The Complete Biography of Cao Cao
Chapter 6 Selecting Generals and Measuring the Enemy: A Military Strategy of Knowing Yourself and th
Chapter 6 Selecting Generals and Measuring the Enemy: A Military Strategy of Knowing Yourself and the Enemy
In the first trial, Lu Bu was defeated without losing the opportunity
Judging the situation is a necessary skill for decision-makers, and it is also an important criterion for measuring the quality of a general.In ancient times, there were many examples of wars where the few won the many, and the weak defeated the strong. The most important thing is to act according to the time and seize the fleeting opportunity.When the enemy and the enemy are in a period of calm, they should take the opportunity to appease the people, recharge their batteries, develop and strengthen themselves, and prepare for the decisive battle in the future; once there is an opportunity that is beneficial to them, they should attack decisively, and must not be indecisive and delay the opportunity.
Since Cao Cao drove Lv Bu out of Yanzhou, he has always regarded Lv Bu as a serious problem.However, because he was busy welcoming the emperor's capital Xu, farming in the fields, and conquering Zhangxiu in the south, he had no time to take care of Lu Bu, so he mainly adopted a defensive policy towards Lu Bu.
Later, Lu Bu defected to Cao Cao, and Liu Bei also worked under Cao Cao.The two were still allies, but an unpleasant incident changed the situation.
In the spring of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), the horse bought by Lu Bu was snatched by Liu Bei's subordinates.Lv Bu couldn't bear it, so he took the opportunity of Cao Cao's second southern campaign against Zhang Xiu, betrayed Cao Cao, re-established a relationship with Yuan Shu, and sent Zhonglang General Gao Shun and Lu Xiang Zhang Liao to attack Liu Bei.
Considering that he had to deal with Yuan Shao, the powerful enemy in the north, and other alien forces, Cao Cao had no time to take care of Lu Bu's rebellion for a while.Later, he changed his mind after accepting the suggestions of Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Xun You.
After Cao Cao returned to Xudu in July of this year, he received a disrespectful letter from Yuan Shao.Yuan Shao knew that Cao Cao was defeated by Zhang Xiu in Wancheng, and that Lu Bu was worried in the east, and he occupied Hebei, with a vast land, a large population, strong troops and strong horses, and everyone was afraid, so his attitude was arrogant and his words were quite disrespectful.After Cao Cao finished reading, he felt furious.Everyone didn't know what to do, thinking that it was due to the disadvantage of fighting Zhang Xiu.Zhong Yao went to ask Xun Yu, and Xun Yu replied, "Mr. Cao is wise and wise. He will never worry about things that have passed. There should be other things."
Xun Yu then went to see Cao Cao and asked what happened.Only then did Cao Cao show Yuan Shao's letter to Xun Yu and Guo Jia, who was present at the same time, and asked, "Yuan Shao is not benevolent and unrighteous. We should raise troops to attack him, but we may not be able to match him in strength. What should we do?"
Xun Yu disagreed with beating Yuan Shao first.He believed that although Yuan Shao was strong, he would not make great achievements in the end, and he would be subdued by Cao Cao in the end, but the time had not yet come.It is recommended that Cao Cao defeat Lu Bu first, and then consider attacking Yuan Shao. He believes that if Lu Bu is not defeated first, it will not be easy to win the area north of the Yellow River.
Guo Jia supported Xun Yu's opinion, and believed that if Lv Bu was not defeated, Lv Bu would definitely support Yuan Shao when Yuan Shao came to attack in the future, which would cause very serious consequences.
Cao Cao judged the situation, combined with the opinions of counselors Guo Jia, Xun You, etc., and believed that Yuan Shao would not be able to divide his troops to rescue Lu Bu first if he attacked Yuan Shao.So he decided to appease Hanzhong, and then conquer Lu Bu eastward.
So I wrote a letter to Ma Teng, Han Sui and others, explaining the stakes. Ma Teng, Han Sui and others did not move. hostage.This step has received the expected effect.
Regarding the eastward expedition to Lv Bu, Cao Cao sought the opinions of his counselors, but many people still expressed their opposition.They believed that although Yuan Shao had no time to look south for a while, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu were still eyeing the south. If they attacked Lu Bu, they would take the opportunity to attack Xudu, and the consequences would be disastrous.Xun You tried his best to reject all opinions, thinking that Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu had just been defeated in Anzhong, so they would not dare to move again, while Lu Bu was fierce and relying on Yuan Shu to help him, if he was allowed to roam between Huai and Si, some heroes would surely rise up to respond.Now take advantage of the opportunity of his rebellion just now and the dissension of the people, go to attack, and you will surely succeed.
In the end, the counselors Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Xun You tended to agree. Cao Cao was very happy and decided to immediately send troops to conquer Lu Bu.
After careful analysis, Cao Cao believed that the time was ripe, so he immediately made the decision to conquer Lu Bu.Cao Cao's people did not move and settled down first, this is the style of doing things for those who achieve great things.
In September, Cao Cao personally led the army to march eastward.At this time, news came from the front that Lu Bu had captured Xiaopei.Liu Bei fled alone, and his family was captured.Moreover, as expected by Xun You, the local warlords Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others who had been active in Taishan County all joined Lu Bu one after another.Cao Cao then accelerated the pace of his eastward march, and when he reached the ground of Liang State, he met Liu Bei, and they marched eastward together.
At this time, Lu Bu had concentrated all his troops in Pengcheng, intending to stick there.In October, Cao Cao arrived in Pengcheng.Chen Gong suggested to Lu Bu: "We should take advantage of the opportunity when Cao's army is exhausted from afar, and attack head-on. In this way, we will surely win the victory."
Lu Bu disagreed and said, "It's better to wait for them to attack. When they are crossing and swimming, we will launch a surprise attack and wipe them out in Surabaya."
Unexpectedly, Lu Bu's wishful thinking came to nothing.Due to Cao Cao's adequate preparations in advance, Cao's army attacked extremely fast. Before Lu Bu could react, he had already crossed Surabaya, and then captured Pengcheng like a broken bamboo.Lu Bu had no time to react, so he fled in panic and retreated to Xiapi, which is located in the southeast of Pengcheng.
During the entire process of the Eastern Expedition, Cao Cao first analyzed the situation with his advisers, and after reaching a consensus, he took corresponding actions. Little chance.
Cao Cao is good at judging the situation, so he can always find good opportunities and take advantage of them.However, Lu Bu didn't listen to the opinions of his subordinates and didn't make any claims at all. Moreover, he repeatedly missed good opportunities and finally suffered a crushing defeat.The ability of the two to judge the situation and the amount of resourcefulness make a judgment.
Divide the whole into parts
If the situation is one strong and the other weak, then the most taboo thing for the "one strong" is to form an alliance among the "all weak".If one wants to unify the world, only by destroying the alliance between weak and small groups can one form an absolute advantage over each specific target and "eat" them one by one.
Cao Cao, as a generation of heroes, is wise and resourceful, so of course he understands the pros and cons of this.He also showed this characteristic in his unification war.When Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to Xu County, he was in a relatively favorable position politically, but Xu County is located in the Central Plains, and it is a place where heroes look around.Cao Cao was surrounded by Yuan Shao, Zhang Xiu, Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and other large and small separatist forces, which were very unfavorable to him.In order to avoid the unfavorable situation of "Yan and Yu alone resisting five-sixths of the world", Cao Cao adopted a strategy of dividing and disintegrating all the princes and defeating them one by one.
On the battlefield, it is important to destroy as many enemies as possible, not to show off a moment of bravery.Destroying the enemy's alliance can not only create the conditions for breaking through, but also avoid the passive situation of fighting on two fronts.Therefore, even if you compromise temporarily, you must work hard to reduce the enemy.Because fighting on two fronts has always been a taboo for military strategists.
In the spring of the second year of Jian'an (197 A.D.), Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Yuan Shu in the name of "serving the emperor to make orders not ministers".At that time, Cao Cao also had a lot of concerns about fighting Yuan Shu, because Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were half-brothers, and Lu Bu married him as a son and daughter, and Sun Ce in Jiangdong was once his old subordinate.In this way, once a war broke out, Yuan Shu was likely to form a military alliance with these warlords to jointly deal with Cao Cao.
In order to isolate Yuan Shu, Cao Cao imposed different strategies on them respectively. This battle also fully demonstrated Cao Cao's political scheming and military talent:
First of all, Cao Cao appointed Yuan Shao as the general in the name of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to supervise the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing, and sent Kong Rong as a special envoy to Ye County to appease and win over Yuan Shao.Secondly, Cao Cao knew that Lu Bu had no ambitions, was brave but not scheming, and that he forgot righteousness for profit.Therefore, he appointed Lu Bu as General Zuo and wrote to win over him.Third, Sun Ce was appointed as the captain of the cavalry, and the prefect of Kuaiji, and ordered him to join forces with Lu Bu and Chen Yu of Wujun to attack Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Sun Ce and others each have their own ambitions, Cao Cao prescribes the right medicine, divides and dissolves them, making them unable to unite.After such careful arrangements, Cao Cao began military operations, and finally defeated Yuan Shu, who was fighting alone, in one fell swoop.
In the battle to defeat several major drama-cutting forces in the north, Cao Cao paid great attention to isolating the enemy in every battle according to the strategic guiding principle of first being weak before being strong, and defeating each one, and trying to avoid fighting on both sides.For example, after he defeated Yuan Shu's main force in Huaibei, he was keenly aware that Yuan Shu's remaining power could not pose a direct threat to him, so he quickly transferred his troops to attack Zhang Xiu.When he besieged Rang County, he heard that Yuan Shao was planning to go south to attack Xu County, so he quickly returned to Xu County to avoid fighting on both sides.
On the contrary, in the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao thought that he had a strong army and many resourceful men, so he could add troops to the world and ignored the alliance between Sun and Liu.As a result, instead of defeating Sun and Liu and capturing Jiangdong, he was defeated and fled, losing most of Jingxiang's territory.It can be seen that the power of the alliance should not be underestimated at any time, even when you think you are very powerful.
After the Battle of Chibi, the military struggles of Wei, Shu, and Wu have always run through the struggle between the alliance and the dismantling of the alliance. Cao Cao summed up the experience of Chibi's defeat, learned from the pain, and focused on disintegrating and destroying the relationship between Wu and Shu. China's military alliance, and actively create conditions for its various military defeats.For example, when Guan Yu attacked Fancheng, Cao Cao used "cutting the land in the south of the Yangtze River" as a bait to encourage Sun Quan to take the opportunity to attack Jingzhou.After Guan Yu heard the news, he had to quickly send his army back to rescue Jingzhou, but the Cao army stationed in Fancheng did not pursue it, and adopted the tactic of sitting and watching the "two tigers" of Wu and Shu fight each other, which well realized the policy of disintegrating the enemy's alliance, and The effect is also obvious.
For another example, after Guan Yu was killed, the cunning Cao Cao and Sun Quan launched a battle of wits by taking advantage of the handling of Guan Yu's leader, and cleverly directed the disaster to Soochow, thus achieving the purpose of separating the relationship between Sun and Liu. .There were not a few people who could see this situation at the time.The political strategists of Wu and Shu, such as Kong Ming and Lu Su, also realized that the danger came from the powerful north. Neither Sun Quan nor Liu Bei could survive alone. Once the alliance broke down, the consequences would be disastrous.Therefore, they attach great importance to maintaining this alliance.As long as Sun and Hua are united and fight against the enemy together, Cao Wei will not get any advantage in the military; and once there is a crack in the Wu-Shu alliance, Cao Cao will keenly seize the opportunity, see the needles, and be aggressive.
On the battlefield, the law of using the strong to bully the weak and outnumbering the few prevails.Concentrating superior forces and adopting strong offensive methods can overwhelm relatively few and weak troops and annihilate them in one fell swoop. This is a common law of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign wars.
[-]. Calm-headed and careful analysis of the general situation
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought against Dong Zhuo together with the princes of the world at the beginning, but the two people's employment policies and views on the general situation were far from each other, and the contradictions were very sharp.As time went by, the situation became more and more clear, and the conflict between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao intensified further.Cao Cao clearly realized that a showdown with Yuan Shao in the north was inevitable.Therefore, after defeating Liu Biao and surrendering Zhang Xiu, Cao Cao called his counselors to discuss in order to make the right decision as soon as possible.
Cao Cao knew that some of the counselors must have had their own opinions, so he said straightforwardly: "At the beginning (Yuan Shao) owned Jizhou with a large population and a large land, plus Qingzhou and Bingzhou. The imperial court is disrespectful, and there are many threats to the imperial court. I want to send troops to conquer, but according to our current strength, I am afraid that we cannot match it. What do you think should be done?"
Xun Yu thought for a while silently, and said: "People who achieved great things in ancient times, as long as they have the ability to think about the world and help the people, even if they are relatively weak at the moment, they will eventually become strong by relying on the people. If you are just an ordinary person , but occupies a high position, even if it is powerful for a while, it has no ability to continue to be strong, and it tends to be mediocre. This can be clearly seen from the success or failure of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Today the world can compete with Ming Gong , only Yuan Shao is alone." He continued, "In Yichen's opinion, Yuan Shao is no match for you in terms of talent, resourcefulness, military strategy, virtue, etc..." Hearing Xun Yu say this, Cao Cao said, I couldn't help but feel happy.
"Shao has ten defeats, and the public has ten victories. Although Yuan Shao has a strong army, he can't make a difference." Guo Jia analyzed the pros and cons of the enemy and us in more detail, and thought: "Yuan Shao's etiquette is cumbersome, but you are naturally decent. This is the way. It is better than him; Yuan Shao ruled the world with rebellious power, and you revived the Han Dynasty to command the world. Only relatives and friends are the only ones, and when you employ people, you seem to be casual, but you know their abilities in your heart. He: (when others are making comments) Yuan Shao has many strategies, but it is difficult to make a decisive decision. Failure is inevitable, but you can implement strategies if you have strategies, and you are also very adaptable. This is a strategy that surpasses him; Yuan Shao talks about, uses If you use real objects to improve your reputation, most people who rely on him will cover up their mistakes, but you treat others with sincerity, not for vanity, and most loyal and far-sighted people are willing to use you, which is morally better than him; Yuan Shao is a small matter He understands but is confused about major matters, and Minggong, although negligent in minor matters, never forgets Enjia Shihai. This surpasses Yuan Shao's reputation. Even if you can't see it, he has always considered it very carefully. This is Ren better than him ;Yuan Shao's ministers scramble for power, slander, confuse and create chaos, and mutual suspicion, they cannot be twisted into a force within, but if you rule the corporals with morality, evil things will not happen, this is because you are wiser than him; Yuan Shaolian right and wrong You don't know, but if you think it's right, treat it with courtesy, and if you think it's wrong, punish it with the law. This is Wen is better than him; Yuan Shao is good at bluffing, and doesn't know the importance of using troops, but you win more with less, use soldiers like a god, soldiers We all rely on you, the enemy is afraid of you, this is the martial arts superior to him."
After listening to Guo Jia's analysis in terms of politics, military affairs, and employment, Cao Cao suddenly felt clear and confident. He looked at the young counselor in front of him with satisfaction, and thought to himself: "The one who made me achieve great things must be the one in front of me." This young man."
However, Cao Cao's mind was still sober, and he said modestly: "If it is really like what you said, how dare I be it?"
Yuan Shao's employment is not as good as Cao Cao's, that's for sure.Yuan Shao's nepotism, "Let the four sons each occupy a state", is not good for Yuan's family in the long run. However, one thing must be confirmed. During the Battle of Guandu, he was single and weak, and some soldiers in his army were forced by the power of Yuan Jun, and some rebellions inevitably occurred.When it comes to knowing people, Yuan Shao's ministers struggled for power but couldn't stop them; Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not suitable to be generals, but they were forced to lead the army alone. Cao Cao was much better than Yuan Shao in this aspect.
It was Cao Cao's military ability that played a key role in the Battle of Guandu, which is what Guo Jia called "conspiracy" and "martial arts".The Battle of Guandu was first of all a military confrontation, so the contest between the military capabilities of the commanders of the two armies also became the key to the outcome of the war.Yuan Shao's military ability cannot be compared with Cao Cao's. However, in addition to Guo Jia's "conspiracy" and "martial arts" two victories, Jia Xu's "decision-making ability is better than Yuan Shao" is also the key to Cao Cao's final victory in the Battle of Guandu reason.
After careful and careful analysis of both the enemy and the enemy, Cao Cao had confidence in the battle with Yuan Shao, so he dared to confront Yuan Shao head-on with confidence.This kind of confidence comes from a full understanding of both the enemy and us, and it is based on facts. The result is true. After a series of wars, Cao Cao finally pacified Hebei and laid a solid foundation for the unification of the north.
Four attacks must save Rangshan and defeat Liu Bei with troops
Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was in an active position in most cases.The same strategy has different effects in the hands of different people. Only those who stand tall and look far and control the overall situation can really promote the development of the situation, and Cao Cao is such a person, he can always firmly grasp the initiative in their own hands.
After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in Cangping, he summoned his advisers to discuss the capture of Yecheng.While discussing, suddenly Xun Yu came with a book, which roughly read: Liu Bei is now occupying Runan, taking advantage of Cao Cao's northward attack on Yuan Shao and Xu County's emptiness, he hoped that Cao Cao would send troops to resist.Cao Cao was shocked and left Cao Hong stationed on the river, bluffing, so that Yuan Shao's army didn't know the truth and dared not come to fight.Cao Cao led his own army to Runan to meet Liu Bei.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others led troops to attack Xudu.Just marching to the territory of Rangshan, I happened to meet Cao Bing and arrived here quickly.Liu Bei set up camp in Rangshan, and the army was divided into three teams: Guan Yu stationed troops on the southeast corner, Zhang Fei stationed troops on the southwest corner, and Liu Bei and Zhao Yun set up camps directly south to take care of each other.
The next day, Cao Cao's soldiers lined up early, and Liu Bei's army came out with drums, and the two sides fought.Cao Cao formed a formation and asked Liu Bei to answer. Liu Bei stepped out and stood under the banner of the gate.Cao Cao waved his horsewhip and scolded, "I have treated you well, why did you betray your righteousness and ungrateful, and instead attacked Xu Du?" Liu Bei said, "You used your name as a chancellor of the Han Dynasty, but it was actually a gift from the Han Dynasty! I am a relative of the Han family. , according to the emperor's secret edict, come to crusade against the rebels! Why not?" Then he took out the pocket edict of Han Xiandi and read it aloud.Cao Cao was furious and ordered Xu Chu to fight.
Behind Liu Bei, Zhao Yun came out with a spear, and the two fought for thirty rounds, regardless of the outcome.Suddenly there was a loud shout, Guan Yunchang clashed at the southeast corner, and Zhang Fei led the army to clash at the southwest corner.The three armies came together to cover up and attack, and Cao Jun rushed to attack from a long distance. He was already exhausted and unable to resist.In the end, he was defeated and left, and Liu Bei returned to camp victorious.
In the next few days, Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to challenge again, but Cao Ying repeatedly did not send troops to meet the challenge.Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to challenge again, but Cao Cao did not send troops.Liu Bei was suspicious.Suddenly someone came to report that Gong Du had arrived, but was trapped by Cao Jun. Liu Bei urgently ordered Zhang Fei to rescue him.Suddenly it was reported that Xiahou Dun led the army to take Runan from behind. Liu Bei was shocked and said: "If this is the case, I will be attacked back and forth, and I will have nowhere to live!" He hurriedly ordered Guan Yu to come to the rescue.Both of them left with their troops, leaving only a few soldiers under Liu Bei's tent.
Not a day later, someone flew a horse to report that Xia Houdun had broken through Runan, Liu Pi abandoned the city and left, and Guan Yunchang was trapped.Liu Bei was shocked.He also reported to Zhang Fei to rescue Gong Du, but he was also trapped.Liu Bei was eager to return to his army, but he was afraid that Cao Cao's soldiers would sneak up on him from behind.Suddenly someone reported Xu Chu's challenge outside the village.Liu Bei didn't dare to go out to fight, and waited until dawn to teach the soldiers to have a full meal. The infantry first went up, the horses followed, and the false rumors in the village were more.Liu Bei and others walked about a few miles away from the stronghold, turned around the earth hill, and suddenly saw the torches in front of them, and someone shouted on the top of the hill: "Stop teaching Liu Bei and leave Liu Bei! The prime minister is here." Liu Bei was shocked and panicked for a while.Zhao Yun said: "My lord is in a hurry, but come with me." Zhao Yun raised his chair and leaped his horse to fight a way, and Liu Bei followed with his two swords.During the battle, Xu Chu chased after him and fought with Zhao Yun.Behind Yu Jin and Li Dian came again, Liu Bei saw the danger and left in despair.Hearing the shouts behind him fade away, Liu Bei fled alone to the mountain path.
Cao Cao adopted the strategy of dividing the whole body and attacking him to save him, and defeated Liu Bei in one blow.The reason why Cao Cao was able to defeat Liu Bei was that Cao Cao dispersed the enemy's forces.The second is to put pressure on the troops divided by each share, making it difficult to get out and join other troops.The third is to attack its lair and completely destroy the opponent psychologically.
The strategic thinking of "Attacking must be saved" comes from "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Fiction and Reality".It mentioned: "Therefore, if I want to fight, even though the enemy has a high fortification and a deep ditch, I have to fight with me. If I attack him, I will save him." It means: If you want to fight with the enemy, but the enemy occupies a favorable position and does not fight with you. When you are at war, your best bet is to attack where the enemy must rescue. "Sun Tzu's Art of War Nine Lands" also said: "Dare to ask the enemy to come together, how to serve them? He said: Take what he loves first, and then listen." It means that when the enemy leads the elite soldiers to attack bravely, our own side Its vitals and its first place of care should be seized first.If so, the enemy will follow your strategic thinking.
It is also mentioned in the Art of War that there are many ways to fight against each other, and "Li Zhan" is one of them. It means that for internally united enemies, we must find ways to separate them and make them separate. It is best to fight each other. Therefore, , anyone who is familiar with the art of war must pay attention to preventing the enemy's splitting conspiracy. This is well known to military strategists. Cao Cao even flexibly used the strategies of leaving the battle and attacking him to save him, reaching the level of perfection.
In fact, attacking and saving can often have a surprising effect.The core of the strategic thought of winning by surprise is to look at the relationship between "odd" and "positive" dialectically. Don't think that this move will always be strange just because you win with a strange move; Effect.And it is necessary to change the strange and positive tactics as the situation changes, so as to achieve the superb state of being victorious.
The five lures to benefit Yangping Guan captive general
The prosperity of the world is all for profit; the world is full of hustle and bustle, all for profit.After all, those who truly sacrifice themselves for others and do not expect anything in return are a minority.The so-called no gain early, lure the enemy with profit is a very effective means of winning.
In the 20th year of Jian'an (AD 215), Cao Cao took Xia Houyuan and Zhang Ying as the vanguard, Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun as the rear, led the Chinese army, and marched west to Hanzhong.After the news of Cao Cao's westward expedition reached Hanzhong, Zhang Lu and his younger brother Zhang Wei discussed how to retreat from the enemy.Zhang Wei suggested: "The most dangerous place in Hanzhong is Yangping Pass. You can set up a dozen camps on the left and right sides of this place, surrounded by mountains and forests, to meet Cao Cao. I will lead the army there, and my brother will stay in Hanzhong and be responsible for logistics supplies." Zhang Wei Lu very much agrees with this suggestion.
Zhang Wei and generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren led Ma Gang to set up camp at Yangping Pass, and Cao Jun led by Xia Houyuan and Zhang He also killed them.Xia Houyuan heard that Yangping Pass had been prepared, so he set up camp 15 miles outside the pass.That night, Cao Jun was exhausted from his expedition and fell asleep soundly.Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Yang Ang and Yang Ren came to rob the village in two ways. Cao Jun was caught off guard and fled in defeat.
Xia Houyuan and Zhang Yun met Cao Cao after they were defeated. Cao Cao angrily reprimanded them for not being proficient in the art of war, which caused loss of soldiers and generals.Cao Cao originally wanted to kill them with strict military law, but he let them go because everyone begged for help.
Later, Cao Cao personally led the vanguard to attack Yangping Pass, killed Yang Ang, defeated the enemy, and occupied Yangping Pass.After Zhang Wei and Yang Ren met Zhang Lu, Zhang Wei shifted the responsibility for the loss of Yangping Pass to Yang Ren, and Yang Ren shifted the responsibility to the dead Yang Ang. Men and horses, come to fight Cao Cao.
After Cao Cao occupied Yangping Pass, he marched towards Nanzheng again. Shiling Xia Houyuan led 5000 troops to scout on the way to Nanzheng, and happened to meet Yang Ren again.The two armies set up their own battlefields and began to fight.Yang Ren and Xia Houyuan fought fiercely for dozens of rounds, with neither winner nor loser.Xia Houyuan pretended to be defeated and fled, but Yang Ren, eager to make contributions, chased after him closely, but was cut off by Xia Houyuan's horse with a dragging knife.After Cao Cao learned that Xia Houyuan had beheaded Yang Ren, he immediately marched to Xiazhai in Nanzheng.
When Cao Cao's troops approached the city, Zhang Lu was reminded in a hurry that he thought of General Pang De, so he ordered Pound to gather 1 horses to fight Cao Cao.
Pound lined up to challenge Cao Cao more than a dozen miles away from the city. Because Cao Cao had already experienced Pound's bravery in the previous Battle of Weiqiao, he specially instructed his generals: "Pound is a fierce general in Xiliang. It turned out to be Ma Chao's subordinates. Although they are attached to Zhang Lu, they are not sincere. We want to win him over. When you fight him, you should use delaying tactics, and try to capture him alive when he is exhausted. "
According to the strategy set by Cao Cao, Zhang Yun, Xia Houyuan, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, etc. took turns to fight, ranging from two or three rounds to as many as thirty or fifty rounds, and they did not like to fight.Pang De fought against the four generals without any timidity.After Zhang He and others returned to the formation, they all praised Pound's excellent martial arts skills to Cao Cao. If he could surrender, he must be a general of our army.After hearing this, Cao Cao was even more eager to subdue him, so he asked the generals how to make Pang De surrender.
Jia Xu told Cao Cao that Yang Song had always been greedy for money, so if he tried to lure Yang Song with money and separate them, he would succeed.Cao Cao adopted his suggestion.
The next day, Cao Cao ordered Xia Houyuan first, and Zhang He and the two led the army to ambush far away, so that Xu Huang challenged Pound. After a few rounds of fighting, Xu Huang was defeated, and Pound chased after him. De entered Cao Cao's camp and obtained a large amount of food and grass.At the second watch of the night, suddenly fire broke out on the three roads in the village. Xu Huang and Xu Chu were in the middle, Zhang Yun was on the left, and Xia Houyuan was on the right. The guests were also mixed in and mixed into Nanzheng.
After seeing Yang Song, the lobbyist gave him a pair of gold armor and some gold and silver treasures. Yang Song was overjoyed and went to see Zhang Lu overnight, and lied that Pound had been bribed by Cao Cao, so he deliberately lost the game World War I.Zhang Lu was furious, called Pang De to scold him, and threatened to kill him.Pang De was very annoyed at being wronged even after fighting hard for a day.
The next day, when Cao Bing attacked the city, Pang De led his troops out.Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to fight, Xu Chu pretended to be defeated and retreated, and Pang De chased after him.Cao Cao rode alone on the mountain city and shouted to Pound: "Pang De! Zhang Lu treats you like this, why don't you surrender!"So he flew uphill and went straight to Cao Cao, only to hear a loud cry, and the world turned upside down.Pound and his horse fell into the horse trap.All the soldiers rushed up, captured him alive, and brought him to Cao Cao.Cao Cao got off his horse, untied him personally, and asked Pound if he was willing to surrender. Thinking of Zhang Lu's unkindness to him, Pound changed his mind and took refuge in Cao Cao.
Cao Cao took advantage of Zhang Songhao's weakness of being greedy for money, and got General Pound. He was overjoyed, and the soldiers also boosted their morale.Afterwards, Cao Cao erected ladders on three sides and attacked the city aggressively.Then he attacked the city and pulled out the stronghold, persuaded the enemy to surrender, and soon occupied Guanzhong.
For the enemy generals with strong utilitarianism, they can be tricked by tricks, and then design ambushes, which can often win by surprise.As the saying goes: Fragrant bait can make fish forget the hook, and lust for profit can make people faint.Sun Tzu said: "Benefits are used to lure them. The victory of this military strategist should not be passed on first." It means that for those enemy troops who are greedy for snobbery, use small profits to lure them. specifically stipulated.
Sixth, there are many means to achieve the goal of fighting against Sun Liu
As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.Cao Cao has always had a firm and decisive attitude, and is good at using conspiracy. In order to achieve a certain goal, he often adopts various means and channels.
Cao Cao's southern expedition to Soochow failed. After the defeat of Chibi, he fled back to the north in embarrassment.Although Cao Cao was not convinced by the defeat of the Battle of Chibi in his heart, he still carefully summed up the experience and lessons in private, and gained a new understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the Sun-Liu alliance.
After the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan lent Jingzhou to Liu Bei in accordance with the covenant. After Cao Cao heard about it, he couldn't help but panic.Cao Cao believes that in this way, the Sun-Liu alliance will be more united and closer to each other.Therefore, it is even more difficult to realize the grand ambition of unifying China.Therefore, in order to deal with these two powerful alliances, Cao Cao believed that the two must resent each other and fall apart, so that he could have a chance to attack.Therefore, he not only prepared to attack militarily, but more importantly, he carried out the work of wooing and disintegrating.It can be said to be both soft and hard, with a lot of means.
First, in the 14th year of Jian'an (209 A.D.), Cao Cao sent Jiang Gan, a native of Jiujiang, to Jiangling, hoping to persuade Zhou Yu to take refuge in his tent with the friendship of his fellow countrymen.
Jiang Gan, whose courtesy name is Ziyi, is quite proficient in writing and eloquence, and is a well-known figure in the Jianghuai area.Jiang Gan worked as a counselor under Cao Cao's account. After receiving Cao Cao's order, he went to Jiangling in the name of personal affairs.
How smart is Zhou Yu?Hearing that Jiang Gan is here, he already knows why he is here.As soon as the two met, Zhou Yu said to Jiang Gan: "Brother Ziyi, you have traveled so far in the rivers and lakes, and you have traveled tirelessly. Are you here to be a lobbyist for Cao Cao?" After speaking, he looked up to the sky and smiled.
It was embarrassing for Jiang Gan to be exposed face to face.I had no choice but to explain: "I am from the same township and classmate with your step, and we have been separated for such a long time. I heard that your step has made great achievements and is famous all over the world. So I came here to reminisce about the old days and pay tribute to the general. How can we just say that I mean it when we meet?" Where are the guests?"
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Although I'm not as smart and wise as Shi Kuang, I can still guess your Excellency's intentions. Since your Excellency said so, I would like to hold a banquet to make amends." After speaking, there was another burst of laughter.
So Zhou Yu hosted a banquet in honor of Jiang Gan.During the banquet, Zhou Yu seemed to make a clear statement about Jiang Gan: "A man lives in the world. When he meets a lord and sage, he entrusts the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers outside, and he is kind to his flesh and blood. He obeys his words and shares misfortunes and fortunes. , Zhang Yi's rebirth, and Li Shiqi's comeback, it's impossible to persuade me, Cao Cao should not waste his efforts in vain."
Jiang Gan knew that this was implying that his coming was in vain, and he had nothing to say. He felt that it was boring, so he left in a hurry and went back to Cao Ying after the banquet.After returning, Jiang Gan said to Cao Cao: "Zhou Yu is extraordinary, loyal and noble. It is difficult to persuade him to surrender."After Cao Cao listened, he had no choice but to give up.
If one plan fails, use another plan.In the winter of the 16th year of Jian'an (AD 211), Cao Cao asked Ruan Yu to write a letter to Sun Quan.
The letter mentioned that he wanted to betroth his niece to Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Kuang, and married Sun Ben for his son Cao Zhang. Although Cao Cao accused Sun Quan of abandoning their previous friendship.But the subject changed the subject, saying that it was all caused by unjust people who instigated dissension and Liu Bei's instigation behind his back, and he couldn't be blamed.In the end, he hopes to restore their former friendship and continue their kinship.In this way, he can make Sun Quan enjoy the important task of ennobling officials and ennobling the south of the Yangtze River.
In fact, Cao Cao had only one purpose in writing this letter: to win over Sun Quan and divide the alliance between Sun and Liu.Give Sun Quan an intangible sweet fruit, let him get close to himself and stay away from Liu Bei, so as to achieve his goal, and then eliminate them one by one.We know that for two close friends, if you treat them "unequally".Pull one, hit one, then there will soon be a rift between them, which is exactly what Cao Cao hopes to see.
At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Liu Bei.Among them, it is mentioned that "put on your arms and untie your belt, cast your trust".It means that when both parties meet each other frankly, they can clearly communicate their feelings and convey their true feelings.The content of the letter is similar to the letter to Sun Quan.
In addition, he also wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang, in which he said, "I offer five catties of chicken tongue fragrance as a token of my humble intentions."The so-called chicken tongue fragrance, that is, cloves, can cure bad breath.The purpose of writing letters to Liu Bei and Sun Quan and sending things to Zhuge Liang is very obvious.
Of course, Cao Cao's actions did not have much effect from the development of the situation, but at least it shows that he tried his best to break the Sun Liu alliance.This is also a stress response to the defeat in the Battle of Chibi, which shows that he is aware of the threat to him from the alliance of Sun and Liu.The Battle of Chibi taught him a great lesson. Even if such an action cannot divide and disintegrate the opponent, at least it will prevent him from making the same mistakes again, and his future strategies and tactics will become more mature and perfect.
Seven weak first and then strong, flexible and successful against the enemy
One of Cao Cao's important battle strategies to wipe out the separatist forces and create a foundation is to be weak first and then strong, and defeat each one.Especially in his military campaign to unify the North.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the uprising of the Yellow Turban Army shook the ruling foundation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there was a melee situation of warlords.In the first year of Chuping (AD 190), Cao Cao served as General Fenwu and participated in the crusade against Dong Zhuo. He was defeated by fighting alone, so he wanted to develop independently.In the second year of Chuping, Cao Cao defeated the Bairao Department of the Black Mountain Army and occupied Puyang and other parts of Yanzhou.In the third year of Chuping (192 A.D.), the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army invaded Yanzhou and killed Liu Dai, the governor.Cao Cao, who was then the prefect of Dongjun (now southeast of Puyang, Henan), adopted Chen Gong's strategy of "taking Yanzhou as the foundation of hegemony to fight for the world" proposed by Chen Gong, and adopted flexible tactics to defeat the Yellow Turban Army one after another.In the First Battle of Jibei (now south of Changqing, Shandong), the Yellow Turban Army was forced to land and its elite was incorporated into the "Qingzhou Army". This army became Cao Cao's main force.
In the fourth year of Chuping (193 A.D.), Yuan Shu moved from Nanyang to Fengqiu, recruited and accepted rebels, and prepared to expand his strength northward.Cao Cao, governor of Yanzhou, led his troops to attack Kuangting (now south of Changyuan, Henan) and defeated Yuan Shujun.Yuan Shu retreated to Shouchun (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province) and called himself Yangzhou Mu.In the same year, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was killed in Langya (Zhi Kaiyang, now north of Linyi, Shandong).Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Xuzhou Mu Taoqian in the name of avenging his father.Tao Qian's army was defeated in Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu), and then turned to attack Lu (now east of Si County, Anhui).
In the summer of the second year of Xingping (AD 195), Cao Cao made his second expedition to Xuzhou.However, there was a discordant situation within Cao Cao. Chen Gong and Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu who were stationed in Dongjun, rebelled against Cao and welcomed Lv Bu as Yanzhou shepherd. Because Cao Cao's indiscriminate killing of civilians in the early stage aroused public outrage, all counties and counties they belonged to took refuge in Lv Bu.Cao Cao was forced to go back to rescue Yanzhou, and fought fiercely with Lu Bu in Puyang (East Commandery), where he was defeated and fled.Cao Cao and Lu Bu held a stalemate for more than a hundred days. Due to lack of military supplies, both sides stopped fighting.In May of the following year, Cao Cao launched an attack on Juye, killed Lv Bu's guards Xue Lan and Li Feng, and took advantage of the victory to enter Chengshi (now southwest of Juye, Shandong).At this time, Mu Taoqian of Xuzhou was dead, and Cao Cao wanted to take Xuzhou again.Counselor Xun Yu suggested "deep roots and solid foundations to control the world", and advised him to attack Lu Bu first to determine the land of Yanzhou.Cao Cao followed Xun Yu's suggestion and recovered the counties and counties in Yanzhou, consolidating the Yanzhou base.
In February of the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Cao Cao wiped out the Yellow Turban Army Groups in Yingchuan (Zhiyangdi, now Yuxian County, Henan Province) and Runan (Zhixinxi, now Xixian County, Henan Province), and occupied Xu County.In July, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie returned to Luoyang.Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion of "welcome the Emperor of Consecration, and take the Son of Heaven to command the princes", and moved Emperor Xian to Xu, and made him all Xu.Since then, Cao Cao has controlled the power of the central government and was able to command the world in the name of the emperor. At the same time, he implemented farmland in Xu County and along the transportation line to reduce the taxation of the people and strengthen his strength.
In the second year of Jian'an (AD 197), Zhang Xiu joined forces with Jingzhou Mu Liubiao to station troops in Wancheng, posing a great threat to Cao Cao.In the first month, Cao Cao marched south to Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Xiu led his troops to surrender.Zhang Xiu later took advantage of Cao Cao's unguardedness and defeated Cao Jun.In September, Cao Jun attacked Yuan Shu, who claimed to be emperor, but Yuan Shu was defeated and fled to Huainan.In November, Cao Cao once again launched a crusade against Zhang Xiu, attacking Huyang (now southwest of Tanghe, Henan), and defeated Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao's allied forces.
In March of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), Cao Cao prepared for the upcoming battle of Cao Yuan in order to completely eliminate Zhang Xiu.For the third time, Zhangxiu went south and surrounded Rangcheng (now Deng County, Henan).Hearing that Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack Xudu, he immediately withdrew his troops and returned.In May, Liu Biao took the opportunity to send the Jingzhou Army to occupy Anzhong (now northeast of Deng County, Henan Province), cut off the Cao Army's retreat, and attempted to attack Cao Army with Zhang Xiu.Cao Cao showed weakness and took advantage of it, defeated Zhang and Liu Lianjun, and returned to Xudu smoothly.
In April of the fourth year of Jian'an (AD 199), Cao Cao sent his generals to cross the Yellow River to the north, beheaded Suigu who was attached to Yuan Shao, captured Shegou, and controlled Hanoi County (Zhihuai County, southwest of Wuzhi, Henan).Because Cao Cao is often able to concentrate his forces in the process of fighting against the enemy, defeat them one by one, and make quick decisions, the battle against the enemy is also weak first and then strong.So far, Yan, Yu, Xu and other prefectures have been occupied, and conditions have been prepared for fighting the Yuan Shao Group.
Having wiped out the surrounding forces, large and small, Cao Cao had to consider confronting Yuan Shao head-on.Yuan Shao, the most powerful separatist force in the north, owns Ji (the state governs Ye County, now southwest of Linzhang, Hebei), Qing (the state governs Linzi, present-day Zibo, Shandong), and (the state governs Jinyang, present-day southwest of Taiyuan), You (the state governs Ji County, present-day Southwest of Beijing City) The land of four states, with many soldiers and a vast area, intends to march south.In order to seize the opportunity, Cao Cao first sent troops to occupy Liyang, an important town in Jizhou (now northeast of Junxian County, Henan Province), and sent troops to Yanjin (now north of Yanjin, Henan Province) and Baima (now northeast of Huaxian County, Henan Province) to prevent Yuan's army from going south. Communicate with Liu Biao to keep him neutral so as to relieve his worries.
In the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 A.D.), Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's resourcefulness and took time to defeat Liu Bei who occupied Xuzhou, avoiding a two-front battle.In February, Yuan Shao personally led a large army to attack Yanjin, and sent General Yan Liang to besiege Baima.Cao Cao adopted the strategy of attacking the west from the east, attacked the white horse, beheaded Yan Liang, and quickly returned to the south of Yanjin.Cao Cao knew that he was no match for Yuan Shao in strength, so he took the initiative to return to Guandu (now Zhongmou, Henan), waiting to defeat the enemy.In August, Yuan Jun advanced to Guandu, and the two sides faced off for several months.In October, Xu You, Yuan Shao's counselor, surrendered to Cao Cao and offered a plan to sneak attack Yuan Jun's grain settlement Wuchao.Cao Cao immediately led his cavalry to attack Wuchao overnight and burned Yuan's army's food and fodder.This was the turning point in the battle of Yuan Cao, and Yuan Shao's army collapsed across the board.Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to attack on a large scale, annihilating more than [-] Yuan's troops, and won a complete victory. Yuan Shao led the rest of his troops to flee Hebei.
Afterwards, Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion to establish Hebei first and Jingzhou later, and taking advantage of the panic of Yuan Shao's soldiers, he sent troops to the north and successively captured the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, Bing, and You.After defeating the remnants of the Yuan family and the Wuhuan King Tadun who colluded with it, the north was initially settled.
In the 13th year of Jian'an (208 A.D.), Cao's army intended to go south to attack Jingxiang, forced an emergency landing on Liu Cong, and defeated Liu Bei who had defected to Liu Biao.Liu Bei retreated to Xiakou (now Wuhan, Hubei) to live.So far, Cao Cao expelled Yuan Shu, defeated Zhang Xiu, destroyed Lu Bu, defeated Yuan Shao, and conquered Wuhuan to the north, and defeated Liu Bei who trained him and became a hero.Since then, it has occupied most of the areas north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, initially unified northern China, and formed a strategic situation that threatened Jiangnan.
In the war of unifying the north, Cao Cao had far-sightedness, flexible use of troops, defeated the strong with the weak, defeated each and every step, always grasped the initiative of the war, and won the final victory.
(End of this chapter)
In the first trial, Lu Bu was defeated without losing the opportunity
Judging the situation is a necessary skill for decision-makers, and it is also an important criterion for measuring the quality of a general.In ancient times, there were many examples of wars where the few won the many, and the weak defeated the strong. The most important thing is to act according to the time and seize the fleeting opportunity.When the enemy and the enemy are in a period of calm, they should take the opportunity to appease the people, recharge their batteries, develop and strengthen themselves, and prepare for the decisive battle in the future; once there is an opportunity that is beneficial to them, they should attack decisively, and must not be indecisive and delay the opportunity.
Since Cao Cao drove Lv Bu out of Yanzhou, he has always regarded Lv Bu as a serious problem.However, because he was busy welcoming the emperor's capital Xu, farming in the fields, and conquering Zhangxiu in the south, he had no time to take care of Lu Bu, so he mainly adopted a defensive policy towards Lu Bu.
Later, Lu Bu defected to Cao Cao, and Liu Bei also worked under Cao Cao.The two were still allies, but an unpleasant incident changed the situation.
In the spring of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), the horse bought by Lu Bu was snatched by Liu Bei's subordinates.Lv Bu couldn't bear it, so he took the opportunity of Cao Cao's second southern campaign against Zhang Xiu, betrayed Cao Cao, re-established a relationship with Yuan Shu, and sent Zhonglang General Gao Shun and Lu Xiang Zhang Liao to attack Liu Bei.
Considering that he had to deal with Yuan Shao, the powerful enemy in the north, and other alien forces, Cao Cao had no time to take care of Lu Bu's rebellion for a while.Later, he changed his mind after accepting the suggestions of Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Xun You.
After Cao Cao returned to Xudu in July of this year, he received a disrespectful letter from Yuan Shao.Yuan Shao knew that Cao Cao was defeated by Zhang Xiu in Wancheng, and that Lu Bu was worried in the east, and he occupied Hebei, with a vast land, a large population, strong troops and strong horses, and everyone was afraid, so his attitude was arrogant and his words were quite disrespectful.After Cao Cao finished reading, he felt furious.Everyone didn't know what to do, thinking that it was due to the disadvantage of fighting Zhang Xiu.Zhong Yao went to ask Xun Yu, and Xun Yu replied, "Mr. Cao is wise and wise. He will never worry about things that have passed. There should be other things."
Xun Yu then went to see Cao Cao and asked what happened.Only then did Cao Cao show Yuan Shao's letter to Xun Yu and Guo Jia, who was present at the same time, and asked, "Yuan Shao is not benevolent and unrighteous. We should raise troops to attack him, but we may not be able to match him in strength. What should we do?"
Xun Yu disagreed with beating Yuan Shao first.He believed that although Yuan Shao was strong, he would not make great achievements in the end, and he would be subdued by Cao Cao in the end, but the time had not yet come.It is recommended that Cao Cao defeat Lu Bu first, and then consider attacking Yuan Shao. He believes that if Lu Bu is not defeated first, it will not be easy to win the area north of the Yellow River.
Guo Jia supported Xun Yu's opinion, and believed that if Lv Bu was not defeated, Lv Bu would definitely support Yuan Shao when Yuan Shao came to attack in the future, which would cause very serious consequences.
Cao Cao judged the situation, combined with the opinions of counselors Guo Jia, Xun You, etc., and believed that Yuan Shao would not be able to divide his troops to rescue Lu Bu first if he attacked Yuan Shao.So he decided to appease Hanzhong, and then conquer Lu Bu eastward.
So I wrote a letter to Ma Teng, Han Sui and others, explaining the stakes. Ma Teng, Han Sui and others did not move. hostage.This step has received the expected effect.
Regarding the eastward expedition to Lv Bu, Cao Cao sought the opinions of his counselors, but many people still expressed their opposition.They believed that although Yuan Shao had no time to look south for a while, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu were still eyeing the south. If they attacked Lu Bu, they would take the opportunity to attack Xudu, and the consequences would be disastrous.Xun You tried his best to reject all opinions, thinking that Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu had just been defeated in Anzhong, so they would not dare to move again, while Lu Bu was fierce and relying on Yuan Shu to help him, if he was allowed to roam between Huai and Si, some heroes would surely rise up to respond.Now take advantage of the opportunity of his rebellion just now and the dissension of the people, go to attack, and you will surely succeed.
In the end, the counselors Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Xun You tended to agree. Cao Cao was very happy and decided to immediately send troops to conquer Lu Bu.
After careful analysis, Cao Cao believed that the time was ripe, so he immediately made the decision to conquer Lu Bu.Cao Cao's people did not move and settled down first, this is the style of doing things for those who achieve great things.
In September, Cao Cao personally led the army to march eastward.At this time, news came from the front that Lu Bu had captured Xiaopei.Liu Bei fled alone, and his family was captured.Moreover, as expected by Xun You, the local warlords Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others who had been active in Taishan County all joined Lu Bu one after another.Cao Cao then accelerated the pace of his eastward march, and when he reached the ground of Liang State, he met Liu Bei, and they marched eastward together.
At this time, Lu Bu had concentrated all his troops in Pengcheng, intending to stick there.In October, Cao Cao arrived in Pengcheng.Chen Gong suggested to Lu Bu: "We should take advantage of the opportunity when Cao's army is exhausted from afar, and attack head-on. In this way, we will surely win the victory."
Lu Bu disagreed and said, "It's better to wait for them to attack. When they are crossing and swimming, we will launch a surprise attack and wipe them out in Surabaya."
Unexpectedly, Lu Bu's wishful thinking came to nothing.Due to Cao Cao's adequate preparations in advance, Cao's army attacked extremely fast. Before Lu Bu could react, he had already crossed Surabaya, and then captured Pengcheng like a broken bamboo.Lu Bu had no time to react, so he fled in panic and retreated to Xiapi, which is located in the southeast of Pengcheng.
During the entire process of the Eastern Expedition, Cao Cao first analyzed the situation with his advisers, and after reaching a consensus, he took corresponding actions. Little chance.
Cao Cao is good at judging the situation, so he can always find good opportunities and take advantage of them.However, Lu Bu didn't listen to the opinions of his subordinates and didn't make any claims at all. Moreover, he repeatedly missed good opportunities and finally suffered a crushing defeat.The ability of the two to judge the situation and the amount of resourcefulness make a judgment.
Divide the whole into parts
If the situation is one strong and the other weak, then the most taboo thing for the "one strong" is to form an alliance among the "all weak".If one wants to unify the world, only by destroying the alliance between weak and small groups can one form an absolute advantage over each specific target and "eat" them one by one.
Cao Cao, as a generation of heroes, is wise and resourceful, so of course he understands the pros and cons of this.He also showed this characteristic in his unification war.When Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to Xu County, he was in a relatively favorable position politically, but Xu County is located in the Central Plains, and it is a place where heroes look around.Cao Cao was surrounded by Yuan Shao, Zhang Xiu, Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and other large and small separatist forces, which were very unfavorable to him.In order to avoid the unfavorable situation of "Yan and Yu alone resisting five-sixths of the world", Cao Cao adopted a strategy of dividing and disintegrating all the princes and defeating them one by one.
On the battlefield, it is important to destroy as many enemies as possible, not to show off a moment of bravery.Destroying the enemy's alliance can not only create the conditions for breaking through, but also avoid the passive situation of fighting on two fronts.Therefore, even if you compromise temporarily, you must work hard to reduce the enemy.Because fighting on two fronts has always been a taboo for military strategists.
In the spring of the second year of Jian'an (197 A.D.), Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Yuan Shu in the name of "serving the emperor to make orders not ministers".At that time, Cao Cao also had a lot of concerns about fighting Yuan Shu, because Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were half-brothers, and Lu Bu married him as a son and daughter, and Sun Ce in Jiangdong was once his old subordinate.In this way, once a war broke out, Yuan Shu was likely to form a military alliance with these warlords to jointly deal with Cao Cao.
In order to isolate Yuan Shu, Cao Cao imposed different strategies on them respectively. This battle also fully demonstrated Cao Cao's political scheming and military talent:
First of all, Cao Cao appointed Yuan Shao as the general in the name of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to supervise the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing, and sent Kong Rong as a special envoy to Ye County to appease and win over Yuan Shao.Secondly, Cao Cao knew that Lu Bu had no ambitions, was brave but not scheming, and that he forgot righteousness for profit.Therefore, he appointed Lu Bu as General Zuo and wrote to win over him.Third, Sun Ce was appointed as the captain of the cavalry, and the prefect of Kuaiji, and ordered him to join forces with Lu Bu and Chen Yu of Wujun to attack Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Sun Ce and others each have their own ambitions, Cao Cao prescribes the right medicine, divides and dissolves them, making them unable to unite.After such careful arrangements, Cao Cao began military operations, and finally defeated Yuan Shu, who was fighting alone, in one fell swoop.
In the battle to defeat several major drama-cutting forces in the north, Cao Cao paid great attention to isolating the enemy in every battle according to the strategic guiding principle of first being weak before being strong, and defeating each one, and trying to avoid fighting on both sides.For example, after he defeated Yuan Shu's main force in Huaibei, he was keenly aware that Yuan Shu's remaining power could not pose a direct threat to him, so he quickly transferred his troops to attack Zhang Xiu.When he besieged Rang County, he heard that Yuan Shao was planning to go south to attack Xu County, so he quickly returned to Xu County to avoid fighting on both sides.
On the contrary, in the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao thought that he had a strong army and many resourceful men, so he could add troops to the world and ignored the alliance between Sun and Liu.As a result, instead of defeating Sun and Liu and capturing Jiangdong, he was defeated and fled, losing most of Jingxiang's territory.It can be seen that the power of the alliance should not be underestimated at any time, even when you think you are very powerful.
After the Battle of Chibi, the military struggles of Wei, Shu, and Wu have always run through the struggle between the alliance and the dismantling of the alliance. Cao Cao summed up the experience of Chibi's defeat, learned from the pain, and focused on disintegrating and destroying the relationship between Wu and Shu. China's military alliance, and actively create conditions for its various military defeats.For example, when Guan Yu attacked Fancheng, Cao Cao used "cutting the land in the south of the Yangtze River" as a bait to encourage Sun Quan to take the opportunity to attack Jingzhou.After Guan Yu heard the news, he had to quickly send his army back to rescue Jingzhou, but the Cao army stationed in Fancheng did not pursue it, and adopted the tactic of sitting and watching the "two tigers" of Wu and Shu fight each other, which well realized the policy of disintegrating the enemy's alliance, and The effect is also obvious.
For another example, after Guan Yu was killed, the cunning Cao Cao and Sun Quan launched a battle of wits by taking advantage of the handling of Guan Yu's leader, and cleverly directed the disaster to Soochow, thus achieving the purpose of separating the relationship between Sun and Liu. .There were not a few people who could see this situation at the time.The political strategists of Wu and Shu, such as Kong Ming and Lu Su, also realized that the danger came from the powerful north. Neither Sun Quan nor Liu Bei could survive alone. Once the alliance broke down, the consequences would be disastrous.Therefore, they attach great importance to maintaining this alliance.As long as Sun and Hua are united and fight against the enemy together, Cao Wei will not get any advantage in the military; and once there is a crack in the Wu-Shu alliance, Cao Cao will keenly seize the opportunity, see the needles, and be aggressive.
On the battlefield, the law of using the strong to bully the weak and outnumbering the few prevails.Concentrating superior forces and adopting strong offensive methods can overwhelm relatively few and weak troops and annihilate them in one fell swoop. This is a common law of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign wars.
[-]. Calm-headed and careful analysis of the general situation
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought against Dong Zhuo together with the princes of the world at the beginning, but the two people's employment policies and views on the general situation were far from each other, and the contradictions were very sharp.As time went by, the situation became more and more clear, and the conflict between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao intensified further.Cao Cao clearly realized that a showdown with Yuan Shao in the north was inevitable.Therefore, after defeating Liu Biao and surrendering Zhang Xiu, Cao Cao called his counselors to discuss in order to make the right decision as soon as possible.
Cao Cao knew that some of the counselors must have had their own opinions, so he said straightforwardly: "At the beginning (Yuan Shao) owned Jizhou with a large population and a large land, plus Qingzhou and Bingzhou. The imperial court is disrespectful, and there are many threats to the imperial court. I want to send troops to conquer, but according to our current strength, I am afraid that we cannot match it. What do you think should be done?"
Xun Yu thought for a while silently, and said: "People who achieved great things in ancient times, as long as they have the ability to think about the world and help the people, even if they are relatively weak at the moment, they will eventually become strong by relying on the people. If you are just an ordinary person , but occupies a high position, even if it is powerful for a while, it has no ability to continue to be strong, and it tends to be mediocre. This can be clearly seen from the success or failure of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Today the world can compete with Ming Gong , only Yuan Shao is alone." He continued, "In Yichen's opinion, Yuan Shao is no match for you in terms of talent, resourcefulness, military strategy, virtue, etc..." Hearing Xun Yu say this, Cao Cao said, I couldn't help but feel happy.
"Shao has ten defeats, and the public has ten victories. Although Yuan Shao has a strong army, he can't make a difference." Guo Jia analyzed the pros and cons of the enemy and us in more detail, and thought: "Yuan Shao's etiquette is cumbersome, but you are naturally decent. This is the way. It is better than him; Yuan Shao ruled the world with rebellious power, and you revived the Han Dynasty to command the world. Only relatives and friends are the only ones, and when you employ people, you seem to be casual, but you know their abilities in your heart. He: (when others are making comments) Yuan Shao has many strategies, but it is difficult to make a decisive decision. Failure is inevitable, but you can implement strategies if you have strategies, and you are also very adaptable. This is a strategy that surpasses him; Yuan Shao talks about, uses If you use real objects to improve your reputation, most people who rely on him will cover up their mistakes, but you treat others with sincerity, not for vanity, and most loyal and far-sighted people are willing to use you, which is morally better than him; Yuan Shao is a small matter He understands but is confused about major matters, and Minggong, although negligent in minor matters, never forgets Enjia Shihai. This surpasses Yuan Shao's reputation. Even if you can't see it, he has always considered it very carefully. This is Ren better than him ;Yuan Shao's ministers scramble for power, slander, confuse and create chaos, and mutual suspicion, they cannot be twisted into a force within, but if you rule the corporals with morality, evil things will not happen, this is because you are wiser than him; Yuan Shaolian right and wrong You don't know, but if you think it's right, treat it with courtesy, and if you think it's wrong, punish it with the law. This is Wen is better than him; Yuan Shao is good at bluffing, and doesn't know the importance of using troops, but you win more with less, use soldiers like a god, soldiers We all rely on you, the enemy is afraid of you, this is the martial arts superior to him."
After listening to Guo Jia's analysis in terms of politics, military affairs, and employment, Cao Cao suddenly felt clear and confident. He looked at the young counselor in front of him with satisfaction, and thought to himself: "The one who made me achieve great things must be the one in front of me." This young man."
However, Cao Cao's mind was still sober, and he said modestly: "If it is really like what you said, how dare I be it?"
Yuan Shao's employment is not as good as Cao Cao's, that's for sure.Yuan Shao's nepotism, "Let the four sons each occupy a state", is not good for Yuan's family in the long run. However, one thing must be confirmed. During the Battle of Guandu, he was single and weak, and some soldiers in his army were forced by the power of Yuan Jun, and some rebellions inevitably occurred.When it comes to knowing people, Yuan Shao's ministers struggled for power but couldn't stop them; Yan Liang and Wen Chou were not suitable to be generals, but they were forced to lead the army alone. Cao Cao was much better than Yuan Shao in this aspect.
It was Cao Cao's military ability that played a key role in the Battle of Guandu, which is what Guo Jia called "conspiracy" and "martial arts".The Battle of Guandu was first of all a military confrontation, so the contest between the military capabilities of the commanders of the two armies also became the key to the outcome of the war.Yuan Shao's military ability cannot be compared with Cao Cao's. However, in addition to Guo Jia's "conspiracy" and "martial arts" two victories, Jia Xu's "decision-making ability is better than Yuan Shao" is also the key to Cao Cao's final victory in the Battle of Guandu reason.
After careful and careful analysis of both the enemy and the enemy, Cao Cao had confidence in the battle with Yuan Shao, so he dared to confront Yuan Shao head-on with confidence.This kind of confidence comes from a full understanding of both the enemy and us, and it is based on facts. The result is true. After a series of wars, Cao Cao finally pacified Hebei and laid a solid foundation for the unification of the north.
Four attacks must save Rangshan and defeat Liu Bei with troops
Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao was in an active position in most cases.The same strategy has different effects in the hands of different people. Only those who stand tall and look far and control the overall situation can really promote the development of the situation, and Cao Cao is such a person, he can always firmly grasp the initiative in their own hands.
After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in Cangping, he summoned his advisers to discuss the capture of Yecheng.While discussing, suddenly Xun Yu came with a book, which roughly read: Liu Bei is now occupying Runan, taking advantage of Cao Cao's northward attack on Yuan Shao and Xu County's emptiness, he hoped that Cao Cao would send troops to resist.Cao Cao was shocked and left Cao Hong stationed on the river, bluffing, so that Yuan Shao's army didn't know the truth and dared not come to fight.Cao Cao led his own army to Runan to meet Liu Bei.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others led troops to attack Xudu.Just marching to the territory of Rangshan, I happened to meet Cao Bing and arrived here quickly.Liu Bei set up camp in Rangshan, and the army was divided into three teams: Guan Yu stationed troops on the southeast corner, Zhang Fei stationed troops on the southwest corner, and Liu Bei and Zhao Yun set up camps directly south to take care of each other.
The next day, Cao Cao's soldiers lined up early, and Liu Bei's army came out with drums, and the two sides fought.Cao Cao formed a formation and asked Liu Bei to answer. Liu Bei stepped out and stood under the banner of the gate.Cao Cao waved his horsewhip and scolded, "I have treated you well, why did you betray your righteousness and ungrateful, and instead attacked Xu Du?" Liu Bei said, "You used your name as a chancellor of the Han Dynasty, but it was actually a gift from the Han Dynasty! I am a relative of the Han family. , according to the emperor's secret edict, come to crusade against the rebels! Why not?" Then he took out the pocket edict of Han Xiandi and read it aloud.Cao Cao was furious and ordered Xu Chu to fight.
Behind Liu Bei, Zhao Yun came out with a spear, and the two fought for thirty rounds, regardless of the outcome.Suddenly there was a loud shout, Guan Yunchang clashed at the southeast corner, and Zhang Fei led the army to clash at the southwest corner.The three armies came together to cover up and attack, and Cao Jun rushed to attack from a long distance. He was already exhausted and unable to resist.In the end, he was defeated and left, and Liu Bei returned to camp victorious.
In the next few days, Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun to challenge again, but Cao Ying repeatedly did not send troops to meet the challenge.Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to challenge again, but Cao Cao did not send troops.Liu Bei was suspicious.Suddenly someone came to report that Gong Du had arrived, but was trapped by Cao Jun. Liu Bei urgently ordered Zhang Fei to rescue him.Suddenly it was reported that Xiahou Dun led the army to take Runan from behind. Liu Bei was shocked and said: "If this is the case, I will be attacked back and forth, and I will have nowhere to live!" He hurriedly ordered Guan Yu to come to the rescue.Both of them left with their troops, leaving only a few soldiers under Liu Bei's tent.
Not a day later, someone flew a horse to report that Xia Houdun had broken through Runan, Liu Pi abandoned the city and left, and Guan Yunchang was trapped.Liu Bei was shocked.He also reported to Zhang Fei to rescue Gong Du, but he was also trapped.Liu Bei was eager to return to his army, but he was afraid that Cao Cao's soldiers would sneak up on him from behind.Suddenly someone reported Xu Chu's challenge outside the village.Liu Bei didn't dare to go out to fight, and waited until dawn to teach the soldiers to have a full meal. The infantry first went up, the horses followed, and the false rumors in the village were more.Liu Bei and others walked about a few miles away from the stronghold, turned around the earth hill, and suddenly saw the torches in front of them, and someone shouted on the top of the hill: "Stop teaching Liu Bei and leave Liu Bei! The prime minister is here." Liu Bei was shocked and panicked for a while.Zhao Yun said: "My lord is in a hurry, but come with me." Zhao Yun raised his chair and leaped his horse to fight a way, and Liu Bei followed with his two swords.During the battle, Xu Chu chased after him and fought with Zhao Yun.Behind Yu Jin and Li Dian came again, Liu Bei saw the danger and left in despair.Hearing the shouts behind him fade away, Liu Bei fled alone to the mountain path.
Cao Cao adopted the strategy of dividing the whole body and attacking him to save him, and defeated Liu Bei in one blow.The reason why Cao Cao was able to defeat Liu Bei was that Cao Cao dispersed the enemy's forces.The second is to put pressure on the troops divided by each share, making it difficult to get out and join other troops.The third is to attack its lair and completely destroy the opponent psychologically.
The strategic thinking of "Attacking must be saved" comes from "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Fiction and Reality".It mentioned: "Therefore, if I want to fight, even though the enemy has a high fortification and a deep ditch, I have to fight with me. If I attack him, I will save him." It means: If you want to fight with the enemy, but the enemy occupies a favorable position and does not fight with you. When you are at war, your best bet is to attack where the enemy must rescue. "Sun Tzu's Art of War Nine Lands" also said: "Dare to ask the enemy to come together, how to serve them? He said: Take what he loves first, and then listen." It means that when the enemy leads the elite soldiers to attack bravely, our own side Its vitals and its first place of care should be seized first.If so, the enemy will follow your strategic thinking.
It is also mentioned in the Art of War that there are many ways to fight against each other, and "Li Zhan" is one of them. It means that for internally united enemies, we must find ways to separate them and make them separate. It is best to fight each other. Therefore, , anyone who is familiar with the art of war must pay attention to preventing the enemy's splitting conspiracy. This is well known to military strategists. Cao Cao even flexibly used the strategies of leaving the battle and attacking him to save him, reaching the level of perfection.
In fact, attacking and saving can often have a surprising effect.The core of the strategic thought of winning by surprise is to look at the relationship between "odd" and "positive" dialectically. Don't think that this move will always be strange just because you win with a strange move; Effect.And it is necessary to change the strange and positive tactics as the situation changes, so as to achieve the superb state of being victorious.
The five lures to benefit Yangping Guan captive general
The prosperity of the world is all for profit; the world is full of hustle and bustle, all for profit.After all, those who truly sacrifice themselves for others and do not expect anything in return are a minority.The so-called no gain early, lure the enemy with profit is a very effective means of winning.
In the 20th year of Jian'an (AD 215), Cao Cao took Xia Houyuan and Zhang Ying as the vanguard, Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun as the rear, led the Chinese army, and marched west to Hanzhong.After the news of Cao Cao's westward expedition reached Hanzhong, Zhang Lu and his younger brother Zhang Wei discussed how to retreat from the enemy.Zhang Wei suggested: "The most dangerous place in Hanzhong is Yangping Pass. You can set up a dozen camps on the left and right sides of this place, surrounded by mountains and forests, to meet Cao Cao. I will lead the army there, and my brother will stay in Hanzhong and be responsible for logistics supplies." Zhang Wei Lu very much agrees with this suggestion.
Zhang Wei and generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren led Ma Gang to set up camp at Yangping Pass, and Cao Jun led by Xia Houyuan and Zhang He also killed them.Xia Houyuan heard that Yangping Pass had been prepared, so he set up camp 15 miles outside the pass.That night, Cao Jun was exhausted from his expedition and fell asleep soundly.Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Yang Ang and Yang Ren came to rob the village in two ways. Cao Jun was caught off guard and fled in defeat.
Xia Houyuan and Zhang Yun met Cao Cao after they were defeated. Cao Cao angrily reprimanded them for not being proficient in the art of war, which caused loss of soldiers and generals.Cao Cao originally wanted to kill them with strict military law, but he let them go because everyone begged for help.
Later, Cao Cao personally led the vanguard to attack Yangping Pass, killed Yang Ang, defeated the enemy, and occupied Yangping Pass.After Zhang Wei and Yang Ren met Zhang Lu, Zhang Wei shifted the responsibility for the loss of Yangping Pass to Yang Ren, and Yang Ren shifted the responsibility to the dead Yang Ang. Men and horses, come to fight Cao Cao.
After Cao Cao occupied Yangping Pass, he marched towards Nanzheng again. Shiling Xia Houyuan led 5000 troops to scout on the way to Nanzheng, and happened to meet Yang Ren again.The two armies set up their own battlefields and began to fight.Yang Ren and Xia Houyuan fought fiercely for dozens of rounds, with neither winner nor loser.Xia Houyuan pretended to be defeated and fled, but Yang Ren, eager to make contributions, chased after him closely, but was cut off by Xia Houyuan's horse with a dragging knife.After Cao Cao learned that Xia Houyuan had beheaded Yang Ren, he immediately marched to Xiazhai in Nanzheng.
When Cao Cao's troops approached the city, Zhang Lu was reminded in a hurry that he thought of General Pang De, so he ordered Pound to gather 1 horses to fight Cao Cao.
Pound lined up to challenge Cao Cao more than a dozen miles away from the city. Because Cao Cao had already experienced Pound's bravery in the previous Battle of Weiqiao, he specially instructed his generals: "Pound is a fierce general in Xiliang. It turned out to be Ma Chao's subordinates. Although they are attached to Zhang Lu, they are not sincere. We want to win him over. When you fight him, you should use delaying tactics, and try to capture him alive when he is exhausted. "
According to the strategy set by Cao Cao, Zhang Yun, Xia Houyuan, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, etc. took turns to fight, ranging from two or three rounds to as many as thirty or fifty rounds, and they did not like to fight.Pang De fought against the four generals without any timidity.After Zhang He and others returned to the formation, they all praised Pound's excellent martial arts skills to Cao Cao. If he could surrender, he must be a general of our army.After hearing this, Cao Cao was even more eager to subdue him, so he asked the generals how to make Pang De surrender.
Jia Xu told Cao Cao that Yang Song had always been greedy for money, so if he tried to lure Yang Song with money and separate them, he would succeed.Cao Cao adopted his suggestion.
The next day, Cao Cao ordered Xia Houyuan first, and Zhang He and the two led the army to ambush far away, so that Xu Huang challenged Pound. After a few rounds of fighting, Xu Huang was defeated, and Pound chased after him. De entered Cao Cao's camp and obtained a large amount of food and grass.At the second watch of the night, suddenly fire broke out on the three roads in the village. Xu Huang and Xu Chu were in the middle, Zhang Yun was on the left, and Xia Houyuan was on the right. The guests were also mixed in and mixed into Nanzheng.
After seeing Yang Song, the lobbyist gave him a pair of gold armor and some gold and silver treasures. Yang Song was overjoyed and went to see Zhang Lu overnight, and lied that Pound had been bribed by Cao Cao, so he deliberately lost the game World War I.Zhang Lu was furious, called Pang De to scold him, and threatened to kill him.Pang De was very annoyed at being wronged even after fighting hard for a day.
The next day, when Cao Bing attacked the city, Pang De led his troops out.Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to fight, Xu Chu pretended to be defeated and retreated, and Pang De chased after him.Cao Cao rode alone on the mountain city and shouted to Pound: "Pang De! Zhang Lu treats you like this, why don't you surrender!"So he flew uphill and went straight to Cao Cao, only to hear a loud cry, and the world turned upside down.Pound and his horse fell into the horse trap.All the soldiers rushed up, captured him alive, and brought him to Cao Cao.Cao Cao got off his horse, untied him personally, and asked Pound if he was willing to surrender. Thinking of Zhang Lu's unkindness to him, Pound changed his mind and took refuge in Cao Cao.
Cao Cao took advantage of Zhang Songhao's weakness of being greedy for money, and got General Pound. He was overjoyed, and the soldiers also boosted their morale.Afterwards, Cao Cao erected ladders on three sides and attacked the city aggressively.Then he attacked the city and pulled out the stronghold, persuaded the enemy to surrender, and soon occupied Guanzhong.
For the enemy generals with strong utilitarianism, they can be tricked by tricks, and then design ambushes, which can often win by surprise.As the saying goes: Fragrant bait can make fish forget the hook, and lust for profit can make people faint.Sun Tzu said: "Benefits are used to lure them. The victory of this military strategist should not be passed on first." It means that for those enemy troops who are greedy for snobbery, use small profits to lure them. specifically stipulated.
Sixth, there are many means to achieve the goal of fighting against Sun Liu
As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.Cao Cao has always had a firm and decisive attitude, and is good at using conspiracy. In order to achieve a certain goal, he often adopts various means and channels.
Cao Cao's southern expedition to Soochow failed. After the defeat of Chibi, he fled back to the north in embarrassment.Although Cao Cao was not convinced by the defeat of the Battle of Chibi in his heart, he still carefully summed up the experience and lessons in private, and gained a new understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the Sun-Liu alliance.
After the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan lent Jingzhou to Liu Bei in accordance with the covenant. After Cao Cao heard about it, he couldn't help but panic.Cao Cao believes that in this way, the Sun-Liu alliance will be more united and closer to each other.Therefore, it is even more difficult to realize the grand ambition of unifying China.Therefore, in order to deal with these two powerful alliances, Cao Cao believed that the two must resent each other and fall apart, so that he could have a chance to attack.Therefore, he not only prepared to attack militarily, but more importantly, he carried out the work of wooing and disintegrating.It can be said to be both soft and hard, with a lot of means.
First, in the 14th year of Jian'an (209 A.D.), Cao Cao sent Jiang Gan, a native of Jiujiang, to Jiangling, hoping to persuade Zhou Yu to take refuge in his tent with the friendship of his fellow countrymen.
Jiang Gan, whose courtesy name is Ziyi, is quite proficient in writing and eloquence, and is a well-known figure in the Jianghuai area.Jiang Gan worked as a counselor under Cao Cao's account. After receiving Cao Cao's order, he went to Jiangling in the name of personal affairs.
How smart is Zhou Yu?Hearing that Jiang Gan is here, he already knows why he is here.As soon as the two met, Zhou Yu said to Jiang Gan: "Brother Ziyi, you have traveled so far in the rivers and lakes, and you have traveled tirelessly. Are you here to be a lobbyist for Cao Cao?" After speaking, he looked up to the sky and smiled.
It was embarrassing for Jiang Gan to be exposed face to face.I had no choice but to explain: "I am from the same township and classmate with your step, and we have been separated for such a long time. I heard that your step has made great achievements and is famous all over the world. So I came here to reminisce about the old days and pay tribute to the general. How can we just say that I mean it when we meet?" Where are the guests?"
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Although I'm not as smart and wise as Shi Kuang, I can still guess your Excellency's intentions. Since your Excellency said so, I would like to hold a banquet to make amends." After speaking, there was another burst of laughter.
So Zhou Yu hosted a banquet in honor of Jiang Gan.During the banquet, Zhou Yu seemed to make a clear statement about Jiang Gan: "A man lives in the world. When he meets a lord and sage, he entrusts the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers outside, and he is kind to his flesh and blood. He obeys his words and shares misfortunes and fortunes. , Zhang Yi's rebirth, and Li Shiqi's comeback, it's impossible to persuade me, Cao Cao should not waste his efforts in vain."
Jiang Gan knew that this was implying that his coming was in vain, and he had nothing to say. He felt that it was boring, so he left in a hurry and went back to Cao Ying after the banquet.After returning, Jiang Gan said to Cao Cao: "Zhou Yu is extraordinary, loyal and noble. It is difficult to persuade him to surrender."After Cao Cao listened, he had no choice but to give up.
If one plan fails, use another plan.In the winter of the 16th year of Jian'an (AD 211), Cao Cao asked Ruan Yu to write a letter to Sun Quan.
The letter mentioned that he wanted to betroth his niece to Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Kuang, and married Sun Ben for his son Cao Zhang. Although Cao Cao accused Sun Quan of abandoning their previous friendship.But the subject changed the subject, saying that it was all caused by unjust people who instigated dissension and Liu Bei's instigation behind his back, and he couldn't be blamed.In the end, he hopes to restore their former friendship and continue their kinship.In this way, he can make Sun Quan enjoy the important task of ennobling officials and ennobling the south of the Yangtze River.
In fact, Cao Cao had only one purpose in writing this letter: to win over Sun Quan and divide the alliance between Sun and Liu.Give Sun Quan an intangible sweet fruit, let him get close to himself and stay away from Liu Bei, so as to achieve his goal, and then eliminate them one by one.We know that for two close friends, if you treat them "unequally".Pull one, hit one, then there will soon be a rift between them, which is exactly what Cao Cao hopes to see.
At the same time, he also wrote a letter to Liu Bei.Among them, it is mentioned that "put on your arms and untie your belt, cast your trust".It means that when both parties meet each other frankly, they can clearly communicate their feelings and convey their true feelings.The content of the letter is similar to the letter to Sun Quan.
In addition, he also wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang, in which he said, "I offer five catties of chicken tongue fragrance as a token of my humble intentions."The so-called chicken tongue fragrance, that is, cloves, can cure bad breath.The purpose of writing letters to Liu Bei and Sun Quan and sending things to Zhuge Liang is very obvious.
Of course, Cao Cao's actions did not have much effect from the development of the situation, but at least it shows that he tried his best to break the Sun Liu alliance.This is also a stress response to the defeat in the Battle of Chibi, which shows that he is aware of the threat to him from the alliance of Sun and Liu.The Battle of Chibi taught him a great lesson. Even if such an action cannot divide and disintegrate the opponent, at least it will prevent him from making the same mistakes again, and his future strategies and tactics will become more mature and perfect.
Seven weak first and then strong, flexible and successful against the enemy
One of Cao Cao's important battle strategies to wipe out the separatist forces and create a foundation is to be weak first and then strong, and defeat each one.Especially in his military campaign to unify the North.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the uprising of the Yellow Turban Army shook the ruling foundation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there was a melee situation of warlords.In the first year of Chuping (AD 190), Cao Cao served as General Fenwu and participated in the crusade against Dong Zhuo. He was defeated by fighting alone, so he wanted to develop independently.In the second year of Chuping, Cao Cao defeated the Bairao Department of the Black Mountain Army and occupied Puyang and other parts of Yanzhou.In the third year of Chuping (192 A.D.), the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army invaded Yanzhou and killed Liu Dai, the governor.Cao Cao, who was then the prefect of Dongjun (now southeast of Puyang, Henan), adopted Chen Gong's strategy of "taking Yanzhou as the foundation of hegemony to fight for the world" proposed by Chen Gong, and adopted flexible tactics to defeat the Yellow Turban Army one after another.In the First Battle of Jibei (now south of Changqing, Shandong), the Yellow Turban Army was forced to land and its elite was incorporated into the "Qingzhou Army". This army became Cao Cao's main force.
In the fourth year of Chuping (193 A.D.), Yuan Shu moved from Nanyang to Fengqiu, recruited and accepted rebels, and prepared to expand his strength northward.Cao Cao, governor of Yanzhou, led his troops to attack Kuangting (now south of Changyuan, Henan) and defeated Yuan Shujun.Yuan Shu retreated to Shouchun (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province) and called himself Yangzhou Mu.In the same year, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was killed in Langya (Zhi Kaiyang, now north of Linyi, Shandong).Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Xuzhou Mu Taoqian in the name of avenging his father.Tao Qian's army was defeated in Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu), and then turned to attack Lu (now east of Si County, Anhui).
In the summer of the second year of Xingping (AD 195), Cao Cao made his second expedition to Xuzhou.However, there was a discordant situation within Cao Cao. Chen Gong and Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu who were stationed in Dongjun, rebelled against Cao and welcomed Lv Bu as Yanzhou shepherd. Because Cao Cao's indiscriminate killing of civilians in the early stage aroused public outrage, all counties and counties they belonged to took refuge in Lv Bu.Cao Cao was forced to go back to rescue Yanzhou, and fought fiercely with Lu Bu in Puyang (East Commandery), where he was defeated and fled.Cao Cao and Lu Bu held a stalemate for more than a hundred days. Due to lack of military supplies, both sides stopped fighting.In May of the following year, Cao Cao launched an attack on Juye, killed Lv Bu's guards Xue Lan and Li Feng, and took advantage of the victory to enter Chengshi (now southwest of Juye, Shandong).At this time, Mu Taoqian of Xuzhou was dead, and Cao Cao wanted to take Xuzhou again.Counselor Xun Yu suggested "deep roots and solid foundations to control the world", and advised him to attack Lu Bu first to determine the land of Yanzhou.Cao Cao followed Xun Yu's suggestion and recovered the counties and counties in Yanzhou, consolidating the Yanzhou base.
In February of the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Cao Cao wiped out the Yellow Turban Army Groups in Yingchuan (Zhiyangdi, now Yuxian County, Henan Province) and Runan (Zhixinxi, now Xixian County, Henan Province), and occupied Xu County.In July, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie returned to Luoyang.Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion of "welcome the Emperor of Consecration, and take the Son of Heaven to command the princes", and moved Emperor Xian to Xu, and made him all Xu.Since then, Cao Cao has controlled the power of the central government and was able to command the world in the name of the emperor. At the same time, he implemented farmland in Xu County and along the transportation line to reduce the taxation of the people and strengthen his strength.
In the second year of Jian'an (AD 197), Zhang Xiu joined forces with Jingzhou Mu Liubiao to station troops in Wancheng, posing a great threat to Cao Cao.In the first month, Cao Cao marched south to Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Xiu led his troops to surrender.Zhang Xiu later took advantage of Cao Cao's unguardedness and defeated Cao Jun.In September, Cao Jun attacked Yuan Shu, who claimed to be emperor, but Yuan Shu was defeated and fled to Huainan.In November, Cao Cao once again launched a crusade against Zhang Xiu, attacking Huyang (now southwest of Tanghe, Henan), and defeated Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao's allied forces.
In March of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), Cao Cao prepared for the upcoming battle of Cao Yuan in order to completely eliminate Zhang Xiu.For the third time, Zhangxiu went south and surrounded Rangcheng (now Deng County, Henan).Hearing that Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack Xudu, he immediately withdrew his troops and returned.In May, Liu Biao took the opportunity to send the Jingzhou Army to occupy Anzhong (now northeast of Deng County, Henan Province), cut off the Cao Army's retreat, and attempted to attack Cao Army with Zhang Xiu.Cao Cao showed weakness and took advantage of it, defeated Zhang and Liu Lianjun, and returned to Xudu smoothly.
In April of the fourth year of Jian'an (AD 199), Cao Cao sent his generals to cross the Yellow River to the north, beheaded Suigu who was attached to Yuan Shao, captured Shegou, and controlled Hanoi County (Zhihuai County, southwest of Wuzhi, Henan).Because Cao Cao is often able to concentrate his forces in the process of fighting against the enemy, defeat them one by one, and make quick decisions, the battle against the enemy is also weak first and then strong.So far, Yan, Yu, Xu and other prefectures have been occupied, and conditions have been prepared for fighting the Yuan Shao Group.
Having wiped out the surrounding forces, large and small, Cao Cao had to consider confronting Yuan Shao head-on.Yuan Shao, the most powerful separatist force in the north, owns Ji (the state governs Ye County, now southwest of Linzhang, Hebei), Qing (the state governs Linzi, present-day Zibo, Shandong), and (the state governs Jinyang, present-day southwest of Taiyuan), You (the state governs Ji County, present-day Southwest of Beijing City) The land of four states, with many soldiers and a vast area, intends to march south.In order to seize the opportunity, Cao Cao first sent troops to occupy Liyang, an important town in Jizhou (now northeast of Junxian County, Henan Province), and sent troops to Yanjin (now north of Yanjin, Henan Province) and Baima (now northeast of Huaxian County, Henan Province) to prevent Yuan's army from going south. Communicate with Liu Biao to keep him neutral so as to relieve his worries.
In the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 A.D.), Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's resourcefulness and took time to defeat Liu Bei who occupied Xuzhou, avoiding a two-front battle.In February, Yuan Shao personally led a large army to attack Yanjin, and sent General Yan Liang to besiege Baima.Cao Cao adopted the strategy of attacking the west from the east, attacked the white horse, beheaded Yan Liang, and quickly returned to the south of Yanjin.Cao Cao knew that he was no match for Yuan Shao in strength, so he took the initiative to return to Guandu (now Zhongmou, Henan), waiting to defeat the enemy.In August, Yuan Jun advanced to Guandu, and the two sides faced off for several months.In October, Xu You, Yuan Shao's counselor, surrendered to Cao Cao and offered a plan to sneak attack Yuan Jun's grain settlement Wuchao.Cao Cao immediately led his cavalry to attack Wuchao overnight and burned Yuan's army's food and fodder.This was the turning point in the battle of Yuan Cao, and Yuan Shao's army collapsed across the board.Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to attack on a large scale, annihilating more than [-] Yuan's troops, and won a complete victory. Yuan Shao led the rest of his troops to flee Hebei.
Afterwards, Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion to establish Hebei first and Jingzhou later, and taking advantage of the panic of Yuan Shao's soldiers, he sent troops to the north and successively captured the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, Bing, and You.After defeating the remnants of the Yuan family and the Wuhuan King Tadun who colluded with it, the north was initially settled.
In the 13th year of Jian'an (208 A.D.), Cao's army intended to go south to attack Jingxiang, forced an emergency landing on Liu Cong, and defeated Liu Bei who had defected to Liu Biao.Liu Bei retreated to Xiakou (now Wuhan, Hubei) to live.So far, Cao Cao expelled Yuan Shu, defeated Zhang Xiu, destroyed Lu Bu, defeated Yuan Shao, and conquered Wuhuan to the north, and defeated Liu Bei who trained him and became a hero.Since then, it has occupied most of the areas north of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, initially unified northern China, and formed a strategic situation that threatened Jiangnan.
In the war of unifying the north, Cao Cao had far-sightedness, flexible use of troops, defeated the strong with the weak, defeated each and every step, always grasped the initiative of the war, and won the final victory.
(End of this chapter)
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