In the early spring of the first year of Chuping, Yuan Shao, the prefect of Bohai, appointed himself a general of chariots and cavalry. He allied with the princes of Shandong in Suanzao. With General Cao Cao as the mastermind, he was determined to march eastward to attack Dong. When Dong Zhuo, the prime minister, saw that the coalition forces were strong, he killed King Hongnong and forced the ministers to move to Chang'an, the western capital. He burned Luoyang to a white ground in an attempt to compete with the coalition forces.
By the ninth day of the second lunar month, the princes realized that they were well prepared and the superiority and inferiority were very different, so they sent troops to attack Dong Zhuo.
Cao Cao led Chenliu Governor Zhang Miao and Jibei Prime Minister Bao Xin to lead an army of 60,000 to attack Yuanwu and Yangwu in Henan Province; Yuzhou Governor Kong Niao led an army of 40,000 to capture Xinzheng, Yuanling and Mi County; Chariot and Cavalry General Yuan Shao led Jizhou The armies attacked Kaifeng and Zhongmou, encircled and suppressed them in three directions, and took Aocang directly.
As for Dong Zhuo, since he heard that Yuan Shao was raising troops to rebel, Dong Zhuo felt deeply that his troops were insufficient. He mobilized the Sanhe army for months. However, he wanted to supervise the capital with heavy troops, to guard against the Xiliang rebels from invading, and to divide his troops to guard Wu. There were only 40,000 troops that could be mobilized to defend Luoyang. Dong Zhuo no longer expected to defend Luoyang. He only hoped that he could use the eight passes of Luoyang to delay the time. When the allied forces' food and fodder were exhausted, he would wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
In Cao Cao's plan, the coalition forces would not engage in a decisive battle with Dong Zhuo, but there were still two key points that the coalition forces had to face and resolve. No matter how weak Dong Zhuo's troops were, he would not give up the dangerous position in vain. If the coalition forces wanted to force Luoyang, they must conquer the eight passes of Aocang and Luoyang.
The Eight Passes of Luoyang were set up by the late emperor, General He Jin, to defend the capital when the Yellow Turbans were first pacified. Hangu Pass was set up between Qinling Mountains and Gushui to isolate the east and west; Yique Pass was set up between Longmen and Xiangshan Mountains to prevent Jingxiang; Guangcheng Pass was set up between Longmen and Xiangshan Mountains; The pass is set up in Ru River and the river valley, where it can ambush heavy troops; the Taigu pass is set up in Waizui and Wan'an, and the furrows are set up in Taishi and Shaoshi, which can cover Yuzhou; the two passes of Mengjin and Xiaopingjin, one on the east and the other on the west, can be guarded. The Yellow River; the final Xuanmen Pass was set up in Chenggao to defend Yanzhou alone. The eight passes are all located in important places. If you can defeat one pass alone, you will still be constrained by the other passes. Because of its dangerous location, Luoyang is known as the emperor's house in the world, and its true name is the home of the emperor.
Aocang is located in Aoshan, Xingyang, where the Yellow River and Jishui divide. The First Emperor unified the country and raised grain here to cope with the rebellion in Shandong. After the founding of the country, Gaozu still respected the old custom of Zulong. At this time, Aocang had been evacuated for Dong Zhuo, but Aocang could be used to transport grain baggage from Shandong and Hebei. The Shandong coalition army had a large number of people and consumed countless grains and rice every day. If Aocang was occupied, they would be able to save a lot of grain. This was also the first time for the coalition forces. When we attack, we aim at Ao Cang's principles.
Dong Zhuo also understood the key points. He deployed the following defenses in Luoyang: Dong Huang was appointed as the captain of Hangu, leading three thousand people to guard the return route alone; Li Jue was appointed as the captain of Yique, and Guo Si was appointed as the captain of Guangcheng. Hua Xiong was the captain of Taigu, and he gathered a total of 15,000 people under the command of Zhonglang General Hu Zhen; Fan Chou was the captain of Shenyuan, Zhang Ji was the captain of Mengjin, and Jia Xu was the captain of Xiaopingjin, assisted by Lu Bu and Bingzhou. The army totaled 20,000 people, led by Dong Zhuo himself in Luoyang; Li Meng was appointed as the captain of the Xuanmen, Wang Fang was the captain of Aocang, 10,000 people were under the command of Zhonglang General Dong Yue, and Xu Rong commanded the remaining 10,000 Liangqi. , observing the enemy situation between Yangwu and Yuanwu.
The leading cavalry of the coalition army was about 2,000 people, led by Chen Liuxiaolianweizi. They left the camp under the crimson flag of Fenwu and headed east ten miles to the Yinggou River. They bumped into the Liang cavalry on the west bank and were also on the waterside. The two hundred cavalry were obviously scouts who came to inquire about the enemy's situation. Wei Zi had seen a lot of them these days.
When the two armies met, neither of them dared to fight without permission, so they shot each other back and forth across the sewer water. The knights on the east bank were not good at riding and shooting, but the Liang people on the west bank could immediately draw their bows and shoot left and right. As a result, the Liang people on the west bank were unscathed, but the knights on the east bank were shot and injured about thirty people. They had to retreat ten feet, causing Liang Ren laughed wantonly.
Wei Zi saw his subordinates' expressions swell. He was obviously furious and did not dare to shoot forward any more. He thought to himself that if the morale of the army was hurt before the battle, it would be difficult to fight later. He still had to boost morale. So he stepped forward and said to the Liang people on the other side: "Our army has a million soldiers in Suanzao, and it will soon besiege the capital. I think you are all good warriors, but is it possible to fight one against a hundred? Why don't you swim in the water at this time? If you come here and work as an iron official in mining for a few years, you might as well survive!"
Such contemptuous words are the most unbearable for a warrior. Sure enough, someone on the other side yelled and cursed, and someone shot arrows at Wei Zi. However, he was wearing two armors, and five or six arrows scratched sparks on his armor, but they failed to hurt him. and Weitz. Liang Ren cursed for a while, but the military situation was urgent, so they quickly turned and left, leaving the East Coast Knights behind. The knights on the east coast started laughing again and said to each other: Rumor has it that the Liang people are the best at fighting. Everyone in the world thinks they are ghosts that seek life. But when we see them today, they are nothing more than that.
Xizhong Lang General Xu Rong is not from Liang, and he knows that Liang people cannot fight one against ten. He learned about the military situation of the coalition forces heading eastward and judged that Yuanwu and Yangwu were unable to fight the enemy. After sending the news to Luoyang, he immediately gathered his troops, abandoned Yuanwu and Yangwu, and slowly retreated westward.
On the way back to the north, scouts from the southeast came one after another to report: There are also large armies east of Kaifeng and south of Xinzheng. They must be captured tonight, but I don't know where they are? Xu Rong had been in battle for a long time. For him, the intentions of the coalition forces were too obvious. He wrote to Dong Yue and said: The coalition forces are advancing in three directions, with about 200,000 people. They are obviously aiming at Aocang. I have three strategies: upper, middle and lower. , I wonder what you want?
Xu Rong did not state his strategy in the letter, nor did he go to Aocang immediately. Instead, he led his army to stay on the east bank of Bian River. While building fortifications, he continued to dispatch scouts to inquire about the progress of the three armies day and night.
On February 10th, Cao Cao captured Yangwu, Yuan Shao captured Kaifeng, and Kong Min captured Xinzheng; February 12th, Cao Cao captured Yuanwu; February 14th, Cao Cao captured Juan County, Yuan Shao captured Zhongmou, and Kong Min captured Yuanling; February 10th Seventh, Yuan Shao led his army across the Chaoxian River and joined Cao Cao in the south of Juan County. Kong Ming had just occupied Mi County, which was still a hundred miles away from Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. When Xu Rong got the news, he immediately crossed the river to Aocang to ask for an audience with Dong Yue.
Ever since Dong Yue heard that 200,000 troops were approaching Ao Cang, he was greatly frightened. He couldn't eat enough and couldn't sleep at night. He asked the Prime Minister Dong Zhuo for help, but the Prime Minister didn't know what to do. He wrote back saying that there was no reinforcements to send and asked him to precede Ao. Cang stood firm, and after February there were three auxiliary reinforcements. The war situation is ever-changing. Who knows what will happen after February? Dong Yue was even more anxious, and the only savior was Xu Rong, who boasted in the letter. As soon as they met, Dong Yue grabbed Xu Rong's sleeve and asked him, "I wonder what Brother Xu's three strategies are?"
This fashion is at night, Xu Rong looks confident, as if he has a winning ticket. He slapped Dong Yue's palm away and said with a smile, "It's still cold in the weather. Brother Dong, please give me a cup of hot soup first!" Dong Yue had no choice but to give him a cup of hot water. After drinking, Xu Rongcai said, "I heard that the rebel army was divided. It is absurd to attack Aocang in three directions. If more than ten thousand people come directly to attack Aocang, we can only sit back and watch Aocang be trapped. But now my scouts have come to report that the rebel army has missed the south road and is a hundred miles away from me. But fifty miles to the east of the city, there are about a hundred thousand people. They are lined up in a long formation for fifteen miles by the river. Their flanks are weak. This is a great opportunity for our army to win."
"Today, it is the best strategy to send out all the troops and attack the flanks; to lure the enemy to the west and set up an ambush is the middle strategy; to stick to Aocang with deep trenches and high fortresses is the worst strategy. Brother Dong, the fighter plane is fleeting. I hope you don’t have any doubts.”
Dong Yue was very moved. He thought about it again and again, and said to Xu Rongtan: "Brother Xu's plan is good, but the prime minister ordered me to stick to Aocang and go out with all my troops. If I can't win completely, Aocang is in danger of being lost. I worry day and night. , I also realize that it is difficult to make the right strategy, so it is better to use the middle strategy. Just to lure the enemy to come, it will really trouble Brother Xu." Xu Rong understood Dong Yue's worries and had already guessed that he would choose the middle strategy. He was prepared in advance. People were able to finalize a plan to fight.
On the early morning of February 18th, Xu Rong led all the knights under his command to break out of camp and head east. When they traveled 40 miles south to Hucheng Pavilion, they saw the smoke and dust of the advancing coalition forces. A large flag stands out in the smoke and dust. The bunting is three feet long. There are four large characters in regular script embossed with gold powder on the silk: "Fight with force to fight against rebellion." The golden light shines under the spring light. Even if the surrounding flags come into view one after another, it is still visible. Can't take away any of its light.
Xu Rong was not in a hurry to retreat. He ordered his men to turn around and form formation, but still waited for two moments. When the two armies were still half a mile away and he could clearly see the face of the coalition vanguard, he ordered the bugle to sound. , causing the knights to ride quickly westward. Half an hour later, he opened a distance of two miles from the coalition forces, and then stopped where he was. When the coalition forwards were about to engage in battle, he repeated his old trick and ordered the knights to ride westward.
After three or four rounds of such exchanges, Wei Zi, who was in the vanguard, couldn't bear it anymore and went to the Chinese army in person to report to Yuan Shao, saying: "The enemy's behavior is like a cat playing with a mouse. Our army does not fight, nor does it stop." Zuo Zhuan says ; 'One surge of energy will weaken again, and three times it will be exhausted.' I request the chariots and cavalry to send troops to fight, otherwise the morale will be low, the soldiers will be suspicious, and there is a risk of repeating the defeat of Changshao."
Yuan Shao was not good at war, so he had entrusted all his previous arrangements to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao lived up to his expectations. He conquered eight cities in just half a month, and Yuan Shao was quite satisfied. At this time, Wei Zi asked for a fight, and he did not make his own decisions, so he naturally asked Cao Cao for advice.
Cao Cao thought about the situation in his mind: He had no intention of fighting Dong Jun in the field. His previous strategy was nothing more than "using the crowd to bully the few" and "slowly plotting it." Dong Jun was so provocative. It was obvious that he did not want to defend the city and wanted to fight with our army outside the city. In a decisive battle, what the enemy wants is exactly what he does not want to do, so it is better to use cavalry to drive him away and continue to act according to the old plan.
But then he thought about it: I have no fame for my great achievements, but I have a great voice. If I arrange it like this, the princes in the army will probably laugh at me for being weak, and I am afraid there will be many obstacles in giving orders in the future. But now our army has 100,000 people, and there are three of them. Ten Thousand Knights, I have the advantage, why should I be so cautious? There is no 100% certainty in the world, but a 90% chance of victory is enough to start a war.
So Cao Cao said to Yuan Shao: "The enemy has no more than 10,000 knights, and there are 30,000 knights in the army. Why not let the knights be the vanguard, and the infantry be the back-up, chase the enemy to fight, and drive the enemy behind Aocang. If the enemy flees too much, There is nothing to worry about.”
Yuan Shao nodded in agreement and added: "Why do we need 30,000 knights? Although our army has the advantage, Dong Zhuo has been in the army for a long time, so he has no other clever plans. Why not put Guan Yu's troops in the rear to prepare for any eventuality!" Cao Cao knew this! He didn't want Guan Yu to do meritorious service, but he felt that he couldn't persuade him, so he stopped insisting.
