While Liu Bei's army was besieging Puyang, Cao Cao led his army south to retaliate, stopped north of the Zhang River, and conquered troops from Qinghe, Weijun, Zhaojun, Julu, Anping, and Bohai. At this time, soldiers from all over the country were in a hurry and could not arrive, and they heard that Liu Bei had given up the siege of Puyang, leaving only Chen Gong and Zhang Miao to guard the place. The main force chose to continue marching eastward. The vanguard crossed the Jishui River and arrived at Gaotang, a plain.
Cao Cao buckled his saddle with his whip and said in bewilderment: "Liu Bei dared to let go of his retreat and go to the plains? Isn't he afraid that I will go south to cut off his retreat?" He thought carefully for a moment, then his expression changed drastically and he said: "No! It must be the case. Yuan Tan voted for him!"
Yuan Tan is the eldest son of Yuan Shao. Before and after Yuan Shao's death, he stayed in the plains to monitor the movements of the Han army in Qingzhou. In recent years, Yuan Tan has made great military achievements and won the hearts of the people of Hebei. Therefore, Cao Cao was deeply jealous of it and would rather win over Yuan Shang than Yuan Tan. He thought: Yuan Tan and the Yuan family will both prosper and suffer. Even if he is angry in his heart, he should take the overall situation into consideration. But the current movement of Ba Mansion is clearly Yuan Tannan’s move!
Everyone has a good impression of Yuan Tan and will be suspicious of him after hearing his words. But in the afternoon of that day, news came again that Yuan Tan was openly flying the banner of Bafu, building ships and building bridges on the Yellow River, and sent a message to all counties in Jizhou to persuade them to change their ways and be loyal to the court. The scout who returned also came with a letter, which was written to the magistrate of Ganling County. The red seal stamped at the end of the letter had been replaced by the newly made Jizhou governor's seal.
This frightened the generals. Wen Chou and others asked Cao Cao that Yuan Shao could mobilize an army of 170,000 in Hebei before, but after Yuan Shao's death, the soldiers were scattered. Now there are only 80,000 left, which is really impossible to compete with the overlords. , you can wait for the scattered soldiers from various counties to reunite before making plans.
But Jushou disagreed. He said: "Everything in the world can be achieved without a large number of people. When Yuan Gong died, the soldiers who fled were all snobbish and rabble-rous. What's the use of recruiting them? They can't win." ! Now our army is full of elite veterans and determined soldiers. Even if Liu Bei has ten times more soldiers than me, he still dare not claim victory. No need to wait any longer! Send troops now!"
Yan Liang also asked for a fight and said: "Defeat is nothing but death. If you don't fight, will you become a slave?" Xu You took the opportunity to offer advice and said: "It's better to go south to rescue Puyang first and seize the enemy's way back." Cao Ren also said: "After defeating the enemy, It’s best to make them retreat without fighting!”
After Tian Feng heard these words, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "Why don't you understand that the foundation of today is a battle! Liu Bei came with hundreds of thousands of troops, and the situation is uneasy. If we avoid the battle, we will definitely make the world laugh and think that We are afraid of Bafu. By that time, people's hearts will be scattered. Once the favor turns, such as Bohai and Hejian counties surrender, where will we go? I am afraid that the stragglers who have been recruited will also turn to attack us. !”
When Xia Houyuan heard this, he stood up with his sword and shouted: "If you don't fight, you will die. Why are you hesitating? Are you waiting to invite Liu Bei to get riches and honors!" Liu Yu shook his head and said, "But such a hasty decisive battle is not asking for death." Really?" Everyone couldn't argue for a while, and finally they all went to see Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was also struggling in his heart. He looked at Guo Jia and saw that Guo Jia was also looking at him, obviously waiting for him to give an order. He then agreed. This made Cao Cao a little disappointed. He thought to himself, it would be great if Wen Ruo was here, but he was in Qingzhou, and he was probably in Liu Bei's army at this time.
After getting along with each other for several years, Xun Yu has become Cao Cao's most valued friend and his indispensable think tank. However, Cao Cao also knew that Xun Yu was loyal to the Han Dynasty and aspired to restore unification. Therefore, at the end of last year, Liu Bei appointed him as the governor of Qingzhou. Cao Cao did not stop him. It was only at this moment of hesitation that he realized that the two were inseparable.
While he was silent, a soldier suddenly came to report: "Ming Gong, there is a man coming to surrender outside the camp, saying he is an old friend of Ming Gong." This was strange. Guo Tu said alertly: "Now is the time of great chaos. How could Ming Gong have any old friends to join him? Could it be that Chen Chong failed his plan and sent another assassin?"
Everyone believed this and all claimed that they would send someone to arrest this person. The soldier was startled, kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, took out a dagger from his arms, and claimed that it was a token brought by the man. Cao Cao knew it at a glance. Cao Ang took the dagger and felt that it looked strangely familiar, and handed it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao took out the sword blade with ease and saw the word "Valley" inscribed on the sword. He immediately showed joy and left everyone alone to go out. The generals didn't know what was going on, but they didn't dare to let their master go out alone, so they had no choice but to chase after him.
Cao Cao walked quickly to the gate of the camp and saw a man standing in front of the gate. He immediately went up to hug him and said, "Wen Ruo didn't abandon me! What's the point of regretting death?" Everyone was shocked. The man in front of them was in ragged clothes, his face was dusty, his legs and feet were dirty. His hands and feet were stained with mud and yellow ash, and he didn't look cool at all. Who would have expected that it was actually Xun Wangzuo, who was famous for his fragrant beauty!
Xun Yu obviously went through hardships along the way, but he looked calm and raised his eyes and asked Cao Cao: "Does Meng De want to separate the country? Does he want to bring peace to the world?" Cao Cao replied: "Now that we have gained Hebei, we should sweep away Liuhe." Enemies! Revitalize the king's affairs." Xun Yu said with a smile: "In that case, I am willing to use my useless body to help Meng De achieve great achievements."
After the two said this, everyone returned to the main camp, while Xun Yu cleaned himself, changed his clothes, and then entered the camp to discuss matters with everyone. Only then did everyone see Xun Yu's face, and they couldn't help but secretly admire his beauty. However, Cao Cao told him frankly about the current predicament and listened to everyone's opinions. Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "What Tian Jun said is The right way! Since Hebei is our foundation, we cannot lose it suddenly. When I came here, the Bafu army had not yet arrived. If we rush to the Bohai Sea to set up defenses, we still have a chance to stalemate with the Bafu. After people's hearts stabilize, it will be a good opportunity to go south to invade. !”
Everyone looked at Cao Cao at this time. Cao Cao no longer looked embarrassed. He nodded and said, "What Wen Ruo said is very much in line with my heart!"
So everyone stopped arguing and selected about 60,000 elite soldiers, leaving 20,000 old and weak people here to continue waiting for reinforcements. Cao Ang led them and ordered him to go south as appropriate to rescue Puyang. After all, the generals and families of Yanzhou are all in Puyang now. Once they fall, Yanzhou's fighting spirit will probably disappear, so they still have to save it. However, Hebei's soldiers were already weak, and now they were divided again, which made the sergeants of the army feel that their future was bleak.
The soldiers running east carried half a month's worth of food and grass, led their horses across the Zhang River, and waved goodbye to those on the west bank. Many of them shed tears on their sleeves. Cao Cao, standing among the soldiers, ordered tigers and leopards to ride on the banks of the Zhang River to maintain order, and supervised the entire army swimming directly across the river. But I have seen the river soldiers bundle weapons, clothing and other supplies with cowhide, and they were carried on the back of the horse. They were only wearing single clothes, and they were submerged into the cold river water with the horse, cutting through the waves. Some people paddled with their ponytails tied, some hugged the horse's neck, and some lay motionless on the horse's back. The darkness was spectacular. There are also unfortunate people who were washed away by the water, rising and falling in the river, and finally disappeared without a trace. When others saw it, they could only lament to themselves. The reason for the forced crossing of the Zhangshui River was that there was no time to collect boats to cross the river. The few wooden boats available were not enough to load and unload iron armor and baggage. With so many people and horses pouring into the Zhang River, the original rapids seemed to be stagnant due to the flow of people.
After crossing the Qinghe River and the old route of the Yellow River in this way [1], 60,000 people marched in a hurry for seven days, running for 600 miles, and finally occupied the coincident city in advance before the Bafu army arrived. At this time, the vanguard of the Bafu Army had already arrived in Laoling City on the south bank of the Guduma River, and the following armies continued to rush towards the front line like hundreds of rivers converging.
At this moment, both sides seemed to have a tacit understanding. They knew that the enemy troops were on the side, but they did not lead the crowd to harass them. Instead, they organized their troops and ordered them to calm down the troops. But many soldiers said: they smelled the enemy.
Cao's army traveled all the way, which was much harder than the Bafu army, so they spent the past two days resting, some eating and warming themselves by the fire, and some lying in tents to rest. On this day, Cao Cao was studying the layout of the camp in his tent when he heard a man secretly asking for an audience. He was able to see him. It turned out to be Gongsun Ji, an old subordinate of Liu Yu.
Cao Cao asked him, "Why do you come to see me? Is something happening?"
Gongsun Ji looked around in confusion, and Cao Cao ordered them all to come out of the tent, and then heard him say: "Marshal, today when Wei Dun and I were discussing matters with Duke Bo'an, Duke Bo'an suddenly said that the reason why he lived in seclusion before was The reason why he came out of the mountain now was because he thought Liu Bei was a sycophant, and the marshal wanted to help him. Unexpectedly, when he entered the army, he saw the marshal's words, which showed that he did not respect the emperor and the king, and he felt regretful in his heart. "
Speaking of this, Gongsun Ji couldn't help but hesitant, but seeing Cao Cao's face gradually becoming gloomy, he gained more courage and forced himself to continue: "Therefore, Duke Bo'an said, if we cannot win this battle, we will all die without a chance. It is enough to die for the king, but if he is lucky enough to win, he must find an opportunity to assassinate the king and regain the power of Hebei!"
Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this. Suddenly I heard a croaking noise in the sky, and I went out of my tent to look. It turned out to be a flock of crows flying overhead. Crows were a bad omen, and Cao Cao couldn't help feeling disgusted when he saw them. He returned to his tent, put down the tent, and said to Gongsun Ji, "Thank you very much, Gongsun Ji. I will never forget your kindness."
Gongsun Ji lowered his head, carefully watching Cao Cao's expression, and asked: "How should I deal with the matter of Duke Bo'an?"
Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Go back and make sure nothing happens. If he makes any moves again, it won't be too late for you to report it. As for the rest, I will have my own arrangements." He reached out and pressed Gongsun Ji's shoulder and whispered. : "If an accident happens, don't say anything."
Gongsun Ji was shocked, then kowtowed and declined.
The next day, Cao Cao held a military meeting and asked about the current situation of various ministries and whether there were any difficulties in supplying from the Bohai Sea. During the meeting, he specially observed Liu Yu's expression. Seeing Liu Yu's taciturn and preoccupied appearance, he suddenly understood.
It was now September 18th, the cold dew season had passed, and the weather was getting colder. Cao Cao's camp has just been completed, and the Bafu army has arrived, and the war seems to be about to break out.
[1] The old course of the Yellow River: refers to the third year after the founding of the People's Republic of China by Wang Mang (AD 11), when the Yellow River burst and changed its course. The Yellow River originally flowed from Puyang, Henan, to Dongguang, Hebei. Later, during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Wang Jing controlled the water flow and diverted the Yellow River from Changshoujin to the old river path of the Western Han Dynasty. It followed the ancient Luoshui River eastward and meandered between the present-day Yellow River and the Majia River, and finally entered the sea in the south of Binxian County. This river has been stable for more than 800 years without major changes. During this period, there were few overflows and no major diversions. Therefore, many histories of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties fail to note the river canals, and there is no record of the course of the Yellow River in "Sui Shu Geography". Wang Jing's water control can also be regarded as the most successful water control in ancient times.
