NovelsAlex Chapter 111 Good time
Chapter 111 Good time
Chapter 111 Good time
After Huang Zhong and Fu Wei won the first battle, the squadron returned to Xinye County and sent people to report the victory to Zhang Wu and reward the three armies.
After Zhang Wu led the army from Huang Zhong, he dealt with some matters, ordered Chen Sun and Huo Jun to guard the city, left Pang Tong to assist Chen Sun, and then rushed to Xinye with Wei Yan and [-] soldiers from the military guard battalion.
Why does Zhang Wu attach so much importance to the Battle of Xinye?That's because Zhang Wu remembered that this battle was Xu Shu's first battle after leaving the mountain. He used Cao Jun's underestimation of the enemy to win a big victory. Not only did he kill the two generals of the opponent, he also defeated Cao Ren and took the opportunity to attack Fancheng.
That Cao Ren is not an ordinary general, he is Cao Cao's most trusted clan general, with the same status as Xiahou Dun, and often guards one side for Cao Cao.Cao Cao's generals are divided into clan generals and generals with foreign surnames. The clan generals include Xiahoudun, Xiahouyuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, etc., and the generals with foreign surnames include Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Yu Jin and others.
Cao Cao formed several corps in the later period, but the commanders of the corps were all clan generals, and generals with foreign surnames could only serve as deputies.For example, Xiahou Dun guarded Chang'an to guard against Liangzhou; Xiahou Yuan guarded Hanzhong to guard against Liu Bei; Cao Ren guarded Nanjun to guard against Jiangdong.In the later period, many clan generals died, and only generals with foreign surnames like Zhang Liao who had proven their loyalty and ability had the opportunity to serve as commanders.
Cao Ren had two amazing achievements in the later period. One was stationed in Nanjun after the Battle of Chibi and resisted Zhou Yu for nearly a year. Although he was defeated by Zhou Yu in the end, it also bought time for Cao Cao to recover his strength. He also shot and wounded Zhou Yu during the defense of the city. Zhou Yu died early.The other is to defend Fancheng with thousands of troops during Guan Yu's Northern Expedition. Even when Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army and shocked China, Cao Ren's Fancheng still stood still, buying time for Cao Cao to dispatch reinforcements.
It can be said that Cao Ren is Cao Cao's right-hand man. He is wise and brave, and he can be regarded as a famous general.However, all of Cao Ren's outstanding performances came from defense, and his offensive ability was much worse than that of other famous generals under Cao Cao's command. It is acceptable to be a tank to withstand damage, but it is not good to be a fighter who takes the initiative to start a regiment.
Therefore, Zhang Wu wanted to take advantage of Cao Ren's underestimation of his enemy and give him a cruel blow, which would not only make Cao Ren physically hurt, but also make Cao Cao feel distressed, because there would not be many such good opportunities in the future.
After Zhang Wu led his army to Xinye, he called a meeting.
Xu Shu said: "Cao Ren and Li Dian stationed troops in Fancheng. They should have known the news that Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were defeated and killed. I expect Cao Ren to lead an army to take revenge."
Zhang Wu said: "Yuan Zhi must have a countermeasure?"
"Yes, my lord once said that after Cao Cao unified the north, he would definitely go south, and Jingzhou would bear the brunt. In order to resist Cao Cao, Liu Biao accepted Zhang Xiu and stationed him in Wancheng, Nanyang, as the first line to resist Cao Cao. Later Zhang Xiu Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao, causing most of Nanyang County to fall into Cao Cao's hands. Now Cao Ren has stationed troops in Fancheng, which is only separated from Xiangyang by the Han River. Xiangyang is directly facing the threat of Cao Cao's army." Xu Shu pointed to a map in the big tent. Introduced to everyone.
Seeing that Zhang Wu and others were listening carefully, Xu Shu added: "Since ancient times, the guard of Xiang must guard Fan. Fancheng and Xiangyang face each other across the river. They were originally guarding the horns. Without the guards of Fancheng, Xiangyang is like a woman taking off her clothes. She is in great danger! Now Cao Ren If we don’t defend Fancheng well, but we have to attack Xinye, a place that has little effect, this is a great opportunity for us to take Fancheng back!”
Zhang Wu also knew the importance of Fancheng to Xiangyang, but because of Zhang Xiu, an unloyalty guy, Fancheng had long fallen into Cao Cao's hands, and Liu Biao and Cai Mao were timid at the time and did not dare to fight back.Fortunately, Cao Cao was busy attacking Yuan Shao at that time and had no time to take care of Jingzhou, and he did not have a naval force, otherwise Xiangyang would not know whose hands it would fall into.
When Zhang Wu took control of Jingzhou, Fancheng was already in the hands of Cao Cao. On the one hand, Zhang Wu had not yet consolidated his power, and on the other hand, Fancheng was small and difficult to attack, so Zhang Wu never made a move.Later, when Cao Ren and Li Dian were stationed in Fancheng, Zhang Wu didn't dare to fight anymore. Cao Ren's defense was famous in the Three Kingdoms, but Li Dian was even more difficult.
As early as when Cao Cao first started to raise troops, Li Dian and Le Jin defected to Cao Cao. Li Dian was both wise and brave. He could not only lead the army as a general, but also govern the people as an official. He was an all-round talent.
Now the opportunity has come, Cao Ren disregarded Cao Cao's order, did not guard Fancheng and waited for Cao Cao's army to arrive, insisted on taking the initiative to attack and kill Liu Bei to make a great contribution, this is a big taboo for military strategists who underestimate the enemy, and thought that Zhang Wu was Cai Mao What a waste!
So Zhang Wu said: "Yuan Zhi is right. This battle is not only a good opportunity for us to take back Fancheng, but also a good opportunity to capture Cao Ren alive. If Cao Ren leads troops to Xinye, Fancheng will be empty. I have sent someone to secretly order Gan, the prefect of Jiangxia. Ning led the elite navy to enter the Han River along the Xiangshui River, and took advantage of the emptiness of Fancheng's troops to join forces with Wenpin to take down Fancheng. Then we defeated Cao Ren in Xinye, and then set a trap in Fancheng to capture Cao Ren!"
However, although most of the [-] troops led by Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were killed and captured, many of them fled back to Fancheng to report what happened to Cao Ren.
When he heard that Er Lu had been killed and many of his soldiers were captured alive, Cao Ren was shocked and discussed with Li Dian what to do next.
Li Dian said: "Lü Kuang and Lu Xiang underestimated the enemy and rushed forward and were killed. It is best to stay still and send someone to report to the lord, so that we can raise more troops and attack again."
Cao Ren said: "No way. Now that the second general has been killed and many soldiers and horses have been lost, this revenge must be avenged. Xinye is a tiny place, why bother the Lord to lead the army here?" In fact, Cao Ren was afraid that Cao Cao would blame him , so I want to make a quick contribution to atone for my crime.
Li Dian said: "Liu Bei is an outstanding person in the world and should not be underestimated. Besides, I heard from the soldiers who fled back that Lu Kuang was beheaded in three rounds by a veteran with white beard and hair, but Liu Bei never showed up. I doubt it." There is a change in this. We should find out the situation before making a decision."
Cao Ren said: "Why are you so timid! An old man scares you like this. No matter whether Liu Bei is in Xinye or not, you will know what happened when you take Xinye!" It is because Cao Cao has developed so smoothly in the past few years. The mighty prince Yuan Shao was destroyed by Cao Cao. Who else in this world could be Cao Cao's opponent, so Cao Ren became a little arrogant.
Li Dianze said: "The Art of War says: Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be victorious in every battle. I am not timid, but the situation is unclear now, and I don't know who is stationed in Xinye. If we send troops rashly, I am worried that we may not be able to win."
Seeing Li Dian's pushback, Cao Ren said angrily, "Are you harboring two intentions? I have made up my mind, and I will send troops immediately!"
Li Dian saw that Cao Ren was angry, so he didn't say any more, but said: "If the general wants to send troops, I will not stop him, but I ask to stay in Fancheng."
Cao Ren disagreed and said, "If you don't go, you really have two hearts and want to surrender to Jingzhou while I'm leaving!"
Li Dian was forced by Cao Ren and had no choice but to mobilize [-] troops and horses together with Cao Ren and cross the Jishui River towards Xinye, leaving only a few hundred soldiers to defend the city.
(End of this chapter)