When Cao Cao escaped from Wancheng, Cao Ang was crushed by a dead horse in the rebel army.
The protagonist dressed as Zhang Xiu did not chase the most difficult head to kill, but instead ordered people to carry Cao Ang back to the city alive.
Jia Xu asked him, is it worth it to let the tiger return to the mountain and leave only one seriously injured hostage?
Zhang Xiu spread out the army ration account he had just cleared: the dead could only sacrifice flags, but the living Cao Ang could exchange grain, armor, and a Han imperial edict that made Liu Biao dare not swallow Wancheng immediately.
First lock up the rebels, and then clear the quota; first let the grain trucks enter the city, and then talk about competing for the world.
Cao Ang went from being a hostage to a long-term rival, and Jia Xu went from only offering life-saving measures to being willing to share the risk of welcoming the emperor. Without a system to send troops and food, Zhang Xiu could only find someone to execute each military order, so that every victory turned into cities, fields, horses, military pay, and confidence for the next battle.
Many years later, the world finally understood: the night when Cao Cao escaped was not that Zhang Xiu missed his only opportunity, but that he left himself the first living bargaining chip.
