Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

By mid-July, Guo Tu and his men finally received Yuan Shao's order to withdraw. Upon receiving the order, Guo Tu, Wen Chou, and others immediately began preparing for the evacuation. Knowing that this withdrawal was imperative, Guo Tu specifically instructed Wen Chou to organize an orderly retreat to prevent pursuit by Cao Cao's army and the Western Liang army.

During this period of standoff, Wei Yan's forces faced a difficult situation. Having previously burned half their rations, they faced a constant shortage of food and fodder. Although no large-scale battles had occurred during this period, their food routes were frequently harassed by small groups led by Zhang He, further straining their already tight supply. Upon learning of Yuan Shao's retreat, Wei Yan felt a sense of relief. After all, their mission had been to lift the siege of Hangu Pass, and now that it had been lifted, they needed to return to Chang'an as quickly as possible.

At this moment, the Xiahou Yuan brothers at Hangu Pass sent a message to Wei Yan, inviting him to join them in pursuing Wen Chou. After careful consideration, Wei Yan felt that this was not a good idea, so he wrote back to the Xiahou Yuan brothers, urging them to abandon the pursuit. He wrote, "Our army was ordered to come here solely to relieve the siege of Hangu Pass. Now that our goal has been achieved, we will return to Chang'an immediately. Furthermore, Wen Chou and his men are not retreating in defeat, but rather in an orderly manner. Yuan Shao is a shrewd and calculating man, and Guo Tu is a cunning and scheming man. I'm sure they had carefully planned this retreat. A rash pursuit by your army is not a good idea. I urge you two generals to reconsider."

After receiving Wei Yan's letter, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun pondered it over and concluded that Wei Yan's words were absolutely correct. A rash pursuit could indeed lead to an enemy ambush. Ultimately, the two generals abandoned the idea of ​​pursuing.

Xiahou Yuan watched Yuan Shao's army retreating and said to Xiahou Dun, "Brother, the Xiliang army played an indispensable role in lifting the siege of Hangu Pass. However, Yuan Shao's withdrawal this time may be a sign of a larger conspiracy. We must not take it lightly."

Xiahou Dun nodded solemnly and said, "That's right, Miaocai. We must strengthen the defenses of Hangu Pass and keep a close eye on the movements of Yuan Shao's army."

In the Xiliang camp, Wei Yan gathered his generals and said, "Now that Yuan Shao's army has withdrawn and the siege of Hangu Pass has been lifted, it's time for us to prepare to return to Chang'an. Everyone has worked hard during this period, so rest well when you return. But on the way back, we must not be careless and must remain vigilant to prevent sudden enemy attacks."

Yang Feng clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, General. We brothers understand. After this incident, we all know how cunning Yuan Shao's army is. We will be on high alert."

Meanwhile, Wen Chou, feeling resentful during his retreat, said to Guo Tu, "Mr. Guo, it's truly infuriating that we're retreating like this. If I had a few more chances, I would have been able to defeat Cao Cao and the Western Liang army."

Guo Tu smiled faintly and said soothingly, "General Wen, there must be a hidden purpose behind this action. We will withdraw our troops for now and recuperate. Once the lord has made his plans, we will return and will surely achieve complete victory."

Zhang He echoed, "General Wen, Mr. Guo is right. Preserving our strength now is the most important thing. We will have plenty of opportunities in the future."

Wen Chou sighed helplessly and said, "Well, I hope I can win a good battle next time and avenge my previous humiliation."

With the withdrawal of Yuan Shao's army, the situation in front of Hangu Pass temporarily calmed down.

Yuan Shao's decision to withdraw was based on a number of factors. First, the powerful intervention of the Western Liang army had complicated the situation. Yuan Shao knew that if he engaged in a bitter battle with the Cao and Western Liang armies, and if they formed a complete alliance and a solid united front, he would be in a very passive position, which would be difficult to recover from.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shao's military campaign in Bingzhou was far from going smoothly. Originally, they had expected Gongsun Zan to suffer a mutually devastating defeat, allowing them to reap the benefits. However, this proved to be the opposite. When they rashly invaded Hedong County, they were met with a fierce resistance from Gongsun Zan. To Yuan Shao's surprise, troops from Western Liang appeared on the battlefield. With tenacious fighting spirit, Gongsun Zan, despite the fierce attacks of Gao Lan and Ju Yi, held on to Hedong County. Ma Chao's assistance was crucial in this effort. Upon hearing that Yuan Shao intended to attack Gongsun Zan's forces in Bingzhou, Ma Chao decisively ordered Xu Rong to lead 20,000 Western Liang troops to assist Gongsun Zan in defending Hedong, while he himself focused on suppressing the rampant Xiongnu in Bingzhou. As a result, Yuan Shao achieved nothing on the battlefield in Bingzhou, succumbing to a dilemma.

Faced with this unfavorable situation, advisors like Ju Yi and Tian Feng strenuously advised Yuan Shao. They argued that, under the current circumstances, a continued stalemate would not only make victory impossible, but would also risk excessive manpower losses and severe damage to Yuan Shao's vitality. It would be better to rest and recuperate, consolidate their sphere of influence, and wait for a better opportunity. Furthermore, Gongsun Zan and Ma Chao were now jointly resisting Yuan Shao. Even if they managed to capture Bingzhou, subsequent governance would be fraught with difficulties. However, withdrawing at this point would inevitably lead to conflict between Gongsun Zan and Ma Chao over the control of Bingzhou, allowing Yuan Shao to sit back and reap the benefits of their internal strife. After weighing the pros and cons, Yuan Shao deemed this a viable strategy and abandoned the idea of ​​continuing the offensive, ordering a withdrawal.

Inside Yecheng, the atmosphere in the meeting hall was suffocatingly oppressive. Generals Zhang He, Wen Chou, Gao Lan, and Ju Yi had all returned from the front lines. The campaign had taken months and cost a significant amount of troops, only to end in heavy casualties. Neither side had achieved the desired strategic results, and a gloomy atmosphere hung over the crowd like a dark cloud. Yuan Shao, frustrated, finally spoke up, "Everyone, we've fought on both fronts this time, and neither of us has gained the upper hand. What should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Feng stepped forward and said, "My lord, although we haven't made any achievements on either battlefield this time, we haven't suffered a major loss either. Moreover, we have already formulated our strategy for Bingzhou. It now appears that Bingzhou is sufficient to contain Ma Chao and Gongsun Zan. They will undoubtedly find it difficult to get along in the future. Therefore, we don't need to worry too much about Bingzhou for now. If Ma Chao and Gongsun Zan go to war, at least Gongsun Zan won't pose a threat to us, and Ma Chao will be held back by Gongsun Zan, making him afraid to easily mobilize his forces from Chang'an."

Yuan Shao frowned slightly and questioned, "Mr. Tian Feng, why are you so sure?"

Tian Feng spoke calmly, "My lord, the foreign invaders have been invading Western Liang since last year, and the fighting continues unabated. The combined forces of the Xianbei, Xiongnu, Jie, Di, and other tribes are formidable. Although Western Liang has won victory after victory, does that mean the Western Liang army has suffered no losses? The foreign invaders are wreaking havoc on Western Liang's very base camp. Even if Ma Chao wins, he will need to rest and recuperate. If he continues to pursue aggressive tactics, I'm afraid his people will not approve. Western Liang is home to many wise and resourceful men, and they will certainly not allow Ma Chao to continue his reckless campaigns. Therefore, in my opinion, it will take at least two or three years for Ma Chao to recover."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao unconsciously stroked his beard, thinking that what Tian Feng said made a lot of sense. He then asked, "Then, in your opinion, what should we do next?"

Tian Feng replied without hesitation, "Next, we should focus on dealing with Cao Cao. Cao Cao occupies the Central Plains, which is a fortress in the world. If we can take the Central Plains, our lord's hegemony will be just around the corner."

Yuan Shao nodded slightly and continued, "Well, everyone, as we retreat from Hangu Pass this time, what do you think we can do to better our chances of defeating Cao Cao?"

At this point, Guo Tu stepped forward and said respectfully, "My lord, although our retreat from Hangu Pass was somewhat disastrous, it has also allowed us to clearly see the true strength of the alliance between Cao Cao's army and the Western Liang army. Although Cao Cao and the Western Liang army are allied, their foundations and interests differ. We can try to sow discord between them and fragment their alliance. For example, we could secretly spread rumors and create conflict between Cao Cao and Ma Chao, causing them to become suspicious of each other and thus shattering their alliance. Once internal disarray is established, we can then attack Cao Cao, achieving twice the result with half the effort."

Zhang He echoed, "Mr. Guo is absolutely right. Furthermore, we must strengthen our forces and enhance our capabilities. This expedition exposed many problems in our army, including insufficient training and inadequate allocation of rations and forage. We should use this time to reorganize our forces, improve our soldiers' combat effectiveness, and optimize our rations and forage supply system to ensure a foolproof next expedition."

Wen Chou shouted, "In my opinion, we should just march directly! Last time at Hangu Pass, although we didn't win, we did let Cao's army and the Western Liang army know how powerful we are. Now we should gather our strength and march directly south to fight Cao Cao to the death. Why go around in circles like this?"

Gao Lan hurriedly advised, "General Wen, don't act rashly. Cao Cao's forces are vast, and he occupies a strategic advantage. If we attack rashly, we may repeat the same mistakes. It's better to make all the necessary preparations first, and then look for an opportunity to strike."

At this point, Ju Su stepped forward and advised Yuan Shao, "My lord, as the saying goes, 'Make friends with those far away, attack those near.' We are not the only ones alarmed by the rise of Cao Cao's power. Liu Biao of Jingzhou borders Cao Cao's territory; how could he not be on guard against him? Moreover, according to spies, Cao Cao's internal situation is not stable. I heard earlier that there is a deep conflict between Cao Cao and Lü Bu. Since conquering Xuzhou, Lü Bu has attempted to occupy Xuzhou as his base, but Cao Cao refused, leading to a bitter dispute between the two sides. Lü Bu now occupies Xiapi and Xiaopei."

We might as well split our forces and send envoys in two directions. One group should travel to Jingzhou to meet with Liu Biao and explain the pros and cons of the current situation. Liu Biao, a man of many aristocratic families in Jingzhou, has no ambitions of dominance. Otherwise, he would have taken up arms long before the Han Dynasty declined and Dong Zhuo's rule became chaotic. This clearly proves that he is merely a defender of his territory. We should first communicate with the aristocratic families of Jingzhou. Given your reputation as a "four generations of three officials," the Jingxiang families will surely be happy to serve. With their persuasion, Liu Biao will understand the benefits of cooperation with us, and he will undoubtedly assist us in our campaign.

Another group of envoys will carry a large sum of money to Lü Bu. Lü Bu is inherently greedy and simple-minded. We will try to sow discord between him and Cao Cao. This will inevitably cause internal unrest within Cao Cao. Once Cao Cao is in disarray, Liu Biao will attack from the south, while we will attack from the north. Even if Cao Cao possesses three heads and six arms, two fists will be no match for four hands, and he will be unstoppable.

After hearing this, Feng Ji questioned, "That being said, Cao Cao has now formed an alliance with Chang'an. How could Chang'an just sit back and watch?"