Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast. This is episode 24.

Before we continue, I just want to say that if I sound alone nasally in this episode, it's because I'm fighting a cold. I thought

about skipping this week, but with the holidays coming up, I wanted to get at least one more

episode in. Last time, Cao Cao was retreating after a loss to Zhang Xiu, and things were

looking somewhat dire. Liu Biao had cut off his path of retreat by stationing an army at Anzong County, while

Zhang Xiu was giving chase from behind.

But Cao Cao was like, I've got this, don't worry.

So let's rejoin the action and see how this all pans out.

When Cao Cao arrived at the border of Anzong, Liu Biao's forces had already staked

out all the key points, while Zhang Xiu's army was closing in from behind. Cao Cao ordered

his men to work under the cover of night, cutting passages through treacherous terrain and setting up

ambushes. As they began to set in, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu's forces met up.

When they saw only a small contingent of Cao Cao's troops in the area, they suspected

that Cao Cao was already gone, so they led their armies into the treacherous terrain in pursuit,

and of course they ran right into Cao Cao's ambush, and they were routed.

This allowed Cao Cao's army to break through the bottleneck at Anzong and set up camp beyond it.

When Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu regrouped and met up again, they were left scratching their

heads, wondering how such a short victory had turned into defeat.

They decided to regroup at Anzong and wait for another opportunity to attack.

Meanwhile, Xun Yu had gotten word at Yuan Shao, whom we have not heard from in a while,

was about to make a move on Xu Chang, so Xun Yu dispatched an urgent message to Cao Cao.

This intel had Cao Cao were very worried, and he immediately ordered his army to retreat towards Xu Chang.

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