The Complete Biography of Cao Cao

Chapter 2 Blessed by the Son of Heaven: Pacifying the Central Plains and Dominating the North

As soon as the emperor welcomed the emperor, Xu Du took the emperor to make the princes

Not long after Cao Cao defeated the Yellow Turban Army, the imperial court heard the news that Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, had died in battle, and quickly appointed Jin Shang as the governor of Yanzhou.When Cao Cao heard that Jin Shang was coming, he sent troops to meet him on the border of Yanzhou in advance, and drove Jin Shang to Nanyang, where he defected to Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu wanted to be emperor. He thought that he was the direct son of the Yuan family, and Yuan Shao was a concubine, so he should be under his command.But the fact is that Yuan Shao has far surpassed him in terms of prestige and strength, and was promoted to be the leader of the Guandong Prefecture.Yuan Shao's disciples and old officials all attached to Yuan Shao, so Yuan Shu was full of jealousy and dissatisfaction with Yuan Shao, so he joined forces with Gongsun Zan of Youzhou to attack Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao also made friends with Liu Biao of Jingzhou, so as to contain Yuan Shu's rear.

Soon after Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was taken to Chang'an by Dong Zhuo, Situ Wangyun used Lu Bu to kill Dong Zhuo.Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue, Guo Si and other garrisons broke through Chang'an again and held Emperor Xian hostage.Later, Li Jue and Guo Si merged with each other, and Emperor Xian was controlled by Li Jue. Later, Yang Feng and Dong Cheng of Li Jue's tribe rebelled against Li Jue, supported Emperor Xian and retreated to Shan County (Shaan County, Henan Province), where he crossed the Yellow River and retreated. To Dayang (northeast of Pinglu County, Shanxi Province).When they arrived in Dayang, there were only dozens of ministers and ministers who could keep up with the retreat of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and Chao Gang was completely gone, and his face was disgraced.Finally, due to food shortages, he had to cross the river and return to Luoyang.Because Dong Zhuo ruined Luoyang to such a dilapidated state that it was difficult to accommodate so many people for a while, civil and military officials had to pull out thorns and weeds and live against broken walls.Although the leaders of the states and counties all have heavy soldiers in their hands, no one is willing to come to pay tribute and deliver food.The officials were so hungry that all officials below the ministerial order had to go to the suburbs to pick wild vegetables in person.Some died of starvation in the ruined walls, and some were killed by soldiers.The emperor's situation can be described as miserable, and his majesty was demolished.

When Emperor Xian of the Han fled to Hedong, Yuan Shao's counselor, Ju Shou, suggested to Yuan Shao: "The general's family has been an important minister of the country for several generations, with both loyalty and righteousness. Now the emperor is displaced, and the palace sacrificial temple has also been destroyed. Just look at all the states and counties, although Calling for righteousness, actually killing each other, each has its own plans, and no one really shares the country's worries. Jizhou has now gained initial stability, with strong soldiers and strong horses. If we go west to welcome the emperor and force Emperor Xian to move his capital to Yecheng, then the lord can take over The emperor disobeys his orders, and at the same time he intensifies his military drills to suppress rebels who disobey the central government, who in the four seas will be able to contend with the lord?" However, some of Yuan Shao's generals, Guo Tu and Chun Yuqiong, thought that after the emperor was brought in , You have to ask the emperor for instructions at every turn, but you are restrained and express your opposition.Jushou said: "It makes sense to please the emperor now, and the timing is just right. If you don't make a decision early, someone will do it first." Yuan Shao finally did not accept Jushou's suggestion.

But the same proposal, the same situation where some people opposed it, Cao Cao seized the opportunity.After Cao Cao initially consolidated Yanzhou, he then defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Yingchuan in February of the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), captured Xu County (Xuchang County, Henan Province), and recruited many rebels, and gradually became stronger. .Hearing that Emperor Xian of Han had returned to Luoyang, Cao Cao wanted to use him.

In fact, as early as [-] years ago, when Cao Cao was still suppressing the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou, Mao Jie, his adviser, once said to him: "Now the world is falling apart, the emperor is displaced, the people are hungry and cold, and they abandon their homes and go into exile. Store food, and the people have no guarantee of living in peace. This situation will certainly not last for long. Only an army that upholds benevolence and righteousness can win victory; a rich source of wealth can strengthen our own territory. We should meet the emperor in the west, so that we are qualified to order others The leader of the separatist regime; only by working hard to promote farming and mulberry cultivation can we be able to accumulate food and fodder. Only in this way can we achieve hegemony." Cao Cao fully agreed with his suggestion at the time, but suffered from no good opportunity.

Now, the time is right, Cao Cao is ready to welcome Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.However, some generals believed that Shandong (the east of Xiaoshan Mountain) had not yet been pacified. Han Xian and Yang Feng thought they had the merits to welcome the great master, and it was difficult for Cao Jun to conquer them for a while.The most pressing task at the moment is to occupy more land, only Xun Yu firmly supports the offer to welcome the emperor.

He said: "In the past, Ji Chong'er welcomed the king Ji Zheng back to the capital, and all the lords of the country respected Ji Chong'er as the overlord from then on. Liu Bang mourned for Emperor Yi and changed into white mourning clothes. His move shocked the world. People surrender. Today, the emperor is dusty, and the general is the first to raise up rebels, because the princes only know how to make small personal gains, but they have not succeeded. Now, Shengjia returns to the capital, and Luoyang, Tokyo, is dilapidated. Loyal people hope that the foundation will be stable. The people of Li also deeply miss their hometown and the old capital. If we seize this opportunity to welcome the Lord, so as to make the world return to the heart and not worry about the world’s disobedience. Then use a selfless attitude to make the world pleasing, which should be the highest strategy .Assisting the government and recruiting handsome talents should be the time to promote kindness. There are many rebels in the four seas, but who has such ambitions? Han Xian and Yang Fengzhi are nothing to worry about. If you don’t make a decision in time, once other heroes The hero has the idea of ​​catering, and he acts first, even if we try our best in the future, it will be too late." After careful consideration, Cao Cao finally decided to adopt Xun Yu's suggestion.It can be seen from this incident that Cao Cao is better than Yuan Shao in terms of tolerance, wisdom and strategic vision.

Cao Cao first sent Yangwu Zhonglang general Cao Hong to lead the army to meet the emperor.However, General Wei Cao Cheng and others led troops to stop him, and this time the meeting was unsuccessful.Yilang Dong Zhao knew that the chariot general Yang Feng had the strongest troops and the least foreign aid, so he wrote to Yang Feng in the name of Cao Cao, saying that he was willing to cooperate with him as his foreign aid.After receiving the letter, Yang Feng was very happy and told other generals: "The Yanzhou Corps should be stationed in Xu County nearby. There are soldiers and food here, and it is the court's reliance." So he jointly recommended Cao Cao as the general of Zhendong, and succeeded his father The title of Cao Song Fei Tinghou.

General Han Xian relied on his meritorious service in welcoming him, and he was domineering and domineering in Luoyang.Dong Cheng couldn't bear it, so he secretly summoned Cao Cao.This fell right into Cao Cao's arms, so he personally led the army, arrived at the capital Luoyang, and quickly controlled the situation in the capital.Even after discussing the move of the capital with the ministers of the DPRK and China, Cao Cao worried that Yang Feng would resist his actions.Yilang Dong Zhao suggested that Cao Cao first stabilize Yang Feng, and then move the capital to Xu County on the pretext that Luoyang is dilapidated and lacks food. Cao Cao followed the plan.

In September, Cao Cao escorted Emperor Xian and his ministers and set off for Xu County.Yang Feng was so angry that he set up soldiers on the road to hijack him.Fortunately, Yang Feng had a general named Xu Huang who had long wanted to defect to Cao Cao, so he took the opportunity to lead a team to defect to Cao Cao.Yang Feng failed to hold Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty hostage, but instead lost a general.Fearing that Cao Cao would come to retaliate, he had to lead the remaining soldiers to Yuan Shu.

When Cao Cao arrived in Xu County with Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, he began to build large-scale construction projects in Xu County, building palaces and halls, and setting up ancestral temples and shrines.Since then, Xu County has been the temporary capital of the Han Dynasty.Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty went to Cao Cao's barracks in person, promoted Cao Cao to be a general, and named him Marquis of Wuping.He also appointed Xun Yu as Shizhong and Shang Shuling, who waited by his side, and was in charge of documents and scheduling; he also named Dong Zhi as Liehou; Dongping is Prime Minister, Dong Zhao is Luoyang Commander; Xiahou Dun, Xiahouyuan, Cao Hong, and Cao Ren are all generals; Le Jin, Li Dian, Lu Qian, Zijin, and Xu Huang are all school lieutenants; Xu Chu and Dianwei are captains.Cao Cao's officers and men were all rewarded. These people were all Cao Cao's cronies. With ministers who were loyal to him, Cao Cao could finally "take the emperor to order the princes".

After Cao Cao ushered in the emperor's capital Xu, he obtained a large area of ​​land south of the Yellow River, and the Guanzhong area also belonged to him one after another.Yuan Shao regretted not taking action sooner.But he quickly came up with a remedy. He asked Emperor Xian to move his capital to Juancheng on the grounds that Xu County was low-lying and humid and Luoyang was dilapidated, in an attempt to bring Emperor Xian closer to his sphere of influence so as to exert influence.Juancheng is very close to Jizhou, but it still belongs to Cao Cao's territory.Yuan Shao originally thought that Cao Cao would not refuse, but Cao Cao immediately saw through Yuan Shao's intentions, resolutely refuted it, and used offense as defense, and issued an imperial edict to Yuan Shao in the name of Xiandi.Blame him for having a large number of troops but only caring about establishing his own power and attacking each other, instead of coming to serve the king, Yuan Shao made himself miserable.

After Cao Cao was appointed as a general by Emperor Xian, he appointed Yuan Shao as Taiwei and Marquis of Ye in the name of Emperor Xian.Although Taiwei is the highest military officer in the country and one of the three princes, his status is lower than that of the general.Seeing that he had become Cao Cao's subordinate, Yuan Shao was extremely dissatisfied, and complained: "Cao Cao failed in several battles and almost lost his life. Thanks to me for saving him. Now he is ungrateful and kidnaps the emperor to order me!" "

Therefore, Yuan Shao refused to accept the appointment of Taiwei.At that time, Yuan Shao's strength was far superior to Cao Cao's. Cao Cao knew in his heart that he would never turn against Yuan Shao at this time, so he decided to temporarily make concessions to Yuan Shao, present himself to the emperor, and request that Yuan Shao be given the post of general.In March of the second year of Jian'an (197 A.D.), Kong Rong was officially sent to Jizhou to command Yuan Shao as a general in the name of Emperor Xian, and bestowed a hundred people with bows and arrows and tigers (warriors), and also served as governors of Ji, Qing, You, and Yuan Shao. And four states.Yuan Shao got some benefits, so he settled down.

In November of the first year of Jian'an (196 A.D.), after Cao Cao resigned from the post of general, Emperor Xian changed Cao Cao to be Sikong, acting as the general of chariots and riders.Sikong is the official position in charge of national civil construction and water conservancy projects.Although Cao Cao gave Yuan Shao the position of general who led the soldiers, but Yuan Shao was not in Xudu, Cao Cao actually still controlled the government.Although Yuan Shao got the post of general, he could only give orders within his original jurisdiction.

Seeing the big from the small, it can be said that Yuan Shao lacked strategic vision and decisiveness on how to treat and use Emperor Xian, and he completely lost to Cao Cao. This was also the beginning of his passiveness.

It is a wonderful work in Cao Cao's political career to welcome the embarrassing Emperor Xian to Xudu, and let him act as the guardian of Emperor Xian.Cao Cao not only gained the attention and power of thousands of people, but also turned Emperor Xian into a tool for his unification war.From then on, no matter whether it is conquering dissidents or appointing personnel, he can use the name of Xiandi, which is justified, makes the opponent passive, and occupies a great political advantage.And objectively, it is also good for the country and the people.At that time, the heroes were divided, and the heroes were ready to move, and those who wanted to be emperor were like crucian carp crossing the river.And Cao Cao greeted Emperor Du Xu and put Emperor Xian under his strong protection. Although Emperor Xian lost his political power and personal freedom, it also saved Emperor Xian from the danger of being killed or deposed during the extremely chaotic period and maintained the country. The symbol of unity has curbed the ambitions and behaviors of many separatists.As a result, the centralization of power was maintained to a certain extent, and it played a certain role in controlling the vicious development of separatism and splitting and accelerating the process of national reunification.

Er Nanzheng Zhang Xiu captures and kills Lu Buding's inner palace

Cao Cao has been suffering from being unable to solve the problem of food and grass for the army.After taking Xu as the emperor's capital, he followed the advice and began to farm around Xudu, which achieved very good results.

In the second year after Xu Du garrisoned the fields, Cao Cao saw that the problem of military rations had been effectively solved, so he began to prepare to send troops to Nanyang to attack Zhang Xiu.Around Cao Cao's forces, Zhang Xiu defended Nanyang, the closest to Xudu, and the greatest threat.He joined forces with Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and had long had the ambition of attacking Xudu and hijacking Han Xiandi.

In the first month, when Cao Cao's army was about to advance, Zhang Xiu was awed by the power of Cao Cao's army and led his army to surrender to Cao Cao.After Cao Cao accepted Zhang Xiu's surrender, he got carried away for a while and married Zhang Xiu's aunt as a concubine.Zhang Xiu felt deeply ashamed and humiliated, and Zhang Xiu's subordinates were also deeply indignant when they saw that the former general's wife and children were taken by Cao Cao.Therefore, Zhang Xiu conspired against Cao.

More than ten days later, Zhang Xiu led his army to attack Cao Ying. Cao Jun was defenseless, and Cao Cao was beaten and fled.The eldest son Cao Ang died in battle, and his nephew Cao Anmin was killed. The guard captain Dian Wei covered Cao Cao's escape and fought to the death with Zhang Xiu's army.There were not many left and right guards left, and Dian Wei was also wounded in many places. Zhang Xiu's soldiers rushed forward to capture him alive. Dian Wei even used the enemy's body as a weapon, fought hard, and finally died fighting.Cao Cao finally escaped from death and returned to Xudu.

After the defeat of Sishui, Cao Cao learned from the painful experience and worked hard to prepare to attack Zhang Xiu again.In the winter of the same year, Cao Cao sent troops to defeat the coalition forces of Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao and regained some lost ground.In March of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), Cao Cao marched for the third time and besieged Zhangxiu's base Rang County (Deng County, Henan Province).

Cao Cao besieged Zhang Xiu's Rang County this time. Although the siege lasted for two months, he still couldn't take it for a long time.At this time, they learned that Yuan Shao took the opportunity to attack Xu County.Cao Cao was shocked, and immediately abandoned Rangcheng, and rushed to rescue his troops. Zhang Xiu led his army to catch up.At the same time, Liu Biao's reinforcements also came to attack Cao Cao.At this critical juncture, Cao Cao wrote a letter to Xun Yu in Xu County, saying: "When I go to Anzhong (Zhenping County, Henan Province), I will definitely defeat the enemy."

Cao Jun soon arrived in Anzhong, Cao Cao was attacked by enemies, and the situation was not good for him.Cao Cao immediately ordered his soldiers to dig tunnels secretly at night, transported all the weapons, food and grass, and ambushed the strange soldiers.At dawn, when Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao saw that no one was there, they thought that Cao Cao had escaped, so they led the whole army to chase after him. escape.In this way, Cao Cao was able to return to Xudu smoothly.

After Cao Cao returned to Xudu, he received a letter from Yuan Shao, which used a lot of arrogant words, made Cao Cao a lot of mockery, and said that he would send troops to Xudu soon.Cao Cao recruited Xun Yu and Guo Jia, showed them Yuan Shao's letter, and said: "Yuan Shao owns the land of Ji, You, Qing, and the four prefectures. The land is vast, the population is large, and the army is strong. We should use the offensive Guard, send troops to calm him down, lest he attack Xudu, but I feel powerless and don't know what to do."

Xun Yu said: "I don't think my lord should be worried. The only one who is competing with my lord today is Yuan Shao, and nothing else is worth worrying about. Yuan Shao looks powerful, but he can't control his ministers, so he can't compare with the lord."

"That's right," Guo Jia continued, "Your Majesty must know that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were far apart in strength, but why Xiang Yu failed, the key lies in Liu Bang's ability to outwit Xiang Yu."

So the two suggested: "We should take advantage of Yuan Shao's opportunity to attack Gongsun Zan from the north, and get rid of Lu Bu as soon as possible. If we don't take Lu Bu first, once Yuan Shao comes to attack us, Lu Bu will respond to him, and we will be attacked by the enemy. Then we will be difficult to deal with."

Cao Cao felt very reasonable.So on the one hand, Zhong Yao was sent to appease the counties and counties in the northwest and stabilize Kansai, and on the other hand, he prepared to attack Lu Bu.Lu Bu was cunning, vicious and changeable. Since he failed to compete with Cao Cao for Yanzhou, he went to join Liu Bei in Xuzhou, but soon, he took advantage of Liu Bei's troops and attacked Liu Bei's base underground Pi (East of Pi County, Jiangsu Province).Liu Bei lost his foothold and had to go to Cao Cao again.

At the beginning of October in the third year of Jian'an (198 A.D.), Cao Cao, together with Liu Bei, captured Pengcheng and carried out massacres, causing the people to flee one after another.Then, Cao Jun went straight to Xiapi and besieged Lu Bu.

After several months of fighting wits and courage, Cao Cao finally captured Lu Bu with the help of Nei Ying, and accepted Liu Bei's suggestion not to surrender Lu Bu.

Chen Gong was Lv Bu's counselor. In his early years, he served under Cao Cao's tent and was appreciated by Cao Cao.After Chen Gong was arrested, he wanted to die, but Cao Cao had no choice but to hang him and Lu Bu together.In order to show that he would not forget Chen Gong's old love, Cao Cao ordered Chen Gong's mother to be sent to Xudu for retirement, his daughter to be married, and other family members to be given preferential treatment.The other generals of Lu Bu who surrendered to Cao's army were awarded and reused one by one, regardless of previous suspicions.Cao Cao's approach of disregarding previous suspicions is of great benefit to win over people's hearts, which is also the root cause of his strong centripetal force.

Cao Cao killed Lu Bu, occupied Xuzhou, led his army back to Xudu triumphantly, and began to actively prepare to deal with Yuan Shao's attack in Jizhou.At the same time, Zhou Yu and Lu Su also joined Sun Ce, and Sun Ce gradually occupied Jiangdong, forming a climate.

When Cao Cao was fighting fiercely with Lu Bu, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie conspired to kill Cao Cao in Xudu.

Emperor Xian secretly summoned Dong Cheng into the palace and gave him the jade belt with the bloody edict.It turned out that Emperor Xian enumerated Cao Cao's crimes in the blood edict and asked him to contact loyal people and cut off Cao Cao!Dong Cheng is the uncle of the country, and he was also dissatisfied with Cao Cao in private.So he secretly consulted with Wang Fu, the minister, and Zhongji, the captain of Changshui. Both of them were close friends of his, and they also expressed dissatisfaction with Cao Cao's monopoly on power.After reading the blood edict, he swore an oath to pledge allegiance to Emperor Xian.

At this moment, Cao Cao returned in triumph.Cao Cao made a special request for military merits for Liu Bei. After Emperor Xian learned that Liu Bei was King Jing of Zhongshan, he should be called the emperor's uncle according to his seniority, and wanted to win him over as a new force to cut off Cao Cao.Immediately named Liu Bei General Zuo, Dong Cheng and others also felt that Liu Bei would be their backbone.

One night, Dong Cheng came to see Liu Bei with a jade belt edict.Liu Bei greeted him hurriedly, and said: "Uncle Guo came here late at night, there must be something important." Dong Cheng then told Liu Bei about the jade belt edict. Cao, Bei will definitely serve you." From then on, Liu Bei secretly contacted the confidantes of the soldiers, planning to take the opportunity to get rid of Cao Cao.On the surface, he looked like he had no ambitions and deceived Cao Cao.

In fact, as early as when Liu Bei started defecting to Cao Cao, some of Cao Cao's subordinates suggested that Cao Cao kill Liu Bei to avoid future troubles.At that time, Cao Cao's influence was not too big, and when he was recruiting talents from all over the world and buying people's hearts, it was inconvenient to kill a hero and scare away the wise men of the world.Although Cao Cao did not attack Liu Bei at this time, the situation was different.Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao was very suspicious, so he paid special attention not to let himself be too ostentatious.He often grows vegetables in the back garden and waters them himself, pretending to have no ambitions.Although Cao Cao didn't know about the Yudai Edict, he was somewhat skeptical of Liu Bei's uncharacteristic behavior of planting vegetables.

Cao Cao decided to test Liu Bei by cooking wine and talking about heroes, not wanting to be covered up by Liu Bei by luck.But Liu Bei still had lingering fears afterwards, fearing that if he stayed any longer, he would be murdered by Cao Cao.So while actively planning to instigate rebellion with Dong Cheng and others, they secretly discussed with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei how to escape.Coincidentally, Yuan Tan went from Qingzhou to meet Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu was going to pass through Xuzhou, so Liu Bei offered to intercept him. Cao Cao sent him because Liu Bei was familiar with the situation in that area, and Liu Bei was ordered to set off immediately.

Cheng Yu, Guo Jia and others heard that Liu Bei had taken Guan Yu and Zhang Fei away, so they quickly advised Cao Cao not to let Liu Bei go.Cao Cao also regretted it very much in his heart, and immediately sent someone to chase him, but Liu Bei had already fled far away like a bird like a bird in the sky and a fish in the sea.

In less than a month, Liu Bei went to Xuzhou to kill Che Zhou, the guard sent by Cao Cao, and became Xuzhou herder himself.Guan Yu was left to garrison Xiapi, while Liu Bei garrisoned Xiaopei.Liu Bei has the identity of the emperor's uncle and has a great appeal. Donghai County and other counties have betrayed Cao Cao and surrendered to Liu Bei.Soon there were tens of thousands of his followers, so Liu Bei sent people to Yuan Shao to form an alliance and occupy Cao Cao together.

In the spring of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 A.D.), Dong Cheng contacted Wang Fu and Zhong Ji, and planned to agree with Liu Bei to attack internally and externally, and wipe out Cao Cao in one fell swoop.Unexpectedly, the plan leaked.Cao Cao was furious when he realized that he was almost plotted against.Immediately execute Dong Cheng, Wang Fu, Zhong Ji and the rest of the family.This was not enough, Cao Cao was still angry, and came to the palace with a sword.He ordered the soldiers to push Concubine Dong Gui out and behead her.

After Cao Cao put down the conspiracy in the palace, he wanted to send troops to attack Liu Bei.The soldiers all objected, thinking that Yuan Shao should be eliminated first, saying: "Yuan Shao is the one who is fighting for the world with the Duke of Ming. If we go to the east to attack Liu Bei, and Yuan Shao from the north takes the opportunity to attack, what should we do then?"

Cao Cao said: "Liu Bei has great ambitions. If he doesn't take action early, there will be endless troubles." Guo Jia agreed with Cao Cao's decision, and then said: "Yuan Shao reacted slowly and was suspicious. Even if he launched an attack, he would not be too fast; Liu Bei just rise up, but the hearts of the people are not fully convinced, if we catch him by surprise, he will definitely fail." Cao Cao then led his army to march eastward.

Tian Feng, Yuan Shao's counselor, heard that Cao Cao was going to attack Liu Bei, so he must have an empty rear.Immediately suggested to Yuan Shao: "Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei far away. Liu Bei has always been cautious and deliberate in his affairs. Cao Cao can't win quickly. At this time, if we send troops directly to attack Cao Cao's rear, we can succeed in one fell swoop." Yuan Shao was seriously ill because of his youngest son. , unwilling to send troops, Tian Feng lamented Yuan Shao's loss of such a good opportunity: "Ah! The once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity was ruined by a child. It's really unbelievable. We're done!"

Cao Cao quickly arrived in Xuzhou and defeated Liu Bei.Liu Bei broke through the encirclement, fled in a hurry, and went to seek refuge with Yuan Shao.At this time, Guan Yu was still guarding Xiapi, Liu Bei's family was also there, Cao Cao continued to attack Xiapi, Guan Yu was forced to surrender temporarily, and Liu Bei's family was also taken prisoner.Cao Cao also immediately withdrew his troops to prevent Yuan Shao from attacking him.

After a series of conquests, Cao Cao's military strength has been improved, coupled with the rapid suppression of Emperor Xian's conspiracy, his political influence has also increased significantly, and the court has been deterred.

Guandu defeated Yuan Shaoding in the Central Plains in the Three Great Wars

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 A.D.), Yuan Shao heard that Cao Cao had killed Dong Cheng and Concubine Dong Gui, and put Emperor Xian under house arrest. He immediately seized this opportunity and ordered Chen Lin, a civil servant, to write an article denouncing Cao Cao, accusing Cao Cao of threatening The son of heaven, cruel to Zhongliang, broke the law and violated discipline, arrogant and brutal; he also laughed at Cao Cao's humble background as "a superfluous eunuch and ugly", and called on the heroes of the world to fight against Cao Cao.

Before Yuan Shao set off, he sent people to lobby Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu, hoping to unite with them and attack Cao Cao from north to south.Liu Biao didn't want to be trapped by Zhang Xian, who supported Cao Cao, and it was difficult to get out of the north.Instead of uniting with Yuan Shao, Zhang Xiu followed the advice of counselor Jia Xu and joined Cao Cao.In order to stabilize the rear, Cao Cao settled his suspicions with him and accepted him generously.

In fact, there was also a heated debate within Yuan Shao.Counselor Tian Feng opposed sending troops, but his persuasion was ineffective, and he was imprisoned; Jushou also suffered, and Jushou also opposed his sending troops, and was stripped of most of his military power.

The generals in Guanzhong (central part of Shaanxi Province) maintained a neutral attitude and waited and watched because Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were preparing for a war.Wei Duan, governor of Liangzhou (eastern Gansu Province), followed Yang Fu's advice and favored Cao Cao.Coincidentally, in order to concentrate on dealing with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao sent Chief Inspector Wei Ke to appease Guanzhong on behalf of the central government. The salt monopoly system used the income from selling salt to buy plows and cattle to supply the refugees, so that the refugees could farm with peace of mind and restore the economy; Zhong Yao, the commander-in-chief of the Gyeonggi Weirong (Sili Xiaowei), was sent to guard the Guanzhong to maintain social order.Cao Cao implemented Wei Ke's opinion and returned to the imperial court from Guanzhong.

In this way, Yuan Shao's plan to unite with other princes to exterminate Cao Cao was shattered, but he decided to go to war with Cao Cao because of his strong army and vast territory.He ordered generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou to be the vanguard, Liu Bei to be the rear, and led the main force by himself, and rushed to Xudu in a mighty manner.

Yuan Shao's army was overwhelming, and Cao Cao's interior was not monolithic.The generals were shocked when they heard the news.At that time, Yuan Shao had more than 10 horses, and Cao Cao had only [-] to [-]. The four states owned by Yuan Shao had vast land and abundant resources, and a large number of people and sufficient food.However, Yanzhou owned by Cao Cao is still in war and its agricultural production is unstable.

Cao Cao was calm and composed, showing the spirit of an overlord.After listening to the in-depth analysis of the enemy and us by Kong Rong, Xun Yu and other counselors, we strengthened our confidence in winning the decisive battle with Yuan Shao, and the whole army also understood the enemy and us, and their morale was greatly boosted.

Therefore, Cao Cao ordered Liu Yan to guard Baima (east of Hua County, Henan Province) and Yu Jin to guard Yanjin (north of Yanjin County, Henan Province) to jointly resist Yuan Shao's army.Cao Cao himself led the main force to take a step back and stationed at Guandu (northeast of Zhongmu County, Henan Province), the gateway north of Xudu.

In February, Yuan Shao's main force reached the front line of Liyang (northeast of Jun County, Henan Province).He sent general Yan Liang to attack the white horse to ensure that the main force crossed the Yellow River.I didn't want Cao Cao to lure Yan Liang away with his tricks, and was finally beheaded by Guan Yu in Baima City, posing a great threat to Baima.

Guan Yu rushed back to Cao Ying and presented Yan Liang's head to Cao Cao. Cao Cao couldn't help but praised: "The general is really a god!"

After the battle was over and Baima City was broken, Cao Cao moved all the people in Baima City out and retreated westward along the river, preparing to strengthen the defense of Yanjin.Yuan Shao was very annoyed when he found out that Cao Cao had retreated in a big victory.So he ordered to cross the river immediately and pursue Cao Cao, but Ju Shou's persuasion was ineffective.

Before crossing the river, Ju Shou sighed and said: "The people in power are arrogant and arrogant, and everyone only seeks merit. Alas! The Yellow River is long, do I have a chance to return to Hebei?"

Jushou was disheartened, so he claimed to be sick and asked for leave.Yuan Shao knew his intention and did not approve.He also deprived him of his military power and allocated all his troops to Guo Tu.

Yuan Shao ordered General Wen Chou to lead the army to cross the river first, followed by himself and Liu Bei.In Yanjin, Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Jun's attitude of underestimating the enemy and aggressively advancing, luring the enemy to go deep, and defeated Yuan Jun.General Wen Chou was also executed.Both Yan Liang and Wen Chou were famous generals under Yuan Shao's command. They were killed, and the morale of Yuan Shao's troops was greatly frustrated.

After the two battles of Baima and Yanjin, the two armies of Cao and Yuan entered a stalemate.Relying on his large number of people, Yuan Shao gathered his army at Yangwu (southeast of Yuanyang, Henan Province), north of Guandu, and confronted Cao Jun across the water.Although Cao Cao won two battles, he did not fundamentally reverse the situation.However, Yuan Shao's troops are abundant and food is sufficient, and he still has the advantage.

Yuan Shao wanted to cross the river to fight against Cao Jun, and Ju Shou came out to persuade Yuan Shao: "Although we have many people, we are not as brave and good at fighting as the southern soldiers. However, Cao Cao's food and grass are not as sufficient as ours, so Cao Cao must be eager to fight us, and we should persist Fight a protracted war and wear down Cao Cao." Yuan Shao did not accept it, and Ju Shou was very disappointed.

Yuan Shao ordered the army to advance, cross the Yellow River, and build camps close to the beach, which stretched for tens of miles from east to west.Cao Cao's army also spread out to the two wings to build a position, and the two sides faced each other far away.

The two sides confronted each other for a month, and Cao Jun's food became less and less, and his morale gradually declined.Should we retreat, or stick to it?Cao Cao himself can hardly make a decision.He wrote to Xun Yu, who was staying behind in Xudu, and Xun Yu made a clear analysis and asked him to persevere.

Cao Cao adopted it and ordered to strengthen the fortifications and defend closely.Cao Cao's army was about to run out of food and grass, so he sent people back to Xu Du to urge for food and grass, but he was caught by Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You on the way.

Xu You found Cao Cao's letter to Xun Yu urging food from the envoy, and went to Yuan Shao and said: "Cao Cao has been stationed at Guandu for eight months. Now that the food and grass are exhausted, and the army is out, Xu must be empty; if we divide Send out a group of troops to attack Xudu, and at the same time, attack Guandu, and attack both sides, Cao Cao will definitely fail." Yuan Shao thought this was Cao Cao's suspicious strategy and rejected it.

It just so happened that Yuan Shao's confidant sent a letter from Yecheng.Accused Xu You of embezzling money and accepting bribes in Jizhou.When Yuan Shao saw it, he was very annoyed, and called Xu You away.

At this time, Yuan Shao's second batch of more than 40 larger convoys for transporting grain and transportation had also arrived.Yuan Shao piled up these grains and all military supplies in Wuchao (southeast of Yanjin County, Henan Province), which is [-] miles away, at the north rear of the frontline camp, and ordered General Chunyu Qiong to lead an army of more than [-] people to Wuchao. The nest is stationed for protection.

Seeing that Yuan Shao underestimated his strategy so much and was arrogant and rude to him, Xu You was angry and hated.He remembered that he had a good friendship with Cao Cao in the past, so he defected to Cao Cao overnight.Cao Cao was lying on the bed and was about to fall asleep. When he heard that Xu You was coming to vote, he ran out barefoot to greet him.He clapped his hands happily and said: "Oh, I have come from a long way, my great event will definitely succeed!" Xu You told Cao Cao about Yuan Shao's new arrival at Wuchao, where the food and supplies are stationed, and analyzed that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the short-term supply of food and grass is short-term. Retreat the enemy immediately.

Cao Cao was overjoyed upon hearing this, and immediately sent Xun You, Cao Hong and others to guard the camp, and ordered Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan to lie in ambush on the left side of the camp, and Cao Ren and Li Dian to lie in ambush on the right side of the camp. Hold a branch in your mouth to prevent noise and neighing.Order Zhang Liao and Xu Zhu to be in front, Xu Huang and Yu Jin to suppress them, and the soldiers each carry hay and firewood.Under the cover of night, they took a small path and marched towards Wuchao under the banner of Yuan Jun. Cao Cao took advantage of the night and burned Yuan Jun's grain store in Wuchao.

Yuan Shaowen was very angry when he heard that the grain and grass had been burned, and decided to attack Cao Cao's camp according to the suggestion of his confidant Guo Tu.Zhang He persuaded: "Cao Cao's camp is very strong and difficult to break through; if Chunyu Qiong is captured, all of us will be captured."

Yuan Shao couldn't listen and decided to attack Cao Cao's camp.He ordered Zhang He and Gao Lan to take heavy troops to Guandu to attack Cao Ying, and only sent a few troops to rescue Wuchao.After Cao Cao's tragic decisive battle, Cao Cao's soldiers survived the death, fought hard, and the shouts of killing shook the sky, and finally captured Chunyuqiong's camp, beheaded Chunyuqiong and others, and burned all the remaining army rations.Then he returned to the army to defeat Yuan Shao's reinforcements, captured more than 1000 Yuan soldiers, and cut off everyone's nose; for the captured cattle and horses, cut off the lips or tongues of each cattle and horse, and then drove them back to Yuan Shao's camp.Yuan Shao's soldiers were terrified when they saw this tragic scene.

Zhang He and Gao Lan came to attack Cao Jun's camp. They entered from the middle road, but Cao Jun fought hard.After a while, Xiahoudun and others were killed on the left, and Cao Ren and Li Dian were killed on the right. Yuan Jun was about to retreat, and when Cao Cao's men rushed back from Wuchao, they surrounded and fought. Take the road and escape.

Yuan Shao didn't know the truth, and believed Guo Tu's slander, and wanted to question Gao Lan and Zhang Yun.Gao Lan said: "Yuan Shao listens to the slander, and sooner or later he will be defeated. We might as well go to Cao Cao." Seeing Yuan Shao treating him like this, Zhang Yun had to agree.

So the two went straight to Cao Ying with their troops.Cao Hong, who was staying in the camp, was surprised by the surrender of Zhang Yun and Gao Lan, and dared not accept it.Xun You said: "Zhang Yun came to surrender because his strategy was not adopted. This is out of sincerity. You don't have to worry!" Cao Hong then let them enter the camp with confidence.After Cao Cao returned to the camp, he was very happy to hear that Zhang Yun and Gao Lan had come to surrender, and he immediately made them generals.

Yuan Shao's corps was defeated again and again, and the whole team was terrified and shocked.Xu You advised Cao Cao to advance quickly, and Zhang He and Gao Lan should also lead the battle first, and Cao Cao agreed.At three o'clock that night, Cao Jun sent troops from three directions to attack Yuan Ying.Yuan Shao's army was defeated again.

Cao Cao discussed with Xun You again, threatening that Cao's army had split into two groups.Take jujubes all the way to attack Yuan Shao's base camp Yecheng; take Liyang all the way to stop Yuan's soldiers from returning.When the news reached Yuan Shao's army, the soldiers collapsed and ran for their lives in all directions.Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan panicked, had no time to put on their armor, wrapped their hair in silk scarves, and led the remaining 800 cavalry to cross the Yellow River north.Cao Jun chased him all the way to the river, and Yuan Shao had already crossed the Yellow River, so it was difficult to catch up; so he took over all the luggage, books, gold and silver treasures in Yuan Shao's camp.Throughout the entire battlefield, Cao Jun killed 8 or [-] Yuan soldiers, and blood flowed like rivers.

Jushou did not follow Yuan Shao across the river in time and was captured by Cao Jun.He yelled, "I didn't surrender, but I was captured." Cao Cao and Jushou were old friends, and he went out of the tent to meet him in person, saying: "Before, there was a lot of chaos, so we couldn't communicate with each other. I didn't expect to see you today. "Ju Shou said: "Yuan Shao can't listen to the good policy and take his own shame; but I didn't vote for the Ming Lord, so I can't use my talents, so I should be punished like this."

"Yuan Shao doesn't have military and political wisdom, so there is no need to appreciate your strategy. Today, the world is in chaos, and it is the master's strategy that is being used. I hope to consult with you." Cao Cao said earnestly.

Ju Shou said: "The fate of my uncle and brother is in Yuan Shao's hands. If you think highly of me, please kill me as soon as possible."

Cao Cao sighed and said, "If I had gotten you early, there would be no need to worry about the affairs of the world!" He ordered Jushou to be released and given special favors.Soon after Jushou wanted to sneak back to the north, Cao Cao had to execute him.

Cao Cao checked the archives of Yuan Shao's camp and found that quite a few court officials and even some generals in the army had written letters to Yuan Shao expressing their surrender. Cao Cao's soldiers all suggested that these people should be captured and killed together.However, Cao Cao magnanimously burned the letter, saying that the past was not to blame, and people's hearts quickly settled down.

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 A.D.), Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, the largest separatist force in the north, in the Battle of Guandu, consolidating his position in the Central Plains and the north, and laying the foundation for the unification of the north.This year he was 46 years old.

In the spring of the sixth year of Jian'an (AD 201), Cao Cao moved his army to the area of ​​Anmin (southwest of Dongping County, Shandong Province), which had a bumper harvest, to solve the problem of military rations.At the same time, they wanted to take advantage of the fact that Yuan Shao had just been defeated and did not dare to go south easily, so he turned around and attacked Liu Biao in Jingzhou in the south.The counselor Xun Yu was very calm, and dissuaded Cao Cao, saying: "Yuan Shao has just suffered a defeat. The morale of the army is unstable and the hearts of the people are scattered. We should take this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop to eliminate the big trouble. If you go south, the journey is far away, and grain transportation is a big problem. Problem. If Yuan Shao packs up the remnants and takes advantage of the emptiness of our rear defense, we will fall into a passive position." After hearing this, Cao Cao became vigilant and decided not to attack the south for the time being.

In summer, in order to frighten Yuan Shao's troops, Cao Cao showed his military power along the Yellow River and defeated Yuan Shao's troops stationed in Cangting (Dong'e County, Shandong Province).

In autumn, Cao Cao returned to Xu County, the capital.Hearing that Liu was ordered by Yuan Shao to invade Runan, he personally led the army to attack Runan.Liu Bei could not resist Cao Cao's army, so he immediately abandoned the city and went to Jingzhou to join Liu Biao.When Liu Biao heard that Liu Bei was coming to vote, he went to meet him outside Xiangyang (Xiangfan City, Hubei Province) in person, respected Liu Bei as a distinguished guest, increased his military force, and ordered him to station in Xinye (Xinye County, Henan Province) to guard against Cao Cao.

In the first month of the second year, Cao Cao led his army to rest in his hometown Qiao County for three months, and then went north again, stationed in Guandu, preparing to march towards Yuan Shao's old nest-Yecheng, with the intention of annihilating Yuan Shao in one fell swoop.

Four East Linjieshi Saibei Long March Sweeping Wuhuan

Yuan Shao had three sons: Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang.At first, Yuan Shao's stepwife, Liu Shi, loved his youngest son Yuan Shang very much, and praised him strongly in front of Yuan Shao. Yuan Shang himself was also handsome, which won Yuan Shao's favor.Yuan Shao wanted to appoint Yuan Shang as his successor, but he did not announce it publicly.He ordered Yuan Tan to inherit the incense of Yuan Shao's elder brother Yuan Cheng. In this way, according to the family law system, Yuan Shao became Yuan Tan's uncle, and Yuan Tan became Yuan Shao's nephew. , And appointed Yuan Tan as the governor of Qingzhou.

At that time, Ju Shou said: "1 people chase the hare, and when one person catches it, the others will stop. Why? Because the ownership has been determined. Yuan Tan Mingming is the eldest son and should be your heir, but he adopted him to Your elder brother, disposing of the elders and setting up the younger ones will never lead to good results, I am afraid that disasters are inevitable." Yuan Shao excused himself: "I plan to teach them to preside over a state, so as to test their abilities."

Then, he ordered his second son Yuan Xi to be the governor of Youzhou, and his nephew Gao Gan to be the governor of Bingzhou (Shanxi Province), leaving his youngest son Yuan Shang by his side.In Yuan's group, Yuan Shang, Fengji and Shenpei have always been at odds, while Xin Ping and Guo Tu supported Yuan Tan and hated each other with Fengji and Shenpei. The Yuan's group also became fragmented with Yuan Shao's separation of powers. .

Since Yuan Shao's army was defeated, his grief and indignation were unbearable, and he was sick all day long.He died of illness in Xia Wuyue in the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD).After Yuan Shao's death, everyone agreed that Yuan Tan was the eldest son, and planned to support him as the successor to Yuan Shao, but Shenpei and others feared that Yuan Tan would be murdered by Xin Pingdeng once he came to power, so they falsely passed on Yuan Shao's will, and Yuan Shang Inheritance.

Yuan Tan rushed to the funeral from Qingzhou. After all, the journey was far away, and Yuan Shang had already inherited it.There was no way, so he imitated Yuan Shao's original approach, and also called himself a general of chariots and garrisoned Liyang.But the hatred for Yuan Shang is lingering, and when the time is right, he will take advantage of the situation and send troops to conquer.

Cao Cao has always been good at grasping the opportunity of battle. He cleverly used the suspicion between the Yuan brothers to continuously weaken the strength of the Yuan brothers.Moreover, Cao Cao successively promulgated a series of decrees such as the "Decree of Punishing Crimes of the Defeated Army" and "Order on the Ability of Officials" to reorganize the army, and promoted a group of generals with military exploits and talents from the army to serve as local administrators.This series of actions further consolidated his own power and made sufficient preparations for the complete defeat of the Yuan Group.

In the first month of the ninth year of Jian'an (204 A.D.), Cao Cao crossed the Yellow River north and blocked the Qishui to flow into Baigou for the transportation of military supplies.In February, Yuan Shang didn't know that his death was imminent, so he launched an attack on Yuan Tan who was guarding the plain, and ordered his general Shen Pei and Su You to stay in Yecheng.Cao Cao's army arrived in Yecheng, piled up earth hills and dug tunnels, and launched a fierce attack, but they could not take it for a while.So he left Cao Hong to continue the attack, and led his own army to Maocheng (west of Wu'an County) to attack Yin Kai, the magistrate of Wu'an County.He defeated Yin Kai, occupied Wu'an, and cut off the reinforcements and food delivery teams of the Western Bingzhou.Then he attacked Juhu, who was trapped in Handan, and soon occupied Handan, cut off the connection between Yecheng and Youzhou in the north, and completed the strategic isolation and siege of Yecheng.

At this time, Han Fan, the magistrate of Yiyang (Mu County, Hebei Province), and Liang Qi, the magistrate of Shexian County (Ci County, Hebei Province), both surrendered to Cao Cao, which frustrated the morale of Yuan Jun.General Pian Xu Huang suggested that Cao Cao should reward the two of them specially to encourage other counties to surrender.Cao Cao thought it was reasonable, so he made Han Fan and Liang Qi Marquis of Guannei.

In May, Cao Cao adopted Xu You's strategy, changed his rush tactics, flattened the earth and mountains, filled the tunnels, dug another trench, and then channeled the water from the Zhang River into it.Yecheng was completely cut off from the outside world, and it was difficult to bring in food.Soon more than half of the people in the city starved to death.

When Yuan Shang learned that Yecheng was besieged, he immediately returned to the army to rescue, and soon approached Yecheng.Cao Cao's generals all believed that Yuan Shang's army must fight to the death in order to protect the old nest, and Cao's army was hard to resist, so it was better to avoid it.However, Cao Cao pointed out: "If Yuan Jun came from the main road, with the heart of saving the country, disregarding victory or defeat, and the attitude of mortal death, we would avoid it; The desire to protect themselves from danger, but if they don't have the determination to fight to the death, we will take the opportunity to annihilate them."

Cao Cao heard that Yuan Shang went south along the West Mountain and arrived at Yangping Pavilion in the east of the city, 70 li away from Yecheng, and camped next to Fushui.At night, a beacon is lit, which is a signal to communicate with Yuan Jun in the city, and a beacon is also lit in the city to echo.Shenpei prepared to attack Yuan Shang inside and outside to drive away Cao Cao's troops.

Cao Cao immediately led his troops to attack Shenpei, who was defeated and returned to the city.Cao Cao turned around and attacked Yuan Shang again. Yuan Shang was defeated and asked Cao Cao to surrender. Cao Cao refused and continued to attack him.Yuan Shang had no choice but to escape by night and guard Qishan.Cao Cao chased after him, and marched again. Yuan Shang's generals Ma Yan, Zhang Kai and others rebelled. Yuan Shang's army collapsed in an instant, and Yuan Shang fled to Zhongshan (Ding County, Hebei Province).

Cao Cao pacified Yecheng and occupied Jizhou.This year, Cao Cao is the year of destiny.Yecheng is the prefecture city of Jizhou. Jizhou ranks first among the prefectures under the jurisdiction of Cao Cao, and its household registration and wealth rank first. Cao Cao naturally attaches great importance to it, so he took Jizhou as herdsman and often stationed in Yecheng.

After breaking the city, Cao Cao personally went to pay homage to Yuan Shao's tomb, weeping bitterly and sighing.He and Yuan Shao had known each other since they were children and had become friends with each other.When they were young, they were high-spirited and ambitious. Unexpectedly, God arranged for them to become rivals and fight each other. Cao Cao felt sad when he thought of it, and lamented that life is impermanent.

Cao Cao hired Cui Yan as the administrator of Jizhou (Biejia), and successively issued the "Jianhebei Zufu Order", "Suppressing Merger Order", "Forgive Yuan Family's Evil Order" and so on.Crack down on the powerful, appease the common people, and rectify the social atmosphere.All the people rejoiced, and the hearts of the people quickly settled down.

At first, when Cao Cao attacked Yecheng, Gao Gan, Yuan Shao's nephew, was afraid that Cao Cao would point his troops at him, so he surrendered Cao Cao, and Cao Cao still appointed him as governor of Bingzhou; Yuan Tan, who had surrendered to Cao Cao, changed his mind at this time and attacked Cao Cao. Yuan Shang was unable to resist Zhongshan, where Yuan Shang was guarding, so he fled north to Youzhou and defected to his second brother Yuan Xi.Yuan Tan took over all his troops and returned to garrison Longcou (De County, Shandong Province).Cao Cao wrote to Yuan Tan to accuse him of breaking his promise.

In the following year, the tenth year of Jian'an (AD 205), Cao Cao killed Yuan Tan within a month, and drove Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang out of Youzhou. The two had to flee to the Wuhuan tribe outside the Great Wall. It all belongs to Cao Cao.

Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou who had already surrendered to Cao Cao, took the opportunity to leave Cao Cao and wanted to attack Yecheng with a surprise army.Unexpectedly, Cao Cao had already taken precautions, so Gao Gan had to send troops to guard Huguan (southeast of Changzhi City, Shanxi Province) to guard against Cao Cao's attack.

In the 11th year of Jian'an (206 AD), Cao Cao personally led his troops to defeat Gao Gan, and Bingzhou has since been incorporated into Cao Cao's sphere of influence.So far, the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing have all fallen into the hands of Cao Cao, and their power has greatly increased.Cao Cao started his army from Chen Liu at the age of 35. From the initial few thousand, after nearly 20 years of fighting in the north and south, he finally unified the north and became the largest warlord separatist force in the Central Plains.

After Cao Cao acquired Jiqingyou and merged the four states, he had direct contact with Wuhuan outside the Great Wall.Wuhuan is an ethnic minority in the north. The leader of Wuhuan is named Tadun, who is very powerful.In order to win him over, Yuan Shao worshiped Tadun, the leader of Wuhuan of the three counties, as Shanyu, and married his daughter to the military chief of Wuhuan as his wife.After Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang defected to Wuhuan, Tadun took advantage of the situation and joined forces with Yuan Shang brothers to invade the border of Hebei.

Cao Cao decided to send troops to counterattack Wuhuan in order to completely wipe out Yuan Shao's remaining forces and consolidate the ruling power in Hebei.Before dispatching troops, Cao Cao first dug the "Pinglu" and "Quanzhou" canals in the Hebei area, so that the five rivers of the Filteruo River, Guashui River, Gouhe River, Luhe River, and Luan River ran through from Raoyang County in Hebei to Dongchan in Hebei. County, in order to ensure the unimpeded transportation of grain during the march in the future, so as to achieve "the grain and grass go first without the movement of people and horses".

Cao Cao was about to launch a large-scale attack on the Wuhuan tribe, and the generals opposed it one after another, thinking that Yuan Shang and others were just a group of fish that slipped through the net, and there was no need to mobilize the army.In addition, Wuhuan is greedy and has no compassion, so how could he be easily used by Yuan Shang?If we make a northern expedition beyond the Great Wall, Liu Bei will definitely take the opportunity to persuade Liu Biao to attack Xudu, and the situation will be unfavorable to us.

Cao Cao thought it made sense, and Liu Bei had to guard against it, and was hesitating.However, counselor Guo Jia thought: "The Wuhuan tribe is far away in the wilderness in the north, so they must not be on guard. We can take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, and we can defeat them immediately. Moreover, if the Yuan Shang brothers have a chance to respite and tell the people of the four states to rise up against the lord, the situation will be great. It will be a great disadvantage. Because the people of the four states are only afraid of our strength, they have to submit. We have not brought them any benefits for a while. If we abandon them and march south, Yuan Shang uses the Wuhuan tribe as capital to call on all Heroic men who are willing to die for their benefactor, at that time, once the Wuhuan army is dispatched, as well as the Hu people, they may all respond. This situation is enough to tempt Ta Dun and arouse his wild delusions. Jizhou will leave. Liu Biao has no ambition to seek the world, and he has no ability to control Liu Bei. The reason why he took Liu Bei in is because of his helplessness. Therefore, even if none of our soldiers are in Xudu, don’t worry.”

Cao Cao made up his mind and launched an army.Send troops from the coast, via Shanhaiguan, and prepare to attack Liucheng (south of Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province), the hinterland of Wuhuan.

It was midsummer at that time, and there was heavy rain. The terrain along the coast was low and muddy, and the Wuhuan tribe strictly guarded the dangerous pass along the border, so the army could not advance.Cao Cao was very worried, so he followed the strategy of Tian Chou, a famous local scholar, and pretended to retreat backwards, and then made a surprise attack.

So on both sides of the road in the muddy area, big wooden signs were erected, announcing: "The weather is hot now, and the roads are impassable, and we will wait until autumn before attacking." Sure enough, the scouts sent by Wuhuan saw the wooden signs and believed that Cao Cao had really retreated. He went back to report to Ta Dun, and Ta Dun believed it, so he relaxed his defense against Cao Cao.

Before the raid, Cao Cao asked Guo Jia for advice, and Guo Jia said: "Soldiers are valuable and fast. Our army might as well leave our baggage and lighten our equipment. Once we force a two-day journey, advance rapidly and catch them by surprise."

Cao Cao knew it, and immediately ordered the heavy soldiers to be behind and the light soldiers to be in front. He ordered Tian Chou to lead his tribe to act as a guide to climb Xuwu Mountain and advance northward. , through Baitan, Pinggang (Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province), and through the royal court of the Xianbei tribe, heading east to Liucheng.

At this time, Cao's army was only 200 miles away from Liucheng. Wuhuan Ta was shocked when he heard the news, and together with Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi led tens of thousands of cavalry from Wuhuan in the three counties of Liaodong, Liaoxi and Youbeiping to meet Cao's army.

In August, Cao Cao led his army to climb Bailang Mountain (southwest of Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province), and suddenly encountered Wuhuan Army.The Wuhuan coalition forces were powerful, and Cao Cao's army was lightly armed, with only a few soldiers wearing armor, so the soldiers were unavoidably timid.

Cao Cao looked calm and looked down.Seeing Wuhuan's soldiers crowded and crowded, scattered in formation and lax in discipline, he felt confident, so he ordered Zhang Liao and Xu Huang to lead more than a thousand cavalry to take advantage of their unpreparedness and rush down.He then led the army to respond.

The Wuhuan coalition forces were caught off guard, and the soldiers and horses were in a mess.Zhang Liao patted his horse forward and cut Ta Dun off the horse with one blow.Seeing that the situation was not good, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi galloped back, Cao Cao took advantage of the victory and pursued.Killed more than 20 Hu and Han people, and occupied Liucheng in one go.

Wuhuan Shanyu Supuwan of Liaodong County fled with Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, and defected to Gongsun Kang, the governor of Liaodong County. There were still thousands of cavalry accompanying him. Some people suggested that Cao Cao pursue them.Cao Cao said: "No, I'll wait for Gongsun Kang to send the heads of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi." So the class teacher.

Gongsun Kang really planned to take the lives of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi as a great contribution to the court.So in the stables, the elite soldiers were ambushed, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were invited to enter.Before they were seated, Gongsun Kang launched an attack, captured the two men, killed them immediately, and sent them to Cao Cao together with the head of Su Puwan.

The generals were amazed and asked Cao Cao: "After we retreated, why did Gongsun Kang execute Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi?" Cao Cao said: "Gongsun Kang has always been afraid of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. If we rush to attack, they will unite and fight together. As long as they relax a little, they will kill each other. This is Guo Jia's plan before his death, and now it has come true."

Cao Cao pacified Wuhuan, sent Tian Chou to guard Liuzhou, and led the three armies back to Yecheng.At the same time, they brought back more than 10 Han people who had been taken captive by Wuhuan, and moved more than 10 Wuhuan people from the border into the interior to live with the Han people.Wuhuan's cavalry was also incorporated into Cao's army, and later marched east and west with Cao Cao, known as "the world's famous cavalry".

On the way of Cao Cao's class, he passed Jieshi (southwest of Dongting County, Hebei Province). There is a huge stone standing on the top of the mountain, standing majestically.When Cao Cao climbed up and looked far away, he saw waves bursting, towering mountains and islands, and the sea stretched as far as the eye could see.Then he recited the popular poem full of inner feelings:
Facing Jieshi in the east, you can see the sea.The water and the river are dandan, and the mountains and islands stand erect.The trees are overgrown and the grass is luxuriant.The autumn wind is bleak, and the torrents are surging. If the sun and the moon travel, if they come out of it, if the stars are shining, if they come out of it.Fortunately, even zai, singing to sing aspirations.

The meaning of the full text is: Climb Jieshi Mountain and look east to the sea.The sea water is swaying, and the mountain island stands in the middle of the water.The bushes grow densely and the weeds are thick and lush.The autumn wind is blowing, and the sea is surging with huge waves.The sun and the moon move, as if they are above the sea, and the galaxy is brilliant, as if coming from the chest of the sea. (To be able to see this beautiful scenery) I am very fortunate, (so) express my feelings with poetry.

This is a sigh from the bottom of my heart.The loud and high-pitched chant, mixed with the sound of the wind, the sound of the waves, and the faint sounds of fighting each other in the distance, echoed for a long time at the junction of the sky and the sea...

(End of this chapter)