In the early spring of the first year of Chuping, Yuan Shao, the prefect of Bohai, appointed himself a general of chariots and cavalry. He allied with the princes of Shandong in Suanzao. He took General Cao Cao as the mastermind and determined to march eastward to attack Dong. Dong Zhuo, the prime minister, saw that the coalition forces were strong, so he poisoned Hong and killed him.
The peasant king again forced the ministers to move to Chang'an, the western capital, and burned Luoyang into a wasteland, hoping to compete with the coalition forces.
By the ninth day of the second lunar month, the princes realized that they were fully prepared, but the superiority and inferiority were very different, so they sent troops to attack Dong Zhuo.
Cao Cao led Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, and Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, led an army of 60,000 to attack Yuanwu and Yangwu in Henan; Kong Niao, the governor of Yuzhou, led an army of 40,000 to capture Xinzheng, Yuanling, and Mi County; and the cavalry general Yuan Shao led Jizhou.
The armies attacked Kaifeng and Zhongmou, encircled and suppressed them in three directions, and took Aocang directly.
As for Dong Zhuo, since he heard that Yuan Shao was raising troops to rebel, Dong Zhuo felt deeply that his troops were insufficient. He mobilized the Sanhe army for months. However, he wanted to supervise the capital with heavy troops, to guard against the invasion of Xiliang rebels, and to divide his troops to guard Wu.
There were only 40,000 troops that could be mobilized to defend Luoyang. Dong Zhuo had no hope of defending Luoyang. He only hoped that he could use the eight passes of Luoyang to delay the attack until all the food and fodder of the coalition forces were exhausted, and then he would wait for an opportunity to counterattack. In Cao Cao's plan, the coalition forces would not engage in a decisive battle with Dong Zhuo, but there were still two important points that the coalition forces had to face and resolve. No matter how embattled Dong Zhuo's troops were, he would not give up the key points in vain. If the coalition forces wanted to force Ling Luoyang, they must
Conquer the eight passes of Aocang and Luoyang.
The Eight Passes of Luoyang were set up by the late emperor, General He Jin, to defend the capital during the early Yellow Turban era. Hangu Pass was set up in the Qinling Mountains, between valleys and rivers, to isolate the east and west; Yique Pass was set up between Longmen and Xiangshan Mountains to protect against Jingxiang; Guangcheng
The pass is set up in Ru River, in the river valley, and can ambush heavy troops; the Taigu pass is set up in Waizui, Wan'an, and the pit is set up in Taishi, Shaoshi, which can cover Yuzhou; the two passes of Mengjin and Xiaopingjin, one on the east and one on the west, can be guarded.
The Yellow River; the last Xuanmen Pass was set up in Chenggao to protect Yanzhou alone. The eight passes are all located in important places. If you break one pass alone, you will still be constrained by other passes. Because of its dangerous location, Luoyang is known as the residence of the emperor in the world, its true name
The ultimate return.
Aocang is located in Aoshan, Xingyang, where the Yellow River and Jishui divide. The First Emperor unified Liuhe and raised grain here to deal with the rebellion in Shandong. After the founding of the country, Gaozu still respected the old customs of Zulong. At this time, Aocang was
Dong Zhuo evacuated, but Aocang could be used to transport grain baggage from Shandong and Hebei. The Shandong coalition army had a large number and consumed countless grains and rice every day. If they occupied Aocang, they would be able to save a lot of food and grass. This was also the first time the coalition forces attacked, so they aimed at Aocang.
The principle of warehouse.
Dong Zhuo also understood the key points. He deployed the following defenses in Luoyang: Dong Huang was appointed as the captain of Hangu, leading three thousand people to guard the return route alone; Li Jue was appointed as the captain of Yique, and Guo Si was appointed as the captain of Guangcheng.
Hua Xiong was appointed as the Colonel of Taigu, with a total of 15,000 men under the command of Zhonglang General Hu Zhen; Fan Chou was appointed as the Colonel of Shenyuan, Zhang Ji was appointed as the Colonel of Mengjin, and Jia Xu was appointed as the Colonel of Xiaopingjin, assisted by Lu Bu and Bingzhou.
The army totaled 20,000 people, led by Dong Zhuo personally in Luoyang; Li Meng was appointed as the captain of the Xuanmen, Wang Fang was the captain of Aocang, 10,000 people were under the command of Zhonglang General Dong Yue, and Xu Rong commanded the remaining 10,000 Liangqi.
, observing the enemy situation between Yangwu and Yuanwu.
The leading cavalry of the coalition army was about 2,000 men, led by Chen Liuxiaolianweizi. They left the camp under the crimson flag of Fenwu and headed east ten miles to the Yinggou River. They bumped into the Liang cavalry on the west bank and were also on the waterside.
The two hundred cavalry were obviously scouts who came to inquire about the enemy's situation. Wei Zi had seen a lot of them these days.
When the two armies met, neither dared to fight without authorization, so they shot at each other across the sewer water. The knights on the east bank were not good at riding and shooting, but the Liang people on the west bank were able to draw their bows immediately and shoot left and right. As a result, the Liang people on the west bank were not hurt.
, but about thirty knights on the east bank were shot and injured, and they had to retreat ten feet, causing the Liang people to laugh wantonly.
Wei Zi saw that his subordinates' faces were swollen. He was obviously too angry and did not dare to shoot forward. He thought to himself that if the soldiers' morale was hurt before the battle, it would be difficult to fight later, so he still had to boost morale. So he stepped forward.
He said to the people in Liang on the other side: "Our army has a million troops in Suanzao and is about to besiege the capital. I think you are all good warriors, but is it possible to defeat one against a hundred? Why don't you swim in the water at this time and do it?"
It is impossible for an iron official who has been mining for several years to survive!"
Such contemptuous words are the most unbearable for warriors. As expected, someone on the other side yelled and cursed, and someone shot arrows at Wei Zi. However, he was wearing two armors, and five or six arrows scratched sparks on his armor, but they failed to hurt him.
and Weizi. The Liang people cursed for a while again, but the military situation was urgent, so they quickly turned and left, leaving the East Coast knights behind. The East Coast knights began to laugh again, saying to each other: Rumor has it that the Liang people are the best at fighting, among all the people in the world
Everyone thought it was a ghost seeking life, but when we saw it today, it was nothing more than that.
Xu Rong, the general of Xizhonglang, was not from Liang, and he knew that Liang people could not fight one against ten. He learned about the military situation of the allied forces marching eastward, and judged that Yuanwu and Yangwu could not fight the enemy. After sending the news to Luoyang, he immediately
Convergence the troops, abandon Yuanwu and Yangwu, and slowly retreat westward.
On the way back to the north, scouts from the southeast came one after another to report that large armies had appeared east of Kaifeng and south of Xinzheng. They must have been captured tonight, but they didn't know where they were. Xu Rong had been in battle for a long time. For him,
The intention of the coalition forces was too obvious. He wrote to Dong Yue and said: The coalition forces are advancing in three directions, with about 200,000 people. They are obviously aiming at Aocang. I have three strategies: upper, middle and lower. I don’t know what you want?
Xu Rong did not state his strategy in the letter, nor did he go to Aocang immediately. Instead, he led his army to stay on the east bank of Bian River, building fortifications while continuing to send scouts to inquire about the progress of the three armies day and night.
On February 10th, Cao Cao captured Yangwu, Yuan Shao captured Kaifeng, and Kong Min captured Xinzheng; February 12th, Cao Cao captured Yuanwu; February 14th, Cao Cao captured Juan County, Yuan Shao captured Zhongmou, and Kong Min captured Yuanling; February 10th
7. Yuan Shao led his army across the Chaoxian River and joined Cao Cao in the south of Juan County. Kong Ming had just occupied Mi County, which was still a hundred miles away from Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Xu Rong heard the news and immediately crossed the river to Aocang to see Dong Yue.
Ever since Dong Yue heard that 200,000 troops were approaching Aocang, he was greatly frightened. He couldn't eat enough and couldn't sleep at night. He asked the Prime Minister Dong Zhuo for help, but the Prime Minister didn't know what to do. He wrote back saying that there was no reinforcements to send, so he asked him to precede Ao.
Dong Yue was even more anxious, and the only savior was Xu Rong, who boasted in the letter. As soon as they met, Dong Yue
He grabbed Xu Rong's sleeve and asked him, "I wonder what Brother Xu's three strategies are?"
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This fashion was at night, and Xu Rong looked confident, as if he had a winning ticket. He slapped Dong Yue's palm away and said with a smile: "It's still cold, Brother Dong, please give me a cup of hot soup first!" Dong Yue had no choice but to serve him a cup of hot soup.
After drinking the water, Xu Rongcai said: "I heard that the rebel army divided into three groups to attack Aocang, which is really wrong. If more than ten thousand people come directly, we can only sit back and watch Aocang be trapped. But now I
The scouts came to report that the rebel army was missing on the south road and was a hundred miles away from me. There were about 100,000 people fifty miles east of the city. They were lined up in a long formation for fifteen miles by the river. Their flanks were weak. This was a great opportunity for our army to win.
”
"Now, it is the best strategy to send out all the troops and attack the flanks; it is the middle strategy to lure the enemy to the west and set up an ambush; it is the worst strategy to stick to Aocang with deep trenches and high fortresses. Brother Dong, the fighter plane is fleeting.
I hope you don’t have any doubts.”
Dong Yue was very moved. He thought about it again and again, and said to Xu Rongtan: "Although Brother Xu's plan is good, the prime minister ordered me to stick to Aocang and go out with all my troops. If I can't win completely, Aocang will be in danger of being lost. I worry day and night.
, I also realized that it is difficult to make the right strategy, so it is better to use the middle strategy, just to lure the enemy to come, it will really trouble Brother Xu." Xu Rong understood Dong Yue's worries and had already guessed that he would choose the middle strategy, so he made preparations in advance.
People were able to finalize a plan to fight.
On the early morning of February 18th, Xu Rong led all the knights under his command to break camp and head eastward. When they traveled 40 miles south to Hucheng Pavilion, they saw the smoke and dust of the advancing coalition forces. A large flag stood out in the smoke and dust, and the banner was three feet long.
There are four large characters in regular script embossed on the silk with gold powder: "Fight with force to fight against rebellion". The golden light shines under the spring light. Even if the surrounding flags come into view one after another, they cannot take away any of its light.
Xu Rong was not in a hurry to retreat. He ordered his men to turn around and form formation, but still waited for two moments. When the two armies were still half a mile away and he could clearly see the face of the coalition vanguard, he ordered the bugle to sound.
, and ordered the knights to ride quickly westward. Half an hour later, he opened a distance of two miles from the coalition forces, and then stopped where he was. When the coalition forwards were about to engage in battle, he repeated his old trick and ordered the knights to ride their horses westward.
Gone.
After three or four rounds of such exchanges, Wei Zi, who was in the vanguard, couldn't bear it anymore and went to the Chinese army in person to report to Yuan Shao, saying: "The enemy's behavior is like a cat playing with a mouse. Our army does not fight, nor does it stop." Zuo Zhuan says
; 'One surge of energy will weaken again, and three times it will be exhausted.' I request the chariots and cavalry to send troops to fight, otherwise the morale will be low, the soldiers will be suspicious, and the defeat of Changshao may be repeated."
Yuan Shao was not good at war. He had entrusted all the arrangements to Cao Cao before, and Cao Cao did not live up to his expectations. He conquered eight cities in just half a month, and Yuan Shao was quite satisfied. At this time, Wei Zi asked for a battle, and he did not make any decisions on his own, so he naturally asked Cao Cao for advice. Cao Cao thought about the situation in his mind: He had no intention of fighting Dong Jun in the field. His previous strategy was nothing more than "using the crowd to bully the few" and "slowly plotting it." Dong Jun was so provocative. It was obvious that he did not want to defend the city and wanted to fight with our army outside the city.
In a decisive battle, what the enemy wants is exactly what he does not want to do, so it is better to use cavalry to drive him away and continue to act according to the old plan.
But then he thought about it: I have no fame for my great achievements, but I have great news. If I arrange it like this, the princes in the army will probably laugh at me for being weak, and I am afraid there will be many obstacles in giving orders in the future. But now our army has one hundred thousand people, and there are three of them.
Ten Thousand Knights, I have the advantage, why should I be so cautious? There is no 100% certainty in the world, but a 90% chance of victory is enough to start a war.
So Cao Cao said to Yuan Shao: "The enemy has no more than 10,000 knights, and there are 30,000 knights in the army. Why not let the knights be the vanguard, and the infantry be the backup, chase the enemy to fight, and drive the enemy behind Aocang. If the enemy flees too much,
There is nothing to worry about.”
Yuan Shao nodded in agreement and added: "Why do we need 30,000 knights? Although our army has the advantage, Dong Zhuo has been in the army for a long time, so he has no other clever plans. Why not put Guan Yu's troops in the rear to prepare for any eventuality!" Cao Cao knew this!
He did not want Guan Yu to perform meritorious service, but he felt that he could not be persuaded, so he no longer insisted.