Guanzhong's successive great victories does not mean that all the luck in the world is concentrated on Liu Zhang.
Just as Liu Zhang was occupying all the counties in Guanzhong, the winner was also decided on the battlefield in Hebei.
Cao Cao lost to Yuan Shao, defeated ten battle formations in a row, and led his army to escape to the edge of the Yellow River.
Just when everyone thought that Yuan Shao had won consecutive battles and pushed Cao Cao to the edge of the cliff, something unexpected happened.
Cao Jun was in a desperate situation and fought with all his might, giving the pursuing Yuan Jun a head-on blow!
Cao Cao took the lead, which further inspired the bloody courage of his soldiers, and for a time Yuan's army was defeated steadily.
Yuan Shao's dream of driving all Cao's troops into the Yellow River and drowning was completely shattered, and he was furious.
Immediately ordered all 150,000 troops to attack, to completely eliminate Cao Cao in one battle.
At this moment, an ambush force emerged from the rear of Yuan's army and rushed straight into Yuan Shao's main formation.
Yuan Shao was immediately frightened because there were no soldiers guarding him, and he sent troops back in panic.
This advance and retreat caused Yuan Jun's entire formation to become chaotic.
At this moment, ambushes appeared around Yuan's army, and the 150,000-strong army was completely surrounded by Cao's army.
Yuan Shao was so frightened that he abandoned his army without hesitation and fled to Yecheng alone.
As soon as the coach escaped, the entire Yuan Army's command system collapsed instantly, and the 150,000-strong army fell into complete chaos.
Cao Cao immediately ordered the entire army to pursue him and not let Yuan Jun alone easily.
In the battle of Cangting, Cao Cao once again won a complete victory!
Cao's army claimed to have killed more than 80,000 Yuan's troops and captured more than 50,000.
Cao Cao still retained his cruel and cruel methods, forcing all the prisoners into the Yellow River and drowning alive!
Yuan's army was demoralized after this defeat. After the 150,000-strong army was wiped out, it was difficult to form a force to resist Cao Cao in a short period of time.
Wei County, to which Jizhou belongs, and Qinghe State's cities along the Yellow River all changed hands.
Yuan Shao's 150,000 troops were defeated again by Cao Cao's 50,000 troops.
The strong defeated the weak, and Yuan Shao was once again outnumbered.
Yuan Shao once again showed the world what waste is!
Cao Cao was not satisfied with this result, but launched a full-scale attack on Yuan Shao's forces.
First, Xiahou Dun led his army north from Xuzhou, Xiahou Yuan marched east from Yanzhou, and Taishan County Governor Zang Ba's army attacked Qingzhou.
Then Cao Cao himself personally led the victorious division to continue northward, and the troops approached the Jizhou Administrative Office and Yuan Shao's hometown, Yecheng.
Yuan Shao was first frightened by the defeat, and then heard that Cao Cao was threatening Yecheng. He was so anxious that he fell ill.
Cao Cao had evil thoughts and wrote a personal letter to Yuan Shao, telling the inside story of the battle at Cangting.
It turns out that except for the ambush that attacked Yuan Shao's formation, all the ambushes were Guo Jia's dubious tactics!
Yuan Shao suddenly became furious and regretful.
Cao Cao only had 50,000 troops in total. How could he surround an army of 150,000?
Yuan Shao looked up to the sky and shouted, "You can't defeat Cao Cao with an urgent attack, and you can't defeat Cao Cao with a slow attack. What can you do?"
Then he became so angry that he vomited blood several times and almost died!
Fortunately, he was in Yecheng and the doctors rescued him in time, so he barely managed to save his life.
However, Yuan Shao was still unconscious and completely unable to handle political affairs.
Cao's army was about to approach the city, and the entire city of Ye was in chaos.
At this time, Yuan Shao's three sons unexpectedly stood together and immediately decided to abandon Yecheng.
Once the coast of the Yellow River is lost, the entire Wei County, Qinghe Kingdom, Pingyuan County and other counties are no longer able to defend it!
After discussing with their advisors, Yuan Tan and the others immediately led Yuan Shao and his army to Nanpi, their former base camp, to prepare to retreat to the Bohai Sea.
At the same time, Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan was arranged to defend Huguan to protect the annexed state.
As for Qingzhou, it can only be strategically abandoned and then be recovered after the counterattack against Cao Cao in the future.
Cao Cao spent almost no effort and occupied the entire Wei County, Zhao State, and Qinghe County one after another.
Just as Cao Cao was arousing his ambition and preparing to continue his invasion of Julu and Anping Hejian, a piece of news immediately stopped his march.
Xuchang urgently reports that the Xianbei army is likely to be destroyed soon!
At the same time, the problem of food and grass also emerged.
The problem is far from over!
Rebellions broke out one after another in the newly occupied Wei County, Qinghe County, Zhao State, Pingyuan County and other places.
People across Hebei Province were grateful for Yuan Shao's kindness and did not succumb to Cao Cao's rule at all.
Cao Cao had no choice but to stop his advance at Wei County.
The rebellion in the counties of Hebei was not initiated by the Yuan family and was not large-scale at all.
As long as the generals are left behind, the army can be completely pacified.
Yuan Shao's group suffered two consecutive defeats in Guandu and Cangting, losing more than 250,000 soldiers, and it was difficult to form an effective counterattack in a short period of time.
Therefore, no matter how things develop in Hebei, they can all be under Cao Cao's control.
What is the fate of the Xianbei people now is what Cao Cao is most concerned about.
The final ownership of Guanzhong may not be changed, but Cao Cao's future strategic plan still needs to be adjusted in time.
After receiving Guo Jia's support, Cao Cao traveled lightly and quickly rushed to Xuchang with Guo Jia.
After Cao Jun stopped advancing, the three Yuan brothers who fled to Nanpi finally got a chance to breathe.
Cao Cao's departure is not the only good news for the Yuan family.
Not long after, Yuan Shao also woke up from his coma, and his health gradually improved.
Although the loss of troops and generals, the loss of cities and territory was a heavy blow to the Yuan family, the Yuan family still directly controlled the entire Bingzhou, Youzhou, and most of Jizhou.
The land and population owned by Yuan Shao can still compete head-on with Cao Cao.
After experiencing this life and death, Yuan Shao finally came to his senses and fully understood the kind words Ju Shou gave Tian Feng.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Tian Feng died in prison, Ju Shou also died at the hands of Cao Cao, and the two most powerful counselors in Hebei were both dead.
Yuan Shao learned from the painful experience, re-energized his morale, and decided to strengthen his troops and wait for the opportunity to show off again with Cao Cao.
Subsequently, the cities bordering Cao's army in Changshan, Julu, and Anping counties began to build substantial fortifications.
Yuan Shao's group changed from offensive to defensive against Cao Cao's group, which also showed that the relationship between the weak enemy and the strong one was officially reversed.
After Yuan Tan made the decision to retreat to Nanpi instead of Yuan Shao, it also represented another deflection of the historical trajectory.
Due to Liu Zhang's unintentional interference, Cao Cao had to temporarily stop harvesting the fruits of Cangting's victory.
At the same time, several large commercial ships suddenly appeared on the Han River in Jingzhou.
These merchant ships were covered with yellow flags, and no soldiers dared to stop them along the way.
Everyone knows that these ships belong to the Huang family, one of the four major families in Jingzhou, and no one is stupid enough to get into trouble with the Huang family.
There is a man standing impressively on the bow of the boat. He is eight feet tall, has a face like a crown jade, wears a silk scarf on his head, and a crane cloak. He exudes elegance and ease all the time.
The only slightly strange thing is his immature face, which looks like he has just reached his crown at most.
However, age cannot obscure his heroic spirit, but only enhances his majestic appearance.
