Let’s briefly talk about the international situation in the late Han Dynasty at this time:
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, due to geopolitical factors, after losing the goal of Dong Zhuo, the Kwantung Allied Forces gradually became two relatively large military alliances.
One is Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao; the other is Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian. The fight between two brothers from the Yuan family in Runan shows the influence of the Yuan family, a top family, and the local situation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was in a state of disintegration at that time.
Just like the Kwantung Allied Forces, these two military alliances lasted for a relatively short period of time, only two years from the second year of Chuping to the fourth year of Chuping (that is, 191 to 193 AD).
The wars between these two military alliances are mostly reflected in separate battles with surrounding warlords.
In fact, in the third year of Chuping, the two sides had another joint war, and there was a lot of interaction, involving at least five forces, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and Liu Bei, fighting at the same time.
The approximate time of this battle was in the winter of the third year of Chuping (i.e. 192 AD). At that time, the Kwantung Allied Forces had completely collapsed. There were two main points of conflict. The first was the Hebei region where Qing, Ji, You, and Bin were located; the second was the Nanyang Basin and Jianghan Plain where northern Jingzhou was located.
From November of the second year of Chuping to April of the third year of Chuping, the "Battle of the Boundary Bridge" broke out between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. Two relatively powerful warlords in Hebei began to fight, plus the Black Mountain Army entrenched in the Taihang Mountains and the The participation of the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, which originated in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, affected a very wide range.
In the sixth year of Zhongping (AD 189), Yuan Shu fled Luoyang. At the same time, Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, who went north, killed Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou, and Zhang Zi, the governor of Nanyang. Yuan Shu occupied Nanyang.
Liu Biao replaced Wang Rui as the governor of Jingzhou. He was hindered by Yuan Shu and had to "ride into Jingzhou alone". At the same time, he also lost control of the large county of Nanyang.
Although when the warlords in Guandong united, Liu Biao also expressed that he was an ally with Yuan Shu; in addition, Liu Biao also supported Yuan Shu as the governor of Nanyang, and gave up the territory of Nanyang County to show his goodwill to Yuan Shu.
But this short-lived peace was based on the formation of the Kwantung Allied Forces. In the second year of Chuping, the Kwantung Allied Forces split; in the third year of Chuping, Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Yuan Xi, and Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou counterattacked Chang'an.
Under this situation, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu were bound to have conflicts. So when Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao competed, it was very easy to understand that Yuan Shu wooed Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao wooed Liu Biao.
There are also Cao Cao, Tao Qian and Liu Bei. Tao Qian was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou when the Yellow Turbans rose again in Xuzhou in the fifth year of Zhongping (188 AD).
He also opposed Dong Zhuo's rule, but he only symbolically supported the Kwantung Uprising Army led by Yuan Shao, which seemed to be in conflict with Yuan Shao; Cao Cao sounds like Yuan Shao's ally, but in fact he is like his younger brother.
After the "Battle of Bianshui", Cao Cao's troops were supplemented by Yuan Shao's subordinates or allies; the position of the East Commandery Governor was expressed by Yuan Shao. At the end of the third year of Chuping and the beginning of the fourth year of Chuping, he replaced the governor of Yanzhou who was killed by the Qingzhou Yellow Turban. Liu Dai also received support from Yuan Shao; as for Liu Bei, there was no dispute that he was Gongsun Zan's subordinate at the time. But since Cao Cao can be regarded as an independent force, Liu Bei should also treat him equally.
There is also Tao Qian. Tao Qian's base is Xuzhou. If he wants to deal with Cao Cao, he can send troops from Pengcheng or Langya, just like the route Cao Cao used to attack Xuzhou twice later.
However, Tao Qian's position in this battle is very interesting. He stationed troops in Faqian County, East County, Yanzhou. This place can be said to be very far away from his seat of government, with a straight-line distance of more than 300 kilometers.
To go north from Qingzhou and then around to the west to Fagan, the location is also in Hebei, in the southwest of the plain. Two pieces of information can be seen from Tao Qian's position.
First, Tao Qian has a very close relationship with Gongsun Zan; second, the main purpose of Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and Liu Bei in this battle should be to target Yuan Shao, defeat Yuan Shao, control the Hebei area first, and then cross the river to eliminate Cao Cao.
Jibei, Faqian County.
Faqian County borders Jizhou and is one of the main roads from Yanzhou to Jizhou.
At this moment, Fagan is no longer the territory of Cao Cao, the Yanzhou Mu, and things have changed here.
Just a few days ago, Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian, at the invitation of his ally Gongsun Zan, sent ten thousand troops, starting from Pengcheng in Xuzhou, passing through Jiyin County in Yanzhou, and marching to Fagan in Jibei.
Fagan County was caught off guard and surrendered to the Xuzhou Army without any resistance. It seems that Tao Qian is not a simple good man, a Confucian gentleman, and he dared to intervene in the face of Yuan and Cao's coalition forces. His courage is not ordinary.
The Xuzhou army easily occupied Fagan and stationed troops again to achieve a north-south pincer attack with Gongsun Zan on Yuan Shao in Jizhou, which was the same as Yuan Xi's occupation of Yuling.
Tao Qian's confidant, Cao Hong, the commander of the two battalions of the Xuzhou Army, was proudly leading a group of soldiers to inspect the city defense and the camp where the Xuzhou Army was stationed.
Cao Bao, who was assigned as a deputy general, obviously couldn't stand Cao Hong's villainous attitude. He didn't show it on his face, but in his heart he was complaining about Tao Qian's cronies.
Cao Hong saw Cao Bao commanding the soldiers to set up camp, so he stepped forward and said with a smile: "General Cao Bao, our army has won the victory. The morale of the sergeants is still high."
Cao Bao cupped his hand and said flatteringly, "It's all under the command of the adults. It's nothing to do with a little hair."
Just now he secretly scolded Cao Hong for being a villain, but what he did was considered a gentleman? It’s just a matter of fifty steps and a hundred steps.
"Yes, yes, after arranging the troops and horses, let me, the warriors of Xuzhou, kill Yuan Shao until he can't even fight back." Cao Hong laughed.
Although Cao Bao looked down on him, he still couldn't play around with military affairs. He asked carefully, "Sir, has Taozhou Mu come to give orders? Tell us about the next move of our army."
Cao Hong waved his hand and said indifferently, "No, my lord asked me to take charge of all military affairs before we set off for the expedition. The envoy to contact Gongsun Zan has been sent out. As soon as there is a reply, we will attack Yuan Shao immediately."
Cao Bao heard what he said and said that the situation was very good, but he didn't care in his heart. If you attack Yuan Shao on Cao Cao's territory, they will also encircle and attack you.
Zhangshou County Government.
After reading the urgent military report sent by his subordinates, Cao Cao was shocked and angry. Not long after he occupied Yanzhou, except for Jibei, Dongjun, and Renchengguo, other places had not completely returned to him. Cao Cao's army did not have the ability to control these places for a while, which was why Cao Cao was eager to expand his army.
Xi Zhong, Xun You, the Xiahou brothers, Yu Jin and other civil and military officials were also summoned by Cao Cao.
While everyone was discussing how to expel the Xuzhou Army, Cheng Yu brought a middle-aged scribe with a mustache.
When Cao Cao saw the two of them, he quickly stood up to greet them, saluted and said, "But Mr. Zhengnan of Wei County? That's disrespectful."
Cheng Yu raised his hand to introduce Shen Pei: "Mr. Shen, this is my lord Cao Yanzhou. My lord has heard of your name a long time ago."
Shen Pei also bowed his hands and saluted, without saying a word, and said, "On the order of Yuan Chaqi, I came to discuss with Cao Yanzhou about defeating Gongsun Zan. I have a letter, which I came here to forward to Cao Yanzhou."
Cao Cao respectfully took Yuan Shao's letter, read it for a while, and then asked. "Brother Benchu asked our army to attack Tian Kai's army in the plains and cooperate with Yuan Xi's military actions?"
Cao Cao's humble behavior was the same as that of Zhu Wen in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Zhu Wen was also the same at that time when he received Wei Bo's envoy. Without him, the current situation is the same, and the north is needed as a barrier so that he can gradually control the surrounding forces.
Shen Pei nodded and Su Rong said, "I only heard after arriving in Yanzhou that Tao Qian of Xuzhou also stationed troops in Fagan, Jibei at the invitation of Gongsun Zan. This way, our two armies could attack first before the two families could coordinate well. "
Cao Cao looked troubled and pretended to be hesitant. Xi Zhong sighed knowingly: "But our army has been defeated in the battle with the Yellow Turban bandits. The morale of the army is unstable, the soldiers are trapped, and the generals are injured. How can we fight Tao Qian?"
"Tao Qian has stationed his army in Jibei and sent troops to the north. What does this mean to Cao Yanzhou? If they are not expelled as soon as possible, there is no guarantee that they will not attack Dongjun and other places. General, please think twice." Shen Pei ignored his advice.
Cao Cao smiled, said a few polite words to Shen Pei, and asked someone to take him down to rest and settle down.
As soon as the trial partner left, Cao Cao's face turned grim and he said sternly, "Tao Qian and Yuan Gongliu bullied me too much!"
A group of generals below also shouted and cursed, threatening to expel Tao Qian's Xuzhou army.
"I wanted to ask for some benefits from Yuan Benchu, but I can't help him beat Tao Qian Tiankai for nothing. This business is a loss." Xi Zhong said with a smile.
Cao Cao shook his head and sighed softly, "I have known Yuan Benchu for many years, and he is not a generous person. To bargain with him like this, it is better to sell him a favor and agree readily. In this way, he will appreciate it afterwards."
Xun You also nodded in agreement and agreed, "That's true. Furthermore, Tao Qian has stationed his army in our territory. For us, it is more urgent to defeat Tao Qian's army. How can we allow others to snore where they lie down?"
Cao Cao snorted, and after discussing specific countermeasures with everyone, he sent an order to the generals to prepare.
Pingyuan County governs a lot of land, but Liu Bei, the Pingyuan Prime Minister, does not control many places. In addition to Pingyuan County, places like Gaotang, Yanci, Leling, Banxian and other places are governed by local powerful officials appointed by Tian Kai.
There were not many people who could look up to Liu Bei at this time, but more than ten years later it was proved that many people had misjudged him. Liu Bei was really not an ordinary person, and he later caused a lot of trouble for Yuan Xi.
The Yellow Turban Army has been roaming around Qingzhou for many years, and powerful families were either killed or moved elsewhere. Tian Kai's strategy for governing Qingzhou was to support the few remaining powerful people and let them help manage local affairs.
But the remaining nobles in Qingzhou were not convinced by Gongsun Zan, let alone Tian Kai. Yuan Shao had a high reputation among the noble families in the north and was regarded as the spokesperson of the noble families.
At this time, the noble families were very powerful. They not only controlled the economy of a place, but could also mobilize one or two thousand private soldiers at every turn. People like Li Dian, Lu Qian and others joined Cao Cao with more than a thousand private soldiers. The Sun family also relied on the support of the Jiangdong gentry to rise to prominence.
In other places in Qingzhou Pingyuan County, because of this reason, there are still few troops and weak strength, so they maintain a wait-and-see attitude towards the battle between Jizhou Army and Tian Kai Army, and they will be defeated by the wind.
After Liu Bei returned to his residence, he was still frightened. After he calmed down, he grabbed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's hand and said excitedly, "Thanks to the two virtuous brothers for saving me, otherwise we would be finished as brothers."
"Whatever you say, big brother, are all your own brothers. Why are you being so polite? You are so outspoken." Zhang Fei said gruffly.
Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said, "It seems that part of the Jizhou army has withdrawn, probably to intercept Tian Qingzhou. We will take the opportunity to make a surprise attack."
"Yes, brother, what the second brother said makes sense. Let me lead an army and catch his mother off guard." Zhang Fei said excitedly.
Liu Bei looked at the two of them. He walked back and forth for a long time and said worriedly, "Brother Yu also thinks that the Jizhou army has divided its troops to intercept Tianzhou Mu, but there are few soldiers in Pingyuan. If this is a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain, wouldn't Pingyuan be in danger?"
"It's okay, brother, don't worry. As the saying goes, the soldiers are not in large numbers but in finesse. I will take the five hundred 'white-eared soldiers' and make a surprise attack when they are halfway across the river. My eldest brother and three younger brothers will stay to defend the city." Guan Yu said quite confidently.
"Why am I guarding the city? If it doesn't work, I have to go." Zhang Fei said dissatisfied. He is not a master who lives in idleness. The reason why he agrees with Guan Yu's strategy is not because he knows anything, but because he simply wants to fight.
"Third brother, please note that the responsibility of defending the city is heavy. This is the position of the eldest brother. There is no room for negligence." Guan Yu shouted.
Liu Bei thought again and again, and finally held Guan Yu's hand firmly, and said with concern, "My dear brother, be careful. Don't be careless. If the attack fails, retreat to the plain immediately. Remember not to be reluctant to fight."
Zhang Fei's eyes widened and he turned his face to the side, saying with a pretentious expression, "The eldest brother is so biased. He only lets the second brother go. It's annoying."
Liu Bei was helpless. He scolded him for a while and comforted him for a while, so that Zhang Fei stopped complaining. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were two brothers who were enemies of thousands of people. God was really kind to Liu Bei. If you don't see Cao Cao, Yuan Xi How envious of him.
Yuan Xi's Chinese army advanced rapidly and successfully made an emergency landing in the small county town of Tugu as a temporary stronghold.
Zhang He's army of more than 5,000 infantry quickly entered Yuling and began to strengthen the city's defenses. One thousand cavalry were left in Tugu and handed over to Yuan Xi for control.
Yuan Xi, Tian Feng and Guo Jia, surrounded by Xu Chu and Zhu Gongdao, entered Tugu City.
More than 5,000 people were forcibly relocated from Yuling. Yuan Xi indicated that they should be temporarily resettled in Tugu City. However, Tugu was also a small town, so the small county town was in chaos for a while.
Several tiger guards brought Yuan Xi a plump middle-aged man wearing silk brocade. He looked like a representative of a powerful local family.
As soon as the middle-aged man saw Yuan Xi and others, he bowed his hands and saluted, and said flatteringly, "You must be Mr. Yuan. I am Wei Hui, a local squire. On behalf of the local people, I welcome the young master to regain our land."
Yuan Xi sneered and felt disgusted in his heart. He was a powerful guy. Qingzhou was not originally owned by the Yuan family, so there was no way to recover it.
"You're welcome. I'd be very grateful if I could trouble you to help resettle the people in Yuling." Yuan Xi waved his hand and said.
Wei Hui rolled his eyes and said with a smile on his face, "We are both from Jinan, so of course we should try our best to help, but Tugu City is not a big place. How can we accommodate these thousands of people? You see, sir."
Tian Feng looked unhappy and said: "So I want you to explain it to the people in the city and let them make room for a temporary stay for a few days. Just take one family in."
Wei Hui was extremely unhappy, but because Yuan Xi's army occupied Tugu and they had military power, he could only go down and "persuad" the residents of Tugu City to take in the troops.
In the small team entering the city, Yuan Xi and the others saw the people in Yuling staring at them with indifferent expressions. Among them was an old man in ragged clothes, with a hunched back, his head barely looking at the ground, and carrying two baskets.
Yuan Xi's heart was touched. There were more than one similar situation. He was also a person with emotions. When he saw the people who were escorted with their naked bodies, or dragging their families and crying, he also felt guilty, ashamed, and disturbed.
Although Yuan Xi has become dark and cruel in this era due to various reasons, it does not mean that he has no bottom line and humanity in his heart, so Yuan Xi is still touched.
Yuan Xi just sighed, even if he thought about it, he was powerless. In this world, unless the world is unified, he could only do what he could to alleviate some of the uneasiness in his heart, so he asked a tiger guard to help the hunchbacked old man settle down.
"Sir, there are too many things that need to be dealt with. Please let me take people to quickly resettle them. Otherwise, like last night, these people will have to sleep in the open." After Tian Feng finished speaking, he left immediately.
"Fengxiao, what do you think is the difference between our approach and Dong Zhuo's? Aren't they both causing trouble to the people? Are we still teachers of justice?" Yuan Xi asked with a seemingly indifferent expression.
Guo Jia also sighed and said helplessly, "In these troubled times, what is a human life worth? Most people sold as slaves are not as valuable as a horse."
"Is that because I'm too kind to a woman?" Yuan Xi asked again.
"If the young master practices Confucian benevolent government, he will not hesitate to agree to move them to Tugu." Guo Jia glanced at Yuan Xi and replied.
Yuan Xi smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "That's hypocritical, hypocritical, and contrived."
"On the contrary, this is what I admire about the young master. He is calm and decisive in dealing with things, and sometimes he is straightforward. Like this time, pity is pity, but he does not hesitate to make up his mind. This is his true temperament." Guo Jia's expression One whole, Su Rong said.
Yuan Xi felt better after what he said, and comforted himself, "Yes, we are many times more merciful than Dong Zhuo. It doesn't matter if they hate me, I will give him peace and glory in the future."
On the earthen wall of the mausoleum, Zhang He directed his soldiers to pile up stones and earth, and long trapezoidal shields were also erected to protect several precious crossbows.
Several simple catapults were also set up and placed behind the city wall, waiting for the enemy to attack.
The usable materials in the homes of the common people in the city, as small as door panels, were also requisitioned. Well, they were borrowed, yes, they were borrowed. The right of interpretation belonged to Yuan Xi. This was like setting up an archway.
After Guo Huai delivered the last batch of arrows, grain and other supplies, Zhang He ordered the city gate, which was not very reliable, to be sealed from the inside.
Zhang He remembered what Yuan Xi said to him when he passed Tugu, "General, please guard Yuling for five days at all costs."
Since the city of Yuling was small, Zhang He had his spare soldiers stationed at people's homes in the city, and also had them dig trenches in the streets and build simple fortifications.
Tian Kai's army arrived near Yuling. Before the army could set up camp, five thousand infantry were mobilized by the angry Tian Kai to attack the city.
In Tian Kai's view, Yuling City is small, easy to attack and difficult to defend, and it will definitely not be able to withstand several attacks. So he carried out several waves of strong attacks.
But what he didn't expect was that the Jizhou Army would deploy heavy troops to defend this place.
Two thousand archers from Tian Kai's army lined up and slowly approached the city wall. Three thousand infantry followed behind with several improvised simple ladders.
Tian Kaijun's archers marched in neat steps, approaching the city wall step by step, and finally entered the attack range of the crossbows on the city.
"Sir, can the crossbow shoot?" a Yamen general asked Zhang He.
Zhang He shook his head and ordered, "Let everyone hide under the shields and wait until the enemy infantry approaches before shooting."
Soon a dense rain of arrows came and fell on the head of Zhang He's army defending the city.
Fortunately, they were prepared in advance. Not only did they have large shields, but they also removed door panels and other items and covered them with rawhide.
Apart from the wails of those who were hit by the arrows, there was only the "click-click" sound of the arrows being nailed to the shield and the door panel.
Zhang He has always managed the army rigorously. Although this army has not experienced many battles, the combat effectiveness of his soldiers is still first-rate.
After the bursts of arrow rain, everything seemed to be silent. After a while, the sound of running footsteps of Tian Kaijun archers and infantry were heard below.
"Withdraw the shield!" Zhang He shouted.
The ladder has been set up on the city wall which is not very high.
"All, shoot!" Zhang He shouted again.
The crossbowmen mounted their feathered arrows without further instructions and fired straight at the Tian Kai Army infantry below. After two rounds, the Tian Kai Army infantry lay down in a large area, and the rest put up their shields or crouched on the ground to hide.
The soldiers on the city also threw stones and wood down at the same time.
Due to insufficient preparation, Tian Kai's army lacked powerful siege equipment, and the archers were quickly suppressed by the city. With no choice, Tian Kai ordered the troops to retreat and camp, leaving a pile of corpses under the city wall.
Tian Kaijun camp.
Looking at the subordinates below who were excusing each other, Tian Kai was furious.
What made him angry was that the Jizhou army had easily conquered Yuling, which was also a small city, but he had failed in both attempts to attack the city.
"My lord, it is better to divide the troops and keep one force to guard against the Jizhou Army in Lingcheng, and the remaining main force rushes to Jinan City." A Sima from another department suggested.
Another captain immediately objected and said, "No, our army's food and supplies are hoarded along the way and transported up continuously. If we are in a stalemate with the encircled Jizhou Army, and the Jizhou Army in Yuling cuts off our army's food route, The consequences would be disastrous.”
"That's what I mean. We don't have many soldiers now. It's not appropriate to divide our troops to prevent them from being defeated one by one." Tian Kai said.
Tian Kai clenched his fist and ordered sternly, "Starting from tomorrow, the entire infantry army will be divided into three groups to attack the city in turns. We must capture Yuling before the sun goes down. I will personally lead the troops from behind to supervise the battle."
Although some of the generals below were unwilling to attack by force, they had to accept the order and promise.
At night, the state of Qi is clear.
City Gate Lieutenant Deng Yizheng was leading a group of soldiers to patrol the city defense. The weather turned cold at this time, and it was not yet time to distribute winter clothes, so patrolling at night was also a painful thing.
After a week of inspection, Deng Yi returned to the observation tower on the city wall. After the soldiers lit a fire, Deng Yi and a few soldiers started warming themselves up.
Because it was located in the rear, the defenders were much slacker, and the soldiers on the city wall lit firewood in twos and threes to keep warm and take a nap.
In the darkness, a rope with an iron hook was thrown to the city wall. As a rustling sound was heard, a man in black climbed up to the top of the city.
The man in black tied the other ropes around him tightly and threw them down. After a while, several more people climbed up to the top of the city.
Because Qingda is a small city and the city wall is not high, it is not difficult to climb up. After a while, more than 20 men in black climbed up the city wall. They crouched and carefully hid in the darkness near the city gate. .
In the observation deck, Deng Yi chatted with several soldiers.
"Sir, what do you think of the Jizhou people? I heard that they defeated Lord Gongsun Zan in Jizhou. Is it dangerous for us to face the Jizhou soldiers this time?" asked a soldier.
Deng Yi has only a hundred men, and is now assigned to garrison Qingda as a city gate captain. He is a veteran of Gongsun Zan's army, but he did not participate in the last battle of Jieqiao.
"Damn it, Jizhou soldiers are far inferior to us Youzhou men. I was not here when the war started in Jizhou last time. Otherwise, I would have to kill several high-ranking officers of the Jizhou army to receive military honors. This is not good. It gives us a chance to kill It’s a pity that Jizhou soldiers were sent here to guard the opportunity,” Deng Yi boasted.
Several soldiers were dubious, but when the chief officer said this, they felt a lot more at ease.
Just when Deng Yi was bragging about his achievements to several people, a soldier ran in and reported, "Sir, there are dozens of riders coming from Linzi outside, saying they are delivering urgent reports."
"Damn it, you can't let people live in peace. You don't know that you can't open the city gate in the middle of the night." Although Deng Yi cursed, he still wanted to see what happened. If he delayed the military situation, he would be beheaded. .
At the city gate, Deng Yi saw dozens of horsemen under the city gate. Those dozens of horsemen were also carrying torches. Judging from their armors and robes, they were indeed his own, and they were coming from the rear, which reassured him a lot.
"Open the city gate early tomorrow and you will have to make do with it for one night." Deng Yi shouted.
"Who are you! Do you know that we have an urgent military situation and need to mobilize the baggage in the city? If you delay, Lord Zhou Mu, just chop your head off. Don't drag me into it." A knight below shouted.
Deng Yi was also angry and said sternly, "Don't you know, unless there is an urgent military order, the city gate cannot be opened at night. Please send the military order documents for inspection first."
After that, he asked the soldiers to hang down a basket, and a knight underneath put a book in it. Deng Yi took the document and asked the soldiers to get torches to light it up.
Just when he got closer to take a look, an arrow pierced Deng Yi's throat without any warning.
