Chapter 376: Having Done What Needed to Be Done, Survival Is Destiny!

As dawn broke, the expressions of Guo Jia and the others relaxed significantly. There was little doubt now—Cao Cao was doomed. Unlike the chaotic night battles that required strategists to rely on their instincts to seize opportunities, once daylight emerged, commanding generals could handle the battlefield situations on their own.

"Cao Mengde won't be so lucky this time," Jia Xu sighed. "We stationed Yun Chang there because he's the most capable general under Xuande, with a well-rounded skill set that ensures minimal errors. With the advantage of resting his troops and now fighting in daylight, plus the fact that Yun Chang recognizes Cao Cao, there's no way he'll let him escape..."

Jia Xu smirked. At this point, Guan Yu didn't even need to set up another ambush. He could just lead his troops to crush Cao Cao's forces and find him for the kill.

For this group, the ones who had the deepest impression of Cao Cao were Liu Bei and Guan Yu. For the rest, Cao Cao was either someone they had never met before or just a vague memory from the past. Jia Xu didn't believe that with Guan Yu targeting Cao Cao, given all the advantages they had, Cao Cao could still escape.

"If he does, you can go jump into the river," Guo Jia teased. "By the way, why didn't we capture any of Cao's officers?"

"They're all his clan members, so I ordered a kill-on-sight approach," Li You sneered. "If Cao Cao somehow escapes, at least I've taken out a few of his relatives. Besides, those people would never surrender."

“...I didn’t see any. Did you kill them all?” Liu Ye asked, surprised as he looked at Li You.

“At that moment, it was hard to tell who was who. Except for the two Xiahou brothers, who were noticeable, who knows who else I might have killed,” Guo Jia said with a side glance at Liu Ye. During the chaos of battle, it was impossible to identify everyone.

“Good point. When we bury the bodies, we should take a closer look. Maybe we did get a few,” Li You nodded.

“Let’s wait for Yun Chang’s report. By the end of the last ambush, there should have been no need to seize the moment—just defeat Cao Cao’s troops and finish him off. If Yun Chang still lets him escape, then all I can say is that it was Cao Cao’s destiny to survive, and this battle would have been a waste,” Jia Xu remarked casually. If Guan Yu, with all the advantages on his side, failed to eliminate Cao Cao, then it truly was a matter of fate.

“Why do I have this feeling that Cao Cao might not die?” Guo Jia joked, seemingly trying to tempt fate.

“If Cao Mengde escapes, we’ll beat you up first, you jinx!” Jia Xu and the others glared at Guo Jia. If, under these circumstances, Cao Cao still survived, it would mean that fate itself was on his side, and they would have fought a pointless battle.

“Just kidding, just kidding,” Guo Jia quickly backtracked, then changed the subject. “I noticed that Wei Yan is quite good at leading troops.”

The three others glanced at Guo Jia and all sneered. The reason Jia Xu had them accompany the generals across the river wasn't because they were excellent commanders, but because they were the only ones capable of choosing the best moments to act in the pitch-dark conditions, coordinating the ambushes effectively. The strategy was all about timing, and their presence ensured that, even in the absence of solid information, they could still strike at the right time. As for leading troops in battle—what a joke. Even Liu Yan had more self-awareness than to think he could manage that.

"I wonder how the epidemic at the rear is faring," Li You changed the topic after a moment of silence. "Cao Mengde's excessive killing and grave desecrations, coupled with the warming weather, make an outbreak more likely. I hope Doctor Hua can handle it."

“It shouldn’t be a big problem. According to Zichuan, as long as the affected areas are isolated and Doctor Hua provides the right prescriptions, it should be manageable. Besides, we’ve got so many herbs that we’re using baskets to carry ginseng—what’s there to worry about?” Liu Ye recalled the hurried conversation he'd had with Chen Xi.

“I think I’ve heard Doctor Hua say that ginseng shouldn’t be used when someone has a fever,” Li You mused as he gazed at the sky. “But then again, ginseng is called the king of herbs—maybe it’s beneficial for everything. Or maybe I’m remembering it wrong.”

“I remember Taishi Ziyi giving Gongsun Bogui ginseng powder when he had a fever, and now Gongsun Bogui’s temper has become quite volatile,” Liu Ye added nonchalantly as he followed Jia Xu back to Liu Bei’s camp, leaving the generals to round up the remnants of Cao Cao’s army.

“This is really unfortunate news,” Guo Jia remarked gloomily. “We’d better not mention this to the lord.”

Li You felt a pang of regret. The only person in the world he considered a true comrade, Gongsun Bogui, had been driven mad by medicine. Meanwhile, Xuzhou had effectively fallen into their hands. With Cao Bao dead, Zuo Rong toppled, and Que Xuan destroyed, Chen Deng was on their side, and the Mi family had allied with the Zhao family. Whether they made a move or not, Xuzhou was theirs. Now they just had to wait for Tao Qian to pass away quietly and preserve some dignity.

“It seems we’re surrounded by enemies on all sides now,” Jia Xu sighed from up ahead. Being surrounded was never a good thing.

“When pursuing hegemony, who needs comrades?” Liu Ye replied nonchalantly.

Back at the camp, Jia Xu found Liu Bei waiting with a smile on his face.

“Wenhe, this victory is all thanks to you! Just when it seemed we were doomed, you turned the tide in an instant!” Liu Bei laughed heartily, grabbing Jia Xu's hands.

“All credit goes to your bold leadership and the efforts of all our soldiers. I merely followed the plan,” Jia Xu replied calmly, showing no pride in his achievement.

Jia Xu knew very well that this battle was impossible to lose. At most, it would have turned into a night-long struggle. Another reason he had stationed Guo Jia and the others where they did was to prepare for the possibility that Cao Cao might recklessly charge through Liu Bei’s forces, even at great cost.

In a situation where there was no communication, no reports, and everything relied on guesswork, things could easily go wrong. To prevent that, Jia Xu had placed Guo Jia—who was highly sensitive to shifts in battle—nearby. This way, even if Cao Mengde attempted a reckless assault, they would have time to save Liu Bei.

“Haha! Wenhe, no need to be so modest. Although our soldiers fought valiantly, without your ten-sided ambush, how could we have crushed Cao Cao in a single night?” Liu Bei laughed, waving off Jia Xu’s humility. “I’ve already prepared a banquet to await Yun Chang and the others. Wenhe, Fengxiao, Wenru, Ziyang, please join me!”

It was clear that, after this battle, Jia Xu’s status in Liu Bei’s eyes had risen significantly. Although Liu Bei had always heard from Chen Xi that Jia Xu was incredibly talented, this was the first time he had seen it in action. Normally, Jia Wenhe preferred to keep a low profile, but this time, he had shown his brilliance. Five divisions of over fifty thousand men were defeated in one night—this was no ordinary feat.