Chapter 228, Dong Zhuo takes the initiative to attack
In mid-March of the first year of Chuping (190), Hulao Pass.
Hulao Pass, also known as Sishui, the pass began in the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that King Mu of Zhou shot hunting in the fields and raised the captured tigers here, hence the name Hulao Pass. The pass is located east of Luoyang, in Sishui Town. It is used as a
The gateway and important passes to the east of Luoyang are connected to Songyue Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The mountains are intertwined and are naturally dangerous. It has the potential of "one man can guard the pass and ten thousand people cannot open it", and it has been a battleground for military strategists of all ages.
After Yuan Shao and the others rebelled, Dong Zhuo immediately sent Hu Zhen to lead 5,000 elite troops to station at Hulao Pass to guard the east gate of Luoyang City!
At this time, Dong Zhuo led an army of 40,000 men into Hulao Pass.
Hu Zhen, who was stationed at Hulao Pass, led his men to personally greet Dong Zhuo!
Dong Zhuo laughed loudly when he saw Hu Zhen and said, "Wencai, what's going on with Yuan Shao and the others?"
Hu Zhen said with a smile: "Yuan Shao and the others are just a bunch of mediocre people. Although they seem to be outnumbered, they dare not go further east. Now they have tens of thousands of troops gathered in Suanzao, drinking and partying every day, and there is no sign of fighting at all. Yuan Shao
Although he is famous, it seems that this is just a boast of the Yuan family. If he came to our Xiliang, he would have been hacked to death! If it weren't for the scarcity of troops here, the subordinates would definitely raid them and let them
Know what real war is!"
Dong Zhuo smiled and said: "It's better that their names don't live up to their reality. I just want to deal with them in one battle!"
If the Dong Zhuo in history had not dared to take the initiative now that the rear was unstable, but now Dong Zhuo has Lei Gong as a foreign aid, although the Kanto nobles and nobles in the court have turned against him, the Kansai and Sili clans are still there because of Lei Gong's threat.
He had no choice but to seek refuge with Dong Zhuo.
Even before going to war, Dong Zhuo said that Luoyang City was short of food and grass, making it difficult for the army to go out, so it was better to abandon Luoyang City and move the capital to Chang'an to avoid the Kwantung Allied Forces.
After hearing Dong Zhuo's words, Yang Biao and others immediately joined forces with more than a dozen noble families in Sili and handed over millions of stones of grain to Dong Zhuo. They also told Dong Zhuo that if it was not enough, they could continue to give out grain. After all, they have been loyal and loyal for generations.
, at this time of crisis for the imperial court, it is time for them to serve the imperial court!
Dong Zhuo naturally nodded with satisfaction. He found that Thunder God's method is really useful. If you need anything, just call Thunder God twice, and someone will surely deliver something to your door.
This food was enough for Dong Zhuo's army of hundreds of thousands to fight for more than half a year. He even asked his brother Dong Wen to recruit 20,000 Qiang cavalry in Xiliang to increase their combat effectiveness. In Xiliang, as long as there is food, mercenaries can be recruited, and their combat effectiveness is also high.
Still very strong.
In the past, Dong Zhuo did not recruit soldiers because although he had money, he did not have food and grass. He could no longer feed the hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, so it was naturally impossible to recruit more soldiers. But now he has the two talents of the Kansai Sili clan.
With golden thighs, food is naturally not a problem.
The food in Dong Zhuo's hands may not be able to feed an army of 100,000, but Dong Zhuo believes that the food and grass in the hands of Yang Biao and others will not be a problem to feed an army of one million!
Although the alliance between the two sides seemed to be in harmony, with Yang Biao as an ally, Dong Zhuo finally no longer had to worry about his home base. He could mobilize half of his army to fight Yuan Shao.
If you know the original history, Dong Zhuo could not bring out many troops to fight against the Dong Alliance, and he could only be beaten passively.
And Yuan Shao and the others had not fought many battles with Dong Zhuo. After they came to Jujube, they completely turned this place into a gathering place. Everyone drank and chanted poems, and they were very happy, but there was no fighting.
The real main force in the battle was Sun Jian on Yuan Shu's side. He defeated Hu Zhen and Lu Bu one after another and almost broke into Luoyang City. This was also the reason why Dong Zhuo praised Sun Jian as the Tiger of Jiangdong. Sun Jian really beat him hard.
As for Yuan Shao, Cao Cao led his 10,000 new soldiers to attack Luoyang City. In the end, Xu Rong defeated his entire army in Rongyang and was annihilated. He didn't even see Hulao Pass and had to flee back. This is why Dong Zhuo was not convinced by Yuan Shao.
The reason is because Yuan Shao didn't show his strength at all and was playing dirty tricks all the way, whether it was assassination or mutiny. How could this convince Dong Zhuo!
It can be said that if Dong Zhuo had not been short of food and grass internally, even half of his military force could have defeated the coalition fighting against Dong! And now Dong Zhuo has brought 40,000 elites to Hulao Pass!
Dong Zhuo was stationed at Hulao Pass within a few days. He received Liu Bei's army and defeated Sun Jian's 30,000 troops. Now he really led the troops to Luyang to prepare to annihilate Yuan Shu's headquarters. Kong Min and Li Shu, who were stationed in Yuzhou, were also leading troops.
Head to Nanyang Army!
Hearing such good news, Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and said: "Liu Bei is truly a clan tiger. He alone can contain half of the Yuan Clan's power, and he has lost 100,000 enemies. The next battle will be much easier to fight."
!”
Then Dong Zhuo gave this battle report to his subordinates to read!
Tian Yi smiled and said: "The use of Liu Bei by the Prime Minister was a stroke of genius. He alone held back 100,000 Kwantung Allied Forces. This way our pressure will be much less. As long as Yuan Shao and the others are eliminated, the world will be stable!"
The other Dong Zhuo's generals were all greatly boosted in morale after reading this. They didn't expect that the Kanto Alliance's combat effectiveness was so poor. Sun Jian and the others knew each other well. He was also a fierce man in Xiliang, and he dared to draw his sword against Dong Zhuo.
At that time, Dong Zhuo's men often made trouble for Sun Jian, but no matter whether they competed with fists or weapons, they were defeated by Sun Jian's men. This made them have to let Sun Jian go. At the same time, they also admitted that Sun Jian was a ruthless man.
But such a ruthless man was still defeated by Liu Bei in one battle. They thought that they were no worse than Liu Bei, and the other Kwantung Allied Forces were not as good as Sun Jian. Isn't this a dazzling military achievement?
So Niu Fu was the first to say: "Prime Minister, if my subordinates ask for a battle, they will definitely help the Prime Minister cut off Yuan Shao's head!"
Guo Si also shouted: "The Prime Minister will give his subordinates 5,000 soldiers and horses. They will definitely defeat the Kwantung Allied Forces and let the Prime Minister rest in Jujube!"
Li Jue said carelessly: "You all only know how to brag. After all, Yuan Shao and the others have tens of thousands of people. You can defeat them as long as you want, or let our Flying Bear Army go to fight. The Prime Minister has paid such a high price. Is it possible?"
Don’t test the combat power of our Flying Bear Army! Only our Flying Bear Army is not afraid of the tens of thousands of Kwantung Allied Forces!"
Li Jue's words made Dong Zhuo's generals jealous. Just kidding, this is the only one among the Han army to have an all-iron armored battalion. After becoming the captain of the Flying Bear Army, Li Jue always looked up at the sky.
, even an old friend of more than ten years looked down upon him. If Li Jue could do this again, it would be a big deal!
So they said to Dong Zhuo one by one: "The Fei Xiong Army, the Prime Minister of the State, is the trump card of our army. It cannot be used up easily like this, but it should be a fatal blow against Yuan Shao!"
But Dong Zhuo thought about it and felt that Li Jue's words were true. He traded a county for these 5,000 armored soldiers. Is this worth the sale? He wanted to fight a battle to prove it, so Dong Zhuo ordered: "Li Jue, I wanted to order
You serve as the vanguard of the army and eliminate the rebellions encountered along the way!"
Li Jue said happily: "No!"
Then Dong Zhuo looked at the other disappointed generals and said: "You don't have to worry about not having any military exploits. Yuan Shao and his men have 100,000 people. We wiped them out this time. I recommend you all to become generals! You will then follow the truth to meet Yuan Shao and his men.
The truth is that this time I want to fight to decide the outcome!"
At this time, Dong Zhuo was not yet desperate about the situation. He didn't even kill Yuan Wei and the others, because he just didn't want to fight against the powerful nobles of Guandong, because even if he could defeat Yuan Shao and his coalition forces, it would be difficult for him to occupy the place. His 10
It is impossible for an army of ten thousand to cover the entire Han Dynasty, so if the imperial court wants to maintain its power, it must want the noble families of Guandong to help the imperial court maintain its local rule.
At the same time, taxes are paid. It is impossible for one Sili alone to support an army of more than 100,000 people! And Yuan Wei is the link with the noble families in Guandong. As long as Yuan Wei is convinced and agrees to take charge of the Han Dynasty, he is still willing to continue to work with him.
Cooperated with Yuan Wei.
He is also very restrained in the rewards given to his subordinates. So far, he has only made Niu Fu and Li Jue Zhonglang General, while other subordinates, even if they are promoted, are only captains with 2,000 shi.
This is also the reason why Guo Si is so motivated to fight. All his companions at the same time have become Zhonglang Generals. It would be embarrassing if they could not catch up. Moreover, Dong Zhuo is now in charge of the court. In the past, they had no military exploits and it was difficult for them to be promoted. But with military exploits, who can?
Dare to block his way.
Qiao Mao learned that Dong Zhuo was leading an army of 40,000 people to march eastward, and hurriedly gathered his army to meet the enemy. At the same time, he reported to Yuan Shao, asking for his support, and asked Yuan Shao to bring the Guangdong Alliance to fight Dong Zhuo!
To be honest, Qiao Mao and the others have never fought a war at all, not even a battle to give them experience like the crusade against the Yellow Turban Army. Their families are the top nobles in the Han Dynasty, and they have already come to fight for their lives. Liu Bei
You have to work hard to become a county captain, and even in your lifetime you can only reach the highest level and become a county magistrate.
Second-generation officials like Qiao Mao start from a high-ranking official with an income of 2,000 shi, and it all depends on their luck. If they are lucky, they can become the Third Lord, and if they are unlucky, they can also become Jiuqing. It can be said that life is just like this without hard work, and even
Their subsequent careers have nothing to do with hard work, so naturally they don't need to work hard to earn credit.
But now they are blind. No matter what they say about Dong Zhuo's rebellious ministers and traitors, one thing they still agree with is that Dong Zhuo has been fighting for the Han Dynasty for nearly 40 years. The fighting time is longer than their age. He is a veteran.
Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Lu Zhi were the only three veterans in the imperial court who dared to say that they were more powerful in fighting than Dong Zhuo. However, these three were not in their alliance against Dong Zhuo! How could this not make them panic?
At this time, Cao Cao drew out his long sword and said angrily: "Why are you panicking? Dong Zhuo hasn't come yet. It's like you have been defeated. When you see Dong Zhuo's flag, you still won't run away!"
"Fighting is not difficult. The first thing is courage. As long as you dare to die, you will win half the battle. If the Xiliang soldiers have one head and two hands, our army is more than twice that of Dong Zhuo. It is Dong Zhuo and the others who have to be afraid.
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Cao Cao's words immediately made Qiao Mao find his backbone. We have never fought a war, but there are people here who have fought. Cao Cao is different because he has experienced hundreds of battles!
Then Qiao Mao laughed and said: "We have all forgotten that Meng De is familiar with the art of war. In his early years, he accompanied General Huangfu to quell the Yellow Turban Uprising. He also made many military exploits. With him here, we have nothing to worry about!"
"Mengde, it's up to you to command our army. If we can defeat Dong Zhuo here, we will be famous all over the world!"
Others also spoke highly of Cao Cao, and then made Cao Cao the commander of the army.
Cao Cao was not polite. He took over the command and said: "We can't sit back and wait for death, but we must take the initiative to let Dong Zhuo know how powerful we are. We must win the battle first and dampen the vigor of the Xiliang army!"
Their coalition forces totaled 50,000 people. Although he knew that it might be difficult to defeat Dong Zhuo's 40,000 elite troops, he could win a small victory over Dong Zhuo and then rely on defense to hold back Dong Zhuo's main force. Dong Zhuo could only provide this military force.
40,000 people. As long as they annihilate Dong Zhuo's 40,000 mobile army, Dong Zhuo will have no power to counterattack. And with them occupying the entire Central Plains behind them, they can squeeze Dong Zhuo out of Luoyang City with all their strength!
So Dong Zhuo arranged for his army to be the vanguard, with Qiao Mao, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Bao Xin, and Yuan Yi's army in the center to follow. There were as many as 50,000 troops along the way.
After Wuyang ordered to discover Cao Cao's army, he immediately abandoned the city and fled. Cao Cao easily occupied Wuyang County in Yin, Henan.
Then Cao Cao targeted Rongyang in Yin, Henan, because occupying Rongyang would be face to face with Hulao Pass. If Hulao Pass was to be breached again, the door to Luoyang City would be opened. Dong Zhuo would definitely withdraw as long as he did not want to die.
Luoyang City, because Luoyang City is full of people from noble families, as long as their coalition forces surround Luoyang City, the strength of any noble family can be used as internal agents to help them open the gates of Luoyang City, so although Luoyang City is the strongest in the world
It's a small city, but it is the easiest city in the world for the coalition forces fighting against Dong!
Cao Cao's plan made Qiao Mao, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Bao Xin and Yuan Yi very excited. If Dong Zhuo was defeated by them, they would be heroes who saved the country, and their names would surely go down in history!
So under the leadership of Cao Cao, the coalition forces marched toward Xingyang in a mighty manner.
At this time, Dong Zhuo's army was also advancing towards Rongyang. Hulao Pass was only 50 miles away from Rongyang. Dong Zhuo entered Rongyang City in one day!
Then Tan Ma reported to him that Cao Cao was leading an army of 50,000 to attack Rongyang!
Dong Zhuo was surprised and said: "After Cao Cao was an eunuch, he could actually become the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. It seems that Yuan Shao treated him well!"
When Dong Zhuo first took power, although he valued the noble families in Guandong, he also had a good impression of Cao Cao. After all, both parties were members of the eunuch party, and Dong Zhuo originally wanted to promote Cao Cao.
It was a pity that Cao Cao was unwilling to cooperate with Dong Zhuo when he saw that Dong Zhuo had poisoned the emperor and killed the Queen Mother He. He believed that Dong Zhuo's actions in Luoyang City were simply a sign of cholera, so he changed his name and fled the capital Luoyang.
After Cao Cao arrived in Chenliu, he "scattered his family wealth and united his righteous troops" and was the first to respond to Qiao Mao's call to attack Dong Zhuo.