As for the fall of Wan City, it was not really anything unbelievable. After all, Cao Ang and the others had long since been driven into a dead end.
It began in late April of the seventh year of the Jian'an Era. After his defeat, Cao Ang retreated into Wan City and held the city walls.
At that time, Cao Ren sent Zhu Ling as reinforcements, bringing the defenders within the city back up to more than twenty thousand men and giving them a foundation for holding out.
By mid-June, Guan Yu had pacified the two commanderies of Yingchuan and Chenliu. Left with no choice, Cao Ren withdrew his army to Wan City.
By then, Cao Ang had already held Wan City for two months. Before Cao Ren even reached the city, he was ambushed by Qin Tian.
In that battle, Cao Ren nearly fell captive to Taishi Ci and the other generals. Only when Cao Ang led troops out of the city to break through and meet him did he make it safely into the city.
At this point, Cao Ren and Cao Ang together commanded over forty thousand men, roughly equal to Qin Tian's forces.
The moment Cao Ren arrived, Xun You advised Cao Ang to withdraw from Wan City as soon as possible. They should not remain to fight, but retreat directly to Guanzhong.
For after Yingchuan fell, Wan City had become an isolated city. Though they still had an army of forty thousand, their connection with Guanzhong had been completely severed.
Under such extreme circumstances, they could not hold out for long. Only retreat could preserve these troops.
Yet upon hearing this, Cao Ren asked Xun You a question in return: did they still have any chance of withdrawing to Guanzhong?
The answer was certainly no.