In the summer of the sixth year of Jian'an, in May, Gongsun Xun succeeded in raiding Baima and successfully crossed the river. The war that had been brewing for a long time began in an unexpected way that most people could have expected.
In May, Cao Cao first sent Xiahou Yuan with 5,000 cavalry to go north from Chenliu and enter Dongjun in an attempt to rescue him. Soon after he heard that Gongsun Xun had crossed the river to camp in Baima, he immediately dispatched the main force to go north in person to confront Gongsun Xun.
At the same time, he hurriedly mobilized troops and horses from all the states and counties behind him and urged Liu Biao, who quickly provided support.
In other words, the natural boundary between Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao, that is, the Central Plains and Hebei, is naturally the Yellow River, and the Yellow River runs from Luoyang Sanjin to the east to the Taishan area. These days, there are mainly five large-scale ferries that can pass through the army.
From west to east, they are Yanjin to the north of Suanzao City, Baimajin to the north of Baima City, Puyang Jiancheng's own ferry, the ferry on the Qinting side, and the ferry on the Cangting side.
Among them, Cangting was in the hands of Gongsun Xun from the beginning, but he did not cross the river from Cangting, nor did he cross the river on a large scale from Sanjin in Luoyang, which was sheltered and protected, gather a hundred thousand troops and then lead the army out of Luo. Instead, he made a surprise attack
Baima, and personally led Ye's subordinates. More than 20,000 soldiers and horses from Wei County were stationed in Baima City.
This forward attack method was certainly unexpected, but from another perspective, it was natural to fall into the defensive chain that Cao Jun had prepared.
In fact, in order to monitor the Yellow River and restrain Baima, after Xia Houyuan saw Gongsun Xun's Baima flag, he immediately took the initiative to lead 5,000 cavalry into the Suizaoxcheng-Yanjin area to the west of Baima, and ordered Dongjun, Chen Liu and others on the spot
The local commanders and troops gathered in Yan County, Wacheng, Kuangcheng, Pucheng, Changyuan and other cities in front of Baima to form a defensive chain. In addition, Lejin itself had already attracted 8,000 local soldiers and horses.
Stationed in the strong city, Dacheng, and Puyang on the east side of Baima, at this time Gongsun Xun actually had a complete, solid and deep defense chain in front of him, but the strength was obviously insufficient.
And by the time Cao Cao personally led 30,000 main troops to Pingqiu behind this temporary defense line in mid-May to take over the overall situation, in a sense, Gongsun Xun had already turned his back on one side and was surrounded on three sides.
Moreover, the military strength seems to be at a relative disadvantage - in the north of Chenliu and the west of Dongjun, that is, in the junction area of Hebei, Zhongyuan, and Jiushili on the south bank of the Yellow River, Cao Cao has gathered nearly 50,000 soldiers to assist him.
Soldiers, civilians and the like, one-sixth of the 300,000-strong army was already in place. Correspondingly, Gongsun Xun still had more than 20,000 troops under his command, and Wei County had mixed troops and horses.
However, Cao Cao, Xia Houyuan and Le Jin on both sides had no intention of taking action, but were extremely nervous.
Because they know very well that if they only look at the local battlefield in the eastern section of the Central Plains, they certainly have an absolute strategic advantage and have formed an amazingly complete encirclement. But if the battlefield is expanded, Xiahou Yuan is actually farther west in Sizhou
Within the territory, Cheng Pu must have heavy troops hiding behind Hulao Pass!
The cavalry is fast, and the old Luoyang Road and the Yellow River Waterway are so wide. If they really take action, there is no telling who will be faster than the other!
Not only that, Cangting, Baimajin, and Luoyang Sanjin are all in the hands of Gongsun Xun. To what extent the army in Hebei has gathered and what position it is currently in. No one knows how many soldiers will come from these three places.
Emerged - in other words, on the surface and locally, Gongsun Xun was trapped in Baima, but in fact the two sides were criss-crossing along the south bank of the Yellow River. And if it was zoomed in to the entire Yellow River Basin, it was the northern area of Yanzhou controlled by Cao Cao.
Falling into the dilemma of being surrounded on three sides by Hebei, Qingzhou and Sizhou.
How dare Cao Mengde move at this time?
There were plenty of cities in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and he did not expect to be able to block the opponent at the Yellow River crossing. On the contrary, military strength was the most critical bargaining chip in the decisive battle.
It's okay to lose, it's okay to lose the city, and it's okay to retreat strategically, but you must make sure you have enough troops for a decisive battle - Gongsun Xun can gain, consume, and even replace troops.
But Cao Cao couldn't.
Of course, Gongsun Xun had no brains to use the 20,000 people in his hands to attack the dense city defense line in front of him. He was also mobilizing troops and generals, waiting for the army behind him to leave Baimajin and gather in Henan, while watching for fighter opportunities.
!
As a result, after the Battle of Baima, Chenliu and Dongjun were caught in a strange confrontation that lasted for more than twenty days. There was no fighting, but a fierce battle suddenly broke out in the eastern part of Yanzhou!
Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao have been having conflicts in the past few years, but they are mainly concentrated in the eastern area of Yanzhou... The reason is very simple. First of all, the rest of the places either have natural boundaries like big rivers, or typical checkpoint-style boundaries around Luoyang.
Only the eastern part of Yanzhou is convenient for the use of troops; and secondly, it is because the main generals of both sides in this area are Xiahou Dun and Guan Yu.
Guan Yu, the governor of Qingzhou, was in charge of both military and political affairs. He had a strong and arrogant personality and had always been the leader of battles, so he was always aggressive. His subordinates also kept letting him go, as if they hoped that he could control all the beautiful places on the entire border before the war;
Xiahou Dun, as Cao Cao's most trusted person and the de facto second-in-command in Cao's camp before Xun Yu entered the camp, was naturally appointed as the governor of Dongyan and Northern Henan in preparation for Guan Yu...
However, the interesting thing is that although Guan Yunchang has been taking advantage for many years... he not only gradually controlled more than 80% of Taishan County, but also successfully invaded the northern part of Lu State, winning nine out of ten battles, basically suppressing Xiahou Dun
Fight...but it is always difficult to achieve a strategic breakthrough.
In other words, from a strategic perspective, Xiahou Dun completely defended Guan Yu.
Gongsun Xun was surprised by this. It wasn't until last year when Guo Jia was transferred from Guan Yu's side to Yexia and he wrote a report with tens of thousands of words that it was like a book. Yexia didn't realize it.
It turns out that although Xiahou Dun's own tactical ability is indeed questionable, he is definitely qualified or even excellent as an officer. After he was ordered to deal with Guan Yu, he has been diligent and dedicated for many years.
He knows that he is not good at fighting alone, so he never pursues active attacks, but always carefully sets up defenses. However, once a subordinate is attacked, he will definitely fight to save him;
He knew that he was not good at martial arts, so he vigorously promoted courageous and capable young talents to serve as officials of the border counties and counties to ensure that the defense line was not breached, and then turned his attention to building water conservancy projects and cultivating fields.
After serving for more than three years, he successively governed the Sishui, Wenshui, Jishui, Dayeze, Leize, and Heze areas, making the local people loyal and the scholars happy to use him;
And the last key was the three rivers and three marshes that allowed Xiahou Dun to successfully establish a natural elastic defense zone on the plain east of Mount Tai - Guan Yu's troops worked hard to cross the mountainous area, but it was really difficult to cross the swamps and rivers.
Get a big win.
Guo Jia finally summarized it this way, saying that General Guan used to attack, and Xiahou Dun used to defend; General Guan used war, and Xiahou Dun used plowing; General Guan used troops to strengthen, and Xiahou Dun used peace; General Guan relied on mountains, and Xiahou Dun used water!
The two seem to have clear strengths and weaknesses, but they are only clear strengths and weaknesses, which is not enough to form the basis of victory or defeat.
However, as the war began, Shen Pei resigned from the post of Left Prime Minister and came to Qingzhou to take up the post of Qingzhou Mu in mid-May. Lou Gui resigned from the post of Right Prime Minister and came to Sizhou to take up the post of Sizhou Mu... Hidden with Sizhou Cheng Pu
Different from standing still after Hulao Pass, Guan Yunchang immediately left the hinterland of Qingzhou after he was appointed to take over the affairs of Qingzhou and went to Taishan County to take charge. In late May, the main force of Liu Bei's reinforcements entered Pei State, and the entire Cao Cao camp breathed a long sigh of relief.
At that time, a force of 5,000 men was suddenly sent out, with Pan Zhang as general, to attack Ningyang in Dongping State, an important border town between Surabaya, Wenshui and Onezawa.
Pan Wengui personally climbed the city with double armor and killed his old opponent who was caught off guard directly on the top of the city. He settled the grievances between the two sides for nearly three years and successfully captured Ningyang.
The offensive was so fast and the timing was so subtle that Xiahou Dun, the commander of Cao's army on the eastern front, who had just returned from Chen County to Changyi, Shanyang County, Yandong, was a little confused.
It should be noted that in the summer, the rain starts gradually, and the mountain road goes south, and the water swamps flood. Especially the Xuzhou area is directly affected by the plum rain. So according to experience, the defense pressure on the eastern front should be the lowest for a period of time until the autumn harvest.
This is also the reason why Xiahou Dun did not apply to Cao Cao for too many troops - Cao Cao prepared 300,000 troops for this battle. Even Liu Bei and Liu Biao's troops were not in place yet, and there were also ten soldiers, auxiliary troops, and armed civilians accompanying the army.
However, Xiahou Dun only brought 5,000 soldiers from Chen County back to Shanyang out of an army of more than 10,000 people.
Essentially, I still don't want to affect Cao Cao's main force in the decisive battle.
But who would have thought that Chen Liu and Dongjun had been standing still, but instead there would be a sudden disturbance on the eastern front?
"General Xiahou."
In the official temple in Changyi City, the envoy sent by Lu Su and the nephew of Yuan Shu's aunt, He Kui, a native of Chen County who fled to Huainan with Yuan Huan to avoid disaster, was summoned by Yuan Shu. He Kui, who is also currently working in Liu Bei's shogunate, couldn't help but lean over and ask again.
He was more than eight feet tall. He leaned over to face each other and still looked tall and tall. "My governor has asked how many reinforcements are needed here. He will dispatch them immediately without any delay..."
"No!" Xiahoudun, who was fully clothed and sitting in the middle of the lobby with his helmet in his arms, was silent for a moment again, but finally put on his iron helmet and raised his head in reply. "No reinforcements!"
"Why did General Xiahou do this?" He Kui was puzzled for a moment. "Our coalition forces have sufficient strength... My governor is leading a solid force of 100,000 troops to march in the Pei Kingdom not far behind him. Not to mention 20,000 to 30,000, but 10,000 to 20,000.
You can always be dispatched at any time..."
Xiahou Dun still shook his head, but he stared at the tall He Kui seriously: "It's better not to do it! Because if you do, even if you only have one soldier, you will fall into Guan Yunchang's plan!"
He Kui and He Shulong were slightly startled, but leaned over again and said, "Please give me some advice, General Xiahou!"
"Are you from Chen County?"
"good."
"Have you ever been here to Shanyang?"
"When I was young and the world was not in chaos, I came here once with my eldest brother who was not yet dead at that time." He Shulong said frankly.
"Do you know how many cities and counties there are in this strategic area west of Mount Tai, between Sishui, Wenshui, and Juyeze, all the way to Changyi where we are now?"
"not sure……"
"There are a total of twelve counties, twelve large cities with sufficient population and complete defenses."
, Gangxian in Jibei, Ningyang in Dongping, Xiaqiu in Shanyang, Shouzhang in Dongping, Dongpinglu, followed by Fanxian, Rencheng, Kangfu in Rencheng, and then Shanyang.
Jinxiang, Changyi...exactly twelve cities! Now that Ningyang has been lost, Guan Yu holds four cities, but we still have eight!"
He Shulong's heart moved slightly, as if he understood a little bit.
"You are a smart man, you should have thought of it." Seeing this, Xiahou Dun continued to sit on the Taiwei chair, holding a knife in both hands and talking. "It is good for Guan Yu to hold Qingzhou, but how many soldiers can he have? Ten thousand naval troops.
Can we go ashore? Zang Ba of Langya has just surrendered. He is like a warlord. Not to mention whether he can be mobilized. Is your general Zuo's favorite general Zhou Gongjin just a decoration? You can't stand a Zang Ba? And don't be stationed in all parts of Qingzhou?
So in my opinion, if Hebei does not send more troops to Guan Yunchang, he can only dispatch 15,000 people to the west of Mount Tai to suppress me, which is already the limit! In fact, I have indeed found out that apart from Pan Zhang's 5,000
Outside of others, Guan Yunchang only led 10,000 people to respond in Wenyang far behind!"
He Shulong was already relieved.
"However, if he wants to achieve great things and contribute to the overall situation, he must penetrate my defense line and get behind Xuzhou or Mengde. In other words, Guan Yunchang must use 15,000 soldiers to penetrate our remaining troops.
Only eight cities will do!" Xiahou Dun spoke faster and faster. "But when he goes out of bounds to fight, doesn't he need to defend his rear? Five thousand people fighting in one battle may look fierce, but there will be no damage? Starting from Ningyang, to Changchang
As far as the city is concerned, if he gets one city, he will have to leave a thousand people behind... Therefore, no matter how ferocious and cunning he is, we only need to resist layer by layer. By the time he reaches Changyi City, he will definitely be at the end of his crossbow.
what's the function?"
"Then he sent troops this time..." He Kui had completely woken up. "Is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance meant for Pei Gong?"
"That's right!"
To make a difference... At this time, the sudden dispatch of troops and the fierce gesture must not be for the twelve cities on the eastern front, but for the 100,000 troops of your army who are marching to Pei State, and the movement cannot be concealed at all! You must know that this
The key to the battle is only between Meng De and Gongsun Wenqi. The winner there is the winner, and the rest is just support. So what Guan Yunchang wants is for us to panic for a moment, and then separate our troops to reinforce here.
!”
"The foreign minister has clearly understood the meaning of General Xiahou." He Kui bowed his head sincerely and was completely convinced. "The general is indeed a pillar-like figure."
"So go back and tell your governor." Xiahou Dun stood up and said. "I don't want a single soldier here. I can support it with only the original 20,000 auxiliary soldiers, civilians and the like, plus 5,000 elites! Please make sure to send him
One hundred thousand troops, all brought to Chenliu for a decisive battle!"
He Shulong said no more and leaned back, intending to go back directly to recover his life. Xiahou Dun did not hesitate, immediately got up and grabbed his knife and went out. He took Lu Qian, Zhao Yan and other generals who were waiting outside the hall and left the city one after another.
It seems that they are preparing to mobilize troops to support Xiaqiu, Dongpinglu and other cities after Ningyang.
At the end of May, the Yangtze River Basin began to gradually withdraw from the rainy season, but the Yellow River Basin began to rain frequently, either the kind of continuous heavy rains that cause floods, or the normal summer heavy rains that come and go quickly.
Winters are cold, summers are hot, and it is easy to get sick in spring and autumn. For the army, the so-called "normal" represents the hard work of the soldiers.
As time goes by, the density of troops in Chenliu and Dongjun is getting higher and higher, and almost every rain will cause the soldiers facing each other to encounter something that cannot be called a problem, but is definitely annoying.
For example, for the Yan Army headquarters near Baima City, a considerable proportion of the cavalry have to pay attention to the hygiene of the horses every time it rains - not only to give the horses clean water, but also to clean them frequently.
In the stables in the barracks, bathe the horses and shovel manure for the horses!
"Brother Zhongxuan, why are you here?"
After a rain, in the stables of the military camp in the north of Baima City, Zhuge Liang, dressed in short green clothes, was shoveling dung. He raised his head and saw a figure that puzzled him. He quickly put down the dung shovel and handed it over in the stable.
salute.
"Why is A Liang doing this?" Wang Can, who was carrying a wooden bucket and a dung shovel, couldn't help but grin awkwardly when he saw Zhuge Liang. "We brothers, you can do whatever you want..."
Zhuge Liang nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and reminded him as a veteran: "Brother Zhongxuan, it's better to roll up your trouser legs...otherwise you'll get splashed all over yourself!"
Wang Can was stunned for a moment.
"There is also the third horse on the left, the short and thin one. It looks weak and brays like a donkey, but it is actually very fierce and can bite... It is Pang Hujun's spare mount.
"Zhuge Liang was just about to lower his head and continue working, but he remembered something again and quickly reminded him.
When Wang Can heard this, he looked at the horse, which had not yet shed all its hair. It was still a green horse. He also looked at the horse urine and rainwater filth all over the ground. He didn't have the courage to start working for a long time. But after an unknown amount of time, he
Just then he sighed: "You think, silly brother, why am I stupid enough to write poetry? As a result, Duke Yan was angered, and he sent me here to do some horse-washing with you!"
Although Zhuge Liang didn't know what was going on, he had no curiosity, so he didn't answer, and just continued to shovel dung with his head down... just as Huangfu Song recommended him to come to the army to "wash horses", and Duke Yan agreed.
Besides, it was as smooth as when he came to wash the horse.
"You are all elites in Yexia University. I let you join Yi Cong to participate in the war so that you can have some experience and become great in the future. However, the military has its own military rules. No matter what, you cannot imitate Wang Zhongxuan.
He only cares about flattering and boasting, and actually treats military affairs as a literary affair." At the same time, the atmosphere in the military camp was almost solid. Gongsun Xun, who was obviously in a bad mood today, still sat there with a dark face and lectured the new recruits in front of him.
Yi Cong. "Hundreds of thousands of troops are about to gather. I asked him to follow the army and write confidential texts to participate in military strategy, but he asked me to write "Join the Army March" on the military order raft to express his loyalty?! Soldiers are important matters of the country, matters of life and death.
Is it a place for him to show off his talent? If he wants to write a poem, can’t he write it on his own clothes? If he wants to write a poem, can’t he go back to the Tongque Stage to write it after a big victory? It has to be here, at this time?!”
All the young loyal followers in the tent were silent, even the generals standing on both sides, and the military advisors were also in a daze... They had indeed not seen Gongsun Xun so angry for a long time.
After scolding him for a long time, Gongsun Xun finally calmed down and looked at Pang De beside him: "What did Ling Ming want to say before?"
Pound was about to speak but stopped.
"This is the main account of the Chinese army. No matter how confidential the matter is, you can still talk about it!" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but frown.
"In the morning, when General Zhang Liao's troops were recruiting troops from Hejian and Anping to cross the river, a message came from the Duke's mansion there in Ye, saying... It's time for the young master to tie his hair!" Pang De said with all his strength.
Said, and the surrounding generals and staff quickly turned a deaf ear.
Gongsun Xun was slightly startled, but he immediately realized... He naturally knew that these were his wife's words, and also knew the meaning and reason of his wife's words.
So, he thought for a while and finally sighed: "This is because my family is worried that I will continue to march out and miss A Ding's hair. After all, I have missed A Li's hair before... Anyway, men and women are different after all.
, girls with hair extensions will be fine for two years, but things like war should not prevent young men from tying up their hair, so let A Ding tie up his hair and join the army! After Gao Suqing's mixed formation is completed in three days, and they cross the river, let him accompany him.
Let’s set out and cross the river from Baimajin to come here, and then...then go to the stable to wash the horses as a civilian! Ling Ming will watch it in person. If he doesn’t work, he won’t have food to eat, so he must suffer!”
Everyone was shocked, even Jia Xu and Xun You were stunned for a moment, but no one dared to say anything.
At this point, Gongsun Xun suddenly remembered something, but he couldn't help but look at Xu Huang, who was standing aside like a puppet: "Gongming, I want to ask you something."
"Your Highness, please speak." Xu Huang immediately stepped out of the queue to salute.
"I heard that Sima Yi performed poorly in your army. In the battle with White Horse, his team's military performance ranked last among your direct subordinates?" Gongsun Xun frowned.
"What your Highness said is true." Xu Huang responded immediately, but he couldn't help but explain a few sentences. "The main reason is that he just joined the army and participated in the battle as a team leader. When he went on the march, he was not familiar with the military orders, so he fell behind.
In the end, after waiting for Bai Mazin, I didn’t fight a single battle..."
"I think highly of him." Gongsun Xun shook his head more and more. "I also think highly of this group of young people. They all have high ambitions and low skills. However, the war is imminent, and we must not let these newcomers mess around...According to the rules of the mixed team,
Your generals will be mixed with the troops from Wei County and Hanoi to form an army of ten thousand people. With a minimum team rate of 10,000, you should be promoted to the rank of commander, right?"
"Yes." Xu Gongming said concisely and concisely. "In the end, I only promoted him to the position of music director."
"This battle is related to the destiny of the country, and we cannot let these showboats interfere with the important event." Gongsun Xun responded seriously. "On the grounds of the White Horse battle, and in my name, I issued an order to remove him from his post, punish him as a companion, and go to the stable to wash his hands."
Ma! It’s not their turn to be so calm in this battle!”
"Here!" Xu Huang leaned over calmly.
The atmosphere in the tent calmed down a bit, but at this moment, another Yicon officer on duty suddenly entered in a panic and saluted and reported: "Your Highness, Wang Canjun was bitten by General Pang's strange horse!"
"It's Wang Can, not Wang Canjun!" Before Pound could say anything, Gongsun Xun, who had just calmed down, became even more furious. "What does it mean when a companion is bitten by a war horse and reports to the Chinese army tent?! You don't know what it means."
Get out of here and wash your horses with me! The army has not had a major battle in several years, how can we be so arrogant?!"
Everyone in the tent was silent again, even Jia Xu and Xun You couldn't help but look at each other secretly.
The tent was quiet for a long time before Gongsun Xun spoke again, but there was no emotion in his voice: "Yun Chang failed to lure the enemy. The Eastern Front of the Central Plains Allied Forces is still divided between Zhou Yu's more than 20,000 men and Xiahou Dun's two men.
There are more than 10,000 people, barely 50,000 in total. Cai Mao has already deployed in Nanyang...Sun Ce has also arrived at Chenjun and is about to arrive at Yingchuan...Cao Mengde is about to have absolutely sufficient troops to deploy defenses on the ground and maintain a close force.
Eighty thousand field elites... we can't wait any longer, it's time to take action!"
"Where are you going to start, Your Highness?" Jia Xu stepped forward and asked seriously. "Puyang Lejin or Yanjin Xiahouyuan?"
"Of course it's Xia Houyuan!" Gongsun Xun said without changing his expression. "Eat him! Cao Mengde will be heartbroken! As soon as Gao Suqing arrives, he will send troops immediately!"
Everyone in the tent was in solemn silence.
————I am the dividing line that is as silent as a cicada————
"In the morning, you will see Yedu Bridge, and in the evening, you will see Baima Jin.
On the Xiaoyao River embankment, we looked left and right at our troops.
There are more than 10,000 boats with tens of millions of men in armor.
Leading the way to the Central Plains, he will surely achieve great success in one fell swoop.
It is up to me, the Holy Lord, to make the plans.
I hate that I have no time to plan, just like officials and ministers.
Bowing inside the backbone, the miniature painting has nothing to say.
Xu Li was a perfect scholar, but he still defeated Qin with one word.
I have the duty to eat vegetarian food, and I am truly ashamed of myself.
Although there is no lead knife to use, the common people will work hard to save themselves." - "Joining the Army. Part 2". Yan. Wang Can
