Chapter 17 Chen Chong's plan to challenge Dong (Part 1)
After the Battle of Bianshui, the coalition forces returned to Suanzao and continued to drink and rejoice as if nothing had happened. However, during the war, the entire army was defeated, and the princes from all walks of life panicked and rushed back. The scene was actually engraved in everyone's mind.
No one talked about the Luo incident anymore, which made Yuan Shao very upset. He thought of Guan Yu and forced the Liang people to retreat against the trend, and he couldn't help but secretly resented that the scholars were usually idle and boastful, but they were useless in the war. He didn't know anything about military affairs.
, we can only rely on Cao Cao, but he can't compare with Chen Chong's generals!
Yuan Shao has always been proud of his reputation since he was raised, but now he has suffered setbacks one after another, which has gradually calmed down his mood. He understands that in order to achieve great things, he must rely on his own strategy, so he studied hard in the military training of Jujube. He also sent retainers to find capable fighters in the coalition forces.
Scholars, win them over with the promise of high-ranking officials and generous salaries.
Naturally, the first one to win over was Guan Yu. Yuan Shao was tolerant to others and taboo at home. At this time, he often remembered Guan Yu's taunting words about him. However, when he was at a low point, he was patient and tolerant. After issuing the order, Xu You and other celebrities often
When he came to have a banquet with Guan Yu, his words often revealed that as long as Guan Yu changed his family, he could also worship Guan Yu as a general.
It's a pity that Guan Yu has no intention of fame, and also hates being arrogant at the front and respectful at the back. Yuan Shao's behavior made him quite contemptuous, and among the princes, only Cao Cao, Zang Hong, and Bao Xin were in his eyes.
Now that Cao Cao has left and the feudal princes are in internal strife, Guan Yu has no intention of staying here. He just sends a message to Jinyang, telling Liu Bei and Chen Chong everything about this situation, and also asking about preparations for the war. On the third day of May, he received a reply and said goodbye to Yuan Shao immediately.<
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Before setting off, Zang Hong came to see him off. He followed the cavalry ten miles south, all the way to the bank of the Gutter River. It was cloudless at that time, the sun was bright, the sky was blue, the water was sparkling, the lotus leaves were round, the lotus leaves were round, and the sky and the earth were beautiful.
It was extremely eye-catching. Zang Hong raised his eyes and looked around at the luxuriant grasses in the wilderness, but what he said was lamenting: "When you see the vastness of the sky and the earth, you realize how vague the world is. The clouds are long, and even you are going south. How can there be any wild jujubes among them?"
Is anyone fighting hard?"
Guan Yu went to the waterside, broke off a branch under a willow tree, and gave it to Zang Hong. Among the princes, he was the only one who admired Zang Hong, so he encouraged him and said: "There is Ziyuan in the jujube, so it cannot be said that no one is fighting hard, let alone me.
This trip south is precisely to contact Sun Wentai and to attack Dong Zhibing again. As long as you have the thought of serving the country in your heart, there will always be a time when your wish will come true."
The two said goodbye, and Guan Yu led his army out of Chenliu and into Yingchuan. Li Min, the prefect of Yingchuan, learned the news and came to Changshe in person from Yangzhai to guide him. When passing through Xu County, he heard that Chen Chong's sworn brother was leading the army.
When they came, the local knights came to compete with each other, but Guan Yu declined. Guan Yu said to them: "It is a good thing to do your best for the country, but war is not a child's play. You should act according to your own standards. I came to discuss with the general Hou Dong.
, everything you say and do is related to the success or failure of the overall plan, and you really cannot arouse suspicion here. If you are determined to serve the country, you can go to Bingzhou, and I would like to write a letter to recommend you."
After hearing this, the elders of the wealthy clans left behind in Yingchuan all praised him and said: "He treats the people kindly and does not feel arrogant because of his high position. Guan Yunchang behaves like a national scholar. No wonder Tingjian has become a brother." So he gave it to Guan Yu as a gift.
Guan Yu did not refuse some belongings to anyone who came. He thanked the celebrities and went to Nanyang first on the grounds that he was eager to ask for Dong.
At this time, Yuan Shu was angry about the incident in Jingzhou. He first sent a letter to Xiangyang, asking Liu Biao why he killed his subordinates for no reason. Then he counted his troops and ordered Sun Jian to stop the Northern Expedition and prepare to lead the Yuzhou army and Sun Jian's army.
They went south together and drove Liu Biao out of Jingzhou while his foothold was not stable.
After Sun Jian heard this order, he could only rush to Wancheng and personally beg Yuan Shu to persuade him to calm down and said: "Now is the time when the war is about to begin. Although we have many soldiers, they are not large enough to do whatever we want. Nanyang
Yuzhou was a place of the Four Wars, with Dong Zhuo in the north, and the rear general had just taken food from Yuan Shao and occupied Yuzhou. At this time, he wanted to send the entire army to Xiangyang. Do you think they would just sit back and watch? I have been in Luyang these days.
, there are often Liangqi scouts inquiring about information. With Dong Zhuo's ruthlessness, he will never miss this opportunity.
What's more, I have been in Jingzhou for more than two years, and I am well aware of the greatness of Xiangyang's city defense. Cai Yong once said that Xiangyang 'supports the three states in the south, gathers Kyoto in the north, controls Longdi at the top, connects the rivers and lakes at the bottom, guides wealth and cargo, and moves whether there is any relocation.'
It's fair to say that Xiangyang is surrounded by the Han River and mountains on all sides. It is by no means a city that can be easily captured.
Moreover, now the general is ordering all the armies in the name of supporting the country. But so far, we have not fought with the Liang people. Liu Biao is one of the eight heroes and is a famous man all over the world. The latter does not eliminate the national traitors, but instead
Fighting with celebrities, how can the world be convinced and the soldiers compete for the lead? In war, there must be righteousness, please think twice, general!"
Yuan Shu was moved by these words, and Liu Biao sent an envoy to reply and said: He has never killed any of Yuan Shu's generals, but only wiped out some clan traitors who harmed the prefectures and counties. There must be some misunderstanding between the two parties, and he is willing to take the initiative to negotiate with Yuan Shu.
They made a good deal, negotiated a peace treaty, and recommended Yuan Shu as the governor of Nanyang. He also provided money, food and military supplies for Yuan Shu's fight against Dong. They publicized the matter along the way. After hearing the news, the soldiers became less and less willing to go south. Yuan Shu had no other choice.
There was no other way but to make peace with Liu Biao.
But after this incident, Yuan Shu was depressed all day long. In the past, he often pressed Sun Jian when he would go north to challenge Dong, but now he drank and had fun in Wancheng day and night, staring at the map of Jingzhou in a daze from time to time.
At this time, Li Min led Guan Yu into Wancheng and went to his mansion to ask for an audience with Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu suddenly saw such a burly man as Guan Yu. He was so frightened that he even spilled a little honey water in his hand. He looked at Guan Yu and asked Li Min: "
Where are these patriots invited from? They look even more frightening than a tiger."
When he heard that it was the envoy from Jinyang, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Chen Ting is as hard as Chu Shi. Now he has finally learned to understand current affairs. Do you know that in this world, am I, Yuan Gongli, the only one who can save the overall situation?" p>
These words made Guan Yu want to turn around and leave, but he remembered the instructions from Liu Bei and Chen Chong in the letter, so he could only suppress his anger, took out a letter from his arms, handed it to Yuan Shu, and said: "Brother's words are all in this letter.
, I hope the general will consider it carefully." Then he stood aside without saying a word, squinting outside the door.
Yuan Shu saw this. Because he was from a famous family, he had always been proud of himself. He never wanted anyone to look down on him. When he was the Yin of Henan, a relative of a eunuch looked down on him. He was caught on the spot and imprisoned and his eyes were gouged out.
, was later charged with "evil talk", so people at the time thought he was not afraid of the powerful.
Normally, he would have been furious with Guan Yu, but Chen Chong's initiative to write to him was an unprecedented and unusual thing, which made him feel so happy that he put these details behind him and turned to reviewing the letter.
The letter was written in Pingcheng and contained more than 3,000 words. It was the first time for Yuan Shu to read such a long letter. Moreover, after traveling thousands of miles, the handwriting was a little blurred and the paper was a little damaged. However, the more Yuan Shu read, the more excited he became, and finally he got up.
He wandered around the case for seven or eight times before stopping and asking Guan Yu, "Is this letter from Bingzhou Mu serious?"
Only then did Guan Yu look him in the eyes. As he was involved in a major plan, he solemnly replied: "You are loyal to your country, how can you dare to lie?"
It turned out that what Chen Chong wrote in the letter was his plan to attack Dong Xin in the past two months. Putting aside the greetings and flattery to Yuan Shu in the letter, he analyzed the plan in detail and explained for Yuan Shu how to reconcile the princes in the east and unite with Han in the west.
, the general strategy of a three-pronged attack:
The basic concept of his plan is not much different from Cao Cao's plan in Suanzao, but generally speaking, his strategy to conquer Dong will shift the focus westward, no longer taking Luoyang as the single hub of competition, but also including Chang'an as an equal hub.
Important place of war.
Chen Chong believes that although Luoyang has been the capital of the country for nearly two hundred years, as the capital, Luoyang is more than capable of coordinating the world, but it lacks the geographical advantages to fight rebellions. Dong Zhuo has experienced wars for a long time and understands this very well, so he moved the capital to Chang'an and combined Luoyang with Luoyang.
Henan County was almost burned to the ground, but he was just using it as bait to use the dangers of the Eight Passes of Luoyang to consume the strength of the anti-Dong forces. Even if Luoyang was captured, Dong Zhuo could stop the losses in time and collect the main force of the army to the west of Hangu Pass.
Even if Hangu Pass was lost, he could still guard the Huayin Taolin Fortress. By wasting his troops at a dangerous pass, even if the six countries jointly attacked, it would be difficult to win, let alone the scattered Kwantung Allied Forces now?
Therefore, it is unwise to gather the entire army to attack Luoyang. The art of war has always been about criticizing the strong and attacking the weak, and attacking in the east and attacking in the west. If he wants to defeat Dong's success, he must find another way outside Luoyang. Therefore, Chen Chong decided to divide his army and attack Chang'an.<
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Chang'an is the place where Emperor Gaozu Dingding was located. It is surrounded by the stronghold of Weihan in the east, the mountains of Hanzhong in the south, the dangers of mountains and rivers in the north, and the narrow plains of Longban in the west. We can know from the wars of the pre-Qin Dynasty that Guanzhong is truly unique in the world.
It is an important place. It is really difficult to conquer Chang'an. The coalition princes know this clearly, so they would rather besiege Luoyang from three sides than attack Guanzhong.
But Chen Chong didn't think so. First of all, now that Dong Zhuo has moved the capital, the emperor and his ministers have all moved to Chang'an. In both political and military terms, Chang'an is far stronger than Luoyang. Even if the coalition forces capture Luoyang,
Apart from gaining a piece of white land, there is actually no benefit. Although attacking Chang'an seems difficult, Dong Zhuo's reign lasted no more than a year. Although he had absorbed many Sili troops, his strength was still stretched thin, and there were still many officials in Chang'an who were dissatisfied.
As for Dong Zhuo, he was just afraid of Dong Zhuo's rape and remained obedient on the surface. Once the army came to the city, Dong Zhuo might not even be able to appease the internal forces.
Now Dong Zhuo has a dream of Qin resisting the six kingdoms. He thinks that as long as the lands of Guandong are in chaos, he can separate them and defeat each one, and at least he can sit back and watch the success or failure of the world. But this is not the case. There are at least three major differences between him and Qin.
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First, before Duke Xiao, the Qin State repeatedly suppressed the Wei State, and once lost all the land west of Hexi, and was in danger of subjugation. It was only because the Wei State lost power, Wu Qi fled, the three Jin Dynasties split, and the Wei State was the target of public criticism, that Qin State
They were able to take a breather, and then went through Shang Jun's reforms, unified the people, and regained the land of Hexi after the Battle of Xibi, and then they moved on to the road of unification. Now, the land of Hexi is also occupied by Chen Chong and Liu Bei, who are condescending, but Dong Zhuo has no one under his command.
Being able to reform the system like Shang Jun did not mobilize the military power of Guanzhong.
Second, after the Han Dynasty merged with Liangzhou, Liangzhou has always been the place where the imperial court used its power. The people are strong and fierce, and Qiang and Hu are everywhere. Now Han Sui, Ma Teng and others are making trouble in Liangzhou, and the threat is far greater than that of the Qin Dynasty. Dong Zhuo
A large number of troops must be placed on the border between Yong and Liang, which made his military use more tense than that of Qin.
Third, after the founder Liu Xiu established his capital in Luoyang, the governance of Guanxi became increasingly lax. During the Qin Dynasty, Guanzhong was a fertile land for thousands of miles. But now, the number of households is less than half of what it was under the rule of Emperor Ping. Various water channels and border defenses are in disrepair. Dong Zhuo moved the people of Henan to
Guanzhong has to deal with wars in various places, and it will definitely be impossible to resettle the expatriates. Under such circumstances, it is extremely easy for chaos to occur in Guanzhong.
With these three major differences, even if Dong Zhuo moved his capital to Chang'an, it would be difficult for him to observe the world's situation like the King of Qin did, and it would not be as difficult as imagined to ask Dong Zhuo's coalition forces to enter the pass and directly conquer Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, Chen Chong planned to turn the small three-pronged pincer attack in Henan into the big three-pronged pincer attack in Guanzhong.