Chapter 23 slapstick

In November of the second year of Jian'an (AD 197), Cao Cao had just won the victory in attacking Qi County, and immediately moved to Nanyang. This time his opponent was not only Zhang Xiu, but also Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou.Zhang Xiu acted as the vanguard of the Jingzhou army, showing off his power in Wancheng and other old places; Deng Ji, a general sent by Liu Biao, used his momentum to encroach on Jingling, Huyang and other places to expand his territory. During this period, Cao Hong led troops and horses to confront Zhang Xiu many times.But as long as Cao Hong attacked, Zhang Xiu would hide in the city; if Cao Hong retreated for a while, Zhang Xiu would follow him immediately; if Cao Hong wanted to go around, Zhang Xiu would block him.In short, Cao Hong was entangled to death by others, while Deng Ji took this opportunity to attack the city and seize the land unceremoniously.After a long time, most of Nanyang County was lost, so Cao Hong had to retreat to Ye County and guard the main road leading to Xudu, waiting for Cao Cao to come to rescue.

Hearing that Cao Cao came from Qi County, Cao Hong was very worried. He almost lost the entire Nanyang County, and he didn't know what kind of reprimand he would receive. He hurried out of Ye County to meet him, and he didn't bother to discuss any military situation when he saw Cao Cao. First knelt down and pleaded guilty: "The last general did not do enough to conquer Zhang Xiu, resulting in the loss of Nanyang city, please punish the lord!" Instead of being angry, Cao Cao smiled: "Victory and defeat are commonplace in military affairs. What's more, you only have 5,000 men. You can defeat the crowd with one enemy and two. It is already very difficult to ensure that the soldiers and horses have no losses. If you have anything to say, let's go to the city." Say it again."

Cao Hong's grip was relieved, and he personally led the horse into the county seat for Cao Cao.Unexpectedly, when he was seated in the county temple, Cao Cao was the first to call Guo Jia to his eyes, and shouted angrily: "What an incompetent Guo Fengxiao, how did you keep Cao Hong in Nanyang? Now most of the counties and counties have been lost. You should be the one who deserves it." What crime?" Cao Hong originally thought that Cao Cao was not angry, but seeing him suddenly turn his back on him now, his heart felt uneasy after he had just relaxed; Guo Jia was not timid, knelt down on the ground, raised his face and said with a playful smile: "Nanyang's fault is not my fault. , the crime is all on the general, if the general had breached Qi county earlier and moved here, how would Zhang Xiu and Deng Ji dare to make a mistake?"

"Bold!" Cao Cao glared, "If you lose the city and dare to contradict me, pull it out and kill me!" Guo Jia is a wise man in the army, how can he kill if he says he will?Cao Hong was terrified, and quickly fell to his knees tremblingly: "This time, the crime of using troops is not filial piety, but please be merciful to the Lord." Cao Cao saw that he knelt down to accept the crime in a daze, and couldn't pretend anymore, so he couldn't help laughing on his back.When he smiled like this, Guo Jia also laughed, but Cao Hong was fooled.Guo Jia patted Cao Hong on the back and said, "The general is so ignorant and cute, my lord is just joking with me!"

"How can there be such a joke, I'm sweating all over." Cao Hong murmured. Guo Jia shook his head and said: "My lord has been in the army for a long time and is a sensible person. How can I not know the situation here, and how can I blame others because of helpless mistakes? Although the general is a brother of the lord's clan, he still needs to understand the lord more. It's my heart!" "Yeah." Although Cao Hong agreed casually, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Cao Cao usually has too many truths and falsehoods. Why is Guo Jia able to figure out which ones are true and which ones are false?

Cao Cao covered his belly and laughed for a long time, then raised his hands again and again and said, "You two have worked hard, sit down quickly! Alas... It's not because I don't want to make a quick decision, but because the defenders of Qi County used the scorched-earth strategy with deep ditches and high fortifications. , so it delayed the time. Of course, you can't win the enemy with five thousand people, but it is very good to be able to protect Ye County and strangle the enemy's advance." Cao Hong shyly said, "This is all a filial piety." "I can guess it even if you don't say it. You only know how to fight hard, I'm afraid you don't have the heart!" Cao Cao joked again, "Feng Xiao, you just contradicted me. The death penalty can be avoided and the life penalty cannot be escaped. I will punish you. Tell me about the enemy's situation."

"No. In my opinion, although Zhang Xiu and Deng Ji are powerful, this thief is easy to break!" Guo Jia said with a smile on his hands, "Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao are not of the same breed. Zhang Xiu sent troops to regain the old land and To gain a foothold, Liu Biao sent Deng Ji here to seize the territory. To put it bluntly, Zhang Xiu didn’t want to live in Rang County by eating other people’s food and looking at other people’s faces, so he had to fight us. But Liu Biao had no ambitions and was timid, he just He wants to take advantage of the chaos to occupy some territory in Nanyang to defend Xiangyang. He is afraid that we will attack him one day, so he uses Nanyang as a buffer. In addition, Liu Biao is different from Zhang Xiu. They will never openly turn against the court. They have different goals, so naturally they cannot cooperate with each other."

"That's right," Cao Cao stroked his beard. "Although Zhang Xiu is brave, he has few soldiers and no provisions. Although Liu Biao is strong, he doesn't want to make progress. If they really wanted to achieve something big, they would have surrounded Ye County and planned to go north by now... Feng Xiao, according to your plan, how should you deal with it now?" "I have planned it long ago, but the number of soldiers is too small to use. Now that the lord's army is here, it only takes three to five days to defeat the enemy. As soon as you came to Zhangxiu, you escaped into Wancheng, and you put on a posture of defending. I think We can leave Wancheng alone for now. Deng Ji is now based in Huyang. Let us suddenly move south to take Huyang. Zhang Xiu's army relies on Liu Biao. Once Deng Ji is defeated, Liu Biao will definitely withdraw his troops and leave Zhang Xiu here. If we are alone and helpless, we will not be able to support him alone, and we don’t need to fight, he will retreat by himself.”

"Okay!" Cao Cao added, "But Zhang Xiu has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he still has the resourceful Jia Xu under his tent. I have to create some illusions for them, making them think that I am attacking Wancheng with all my strength. Otherwise, it will be difficult to rest assured." Hit Deng Ji." "My lord's ingenious plan is beyond me." Guo Jia hurriedly showed his courtesy. Cao Cao smiled and patted him on the back of the head: "Don't pretend to be sweet to me! The order is to rest for one day, and tomorrow morning we will approach Yushui. I will camp under Zhang Xiu's eyes and let him see clearly. I am here to fight with you." He played his life."

On the second day, Cao Cao personally led a large group of troops to the east bank of the Feishui River, and returned to the place where they were defeated at the beginning of the year.In order to commemorate the soldiers who died in the last battle, to gather morale and boost the morale of the army, and to confuse Zhang Xiu's feelings, Cao Cao ordered to set up incense cases and tributes by the river to pay homage to the dead with great fanfare. After the green cattle and white horses were ready, Cao Cao took off his armor and put on a hood, and put on a deep-served Juebian, holding incense sticks in his hand to worship first.Although there is a lot of camouflage in this memorial ceremony, Cao Cao's feelings are sincere.His most valued son, Cao Ang, who was most likely to inherit his career, was buried in Yushui, and his body was never recovered. How could it not be sad?In addition to the death of his son, his nephew Cao Anmin, his beloved general Dianwei, and countless soldiers... Unknowingly, Cao Cao's tears flowed down his cheeks, and the more he tried to control it, the more he couldn't control it, and finally fell down sobbed.When the soldiers of the three armies saw the commander crying miserably, they also thought of the brothers who had died, and the banks of the Feishui River were all peaceful.After sacrificing Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, and Dian Wei, the generals went forward one by one and offered sacrifices to the fallen soldiers. Finally, they even worshiped the dead white humming horse, and sank the tribute wine into the river. The three armies shouted the slogan of revenge. Just started camping.

Wancheng is only five miles away from the Feishui River, and the city is faintly visible on the riverside. When Cao Jun sacrificed, Zhang Xiu's scouts had long been watching from the bank.Seeing them weeping and shouting, the scouts were quite frightened, and hurried back to Wancheng to report to Zhang Xiu, reminding him that the mourning army will win and he must be prepared to stand firm. Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu and surrendered nearly 10,000 Huainan troops. Today's troops are stronger than before, and a company battalion stands by the river, which is majestic.There were many banners and flags, and especially when it was time to eat, the smoke from the kitchen was curling up. This formation was too intimidating for Zhang Xiu, who was short of troops and food. When everything was arranged properly, Cao Cao inspected the camp, called Cao Hong and Guo Jia to the tent, and ordered the strategy to defeat the enemy: "Now that Zhang Xiu has almost been confused, you can order the soldiers to stand on the water of Yu. Set up the pontoon bridge and prepare for the attack. Most of the soldiers and horses brought from Qixian County are wounded, so let them rest in peace for the time being; single out 5,000 elite soldiers, carry dry rations with them, and prepare more good horses. I will personally lead them south Huyang, raid Deng Ji's people. When I am away, you will still be in charge of military affairs here. It will take three or four days at most, or one or two days at least. I will definitely return with victory. Is there any difficulty?" This plan seemed to be flawless, but Guo Jia still felt that there was something wrong, so he hurriedly asked for instructions: "My lord, can we cross the river of water and set up camp, and feint once or twice by the way, it will be more realistic." Cao Cao still had lingering fears about the plot of Zhang Xiuzhiyong and Jia Xu. He shook his head again and again: "Let's forget it. Don't cross the river easily. If they play any tricks again, it's not a joke. You can Ask the soldiers to slow down the progress of building the pontoon bridge, and then spread more banners and increase sentry posts in the camp, the most important thing..." Cao Cao tapped the table, "Even if I go out, the soldiers have tens of millions of cooking stoves It cannot be reduced, and they must not be allowed to see the flaws from the smoke. Also, Ye County is the main road to the north, and Wuyin has military rations. You can figure it out." "Promise." Cao Hong quickly accepted the order, "When will my lord leave?" Cao Cao sneered slightly: "I have to spend a whole day here and walk at night. I have to cover Zhang Xiu's eyes and ears, and I have to let Deng Ji take a reassurance first, so that he can be stabilized before going to fight!" Military orders were passed down layer by layer. Cao Jun soldiers repaired ordnance by the river, fed horses with hay and even washed clothes. They seemed to be busy in an orderly manner, but in fact they were time-consuming.Until the middle of the night, Cao Cao led Cao Ren, Le Jin and others set out in secret; and sent Zhu Ling to lead a team of troops to wading across the water to the west bank as suspicious soldiers.Under the double cover, 5,000 elite soldiers sneaked out of the company battalion with their horses wrapped around their hoofs, and went south along the Feishui River, day and night... Deng Ji was ordered by Liu Biao to lead 10,000 horses to assist Zhang Xiu in action.Because Zhang Xiu held Cao Jun back, he made it very easy for him to attack the city and seize the territory.Later, when he heard that Cao Cao had also arrived with his army, he was a little nervous, but then he got the news that Cao Cao was going all out to fight Zhang Xiu in Wancheng, and his uneasy mood stabilized again.Wancheng is a hundred miles away from Huyang, and there are Zhang Xiu's restraints, and he has 10,000 soldiers in his hands. Deng Ji didn't think Cao Cao would withdraw here at all, and even if he came, he would get the news in advance.He boldly arranged several counties south of Huyang, mobilized food and grass into the city, and arranged officials to station in Jingling and other places-after all, his trip was not to accompany Zhang Xiu to fight for his life, but to occupy the territory of the lord Liu Biao. At noon that day, Deng Ji stood on the north gate tower, chewing beef while leisurely watching his soldiers enter the city with food.The food in the nearby villages has almost been adjusted, and he also sent people to collect wood and stone nearby.As long as the grain carts have entered the city, and then put the rolling wood and thunder stones, Huyang City will be as solid as gold, and the large area to the south will belong to his lord Liu Biao.The more Deng Ji thought about it, the more complacent he felt. He felt that he had made a great contribution this time. He even planned to lead his troops northward after finishing his job. Just as he was thinking about it, a junior next to him suddenly pointed to the distance: "General, what do you think is going on?" A few small black spots appeared on the plain in the distance. Deng Ji frowned, swallowed the beef in his mouth, and leaned over the parapet to look carefully—it turned out to be some soldiers he sent out.Then he smiled and said, "It's no big deal, it's our own people who went to cut wood." The little school reminded: "Will Cao Jun attack suddenly?" "They made Zhang Xiu procrastinate, and they will never come." Deng Ji pointed to the city gate under his feet. Not even a fly can fly in." Before he could finish his words, he saw a group of cavalry suddenly appearing on the plain in the distance. At a general glance, there were about a thousand cavalrymen. The soldiers who went out to log were frightened back by them.Deng Ji threw away the half-bitten meat, and complained to the little school beside him: "Damn it! You have such a stinking mouth, Cao Jun really told you to come here." "Let's close the city gate quickly." "Nonsense! What to do with the food after closing the city gate? How come the soldiers sent out to cut wood come back?" Deng Ji observed for a while, "Isn't it just more than a thousand people? Send troops out to block me, and four or five people join forces to fight one. Can you not beat them? This is a ranger and not a large force, so there is no need to be so nervous!" Deng Ji issued a military order, and after a while, thousands of soldiers and horses poured out from the east and west gates, heading towards Cao Jun's direction.Although the outlines of Cao Jun's cavalry were clearly seen, Wangshan ran dead horses, and the distance was still far away!The grain trucks at the north gate still had a long line to go in, without being affected in the slightest. However, Deng Ji underestimated the strength of Cao Jun. The commander of this team of cavalry was Le Jin, who had always fought without his life.Le Jin saw the enemy sending troops to stop him from a distance, the number of them was much larger than himself, but the more enemies there were, the more vigorous he was.Without saying a word, he urged on his mount, and when he got close, he raised his big gun and rushed into the enemy group, and immediately fell down with a thorn.Deng Ji's soldiers hadn't fought any tough battles since Xiangyang dispatched troops. The counties they passed had no garrisons, and they almost surrendered. Today, they were transferred out to defend against the enemy after half a meal. When they suddenly met such a desperate opponent, they were at a loss for a while.These thousand horsemen jumped bravely, and they were all infantry, although the number of them was several times that of Cao's soldiers, they killed the generals to a tie. At the moment of anxiety, I heard another cry—what a surprise, there was a large group of infantry behind the cavalry!Deng Ji's soldiers were flustered at that time. There were brave cavalry nearby and a large group of enemies far away. They felt that there was a dark sky in front of them.For one runner, there were a hundred others following. In a short while, thousands of people had no intention of fighting, and all fled towards Huyang City.Le Jin led his troops behind him, and killed countless soldiers on the ground.The infantry led by Cao Cao followed closely behind, trying to enter Huyang while the city gate was still open. Deng Ji now also saw the enemy group clearly. Seeing that his troops were defeated, his face turned green with fright, and he couldn't care about the life and death of those soldiers. He stomped his feet and shouted: "Close the city gate quickly! Close the gate and let the arrows go!" The gates on the east and west sides were quickly closed, but the north gate was still blocked by grain trucks!Those defeated soldiers are really annoying. They ran slowly when they charged, but now they are running back, one by one faster than the other.Before the gatekeepers had time to remove the blocked grain trucks, dozens of the fastest runners rushed to the north gate. It was so tightly blocked that I couldn't close the door even if I tried to close it this time.Seeing that the city gate was blocked, some people simply climbed over from the grain carts; the Cao army behind them also swarmed in, shouting and killing so loudly that the entire north gate was crowded. "Let the arrows! Let the arrows go!" Deng Ji yelled anxiously. There are quite a few bow shooters in the city, but no one dares to shoot an arrow—the enemy and ourselves are all mixed together, crowded around, can you tell who is who? Those on the top are afraid of making mistakes and are embarrassed to shoot arrows, but there is absolutely no such thing as shooting from the bottom to the top.Before Deng Ji's soldiers had time to aim, Cao Bing's arrows had already flown up!One step behind and step by step restrained, some soldiers on the city were shot to death on the spot, and some quickly squatted down to avoid it, only to feel the top of their heads whizzing, but they dared not stand up again; an arrow hit Deng Ji's helmet tassel , He was so frightened that he crouched under the parapet with his head in his arms, and the current situation was beyond his control. Le Jin urged the cavalry to squeeze into the city desperately, and he trampled a lot of enemy soldiers to death. Later, they couldn't squeeze anymore, so they simply fired their big guns and swept them indiscriminately, and finally came to the city gate.He didn't care whether he was an enemy or a friend, he first called everyone to set up the grain truck.At this moment, the car blocking the door is the public enemy. Everyone yelled one, two, three and tried their best, and immediately pushed the big car blocking the door to the side—this was simple, and the defeated army and Cao Bing all rushed in smoothly. Huyang City is gone. Deng Ji squatted under the parapet in a daze, and it took a while to realize that Huyang City could not be kept, and he dared not stand up, so he simply climbed down the enemy building.Seeing that there is chaos in the city, my own people, Cao Cao's people, and the common people are all running in any direction.He quickly got on his horse and led dozens of soldiers across the market to the south gate, intending to open the south gate and escape to Jingling or directly return to Xiangyang. Unexpectedly, as soon as the south gate was opened, a horse jumped in, and immediately sat a black-faced general with a beard and a terrifying appearance, holding a tiger-headed Overlord Spear in his hand.Deng Ji didn't understand what was going on, but he saw the black-faced general throwing a gun like a king, and the heavy guy came rushing to his head!Deng Ji was so startled that he leaned over to push back the horse—the man dodged, but the horse didn't dodge, and hit the horse's head with a spear.Deng Ji only felt a red light burst out with a thud, and then saw Jin Xing's whole body hurting, and when he realized it again, he was already lying on the ground.At this time, the south gate was already wide open, and it turned out that Cao Bing had been guarding outside, and everyone rushed forward and tied Deng Ji tightly... The shouts of killing all around gradually subsided, some of Deng Ji's defeated troops disarmed and surrendered, and some fled across the city in disorder and fled to Xiangyang.Xu Chu carried Deng Ji to the top of the city tower, and threw him down hard.Deng Ji's whole body was sore and he couldn't move. Seeing a middle-aged officer with a slight silver beard sitting on the stool in front of him, and everyone from the two gangs stood with their heads bowed, he boldly asked, "Are you... Duke Cao?" "It's someone Cao." Cao Cao smiled slightly, "Why don't you untie General Deng soon?" A soldier came to loosen the rope for Deng Ji, who was full of bad luck, but put a knife on the back of his neck to prevent him from moving. "General Deng, you are so considerate and thoughtful. You have even prepared food and grass to welcome us." Cao Cao said with a smile and sarcasm, "Do you know how the old man came here?" Deng Ji really couldn't think of it, and was afraid of losing his life, so he hurriedly complimented: "Master Wang is here, the heavenly soldiers and generals, the sky's thunder strikes the top, the power of the sky is irresistible, the natural power, heaven, heaven...God knows how you came here." All the generals laughed at him when he was in such a mess, but Cao Cao raised his hand to signal everyone to keep quiet, and instead comforted him, "General Deng has done a great job rewarding the army, move him a seat quickly." Some soldiers moved a stool for him, how could Deng Ji dare to sit on it?Xu Chu couldn't help but grabbed his collar, lifted him up and pushed him onto the seat.Deng Ji knew that his future was unpredictable, sitting was more uncomfortable than kneeling, but he just sat there with his buttocks on the edge of the stool. Cao Cao looked at him with a smile for a while, then suddenly said casually: "General Deng, do you know the relationship between me and your lord Liu Jingzhou?" Deng Ji lowered his head and thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "The last general is still young, so he doesn't know about the relationship between Cao Gong and my master." He actually knew that the two had friendship in the past, but he dared not say it. No, if he was accused of sending troops to Nanyang instead, it would be impossible to argue. Cao Cao deliberately stroked his beard and boasted: "In the past, when the great general He Jin was in charge of the government, I was the lieutenant of the Xiyuan Dian Army, and Liu Jingzhou was the Zhonghou of the Northern Army. They were both guests of the shogunate, and they jointly protected Luoyang. It's been almost ten years." "Yes, yes." Deng Ji nodded quickly, "You two are old friends." "Liu Jingzhou is a well-known person in the country, and he is officially appointed by the imperial court as the state shepherd. He should stick to the territory and respond to the imperial court. There is no second day, and the people have no second masters. Now the whole world is condemning the false emperor Yuan Shu. Liu Jingzhou should not be here. At this time, the soldiers are dispatched to Nanyang, and the wise one is confused for a while, isn't this killing each other with the court?" Cao Cao asked Deng Ji, "Do you think I am right?" "Yes, yes, yes." Deng Ji nodded and bowed, with the knife resting on his neck at the moment, how dare he say it was wrong. Cao Cao's words stopped at the end: "Of course, this encounter in battle is mostly caused by a misunderstanding. Most of it is that Zhang Xiu used it to sow dissension and sow discord..." "Mr. Cao is a wise man! It's all Zhang Xiu's fault, but we're not to blame." Deng Ji stepped off the donkey and quickly picked himself out. Naturally, Cao Cao knew it was a lie, but he could not make enemies with Liu Biao now, so he deliberately gave Deng Ji a step: "I will settle Zhang Xiu's account with Zhang Xiu, and Liu Jingzhou should not be involved. Actually, I have many old friends in Jingzhou. Didn’t Liu Jingzhou rely on Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to gain a foothold in Xiangyang? I think Cai Degui and I were young friends; , now in Jingzhou to take care of refugees, we are very familiar with each other. You go back and tell Liu Jingzhou, and my old friends, don’t make everyone unhappy because of Zhang Xiu. The imperial court will not embarrass Jingzhou, after a while The old man may send envoys there, hoping to resolve the misunderstanding and reunite." When Deng Ji heard that he was let go, he knelt down and kowtowed happily: "The final general will definitely tell the lord these words, and advise him not to be an enemy of the court again." Cao Cao corrected: "General Deng was wrong. There is no such thing as being an enemy or not an enemy. This time it was just a little misunderstanding." "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding." Deng Ji kowtowed several times, raised his eyelids and asked, "The final general can..." "Let's go, let's go!" Cao Cao waved his hand, "But I'm sorry, I'll accept all the food, and all the horses and weapons will be mine. Those who want to go, the sergeants, stay." "Naturally, the last general will bid farewell...farewell..." Deng Ji got up after speaking, and ran down the tower in a panic.Wherever he went, he left a smell of embarrassment - this guy was so scared that he wet his pants. Cao Cao ordered his men and horses to be ready, and looked out of the city with his hands on the female wall. Seeing Deng Ji fleeing Huyang on foot with more than a thousand Jingzhou soldiers, he couldn't help sneering: "I have no knowledge and no ambition. Liu Biao used this kind of waste to lead his troops. How can he be undefeated?" Speaking of being a general, he immediately thought of Zhang Xiu, and immediately turned his head and said, "Don't relax at this moment, half of Cao Ren's soldiers will stay and deal with the aftermath, and the others will follow me back to Wancheng immediately. If the Zhang embroidery is not broken for a day, the old man will not be safe for a day!" After finishing the business in Huyang, Cao Cao immediately led his troops back to Wancheng.It was another whole day of rapid march, but when we returned to Feishui, the situation changed. Jia Xu is resourceful and resourceful, and he is by no means an idle person. The day after Cao Cao left, he found out that something was wrong.Cao Jun's camp seems to be powerful, but it does not rain when it thunders, and it seems that it has no intention of attacking the city.Jia Xu knew it was a trick, but it was too late to send a letter to Huyang at this time, and he couldn't even step on his shadow when he sent troops to pursue him.Once Cao Cao went to Deng Ji, he would be defeated. Once Deng Ji was defeated, he would lose all his support. Liu Biao would immediately switch from attack to defense, and Zhang Xiu had to abandon the city and retreat.After all, Jia Xu is Jia Xu, and he suggested that someone "treat him in the same way", Zhang Xiu also spread banners in Wancheng, but at night, he sneaked out of the city gate and waded through the river to seize Nanyang. Wuyin, an important town of grain in the county. When Cao Cao returned to the army, Cao Hong and Guo Jia also knew the trick, and the soldiers turned eastward and forced Wuyin again. The two sides had been in a stalemate for a day.Although Zhang Xiu solved the problem of lack of food, but the disparity in the strength of his troops and the lack of support, he heard that Cao Cao returned to the army, and a large amount of food could not be transported away. Go to Rang County to attach to Liu Biao.Cao Jun was exhausted after running around for a while, but he couldn't stop them for a while, and watched them escape.Both Zhang Xiu and Deng Ji failed, and the operation to occupy Wancheng failed completely, and all the counties he gained were returned to Cao Cao. But Cao Cao still regretted it.Although he won this time, he still didn't damage even half of Zhang Xiu's vellus hair, and the hidden danger was not completely eliminated.Seeing that it was the end of the year, and there were surrendered soldiers from Yuan Shu and Liu Biao who needed to be resettled, Cao Cao had no choice but to return to Xudu, leaving Cao Hong to guard Nanyang to appease the lost and regained counties.