore. If he leaves the valley like this, he will be attacked from both sides!"

Cao Cao said, "Sima Zhongda's plan is quite to my liking.

I have secretly asked Zhong Yao to guard Yi County and wait for me to come out of the valley."

Only then did everyone realize that the Prime Minister had already had a plan in mind, and they couldn't blame him for being so calm.

"Prime Minister, should we continue to divide our troops?" Xu Huang asked again.

"You proposed the strategy of dividing the troops. Zhongda, what do you think?"

Boss Cao looked at Sima Yi. He knew that Sima Yi was a talented person, but he always disliked him.

If he hadn't worked for himself wholeheartedly, he might have been killed.

"I still want to divide the army into two groups and adopt the strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west. The army will go to Baozhong first and take the Baoxie Road, and then General Xu will withdraw from Shangyong County to Jingzhou with great fanfare.

First, it can delay news, deceive the enemy's sight, and create opportunities for our army to make a surprise attack and successfully escape from trouble.

Secondly, Guan Yu must have received the news a long time ago and has been waiting for our army's retreat in Xiangyang. He wants to repeat the old incident on Huarong Road and has some plans.

In this way, the enemy's attention can be focused on Nanxiang County."

Sima Yi paused and then said:

"If Guan Ping occupies Chang'an, then the entire land of Guanxi and Hanzhong may be owned by Liu Bei. I wonder what Sun Quan would think?

In the past, Sun was strong and Liu was weak, and the two sides formed an alliance with each other. Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou, but Sun Quan could still tolerate it.

Now that Liu Bei's strength has greatly increased and he occupies the entire upper reaches of the Yangtze River, can Sun Quan still sit back and watch Liu Bei occupy Jingzhou?"

Sima Yi pointed to the map and said: "If Guan Yu is in a bitter battle in Nanxiang County, Sun Quan will not be able to attack Hefei.

The Prime Minister sent envoys to negotiate with him about forming an alliance, and I could use the contradiction between Sun and Liu to my advantage.

This caused the two sides to fight, and I accept the disadvantage. Sun Quan and Liu Bei were distant relatives on the outside, but they were superficially brothers.

We can provoke him with words and encourage Sun Quan to attack Guan Yu's retreat. Maybe Liu Bei's power in Jingzhou will suffer massive losses.

And Guan Yu will definitely not swallow this breath, and the Sun and Liu families will definitely break out into a war.

In this way, our army will not only have time to recuperate, but also have the opportunity to join the battle group and take advantage of the situation to attack the weaker party."

Sima Yi was very good at considering military issues from the three-party struggle between Cao, Sun, and Liu, intensifying and exploiting the contradiction between the other two parties, so as to reap the benefits of others.

He deeply knew that Jingzhou was always a huge hidden danger threatening Jiangdong's security.

And based on Sun Quan's previous battles, it was judged that Sun Quan would definitely be unable to conquer Hefei.

This man has no military knowledge at all.

Xu Huang's team was not only a cover to attract the enemy's attention, but also a bait for Guan Yu.

Sima Yi's strategy was also extremely vicious.

It can be said that after this battle against Zhang Lu, Sima Yi had somewhat summarized his future strategy for using troops.

Cao Pi was overjoyed when he heard this, but he didn't expect that Sima Yi had further changes in the strategy he had told him before.

This plan can not only solve the current war situation, but also affect future wars.

It is of great benefit to you!

Cao Cao never attacked Jingzhou because he wanted to slow down the fight between the Sun and Liu families.

Now that Liu Bei's strength has suddenly grown, Sun Quan's son will definitely not be reconciled.

Maybe it's an opportunity that can be exploited.

"Gongming, you have a heavy burden on you."

After Cao Cao said this, he agreed with Sima Yi's plan.

Baoxie Road seems to be dangerous, but the news that Sima Yi released earlier caused the people to flee out of the valley.

It was enough to conceal the truth, and with Zhong Yao's support, all the pressure was transmitted to Xu Huang.

"The last general takes orders." Xu Huang responded with clasped fists: "I wonder how many troops the Prime Minister will allocate to me?"

"Twenty thousand, is that feasible?"

Cao Cao stretched out two fingers, but he didn't have much left.

The losses when entering Hanzhong this time were quite heavy. There were more than 100,000 dead, injured, surrendered, and those who fled, which amounted to a loss of more than 40,000.

In the battle at Dingjun Mountain alone, there were more than 20,000 people.

These injured people with limited mobility cannot be carried, but will slow down the marching speed and expose the target.

In order to recover the losses, many surrendered Han soldiers were also accepted.

When Zhang Wei abandoned his army and fled alone, many of his soldiers were captured by Cao's army without receiving the notice to withdraw.

After eliminating the old and weak in Zhang Lu's army, Boss Cao's team increased instead of decreasing.

But Boss Cao will not assign these people to Xu Huang. Xu Gongming has a tough battle to fight this time.

What's more, as long as you take the Baoxie Road, even if Liu Bei wants to pursue him, you can pass by and dismantle the plank road.

Is it possible that Liu Bei's soldiers can still fly over?

Moreover, Boss Cao originally wanted to demolish the plank road of Baoxie Road to prevent the surrendered Han soldiers from sneaking away and affecting the morale of the army!
To be continued...