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When it was confirmed that Boss Cao was about to die of illness, Deputy Director Tao, who had already secured victory, suddenly ordered to abandon the sneak attack and prohibited Zhao Yun and Wei Yan's troops, who were less than three miles away from Cao's camp, from launching an attack.

After Cao's army lingered outside the camp for more than half an hour, Deputy Director Tao simply ordered the troops to retreat, ending the camp robbery with an anticlimactic end.

Deputy Director Tao never explained why he did this to the generals. Seeing that Deputy Director Tao looked unkind, the Xuzhou generals did not dare to ask, until the Xuzhou army successfully withdrew its camp, and the troops returned to their respective units in units.

After resting in the camp, the Xuzhou generals gathered again in the Chinese army's tent, waiting for Deputy Director Tao's explanation.

As a dictator with sole power, Deputy Director Tao certainly has the right to refuse to answer the purpose of all his actions. However, the decision made by Deputy Director Tao this time was too big and had a profound impact on the development of the war. Therefore, Deputy Director Tao

The director’s melancholy expression

After waiting for a long time, he finally said to the Xuzhou civil and military ministers who had arrived: "Masters, generals, you must be very strange. We sent troops to rob the camp this time. The enemy was clearly unprepared. Why did I suddenly give the order to abandon this camp?"

action?"

"I'm not hiding anything from you." Deputy Director Tao cleared his throat and said calmly: "Because I have received reliable information that our enemy's coach Cao Mengde is terminally ill and will die tonight. Maybe by this time he has already

He died, so I decided to order the troops to retreat."

Deputy Director Tao's words seemed to drop a thunder in the Chinese army's tent. The Chinese army's tent exploded immediately. Except for a few insiders, almost every Xuzhou civil and military officer was speechless and then screamed.

He said, "Lord, Cao Cao is about to die? Is it true or false? If it is true, why did you give the order to stop the attack when there is such a good opportunity?"

"Quiet, quiet." Deputy Director Tao waved his hand to silence the accomplices and lackeys, and then said expressionlessly: "To be honest, I feel a little impulsive now, because the information I received is that Mr. Cao is likely to die.

It is not that Cao ** will definitely die tonight. Maybe Cao ** will survive tonight and his condition will improve tomorrow. This situation is not impossible. However, I will never regret what I just did.

This decision was made.”

"Lord, what do you mean by this? Why do you, the general, become more and more confused the more you listen?" Wei Yan asked very puzzledly: "Since the thief Cao is likely to die tonight, our army has the upper hand and can just launch an attack.

Victory is certain, so my lord, why did you give the order to stop the attack? Why did you say that even if the Cao thieves survive the night and survive the night, you will never regret the decision to stop the attack?"

"Two reasons." Deputy Director Tao replied: "First, humans are not grass and trees, how can we be ruthless? At the gate of Xuzhou City, Mr. Cao once let me go once and helped me with a fake oil pan.

Although he and I have always been at odds with each other and hated each other, this

I still keep the kindness in my heart, so in order to repay his kindness, I decided to let him spend the last night of his life peacefully, so that he would not have to die under the sword of our army, nor would he have to die before his death.

He also has to worry about the loyal and brave soldiers under his command."

What happened to Deputy Director Tao and Boss Cao at the gates of Xuzhou City when he first time traveled has been spread all over the world over the years. Of course, Xuzhou's civil and military ministers are also aware of this, and they have often ridiculed Boss Cao in private.

He let the tiger return to the mountain and dug his own grave. He even cursed Mr. Cao for getting water in his head and the consequences of raising tigers, which gave Tao

The opportunity for a deputy director to harm the world - for example, the surrendered generals from Jizhou before surrendering to Deputy Director Tao. So after hearing Deputy Director Tao's explanation, Xuzhou civil and military officials all closed their mouths. In addition to continuing to regret missing this God-given opportunity, they continued to regret.

, and for the first time, I discovered that Deputy Director Tao, who was notoriously evil-hearted, actually had a little bit of humanity.

"The second reason is that I have to let Cao's army understand my intentions." Deputy Director Tao said calmly: "Everyone knows that when Cao Cao led his army to invade Xuzhou and massacred more than 20 cities, this blood debt has been paid to this day.

There has not yet been a complete liquidation. The officers and soldiers of Cao's army who participated in that war are now the core of Cao's army.

My heart is dry, and I can't guarantee that I won't worry that I will settle old and new accounts with them, and they will definitely fight to the death when fighting our army. In order to tell them that I no longer care about what happened back then, and have forgiven them, so I

Order the attack to stop and let them understand that I can even forgive the culprit, Mr. Cao, let alone them?"

Almost all the civil and military officers in Xuzhou continued to remain silent. Only Qin Yi, the veteran general who was involved in the battle back then, stood up and said cautiously: "My lord, are you really not going to pursue Cao Cao's blood debt? In those days, our northern cities in Xuzhou, but

It’s so miserable to be harmed by Cao’s thieves.”

"When is the time to retaliate? Let the past be bygones." Deputy Director Tao sighed: "It will be easy for me to kill Mr. Cao tonight. In the future, it is not hopeless to kill all the men of Mr. Cao who participated in the Xuzhou Massacre. But,

I did this, and the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou who were raped back then

Can you survive? Speaking of blood debt, among the people here, including me, who doesn’t have more or less blood debt of human life? Do we still want to kill all the three tribes of those who were killed by me?

, will there be no future troubles? The blood debt in Xuzhou is over, and no one will mention it from now on."

Qin Yi lowered his head and was speechless, with some tears appearing in the corners of his eyes. Jia Laowu, who was in the first row of civil servants, saw what Qin Yi was worried about, so he stood up and comforted Qin Yi: "General Qin, my lord, this is not a woman's kindness.

, he is thinking about the overall situation. If our army takes advantage of the situation tonight and robs and kills him,

Cao **, then Cao Ang, who has been established as the legitimate son by Cao Mengde, must closely collude with Liu Bei's thieves in order to avenge his father. The core backbone of Cao's army who are worried about our army settling old accounts must also support Cao Ang to join forces with the Big Ear thieves, and then with the Big Ear thieves

Work together and tenaciously resist our army."

"If such a situation really occurs, the consequences will be serious." Jia Laohu added: "At that time, not only will our soldiers make many unnecessary sacrifices, but the war for our army to dominate the world will also be delayed for a long time.

Because the rest of Cao's army had no choice but to unite closely with the big-ear thieves, and even willingly

He is willing to be annexed and annexed by the Big Ear Bandits. By then, the Big Ear Bandits will be greatly strengthened. They will have the Hanzhong Granary to gain a foothold and the Qinling Mountains to hold on to. If our army wants to eliminate him, it will be even more difficult for the soldiers and civilians of the world.

The people will also suffer more suffering because the big-eared thieves have not been eliminated and the war has not been quelled for a long time."

Speaking of this, Mr. Jia Poison sighed and said: "General Qin, the fact that you shed tears because my lord is unwilling to avenge his murdered companions and the people is enough to prove that you are a person who values ​​emotions. So in order to let you...

The old man from Xuzhou vented his anger and caused the people all over the world to suffer from the flames of war for a long time. How can you bear it?"

Qin Yi finally cried out, knelt down on his knees to Deputy Director Tao, kowtowed and said: "My lord, I will no longer avenge my brothers, nor my colleagues and subordinates. My lord's good intentions,

The last general also understands everything." All the generals in Xuzhou also knelt down together and praised Deputy Director Tao's hypocrisy and virtue.

Deputy Director Tao sighed, first asked the generals to stand up, and then personally helped Qin Yi, and said guiltily: "For the sake of the overall situation, I can only let down you old people left behind by my father, but you can also rest assured that in the future I will

You must be compensated, and I hope General Qin can write to the old people in Xuzhou to tell them my difficulties and persuade them to understand what I have done like you."

Qin Yi nodded with tears and promised to write to Lu You immediately. Xu Dan and Zhang Jie, old people from Xuzhou, defended Deputy Director Tao. Deputy Director Tao ordered Qin Yi and a group of old people from Xuzhou to be promoted to one rank each.

Fifty cities, in order to make peace

In the end, Deputy Director Tao ordered the army to display the banner of serving the country and bringing peace to the people, strictly prohibiting Xuzhou soldiers from killing innocent people indiscriminately, and stated that anyone who kills one person indiscriminately will pay for his life, so as to strictly enforce military discipline and win over the people of Guanzhong.

It was also at the end that Qin Yicai asked Deputy Director Tao: "My lord, there is another question. Why do you say that if Thief Cao does not die tonight, or even improves his condition, you will not regret giving up the attack tonight?"

"It's very simple." Deputy Director Tao replied: "If Mr. Cao doesn't die tonight, he will definitely understand that I am repaying him for his life-saving grace, and I am also showing goodwill to his soldiers. Under his inner guilt,

Our future accounts will be much easier to deal with. At the very least, Cao Cao will not let his troops continue to fight to the death with our army after his death."

The night passed quickly. In the early morning of the next day, Xuzhou scout Pegasus, who was sent to scout Cao Jun's camp, reported back. He said that he found that Cao Jun's camp was mostly empty. Only Zhang He led the rear army to clean the camp and take away all the baggage that could be taken away.

Transfer to Hangu Pass. Upon learning of this situation, Deputy Director Tao, who had already spared Cao's troops once, did not hesitate anymore and immediately ordered Zhao Yun to lead an army to attack Zhang He's rear troops. He also specifically ordered to capture more prisoners in order to grasp the enemy's situation.

.

When Zhao Yun's troops rushed to the front of Cao Jun's camp, they encountered almost non-existent resistance. Cao Jun's rear troops led by Zhang He had no intention of fighting at all, and immediately fled into the Hangu Pass and piled some heavy baggage.

Lit it in the valley road, using the fire to stop Zhao Yun's team from pursuing, Zhao Yun can easily

They captured Cao Jun's camp and captured some of Cao Jun's soldiers who had not fled into the valley. They comforted them with words and then interrogated them. Cao Jun's soldiers truthfully confessed that there were cries in the middle of the army last night, and then at the fourth watch, Cao Jun's army had already started.

In order to retreat, these ordinary Cao soldiers had no idea whether Boss Cao was dead.

Zhao Yun sent the news back to the camp. Deputy Director Tao was also afraid that his father-in-law was cheating to death and luring the enemy, so he did not immediately send troops to attack Hangu Pass, but sent more scouts to carefully detect the movements of Cao's army. One day later, soon,

Then another scouting report came, saying that only a few soldiers were left in Cao's army.

The main force of Cao's army had already withdrawn from Hangu Pass and fled to the west. After the main force of Cao's army withdrew from Hangu Pass and reached the open area to the west, the army immediately raised the white flag and screamed to the ground.

The director lamented after hearing the news, and finally believed that his father-in-law had been killed by him.

Lamenting, lamenting, before confirming the attitude of Boss Cao's traitor Cao Ang, Deputy Director Tao did not dare to take it lightly, and immediately ordered Ma Yan to lead his army to attack Hangu Pass, and sent a messenger to inform the commander of the partial division, Zang Ba, that Boss Cao was dead.

, ordered Zang Ba to step up the attack on Jiguan, pursue with all his strength the Cao army that might abandon Jiguan at any time and retreat to Hedong, and not give Cao Jun a chance to concentrate on Tongguan and hold on.

When the Xuzhou army attacked Hangu Pass, they encountered strong and unusual resistance from the Cao army who stayed at Hangu Pass. Xiahou Shang, who was ordered to stay behind, personally went into battle and led the Cao army officers to frantically resist the Xuzhou army's attack on the pass. Ma Yan's troops were covered by thick smoke.

Under such circumstances, Hangu Pass was still not captured in the daytime. It was not until dusk that Deputy Director Tao sent Wei Yan to lead the absolutely elite Danyang rogue soldiers to reinforce and attack the key point.

After dark, they entered Hangu Pass. What shocked Xuzhou soldiers was that there were only more than 1,200 Cao soldiers guarding Hangu Pass. At the same time, Xiahou Shangzai, who was in charge of staying behind, was killed until he was left alone and was killed by the Xuzhou army.

After being surrounded, he still refused to surrender, shouting the slogan "I will hold on for three days", stormed into the dense area of ​​Xuzhou soldiers, and died in a fierce battle. After hearing the news, Deputy Director Tao sighed again, and ordered Xiahou Shang to be put into a coffin and buried alive.

After Xia Houshang sacrificed his life to block it for a day, the Xuzhou Army lost the best opportunity to pursue the main remnant of Cao's army. Although Deputy Director Tao sent Zhao Yun to lead the army to pursue overnight, the narrow Xiaohan Road west of Hangu Pass made the pursuit inconvenient.

, so Zhao Yun’s team still failed to defeat Cao Jun.

The team withdrew to Xin'an and caught up with the enemy's main force. The main force of Cao's army, temporarily commanded by Zhang Liao, moved quickly with light vehicles, escorting Cao Lao's coffin all the way to the west for hundreds of miles. Zhao Yun was afraid that the lone army would go too deep, so he had to send someone to report to Tao.

Deputy Director, please give me your instructions whether you should persist in pursuing the case to the end?

After the messenger sent by Zhao Yun delivered the news to Deputy Director Tao, Deputy Director Tao, who had just led his troops to Hangu Pass, looked a little ugly. He wanted to pursue him with all his strength, but Jia Lao Poison persuaded Deputy Director Tao to give up the pursuit.

Because Jia Laohu, who had accompanied Mr. Dong on his frequent trips to Xiaohan Road, knew the geography of Guanzhong very well and pointed out that the mountains of Xiaohan Road were high.

The road is narrow, there is almost no room for detours, and Cao Jun's army will definitely have a heavy rear. Pursuing it to the end not only has little hope of defeating the main force of Cao Jun, but also may accidentally fall into an ambush due to unfamiliarity with geography and the depth of the lone army. Deputy Tao listened to the advice.

The director had no choice but to order Zhao Yun's team to suspend the pursuit and camp on the spot, waiting for the main force to move westward to rendezvous.

At this point, the first phase of the Xuzhou Army's Western Expedition came to an end. Although the Xuzhou Army failed to seize the opportunity to annihilate the main force of Cao's army west of Tongguan, it still managed to survive the death of Cao's commander, Boss Cao, and gained the decisive victory.

The result of the victory forced the main force of Cao's army, which was leaderless, to abandon Hangu Pass and Jiguan and withdraw to Tongguan to reorganize its defense. At the same time, the Xuzhou partial division led by Zang Ba also performed well. In Cao's partial division Ren Jun led the main force.

After abandoning Jiguan, they quickly mobilized their troops to attack the pass and forced Cao Jun's troops who stayed at the pass to surrender. They launched a timely pursuit and bit the tail of Ren Jun's troops. This basically ensured that Ren Jun's troops would not be able to retreat to Tongguan.

Cao Lao's brother-in-law Ren Jun, who was being chased by Zang Ba, did not dare to risk crossing the Yellow River. He could only lead his army in Anyi to join forces with Cao Jun's Hedong governor Pei Mao to defend the city. As a result, the remaining forces of Cao Jun were forced to disperse.

Surviving Boss Cao to death has another benefit for the Xuzhou Army, that is, Cao's army is about to face a critical moment of power transition. At the same time, Cao Ang, the only rebel designated by Boss Cao during his lifetime, is also the only one among Boss Cao's disciples who has a strong influence on the Xuzhou Army.

A son who has a good impression of him is naturally far better than Cao Pi and Cao Zhi who hate Deputy Director Tao so much that his balls hurt.

Others**, the Xuzhou army theoretically had hope of recruiting and surrendering the rest of Cao's army. Therefore, after taking Hangu Pass, Deputy Director Tao not only appealed to local officials from all over the pass to recruit and surrender Cao's army, but also immediately arranged for Jiang, the most unafraid of death among his advisers, to
To be continued...