Chapter 134: Cao Ren's Advice: Slow Down the Siege Rather Than Assaulting Fiercely

Hearing that Ju Yi intended to strip off his armor, Yue Jin was filled with utter humiliation and shame.

If Ju Yi were to actually strip off his armor and parade it before the three armies, shouting out in mockery, how could Yue Jin ever show his face in public again?

"Ju Yi, do as you please, whether you want to kill me or slice me to pieces!"

"If you have any spine left, just kill me!" Yue Jin struggled fiercely, hurling curses at Ju Yi.

In short, Yue Jin would rather die than allow Ju Yi to strip him of his armor.

However, Ju Yi cared little for whether Yue Jin consented or not. At present, his top priority was breaking the enemy forces. As long as he could successfully block the Cao army's advance, Ju Yi was willing to resort to any tactic.

With a wave of Ju Yi's hand, soldiers swarmed forward from both sides, pinning Yue Jin tightly to the ground and swiftly stripping away his armor.

Yue Jin struggled with all his might, shouting abuses, but found himself completely helpless.

No matter how furiously Yue Jin cursed, Ju Yi paid him no mind. After stripping off the armor, Ju Yi ordered the guards to drag Yue Jin away.

Having suffered a defeat and been captured alive, Yue Jin should consider himself lucky to be breathing. What did losing a suit of armor matter in comparison?

Once Yue Jin's armor was removed, Ju Yi instructed his subordinate officers to hoist it atop a flagpole and parade it before the frontline of the three armies.

Ju Yi's move was designed precisely to crush the morale of the Cao army.

The battle had raged on for several days consecutively. The soldiers had been unable to eat properly or sleep soundly, and they were utterly exhausted.

Right now, they were merely holding on by a single breath of willpower. Once that morale shattered, the battle would become impossible to fight.

"Hey!"

"Quickly look, why is General Yue Jin hanging from the flagpole over there?"

"That's not General Yue Jin, that's General Yue Jin's armor!"

"This is bad! General Yue Jin must have been captured alive!"

The moment Yue Jin's armor was raised onto the flagpole, the soldiers below spotted it immediately.

Sure enough, upon seeing Yue Jin's armor, the Cao army soldiers broke into a flurry of panicked discussions.

Within moments, loud-voiced soldiers from the Yuan army could be heard shouting across the battlefield, "The Cao general Yue Jin has been captured alive! The Cao general Yue Jin has been captured alive!"

"The Cao general Yue Jin has been captured alive."

Seeing Yue Jin's armor hoisted on the flagpole and hearing the constant cries of the Yuan troops, panic spread rapidly through the ranks of the Cao army.

In ancient warfare, morale was paramount.

The general was the backbone of the soldiers; with the major general captured alive, how could the common soldiers possibly continue to fight?

"Report!"

"General Cao Ren, this is a disaster! A major disaster!"

"General Yue Jin let his arrogance blind him and advanced recklessly, leading to his capture by Ju Yi!" Yue Jin's deputy general rushed breathlessly into the tent and reported to Cao Ren.

Hearing this news, Cao Ren nearly leaped to his feet in shock.

Yue Jin was one of the premier generals in Cao's camp; how could he have been so reckless?

Barely a few hours had passed since he took over from Cao Hong, yet he had already allowed himself to be captured alive.

True to his reputation as a great general, Cao Ren suppressed his initial shock, quickly regained his composure, and ordered his subordinates, "Quickly, go summon Cao Hong here!"

Cao Hong had just managed to get some food and was lying down on his bed, not yet asleep, when he was woken by the messenger sent by Cao Ren.

Upon learning that Yue Jin had been captured, Cao Hong cast aside thoughts of rest, hastily donned his armor, grabbed his weapon, and hurried to report to Cao Ren.

"Eldest Brother!"

"I told you Yue Jin was unreliable, but you insisted on sending him!"

"And now look at this! Instead of capturing Ju Yi, he got captured by Ju Yi himself!"

"Our morale is shattered, and this battle will be nearly impossible to fight now!" Cao Hong ranted the moment he stepped into the tent.

Cao Ren cut Cao Hong off directly and issued his orders: "Lead your own troops to the front lines immediately and stabilize the situation at all costs."

"Just stabilize the situation, and under no circumstances advance recklessly! Yue Jin has been captured, and I must go to see the Prime Minister in person."

Cao Ren gave Cao Hong explicit instructions forbidding him from making any rash advances.

Yue Jin had been captured precisely because of his recklessness; Cao Hong must not follow in his footsteps!

Cao Hong thumped his chest and assured Cao Ren, "Eldest Brother, rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

Although Cao Hong was also young and hot-headed, having worked alongside Cao Ren for so long, he had absorbed a measure of Cao Ren's steadiness.

Having ordered Cao Hong to take over the command of the battlefield, Cao Ren whipped his horse into a gallop, racing at full speed to see his lord, Cao Cao.

The Cao Army Camp.

The Central Command Tent.

"My Lord, General Yue Jin has been captured by Ju Yi!" Cao Ren reported to Cao Cao.

In truth, Cao Ren's report was hardly necessary; Cao Cao was already well aware of the matter.

Having managed to capture a prominent general of the Cao army with great difficulty, Ju Yi naturally intended to maximize Yue Jin's value.

Ju Yi had first paraded Yue Jin's armor around the right flank before bringing it around to the front lines.

Seeing Cao Ren arrive, Cao Cao's old face flushed with embarrassment.

Cao Cao had sent Yue Jin forward originally to assist Cao Ren, but who could have foreseen that instead of helping, he would only create chaos.

Warfare was unpredictable; the situation changed in the blink of an eye, and no one could foresee every single contingency.

Therefore, the blame could not be laid entirely on Cao Cao.

"That reckless and arrogant Yue Jin, I will not spare him!" Cao Cao said angrily.

The gathered generals thought to themselves: *You might not spare him, but whether Ju Yi will spare him is another question entirely!*

*For all we know, General Yue Jin might already be dead and buried.*

Cao Ren raised his hands in a salute and said to Cao Cao, "My Lord, this is not the time to investigate and assign blame. Our morale is lost, and we can no longer afford to press the attack so aggressively!"

"Trading a thousand of the enemy for eight hundred of our own is simply not a worthwhile trade!"

From the very beginning of this campaign, the Cao army had relied on fierce and relentless assaults.

However, one must remember: Cao Cao was on the offensive, while Ju Yi was on the defensive.

The casualties sustained on the offensive were inevitably greater than those on the defensive.

Previously, the Cao army's morale had been soaring like a rainbow, holding the absolute upper hand, so minor casualties were easily overlooked.

Yet, after several days of continuous assaults, the Cao army was already nearing its limit.

Now, Yue Jin's capture served to push the Cao army to that breaking point prematurely.

They could no longer hold out!

At this moment, they truly could not sustain it any longer.

Cao Ren had come to Cao Cao precisely to propose shifting from a fierce assault to a slower, more deliberate strategy.

What was Cao Cao's ultimate objective? It was to absorb and incorporate Yuan Shao's forces.

If they continued fighting like this and suffered catastrophic casualties, what would be the point of seizing Yuan Shao's hundred thousand troops only to lose eighty thousand of their own?

Therefore, Cao Ren's proposal to replace fierce assaults with a slow siege and containment strategy was entirely viable.

Yet, if Cao Ren could think of this strategy, could the multitude of brilliant strategists surrounding Cao Cao fail to think of it?

Naturally, they had thought of it.

If they could think of it, why wasn't it being used?

Ultimately, it all came down to food!

The Cao army was running out of grain!

Especially now, having captured a large number of prisoners, those captives also needed to be fed.

Cao Cao persisted in his relentless assaults precisely because his food supplies were critically low. He had to quickly crush these obstructive Yuan forces and break through to the cities ahead to secure provisions.