Huan Fan thought for a while and continued: "I thought that if Hanzhong was still in the hands of the Wei Dynasty, there would be more copper and iron ore. Alas, it is a pity that Hanzhong is no longer in the hands of the Wei Dynasty. It is because of my incompetence.
ah!"
Cao Shuang waved his hand and said, "I can't blame you for this. I can only say that it's not the time yet. When the time comes, I will lead the Wei generals to regain Hanzhong."
Huan Fan clasped his fists and said: "When the time comes, I am willing to go forward for the Prime Minister and do the hard work of the dogs and horses, but I still hope that the Prime Minister will not be too hasty and repeat the same mistakes as before."
Cao Shuang then spoke again: "The Battle of Hanzhong was a great regret in the hearts of Emperor Wu and my father. It was also my father's last request before his death.
Therefore, a few years ago, I ignored the advice of the ministers and underestimated the enemy and advanced once, which resulted in a huge defeat in the Battle of Xingshi and affected the entire army. This was my fault!"
In the 23rd year of Jian'an (218), during the Battle of Hanzhong, his father Cao Zhen followed Cao Hong, Cao Xiu and others in the battle. He defeated Liu Bei's general Wu Lan in Xiabian and was worshiped as a backbone general.
After beheading Cao Jun commander Xia Houyuan at Huang Zhongding Junshan, Cao Zhen followed Cao Cao to Hanzhong and defeated Liu Bei's general Gao Xiang.
Soon, Cao Cao felt that Hanzhong was worthless, so he abandoned it and withdrew his troops back to Chang'an. Cao Zhen had no choice but to follow orders and lead his troops back. Later, he defeated Kong Ming in both battles during the reign of Emperor Ming.
In the fourth year of Taihe (230), his father Cao Zhen succeeded Cao Xiu and was promoted to the rank of Grand Sima, and obtained the privilege of "giving swords and shoes to the palace, and not to follow the imperial court".
He did not obtain these privileges as a powerful minister like Cao Cao and Sima Yi, but he obtained the privileges after he truly made certain contributions to the country.
The first thing Cao Zhen did after gaining power was to prepare for a large-scale attack on Shu. It would be best to complete his efforts in one battle and completely solve the Shu-Han problem. The main target was Hanzhong, too.
However, another auxiliary minister, Sikong Chenqun, opposed the plan to march from Xiegu, so Cao Zhen changed his plan to attack Hanzhong from Ziwu Road.
In fact, Chen Qun was not opposed to Cao Zhen's march from Xiegu, but to Cao Zhen's campaign to defeat Shu.
He believed that large-scale conquests were too expensive and were not worth it. They would kill a thousand enemies and suffer eight hundred losses.
However, Cao Zhen launched a war without authorization and personally led troops to march from Ziwu Road. Another general, Sima Yi, marched through the Han River. Others, such as Guo Huai, Fei Yao and others, marched from Xiegu and Wuwei.
It's a pity that Cao Zhen was unlucky. It happened to be the rainy season and the road was difficult to walk. It took him more than a month to cover half of the distance.
At this time, voices opposing the war arose one after another in the Cao Wei court.
Hua Xin, Yang Fu, Wang Su and others all submitted memorials to express their dissatisfaction with Cao Zhen and wanted to withdraw their troops.
Cao Zhen's military progress was not going well. After receiving the imperial decree from Cao Rui's army to return to the court, he had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
Not long after this withdrawal, Cao Zhen became seriously ill and returned to Luoyang to recuperate.
The next year, Cao Zhen died of illness in Luoyang, and he inherited his title. This became an eternal regret in the heart of his cheap father.
It was also what his father told him before he died. It can be said that the success or failure of his cheap father's life is largely linked to the strategic location of Hanzhong. Both generations of father and son have an obsession with Hanzhong.
,
But it would be the same if someone else sat in this seat. After all, Hanzhong is a battleground for military strategists. How could they not try to control it in their own hands?
Since the Yellow Turban Uprising, the focus of competition among various families has been changing. In the post-Three Kingdoms period, Cao Shuang thought that Hanzhong was definitely one of the most famous place names.
It is also the focus area of the strategic game between Wei and Shu. Starting from Liu Bei's occupation of Chengdu in 214 AD, Shu Han's many large-scale military operations against Cao Wei were all related to Hanzhong.
In the 22nd year of Jian'an (217), Liu Bei appointed Fazheng as his military advisor, Zhuge Liang took charge of Chengdu as governor of Liangcao, and appointed Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others as generals.
He mobilized the strength of Shu and led an overwhelming army to attack Hanzhong. After nearly two years of war, he captured Hanzhong in the 24th year of Jian'an.
Later, Hanzhong became the northern gateway of the Shu Kingdom and the military base for the Northern Expedition.
Cao Wei also dispatched more than 100,000 troops many times to attack Hanzhong in an attempt to regain this strategic location.
Why did Wei and Shu attach so much importance to Hanzhong?
First of all, Hanzhong is rich in resources and has a developed economy.
Hanzhong belongs to the basin terrain. The towering and stretching Qinling Mountains in the north block the cold current from Siberia, making Hanzhong's climate warm and humid, just like the south of the Yangtze River.
Hanzhong is named after the Han River. The Han River and its large and small tributaries are densely distributed throughout the territory. It is rich in water resources and has fertile land. It is a famous grain production base.
In addition, Hanzhong is close to the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains, and is also very rich in timber resources. There are also several iron ore and copper resources within the territory.
Hanzhong has received the attention of rulers since the Warring States Period and has been extremely developed.
Liu Bang raised troops from Hanzhong, and Xiao He's strategy in Hanzhong would ensure that Liu Bang's food and grass would be safe.
During the Han Dynasty, Hanzhong was always the largest county in the world. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Lu divided Hanzhong into one county and was able to dominate one side and confront Liu Zhang.
After Cao Cao occupied it, just the materials and treasures in Lu's treasury made Boss Cao a huge fortune.
Secondly, the terrain in Hanzhong is difficult, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. After Wei Yan was named the prefect of Hanzhong by Liu Bei, he once made a bold statement: If Cao Cao comes with a hundred thousand people, he can swallow them for Liu Bei and come with an army that will overwhelm the country.
You can also refuse it for Liu Bei.
Although Wei Yan is arrogant, he is not a reckless man who can only brag. His confidence comes from the dangerous terrain of Hanzhong.
"Natural History" once recorded: "The land of Shu and Han is in the same territory as Qin, with Qiong in the south and Baoxie in the north, and Kuma in the west. It is a poor and dangerous country, and it is a country that can defend itself alone."
To the north of Hanzhong is the majestic and spreading Qinling Mountains, standing south of the Weishui River, starting from the Jialing River in the west and reaching the Danshui River Valley in the east. It is more than 2,000 meters above sea level, about 400 kilometers long, and about 100-180 kilometers wide. It separates Guanzhong and Shuhan.
Zhuge Liang spent his whole life fighting for the two worlds, the north and the south, but there was nothing he could do about the majestic Qinling Mountains.
The Daba Mountain in the south stands between the three provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei. It is also a natural barrier. From Guanzhong to Shu, or from Shu to Qinchuan, there are only two roads to go, the Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountain.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! There are cliffs along the way, making it difficult for people and horses to pass. Six months ago, Sima Yi and his son took this opportunity to escape to Shu.
Finally, Hanzhong is located between Yizhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou and Jingzhou, and is a real strategic hub.
If you occupy Hanzhong, you can advance, attack, retreat or defend.
As the gateway to Yizhou, Hanzhong has three main passages into Shu. The first and most important one is the Jinniu Road, which leads from Hanzhong Basin to Yangping Pass, goes southwest through Bashan to Jiameng Pass, crosses Jiange, and then passes through Zitong and Mianyang.
Guanghan can reach Chengdu.
The second one is Micang Road, which runs along the Lianshui River, the direct current of the Han River, through Micang Mountain and then along the upper reaches of the current Bashui River to reach Bazhong.
There is also the Chencang Road, which starts from Chang'an, goes west along the Weishui River to Chencang (Baoji), crosses the western section of the Qinling Mountains, passes Sanguan to the southwest, and along the northern end of the Jialing River can join the Jinniu Road at Jiameng and enter Shu.
Going north from Hanzhong into the Guanzhong Plain, there are three roads: Baoxie Road, Tuangtuo Road, and Ziwu Road.
Among them, Baoxie Road is the shortest and easiest road. It is about 500 miles long. Starting from Nanzheng and going north through the mountains, you can reach Wuzhangyuan.
Going west from Hanzhong is the direction of Liangzhou, first of all to the direction of Yinping and Wudu, which is the northwest gateway of the Shu Han regime. During the Battle of Hanzhong, Liu Bei sent Wu Lan to attack here in order to threaten Hanzhong from the west. Unfortunately, Cao Hong was
beat.
When Zhuge Liang left Qishan in the sixth year, he also used the waterway between Hanzhong and Wudu to transport grain and grass. Later, it became a grain storage place for Jiang Wei in his northern expedition to the Central Plains.
The second road is Qishan, heading towards Tianshui. This direction can bypass the west side of the Qinling Mountains and avoid the steep and difficult terrain. The reason why Zhuge Liang left Qishan is because the road in this direction is the safest and most secure.
Going east from Hanzhong, you can reach Jingzhou. The eastern end of the Hanzhong Basin goes down the Han River, passes through the gap between the Qinling Mountains and the Bashan Mountains, and then passes through Ankang and Shiyan. You can directly reach Xiangyang, an important town in the Central Plains, by land. At the same time, this direction can also