Cleverly Using a Stratagem, Cao Ren Abandons the City

Lan Tian's capabilities were beyond question. Seeing his absolute certainty, Guan Yu finally set his mind at ease; the formidable performance of the Trap-Breaking Army on the battlefield was the very source of his confidence.

After Guan Yu dismissed the council, Lan Tian summoned Pang De and Chu Qing to give them whispered instructions. Both men's eyes widened as they listened, thinking to themselves, Is it really possible to wage war like this?

Fancheng had been cut off from the outside world for nearly ten days. During this time, Cao Ren had dispatched hundreds of scouts, most of whom were intercepted and killed by the cavalry of Pang De and Chu Qing, while the few who took detours to escape north vanished without a trace.

Beyond the corpses of the scouts, the city received countless arrow-borne letters, a mix of truth and fabrication.

There was news that Deng County had been breached;

News that Zhang Liao had been defeated;

News that Sun Quan had attacked Hefei again, forcing Cao Cao to divert troops to Huainan;

News that a rebellion had broken out in Ye City and Cao Pi had been assassinated;

And news that Cao Cao had succumbed to his chronic migraines and passed away.

Because many of the garrison soldiers had seen these letters, Cao Ren, fearing for their morale, strictly forbade the troops from reading them. However, the defense of Fancheng had long been overseen by Niu Jin, and with Niu Jin wounded, Cao Ren's control over the rank-and-file had weakened, meaning this order could not curb the soldiers' curiosity.

The emotions accumulated over these days could no longer be contained. In the absence of outside news, they hungered for even rumors—what if one of these reports was intimately tied to their own fate?

Suddenly, one day, a