Chapter 331: Battle of Fengqiu, Cao Cao flees On the ninth day of the tenth month in the fifth year of Jian'an, the night was moonless and the stars were sparse, and the autumn wind blew with a slight chill. After Cao Cao led his troops to attack, he first found out the location of the grain transport team and then marched northward. As for the north of Fengqiu, one can see a camp standing there with bright lights, which is exactly the Wuchao camp. Seeing this, Cao Cao was frightened and hurriedly led his troops towards the camp. When they got outside the camp, they saw soldiers asking questions. Cao Cao asked Le Jin to answer: "I am a subordinate of General Jiang Qi, and I am here to escort the grain convoy on the orders of my lord!" After he answered like this, the soldiers did not suspect anything and let him go. When they encountered many guards on the way, Cao Cao pretended to be Jiang Qi's guard and was able to pass through unhindered. It was not until the fourth watch that we suddenly saw a simple camp on the side of the road with a large number of grain carts parked inside. Seeing the food and grass here, Cao Cao was overjoyed and wanted to lead his generals to attack.

But at this moment, Ma Chaoxing came forward, clasped his hands together and said: "My lord, the enemy's food supply team is ahead, so we must have more defenses." "I am willing to be the vanguard, to fight my way out for my lord and to defeat the enemy troops first!" Ever since Ma Chao joined Cao Cao's army, he has been making great achievements like a rocket. At this time, he was already showing signs of becoming the first general of a non-Family under Cao Cao. Seeing Ma Chao asking for a fight, Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled, patted Ma Chao on the shoulder and said: "I have the courage of Meng Qi, so I can defeat the enemy. Just go ahead and I will plunder the enemy for Meng Qi!" "After this battle, Meng Qi will be a marquis!" Upon hearing this, Ma Chao was delighted. He immediately mounted his horse and led more than a thousand soldiers forward. However, Ma Chao did not know that at the same time, Ju Su also received a message from the scouts in the camp. It was said that a troop of soldiers was coming outside the camp, all wearing their military uniforms. Upon hearing this, Ju Su, who was resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes and said: "If Cao Cao really came here, our army should be able to win this battle!" Having said this, he ordered his soldiers to be on alert to prevent the enemy from breaking through the stronghold. While the two sides were making arrangements, Cao's army continued to advance until they reached the front of the camp, where they suddenly started a fire. Ma Chao raised his spear and charged into the camp. Cao Cao hurriedly ordered his soldiers to light fires, and the generals rushed in with drums beating. Suddenly, shouts of killing rang out throughout the entire village. As the flames burned, many tents were ignited and a big fire broke out in an instant. But at this moment, Cao Cao heard a miserable cry from afar: "My lord, something is wrong. The enemy's food bags are full of wet food!" Hearing this, Cao Cao was startled and hurried to the side of the grain cart to reach in. As soon as I touched it, I felt a dampness and the whole car was covered with water stains, making it impossible to ignite.

Seeing this scene, Cao Cao's heart fell from heaven to hell. At this moment, a very unfamiliar voice was heard from a distance: "Cao Mengde, you have fallen into our trap. Now the grain has flooded and we are surrounded by enemies. Why don't you surrender quickly?" As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of bows and crossbows were shot out from the camp, and shouts were heard from all directions. Cao Cao was greatly alarmed when he heard this, and hurriedly ordered a retreat, but he heard another loud shout from the rear: "All troops, listen up! Join me in encircling and killing Cao Cao here. No mistakes!" As soon as a shout was heard, tens of thousands of soldiers rushed out from both sides of the camp. Seeing this happening in the distance, Cao Cao thought to himself that his life was over. But he saw that the vanguard Ma Chao had already led his troops back and shouted at him: "My lord, please leave quickly. I will protect you and help you escape from the encirclement!" Upon hearing this, Cao Cao jumped on his horse and rushed out of the camp without saying anything else. In an instant, the entire camp was filled with shouts and screams. And because they were all wearing Yuan Shao's military uniform, it was difficult to tell who was friend and foe for a moment. Under the protection of Ma Chao, Cao Cao rushed out of the camp and ran all the way outside. But now there are enemy troops everywhere, and although they have cavalry, it is difficult for them to break out of the siege. At this moment, Ju Shou rode out on his horse and shouted in the direction Cao Cao was leaving: "Come with me and stop the troops ahead. The man with the long beard is Cao Cao!" When Cao Cao heard this, he was shocked. He quickly grabbed his long beard and cut it hard, then continued to walk out. However, although Ju Su saw this, he knew Cao Cao was cunning and said: "Don't let Cao Cao escape. This man is riding a yellow horse and is still armed." Upon hearing this, all the soldiers rushed towards Cao Cao. Upon seeing this, Cao Cao hurriedly tore off his armor, and seeing the lightning-fast claws of the man under his seat, he felt reluctant to let go. It’s not that he can’t bear to part with the horse, but now the country is in chaos and how can he escape if he abandons the horse? Fortunately, Le Jin was following behind him at this time, and he quickly pointed to the forest and said to Cao Cao: "My lord, please retreat to the forest immediately. It is dark there. We will stop the enemy!" When Cao Cao heard this, he rushed towards the dense forest. Unexpectedly, when he reached the forest, he saw two generals rushing towards him: "Cao Mengde, don't run away. Where are you going to escape to? Wait for me to die!" These people were none other than Yuan Shao's generals Lu Weihuang and Zhao Rui. Cao Cao was shocked when he saw this, but saw Le Jin holding a knife and rushing towards the two men. Le Jin was also one of Cao Cao's fierce generals, and he often took the lead in attacking the enemy. Although he is short in stature, he is extremely brave and cannot be compared to Zhao Rui and others. At this time, he stopped the two men, and Cao Cao quickly disappeared into the dense forest. Zhao Rui and others were stopped by Le Jin. Seeing Cao Cao going away, they shouted: "All officers, listen up! Cao Cao has entered the forest. Follow me in pursuit."

The sound spread from one person to ten people, and from ten to a hundred people, and soon it reached Ju Su's ears. Seeing that Cao Cao was about to flee, he once again gave the order and shouted: "All troops, listen up! Do not enter the forest. It is difficult for them to move in the forest." "Let's set fire to the forest and divide our forces to surround Cao Cao. Whoever captures Cao Cao will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be made a marquis of ten thousand households!" Originally he did not have the authority to give out rewards of this level. But now that the cooked duck was about to fly away, he couldn't do much! As soon as the order was given, Yuan Shao's soldiers' eyes turned red and they took torches and threw them into the forest. Many soldiers rushed forward to block the road in order to get ahead. It was autumn, and the trees in the north were dry and burned when they encountered fire. In less than a moment, along with the autumn wind, the whole forest was on fire. Cao Cao had just entered the forest when he saw birds and animals running around him. He then saw Xu Chu shouting: "My lord, it's bad, the enemy is setting fire to the forest!" As soon as these words were spoken, Cao Cao looked behind him and saw the flames moving rapidly along with the weeds and dead leaves. Although we haven't reached this point yet, we can already feel the high temperature behind us. "Who on earth came up with this vicious plan? Is it true that he wants to kill Cao Mengde here?" Cao Cao cursed angrily, thinking that his opponent this time was truly vicious. Seeing the fire behind him and many obstacles in the distance, he reined in his horse and stopped. When Xu Chu saw this, he was shocked and quickly asked Cao Cao the reason. Although he is known as a tiger maniac, he is not stupid. He knows that now is the time to escape and there is no time to delay. Seeing his doubts, Cao Cao calmly pointed forward and said: "They are burning the forest in the back, so we must have people chasing and intercepting us in the front!" "If we go, we will be trapped. Gentlemen, follow me north quickly!" Having said this, he took Xu Chu and a group of Tiger Guards and headed north. When everyone saw this, they didn't care about anything else and hurriedly followed. As Cao Cao left alone, the thousands of cavalrymen under his command were in dire straits. Originally, if Cao Cao left, although the generals were divided and surrounded, they could still break out individually. However, when Le Jin saw Cao Cao entering the forest and Ju Shou lighting a fire, he became panicked. Although he was facing an attack from two generals, he was still prepared to lead his troops into the forest to reinforce them. Zhao Rui and others naturally knew what Le Jin meant, and the two of them tried to stop him. Upon seeing this, Le Jin gritted his teeth and allowed Lu Weihuang to attack with his spear, and then he shot towards Zhao Rui. With two "puffs", a gun pierced his thigh, and the spear also stabbed Zhao Rui to death on the spot.

After stabbing Zhao Rui to death, he grabbed Lu Weihuang's spear and stabbed him to death off his horse. After killing two generals in a row, he was about to shout for help from the forest, but at this moment, he heard Ma Chao shout: "My lord has broken out of the encirclement, everyone please follow me and retreat!" As soon as this voice was heard, the cavalry under his command withdrew from the battle group one after another. Upon seeing this, Le Jin pointed in the direction where Ma Chao left and angrily cursed: "Ma Chao, you bastard, the lord is still in the forest, how dare you retreat?" But it is unknown whether Ma Chao heard this sentence or not, as he retreated to the west on his horse. As soon as Ma Chao left, a large number of soldiers surrounded and killed Le Jin. Seeing this, Le Jin realized that it was impossible to escape, so he rushed into the dense forest fire. At this time, the news of the fire in the dense forest north of Fengqiu also reached Yuan Shao’s military tent. When Yuan Shao heard this, he knew that the food and grass were lost, and he hurriedly called everyone together to discuss the matter. When Zhang He saw this, he stood up and bowed to Yuan Shao and asked for his orders: "This must be Cao Cao's food robbery. I would like to ask for permission to go with Gao Lan to rescue him." Yuan Shao listened and was about to give an order, but he saw Guo Tu suddenly stand up and say: "My lord, you can't do that. Cao's army is robbing food. Cao Cao must be here in person." "Since Cao has left, his camp must be empty. Let's attack Cao Cao's camp first." "Cao heard this and returned quickly: this is Sun Bin's plan to besiege Wei and save Zhao!" Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment when faced with this plan. Zhang He saw this and said hurriedly: "My lord, Cao Cao is very resourceful. When you go out, you must be prepared for any unexpected events." "Now they are burning their food supplies. Our army cannot break through the enemy camp and we will all be captured." Before Yuan Shao could speak, Guo Tu turned around, glared at Zhang He and shouted: "In my opinion, Cao Cao only cared about robbing food, why would he leave troops in the camp?" When Zhang He heard this, he pointed at Guo Tu in shame and anger. Seeing this, Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and prepared to adopt Guo Tu's strategy. But at this moment, Feng Ji, who had been silent all this time, stood up and said: "My Lord, wait a minute. I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not!" Yuan Shao was anxious to begin with, and after hearing this he became a little depressed: "It's urgent, but you can talk about it. Why are you talking about something that shouldn't be said?" When Feng Ji saw this, he bowed and looked at Guo Tu and said coldly: "Now there is no food in our camp, and their food is related to our victory or defeat." "At present, Fengqiu is far away and the enemy camp is close. Mr. Guo wants to attack the camp. May I ask who will be responsible after the defeat?" Guo Tu never expected Feng Ji to attack at this time, and said in panic:

"We are all offering advice to our lord, and we have no selfish motives. How can you say who is responsible?" But Feng Ji was waiting for this moment. He bowed to Yuan Shao and said: "In this case, I would like to ask General Zhang and others to reinforce the grain team!" "If we fail, I will bear all the punishment!" Zhang He was overjoyed when he saw this, thinking that Feng Ji was still reliable, and hurriedly bowed and said: "I am also willing to reinforce the grain team, but I am willing to be punished if I fail!" Seeing how simple Feng Ji was, Yuan Shao became hesitant for a moment. When Guo Tu saw this, he could not help but glare at Feng Ji for a moment, then he gritted his teeth and said: "You can send a small army to rescue the food, and you can send the main force to attack the camp." "If this plan fails, I am willing to accept the punishment from my lord!" After hearing this, Yuan Shao agreed immediately and ordered his general Jiang Qi to lead a detachment to rescue the grain team. He also ordered Zhang He, Gao Lan and other generals to lead the army to attack Cao Cao's camp. (End of this chapter)