My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 69: My army of over men collapsed just like that? Cao Cao was furious!
Cao Pi recalled an event that happened several months ago.

At that time, Cao Cao came to Xudu from Yecheng, summoned all the generals from the camp in the southern suburbs, and vowed to march south to Jingzhou.

In order to show that he was not nepotistic, Cao Cao gave him the official position of military commander and ordered him to patrol the camp.

I vaguely remember that when I was patrolling the business gate that day, I saw a man who called himself Xiao He, who wanted to recommend himself to meet Cao Cao.

He had never heard of Xiao He, and seeing that the man was dressed in strange clothes, he thought he was a madman and ordered his soldiers to expel him.

Now listening to Cheng Yu's description, it seems that Liu Bei's new powerful strategist is the "madman" he had driven away in the first place.

"Father, son—"

Cao Pi opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself.

"If this Xiao He is indeed the man outside the Xuchang camp, he originally wanted to join my father, but I drove him away."

"If my father knew that I had sent such a brilliant man to Liu Bei, wouldn't he blame me?"

After secretly weighing the pros and cons, Cao Pi chose to remain silent.

"As you described, Zhongde, this Xiao He is more like a sorcerer who pretends to be a god. Could such a person really be so capable as to see through your scheme, Cheng Zhongde?"

Amidst the surprise and speculation, Cao Ren raised questions.

"this…"

Cheng Yu had no answer.

Cao Cao frowned, his eyes filled with fear.

"Whether he's a country bumpkin or some kind of alchemist, if he truly possesses the wisdom and tactics rumored, such a person, if employed by Liu Bei, would be far more detrimental than Xu Shu was back then."

"Zhongde, send more spies to thoroughly investigate this man's background. Find out where he is from and whether he has any parents or family in the north."

"Investigate it for me, and make sure it's thoroughly clear!"

Cheng Yu understood what Cao Cao meant.

Cao Cao was going to imitate the strategy he used to deceive Xu Shu, and use Xiao He's parents and family as threats to force him to abandon Liu Bei and leave.

Cheng Yu immediately accepted the order.

After a few things were arranged, Cao Cao's gloomy face finally brightened up a little.

"Hou Yin's rebellion is just a minor incident and won't amount to anything significant. Go back and calm the troops down. Don't let morale be shaken."

"Victory has arrived from Hefei. Wenyuan's 800 cavalrymen have defeated Bi Yan'er's 40,000-man army. Huainan no longer needs to worry."

"You can spread the news of Hefei's victory to the soldiers of each battalion to boost our army's morale."

Cao Cao's eyes gradually became arrogant, and he pointed south domineeringly:
"The big-eared thief is delusional and wants to defeat an entire country with his own small corner. He is truly overestimating his own capabilities and is delusional."

"I can tell you clearly that within three months, the Big Ear Bandits will run out of food and supplies, and their army will be in disarray without a fight!"

"Next spring, I will definitely celebrate with you in Xiangyang!"

The generals burst into laughter.

Cao Cao slowly stood up, raised the tea bowl high, and said with a proud smile:
"Come, come, come, I will use tea instead of wine and drink this cup with you all."

"I swear an oath to you all that we will not withdraw from this southern expedition until we have captured Jingzhou and destroyed Liu Bei!"

All the generals stood up and raised their glasses in unison.

"I will not withdraw my troops until I have captured Jingzhou and destroyed Liu Bei!"

"I will not withdraw my troops until I have captured Jingzhou and destroyed Liu Bei!"

The heroic and confident shout echoed in the big tent.

Cao Cao laughed heartily and raised his head to drink it all in one gulp.

"Your Excellency, something has happened, something serious has happened—"

Cao Hong, who was on duty, rushed into the tent shouting.

Cao Cao's interest was interrupted, and he frowned and said unhappily:
"Zi Lian, the sky isn't falling, why are you so panicked?"

Cao Hong pointed outside the tent and shouted in a trembling voice:
"Prime Minister, there's a flood coming from the southwest. My camps in low-lying areas like Tuanshanpu seem to have been completely destroyed."

"The number of casualties among the soldiers in each camp is unknown, and the surviving soldiers are swarming towards the main camp!"

Cao Cao's face suddenly changed, his hand trembled, and the tea bowl almost fell out of his hand. There was an uproar in the tent.

The generals in Cao's camp, who were originally full of heroic spirit, were suddenly shocked.

"How could a flood suddenly occur in such a flat land?"

"Zi Lian, you must have seen it wrong!"

Cao Ren's eyes widened and he was the first to ask in a stern voice.

Everyone looked at Cao Hong in surprise and doubt, and their questioning eyes all had the same meaning as Cao Ren's.

"Brother, how could I be wrong? The soldiers outside are in chaos!"

Cao Hong was so anxious that his eyes were about to pop out.

Cao Ren was stunned and speechless, and could only look at Cao Cao.

"boom!"

Cao Cao threw away his tea bowl and rushed out of the tent in big strides.

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone suddenly moved and followed Cao Cao out of the tent.

The main camp was in chaos, with soldiers running around like headless flies and panicked discussions rising one after another.

Cao Cao rode his horse at full speed and galloped all the way to the camp wall.

The terrain of Fancheng is low in the southwest and high in the northeast. The main camp of Cao's army is located in the north of the city, which is at a higher altitude and can overlook the southwest from afar.

Cao Cao climbed up a watchtower, looked around, and took a deep breath.

At this time, the east was bright and the vision was clear.

I saw a boundless torrent rolling and rushing, approaching from the direction of the Han River.

Several large camps located on the southwest line of Fancheng had already been submerged and swallowed by the flood and disappeared without a trace.

There were countless battle flags with the word "Cao" floating in the flood, and the corpses of Cao's soldiers.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were being driven by the flood and were fleeing like ants whose nests had been breached.

Some of them fled to nearby high ground, while others headed towards the main camp.

In a nutshell, nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the low-lying areas in the southwest were wiped out by this sudden flood!
"Report—General Cao Xiu's camp at Yankou River was flooded, and his entire army was wiped out."

"Report—General Zhu Ling's camp at Tuanshanpu was completely wiped out, with only a thousand men escaping to the high ground."

"Report—General Li Tong's camp at Yujiagang was flooded before it could retreat!"

"Report——"

Scouts came rushing over, bringing the bad news like snowflakes of bad news.

Every battle report was like a sharp knife, ruthlessly stabbing Cao Cao's heart.

"why?"

"Why did such a massive flood suddenly occur overnight, drowning over 40,000 of my soldiers?"

Cao Cao's voice trembled and his face was distorted with extreme confusion, as if he had encountered the most incredible thing in his life.

"Oh no, Prime Minister, we've fallen into Liu Bei's trap!"

Cheng Yu, who was standing by, suddenly realized what was going on and exclaimed in surprise.

Cao Cao and everyone else were shocked, and their eyes suddenly turned to Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu raised his head tremblingly and pointed in the direction of Hanshui River:
"We are not familiar with Xiangfan's geography. Forty percent of our camps are located in the low-lying areas southwest of Fancheng."

"The recent autumn rains have caused the Han River to rise sharply, making it the perfect time to launch a water attack."

"Someone must be well-versed in the weather and geography, and have spotted the flaws in our encampment. They've suggested to Liu Bei that we open the riverbank and use the power of the Han River to flood our lowland camps!"

At this point, Cheng Yu finally saw through the mystery.

There seemed to be a loud bang in my ears.

Cao Cao felt as if struck by thunder. He staggered back several steps, tripped on his heel, and fell backwards without standing steadily!

(End of this chapter)