At the beginning of the Linzi Rebellion, when Zhang Yan led his troops eastward to Linzi, Cao Cao on the front line did not notice anything was wrong. They speculated that during the Spring Plowing and Autumn War, Linzi might have summoned the generals to prepare for this autumn's war. But after more than ten days, there was no reinforcement to rush to Yanzhou. On the contrary, the Montenegrin Army had a tendency to mobilize troops to the east. Various situations showed that great changes had occurred in Linzi.
Cao Cao sensed something was wrong and immediately sent people to Jiyin to capture the prisoners. After some torture, he finally got the news of the Linzi coup and the rebellion of the princes. Although he didn't know the specific details, there was no doubt about the chaos in Linzi. This made Cao Cao overjoyed. He immediately sent a message to Chang'an and Jinyang, and began to collect intelligence and recruit troops, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to regain the lost territory.
Liu Bei received the news from Cao Cao and soon wrote to ask Chen Chong for his opinion. Unexpectedly, half a year after returning to Bingzhou, due to the Xianbei rampage on the border, his attitude towards the Eastern Expedition changed greatly. He actually wrote in a letter: "At the beginning of this year, I originally planned to raise a large number of troops for the Eastern Expedition. However, in recent days, the invasion from the north has gradually increased, and Kebi If he can be rampant, there are rumors that he will launch a big bandit attack this autumn. Consolidating the state is my foundation, and the bandit army is killing each other, should we resist the northern bandits first, wait for the Kanto rebellion for many days, and then raise troops to conquer?"
After Chen Chong read it, he immediately frowned and refuted it, and wrote back: "The chaos in Guandong, Fangzhen, and military disasters are all over the place, so that the lives of the people are in ruins and the people are crying. This is the time when you save the people from fire and water, and save the court from the breach of trust. How can you say this at all? ? Not to mention that Yanmen is steep and the two cities are high. If a good general leads thousands of people to defend it, what worries can there be? In wars in the world, good opportunities are the rarest. Now that the military plane is ahead, how can there be any reason to sit back and watch?"
Liu Bei then changed his mind and left Duan Zhen to guard Yanmen. He ordered about 50,000 soldiers and horses from the five counties of Hedong, Taiping, Shangjun, Shangdang and Jinyang to join the army. Then he went south to Hanoi and arrived at Luoyang via the river bridge to summon last year's troops. The generals stationed in Kanto discussed the war.
It was already August 20th, and the situation in Kanto had gradually become clearer.
Although Wu Ba raised his troops in Qingzhou, he was unable to unite with the others. The Guan brothers took advantage of Wu Ba's moment when he was alone and fought Wu Ba in Dong'an. Wu Ba was defeated and fled back to Beihai in embarrassment. Guan Hai led the army to pursue his army. Successfully besieged it in Pingchang, and recruited all the counties in Qingzhou, and it will be wiped out in a few days.
But the situation in Yanzhou is irreversible. When Zhang Fang learned of his father's death, he led a cavalry force of 10,000 people and marched 800 miles in seven days. He quickly occupied Jibei Kingdom and then marched to Mount Tai. Fortunately, the Taishan bandit Zang Ba and others had no intention of joining forces with him, and instead opposed Zhang Fang in Juping and Chengxian areas. The terrain of Taishan County was mountainous, which was not conducive to cavalry galloping. Zhang Fang was defeated by Zang Ba of Changxun, and the two sides temporarily reached a stalemate in Jibei.
Except for Langya County, Xuzhou's counties are still nominally affiliated with Linzi, but are actually independent. After the Guan brothers learned of the results of the recommendation, they recognized Han Siam and Yang's official position and issued successive edicts, ordering them to rush to support Taishan to fight against the Montenegrin army. However, although the Baibo army received the order, they remained unmoved. Instead, they sent troops south to attack Guangling County under Yuan Shu's command, thereby drawing Yuan Shu into the battle.
Yuan Shu captured Lujiang in early March and defeated Lu Kang. In order to establish his authority in Jiangdong, he razed Juchao City and passed Lu Kang to the first six counties. Only two counties in Yangzhou, Yuzhang and Kuaiji, had not yet surrendered. Seeing this, the governor had to surrender to Yuan Shu. At this time, Yuan Shu was at his best. Unexpectedly, fighting broke out again in Guangling. He was very angry about this, so he personally led his army north to confront Bai Bo's army to seize the land.
All in all, from the south of the Yellow River to the east of Chenliu, there was melee fighting everywhere. But the more chaotic the situation becomes, the more important the commander’s vision and ability become.
No one had any objection as to where to attack, and they all prioritized recovering Yanzhou. But there are various opinions on what strategy to adopt.
Zhang Fei first said: "Our army is now powerful and divided into pieces. The gap between the two sides is as big as clouds and mud. What is there to consider or hesitate about? As long as we seize the opportunity and fight the bandit army decisively, we will definitely regain Yanzhou in one battle." "
However, Xun You held an objection. He analyzed: "Although the moth thieves are currently fighting in a melee, their power cannot be underestimated. After all, each of them has more than 100,000 people, and they still cannot be quelled in a hurry. General Du Liao said that they can recover in one battle. , but I don’t think that if the enemy’s army has deep ditches and high fortresses and does not fight with our army in the field, what will we do?”
Speaking of this, Xun You turned to Liu Bei and said: "If Ming Gong has the ambition to restore the land, he should know that it is urgent now, not in war, but in slowness and not in urgency."
Liu Beiqi said: "When I was in Jinyang, I sent a letter to Ting Jian, saying that this year is not suitable for war, but Ting Jian said that the opportunity was rare, so he urged me to send troops here. But listening to Gongda's words today is not contrary to Ting Jian's wishes. Really? Could it be that Gongda also asked me to return to Jinyang?"
When Xun You heard this, he shook his head and said with a smile: "Ming Gong, the priorities I mentioned are different from those of Ting Jian! What Ting Jian said was to prevent Ming Gong from being on the sidelines. But the priorities I mentioned were the priorities before the battle. , means to ask Ming Gong not to use large numbers of troops to suppress the situation, but to use kindness and power at the same time, war and appeasement at the same time!"
Liu Bei thought about the situation, smiled slowly, and said to Xun You: "I understand what you mean. Although the enemy army is in chaos, the main enemy is still our army. If our army presses the border, the moth thieves will temporarily let go of Qiu Yu and work together. If you are facing an enemy with me, it is better for me to divide them and defeat them one by one.”
Now that the strategy of appeasing first and then suppressing has been decided, it is necessary to decide who to win over. In the Montenegrin Army, Liu Bei had old friendships with Bai Rao and Yu Du, and they attacked Jinyang City together. Although they failed and the Heishan Army defected before the battle, there was no fighting in the end. Among the Taishan bandits, Liu Beisu was friendly with Chang Xi, and Zang Ba also worked with Chen Chong when he was fighting against Dong. If they wanted to recruit him, these were the best candidates.
But while Liu Bei was formulating a strategy in Luoyang, Cao Cao on the front line could no longer hold back.
In early August, Cao Cao received a notice from the Jinyang shogunate, stating that Liu Bei would launch an eastern expedition in August and asked the generals to attend the meeting in Luoyang. As the shepherd of Yanzhou, Cao Cao was responsible for the frontline war and did not have to go to Luoyang.
Cao Cao saw a glimmer of opportunity.
Privately, he discussed with Cao Ren, Xia Houdun and other relatives: "Now Xuande has come to Luoyang with 50,000 people, and his military power is stronger than last year. However, the moth thieves are fighting among themselves and attacking each other. Their power is even worse than last year." Not only is it several times smaller, but if we wait for Xuande to decide on the plan and send troops, the moth thieves will definitely be difficult to support. Even if there are some disturbances, as far as Yanzhou is concerned, it will definitely be recovered."
At this point, Cao Cao paused for a moment, but his expression was full of reluctance. He patted himself on the shoulder and said with emotion: "At that time, the world will only praise Xuande's reputation and think that he is the only hero. Who else will Who knows about me, Cao Mengde?"
When Cao Ren heard this, he immediately understood what Cao Cao meant. He patted the scabbard and said with a smile: "It seems that Meng De, you have made a plan. After all, where do you want to attack first? No matter what the strong enemy is, I, Cao Zixiao, They will ride in front to clear the way for you!"
"Okay!" Cao Cao was very satisfied when he saw Cao Ren's arrogance. He waved his hand, took the map, pointed at Puyang and said loudly: "In the past two years, we have suffered so much and suffered repeated setbacks that the rebels have looked down on us. This In the first battle, if we don't make a sound, we will make a big splash! We will attack Puyang!"
As soon as the words fell, everyone present was shocked. Now, although Zhang Fang personally leads thousands of cavalry to the east, the main force is still stationed on the eastern front. Especially inside Puyang City, it is the core of the entire defense line. As early as last month, they found out clearly that there were no fewer than 40,000 Puyang defenders. And now Cao Cao's total number of troops is only 40,000. If we only count the troops that can be mobilized now, they only number 20,000. Is it really feasible to attack a city of 40,000 with an army of 20,000?
Seeing everyone's hesitation, Cao Cao seemed confident. He smiled and said: "Don't worry, we don't need to attack the city in this battle. I have already thought of a strategy. As long as we reach Puyang, we will definitely let the enemy take the initiative to leave the city and fight with us in the field." What you should be worried about is what we should do with so many prisoners of war after the victory!"
After saying that, Cao Cao's face gradually calmed down and he began to give orders to everyone: he divided the entire army into three groups, one for himself, one for Cao Ren, and one for Xiahou Dun.
Cao Ren led 5,000 infantry and had generals such as Cao Chun, Cao Hong, and Zhang Miao under his command. Cao Cao ordered them to march at night and ambush in the dense forest twenty miles east of Wei Township, waiting for news from him.
Xiahou Dun led more than ten thousand infantry, and under his command were generals such as Xiahou Yuan, Xia Houlian, and Bao Xin. Cao Cao ordered them to march into Jujube with great fanfare, making it look like soldiers and horses were constantly arriving from the west.
Cao Cao himself led a cavalry army of five thousand, with generals such as Cao Ang, Le Jin, and Dian Wei under his command. Each of these cavalry troops had their own horses. Cao Cao wanted to use this cavalry army to defeat the Puyang Black Mountain Army.
After the order was given, everyone began to make hurried preparations. Only Cao Ang and others left, he asked Cao Cao: "Sir, the general has issued an order and will soon lead the army to the east. We have sent troops without the permission of the general." , will it ruin the overall situation? And will it arouse the suspicion of the general?"
Cao Cao pondered for a moment and then said slowly: "You are too worried. My father is the shepherd of Yanzhou and is responsible for defending the land against the thieves. Now I am raising troops to fight against the thieves, but I am just performing my duties. How can I make the general jealous? If I win, I will There is no merit but no fault. If you are defeated, it will only be a minor injury in the court, and it will not cause any major problems."
Seeing that Cao Ang was still worried, he added: "When I send troops, I will send a message to Luoyang. You can go and rest!"
Cao Ang knew that it would be useless to talk more, so he bowed to his father and hurriedly retreated. After Cao Cao watched him leave, he sat back on the chairman's chair, pointed at the mountains and rivers on the map, and continued to polish the details of the war in his mind.
On August 23, when Liu Bei was still selecting candidates to recruit, he suddenly received a military report from Chen Liu. Liu Bei was quite surprised. After all, Cao Cao had already written a letter before, saying that the Montenegrin Army had made no moves, and he did not know the reason for his letter at this time.
After reading the results, Liu Bei was shocked.
Cao Cao stated in the military report that it has been nearly two months since the moth thieves were in chaos, and there seemed to be signs of reinforcements from the first side of the thieves. If we wait for Zhang Fang to return for reinforcements, all our chances of fighting will be lost, and our efforts this year will be in vain. A few days ago, he had an internal response in Puyang, and he had agreed on a time to open the door and break the city. Therefore, he would lead 20,000 troops and attack Puyang on the 24th.
Finally, Cao Cao issued a military order: If he cannot win this battle, he will die to serve his country!
