Arrows and battle halberds were constantly reaping the lives of the Yellow Turban Army in small-scale attacks…
The strong men of the Yellow Turban Army regrouped, but the government troops had again and again… disappeared.
Speechless, bewildered, astonished…
All sorts of negative emotions mixed in the hearts of the Yellow Turban soldiers.
The entire three hundred thousand Yellow Turban Army was utterly speechless. Was this fighting a war? Were these government troops? Was this their proper battle formation?
Were the government troops throwing all shame away when fighting?
If you have the guts to raid our camp, then have the guts to fight us head-on!
Come on, let's hurt each other, charge in and then run? What's the meaning of this? Not fighting the battle… just playing around?
Overnight, after several repetitions of this… the Yellow Turban Army's mentality collapsed. The entire hundreds of thousands were already on the verge of collapse.
Indeed…
Although the Yellow Turban Army was vast in number, it included a large number of old, young, women, and children.
Even though the fighting strength of the able-bodied men was not bad, their organization and discipline were too poor. They lacked cavalry, their camps were too large, and they could not cope with the government troops' "shameless" guerrilla tactics.
…
On a hillside!
Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan rode their horses, gazing at the Yellow Turban camp below the hillside…
“Hahahaha…”
Cao Ren couldn't help but burst into laughter. “Miao Cai, I can’t help but admire your brilliance.”
“Following Lu Yu's ‘guerrilla warfare’ strategy, if I were a rebellious thief, I would have already collapsed. Rather than being worn down sooner or later, it would be better to find a rope and commit suicide!”
“Hahahaha…” Xiahou Yuan also laughed, stroking his beard. “Before, I was worried that Lu Yu was merely talking about military strategy on paper. Seeing him today, the strategies in this child's chest are unfathomable…”
“These moths will have a tough time in the next few days…”
And indeed, they would have a tough time.
Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, and Li Dian strictly implemented Cao Cao's "three-shift rotation" guerrilla warfare strategy, which allowed the rebellious moths no peace at all.
Of course, this effective "harassment" would from now on… accompany the Yellow Turban Army and become a part of their lives.
The Yellow Turban warriors were still utterly bewildered. What kind of battle was this?
…
…
Chenliu Commandery, the Prefectural Office Study.
At a desk, two people knelt. The middle-aged man was Cao Cao, and the refined youth was Lu Yu.
“The tea is ready. If my elder brother has any instructions, just call out. My maids and I will wait outside the door…” Cai Zhaoji said gracefully after pouring tea for Cao Cao and Lu Yu.
“Thank you, little sister… Actually, there’s no need to be so polite,” Cao Cao said with a smile, appearing to be in high spirits.
Cai Zhaoji could naturally see Cao Cao's mood. She was still muttering to herself, “My elder brother is just so happy after taking a bath with Brother Lu Yu. It seems they had a very pleasant conversation…”
How could she know that in the bathroom just now… Cao Cao and Lu Yu barely exchanged a few words, but there were a lot of strange occurrences.
“Brother Lu Yu, I’ll go out first. You and elder brother can chat here,” Cai Zhaoji reminded Lu Yu, who smiled and nodded in response…
With light footsteps, Cai Zhaoji gracefully departed, leaving only Cao Cao and Lu Yu in the study.
But… the atmosphere was still very strange. Cao Cao, who was quite talkative when discussing ancient texts, still did not speak first. His eyes remained fixed on Lu Yu.
“Duke Cao, shall we not discuss the matter of those thirty thousand Yellow Turban troops?”
It was Lu Yu who could no longer stand the strange atmosphere and spoke first…
“Haha…” Cao Cao stroked his beard. “Let’s talk. We can talk about anything you want! I, Cao Cao, am willing to listen…”
Were the thirty thousand Yellow Turban troops important? Of course, they were important!
But… compared to his son, whom he had been separated from for fifteen years, they seemed less important!
Cao Cao was now like a loving father, as long as he could hear his son’s voice, it didn’t matter what his son said.
But… “I, Cao Cao, am willing to listen?”
When these words reached Lu Yu’s ears, they felt a bit off…
What the heck was “I, Cao Cao, am willing to listen?” How did this sentence sound a bit ambiguous!
“Cough cough…”
Lu Yu immediately coughed, feeling that he had to initiate the conversation. Alas… how pathetic. The profound aura of a behind-the-scenes strategist was almost completely lost.
“Duke Cao, how do you plan to resettle these thirty thousand rebellious moths?”
Resettle? Not annihilate them?
Or, is Yu’er already certain that these thirty thousand rebellious moths are bound to be defeated? And has already begun planning how to resettle them?
Lu Yu's words immediately caught Cao Cao's attention.
Yu’er’s tone is quite arrogant. The imperial troops in Yan Province are only a few thousand. Even with the strategy of "guerrilla warfare," defeating the rebellious moths does not seem easy, nor is it a task that can be accomplished overnight.
“Yu (er)… Hahaha… Young Master Lu Yu has already started planning how to resettle them?” Cao Cao asked with a smile. “Are you so sure that these thirty thousand rebellious moths are bound to be defeated?”
“Since Duke Cao has come to me, you likely heard from Master Xun about the strategy of ‘guerrilla warfare.’ Duke Cao is extremely intelligent, so why wouldn't you put it into practice? Therefore, I predict that the rebellious moths will be defeated, and it will be within these few days!”
Within these few days? The tone is even bolder!
Cao Cao frowned. “Young Master Lu Yu has confidence?”
“Full of confidence!” Lu Yu blurted out without hesitation. Historically, Cao Cao used a method similar to guerrilla warfare to make the Yellow Turban rebels within Yan Province suffer greatly… In just a few days, the Yellow Turban rebels would collapse and disintegrate internally.
Lu Yu's actions were merely bringing this time forward.
“Since you have confidence, then I, Cao Cao, also have confidence, hahahaha…” Cao Cao said with a smile, taking a sip of tea. As a father, how could he lack confidence when his son had it?
“I heard that Young Master Lu Yu has read a thousand scrolls and is well-versed in military strategy. Why don’t we… talk about something more profound, like the overall situation, or this impoverished and weak Yan Province… Where should it head in this chaotic world?”
Rather than a question from Cao Cao, it was his desire to test Yu’er’s talents…
Although Yu’er’s "guerrilla warfare" was astonishing, its effectiveness still needed to be tested on the battlefield. Talking too much was not very meaningful.
However, discussing "the situation" and "development" was different. This was related to Yan Province's breakthrough strategy and could directly assess Yu’er's overall perspective and insight, making it convenient for Cao Cao to consider and have a basis when bestowing an official title upon Yu’er!
Even more importantly, this was related to Cao Cao’s future direction for cultivating this eldest son, which was not insignificant.
Cao Cao had put a lot of thought into this.
“There's not much to discuss about the situation.” Unexpectedly, Lu Yu was completely nonchalant.
He slowly waved his hand, then said loudly, “In today's world, with the rift between the Yuan brothers, two major factions have formed: Yuan Shao of Ji Province, Duke Cao of Yan Province, and Liu Biao of Jing Province against Yuan Shu of Yang Province, Tao Qian of Xu Province, and Gongsun Zan of You Province!”
“Liu Bei and Lu Bu are repeatedly switching sides between the two major factions, seeking a way to survive!”
With Lu Yu's casual few words of "nonchalance," Cao Cao's eyes widened. He had not expected Yu'er to have such a thorough understanding of the situation…
Indeed, Cao Cao vaguely knew this situation, but… if he had to summarize it, especially the point about Liu Bei and Lu Bu "repeatedly switching sides, seeking a way to survive," he might not have been able to articulate it.
It seemed that Yu’er not only had an outstanding understanding of military strategy but also possessed a unique analysis of the world's situation!
Cao Cao's spirit was invigorated…
Suddenly, he desperately wanted to hear Lu Yu's subsequent analysis. In such a large situation, with such internal and external troubles, Yan Province, with its scarce troops and limited grain…
How should he, Cao Cao, break through?
…
…