A stalemate can persist, but it cannot be hidden.
Especially for the anxious Cao Cao.
At first, the soldiers made crazy recommendations, but it didn't take long for the march to slow down.
Later, it completely stagnated.
At first, Cao Hong used various excuses such as saying that his army had already reached the Han camp. The Han camp was full of soldiers and could not move forward.
But the prevarication came and went, and finally I couldn't hold it back any longer.
Cao Cao is not a fool, how can he not have any judgment of his own?
According to Xia Houyuan's temperament, he had already come to announce the good news after breaking through the Han camp.
The delay in reporting shows that the progress is not going well.
And if things don't go well and the three routes are stalled, how can Cao Cao not be in a hurry?
"Cao Hong, send someone immediately to ask what's going on!"
Cao Hong was not only unwilling, but also a little unhappy.
This statement made it seem as if Cao Cao did not trust him at all.
"King Wei, you have also seen that this place is so crowded that it is too difficult to detect information."
"When the soldiers squeeze through, explore the news, and send it back, we don't know when, let alone what the situation will be!"
In fact, Cao Hong didn't lie. The situation today is not the same as before.
There was a small path on both wings before, and there was a large gap shot out in the middle.
But since the attack was ordered, the road was completely blocked, and it was extremely difficult to deliver the message.
The soldiers are sent out now. When they come back, they still don't know how old they are.
It is more likely that after the soldiers returned, the situation changed again and it was completely unnecessary.
"King Wei, why don't you wait patiently for a while?"
"wait?"
Cao Cao was furious, and he didn't care what the reason was.
"Do you know Gu's current situation? One hundred thousand Han cavalry are coming here. Gu can't wait. Are the Han cavalry willing to wait?"
"Let me tell you, if the Han cavalry arrives and Gu fails to capture Liu Zhang, this battle will be completely over!"
I thought that this roar would let Cao Hong know how serious the matter was, but it turned out that Cao Hong didn't pay attention at all.
Moreover, he showed a look of indifference.
"Haha, why is King Wei panicking?"
"Don't panic?"
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, showing strong suspicion.
If it wasn't 100% confirmed, Cao Cao would have suspected that Cao Hong had rebelled.
"King Wei, don't get me wrong!"
Cao Hong saw something strange and quickly explained.
"Think about it, King Wei, who told King Wei about the news about the 100,000 Han army cavalry?"
"Liu Zhang and Xun Yu."
Cao Cao blurted it out without thinking, but after saying it, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Cao Hong smiled and said nothing, quietly waiting for Cao Cao to think.
He believed that Cao Cao would figure it out.
After a while, Cao Cao seemed to understand something.
"Cao Hong, do you mean that I was deceived by the two thieves?"
Cao Hong smiled and nodded, tugging at his beard proudly.
"That's right!"
"King Wei, think about it. After receiving this news, are you particularly anxious to deal with Liu Zhang in the shortest possible time?"
"In this way, the soldiers will definitely be urged! Be aware that mistakes will definitely occur if you rush!"
"The battle report from the front has just been sent back. Our army is indeed making rapid progress on the three fronts, but the casualties are not ordinary!"
Cao Cao suddenly had an epiphany.
The more I listened, the more shocked I became, and at the same time, I felt that Cao Hong's words made sense.
The casualties were not ordinary heavy, but shockingly heavy.
It's just that the news of the sudden advance in the three routes covered up the huge number of casualties.
If you look at the battle damage alone, it is simply amazing!
In other words, the Wei army numbered hundreds of thousands. If there were only 40,000 to 50,000 people, they would probably face a counterattack by the Han army at this moment.
But 40,000 to 50,000 is only twice what it is now.
Cao Cao was not wealthy, nor could he endure endless casualties.
It would be meaningless to capture Liu Zhang if the entire army was wiped out.
"Cao Hong, do you think Liu Zhang deliberately angered Gu and made him attack desperately so that he could take advantage of Gu's eagerness?"
Cao Hong nodded noncommittally.
"King Wei, I have this suspicion!"
"At first, I was frightened by Liu Zhang's words, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized that it was too deliberate."
"What do you mean by this?"
The matter was so important that Cao Cao had to be careful. He wanted Cao Hong to spit out all his thoughts.
"What does King Wei think of the layout of the Han camp and the means of counterattack?"
"Very strong."
Just two words expressed the admiration in Cao Cao's heart.
It is indeed very strong, so strong that Cao Cao felt inferior to him.
To be fair, if it were Cao Cao, he wouldn't be able to do so well.
Cao Hong nodded and continued to ask,
"Then King Wei thinks, why do Liu Zhang and Xun Yu need to tell us that they have 100,000 cavalry as backup?"
"If there are really 100,000 cavalry, why don't they keep silent? Wouldn't a surprise attack be more effective?"
"Furthermore, King Wei said there is no way to escape, but if the army really disperses and flees in different directions, is it possible that King Wei will definitely die?"
"Based on all the circumstances, I conclude that Liu Zhang made up a lie about a hundred thousand cavalry to make the King of Wei and his ministers afraid."
"At the same time, Liu Zhang concluded that the King of Wei would attack at all costs and capture him before the follow-up army arrived."
"Isn't it true that everything went according to Liu Zhang's wishes and our army suffered heavy casualties?"
"Whether it's Xia Houyuan, Cao Ren, or Zhang He, they don't care about casualties in order to attack."
The more Cao Cao heard, the more shocked he became, and the more he felt it made sense.
Unknowingly, I fell into a trap again.
"hateful!"
With a cry of anger, Cao Cao clenched his fist and waved it hard.
He couldn't understand why he was always being deceived and taken advantage of?
Like a ringed cow, Liu Zhang always led him around unscrupulously!
Not only the behavioral but also the mental humiliation made Cao Cao even more furious.
"Cao Hong, what do you think we should do now?"
Cao Hong smiled and showed an unfathomable expression.
"King Wei, Xun Yu, the traitor, deliberately angered King Wei and acted like he was stalling for time."
"Then why don't we just follow the plan?"
"What do you mean by this?"
Perhaps because he was blinded by anger, Cao Cao always felt that his brain was slow and he couldn't understand many things.
"King Wei, all you need to do is not comply with Xun Yu's wishes!"
"Didn't Xun Yu want the King of Wei to attack quickly so that they could kill and injure our soldiers?"
"Then let's delay the attack and advance slowly to see who is anxious!"
"After Xun Yu found out that we had seen through his scheming, he must have been frightened and collapsed in his heart!"
"Perhaps out of fear, he surrendered, maybe!"
