Cao Cao Worries About His Sons

Cao Cao asked who was willing to lead the troops to lift the siege of Yecheng.

Naturally, every general present wanted to go.

Su Ming had burned Wuchao, launched a surprise attack on Yecheng, and slain Yuan Shao. Having accomplished these three great feats, Su Ming alone claimed seventy percent of the credit for the entire Battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Since Su Ming had taken all the glory, the rest of the generals had to find a way to earn some merit, didn't they?

Therefore, the greatest opportunity for merit right now was lifting the siege of Yecheng.

Whoever could lead troops to break the siege of Yecheng and rescue Su Ming would undoubtedly achieve a monumental feat.

There was too much meat and too few wolves.

There was only one such great achievement, and all of Cao Cao's military commanders were eyeing it closely.

The moment Cao Cao's voice fell, the entire hall of generals dropped to their knees in a clatter, resembling dumplings being dropped into a boiling pot.

"This general is willing to go!"

"This general is willing to go!"

"This general is willing to go!"

Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Chun, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, Yue Jin, Xu Huang, Yu Jin, and many others knelt one after another to petition for the assignment.

Seeing this, Cao Cao realized everyone wanted to go.

"Then let's all go together!"

"If everyone goes, the sheer number of people might scare Zhang He away just like that," Cao Cao thought to himself.

Just as Cao Cao was about to give the order for everyone to go together, Guo Jia perceived his intent and hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him. "My lord, sending troops to rescue the young master is certainly urgent."

"However, before sending troops to rescue the young master, you must first dispatch two separate forces."

Guo Jia was Cao Cao's premier strategist and would never speak without a purpose.

Consequently, Cao Cao quickly asked for his guidance. "Fengxiao, what high见 do you have?"

Guo Jia strode over to the military map, pointed at the location of Yecheng, and said, "My lord, if we want to save Yecheng, we must first send out two forces."

"One force must guard against Gao Gan leading reinforcements from Bingzhou, and the other must guard against Yuan Tan of Qingzhou coming to the aid of Yecheng."

"Only by first deploying troops to block the reinforcements from these two provinces of Bing and Qing can we safely go to rescue the young master."

Guo Jia thought to himself that they could not simply charge straight toward Yecheng blindly with all their forces!

If they rushed there recklessly, they might reach Yecheng, drive away Zhang He, and rescue the young master, but by that time, Gao Gan would have outflanked them from Bingzhou, Yuan Tan from Qingzhou, and Yuan Xi from Youzhou.

Even if they managed to save the young master and capture Yecheng, they would end up being counter-encircled by the enemy instead.

Cao Cao was also a master of military strategy, and once Guo Jia explained it this way, he understood the implication immediately.

Therefore, Cao Cao issued orders on the spot: "Appoint Xiahou Dun as the primary general and Xiahou Yuan as the deputy general, leading a force of one hundred thousand to intercept Gao Gan's army from Bingzhou."

"Appoint Cao Ren as the primary general and Cao Chun as the deputy general, responsible for intercepting Yuan Tan's army from Qingzhou."

After dispatching these two forces, Cao Cao no longer needed to worry about his rear being flanked or being counter-encircled by the enemy.

With the Xiahou brothers and Cao Ren sent out, Cao Cao decided to personally lead the central army to rescue Su Ming.

Cao Cao was now anxious to save his son; he wouldn't trust anyone else with the task and could only feel at ease if he went himself.

It was true that Cao Cao was personally leading the army to rescue Su Ming, but he still needed to appoint vanguard officers!

The vanguard would take the lead, clearing roads through mountains and building bridges across rivers.

Only after eliminating any potential ambushes ahead could Cao Cao's main army march forward with peace of mind.

Cao Cao's camp possessed strategists like clouds and fierce generals like rain. He looked around to find the most suitable vanguard officer.

After a thorough survey, Cao Cao ultimately decided to assign Cao Hong to the role of vanguard.

The most elite cavalry under Cao Cao's command was the five-thousand-strong Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

These five thousand elite soldiers were divided into three thousand Leopard Cavalry and two thousand Tiger Cavalry.

The Tiger Cavalry were heavy cavalry unsuited for long-distance marches, so Cao Cao decided that Cao Hong should lead the three thousand Leopard Cavalry as the vanguard and rush to Yecheng to save Su Ming at top speed.

"Cao Hong, I order you to lead the three thousand Leopard Cavalry as the vanguard."

"Each of you shall have three horses, and you are to press on toward Yecheng day and night without stopping!" Cao Cao commanded.

Hearing this order, Cao Hong cupped his fists and accepted the assignment. "This general obeys the order!"

From Cao Cao's camp to Yecheng, for the entire main army to arrive would take at least five or six days.

If Cao Hong's three thousand Leopard Cavalry traveled day and night, they would arrive ahead of Cao Cao's main army.

Although the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were elite, relying solely on three thousand men to shake Zhang He's army of fifty thousand was undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Therefore, even if Cao Hong arrived at Yecheng ahead of schedule, he could only serve to alleviate the pressure on Su Ming and attract a portion of Zhang He's attention.

Reflecting on this, Cao Cao felt that relying solely on Cao Hong's three thousand Leopard Cavalry as the vanguard was somewhat inadequate.

In the event that Zhang He captured Yecheng before his main force arrived, Su Ming would be in grave danger.

With this thought, Cao Cao cast his gaze once more over his assembled generals.

Soon, his eyes settled upon Li Dian and Yue Jin.

Last time, although Yue Jin had been captured alive by Ju Yi due to his rash advancement, his recklessness also proved that he was a daring and aggressive commander.

At this juncture, the kind of generals Cao Cao needed were precisely those who would dare to charge forward at all costs.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao issued another command: "Where are Li Dian and Yue Jin?"

"I appoint the two of you as the second route vanguard officers. I will give you twenty thousand cavalry, and pull together another sixty thousand warhorses from the entire army. You too shall have three horses each and press on toward Yecheng day and night without stopping."

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were Cao Cao's elite force and were already equipped with three horses per man.

However, ordinary cavalry was different.

Regular cavalrymen usually had only one horse each.

Cao Cao's army did not possess an abundance of cavalry to begin with. After gathering enough horses to give Li Dian and Yue Jin three horses per man, virtually all the fine horses in the army had been handed over to them.

From this, it was evident to what lengths Cao Cao had gone to lift the siege of Yecheng.

"This general obeys the order!"

"This general obeyshires order!" Li Dian and Yue Jin both cupped their fists in acceptance.

Having successively dispatched two routes of vanguard officers, Cao Cao further ordered all divisions to strike camp, kindle fires, and cook meals.

They would cook right away, eat their fill, and set out immediately without a moment's delay.

Before dismissing the meeting, Cao Cao wore a solemn expression and spoke with utmost gravity to the assembled generals: "For this operation, do you all know what the primary objective is?"

The generals thought to themselves, My lord, stop keeping us in suspense; just tell us directly what you want us to do!

"Please speak, My lord. We will surely keep it engraved in our hearts!" the generals chorused, cupping their fists.

Cao Cao walked before the generals and said sternly: "In this battle, the primary objective is to rescue my son, Su Ming."

"I can afford to lose Yecheng, but Su Ming must live."

"In this battle, I want Su Ming alive, not dead."

Before the impending battle, Cao Cao uttered such words.

At this moment, rather than being the Prime Minister of the Han dynasty, Cao Cao appeared more like a father deeply worried for his child.

The three vanguard officers—Cao Hong, Li Dian, and Yue Jin—realized that their burden this time was exceptionally heavy.

Should Su Ming suffer even the slightest mishap, the three of them wouldn't need to return; they might as well just find a crooked-necked tree outside Yecheng and hang themselves!