Chapter 52: We Still Need to Leave Cao Cao Breathing

Lu Chuan knew better than anyone else how crucial population—especially able-bodied young men—was in a chaotic era.

Cao Cao had gone to great lengths to recruit soldiers in Yangzi, only to gather a little over six thousand men. Combined with the troops allocated by Chen Wen and Zhou Xin, he finally had an army of ten thousand.

If he were to just let these ten thousand able-bodied young men walk away, wouldn't Lu Chuan regret it to death?

No matter what, he had to keep a portion of them.

Even if he couldn't keep all of them, managing to retain just two or three thousand would still be a great outcome.

Therefore, Lu Chuan ordered his cavalry to patrol everywhere, making sure all the routed soldiers knew that food was provided here, where they could not only eat their fill but also have meat.

First fill their stomachs, and then figure out how to bring them back to Luxian County to contribute bricks and tiles to its development.

In the dead of night, those routed soldiers dared not move about rashly, but as day broke, their minds began to stir.

These routed soldiers were not running around blindly; instead, they traveled in groups with acquaintances—dozens or hundreds at most, just a few at the very least—so that they could look out for one another in case of danger.

Having all heard the news that Lu Chuan provided meals, they hesitated over whether to go and see for themselves.

Having fled all night, they were already starving.

Fighting under Cao Cao, though they were fed, was barely enough to keep them seventy percent full. Therefore, a hearty meal early in the morning, complete with meat, was an irresistible temptation to them.

Most importantly, once daylight came, those cavalrymen actually removed their helmets, filled them with meat soup, and rode in circles nearby while shouting out. The aroma of the meat soup had already drifted far away.

Enticed by the meat soup, someone finally could not resist. He stood up from the bushes and shouted loudly to the approaching cavalryman, "Does that Lord Lu of yours really provide food?"

"Of course!"

The cavalryman pulled on his reins and came to a halt. "You can all come out. We're all suffering folk here; there's no need to make things difficult for each other. My meat soup is still warm. Have some while it's hot to regain your strength, and then head that way. Lord Lu has already stewed cured meat and boiled thick millet porridge. You'll be able to fill your bellies once you get there!"

Seeing that the cavalryman genuinely handed over the meat soup, the others hiding in the bushes also stood up, continually swallowing their saliva.

The man who had spoken earlier mustered his courage, stepped forward, and carefully received the helmet, fearing the cavalryman might suddenly strike and cut him down.

To his surprise, not only did the cavalryman make no hostile move, but he also untied a bundle from his waist, took out two flatbreads, and handed them over.

"This little bit of meat soup probably isn't enough to go around, and this is all I brought. Make do with this for now, and hurry off to find Lord Lu."

"Thank you, milord! Thank you, milord!"

Seeing the friendly attitude of the cavalryman, the people in the bushes bowed deeply in gratitude. But the cavalryman had already ridden away; he still had to notify many more people.

Watching the retreating figure of the cavalryman, the man holding the meat soup turned to look at his companions behind him.

"You all saw it, didn't you? The cavalry under Lord Lu's command are so good to us. Should we go over to Lord Lu's side and take a look?"

"Right, let's go take a look! We've been starving all night, we have to eat something no matter what."

"Exactly, let's go together, let's go together!"

Similar scenes were playing out in various places. Because Lu Chuan had already given strict instructions that no cavalryman was to throw their weight around, their attitude toward the routed soldiers had to be affable. In Lu Chuan's view, these scattered troops were already residents under the jurisdiction of Luxian County.

Lu Chuan's move quickly yielded results, and as dawn broke, routed soldiers began trickling in continuously.

At first, these routed soldiers did not dare to get close, only watching from afar and swallowing their saliva as they smelled the aroma of the meat soup.

Later, when someone finally couldn't help but walk up and was indeed rewarded with a bowl of meat soup and a bowl of thick porridge, the rest of the men could no longer hold back and rushed forward in a swarm.

Mindful that there were nearly ten thousand routed soldiers here, Lu Chuan had also dispatched personnel overnight from Luxian County to maintain order.

With ten thousand scattered soldiers, a lack of order could spell massive trouble.

Watching Lu Chuan settle so many routed soldiers with just a single meal, Cao Cao felt his heart bleeding.

These were his soldiers!

An army he had pieced together with such painstaking effort now completely belonged to Lu Chuan.

Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren felt deeply resentful as well, but upon seeing Lu Huo leading several hundred cavalrymen keeping a strict and watchful eye on them, they didn't dare utter a single word.

Once the routed soldiers arrived, they began to eat. After filling their stomachs, they were led away by others, dispersed to different locations, and placed under the guard of the cavalry to prevent any trouble.

Fortunately, these men knew how to read the room. Upon seeing the fully armored and equipped cavalry, they didn't dare cause any trouble at all and obediently followed instructions.

By noon, Lu Chuan had already rounded up over seven thousand routed soldiers—a truly astonishing number.

For an army of ten thousand to collapse, and yet to gather back over seven thousand in just half a day—in the past, Cao Cao wouldn't even have dared to dream of such a thing.

When he fled yesterday, he felt that if he managed to rally two thousand scattered troops after his escape, it would be a blessing from the heavens.

Lu Chuan checked the time; it was already midday.

Waiting any longer might allow them to gather a few more stragglers, but Lu Chuan felt it was unnecessary.

Over the course of the night, those routed soldiers wouldn't have fled too far. They surely knew by now that food was provided here, yet they still refused to come over. This indicated either that they lacked trust in Lu Chuan or that they had already found a new temporary shelter, such as some private residence.

Such routed soldiers weren't worth having anyway.

Furthermore, Lu Chuan had already had the battle statistics from the previous night compiled. Out of Cao Cao's ten thousand soldiers, nearly a thousand were casualties, Lu Huo had captured several hundred, and only slightly over eight thousand scattered troops had escaped.

Now that over seven thousand had been gathered, it was already a substantial number.

Combined with the several hundred prisoners of war, making up a total of eight thousand men would be no problem at all.

As for the wounded, those with minor injuries would be taken back and treated properly, so that after recovery they could continue to contribute to Luxian County; those with fatal or overly severe injuries would simply have to leave their fate to the heavens.

Although Lu Chuan possessed some rudimentary first-aid knowledge, the late Eastern Han dynasty lacked far too many medical supplies, leaving him powerless to do more.

From the moment the routed soldiers began arriving in the morning, Lu Chuan had instructed Lu Huo to screen them, singling out those who still held a certain degree of loyalty to Cao Cao and placing them under centralized custody.

Although Cao Cao had been defeated by Lu Chuan right off the bat, Cao Cao was a man who understood military affairs and had his own methods of command, making it entirely normal for his subordinates to feel a sense of allegiance to him.

It was simply that Cao Cao had been too impatient. Had he spent a few more months properly training his troops before coming to attack Luxian County, it wouldn't have been so easy for Lu Chuan to defeat him.

Those soldiers who had already developed loyalty toward Cao Cao would not easily give their all to Lu Chuan. Since that was the case, it was better to return them to Cao Cao. That way, when Cao Cao returned to Henei, he would still retain a certain level of strength, preventing some random bandit force from completely wiping him out.

When all was said and done, Lu Chuan's goal was to teach Cao Cao a lesson, make him recognize the current reality, and yet prevent history from deviating from its original trajectory.

Therefore, he ultimately had to leave Cao Cao breathing.