In mid-September of the 19th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's main army of 150,000 troops, said to be 400,000, arrived in Huainan.
Now Cao Cao redivided Yangzhou and reorganized the large area south of Huainan into four counties, namely Geyang County, Anfeng County, Lujiang County, and Huainan County.
The approximate scope of the four counties ranged from Guangshan County and Gushi County in Henan Province to Lu'an City, Huainan City and Hefei City in Anhui Province.
In the south, there was only the original half of Lujiang County under Liu Bei's rule. The current Xiling County borders Cao Cao's forces. The rest of Sun Quan's main force retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, and only troops and horses were stationed at Ruxukou.
After Cao Cao arrived in Shouchun, he sent Xiahou Dun as the vanguard general and led an army of 30,000 to break through Sun Quan's camp north of the Yangtze River at Ruxukou and capture his general Gongsun Yang alive.
At the end of September, the main force of Cao's army crossed Hefei and went south along the Ruxu River to the north of the Yangtze River. They occupied Dongxingti on the west bank of Ruxu and Ruxuwu, the original Gongsun Yang camp on the east bank. The specific address was north of Wuwei City in Anhui in later generations, away from where Sun Quan's main force was stationed.
Ruxukou is only more than ten kilometers away.
While Sun Quan urgently sent envoys to keep in touch with Liu Bei, he personally led an army of 70,000 to Ruxukou to resist Cao Cao's army. By the beginning of October, Sun Zhongmou, who was sitting on the front line in the yamen of Ruxukou City, received a letter from Cao Cao.
"The recent ones have promised to attack the enemy, and Jing's command is directed to the south. Liu Bei is in a corner and cannot be defeated for the time being. He can only take the east of the Yangtze River. Now he has a navy of 400,000 people, and he will join the general to hunt for Wu."
These two days are the autumn rains in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
In the Jianghuai area, spring rains and autumn rains continue, and the patter of raindrops hits the roof, making a crackling sound.
Everyone in the government office was silent after hearing the letter sent by Cao Cao.
Sun Quan's face was ashen and his fists were clenched.
The meaning of this letter is very clear. Recently, in the name of the emperor, he has issued an imperial edict to attack the feudal princes. The army is pointing to the south. Liu Bei relies on the terrain and cannot attack for the time being, so he can only attack Jiangdong.
The meaning is that Liu Bei is so powerful that he cannot be eliminated in a short period of time. So if you pick on the weak, you can only compete with Sun Quan in Wu.
"Thief Cao goes too far!"
Before Sun Quan could speak, Ling Tong stood up and said with his hands in his hands: "Marquis of Wu, the last general is willing to be the vanguard, lead the vanguard, go straight to Ruxuwu, and capture the Cao thief alive."
"The general is also willing to go."
"The general will also go."
"And me."
Zhou Tai, Xu Sheng, Lu Fan, Jiang Qin and others also stood up and said.
This letter really looked down on Jiang Dong so much that it made the Jiangdong children present feel hot and angry. They just wanted to go straight to Dongxing to kill Cao Cao with their swords.
Only Lu Mengan sat among them and did not speak.
After Zhou Yu's death, Lu Meng was hit hard. In the past, he rarely read, but later he became determined to learn. With Sun Quan's persuasion, he turned his grief and anger into strength and studied military books every day. After several years, he was no longer the same as he was in the past.
, is no longer Amen under Wu.
Sun Quan didn't look very good at first, but looking at the angry generals below, he somehow calmed down and laughed suddenly: "Hahahahahahaha."
Sima Zhuge Jin on the side said in surprise: "Why is Marquis Wu laughing?"
Sun Quan laughed and said: "I am just laughing at Cao Cao's short wit and brave generals. Now the biggest enemy of Cao Cao's thieves should be Liu Bei, but he came to Huainan to invade the east of the Yangtze River. Isn't this asking for death? One day when he was in Huainan, Liu Bei's army stationed troops.
Wouldn't Nanyang, Henan and other places be in danger for just one more day? With the bravery of the generals, even if it takes ten years, he will not be able to defeat Jiangdong. By then, all the north will belong to Liu Bei. Let's see how long he can continue to be rampant."
"It's just that the north belongs to Liu Bei, which is not a good thing."
Zuo Sima Gu Yong said.
Sun Quan waved his hand: "Even so, he is better than Cao Cao. Liu Bei is an orphan's sister-in-law, and his reputation for benevolence is known all over the world. He has the north and is connected by marriage, so he will not harm him. On the other hand, Cao's thieves are coming fiercely.
With the intention of annexing Jiangdong, how can Gu give up? What's more, this is all forced by Cao's thieves. He himself wants a large army to suppress the territory, so what does he have to do with Gu?"
When he said this, a hint of gloom flashed across Sun Quan's eyes and brows.
If Liu Bei really gets the north, it will be more uncomfortable than killing him. Because it means that his dream of taking Jingzhou to dominate is completely over. There will be only one outcome in the future - surrender to Liu Bei, which will also give his family a way to survive.
But at this time, he did not dare to say it clearly. If these words were spoken in public, they would eventually reach Liu Bei's ears in the future. Now is the critical time for Cao Cao's attack. Sun Quan himself felt that he was facing a formidable enemy and was facing a precarious situation. Naturally, he needed to
Win over allies and say good things about Liu Bei, hoping that he can rush to help quickly.
So he could only choose to pick up some good words to say.
"Ahem."
Lu Su coughed twice and said: "Everyone, since Cao Cao's army is pressing down on the border and cannot be changed, then prepare to fight hard. We are on the defensive after all. It will not be easy for Cao Cao's army to cross the river and attack Jiangdong. Let's go back to our camps and settle down.
Defend all sides in preparation for war."
"Um."
Sun Quan also said: "You guys go back to your camps first, and remember not to rush out of the camp to fight with him."
"only."
All the officers and men stood up and left one after another.
Soon, only Hengjiang General Lu Su, Zuo Sima Gu Yong, Middle Sima Zhuge Jin and Lujiang Prefect Sun Shao were left in the government office.
Previously, Sun Quan also had a trusted advisor named Teng Dan, who was the right commander of his shogunate. He was a kind and wise man, but unfortunately he died of illness a few years ago.
Yangzhou Shepherd Chief Shi Sunzhao, Zhonglang Yanzhen, Yangzhou Shepherd Jibu Stallion, Cavalry Commander Yu Fan and others were stationed in Jianye Wu County and other places to guard the rear.
After the soldiers left, Sun Quan said to Lu Su: "Zijing, when Cao Cao sent this letter of war, could it be that he was really short-sighted in attacking Wu? Didn't he know that if he forced Gu into a panic and turned against Liu Bei, he would
Will we never be able to peek into the south again?"
Lu Su pondered: "Wu Hou, Su thinks that Cao Cao must know, so his actions must have deep meaning."
"Deep meaning?"
Sun Quan stood up from the table, walked to the center of the hall, walked back and forth for a few steps with his hands behind his back, and thought hard: "What is the meaning of this? He transferred all Liu Bei's troops to Jingzhou. Even if he wanted to take the opportunity to attack Liu Bei, Nanyang is now
Can he defeat an army of hundreds of thousands?"
"It may not be Nanyang."
Lu Su said.
"Where is that? Is it Lujiang County?"
Sun Quan sneered and said: "I heard that Liu Bei carved out a part of Jiangxia and merged it with the part of Lujiang that I gave him, and changed it into Xiling County. There are Dabie Mountains in the north and Dajiang in the south. The land is mostly hills. From Huainan
Attacking is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Jiangxia's naval forces are crisscrossing the rivers. With Cao Cao's naval forces, attacking Xiling would be worse than attacking Nanyang."
This is not because Sun Quan looked down on Cao Cao, but it is a fact.
No matter how hard Cao Cao trained his navy, his combat effectiveness could never be the opponent of the Jiangdong Navy and Jiangxia Navy that floated on the Yangtze River all year round.
Because the flow rate of the Yangtze River, the size of the wind and waves, climate change, etc. are all unpredictable to northerners, if you train the navy in the calm Xuanwu Pond for ten years and put it on the Yangtze River, the boat will capsize.
Therefore, Sun Quan never thought that he could be defeated by Cao's army on the Yangtze River. At most, he would lose all the land north of the Yangtze River. At least on the river, he only had the Jiangxia navy as his only enemy!
Currently, Xiling, where Liu Bei belongs, is bounded to the north and east by the vast Dabie Mountains, and to the south is Penglize and the Yangtze River. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack by land, and it is all mountainous. It is even more ridiculous to go by water and land, not to mention that you will inevitably pass through Sun Quan's wetland when you come from Chaohu.
Xukou, Cao Cao must defeat Sun Quan before he can attack Xiling. Even if Sun Quan lets him go, can he defeat the Jiangxia navy?
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Therefore, in Sun Quan's view, Cao Cao suddenly came to attack Jiangdong, which was a very stupid act in itself. First, it was impossible to achieve any results on Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and second, he had an enemy with Sun Quan and forced Sun Quan to move closer to Liu Bei. This would do no good at all.
This move is obviously not a wise move.
But Lu Su said: "Marquis Wu should not only focus on the land of Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Don't forget that there is also Xiliang Guanzhong."
"Xiliang Guanzhong?"
Sun Quan was full of doubts. What happened to the Jianghuai war with Xiliang Guanzhong, which was thousands of miles away?
Lu Su said: "Han Sui Ma Chao sent protons to Yecheng, but they have not surrendered to Cao Cao for many years. They opened markets with Liu Bei and sold war horses to Hanzhong. I am afraid that they have a desire to be independent. Cao Cao did not want to attack them.
In this way, Liu Bei's source of horses can be cut off. However, if he sent troops directly to Guanzhong, he was afraid that Liu Bei would send troops from Hanzhong and Wuguan to help Han Sui and Ma Chao, so he devised a plan."
"What does Zijing mean?"
Sun Quan suddenly understood, opened his eyes wide and said: "Cao Cao is planning to attack the east and attack the west. He deliberately pretends to come to capture Jiangdong and lures Liu Bei's main force to Nanyang, Jianghuai and other places, but is he actually planning to capture Xiliang?"
"But it is possible, otherwise there is no way to explain why Cao Cao chose to attack Jiangdong."
"Yes, Zijing's words are very reasonable."
"I'm afraid this is Cao Cao's goal. He only has Guanzhong and Xiliang yet to get it. If he gets Guanzhong and Xiliang, all the north will be in his hands."
Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong, Sun Shao and others all felt that what Lu Su said was reasonable.
Even if Cao Cao's strategy is at the second level, it requires wise people in the world to consider it from the perspective of national strategy to understand it.
Therefore, non-top strategists cannot defeat it.
Now the only top strategist in Jiangdong is Lu Su, and he is the first one to see the clues.
Lu Su added: "As I expected, Cao Cao is only stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. He is going to attack Jiangdong and Xunyang and other places. He will probably withdraw his troops in a few months. There is no need for Ming Gong to worry."
"Um."
Sun Quan slightly nodded his chin, touched his long beard unconsciously, walked back to his seat and sat down, and said: "You can rest assured if you have a son to say this. Now there are not enough troops in Jiangdong, and we are only stationed in Jiangfang."
It's already difficult, but I'm afraid that Cao's army is coming fiercely, and Liu Bei also covets Jiangdong."
He thought that only Liu Bei's Jiangxia navy could defeat him on the Yangtze River, but what he was most worried about was that Liu Bei's army would suddenly attack while he was defending Cao Cao. Then he would be caught off guard and have to defend Cao Cao, and would be attacked from both sides.
It's as dangerous as an egg.
With Lu Su's judgment now, Sun Quan felt much more at ease. He led his army to guard the river and patrolled the camp continuously every day to boost morale. He even often ordered the fleet to guard Ruxukou and beat drums and shout outside Cao's camp on the other side.
By the beginning of October, facing Sun Quan's repeated provocations, Cao Cao was furious. A few days later, he sent dozens of ships and about seven to eight thousand people out of Ruxukou to small islands in the Yangtze River during the night.
This island was the Black Sand Island under the jurisdiction of Baimao Town, Jiujiang District, Wuhu City in later generations. It was an important military location where Sun Cao fought at that time.
After Cao's army arrived on the island, they were besieged by Sun Quan's army before they could capture it. Three thousand people were captured and thousands of others drowned in the river.
With this great victory, the morale of Sun Quan's army was high and the momentum was strong. Every day, a large number of ships came to Cao Cao's camp to show off their power, beating drums from time to time to cheer up, which annoyed Cao Cao.
A few days later, Sun Quan took advantage of the situation and personally took a boat and sneaked into Ruxu River to observe Cao's camp through the morning fog.
At that time, Cao Cao didn't know how many troops Sun Quan had come, so he didn't dare to take it lightly and immediately ordered to shoot arrows.
In the heavy fog, Sun Quan's ship was so densely shot that it tilted on one side. So Sun Quan ordered a U-turn so that "the arrows were all even," and then returned safely.
After the fog dissipated, Cao Cao saw Sun Quan's large ship and flagship swaggering across the river. It cruised up and down in front of him for five or six miles before returning with a full load of arrows. As he walked, he played drums and played music for Cao's army, which was very lively.
For a moment, Cao Cao sighed and said: "When you have a son, you should be like Sun Zhongmou, and Liu Jingsheng's son will be like a pig with dog ears!"
At the same time, Liu Bei's army had also appeared in large numbers in Xiling County.
After replacing half of Lujiang County with Guiyang County, Liu Bei and Sun Quan also negotiated the ownership of the Yangtze River ports.
At that time, there was a Jiangxinzhou to the north of Chaisang. This Jiangxinzhou was later known as Jiangzhou Town, Chaisang District, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province. To the north was the huge Penglize Lake area, which was later known as Longgan Lake.
The result of the negotiation between the two parties was that the southern Yangtze River channel including Jiangxinzhou belonged to Sun Quan, and the northern Yangtze River channel of Jiangxinzhou and most of Penglize over there belonged to Liu Bei.
So Liu Beijun's army of about 60,000 soldiers rushed to Xunyang and Songzi, which later became Huangmei County in Hubei Province, Taihu County in Anhui Province and other places. The 50,000-strong naval force dispatched more than 30,000 people, and the mighty ships almost covered the river.
, arrived at Penglize, and later became the area around Daguan Lake in Susong County, Anhui Province.
In this way, the three parties met in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Sun Cao's soldiers and horses were slightly closer, while Liu Bei's soldiers and horses were slightly further away. They were more than 200 kilometers away from the battlefield. It felt like sitting on a mountain and watching a tiger fight.
A few days later, the autumn rain stopped, and early winter came. The north was roaring, and the weather was getting colder. The already cold and humid Huainan area became even more humid and cold.
The three parties communicated continuously back and forth, occasionally teasing and sarcastic, occasionally chatting seriously, and from time to time there would be intrigues and intrigues to divert trouble to the east.
By late October, after Sun Cao had been facing off at Ruxukou for nearly a month, Cao Cao launched another attack and sent a fleet of 50,000 people to attack Ruxukou.
Sun Quan ordered an active attack, and his fleet blocked the sky and engaged Cao's army in a water battle.
The two sides fought for a day. The army sent by Sun Quan at that time was actually only more than 30,000 people, but they were not afraid of the menacing Cao army.
In the end, after Sun Quan personally supervised the battle, he defeated Cao's army before evening and captured more than 7,000 of Cao's troops. Nearly 10,000 of Cao's troops were shot, drowned, or died in close combat. Only about 30,000 were killed in this battle.
The rest of them fled back to Ruxuwu in embarrassment.
Although the northern soldiers were dominant on land, in the rolling waves on the river, no matter how powerful the soldiers were, they were unable to display their strength due to the bumps of the ship.
On the other hand, Jiangdong Navy was on the same boat and easily defeated Cao Jun.
Cao Cao lost a lot of people and knew that he could not do anything to Sun Quan, so at the end of October, he left Zhang Liao and Li Dian to guard Hefei and officially withdrew his troops.