After the Battle of Bianshui, the coalition forces returned to Suanzao and continued to drink and rejoice as if nothing had happened. However, during the war, the whole army was completely defeated, and the scene of all the princes panicking and rushing back was actually remembered by everyone. No one at the meeting talked about entering Luo. This made Yuan Shao very upset. He also thought of Guan Yu's counterattack. After forcing the Liang people to retreat, I couldn't help but secretly resent: the scholars usually boasted about their achievements, but were useless in the war. I didn't know military affairs, so I could only rely on Cao Cao, but I couldn't compare with Chen Chong's generals!
Since he was raised, Yuan Shao has always been proud of his reputation, but now he has suffered setbacks one after another, which has gradually calmed his mood. He understands that in order to achieve great things, he must rely on his own strategies, so he studied military training in Suanzao. He also sent retainers to look for capable warriors in the coalition army and won them over with the promise of high-ranking officials and generous salaries.
The first one to win over was naturally Guan Yu. Yuan Shao was tolerant on the outside and taboo on the inside. At this time, he often remembered Guan Yu's sarcastic words about him, but when he was at his lowest point, he was restrained and tolerant. After issuing the order, Xu You and other celebrities often came to have banquets with Guan Yu. It is often revealed that as long as Guan Yu changes his family, he can also worship Guan Yu as a general.
It's a pity that Guan Yu has no intention of fame, and he also hates being arrogant and respectful at the end. Yuan Shao's behavior made him quite contemptuous. Among the princes, only Cao Cao, Zang Ba, and Bao Xin could come into his eyes.
Now that Cao Cao had left and the princes were in internal strife, Guan Yu had no intention of staying here. He just sent a message to Jinyang, informing Liu Bei and Chen Chong of everything going on. He also asked about the preparations for the war. On the third day of May, he received a reply and said goodbye to Yuan Shao immediately.
Before departure, Zang Hong came to say goodbye. He followed the cavalry ten miles south, until they reached the bank of the sewer. It was cloudless at that time, the sun was bright, the sky was blue, the water was sparkling, the lotus leaves were round, and the lotus leaves were pavilion. The scenery of heaven and earth was particularly eye-catching. Zang Hong He raised his eyes and looked around at the luxuriant grasses in the wilderness, but what he said in his mouth was a lament: "When you see the vastness of the sky and the earth, you realize how vague the world is. The clouds are long, and even you are going south. How can there be anyone fighting among the jujubes?"
Guan Yu went to the waterside, broke off a branch under a willow tree, and gave it to Zang Hong. Among the princes, he was the only one who admired Zang Hong, so he encouraged him and said: "There is Ziyuan in the jujube, so it cannot be said that no one is fighting hard, let alone me. This time I went south to contact Sun Wentai and attack Dong Zhibing again. As long as I have the thought of serving the country in my heart, there will always be a time when my wish will come true."
The two said goodbye, and Guan Yu led his army out of Chenliu and into Yingchuan. Li Min, the prefect of Yingchuan, learned the news and came to Changshe from Yangzhai to guide him. When passing through Xu County, I heard that Chen Chong's sworn brothers were leading an army. The local knights vied for their support, but Guan Yu declined. Guan Yu said to them: "It is a good thing to do your best for the country, but war is not a child's play. You should be self-explanatory when doing things." I have come to discuss Dong's affairs with General Hou. Everything I say and do is related to the success or failure of the plan. I really can't arouse suspicion here. If you are determined to serve the country, you can go to Bingzhou. I would like to write a letter to recommend you. .”
After hearing this, the elders of the wealthy families left behind in Yingchuan all praised him and said, "He treats the people kindly and is not arrogant because of his high position. Guan Yunchang behaves like a national scholar. No wonder Tingjian became a brother." So he gave it to Guan Yu as a gift. Guan Yu did not refuse some belongings to anyone who came. He thanked the celebrities and went to Nanyang first on the grounds that he was eager to appeal to Dong.
At this time, Yuan Shu was angry about the incident in Jingzhou. He first sent a letter to Xiangyang, asking Liu Biao why he killed his generals for no reason. Then he counted his troops and ordered Sun Jian to stop the Northern Expedition and prepare to lead the Yuzhou army and Sun Jian's army. They went south together and drove Liu Biao out of Jingzhou while his foothold was not stable.
After Sun Jian heard this order, he could only rush to Wancheng and see Yuan Shu in person. He persuaded him to calm down and said: "Now is the time when the war is about to begin. Although we have many soldiers, they are not large enough to do whatever we want. Nanyang Yuzhou was a place of the Four Wars, with Dong Zhuo in the north. The general later had just taken food from Yuan Shao and occupied Yuzhou. At this time, he wanted to send the entire army to Xiangyang. Do you think they would just sit back and watch? I have been in Luyang these days. , there are often Liangqi scouts inquiring about information. With Dong Zhuo's ruthlessness, he will never miss this opportunity.
What's more, I have been in Jingzhou for more than two years, and I am well aware of the greatness of Xiangyang's city defense. Cai Yong once said that Xiangyang 'supports the three states in the south, gathers Kyoto in the north, controls Longdi at the top, connects the rivers and lakes at the bottom, guides wealth and cargo, and controls whether there is any relocation.' To be honest, Xiangyang is surrounded by the Han River and mountains on all sides. It is by no means a city that can be easily captured.
Moreover, now the general is ordering all the armies in the name of supporting the country. But so far, we have not fought with the Liang people. Liu Biao is one of the eight heroes and is a famous man all over the world. The latter does not eliminate the national traitors, but instead first Fighting with celebrities, how can the world be convinced and soldiers compete for the lead? War must be fought with righteousness. General, please think twice! "
Yuan Shu was moved by these words, and Liu Biao sent an envoy to reply and said: He has never killed any of Yuan Shu's generals, but only wiped out some clan traitors who harmed the prefectures and counties. There must be some misunderstanding between the two parties, and he is willing to take the initiative to negotiate with Yuan Shu. They formed a good relationship, negotiated peace and ceased fighting, recommended Yuan Shu as the governor of Nanyang, and provided Yuan Shu with money, food and military supplies for his campaign against Dong. There was a lot of publicity about the matter along the way. After hearing the news, the soldiers became less and less willing to go south. Yuan Shu had no other choice but to make peace with Liu Biao.
But after this incident, Yuan Shu was depressed all day long. In the past, he often pressed Sun Jian to ask when he would go north to challenge Dong, but now he drank and had fun in Wancheng day and night, staring at the map of Jingzhou in a daze from time to time.
At this time, Li Min led Guan Yu into Wancheng and went to his mansion to ask for an audience with Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu suddenly saw such a burly man as Guan Yu. He couldn't help but trembled with fright. He even spilled a little honey water in his hand. He looked at Guan Yu and asked Li Min: " This is a man with lofty ideals who was invited from somewhere, he looks even more frightening than a tiger."
When he heard that it was the envoy from Jinyang, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Chen Ting is as hard as Chu Shi. Now he has finally learned to understand current affairs. Do you know that in this world, am I, Yuan Gongli, the only one who can save the overall situation?"
These words made Guan Yu want to turn around and leave, but he remembered the instructions from Liu Bei and Chen Chong in the letter, so he could only suppress his anger, took out a letter from his arms, handed it to Yuan Shu, and said: "Brother's words are all in this letter. , I hope the general will consider it carefully." Then he stood aside without saying a word, squinting at the door.
Yuan Shu saw this in his eyes. Because he was from a famous family, he had always been proud of himself, and he hated to see anyone look down upon him the most in his life. When he was the Yin of Henan, some eunuch relatives looked down on him. He was caught on the spot and put in jail and his eyes were gouged out. He was later charged with "evil speech", so people at the time thought that he was not afraid of the powerful.
Normally, he would have been furious with Guan Yu, but Chen Chong's initiative to write to him was an unprecedented and unusual thing, which made him feel so happy that he put these details behind him and turned to reviewing the letter.
The letter was written in Pingcheng and contained more than 3,000 words. This was the first time Yuan Shu had read such a long letter. What's more, after traveling for thousands of miles, the handwriting was a little blurred and the paper was a little damaged. However, Yuan Shu became more and more excited as he read. Finally, he got up and wandered around the case for seven or eight times. Then he stopped and asked Guan Yu, "Bingzhou Mu is here." Believe it, but seriously?"
Only then did Guan Yu look him in the face. He was involved in a big plan. He solemnly replied: "You are loyal to your country, how can you dare to lie?"
It turned out that what Chen Chong wrote in the letter was his plan to attack Dong Xin in the past two months. Putting aside the greetings and flattery to Yuan Shu in the letter, he analyzed the plan in detail and explained for Yuan Shu how to reconcile the princes in the east and unite with Han Sui in the west. , The general strategy of a three-pronged attack:
The basic concept of his plan is not much different from Cao Cao's plan in Suanzao, but generally speaking, his strategy to conquer Dong will shift the focus westward, no longer taking Luoyang as the single hub of competition, but also including Chang'an as an equal hub. Important place of war.
Chen Chong believes that although Luoyang has been the capital of the country for nearly two hundred years, as the capital, Luoyang is more than capable of coordinating the world, but it is not geographically advantageous to fight rebellions. Dong Zhuo, who had experienced many wars, knew this very well, so he moved the capital to Chang'an and burned Luoyang and Henan counties to ashes. He only used this as bait to use the dangers of Luoyang's eight passes to consume the strength of the anti-Dong forces. Even if Luoyang was captured, Dong Zhuo could stop his losses in time and collect the main force of the army to the west of Hangu Pass. Even if Hangu Pass was lost, he could still guard Huayin Tong Pass. In this way, he wasted his troops at a dangerous pass, even if the Six Nations It is difficult to win even if we attack vertically and horizontally, let alone the Kwantung Allied Forces that are now in disarray.
Therefore, it was unwise to gather the entire army to attack Luoyang. The art of war has always focused on criticizing the strong and destroying the weak, and attacking in the east and attacking in the west. If he wanted to succeed in defeating Dong, he had to find another way outside Luoyang. Therefore, Chen Chong decided to divide his army and attack Chang'an.
Chang'an is the place where Emperor Gaozu set the tripod. It is surrounded by the stronghold of Weihan in the east, the mountains of Hanzhong in the south, the dangers of mountains and rivers in the north, and the narrow plains of Longban in the west. It can be known from the wars of the pre-Qin Dynasty that Guanzhong is truly unique in the world. important place. It is really difficult to conquer Chang'an. The coalition princes know this clearly, so they would rather besiege Luoyang from three sides than attack Guanzhong.
But Chen Chong didn't think so. First of all, now that Dong Zhuo has moved the capital, the emperor and his ministers have all moved to Chang'an. In both political and military terms, Chang'an is far stronger than Luoyang. Even if the coalition forces capture Luoyang, In addition to getting a piece of white land, there is actually no benefit. Although it seems difficult to attack Chang'an, Dong Zhuo's reign lasted less than a year. Although he had absorbed many Sili troops, his troops were still stretched thin. There were still many ministers in Chang'an who were dissatisfied with Dong Zhuo, but were afraid of Dong Zhuo's rape. Compliance is enough. Once the troops arrive at the city, Dong Zhuo may not even be able to appease the people inside.
Now Dong Zhuo has a dream of Qin resisting the six kingdoms. He believes that as long as the lands of Guandong are in chaos, he can divide them and defeat each one, and at least he can sit back and watch the success or failure of the world. But this is not the case. There are at least three major differences between him and Qin. :
First, before Duke Xiao, the Qin State was repeatedly suppressed by the Wei State. For a time, it lost all the land west of Hexi and was in danger of subjugating the country. It was only because of the loss of power in the Wei State that Wu Qi fled, the three Jin Dynasties were split, and the Wei State was the target of public criticism. This allowed the Qin State to take a breather, and then experienced Shang Jun's reform, organized households into Qi people, and regained the land of Hexi after the Battle of Xibi. On the road to unification. Now the land in Hexi is also occupied by Chen Chong and Liu Bei, who are condescending, but no one under Dong Zhuo can reform the system like Lord Shang, and cannot mobilize the military power of Guanzhong.
Second, after the Han Dynasty merged with Liangzhou, Liangzhou has always been the place where the imperial court used its power. The people were strong and fierce, and Qiang and Hu were everywhere. Now that Han Sui, Ma Teng and others are causing rebellion in Liangzhou, the threat is far greater than that of Qin Dynasty. Dong Zhuo must place a large number of troops on the border between Yong and Liang, which makes his use of troops more tense than that of Qin Dynasty.
Third, after the founder Liu Xiu established his capital in Luoyang, the governance of Guanxi became increasingly lax. During the Qin Dynasty, Guanzhong was a fertile land for thousands of miles. But now, the number of households is less than half of what it was under the rule of Emperor Ping. Various water channels and border defenses are in disrepair. Dong Zhuo moved the people of Henan to Guanzhong has to deal with wars in various places, and it will certainly be impossible to accommodate the overseas Chinese. Under such circumstances, it is extremely easy for chaos to occur in Guanzhong.
With these three major differences, even if Dong Zhuo moved his capital to Chang'an, it would be difficult for him to observe the world's situation like the King of Qin did, and it would not be as difficult as imagined to get Dong's coalition forces to enter the pass and directly conquer Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, Chen Chong planned to transform the small three-pronged pincer attack in Henan into the large three-pronged pincer attack in Guanzhong.
