It could be said that a single letter from Qin Tian had nearly changed the course of the entire Battle of Guandu.
Although Cao Cao himself had not been ambushed to death at Fengqiu, with vast quantities of provisions delivered into Yuan Shao's camp, Cao's defeat had become inevitable.
But that was only to be expected. From the very beginning, Cao Cao had held no advantage in this battle.
It was only because everyone under Cao Cao was united as one that they had managed to hold Yuan Shao back and prevent him from heading south.
Yet compared to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao had always been a colossal beast.
The enormous disparity in strength meant Yuan Shao could keep making mistakes and still continue advancing.
But if Cao Cao made even one mistake, it would trigger a whole chain of consequences.
After Ju Shou returned with the provisions, Yuan Shao personally led his officials outside the camp to welcome him.
Ju Shou, whom Yuan Shao had repeatedly rebuked before, was now seized by the hand as Yuan Shao said with feeling:
"Before, I did not trust your words, and nearly brought about our army's disastrous defeat."
"Fortunately, you set an ambush yesterday. Otherwise, we would all have been captured by Cao Cao!"
Last night, because of Guo Tu's counsel, he had not felt much.
But once dawn arrived, a wave of lingering fear struck him. Had Ju Shou not reacted in time, he scarcely dared imagine the consequences.
At that moment, Ju Shou had practically become Yuan Shao's lifesaver.
Yet seeing this, Ju Shou first pleaded guilty, saying that his arrangements had caused the deaths of two generals.
He then stated that all the provisions he had brought back had been soaked with water and likely would not last long.