Chapter 310 Cao Cao’s movements in the 19th year of Jian’an
Attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, unite with Sun Quan, and pacify Jingzhou?
Cao Cao pondered for a long time.
He is a smart man and naturally knows what Guo Jia means.
Don't look at Sun Quan and Liu Bei getting married, even his sister married Liu Bei.
But Sun Quan still secretly expressed his homage to Cao Cao, and his words were extremely flattering.
All fools know that Sun Quan offered his sister to Liu Bei and colluded with Cao Cao at the same time. He wanted to take advantage of the situation and bet on both ends.
Therefore, from the perspective of the advisers on both sides, they all believed that Sun Quan was just a fence-sitter who wanted to support whoever wins.
You can fight, but it's not necessary.
Because beating Sun Quan will only force him into the enemy camp and help the enemy increase its strength.
So just keep trying to win over Sun Quan to prevent him from surrendering to the enemy.
After pondering for a long time, he said to Guo Jia: "Apart from this, is there any other reason?"
Only Liu Bei, who occupied Jingyi, had such a large naval force that he could sail down the Yangtze River and directly capture Jianye.
Because for Sun Quan, it is in his interests that Liu Bei falls.
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your compliment."
Guo Jia added: "The second step is to test Liu Bei's reaction. Liu Bei's advisers now also have wise men. I previously deduced that Han Sui and Ma Chao have protons in Yecheng, and Liu Bei will definitely think that they want to surrender.
Attacked them, but unexpectedly he held back."
The two chatted about other things. At the end of the evening, it was already dark. Cao Cao saw that Guo Jia was tired, so he left his mansion.
This means that the only pressure for survival that Sun Quan faces comes from Liu Bei.
As long as Sun Quan wanted to live, and even wanted to annex Jingzhou and achieve hegemony, he would never let go of this golden opportunity.
The only thing he fears is Liu Bei.
So it was this information gap that made Fazheng, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others make wrong judgments, which almost forced Han Sui and Ma Chao to defect to Cao Cao.
On the second day, Cao Cao thought deeply and summoned Xun You, Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao and others for a secret discussion. The final result of the group's discussion was that this plan was feasible.
For Cao Cao, he didn't care whether Han Sui, Ma, or Sun Quan were superior.
Even if it doesn't succeed, I believe that Cao Cao's ability will be enough to destroy Xiliang Guanzhong. Even if Sun Quan is gone, everyone will still have Cao Cao destroy Han Sui Ma Chao, Liu Bei destroy Sun Quan, and finally the north and south will confront each other.
By February, Liu Bei already knew the news. Since he couldn't figure out what Cao Cao wanted to do, he immediately made preparations.
In his opinion, Sun Quan was extremely stupid. If he couldn't send an envoy to explain clearly, he was afraid of creating opportunities for the other party, and he would be useless.
Once such a situation is formed, the southern soldiers are generally inferior to the northern soldiers, and Cao Cao's total military strength is greater than Liu Bei's, and he also has a large number of cavalry. At least in the confrontation between the north and the south, Cao Cao has gained a huge advantage.
Such a division was also carried out in Yizhou. For example, Jianwei County was divided into two, from Bodao to Wuyang in the west, that is, in later generations, the area from Yibin to Pengshan was still Jianwei County, and from Jiangyang to Han'an in the east, it was also Jianwei County.
That is, in later generations, Luzhou City to Neijiang City was changed to Jiangyang County.
"Why?" Cao Cao was puzzled.
Cao Cao thought about it and sneered: "In the Battle of Hongkou, Sun Quan was defeated even though he had such a huge advantage. He is just an incompetent person. Maybe he should send envoys to lobby."
If Cao and Liu are two tigers, then the others are a pack of wild wolves.
He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses, turned his head to look at Guo Jia, and laughed loudly: "The plan of filial piety is really as unpredictable as ghosts and gods."
After using the tongs to add charcoal fire, Guo Jia took a pot of wine, leaned against the wooden wall behind him, took a sip of the hot wine, and then turned to look at the snowflakes still floating outside. Although there was a cold wind pouring in, his body was still wet.
Wearing a fluffy fox fur, I don't feel cold at all.
Guo Jia's meaning is very simple.
Cao Cao opened his eyes wide, and then asked: "Why can it be done?"
Inside the small building, except for the sound of the howling wind blowing the curtains, the only sound left was the thick and rough sound of Xu Chu standing outside the door guarding the door in the snow, standing like an iron tower.
"Jia thought that although it was a risky plan, it could work."
At that moment, Cao Cao's mind went through countless thoughts, and he immediately began to think.
The purpose of this is simple, to win over people in advance.
For example, when he sent troops to Xiliang and Guanzhong, Sun Quan suddenly teamed up with Liu Bei to go north to raid Xuzhou, Yuzhou and other places.
When the time comes, Liu Bei's main force will be transferred to Guanzhong, and the rear of Jingzhou will be empty. At this time, he will join forces with Sun Quan to raid Jingzhou and cut off Liu Bei's arm.
"Hmm."
Naturally, counselors such as Guo Jiaxunyou knew that Han Sui, Ma Chao and others had always been unwilling to surrender.
Therefore, many counselors also recognized Guo Jia's strategy, because even the worst plan would not be a loss for Cao Cao.
The second is to fight a general war, and those who benefit are the other princes who are watching the excitement.
After all, Liu Bei transferred his main force to Guanzhong, Jingzhou, and other places to create a void of different forces?
Guo Jia replied firmly.
But they didn't know that even if their family members were used as hostages in Yecheng, the two still chose to separate themselves and had no intention of surrendering to Cao Cao.
The end of the 18th year of Jian'an was spent in this heavy snow. After the New Year, by the end of January of the 19th year of Jian'an, Yecheng became lively, with soldiers and horses coming and going, and a large amount of food and grass accumulated.
At their size, it is difficult for both sides to determine the outcome through local wars. Instead, they must start to fight for national strength and fight a general war.
Cao Cao pondered: "Sun Quan is more afraid of Liu Bei than I am. But Gu is afraid that this guy is as timid as a mouse. Even if all the main forces of Jingzhou enter the pass, he will not dare to send troops to Jingzhou."
If Sun Quan was a snake and a rat, wouldn't he be in danger?
I suffered a loss last time.
After the news came, Liu Bei couldn't sit still, and immediately dispatched his troops and generals to rush to Nanyang in person to prepare to resist Cao's army.
Cao Cao nodded again: "Good."
The reason for this series of events was Sun Quan's tragic defeat at Hongkou.
The main force is 200,000 soldiers, and the second-line county soldiers are 130,000.
If both sides suffer losses, maybe these wild wolves will be able to bite off a piece of meat from the two tigers.
The main reason is that the Liu Bei Group's development focus is in the north of Yizhou and the north of Jingzhou. Zhuge Liang is even guarding against the aristocratic families and ethnic minorities in the south of Yizhou, so the south is not moving now and will be discussed in the future.
So even if Cao Cao wanted to compete with Liu Bei for Hanzhong, Liu Bei would have enough reaction time to counterattack and increase his troops, so he was not worried about Hanzhong.
Therefore, Yizhou currently has about 50,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, 10,000 well-trained soldiers, 30,000 county soldiers from various places, and 30,000 county soldiers in Bodao to defend the south of Yizhou.
Among them, there are about 70,000 main soldiers in Yizhou and 60,000 county soldiers.
If he doesn't unite with himself, when Liu Bei further expands his navy in the future, Jiangdong may be destroyed.
But in Cao Cao's view, Sun Quan was not reliable.
In the 15th year of Jian'an, Yizhou only had 50,000 main troops and 30,000 county troops. The army was not well trained, so the number of available troops was 80,000.
It obviously takes a day or two to prepare for a big war. The recent movements of soldiers and horses in Yecheng have also attracted the attention of the Liu Bei Group's personnel stationed in Yecheng, and they immediately sent news back to the south.
He felt that many powerful families and ethnic minorities in southern Yizhou were extremely negative towards government orders and might launch a rebellion, so he appointed Huo Jun as the governor of Qianwei and trained troops in Bodao.
In the 15th year of Jian'an, Jingzhou's total military strength was 170,000. Shen Chen led 50,000 troops to garrison Nanyang, Liu Pan led 20,000 troops to garrison Changsha, Huang She led 30,000 troops to Jiangxia, and there were 50,000 county troops in other places. , as well as thousands of embroidered cavalry and 10,000 Wuxi barbarians from Samoko.
This time Liu Bei brought only 5,000 white soldiers from Yizhou. When passing through Yidao, he ordered Samoko, the general of Jianwei and the prefect of Wuling who was stationed in Xiaoling, to lead his troops north to join him and immediately support Nanyang.
The northern soldiers were not good at water warfare and posed no threat to Sun Quan who was trapped in Jiangdong.
If Cao Cao sends troops to Xiliang Pass to attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, Liu Bei will definitely not sit idly by.
For Cao Cao, the harvest was very big today and he needs to go back and digest it.
The north of Wuling County was Wuling County, and the south was changed to Yuanling County. The west of Changsha County and part of Lingling County were added to form Hengyang County. Since Guiyang County was lent to Sun Quan, it has not been changed for the time being.
There was silence.
At the beginning, against all opinions, I chose to put aside the two Yuans and attack Nanyang, just to eliminate today's hidden dangers and prevent Liu Bei from becoming bigger.
Four years later, the Jiangxia Navy expanded and returned to a size of 50,000. Then Zhao Yun guarded Lujiang County and took away about 15,000 county soldiers. The rear also expanded the Yangtze River Navy by 10,000 along Jiangling. Therefore, the total strength is 200,000.
Guo Jia said: "Now I see that Sun Quan and Liu Bei are getting married, and he has also ceded to him a strategic military area like the south of Lujiang County. I think he is like Gou Jian, who was willing to eat hard and let Liu Bei relax his vigilance against him. The prime minister sent envoys, and Sun Quan was afraid We have to kill the envoy Mingzhi."
Therefore, Cao Cao doubted Sun Quan's ability very much. He even thought that if he did what Guo Jia said, Sun Quan might backhandedly sell him.
Guo Jia said: "Even if Liu Bei doesn't leave Hanzhong and compete with us in Xiliang, if the prime minister marches to the right, he can cut off their source of horses."
"Conquering Huainan alone?"
"Hmm."
In this silent confrontation, another half year passed.
"Hmm."
The remaining Shu counties were divided into Wenshan County, Guanghan was divided into Zitong County, and Hanzhong was divided into Shangyong County. The vassal state of Shu County was renamed Hanjia County, and the vassal state of Guanghan was renamed Yinping County.
This small house in the lake is surrounded by wooden boards on three and a half sides. Only a window-like gap is left on the right side of the main seat, hung with fine gauze curtains, so that people can view the scenery from inside.
Cao Cao said immediately.
If successful, it is really possible for Liu Bei to be careless and lose Jingzhou.
"We have a room in the land of Jingyi, and Liu Bei has a room with us and Sun Quan. Prime Minister, don't forget that the court is always dissatisfied with the Prime Minister. If the news leaks out, Liu Bei will know that we sent an envoy there, and his counselors will It must be possible to guess that we want to unite with Sun Quan, which may put him on guard."
Therefore, they devised a strategy and suggested that Cao Cao make peace with the two men, and send envoys from time to time to appease them. At the same time, they declared to them that Liu Bei would harm them, and they should surrender to the court as soon as possible to keep themselves and their families safe.
At this time, after four years of development, the military strength of Liu Bei's group reached 330,000.
Because the army in the Hanzhong direction was on the defensive according to the strategy, Hanzhong was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although there were only 50,000 troops stationed there, even if Cao Cao came with a hundred thousand troops, he could not easily break through Yangping Pass.
Can it be done?
At the same time, soldiers from various counties were mobilized to gather in Nanyang for a decisive battle with Cao Cao in Nanyang.
Once Liu Bei sent troops to attack Han Sui and Ma Chao, when they were beaten to the point of despair, it was naturally self-evident whether they should surrender to Liu Bei who sent troops to attack them or go to Cao Cao who was friendly with them.
Guo Jia responded: "Wars in the south mostly require water warfare. Our navy is at a disadvantage and cannot annex Jiangdong, so the north poses no threat to Jiangdong."
Guo Jia coughed slightly, raised his head and looked at the charcoal fire next to him that was about to go out. He sighed. His concubine had helped him before, but now he had to use tongs to take a few charcoal from the iron bucket next to him and put them into the stove.
So Cao Cao finally decided to implement this strategy.
This is the difference in information.
Cao Cao responded.
Cao Cao was rapidly thinking about the feasibility of this plan.
"Elaborate."
Once Cao Liu goes to war, Sun Quan, Han Sui, Ma Chao and others will probably be happy and watch the show.
Guo Jia thought for a while and replied: "Prime Minister, we still can't send an envoy."
At the beginning, Fa Zheng, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others all believed that they should attack Han Sui and Ma Chao to prevent them from surrendering to Cao Cao.
This sentence awakened Cao Cao in an instant, and he felt as if he had attained enlightenment.
That’s why Guo Jiacai said he was very confident.
In this way, there were originally four counties south of Jingzhou, but now Yuanling County and Hengyang County have been added, making it six counties.
Moreover, even if Cao Cao wanted to take action against Hanzhong, he would have to travel several months just to send troops from Yecheng to Hanzhong, not counting the time for food preparation and the arrival of baggage.
The soldiers and horses of Yizhou did not move, but the soldiers and horses of Nanyang immediately became vigilant. Shen Chen sent Wenpin to guard Ye County and guard the passage into Nanyang.
So test Liu Bei's reaction to see if he had premeditated it or if it was just a coincidence.
Yes.
It is worth mentioning that after Liu Bei obtained Jingzhou and Yizhou, the administrative division of the two places was re-demarcated in the four years following the advice of the advisers.
Cao Cao stroked his beard and nodded: "This is also something Gu wants to do. After all, their families are in Yecheng as hostages. Maybe they just want to have a good home after surrendering. Gu plans to go to Guanzhong next year. First, he hopes that the army will suppress the border and force them to
They surrendered. The second is to come to them in person to form an alliance and negotiate peace. It would be best if this matter can convince them."
Jingzhou originally had seven counties, but after more than 20 years of changes from the Liu Biao period to the Liu Bei period, it became eleven counties.
This also means that as long as Sun Quan is not stupid, when most of Liu Bei's main forces are transferred to Hanzhong, he should send out surprise troops to attack Jingzhou.
Guo Jia thought for a moment, then smiled suddenly and said: "This is easy, the Prime Minister can personally conquer Huainan."
Cao Cao was confused: "Isn't this... hmm?"
The reason why Yizhou's second-line county troops were doubled in size was because Zhuge Liang was training local county troops.
For example, Nanyang County is still as before, divided into Nanyang in the north and Zhangling County in the southeast area around Tongbai Mountain. Jiangxia County divided a part of the north of the Yangtze River, which was probably the Qichun area in later generations, plus half of Lujiang County, and was changed to Xiling County.
The current situation is a deadlock.
Guo Jia pondered: "Because of his alliance with us, Sun Quan has hope. Otherwise, he will definitely die."
However, Cao Cao was not sure of victory.
Therefore, there were originally seven counties in the north of Yizhou. Now there are Jiangyang County, Fuling County, Badong County, Basi County, Wenshan County, Zitong County, and Shangyong County, making it fourteen counties.
It's just that this is still a bit too risky for Cao Cao. Although he likes to take risks, the older he gets, the more he hopes to be safe.
Han Sui and Ma Chao were hard to fight, Sun Quan couldn't fight, and Liu Bei couldn't even move lightly.
There were initially three counties to the north of Jingzhou, only Nanyang County, Jiangxia County and Nanjun. During Liu Biao's period, Zhangling County was divided into Nanyang County, which remained unchanged at this time. On the basis of the four counties, half of Lujiang County was added, and an extra
Xiling County.
Guo Jia finally said: "As for the alliance between Sun and Liu that the prime minister is worried about, Jia believes that unless Sun Quan is short-sighted and ignorant, there is no way he can accept it. Therefore, sending troops to Xiliang Guanzhong this time seems to be a dangerous plan, but in fact it is a stable victory."
Send envoys to lobby?
Guo Jia put down the wine bottle, straightened his waist and cupped his hands and replied: "There is another way, to intimidate Han Sui and Ma Chao and force them to submit."
Cao Cao was obviously preparing for a large-scale military operation. In the middle of the 19th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's army, which was ready, began to slowly move southward, all the way into Yuzhou.
Therefore, Cao Cao pondered for a long time, then stroked his beard and said: "Fengxiao's plan is indeed a dangerous plan. Does Fengxiao think this plan can be successful?"
Then Bajun was divided into four parts, Chongqing became Bajun and Zhixian, that is to say, the Fuling District of Chongqing was later called Fuling County, the Three Gorges area was called Badong County, and later Nanchong, Bazhong, and Dazhou were called Brazil County.
But Guo Jia’s pointers are also very important.
The south side of Yizhou has not been changed yet.
As a result, Sun Quan was really weak, and the battle at Hongkou was extremely miserable. Zhou Yu and Huang Gai were also killed, so that Shen Chen led his army northward and returned to Nanyang with a disastrous defeat.
During this time, Cao's troops from the direction of Yingchuan in Runan also began to gather in the Wuyang area of Kunyang. Neither side had any intention of leaving the city to fight in the field. One guarded the Nanyang passage, and the other guarded the two Nanyang entrance cities, facing each other dozens of kilometers apart.
As a result, Guo Jia and others never expected that Liu Bei would have an expert around him, so they actually prevented Liu Bei from sending troops to Han Sui and Ma Chao, so that the plan was discovered.
Guo Jia cupped his hands and smiled, his originally pale face showing a touch of blood, and he seemed to be much healthier.
At present, soldiers from various counties have been mobilized one after another, and with the addition of Nanyang's main force of more than 50,000 people, Nanyang's total military strength has quickly reached 80,000, and this number continues to increase.
Now four years have passed, and in terms of the main fighting force, there are 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 well-trained soldiers.
If he sends troops, Liu Bei will also send troops. The more he sends, the more Liu Bei will send.
Moreover, Cao Cao's elimination of Han Sui and Ma Chao also had the advantage of completely cutting off Liu Bei's source of horses and limiting the development of cavalry in the south.
After that battle, Cao Cao completely lost the ability to control Liu Bei's development, and it also delayed him at least a year from regaining the north.
On the Jingzhou side, there are 130,000 main troops and 70,000 county troops.
So it is inconvenient to hit anyone.
But in August of the 19th year of Jian'an, when Nanyang's total military strength exceeded 100,000, Liu Bei found that his punch seemed to be empty.
Cao Cao only deployed heavy troops to defend Yingchuan and other places in Runan, but his main force actually went south, passed Yuzhou, and went to Huainan, as if he was going to take action against Jiangdong.
For a time, the entire Liu Bei group began to be surprised by Cao Cao's movements and had no idea what he wanted to do.
Only Shen Chen, who was based in Wancheng, Nanyang, was already deducing Cao Cao's plan.