At the turn of autumn and winter in the sixth year of Yanxing, Marshal Cao Cao offered sacrifices to heaven in Ganling to express his condolences to the country because of Beipi's military exploits. Then, with the title of supporting the royal family and fighting against the national traitors, Liu He, the son of Xingwu General Liu Yu, was appointed as the King of Qinghe and the Qinghe Palace was established. He even spread the message to Henan, Shanxi, Liaodong, Qingxu, Jiangbiao and other places, aiming to regain the lost land in Henan.
By the beginning of October, Cao Cao crossed the river south and stationed troops in Gaotang. The troops were divided into three groups and went south to seize the victory.
On the east road, General Anwu led the army with a total of 20,000 people in Yecheng. After Cao Cao recruited Sima Fang to surrender, he appointed Shi Tianfeng, the left commander of the Marshal's Mansion, as his commander, and ordered him to lead the surrendered army in Hanoi to increase the army for Shendu. More than 10,000 people headed east to regain the lost territory.
At this time, Zhong Yao and Gongsun Zan had already retreated, followed by Shen Pei, who successively recovered the counties involved in the country and rushed directly into the territory of Shangdang. They also captured Lu County and advanced to Huguan. Bingzhou was shaken and defended with heavy troops. Shen Pei knew that Hu Pass was not easy to capture, so he left only a small number of troops to attack Lu County and then attacked Hanoi.
Hanoi is the hometown of Sima Fang and has been in business for a long time. When the noble families in the county learned of the defeat of the Han army, they turned against them. Within six days, the Eastern Army conquered seven counties: Danyin, Chaoge, Jixian, Huojia, Xiuwu, Wude, and Shanyang counties. It wasn't until Wei Yan led 20,000 troops and stationed in Huai County and Yongcheng that he barely stopped Hanoi's decline.
The middle route was led by the general Cao Ang. Before the Bohai War, he and Cao Cao divided their forces and continued to wait for soldiers from various counties in Yuancheng. By the time after the war, Cao Ang had gathered 50,000 soldiers. Cao Bencao sent Cao Ren to assist the left, and ordered them to lead the army south to relieve the siege of Puyang.
At this time, Chen Gong had begun to retreat, leaving only more than 2,000 men to monitor Puyang. When the Central Route Army appeared on the other side, the remaining soldiers had no intention of fighting and immediately abandoned the camp and left. Cao Jun was able to recover most of Dongjun without any effort, and then, under the guidance of Cheng Yu, attacked Dongping and Jibei in an attempt to regain Mount Tai.
The west route is the top priority of Cao Jun's attack. Led by Marshal Cao Cao, most of his subordinates were elites from the Bohai War. They set out from Gaotang, with Xun or as their guide, and sent troops in the opposite direction to Qingzhou.
This route was the earliest to send troops and the effect was the most significant. Qingzhou was not affiliated with Liu Bei, and was afraid of Cao Cao's military power in the past. In addition, most of the people who guarded Qingzhou were Taishan thieves. As soon as Cao's army arrived, they almost surrendered and there was no battle to speak of. Chang Xi first pretended to surrender from Beipi, and then fled south. His original intention was to use Linzi as a major defense, reorganize and fight again in Beihai, but unexpectedly many people in Taishan held the theory of surrender, so he had no choice but to continue fleeing with his four thousand direct descendants. , and fled until they reached the state of Pei.
In this way, Cao Cao captured almost the entire Qingzhou, then occupied Langya, and directly suppressed Lu from the east.
Zhang Fei and Fazheng did not expect Qingzhou to be lost so quickly. In the past few days, more than 20,000 people had been forced to leave Xuzhou. If they were to confront Cao Cao in the state of Lu, Cao Ang in the west would respond and march south from Shanyang. , easily cutting off the Han army's retreat. Zhang Fei had no choice but to continue retreating south, also to Pei State.
But as a result, the situation in Yanzhou was very bad. Chen Gong and Zhang Miao could only mobilize their troops in Jiyin and Chenliu counties in order to defend Luoyang without losing it. They actually moved Dongping, Jibei, Rencheng, Shanyang, and Taishan. The five counties were all thrown to Cao Ang.
In just one month, the Han army lost two states and thirteen counties one after another, and I am afraid it will be difficult to stay in Xuzhou for a long time. The offensive and defensive momentum has reversed to this point, which no one expected.
News of the recapture of Yanzhou reached Cao Cao, who was inspecting Linzi City with generals Li Zheng and Li Dian. Cao Cao couldn't help laughing when he heard this and asked the musicians to perform "Bohai Breaking Formation Music", which was widely praised among the armies. At the night banquet the next day, Cao Cao and his generals had fun again in the tent. The music reached its climax. The soldiers shouted "Long live" while Cao Cao drew his sword and danced, comparing himself to Taigong and Yin Yin.
After the dance, Cao Cao still wanted to find a painter, and ordered Guo Jia to find a painter and carve the "Picture of Zhongliang and Breaking Thieves" on the wall of Linzi City, which was divided into "Cheng Yu stood firm", "Li Qian fell into battle", "Cao Ren side attack", "Zhu Ling rescued" There are eight pictures including "Master", "Beheading by Road Moves", "Capture of Guan Yu", "Liu Yu Fights to Death", and "Providing the Head to Xu Shu" to commend the generals for their concerted efforts and Cao Cao's bravery, which further showed the fear of the Han army. It's just that when Cao Cao saw this painting again, it was already a time of life and death for the country. This is another story.
But during this period, the impact of the abandonment of troops and soil on the morale of the Han army was secondary. The most terrible thing was that since the fall into the water, General Liu Bei became seriously ill and was unable to see anything. There is no sign of recovery.
Since the epidemic treatment in Linzi last year, Zhang Zhongjing has been highly valued by Liu Bei and was appointed as the imperial physician of Bafu. This time he also accompanied the army. After the Bohai War, he endured the grief of his elder brother's death in battle and continued to treat Liu Bei's illnesses. But this time the typhoid fever came too quickly, and all the herbs prepared when it came were thrown away when it retreated, which made Zhang Zhongjing feel quite troubled.
On the way back west, Liu Bei suffered from high fever for several days, was confused, sometimes vomited, and sometimes had diarrhea. When he arrived at Chenliu, although Liu Bei had survived the high fever, his face was black, his eyes were dark, his lips and teeth were trembling, and his skin also looked sickly pale. Xun You, who was escorting, spoke to him, and he seemed to listen for a long time, but no matter what Xun You said, he never said a word.
Fortunately, Chen Liu had some medicinal herbs, so Zhang Zhongjing was able to cure him. He took licorice, ginger, cassia twig, ginseng, rehmannia glutinosa, donkey-hide gelatin, Ophiopogon japonicus, hemp seeds, and jujube as medicine. He added water and wine to decoct the medicine three times a day, and then took a medicinal bath. Only then could Liu Bei's low-grade fever be relieved. .
But the journey took too long, and Liu Bei finally got over the typhoid fever, and then contracted liver disease. This left him with extremely poor appetite and weakness. He could barely drink two bowls of porridge and water every day. This went on for several days, until his bones were broken. If Chen Chong were here, he would definitely be surprised. The light-weary and frail middle-aged man in front of him is Liu Xuande, who rode and shot deer in Zhuoxian County when he was young.
After a bumpy journey, Liu Bei's spirit improved slightly when he was settled in Shanglin Garden in Luoyang.
On October 21st, Liu Bei, who had been sleeping for a long time, was suddenly awakened by a loud noise, which seemed to be the shouts of his classmates when Luoyang was studying. Among them were him, Gongsun Zan, Liu Deran, and many others who had already seen him. People who can't come. He wanted to get closer, but couldn't. He could only listen attentively, and gradually discovered that it was not the noise of human voices, but the sound of trumpets. where is this? Is it the giant deer besieging the Yellow Turban? Did the Huns attack from the bottom of Longshan? Or is Pingcheng's leader fearlessly breaking out of the encirclement? Or is it the Dragon Head of the Great Po Liang Army?
Suddenly, under the dim sky, almost endless reeds came into view, and the crash of armor and weapons and the thunder of horse hooves came roaring. He couldn't help but let out a loud shout and suddenly opened his eyes.
Only then did he realize that he was still in Luoyang Mansion. Hearing the sound of his awakening, all the people serving in the room fell to the ground.
Liu Bei glanced at the people on the ground with his weak eyes and asked in a weak voice. Cang Tou heard it and came closer to hear him ask: "Where is Ting Jian? Why aren't Yun Chang and Yide here?"
How can Cangtou dare to answer? But he also understood that it was normal for a patient to become dizzy after lying down for a long time, so he whispered: "General, please wait a moment. I'll call for Dr. Zhang right now."
Only then did Liu Bei react, and he laughed at himself: "Liu Xuande has been in good times for so long, but he can no longer bear defeat."
At this time, Zhang Zhongjing, who learned the news, came in with medical tools and stretched out his hand to check Liu Bei's condition.
Liu Bei joked: "Medical Sage Zhang, can my disease be cured? Life or death is a matter of fate. Please tell me the truth. If I can be cured, I will be rewarded fifty gold." [1]
Zhang Zhongjing seemed as if he hadn't heard anything. After taking the pulse attentively, he stretched his hand to Liu Bei's left upper abdomen and pressed it gently. Liu Bei couldn't help but exhale in pain, sweating profusely, and his originally hoarse voice became even weaker at this moment. Zhang Zhongjing said: "Although the general is conscious, his condition has not improved. I am afraid he will have to rest for more than a month before he can go to the ground."
After saying that, he turned around and called Cang Tou, telling him to add some honey and mutton mince to the porridge today to help Liu Bei regain his strength. Liu Bei couldn't help but smile bitterly.
After a while, Zhang Zhongjing asked Liu Bei to lie down, took off his shirt, burned silver needles with hot fire, and gave him acupuncture to relieve the pain. Liu Bei sweated a little and felt better, so he asked Zhang Zhongjing, "Is it sunny today?" Zhang Zhongjing shook his head slightly, and Liu Bei said, "It's a pity. In winter, if you can enjoy the warmth of the sun at noon, lean on the plum branches and smoke, Dancing with swords is one of the joys of life."
Zhang Zhongjing said slowly: "General, you should wait a little longer. There is no shortage of plum trees in Shanglin Garden, and there will always be time. But if the wind and cold come again, I will not be able to save him." Liu Bei was speechless.
After the acupuncture was completed, Xun You heard that Liu Bei had woken up and immediately came with the documents. Zhang Zhongjing originally did not want Liu Bei to take charge of the matter, but he also knew that the situation was corrupt now and Liu Bei had no choice but to be in charge. He could only tell Xun You that it would be half an hour at most before Liu Bei could rest.
When Xun You walked in, Liu Bei saw the scars on his face for the first time. This was on the way to escape. Xun You was injured by the loss, leaving a half-inch long scratch on the left side of his face. It has healed now, but it still looks very irritating. He suddenly thought of the embarrassing scene during the escape, and couldn't help but be speechless.
To make a long story short, Xun You spent about a quarter of an hour giving Liu Bei a brief introduction to the current situation. Liu Bei was speechless. After a long time, he asked again: "Is there any news about Yunchang?"
Xun You said: "There are many rumors among the bandits that Guan Shijun has surrendered to Cao Cao, but no one has seen it yet."
Liu Bei smiled, waved his hand slightly and said, "This must be Cao Cao's rumor and is not worth mentioning. Xiahou Yuanrang is still in our hands. Send someone to talk to Cao Cao to see if we can get Yun Chang back."
Xun You nodded and said yes, Liu Bei turned to ask: "Can Ting Jian send reinforcements?"
Xun You said: "Sili Xiaowei ordered General Zhenbei (Duan Xuan) to withdraw from Juyong Pass, vacate Shanggu and Daijun, leave 10,000 troops in Pingcheng, and then led 20,000 Yanmen troops to come south to aid, and Youzhou Mu ( Gongsun Zan also led 20,000 horsemen to guard Tianjing Pass. If there is any change in Hanoi, he would always go south to provide support." Liu Bei sighed after hearing this.
Xun You hesitated for a moment and then said: "It's just a matter of Dong Cheng and Liu Chong cutting Hangu Pass. How should we solve it?"
Liu Bei closed his eyes for a moment and said slowly: "Hangu Pass was rebuilt by Yunchang. If we attack it from the front, it is really difficult to capture. Fortunately, Ji Pass and Tianjing Pass are still in our hands. If we waste some food, we will waste more. We We don’t have any extra troops, so let’s wait for news from Ting Jian.”
[1] Grant fifty gold: Liu Bei’s joke here is about his great ancestor Liu Bangdian. During Liu Bang's crusade against Yingbu, he was trapped by the enemy. Although the crusade against Yingbu was successful, he also fell ill as a result. After returning to the palace, her condition worsened. Empress Lu welcomed a good doctor to see her. Liu Bang asked the imperial doctor how her condition was, and the imperial doctor said: "The disease can be cured." Then Gaozu cursed: "I use a commoner to carry a three-foot sword to conquer the world. This is not right. Is it destiny? Destiny is in heaven. What's the use of being a magpie!" So he stopped treating the disease and gave the imperial doctor fifty catties of gold.
