Chapter 32: Cao Cao Falls into a Trap

  The next day, the red sun rose in the east, but there was no sign of Yuan Shao's military order to pursue Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao waited anxiously in the main tent, and when it was already past noon, he came out of the tent to see Yuan Shao.

  Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had a very good relationship, and the guards did not dare to block him. When Cao Cao entered the main tent, he saw that Yuan Shao was drinking wine. Cao Cao felt unhappy in his heart and asked: "Dong Zhuo has fled westward, it is the right time to pursue and attack, one battle can decide the fate of the world, why did you, Benchu, hold back your troops and not issue a military order?"

  Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao and sighed: "Meng De, forget it... the soldiers are exhausted, advancing will be of no benefit."

  "Whatever!" Cao Cao burst into a rage, pointing at Yuan Shao and scolding: "At the Battle of Tiger Trap Pass, tens of thousands of our soldiers were killed or wounded, Xiahou Dun even lost an eye. And what about the deep-seated hatred between your family and mine, with over 50 lives lost? Don't you want revenge? These national and family grievances, just like that, forgotten? Yuan Benchu, you've really disappointed me."

  A torrent of abuse came forth, Cao Cao shut his mouth and panted heavily, staring fiercely at Yuan Shao.

  Yuan Shao's face showed a look of shame and guilt, and he muttered: "Meng De, it's not like that, I also have my own difficulties... listen to me explain..."

  "Be gone with your troubles!" Cao Cao cut off Yuan Shao's words and angrily said: "This boy is not worthy of discussion!"

  Having said that, Cao Cao swung his sleeves and stormed out of the main tent in a rage. He assembled his own troops and also gathered more than 5,000 cavalrymen to pursue Dong Zhuo alone, while Li Chong naturally followed Cao Cao into battle.

  Yuan Shao saw Cao Cao leave in a huff, his face suddenly changed, revealing a fierce expression. He slammed the wine cup heavily on the table, splashing wine all over Yuan Shao's face. However, Yuan Shao seemed completely unaware of it and shouted sternly: "Han Fu, you little brat, how dare you cut off my army's grain supply? I'll make you pay for this soon!"

  Yuan Shao actually had a bitter intention, the allied army seemed to be mighty, but Yuan Shao was fundamentally unable to control it. These vassals were not very interested in rescuing Emperor Xian at all. They responded to Cao Cao's proclamation and captured Tiger Trap just to show their attitude: "I am a loyal minister of the Han dynasty!"

  Taking down Luoyang is enough. If they really kill Dong Zhuo and let Emperor Xian rule personally, how can they still be the de facto rulers?

  So these vassals did not want to advance at all, especially Ji Province Governor Han Fu, who told Yuan Shao that the military rations in Ji Province were insufficient and wanted to temporarily retreat.

  Yuan Shao could not say these things to Cao Cao, he knew that Cao Cao was indeed loyal to the great Han (at least for now, Cao Cao had once said that after his death, his tombstone would be inscribed with: "The Great Han's Conquering General of the West", which was enough). If he really said this, Cao Cao could even fight a fierce battle with these vassals first.

  Sun Jian did have some sense of loyalty, but now his troops were heavily casualties, even the general Zu Mao was killed in front of the two armies, and he simply didn't have the strength to pursue Dong Zhuo again.

  Before long, someone reported to Yuan Shao: "Cao Cao has gone after Dong Zhuo alone."

  Yuan Shao let out a long sigh, gazing westward, and raised his wine cup.

  Cao Cao led his troops in pursuit until they reached the vicinity of Xiangyang, when suddenly a group of cavalry blocked their path. The leader was none other than Lü Bu from Puyang.

  Cao Cao rode out and shouted loudly: "Rebel thief, holding the Emperor hostage, displacing the people, where do you want to go?"

  Lü Bu cursed: "Traitorous coward, how dare you speak wildly."

  Seeing Lü Bu blocking his way, recalling the hatred of being robbed of his eyesight, Xiahou Dun spurred on his horse and charged at Lü Bu with his spear. The two stood facing each other, and in his grief and indignation, Xiahou Dun was like a mad tiger, and for a time, Lü Bu could not gain the upper hand over him.

  Just then, the valleys on both sides suddenly echoed with shouts of killing, Cao Cao looked closely and found that Li Jue and Guo Si each led a team of soldiers to kill suddenly.

  Cao Cao had no choice but to order Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren to go and hold off Li Jue and Guo Si, the three armies clashed in the mountain valleys, killing each other until the rivers flowed with blood.

  Dong Zhuo's troops were elite, Cao Cao's troops were numerous. Just as the battle was intense and hard to distinguish, Xiahou Dun couldn't withstand Lü Bu and could only feign a move, then turned his horse and fled. Seeing Xiahou Dun fighting desperately, Lü Bu didn't want to pressure him too much either, so he rode straight towards Cao Cao's camp to launch a surprise attack. Cao Cao's soldiers were no match for Lü Bu's iron cavalry, and they suffered a great defeat immediately.

  Li Chong had long anticipated this situation and hid at the back with Taishi Ci and others, avoiding Dong Zhuo's ambush.

  Cao Cao dared to fight Lü Bu, but could only retreat in defeat. He owed his escape from Lü Bu's pursuit to the late hour and poor visibility. After fleeing for dozens of miles, Cao Cao stopped at a desolate mountain, gathered his scattered troops, and took stock. Of his original army of over 10,000 men, only more than 500 remained. His heart was filled with sorrow, and he couldn't help but shed tears.

  Cao Cao did not know that on another desolate mountain, Li Zhong had been watching him all along.

  Just as he was about to order the cooking of food, another cavalry suddenly arrived, and it was Xuhuang Taishou Xu Rong. Cao Cao had no generals under him, so he could only fight Xu Rong personally.

  To say that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, as members of the aristocracy, had to learn martial arts from a young age, so Cao Cao's martial skills were not low. He immediately fought with Xu Rong in one place.

  Xu Rong let out a cold laugh, his spear flashing as it transformed into several spear silhouettes that shot straight at Cao Cao's chest and throat.

  Cao Cao's weapon in his hand was also a long spear, and he hastily pushed away Xu Rong's gun handle, taking advantage of the momentum to stab towards Xu Rong's chest, and the spearhead actually brought with it a "whooshing" wind.

  Xu Rong did not dodge in the slightest, his long spear drew a circle in mid-air and smashed towards Cao Cao's helmet with a "hum" sound.

  Xu Rong's moves were not at all elegant, and he was even stabbed in the chest by Cao Cao, but Xu Rong just wanted to fight to the death with him, it's up to Cao Cao if he had the guts.

  Cao Cao could not exchange blows with Xu Rong and had to retreat his attack, parrying Xu Rong's moves.

  The two men's martial arts skills were originally similar, but Cao Cao was filled with apprehension and immediately fell into a disadvantageous position, several times being forced into a desperate situation.

  Cao Cao's face was covered in sweat as he watched Xu Rong make one vicious move after another, his heart filled with malice, and he prepared to fight Xu Rong to the death.

  Cao Cao was desperate, and Xu Rong's offensive immediately eased up. The current situation no longer required a desperate fight with Cao Cao. The soldiers under Cao Cao were exhausted and hungry, and they could not withstand Xu Rong's iron cavalry at all. Those who were killed fled in all directions, and the soldiers were defeated. Cao Cao was naturally unable to escape.

  Cao Cao also saw his soldiers fleeing in defeat and let out a long sigh, then turned his horse around and left.

  Xu Rong chased for a few steps and found that Cao Cao's war horse was very powerful, the distance getting farther and farther away. He then took out his bow and arrow from his horse and shot one arrow.

  In the chaos of the army, Cao Cao heard the sound of a bowstring and was shot in the shoulder by Xu Rong. In pain, Cao Cao cried out loudly and leaned forward on his horse's back, unable to control it as it galloped away.

  After running for a long time, in the darkness, Cao Cao's war horse suddenly stepped into empty space, and Cao Cao fell to the ground with a thud. He was pressed down and tied up by several soldiers. Cao Cao was injured and had no strength to resist. His heart was filled with boundless sorrow, and he could not believe that he had fallen to such a state.

  The soldiers who captured Cao Cao lit torches and saw that Cao Cao's armor was bright, they immediately knew they had caught a big man. They were all very excited and the guards became even more careful.

  The sky gradually brightened, and the soldiers around Cao Cao became more and more numerous, making it impossible for him to escape.

  Collecting is scarce, hoping for some support