In May of the 10th year of Jian'an, Shen Chen resigned from Liu Biao and resigned from the post of Zhonglang General. However, he did not return to Longzhong Township. Instead, he went to Jiangxia at the invitation of Liu Qi.
Liu Bei was sent to Jingnan by Liu Biao on the pretext that the barbarians in the south were rebelling and needed him to suppress them.
Originally, Liu Bei was wanted to go to Chenxian County of Guiyang County and Qujiang, which later became Chenzhou, Hunan, and Shaoguan, Guangzhou.
The place is remote and inaccessible, and Liu Pan's army is stationed in Liling and You County, so they can keep an eye on him at any time.
However, Liu Bei used the excuse that there were many prisoners in Yizhou and could not bear to kill them. Now his troops were bloated and there was insufficient food and grass, so he stationed in Xiangnan County, which later became Xiangtan City in Hunan.
Then, at Xu Shu's suggestion, he sent people north to ask Liu Biao for grain and grass supplies.
The reason is also very simple.
As the saying goes, no emperor needs hungry soldiers, not to mention that Liu Bei worked for Liu Biao, blocking Cao Cao in the north, fighting Liu Zhang in the south, and now he is going south to help Liu Biao quell the rebellion in the south. Why should he be so mean?
Moreover, Liu Xian now has more than ten million in grain reserves, his treasury is full, and the 4 to 5 million people actually controlled by Jingzhou provide him with a steady stream of tax revenue, so he is not short of money or grain.
However, Liu Biao refused to provide Liu Bei with more supplies.
Firstly, Liu Bei repeatedly came to him for begging, which made him a little tired. Secondly, he was afraid that Liu Bei would betray him after he became emperor, so giving him money would be an enemy.
So I found an excuse to send it off.
So Liu Bei simply stationed himself in southern Hunan, citing the lack of supplies, and procrastinated and refused to move.
While the South was wrangling, the war in the North was heating up.
When the first ray of sunshine shone on the earth in the early morning of May 26, Yuan Jun began to launch a general offensive.
Cao Ying's camp was not flooded when the Seventh Army was flooded. The entire camp was washed away and everyone was forced to move to high ground. It was just that a thick layer of water accumulated in the camp.
Although the terrain in the southeast is lower, Xiahou Dun followed the advice of Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Mao Jue and others and dug a large number of diversion canals in an attempt to divert water to Jishui in the southeast.
But they obviously underestimated the water flow of the Yellow River during the summer flood period. The mighty water flowed towards Cao Ying and could not be discharged at all.
If you look down at the entire Cao Cao camp from a high altitude, you will see that Cao Cao's camp is crisscrossed with more than ten camps. There is a vast ocean everywhere, and the water is as deep as the knees. The soldiers can only choose to stand on the mountains and higher ground. .
The tents were flooded and they couldn't sleep well. The morale of the soldiers in the camp was very low.
Yuan Shao's army dug canals from the northwest to divert water to Cao's camp in the southeast. They themselves launched an attack from the dry highlands in the northeast, trying to take advantage of this opportunity to formally annihilate Cao's army.
At the beginning of sunrise, the east turned white, and at dawn, in the camp of General Zhang He located in the northeast corner of Cao Ying, soldiers from Liangshiyou Village came out of the barracks with wooden hoes.
They received orders that water began to accumulate in the rear camp where Zhang He was located, and they had to go over and expand the previously dug ditch.
Qu Junhou of Youzhai led two captains to inspect the camp to see how the construction inside his camp was going.
Zhang He's current status as a partial general is high or not, but he is still a reduced general. Moreover, he is facing Yuan Jun, so he has not many soldiers. There are only three troops with a total of 1,500 people, divided into three groups: left, right and rear. It is arranged in a "pin" shape and stands on the easternmost side of the entire Cao camp.
Now during the flood season of the Yellow River in summer, Yuan's army has dug up the river. A few days ago, tens of thousands of Yuan's troops lined up outside the camp to prevent Xiahou Dun from harassing their digging team. Zhang He was actually at a leisurely pace because he was far away from Yuan's army.
Camping in ancient times was not a simple matter. The camps were scattered and scattered. Even if there were only 1,500 people, there would be three camps, let alone 40,000 to 50,000 people. The camps stretched vertically and horizontally for seven or eight kilometers.
From west to east, from south to north, Cao Ying's camps are as dense and scattered as dotted with stars. Zhang He's camp is four kilometers away from the main camp.
In fact, even if Yuan Shao dug up the Pu River and the Jishui River and diverted a large amount of river water to flood Cao's camp, only half of Cao's army was affected. The other half was on high ground in the northeast. Cao's army, like Zhang He's army, was deployed in the east.
, it was not affected by floods.
In addition, Wating, where Yuan Jun is located, is more than ten kilometers away from the Kuangcheng area, so Zhang Hejun is still relatively comfortable at this time. Apart from his routine work, there is nothing else to do on weekdays.
The morning assembly whistle sounded, and the soldiers began to prepare for today's day in an orderly manner. Some went to replace the soldiers who kept vigil last night, some began to patrol outside the camp, and others continued to cut down trees outside the camp in accordance with the instructions.
There is very little stagnant water in the back camp, and the drainage through the canal is enough, and it will not affect the front camp.
Qu Junhou inspected the gate of the camp. Six soldiers stood upright with spears in their hands. They all stared blankly, as if they were six solemn door gods, blocking everything outside the door.
The spacious military training ground in the camp was clean and tidy, with not a single person in sight and not a sound heard. There was a tall flagpole erected on the low military parade platform, and the black flag hanging on it occasionally floated silently in the wind.
spread.
When the red sun reached the middle of the sky, in the astonished eyes of Cao Jun who was patrolling the surrounding area, two soldiers roared all the way and rushed back to the military camp with one person on each other.
The man's head and face were covered with blood, and Cao Jun's clothes were covered in dust and dirt. One sleeve was ripped off from the shoulder, revealing the red clothes underneath. His feet could hardly touch the ground. It was completely
Being dragged by soldiers and running.
There was still some way away from the military camp. When a soldier saw Cao Jun on patrol from a distance, he yelled at the top of his lungs: "Hurry up and call the general! Our scout has been attacked. It is extremely urgent! Hurry!"
A sentry jumped up and ran into the military camp.
A moment later, there was a rush of brass bells ringing in the military camp, and hundreds of fully armed Cao Jun soldiers emerged from the silent barracks, lining up on the training ground to gather and stand ready.
By the time Zhang He arrived at the right front camp, the Cao soldier who had been carried over had already been placed in the camp tent, and the military doctor had just bandaged the wound.
In addition to the knife wound, the most serious injury was the arrow wound. Fortunately, the shot missed and missed the vital point, otherwise he would not have been able to save his life.
"what happened?"
Zhang He asked immediately after coming in.
He knew the two men who came back with the wounded soldiers. They were the sentry soldiers he placed on the outside. They were also part of the personal guards he brought with him when he surrendered to Cao Cao.
"General."
The soldier replied: "We were on guard duty outside. This brother galloped close to us. He fell off his horse with wounds all over his body. We brought him back."
Zhang He walked to the bed and lowered his head to test. He saw that the soldier on the bed had lost too much blood, his face was pale, and he was seriously injured.
Someone fed him some water in a daze, and the military doctor stimulated his acupuncture points with acupuncture. After a while, he slowly woke up. He looked at everyone in confusion at first, and then asked quietly after someone patted his face: "Is this...
where?"
"I am Zhang He, the partial general, who are you?"
Zhang He asked.
The soldier was refreshed and hurriedly said: "I am a scout sent out by the main camp. Please inform General Xiahou quickly. The Yuan army has gathered this morning and is coming to kill them."
"So fast?"
Zhang He's face was solemn and he walked out of the tent.
The guards on the left and right hurriedly followed. Someone looked around and whispered in Zhang He's ear: "General, it's better."
"Go and inform General Xiahou!"
"General?"
"Didn't you hear that?"
Zhang He glanced at him and said coldly: "If you go back to Yuan Shaona again, do you want me to die?"
He was forced to rebel by Guo Tu at the beginning, and he and Guo Tu were already sworn enemies. I heard that Guo Tu was still reused by Yuan Shao. If he surrendered again, what would Yuan Shao do to him? What would Guo Tu do to him?
Therefore, Zhang He had no choice but to follow Cao Cao.
"only."
The guards had no choice but to agree.
After a while, the sound of the horn sounded.
Cao's military camps in the surrounding area, including Zhu Ling's, Wang Tu's, Liu Zhu's, Lu Zhao's, Feng Kai's, Xue Hong's, Zhang Xi's, and more than ten other tribes, started to shake.
Xiahou Dun placed generals in each camp on the left and right. Xu Huang and Cao Chun were in the left camp, and Zhang Liao and Li Dian were in the right camp. They were in charge of their own camp.
At this moment, the horns of the right camp suddenly sounded, and Cao's troops from all the camps in the right camp began to gather outside the camp. Although many people did not know what happened, it was natural to gather as soon as possible.
Over there, Zhang Liao and Li Dian also received news of Yuan Shao's attack, and quickly received orders from the main camp, asking them to assemble all their ministries and prepare to start fighting.
Xiahou Dun, the commander of the main camp of the Chinese army, immediately ordered Xu Huang and Cao Chun of the left camp to lead their generals to withdraw from the left camp and move closer to the right camp.
Now Zuoying has been submerged into a lake and swamp, and the northwest of Zuoying is the direction where the enemy releases water. If they attack from here, Yuan Jun will have to fight in the water with his back to the water.
Guo Jia believed that Yuan Jun would definitely not fight them in the water, so the main attack direction would definitely be on the right camp. The left camp only needed to arrange a small number of defenders, and the focus of defense would be on the right camp.
However, in order to prevent Yuan's army from suddenly temporarily blocking the river upstream and then immediately attacking Cao's left camp after the water was drained by Cao's camp's diversion canal, they still deployed more than 10,000 troops in the main camp to support the left camp at any time.
At the same time, just when Cao Jun was nervously gathering his troops, Yuan Shao's army was almost in full force. Except for the more than 10,000 people who stayed in the camp, the 70,000-strong army was overwhelming and moving towards the south like a flood.
Yuan Shang was riding on his horse at this time. To his left was also to Cao Jun's right, and a city could be vaguely seen on the horizon.
That was Pucheng, which was very close to Kuangcheng. Between the two cities were basically the camps along the Cao army.
But although it is said to be a city, it is actually just a ruins.
More than twenty years have passed since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, and then the feudal lords fighting for hegemony.
Pucheng and Kuangcheng had long been ruined, leaving a bunch of incomplete city walls that Cao Jun erected into fortress walls and reluctantly built camps for layout.
Kuangcheng became the Zuoying stockade of Cao Jun, and Pucheng became the Youying stockade. Now there is not much of the appearance of the city, only sections of mottled stockade walls still retain a few traces of the years.
.
Yuan Shang glanced around and saw a forest full of corpses on the road in the wilderness.
That was the scene after the fight between Cao Jun's scouts and Yuan Jun's scouts.
Yuan Shao and Cao Cao sent countless scouts to each other. At first, Yuan Shao had the upper hand because he had more horses and more scouts.
But later, Cao Cao planned an ambush and killed a group of Yuan Jun's scouts, causing Yuan Shao's scouts to shrink back.
The war in Henan was tense last month. After Cao Cao arrived in Henan, Yuan Jun's scouts spread out again and pushed Cao Jun's scouts forward, reducing their investigation scope a lot.
This all-out attack was launched when Cao Jun's scouts were once again compressed to seven or eight miles away from Cao's camp. At this time, there was a sudden fierce attack, and Cao Jun would definitely not be able to react.
But even with such careful planning, something unexpected happened. A group of Cao Jun's scouts arrived in the Wei Township area for unknown reasons. The Yuan Jun's scouts were unable to pursue them, and one person escaped. As a result, the plan was leaked, and Cao Jun's army had begun to assemble.
However, this was not a big deal. Yuan Shang felt that since the morale of Cao's army was declining and there was no leader in the army, it would be a matter of time for them to defeat Cao's army sooner or later if they all sent out 80,000 elite troops.
At three o'clock in the day, the sun today was not too fierce. Thirty thousand vanguard Yuan troops arrived at the front line of Pucheng in a mighty manner, spreading out like a surging flood.
Yuan Shang stood on horseback on the slope of a small hill and looked to the south. He saw countless soldiers of Cao's army coming in and out of Cao's camp at this time. A large number of sergeants gathered like black ants on the north side of the camp, with flags fluttering.
Arranged in countless square formations, they came towards them.
These soldiers were actually Zhang Liao, Li Dianbu, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Wang Tu, Liu Zhu, Lu Zhao, Feng Kai, Xue Hong, Zhang Xi and other more than ten middle and lower-level officers from Cao Jun's right camp who were the first to react.
Will come to gather.
Further away, Cao Jun's left camp Xu Huang and Cao Chun's troops are still in the process of being transferred, so even if these Cao troops are ready, the number of soldiers is far less than Yuan Shang's.
"Sir, look."
Yuan Shang's general Su You pointed in the direction of Cao Jun's left camp in the southeast.
At this moment, a large number of Cao's troops were migrating from the left camp to the right camp, which was like a lake and swamp. Many of the camps in the front had changed owners and were now barely undertaking defense tasks. Most of the camps in the back were still empty. Cao Jun wanted to complete the transfer in a short time.
Not that fast either.
The general on the other side, Yin Kai, said: "Sir, taking advantage of this opportunity, perhaps we should launch an attack immediately. If we can defeat this part of Cao's army, we can occupy their camp."
"Well."
Yuan Shangshen nodded in agreement, waved his hand and said: "Attack."
"attack!"
At the command, the long trumpet blast shook the wilderness.
Countless flags waved.
Gongs and drums roared, and rows of rams, wooden curtains, and nest cars used to attack the city were pushed to the front of the formation.
Yuan Shang's 30,000-strong army lined up neatly, marching in the same footsteps, making a deafening sound, and slowly walked towards Cao Jun's direction.
They were actually still some distance away from Cao's army, about three or four miles, but the thirty thousand people seemed to have no boundaries, giving Cao's army a huge sense of oppression in the distance.
Zhang Liao was riding on the horse, holding the sword tightly in his hand. He could feel the vibrations from the horses' hooves on the ground. This was not an earthquake, but the sound of more than 30,000 enemy horses walking at the same time.
In addition to infantry, Yuan's army was also guarded by cavalry on the left and right wings.
Yuan Shang's large banner stands in the center of the military formation. There are countless Yuan Shang's troops in the front row, and there are three layers inside and three layers outside to protect Yuan Shang.
In this case, let alone Zhang Liao, even Guan Yu with the red rabbit horse may not be able to kill him.
Li Dian came over and asked Zhang Liao: "General Zhang, General Xiahou has not sent an order yet. Do we want to temporarily withdraw into the camp?"
Most of the rear of the camp is still empty. If you retreat immediately, you can still rely on the camp to defend yourself.
Zhang Liao said: "No, General Xiahou is letting the people from Zuoying come over. At this time, we retreat in. If the people from Zuoying crowd in again, it will cause chaos in the camp. We must stop them."
"But we have fewer soldiers and our enemies are twice as many as us."
Li Dian frowned. He and Zhang Liao had different opinions. Isn't it safest to retreat into the camp and defend ourselves? Are we still fighting in the wild with an enemy twice as many as us?
Zhang Liao glanced at him: "If you are timid, leave by yourself. I am the backbone general, and I will command here!"
Li Dian was furious.
But now is not the time to lose temper, so I have to remain silent.
In fact, when Zhang Liao first entered Cao's camp, his position was very low, he was just a Zhonglang General and Guannei Marquis. When Zhang He surrendered, he was still a partial general and Tinghou.
At that time, Cao Cao reordered the official positions. The Zhonglang General was only one level higher than the Colonel, and inferior to the Pi General and the Pioneer General.
But later Zhang Liao followed Cao Cao and made many military exploits. After the Battle of Guandu, Zhang Liao was promoted to the backbone general. Although he was a miscellaneous general, he was also a genuine general, ranking above the supporting generals and partial generals.
Now speaking of official positions, Li Dian is only the general of Pi. Historically, he can only be promoted to the general of the captives after he and the dead Le attack and defeat Guan Cheng next year. So at least for now, he really has no way to challenge Zhang Liao.
After Zhang Liao dismissed Li Dian, he looked from a distance, summoned Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Wang Tu, Liu Zhu and other generals and said: "Our army is moving camp. Yuan's army is attacking quickly. They must be stopped. I will lead it myself."
The dead soldiers will attack their right flank to the east. You will hold on here and be commanded by General Lee!"
"only!"
All the soldiers agreed with a roar.
The deputy position of a general in the Han Dynasty was called Pian Pi. Li Dian was as senior as Zhang He in terms of official position, but Li Dian also had the title of military governor, so he was considered the second in command.
Zhang Liao now wants to make a surprise attack in person, which can only be commanded by Li Dian.
When Li Dian heard this, he glanced at Zhang Liao in surprise. Unexpectedly, he didn't take the opportunity to take away the military power, but gave him the power to command on the battlefield.
It should be noted that the two men had different opinions. Li Dian advocated entering the camp to defend himself, while Zhang Liao believed that the enemy must be blocked outside the camp.
Now the command has been handed over to Li Dian. If he suddenly chooses to withdraw into the camp during the battle, it will be equivalent to selling Zhang Liao.
When Zhang Liao is alone outside, the situation will be very dangerous.
It can be said that Zhang Liao put his life in the hands of Li Dian, who had a disagreement with him. If Li Dian had any unforeseen thoughts, Zhang Liao would definitely die.
"General Zhang."
Li Dian stepped forward and said, "Are you sure you want me to take command?"
Zhang Liao looked at him seriously: "General Li, although you and I have different opinions, I believe in you."
"Thank you."
Li Dian cupped his hands and said solemnly: "But I still believe in my judgment. If things change, I will not hesitate to order a retreat."
"so be it."
Zhang Liao waved his hand and shouted: "My troops are following me!"
Behind him, three thousand soldiers from Zhang Liao's headquarters followed him, lined up outside the formation, and then galloped towards the wilderness to the east.
Looking at his leaving figure, Li Dian ordered indifferently: "Send the order, the front army retreats!"