Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

The fire in Dongchao Ford could be seen clearly even from the other side of the Yellow River.

This great fire completely burned down the entire Dongchao Ford and a large number of Yellow River ferries.

The defending general of Dongchao Ford was none other than Cao Hong.

As a general from the Cao clan, Dongchao Ford, no matter how important, shouldn't have required Cao Hong to lower his status to garrison it.

But Dongchao Ford… was rich!

Most of the Wei Kingdom's money and grain transportation between the two sides of the Yellow River, as well as the passage of merchants and caravans, had to pass through Dongchao Ford.

Because of this, Cao Hong, who loved money as much as his life, knew that even a slight sifting through Dongchao Ford would yield mountains of gold and silver.

Moreover, when the Wei Kingdom was first established, even Cao Cao himself was so poor that he was broke, and the national treasury's money and grain were almost always insufficient.

This also made it very difficult for Cao Cao to allocate money and grain for private matters, as he was closely watched by many officials.

Cao Hong's love of money was one thing, but being a capable and warlike general, and also knowing how to make money reasonably, was a rare skill. More importantly, Cao Hong would very consciously hand over the lion's share to Cao Cao.

Therefore, with Cao Cao's tacit approval, Cao Hong had been serving as the defending general of Dongchao Ford.

But at this moment, Cao Hong, who had made a fortune in Dongchao Ford in the past few years, had a face that was much more prosperous than before, but now it was completely bloodless.

Being desperately protected by his personal guards to board a ferry and escape, Cao Hong sat blankly at the stern of the boat, staring blankly at the raging fire in Dongchao Ford, muttering.

"Zhao Yun… how could he appear here…"

"It's over, it's all over…"

"My accumulated wealth is gone, and Qing Province is also going to be finished…"

No one knew the importance of Dongchao Ford better than Cao Hong.

At this moment, Cao Hong, whose mind was in a mess, didn't know how to report this matter to the King…

'If I lose Dongchao Ford, will the King chop off my head?'

When Cao Hong, supported by his personal guards, stepped onto the north bank of the Yellow River, he still had a blank expression, allowing the physician who was quickly found by his personal guards to further treat the hastily bandaged wounds on his body.

Facing Tian Yu, who led the White Horse义Cong to attack Dongchao Ford, Cao Hong, belatedly aware, naturally led his personal guards in a desperate fight to resist, intending to reverse the situation by killing the enemy general in battle.

In terms of martial prowess alone, Tian Yu was not considered outstanding.

Cao Hong's greed for money and lust for women was true, but he had not neglected his martial arts and was a rare fierce general. This also made Tian Yu completely fall into a disadvantage after less than ten rounds against the desperate Cao Hong.

It was not until Zhao Yun, who had heard the news, arrived in time that he saved Tian Yu, who was already in a dangerous situation, and fought Cao Hong, who was in a frenzy, for thirty rounds before winning with a spear.

However, because all parts of Dongchao Ford were already in chaos, Cao Hong's personal guards swarmed up and barely rescued Cao Hong from Zhao Yun's spear. They escorted Cao Hong all the way out of the lost Dongchao Ford and found a ferry, and then successfully escaped.

After the physician completed the further treatment, Cao Hong, who had been watching the raging fire on the opposite bank, gradually came back to his senses and ordered.

"Immediately send someone to Yecheng on two horses to inform the King that Dongchao Ford has been burned down, and prepare a horse for me. I will return to Yecheng to plead guilty to the King."

Cao Hong knew how serious the fall of Dongchao Ford was, but because of this, he dared not hide it from Cao Cao, lest Cao Cao misjudge the situation.

Moreover, someone had to take the blame for Dongchao Ford. Cao Hong was also prepared to have Cao Cao remove his head to stabilize the hearts of the civil and military officials after returning to Yecheng.

On the way back to Yecheng in a hurry, Cao Hong left a suicide note to his personal guards, asking them to hand it over to his son.

When the injured Cao Hong rushed to the gate of Yecheng day and night, a close attendant was already waiting here, leading Cao Hong to the official office with a solemn expression.

Seeing this, Cao Hong also knew that the fall of Dongchao Ford must have spread.

Moreover, it was meaningless to hide such a major event.

On the way to the official office, Cao Hong's already tired face added a bit of grayness, feeling that the King was preparing to carry out the execution in the official office.

However, Cao Hong calmed his mind and had no intention of struggling or resisting.

With the large amount of wealth accumulated in Dongchao Ford gone, Cao Hong's heart was half dead.

And when Cao Hong thought that he had lost Dongchao Ford due to his momentary carelessness, the other half of his heart also died.

When Cao Hong arrived at the official office, after the close attendant went to report and was allowed to enter, he saw that in addition to Cao Cao, most of the well-known civil and military officials of the Wei Kingdom were also there, and their faces were mostly full of solemnity.

In fact, the Wei Kingdom's civil and military officials could not help but be solemn.

How long had it been since Liu Bei widely spread the Northern Expedition Proclamation? No sooner had the news come from Qing Province that the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Prime Minister Li Ji of the Han Dynasty had broken into the hinterland of Beihai County like a hot knife through butter, than the bad news of the fall of Dongchao Ford followed.

In particular, the fall of Dongchao Ford was tantamount to turning Qing Province into an enclave of the Wei Kingdom in a short period of time, and it would be many times more difficult to allocate money, grain, and troops.

In a sense, this was no less than the bad news that Liu Bei was shocked to hear about the White-Clothed Crossing the River in the original trajectory.

Cao Hong, who walked in step by step, was full of embarrassment and grayness, and then knelt down towards Cao Cao, who was sitting at the head, and bowed.

"This guilty general, Cao Hong, lost Dongchao Ford due to a momentary carelessness. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Cao Cao opened his slender eyes and stared at Cao Hong below for a few breaths before slowly saying.

"What crime is there? Get up."

Cao Hong was stunned for a moment, even thinking that he had heard wrong, and looked up at Cao Cao in a daze.

Cao Cao slowly continued to speak.

"I have learned about the battle of Dongchao Ford. It was attacked by Zhao Yun leading more than ten thousand White Horse义Cong. Zilian fought to the death to retake Dongchao Ford for nearly half an hour, and was seriously injured before being snatched back by his personal guards."

"His loyalty is rare in the Great Wei, and I am very pleased."

(End of this chapter)