The Complete Biography of Cao Cao

Chapter 7 Make Good Use of Surprise Soldiers: The Strategy of Using Surprise Soldiers to Win by Surprise
Yiming repaired the plank road and secretly crossed Chencang to break Rencheng

Sneaking through Chen Cang means to carry out a frontal feint attack, taking advantage of the opportunity when the enemy has decided to stick to it, secretly detour to the enemy's rear for a sneak attack, and win by surprise.

When Cao Cao conquered the Yellow Turban Army.Once, his troops besieged Zhang Yan and Tang Zhou's Yellow Turban Army in Rencheng, preparing to mobilize powerful troops and annihilate their opponents in one fell swoop.Unexpectedly, this bone could be bitten, but it was a pity that he couldn't swallow it, and it got stuck in his throat, which made it difficult for Cao Cao to ride a tiger.

Tang Zhou, the military adviser of the Yellow Turban Army, said to Zhang Yan: "The city is high and deep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, we have abundant food and grass reserves, many soldiers and a large army. The 9 army is not damaged at all. Although Cao Cao has 10 The Wan Dajun is as powerful as us. Even if we are surrounded, we can do nothing. As long as we can't hold on, we will drag down the opponent. After a few months, their supplies will be unsustainable. At that time, they will Morale will be low and there will be no fighting spirit. If we take the opportunity to kill the generals, we will definitely win a big victory."

Zhang Yan very much agrees with this suggestion.Therefore, the soldiers were ordered to strictly guard the city, not to fight without authorization, and those who violated the order were punished by military law.Cao Cao mobilized his troops, and the soldiers came from afar, and fought hard for more than ten days. Not only did they fail to break through the city, but they lost soldiers and generals, causing countless casualties.Seeing this, Zhang Yan and Tang Zhou were secretly proud of themselves, and couldn't help admiring their ingenious plan.One day, Tang Zhou was sipping tea and reading, when someone came to report suddenly, saying: "Cao Cao's brigade is transporting soil to fill the river. I don't know what tricks this traitor Cao Cao is up to?"

Tang Zhou was greatly surprised when he heard this, and without thinking too much, he hurriedly invited Zhang Yan to inspect the north wall in person. Sure enough, he saw that Cao soldiers were in groups of three or four, carrying loads and baskets, filling the moat with loess.It's just that the water in the moat is very fast, and if a basket of soil is poured in, it will be washed away without a trace.Although Cao Bing was numerous, it was ineffective.

Tang Zhou said with a smile: "Jingwei fills the sea, it won't help." Then he whispered something in Zhang Yan's ear.Zhang Yan was overjoyed after hearing this, and even called it "a wonderful plan, a wonderful plan".In the middle of the night, Zhang Yan selected dozens of soldiers who were good at water, and quietly descended from the city wall along the rope, holding a hook in hand, and dived into the river.In an instant, all the hard work Cao Bing had spent during the day was wasted.Early the next morning, the two went to the city to watch again, and they saw that the river bed was still the same as before, and the Cao soldiers were just like yesterday, and they went to and from the city to carry the soil, just like yesterday.Tang Zhou said with a cold smile: "What's the use of Cao Cao moving Mount Tai here? We just need to recharge our batteries and prepare to go out of the city to defeat the enemy!" For several days in a row, the Cao soldiers filled in during the day, and the Yellow Turbans marched at night. Just peel it off.In this way, Cao Bing just wasted a lot of effort and had no effect on the moat.

On this day, Cao Cao came to the bank of the moat in person, with a serious face, and personally beat the drums to cheer, and ordered the soldiers to wade across the river.Zhang Yan hurriedly ordered his subordinates to release arrows. Several Cao soldiers fell, and the rest retreated one after another.Cao Cao had no choice but to order to stop the attack, and still let the soldiers fill the river with soil.Tang Zhou said with a smile: "Cao thief plans to make money. We can rest easy."

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Tang Zhou was awakened by the sound of killing all over the city.The soldiers came to report that Cao Bing had entered the city.Tang Zhou didn't believe it. Could it be that Cao Bing had grown wings?He hurriedly raised his sword and came out to have a look. He saw Cao soldiers coming from the south city like a tide, carrying guns and halberds, shouting loudly, and lighting the whole city with lanterns and torches like daylight.

It turned out that the filling of the river with soil and the siege of the city by wading in the past few days were nothing but Cao Cao's plank roads in the Ming Dynasty to paralyze the Yellow Turban Army, in order to make them slack in defense.Cao Cao secretly crossed Chencang and ordered Cao Ren's men who were attacking the southern city to prepare a bunch of grain and grass.In the middle of the night, they selected a few officers and soldiers who were good at water, sneaked into the moat, and inserted bamboo poles and wooden sticks in the moat randomly;The grain and grass drifted along the water, but were blocked by bamboo poles and wooden sticks, and a pontoon bridge was built in an instant.Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu and Dian Wei's 500 sergeants to cross the pontoon bridge silently, set up a ladder, and climb up to the top of the city.

The guards of the Yellow Turban city were sleeping sweetly, unaware of the disaster, and were killed like chopping melons and vegetables for a while.Xu Chu and Dian Wei occupied the southern city, opened the city gates wide, lowered the suspension bridge, and Cao Ren's brigade rushed in, shouting and fighting, and advancing northward.At this time Zhang Yan was still sleeping soundly in the yamen. Hearing that Nancheng was trapped and Cao Jun entered the city, knowing that the situation was over, he hurried out of the yamen and mounted his horse.When all the generals saw that the lord was leaving, they were really defeated, and they all abandoned the city and fled.Cao Cao used Mingxiu plank road to cross Chencang secretly, and broke Rencheng in one fell swoop.

Cao Cao knew that the enemy army had a thick city with deep trenches and plenty of food and grass, and it would be difficult to capture it for a while. However, he had come from a long distance.Using the strategy of building plank roads and crossing Chencang secretly, while confusing the enemy, while preparing for the final battle, it was finally achieved overnight.

Why did Cao Cao let a small number of soldiers continue to attack when he knew that a hard attack would not be able to break through the city?Besides, the strategy of sneaking into Chencang is also being carried out in an orderly manner, isn't it a little unnecessary?In fact, otherwise, if it were not for the frontal attack on the city to distract the enemy's attention, the plan of secretly crossing the old warehouse would definitely be suspicious.Therefore, the two are indispensable and complement each other.To cross Chencang secretly, there must be clear plank roads to distract the opponent's attention.This is why Cao Cao, who has always been known for his familiarity with the art of war, also made such "faint tricks" as attacking the city head-on.

Two fish in troubled waters Cao Cao's ingenious plan to escape

The original meaning of fishing in troubled water is to muddy the water so that the fish cannot see where they are going, and then catch the fish by taking advantage of the situation.Later, people evolved it into a strategy of taking advantage of the opponent's confusion, confusion, and lack of assertiveness, and profiting from it. When applied to the military, it is a strategy of winning in chaos.

Fishing in troubled waters can generally be divided into two types: one is that the objective situation is already in "turbid waters", and at this time, it is enough to seize the opportunity to "fishing"; the other is more complicated and requires careful planning.Because objectively, the situation is still relatively clear, and it is still "clear water", so it is not easy to start.At this time, it is necessary to take the initiative to muddy the "clear water" and then take the opportunity to "fish".Mostly used for the latter.

Fishing in troubled waters is a technique to take advantage of chaotic opportunities to get out of trouble.Cao Cao has experienced countless wars and adventures in his life. Fortunately, Cao Cao has quick wits and often saved himself from danger.

In the first year of Xingping (AD 194), Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian for the second time.After the army entered Xuzhou, Lu Bu took advantage of a loophole and took advantage of the emptiness behind Cao Cao to lead his troops to occupy Puyang.After Cao Cao heard about it, he had to return to Puyang in a hurry.After arriving outside the city of Puyang, a rich family named Tian in the city sent a secret letter to Cao Cao, which said: "After Lu Bu entered the city, he burned and looted. He was cruel and heartless. The common people hate it very much. Please Cao Cao to attack the city tonight. I am willing to respond internally." He also agreed on a secret signal for the siege.Cao Cao was very happy after seeing the letter, thinking that God would help him destroy Lu Bu.

At night, Cao Cao quietly approached Puyang City with his troops.When the appointed time came, he entered the city smoothly.Unexpectedly, Lu Bu knew about Tian's contact with Cao Cao.Lu Bu followed his plan and set up an ambush in the city, preparing to ambush Cao Cao.Cao Cao's soldiers and horses rushed all the way to the center of the city, but they didn't meet a single person.How clever Cao Cao was, he knew that he had fallen for the trick, and he complained endlessly in his heart.He hurriedly pulled his horse back and tried to escape from the city.But when it was too late, only the sound of a cannon was heard, and the four gates of the city, east, west, north, and south, burst into flames.

Cao Cao rode alone and rushed towards the east gate. As he was advancing, he saw Lu Bu leaping on his horse in the light of the fire.When Cao Cao saw it, he knew it was difficult to dodge, so he was quick to think, and he simply slowed down his horse and continued to walk forward with his head down.Lu Bu rushed up to Cao Cao, held Fang Tian's painted halberd, tapped Cao Cao's helmet, and asked sharply, "Where is Cao Cao?" There is a man on a yellow horse, and he is Cao Cao." Lu Bu believed it, and urged his horse to gallop away, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to escape from the city.

The sky was dark, and Cao Cao escaped from death by fishing in troubled waters, which was regarded as saving his life.In fact, this is not the only time he fished in troubled waters. He also had a similar experience when he went west to conquer Ma Chaoshi.

Cao Cao marched west to Ma Chao, not wanting Ma Chao to take Chang'an.Zhong Yao retreated to Tongguan and hurriedly sent a letter to Cao Cao.Cao Cao asked Cao Hong and Xu Huang to guard Tongguan, but Cao Hong couldn't bear the enemy's scolding, so he went out to kill the enemy.I don't want to fall into the trick of the enemy and lose Tongguan.

Cao Hong lost Tongguan and came to see Cao Cao.Cao Cao was about to kill Cao Hong.All the officials interceded for Cao Hong, so he was saved from death.

Cao Cao led his army straight to Tongguan.Cao Ren said: "You can put down the fence first, and then it's not too late to open the gate." Cao Cao ordered to cut down trees, erect fences, and divide them into three villages: Cao Ren in the left village, Xiahouyuan in the right village, and Cao Cao in the middle village.The next day, Cao Cao rushed to Tongguan aggressively, not wanting to be defeated by Ma Chao.

Cao Cao fled back in a hurry, but the soldiers from Xiliang were coming so fiercely that Cao's soldiers couldn't resist them, only to hear the Xiliang army shout: "Cao Cao is wearing the red robe!" After hearing this, Cao Cao immediately took off the red robe and threw it away.He heard another shout: "Cao Cao has a long beard!" Cao Cao panicked and cut off most of his beard with a knife.Someone in the army told Ma Chao about Cao Cao's beard cutting.Ma Chao called out again: "The one with the short beard is Cao Cao!" Hearing the shout, Cao Cao immediately pulled up the corner of his clothes and wrapped his chin and fled.Later generations have a poem that says:

Tongguan was defeated and fled, Meng De took off his brocade robe in panic; cutting his mustache with a sword should be frightening, Ma Chao's price is sky-high.

Cao Cao was running for his life in a hurry, not wanting to be caught up by Ma Chao.Cao Cao was so frightened that he threw away his whip. Fortunately, Cao Hong rushed out and stopped Ma Chao, so Cao Cao escaped with his life.Cao Hong and Ma Chao fought for forty or fifty rounds, and their saber skills gradually became chaotic, and it seemed impossible to resist.At this time, Xia Houyuan arrived with dozens of cavalry.Ma Chao was alone, afraid that he would be outnumbered and be tricked by them, so he pulled his horse back.Cao Cao returned to the stronghold, sighed and said, "If I killed Cao Hong, I would surely die in the hands of Ma Chao today!" So he rewarded Cao Hong heavily.He also packed up the remnants and ordered all the troops to stick to the stockade and not to fight.

Cao Cao escaped his life twice by fishing in troubled waters, and in the chaotic situation of the separatist regime in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he cut off the warlords one by one like catching fish.

From this point of view, fishing in troubled waters can be used as a means of combining political and military struggles.It can also be defended, as an escape plan to protect oneself, it is a wonderful strategy with more than enough advances and retreats.

Three stealing beams and changing posts to lure the enemy out of the mountain to wipe out the enemy army

Stealing the beams and changing the pillars originally means that the beams and pillars of the house are secretly replaced or removed, and the house will lose its support and collapse.Its essence is to secretly replace the content and essence of things, but only retain the appearance to deceive others. Using this trick can often achieve miraculous results.

When Cao Cao was the prime minister of Jinan, after many investigations, he basically grasped the evidence that Liu Kang, the king of Jinan, secretly trained the army in the mountains to the south and conspired to usurp the throne.Out of overall consideration, Cao Cao did not disturb them, but kept thinking about how to wipe out the rebels in one fell swoop.The soldiers and officials under his command also came up with several plans, but Cao Cao was not very satisfied.

He was frowning that day, leaning over his desk and thinking about the strategy to defeat the enemy.Suddenly, the guards escorted a man who looked like a commoner and came in, and reported: "This man insists on entering Nanshan, saying he is going to chop firewood. We saw his words flashing and his expression suspicious, so we escorted him to the prime minister's mansion and asked the country to I will handle it myself."

Cao Cao didn't speak, but looked him up and down.I saw that although he was dressed like an ordinary person, he was not as strong and strong as they, and there was a hint of cunning between his brows.It is concluded that he is definitely not an ordinary citizen, and may be someone who contacted the rebels.

So, a murderous look immediately appeared in his eyes, and he stared at the man with a serious expression, without saying a word for a while.The man raised his eyes and took a sneak peek at Cao Cao. Seeing Cao Cao's awe-inspiring uprightness and majestic expression, he couldn't help but feel terrified, and his expression changed drastically.His hands couldn't help but touch the hem of the clothes intentionally or unintentionally.Cao Cao slammed his desk and shouted angrily, "Stand up!"

The man trembled with fright and hurriedly got up.Cao Cao turned around and took out the big knife from the wall, stepped in front of the man, suddenly stretched out his hand, grabbed the corner of his clothes, swiped the big knife, and cut off a piece of clothes with a thud, held it in his hand, and turned back to the desk.The man was so frightened that he collapsed on the ground, crying and begging: "Damn the villain... The Prime Minister of the country, spare me... I'm telling the truth..."

Cao Cao didn't pay attention to him, but shook off the corner of his clothes, and saw a yellow satin inside, densely filled with words, Cao Cao saw that it read: Generals Zhao Hu and Zhang Bao, our actions must be kept secret , otherwise it will be in vain.Now Prime Minister Cao Cao is scouting around again, looking for clues about us, so you must be cautious in your actions so as not to expose your whereabouts.I will let you know when I will take action.

There is also a gold seal of the king of Jinan's tiger head on the bottom.Cao Cao looked at it for a while, pondered for a long time, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he had a plan.He walked up to the messenger and asked sharply, "Who are you? Tell the truth, and I will spare your life!"

"The villain's surname is Lu Mingyuan."

"Where do you live now?"

"History of the Chief of the Prince's Mansion in Jinan."

"Have you been to Nanshan?"

"No."

"Really do not have?"

"I don't dare to lie, I really haven't been there. The person who used to go often was imprisoned for committing a crime. The matter was urgent, so the prince ordered me to go to Nanshan."

"Do you know Zhao Hu and Zhang Bao?"

"do not know."

"Really?"

"The villain dare not lie! The prince never lets people from Nanshan enter the city, for fear of revealing his actions."

When Cao Cao found out the truth, he shouted: "Put him up!" The guards came over, put him in shackles, and put him in the government prison.

It turned out that when Cao Cao saw this letter, he felt that he could use this letter to make a big fuss, cheat the generals in the mountains, and then wait for the opportunity to act.

Therefore, Cao Cao summoned officials to discuss and said: "The situation is very critical now, and war is imminent. We can take Zhao and Zhang's troops down the mountain and wipe them all out in one fell swoop." Everyone said it was wonderful.

Cao Cao ordered someone to imitate Liu Kang's handwriting, and wrote another letter.The letter said: "Generals Zhao and Zhang, recently Prime Minister Cao Cao sent people around to inquire about the news, and secretly dispatched troops and generals to rectify the army and horses. Their actions are very suspicious. I am afraid that our actions have been leaked. Therefore, I intend to issue an early warning. , prepare your army and horses immediately, and leave the mountain at x day x time..." He imitated Liu Kang's gold seal and placed it behind the tail.After careful inspection, no flaws could be seen, so he called Cao Cao's cousin-in-law, Ren Jun, and asked him to pretend to be Shi Luyuan, the head of the palace, and go to Nanshan to deliver the letter.

Zhao and Zhang Erjiang received this letter without any doubt, and led the army down the mountain on time according to the date. As a result, they were ambushed by Cao Cao and all the troops were wiped out.

Cao Cao was able to keenly seize opportunities when the situation was stalemate, and easily annihilate the enemy with a little strategy. It can be seen that the military strategy he was familiar with in the early days has been fully utilized in actual combat and will be of great help to his future military operations.

Defeat Yuan Shao in ambush on ten sides

Cao Cao once organically combined the "last stand" and "ambush from ten sides", which enabled the soldiers to exert their combat effectiveness greatly and defeated Yuan Shao in one fell swoop.

The so-called "ambush on all sides" is a strategy of dividing one's superior forces into multiple lines, ambush separately, and form a pocket formation, and then pretend to be defeated to lure the enemy into the encirclement, so as to completely eliminate it.The strategy of fighting to the last ditch is actually to cut off one's own retreat, to make people feel a sense of crisis, and to inspire people to forge ahead.

After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu, he quickly rectified his army and horses, crossed the Yellow River, and pursued Yuan Shao closely.Yuan Shao believed that he still possessed a large area of ​​land, and he was unwilling to fail. In order to avenge his shame, he summoned soldiers from the four prefectures of Hebei Province and set up camp in Cangting, preparing to fight Cao Cao to the death.

The two armies of Yuan and Cao faced each other, spread out their positions, and began to fight.In the first confrontation, Xu Huang's army of Cao Jun fought, and his general Shi Huan died under the sharp arrow of Yuan Shao's third son Yuan Shang.

Before Cao Cao defeated Yuan Jun, he lost General Shi Huan first. He was so depressed and knew he couldn't fight recklessly.He said to the counselors: "When will we fight against each other like this? If we continue to consume like this, it will not be good for our army."

Cheng Yu, a counselor, suggested: "In the old days when the Qin Dynasty was fighting between Chu and Han, Emperor Gaozu used the strategy of ambush from all sides to make Xiang Yu kill himself in Wujiang River. Why don't we follow the example of the ancients?"

Cao Cao said, "I hope you can explain it in detail."

Cheng Yu said: "Retreat our army to the bank of the Yellow River, form an array against the water, ambush ten troops, and lure Yuan Shao to chase our army."

Surprised left and right said: "In this way, wouldn't our army be too dangerous?"

Cheng Yu analyzed with a smile: "In terms of the art of war, put them to death and survive. Our army has no way out, and all soldiers must fight to the death to survive. In this way, our army can surely defeat Yuan Shao."

Cao Cao believed that Cheng Yu's strategy was feasible, so he adopted his opinion.Immediately divide the whole army into five teams on the left and right.Left column, first team Xiahou Dun, second team Zhang Liao, third team Li Dian, fourth team Le Jin, fifth team Xia Houyuan; right column: first team Cao Hong, second team Zhang He, third team Xu Huang, fourth team Yu Jin, fifth team Gao Lan, Xu Chu was the vanguard of the Chinese army.

On the second day, the left and right ten teams went ahead and set up an ambush in advance.In the middle of the night, Cao Cao and Xu Chu led their troops forward, pretending to attack Yuan Jun's Dazhai.

Yuan Shao had been prepared for a long time, when he saw Cao Cao leading the army, he laughed and said, "Cao Cao can't run away now." He ordered all Wuzhai troops to face Xu Chu's army with all their strength.Xu Chu retreated immediately after the first battle, feigning defeat and fleeing.Yuan Shao led his army in pursuit, shouting and killing.At dawn, Yuan Shao forced Xu Chu to the river.Seeing that Cao Jun had no way to retreat, Cao Cao shouted: "There are pursuers behind, and there is a big river ahead. We have no way to retreat. It is better to fight to the death, but there is a way out!"Xu Chu took the lead and beheaded a dozen of Yuan Jun's generals with his saber.

Yuan Jun was in chaos and had to retreat.After retreating for a while, there was a sound of war drums, and two soldiers, Xia Houyuan on the left and Gao Lan on the right, rushed out. Yuan Shao led his three sons and a nephew, and rushed out a bloody road.

After running for another ten miles, Le Jin on the left and Yu Jin on the right came out, killing Yuan Jun's corpses all over the field.After running for a few miles, two troops from Li Dian on the left and Xu Huang on the right came to intercept and kill them. Yuan Shao and his son were terrified and rushed to the gate of the village, ordering the army to prepare food and prepare to meet the enemy.When they were about to eat, Zhang Liao on the left and Zhang He on the right came straight to the village.Yuan Shao hurriedly got on his horse and led his troops to Cangting. He was exhausted and was about to rest.Unexpectedly, Cao Cao came behind with an army, and Yuan Shao fled desperately.As he was walking, Cao Hong on the right and Xia Houdun on the left blocked the way.Yuan Shao shouted: "If you don't fight to the death, we will all be captured alive!" He fought hard for a while, and escaped from the siege by chance.

Yuan Shao hugged his sons and cried loudly, and sighed: "I have experienced dozens of wars, and I have never been in such a mess like today!" After speaking, the command department will go back to various places to rectify military affairs, and he took Yuan Shang to Jizhou to recuperate .

After this battle, Cao Jun's prestige was greatly shaken, and he took the opportunity to go northward repeatedly, and finally defeated the mighty Yuan Shao, clearing the biggest obstacle for the unification of the north.

Cao Cao put himself in a "death situation", which erupted with extraordinary energy.Then they sent people to ambush first, robbed and killed the enemy army, and finally defeated Yuan Shao's army.What is a "dead place"? "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Nine Lands" has a saying that "if you fight quickly, you will survive, and if you don't fight quickly, you will perish, which is the 'dead ground'".Cao Cao regarded himself as a hopeless situation, which made Cao Jun have to fight desperately. Not only did he avoid the possibility of a false defeat becoming a real defeat, but also the ten teams who had ambushed in advance gave Yuan Jun who was chasing him a head-on blow, and tied him tightly. The "pocket mouth".

Cao Cao knew that Yuan Shao would underestimate the enemy and advance aggressively, so he used this to boost morale and make the soldiers work together to survive together.This method of "putting it to death and then reviving it" often has a strange effect on the realization of the established goal.

Wuqiao took the opportunity to pour water into ice and build an earthen city

There are inexhaustible strategies in the world, some are carefully arranged and conceived step by step;Cao Cao also used the ingenious plan of the hermit Lou Zibo to take advantage of the weather to water and build the city, which shocked Ma Chao.

Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was not reconciled to being controlled by Cao Cao, and conspired to use the pocket edict to instigate the officials to get rid of Cao Cao, and Ma Teng also participated in the action.Not wanting to be discovered by Cao Cao, he killed all the participating court ministers in a rage, including Ma Teng.In order to avenge his father's death, his son Ma Chao mobilized troops to confront Cao Cao's army on the bank of the Wei River.

Ma Chao stationed troops at Weikou, attacking both front and back, day and night.Cao Cao chained the boats and rafts into one piece in the Weihe River, and built three pontoon bridges, connecting them to the south bank.Cao Ren built a big camp by the river and connected food and grass vehicles together as a barrier against Ma Chao's corps.

When Ma Chao got the news, he asked the sergeants to take a bunch of hay and fire to attack Cao Ying.So together with Han Sui's men and horses, they fought hard to reach Cao Ying, piled up hay, and set fire to it.The fire became more and more fierce, and it was difficult for Cao Bing to resist it.The vehicles and the pontoon were immediately burned beyond recognition, and the soldiers in this campaign were defeated by Dade and fled.

The Xiliang army performed well as soon as they came out, making Cao Cao unable to build a camp and camp, and he was very worried.Xun You suggested: "Our army can transport the sand and soil from the Weihe River, build an earthen city, and stick to the city."

Cao Cao acted according to the plan and allocated 3 soldiers to build the city with earth.After Ma Chao heard about it, he sent Pang De and Ma Dai to lead 500 troops each to harass them; moreover, the sand and soil could not be firmly bonded together, and the built city was very weak and easily collapsed. Cao Cao had nothing to do for a while.

At this time, it is late autumn and October, the weather suddenly turns cold, and the temperature drops rapidly.Coupled with the cloudy clouds for several days, it brought great difficulties to Cao Jun's fortification operation.

Cao Cao was thinking hard about how to build the city in the stronghold, when a soldier suddenly came to report that an old man had come to see the prime minister and told him something important, and Cao Cao invited him into the account.I saw him with loose crane bones and an ancient appearance.After Cao Cao inquired, he learned that his surname was Lou, his name was Gui, his character was Zibo, and his Taoist name was "Mengmei Jushi". He was from Jingzhao and lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain all the year round.

Cao Cao has always respected hermits and sages.At this time, when there was nothing to do, he treated each other with courtesy, and sincerely asked Lou Zibo for advice on how to defeat the enemy.Lou Zibo said: "The Prime Minister wants to set up camp across the Wei River, and it can be built overnight." Cao Cao said: "We have built it many times, but the riverside is full of sand, and the foundation is not solid, so we always fail to build a fortress." I hope the hermit will enlighten me." Lou Zibo laughed and said: "The Prime Minister has always used soldiers like a god, don't you know how to use the weather? Now the days are cloudy and the cold wind is blowing, the dripping water will inevitably turn into ice, and the water and soil will become extremely hard when mixed. Therefore, After the wind blows tonight, let the soldiers transport the soil and splash water, and by dawn, the Tucheng will surely be completed." Cao Cao suddenly realized, and repeatedly claimed that he was wonderful, and was about to order Lou Zibo to reward Lou Zibo, but Lou Zibo refused to accept it and left.

The next night, the north wind blew hard.Cao Cao tried his best to drive the soldiers to carry sand and splash water, and the sand and ice froze together. As the building was built, the city wall was quickly built.At dawn, the Tucheng was completed, and Cao Cao was very happy.

The Xiliang spies reported to Ma Chao, and Ma Chao led the troops to watch. He was shocked and suspected that there were gods helping him.The next day, the army was summoned to beat the drums and march forward.Cao Cao rode out of the camp in person, and only Xu Chu followed.Cao Cao raised his whip and said loudly to the Xiliang army: "Cao Mengde has ridden here alone, please come out and answer Ma Chao." Ma Chao rode his horse and came out with a gun.Cao Cao said: "You lied to me that Caozhai could not be built. It was built overnight. What else do you have to say? Why don't you surrender early." .

According to Lou Zibo's suggestion, Cao Cao followed the weather and built the city by pouring water into ice, which can be said to be an example of successful use of the weather.Based on this, Cao Cao was able to stop the war's decline and bring the two sides into a stalemate. Finally, he used countermeasures to drive away Ma Chao.Although Cao Cao himself did not think of this, fortunately, his consistent practice of being good at using people made up for his shortcomings. Finally, someone saw the favorable time for Cao Jun and made reasonable suggestions to Cao Cao, giving Cao Cao a chance to turn the tide of battle.

Those who are good at using tactics can make comprehensive use of favorable conditions, including factors such as time, location, and harmony, so as to achieve unexpected success and deal psychological and actual blows to their opponents.

Among the three major factors in winning victory, the weather is the most prominent point that can reflect the general's ability to command in battle, because "human harmony" is determined by the usual way of doing things in peacetime. Change, only this "time" is the most volatile, often fleeting.As the saying goes: Never miss an opportunity, never come again.If you want to remain invincible in the fierce struggle forever, you must always grasp the opportunity, take action, gain an advantage, and win success.

Six Surprises Win Hidden Raiders Defeat Zhang Xiu

An outstanding strategist is often able to win by surprise, defeating the enemy with one move, and achieve immediate results.Why?In fact, it is to grasp the essence of things, bypass the complicated details, go straight to the enemy's vital points, and achieve the goal cleanly.Cao Cao is very good at using troops, and he has so many strategies against the enemy that it is often difficult for people to parry.It can often surprise the enemy and effectively deal with the enemy.

When Cao Cao attacked Zhangxiu in the south, he wanted to attack Nanyang City with a strategy of attacking east and west, but he didn't want to be seen through by Jia Xu, so he used his strategy and defeated Cao Cao's troops.After Cao Cao withdrew from Nanyang, Zhang Xiu wrote a secret letter and asked someone to send it to Liu Biao quickly, and made an appointment with Liu Biao: Liu Biao ambushed troops and horses in Anzhong in Nanyang, intercepted Cao Cao's retreat, and then led the army to drive away. Come.Converging the two forces and attacking from front to back will surely wipe out Cao Cao's army in one fell swoop.

After Liu Biao received Zhang Xiu's letter, he thought it was a good opportunity to get rid of Cao Cao.Immediately sent troops to occupy Anzhong, and according to the dangerous terrain, laid down tens of thousands of ambush soldiers, just waiting for Liu Biao to come to join them.

Cao Cao is worthy of being a famous military talent during the Three Kingdoms period, and he also took a fancy to this dangerous place.From a strategic point of view, this place is easy to defend but difficult to attack for Liu Biao.Because of this, Cao Cao predicted that Liu Biao would be negligent here.

Therefore, Cao Cao dug a dangerous road here overnight, and secretly ambushed soldiers and horses.When it was just dawn, Zhang Xiu came with the army, ready to join Liu Biao to attack Cao Cao back and forth.But Cao Jun shot out from behind with a cannon, and defeated Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu's army who had come to join him.Cao Cao won by surprise, got out of the predicament in one fell swoop, and returned with a big victory.

Cao Cao's brilliance in the process of implementing this strategy is also manifested in: when Zhang Xiu's pursuers had already set off, and Xun Yu sent someone to inform Cao Cao that Liu Biao had led the army to set up camp, Cao Cao still refused to expose the danger prematurely. intent to fight.On the one hand, it is necessary to stimulate the courage of the soldiers to fight to the death through the implementation of the strategy of "putting them to death and living later"; Take the action of digging and deploying soldiers at night.Because, if you contact Liu Biao's army first, and wait for Zhang Xiu to lead his troops to feel it, you will fall into the dilemma of being attacked back and forth.

Due to the concealment of the plan, neither Liu Biao nor Zhang Xiu noticed it, and the timing was quite accurate.Therefore, the goal of winning by surprise was finally achieved.Because of this, Liu Biao said with great regret, "I fell into Cao Cao's trick again!" Cao Cao was able to return to Xudu calmly.After he told Xun Yu and others about this strategy, everyone was very impressed, and repeatedly praised the prime minister for being good at using troops.

A person who is good at making surprises lies in that he can do what others cannot, and he can do what others have not been able to do. This is the "unique trick".It can be said that whoever has a unique skill is most likely to kill someone. "One cannot step into the same river twice", which means that the river is constantly flowing. When you step into the river for the second time, what you are exposed to is no longer the original water flow. The flow rate, water temperature, etc. have already changed. a big change.This requires us to always be surprising and innovative, so that we can remain invincible forever.That is to say, in the ever-changing environment, the way to deal with the situation must also change accordingly, and use methods that others have not thought of to win others.The source of the power of surprise lies in creative thinking.Creative thinking can create extraordinary moves and achieve extraordinary effects.

Everything has a duality. It is of course good to be able to win by odds. If you use it skillfully and well, you can get big profits;Therefore, when using the principle of winning by surprise, this issue must pay attention to risks.

Most of the use of troops has odd positive effects.In military operations, if the use of conventional military tactics is regarded as "positive", and unreasonable strategies are regarded as "odd", then it must be used properly.There are mutual transformations between odd and positive, and winning by surprise must be effective under certain conditions, and various conditions need to be considered, and one cannot lose sight of the other.Because as the external conditions change, no matter how surprising the winning strategy is, it will be mastered by the majority of people, and it is difficult to exert a miraculous effect.Therefore, only when routine and conspiracies complement each other and are used rationally can it exert its power.

In fact, there are two possible results of the "surprise" strategy: unexpected success may also lead to complete fiasco. It can be said that failure and success are sometimes only one step away.What is the reason?Because surprise is adventurous in many places or situations, but it is precisely because of this huge contrast that its charm is reflected.Therefore, the decision-maker who wins by surprise must also be an extraordinary hero.Cao Cao was able to make such a surprise plan when he was defeated, which also illustrates this point.

The smartest action is to take a path that the enemy has never taken, and the smartest strategy is to execute a plan that the enemy thinks is impossible. This is the key to victory by surprise.

Seven gates to catch thieves and press hard to catch Lu Bu
Lv Bu is occupying the east of Cao Cao, posing a great threat to Cao Cao. Cao Cao has been planning how to get rid of Lv Bu.In the third year of Jian'an (198 A.D.), Cao Cao believed that the time was ripe, so he decided to send troops to attack Xiapi occupied by Lu Bu.

Cheng Yu suggested: "Lu Bu has only one city in Xiapi now, so we can't push too hard. Otherwise, he will definitely fight us to the death. If he cannot win, he will definitely join Yuan Shu. If Lu Bu and Yuan Shu are united, then we will It's difficult." Cao Cao nodded and said, "Then what should we do?" Cheng Yu had already planned and said confidently: "We can use the strategy of "close the door to catch the thief", and we will definitely defeat Lu Bu. First send a general , keep the main road leading to Huainan, cut off the connection between Lv Bu and Yuan Shu, and prevent Lv Bu from turning to Yuan Shu. At the same time, we should also strengthen the defense against the surviving Zang Ba and Sun Guan in Shandong to prevent them from coming to make trouble, and then our army can rest assured attack Xiapi."

Cao Cao was very satisfied with Cheng Yu's suggestion, so he sent Liu Bei, who had just come to join him, to lead Sun Qian, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other soldiers to guard the road leading to Huainan, and personally led troops to attack Xiapi.

Cao Jun quickly surrounded Xiapi tightly.Faced with Cao Cao's siege of the city day by day, in desperation, Lu Bu sent secret envoys Guo Si and Wang Kai out of the city in disguise to ask Yuan Shu for help.Yuan Shu said: "Lv Bu killed my envoy and broke the marriage contract before, and now he begs me again. I won't be fooled." The general is ready to send his daughter here as a hostage." Yuan Shu asked back, "If Lu Bu hadn't been attacked too quickly by Cao Cao, would he agree to send his daughter here?"

Wang Kai saw that Yuan Shu was unwilling to send troops because he had no personal interests, so he quickly took over and said, "If you don't send troops to rescue, it will be of no benefit to you." Yuan Shu originally refused to agree , but after hearing Wang Kai's words, Yuan Shu felt a bit worried.He finally promised Lu Bu to send his daughter as a hostage first, and then send troops.

Guo Si and Wang Kai didn't dare to stop, they immediately returned to Xiapi and reported the situation to Lu Bu one by one.Lu Bu decided to send his daughter out of the city himself.Late at night the next day, Lu Bu wrapped his daughter in brocade, covered it with a layer of armor, and tied it to her back.Then, he said to his wife Yan Shi: "You can rest assured and wait in the city. I will bring reinforcements back soon and rescue you." After finishing speaking, he mounted his horse, rushed out of the city gate, and ran straight to Huainan.

Unexpectedly, after walking for a short time, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei blocked the way.After fighting for several rounds, Lu Bu had no desire to fight, so he had to choose another path and run forward.I didn't want to, but I was stopped by Liu Bei and Sun Gan and fought again. Although Lu Bu was brave, but he had his daughter on his back, he didn't dare to charge for fear of getting hurt. Seeing that he couldn't get out, he had to retreat Xia Pi.

Xiapi City was tightly surrounded, there was no way to go to the sky, and no way to go to the ground.I had no choice but to drink with my wives and concubines all day long, wasting time.Lu Bu's passive behavior made his generals very dissatisfied.They looked at the less than one day's food and the panicked soldiers, and they discussed: "Lu Bu only knows how to drink with his wives and concubines to soothe his sorrows, and treats us like nothing. We might as well capture him alive and surrender to Cao Cao." He agreed and got in touch with Cao Cao.

Cao Cao knew that there was an internal response in the city, and he was secretly happy.In the early morning of the next day, he ordered to intensify the siege of the city. In this way, the conflict between Lu Bu and his subordinates could be intensified, and the internal forces should act as soon as possible.

Lu Bu saw that the shouts outside the city were loud and the attack was extremely fierce, so he went up to the tower to guard it himself.Fighting from morning to noon, Cao Cao's army weakened a little. Lu Bu was able to rest on the tower and didn't want to fall asleep on the chair. Song Xian and Wei Xu took the opportunity to tie him up tightly.Then he opened the city gate and let Cao Jun enter the city.Soon, Cao Jun occupied the entire Xiapi.

Cao Cao used the strategy of closing the door to catch thieves, and first blocked Lu Bu's retreat one by one, so that he had no way out.Then besiege the city, wear down Lu Bu's will, and disturb the morale of his army.In the end, Xiapi was broken, and Lu Bu and Chen Gong were beheaded on the Baimen tower.Then go out to comfort the people, and go back to Xudu after victory.

In the history of warfare throughout the ages, the use of the strategy of closing the door to catch thieves has emerged endlessly and varied.It can be as small as introducing one or two enemies into the room, and "close the door to catch thieves" in an out-and-out manner; as large as scattered and isolated enemies form divisions and groups to divide and encircle, cut off the enemy's reinforcements, and cut off the enemy's retreat.Beating dogs with the door closed, and tightening pockets to annihilate the enemy are often tried and tested.

Eight false idiots but not insane cover up people's eyes and ears and seize Yecheng

In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao's army won a decisive victory with fewer troops.Cao Cao was greatly encouraged both psychologically and imposingly.So, taking advantage of the situation, he decided to fight across the Yellow River in one go.Yuan Shao had to retreat to Hebei. He was very angry and anxious, and soon fell ill and died.When Cao Cao sent troops to attack Hebei, Yecheng, an important town in Jizhou, was the first to bear the brunt. Yecheng was Yuan Shao's old nest, with thick walls and deep trenches, and tight defenses.After Cao Bing attacked, Yuan Jun retreated to the city, and Cao Bing took the opportunity to surround him.But after attacking for more than ten days, there was no progress.

Cao Cao was extremely troubled and helpless. He knew that the morale of the army would be greatly affected over time, and he had to find a way quickly, so he called everyone to discuss how to break the city.At this moment, the counselor Xu You twisted his beard and smiled, and said to Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, the autumn rains are continuous, and the water in the Zhang River is soaring, and the water is raging. Why don't we use the water from the Zhang River to flood it?" What about Yecheng?" After hearing this, Cao Cao praised the idea again and again, and readily accepted the suggestion.However, he thought about it again, if he went to dig ditches and burst embankments with great fanfare, the enemy army would be forced too fast, and he would inevitably go out of the city to fight to the death with himself, so it would be better to cover people's eyes and ears first, so as not to alarm the enemy army.So soldiers were immediately sent to dig ditches outside the city, and they were ordered not to dig too deep or too wide, lest the enemy be suspicious.

The city guard of Yecheng is a scheming judge. He knows that the city has a lot of food and soldiers, and Cao Cao is working hard to go on an expedition.If you can't stick to it, Cao Bing will retreat after a long time, so I am happy to read books every day.On this day, I was surprised to hear a spies report that Cao Bing was digging a ditch outside the city.He immediately realized that it must be Cao Cao who wanted to divert the water from the Zhang River to flood the city.So, he ran quickly to the city wall to check the situation. He saw Cao Jun talking and laughing outside the city wall in twos and threes, digging a ditch leisurely, and the ditch dug was shallow and narrow.Even if such a ditch is filled with water, it will not pose a threat to Yecheng. A piece of stone in Shen Pei's heart finally fell to the ground.He secretly laughed at Cao Cao, thinking that digging such a shallow ditch would not work at all, and would never threaten the safety of Yecheng.So, I didn't pay any attention to it, and just ordered the soldiers to pay attention to the investigation and report at any time, and then went straight back to the mansion.For several days in a row, the soldiers gave the same report, and the judges didn't bother to listen.

However, when the ditches were about to be completed at night, Cao Cao suddenly sent more men, 10 times the strength of the day, to try to widen and deepen the shallow ditches.When it was almost dawn, the ditch had been dug to a depth of more than 2 feet. Cao Cao was very satisfied when he saw it.So he ordered the water from the Zhang River to be drawn in, and the flood soon surrounded Yecheng.Because there was no defense in the city, the water flooded into Yecheng in an instant, causing the water in the city to be very deep. In addition, Yecheng was besieged for many days, and people's hearts were fluctuating, and the people rushed for their lives.The soldiers in the city were also in panic all day long, and had no intention of defending the city.

At this time, there happened to be a man named Shen Rong in the city who sent someone to Cao Cao to send a secret letter, expressing his willingness to act as an internal response and help Cao Cao capture Yecheng.Cao Cao was very happy to see the letter, and agreed with Shen Rong on the time to attack the city.

When the appointed date came, Cao Cao arrived at the city gate, and someone opened the city gate.Cao Jun's morale was greatly boosted, and he attacked the city in one go, and finally won a complete victory.

Xu You's plan of flooding Ye City cannot but be said to be a good strategy.But the cunning Cao Cao used his resourcefulness to the extreme.He used this ruse together with false insanity.Deliberately creating false appearances, deceiving people's eyes and ears, diverted the attention of the judge, and made him neglect precautions.In this way, it is icing on the cake and looks even more brilliant.

The tactic of deliberately creating false appearances is very useful, especially in military and lobbying.In order to divert the attention of the other party, lobbyists can entangle and confuse the other party by creating false appearances. This method is often used in daily life.When the other party puts forward a request that is unacceptable to oneself, or in order to make the other party shift the target and give up the original position and request, one will deliberately misunderstand the other party's meaning and distort the other party's wishes. At this time, the other party will immediately impose Clarifications and amendments seem to inadvertently impose an obligation to explain the situation to the lobbyists, without which the conversation cannot proceed smoothly.

In this way, the focus of the other party's conversation will naturally shift from the lobbyist's requirements and conditions to clarifying and explaining his own situation to the lobbyist, so as to eliminate the lobbyist's misunderstanding.In fact, this kind of misunderstanding is deliberately created by the lobbyists to let the other party consume energy and divert their goals.

Great wisdom is like stupidity, great ingenuity is like clumsiness, which is the highest state of "false fools are not stupid". If you can consciously persist in your own ignorance, you will disturb the other party's hearing and hearing.Only in this way can we achieve the wisdom and strategy of figuring out what is true, and what is true when it is false, planning without planning, and doing without doing.

Use "false insanity" to confuse and deceive opponents, use "not insane" to secretly prepare for future duels, look for decisions, and annihilate opponents in one fell swoop by surprise. "Fake insanity is not insane" is actually a tried and tested strategy.

Nine defeated Liu Bei with static braking

The purpose of using tricks is to defeat the enemy, so fighting the enemy is also a process of fighting wits and courage.Cao Cao has always been a winner in this regard.

Cao Cao expected Liu Bei to be a big threat, so he personally led an army of 20 to fight Liu Bei.As he was walking, a gust of wind suddenly came, and with a click, a tooth flag in his army was blown down.Cao Cao urgently ordered the sergeant to stop, called the left and right ministers and generals, and asked everyone what the sign was.

Xun Yu asked, "Where did the wind come from, and what color flag did it blow off?" Cao Cao told him, "The southeast wind blows off the green-red tooth flag on the corner. So Xun Yu said to Cao Cao: "It's nothing to do, it must be that Liu Bei is coming to rob the stronghold tonight." Cao Cao nodded in agreement.Suddenly, Mao Jie hurried in to report: "A gust of southeast wind blew just now and broke one side of the green and red tooth flag. What do you think is good or bad for the Lord?" Cao Cao asked back, "What do you think?" Mao Jie said: "I think Liu Bei will definitely come to rob the village tonight."

Cao Cao then said to all the soldiers and counselors: "Since the sky will remind us, then we must be prepared tonight." So he divided his troops into nine teams, leaving only one team to set up camp forward, and the rest lay in ambush on all sides.

It was night, the moon was twilight, and everything was silent.Xuande was on the left and Zhang Fei was on the right. They divided their troops into two teams and marched towards Cao Ying; only Sun Qian was left to defend Xiaopei.

Zhang Fei thought he had a trick, so he led Qingqi ahead and rushed into Caozhai.However, there are few people and horses in Cao Ying, and the atmosphere is not right.Suddenly, flames shot up to the sky all around, and there was a sound of shouting and killing.Knowing that he had been tricked by Cao Cao, Zhang Fei fled out of the village in a hurry.But I saw Zhang Liao in the east, Xu Chu in the west, Yu Jin in the south, Li Dian in the north, Xu Huang in the southeast, Lejin in the southwest, Xiahou Dun in the northeast, Xiahouyuan in the northwest, and the Eighth Route Army rushed forward together.

Zhang Fei rushed left and right but couldn't get away. In addition, most of the troops he led were originally surrendered by Cao Cao. Seeing that Zhang Fei's situation was over, they all surrendered to Cao Cao again.Zhang Fei bravely rushed to kill Xu Huang's army for a while, and Le Jin came after him.Zhang Fei finally killed a bloody road to break through, and checked the men and horses, only dozens of riders.

If you want to escape back to Xiaopei, the Cao soldiers have already blocked the way; if you want to go to Xuzhou and Xiapi, you are afraid that the Cao army will stop you on the way and it will be difficult to escape.In the end, he had no choice but to flee to Mount Mangdang.

Besides, Liu Bei led his troops to rob the stronghold, and when he was approaching the gate of the stronghold, there was a loud shout, and a group of soldiers and horses rushed out from behind, dividing Liu Bei's men and horses into two.Liu Bei was defeated and broke out of the encirclement, Xia Houyuan chased him from behind.Liu Bei looked back and saw that there were only more than 30 people following him.I know that neither Xiaopei nor Xuzhou can go.Worried about where to go, he suddenly remembered Yuan Shao once said to him: "If you feel unsatisfactory elsewhere, you can come to me at any time."

Liu Bei then went to Qingzhou along the main road, but he didn't want to be robbed and killed by Li Dian on the way.It can be said to be panic like a bereaved dog.

Before Liu Bei was assisted by Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang, he fought Cao Cao almost repeatedly.If Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun hadn't tried their best to protect him many times, Liu Bei would have died countless times.In the Battle of Peicheng, Cao Cao could tell at a glance that Liu Bei was planning to rob the camp, and when he thought of Liu Bei's company being burned by Lu Xun, it seemed that Liu Bei's military level was too low to compare with Cao Cao's.

In fact, Cao Cao had known for a long time that Liu Bei would come to rob the camp, not because the flag was blown off by the strong wind, but inferred from the method of using troops and the situation at the time, but he just used this phenomenon to boost the morale of the entire army.

After careful analysis, although Liu Bei's military strength has become a corner in Xuzhou, it can be echoed.However, with Cao Jun's 20 troops overwhelming, Liu Bei had to sneak attack at night if he wanted to win, because the numbers were too disparate.In addition, the battle with less should be more should be resolved quickly, and the opponent will be caught off guard, otherwise, wait for the 20 army to complete the deployment and divide Liu Bei's forces.Then it would be difficult, thinking about it this way, it is not surprising that Liu Bei would attack Caozhai that night.Therefore, it is logical for Cao Cao to speculate that Liu Bei robbed the camp.

The reason why Cao Cao won this victory is that he fully saw through and used Liu Bei's strategy, and pushed the boat along the way, causing Liu Bei to fail in triumph.

In military terms, comparing Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the latter is not as good as the former.However, when Liu Bei was assisted by Kong Ming, the two fought together seamlessly.Cao Cao also lost time and time again in battles with him, which shows that resourcefulness has the greatest impact on the battle situation.

In any case, in this battle, Cao Cao drove away Liu Bei, who is known as a hero by everyone, by braking quietly and waiting for work with ease, fully demonstrating his military genius.

In the battle of wits between people, there is no great difference in the mental level of the parties.The difference is that it depends on who can seize the opportunity and grasp the situation of the battle to take the initiative.In any case, the conditions of competition are changing, and the key is who can see the changes in conditions clearly and adapt to changes based on their own characteristics to win the final victory.The so-called braking with stillness does not mean staying unchanged, but aiming at opportunities amidst the opponent's changes, suddenly moving from stillness to defeat the opponent.

(End of this chapter)