After all, if Xuchang fell, the deposed Emperor Xian of Han would surely be rescued. By then, the Cao family would become enemies of the entire realm!
Cao Zhen didn't dare take that gamble, so he immediately sent Zhang He with twenty thousand troops to reinforce the city.
Under no circumstances could Wang Yue and Guan Yinping's force be allowed to reach Yexian. Otherwise, the undefended Xuchang would certainly fall to an attack from within and without.
What Zhang He didn't expect was that Wang Yue had only been toying with him. After sending his army past Fangcheng, Wang Yue learned that Fangcheng's County Magistrate had sent out a messenger. He promptly ordered Zhao Yun's cavalry to keep Fangcheng under surveillance, preventing anyone from leaving the city, then turned his army around and headed back.
Zhang He had just led his twenty thousand troops past Bowang when he sensed something was wrong. The surroundings were far too quiet, so he reacted quickly and prepared to retreat.
To Zhang He's surprise, just as his troops withdrew to Bowang Slope, the very place that had already been burned once, it went up in flames again.
Even though Zhang He commanded elite troops, there was no way he could stop the army from collapsing in those circumstances. All he could do was lead a few thousand men to escape.
Wang Yue regretted that he hadn't managed to capture Zhang He, but he had easily wiped out more than ten thousand of Zhang He's men. That gave him time to take Fangcheng at his leisure.
After all, a little county town stood no chance against an attack by more than twenty thousand troops.
Some of the wounded Cao Wei soldiers Wang Yue had brought back from Bowang Slope were from Fangcheng. He took them