Xiangyang and Fancheng are a very famous defensive pairing in Chinese history.
Since Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, started from Nanyang, he paid great attention to the defense of Xiangyang and Fancheng. When Liu Biao was the pastor of Jingzhou, in order to fight against the powerful enemy Cao Cao in the north, he began to build Fancheng into a military fortress to defend Xiangyang.
After Cao Cao went south, he was also keenly aware of the importance of the integrated defense of Xiangyang. He not only left Le Jin, one of the five good generals, to defend Xiangyang, but also ordered people to rebuild Fancheng and completely turn Fancheng into a defense base for Xiangyang.
Around Xiangfan, there have been countless battles in Chinese history.
From Guan Yu's attack on Xiangfan, which caused Liu Bei's group to turn from prosperity to decline, to the subsequent confrontation between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty in Xiangfan for more than ten years, Xiangfan's defense system played a vital role.
Judging from the geographical location, Xiangyang is on the south bank of the Han River, while Fancheng is on the north bank of the Han River.
Attack from north to south and attack Fancheng, Xiangyang can send troops to rescue; attack from south to north and attack Xiangyang, Fancheng can send troops to rescue.
Capturing any one of them alone doesn't actually have much effect.
After Xiangyang is captured, the northern defenders can rely on Fancheng as a springboard to threaten Xiangyang's city defense at any time, forcing the attackers to station a large number of troops in Xiangyang.
As for the capture of Fancheng, Fancheng is just a military fortress and does not have much supply and strategic value. The side defending Xiangyang can also rely on the Han River to continue organizing defense.
Therefore, in order to pacify Xiangfan once and for all, it is best to capture the two cities together, so as not to fall into a long-lasting tug of war.
As for how to capture these two cities at the same time that can support each other and form a passive force.
The answer Guan Yu chose was the navy.
Yes, Guan Yu's choice was correct.
Throughout the history of the Battle of Xiangfan, in the four most famous battles of Xiangfan in history, the side with the superior navy was able to take the initiative. Except for Guan Yu's time, in the other three battles, the side with the superior navy won. .
Guan Yu's idea was to use the navy to move up the Han River and gain an absolute advantage on the water, cut off the connection between Xiangyang and Fancheng, and break the mutual support advantage between Xiangyang and Fancheng.
Then, they first besieged Xiangyang City without fighting, and then attacked Fancheng with all their strength.
As long as Fancheng is captured, there is a defensive barrier to the north, and the navy and army are combined to completely block Xiangyang, then Xiangyang will be the turtle in the urn, and it may be possible to surrender directly without fighting.
This was Guan Yu's strategic conception for the Battle of Xiangfan. It must be said that Guan Yu's combat ideas have influenced later generations for a long time.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty defeated the former Qin Dynasty in the Battle of Xiangfan. Yue Fei went north to attack Xiangfan. The Southern Song Dynasty held on to the Xiangfan defense line for more than ten years. They all adopted the method of using the navy to dominate the Han River and seize the initiative. Whether attacking Xiangfan or defending Xiangfan, they all gained Achieved good results.
The method is correct, but the difficulties faced in each battle are different.
Xiangfan's geographical location is too important for Cao Cao to know, so once Guan Yu sends troops to cut off the connection between Xiangyang and Fancheng and storm Fancheng, Cao Cao will definitely send troops from all over to attack Guan Yu.
Cao Ren's first batch of reinforcements, Yu Jin's second batch of reinforcements, and Xu Huang's third batch of reinforcements are all like this. As long as Fancheng is still there, Cao Cao will continue to send reinforcements to rescue.
Guan Yu had to face so many reinforcements, especially in the open area north of the Han River. Whether he could withstand the power of Cao Cao's reinforcements and capture Fancheng quickly became the key.
At this point, Zhang Xi expressed his concerns to Guan Yu.
Guan Yu, on the other hand, felt that Zhang Xi's worries were a bit unnecessary - we are feinting, have you forgotten? !
Guan Yu's purpose in launching the Battle of Xiangfan was to coordinate the Battle of Hanzhong and attract Cao Cao's troops to move south. Of course, the more reinforcements Cao Cao sends, the better. It doesn't matter whether Fancheng can be defeated or not.
Therefore, Guan Yu's purpose is to use Fancheng as bait to focus on attacking Cao Cao's reinforcements. This is the so-called encirclement of reinforcements.
When Zhang Xi heard this, he felt that the development of things was a little different from what he thought.
If this is Guan Yu's plan, it can explain why Cao Ren was beaten by Guan Yu and called daddy, but he was still able to defend Fancheng.
But this cannot be explained. After Guan Yu was defeated by Xu Huang, he still ordered the navy to block the Han River and continue to besiege Xiangyang City. By then, the Battle of Hanzhong was over, and Guan Yu had been driven from the north of the Han River to the south of the Han River by Xu Huang. , we should withdraw our troops.
So, how much did Guan Yu's thoughts change during the Battle of Xiangfan? !
But so far, Guan Yu's mind is still clear, and the battle plan he proposed is in line with the strategic purpose. At least in the eyes of Xu Shu and Zhang Xi, there seems to be nothing to criticize.
The next thing is to prepare for the battle of Xiangfan.
After Xu Shu held this meeting, he had another special meeting with Zhang Xi. On the one hand, they discussed the contact and comfort work with Pan Jun. On the other hand, Xu Shu also repeatedly told Zhang Xi that after going out with the army, he should give advice. You must be brave enough to dissuade the second master and not be as timid as before, otherwise the second master will lead Zhang Xi to attack Xiangfan.
Zhang Xi also knows the importance of this matter and said that he will still work hard to fight for what he has to fight for.
At the same time, Zhang Xi also reminded Xu Shu to be careful about Lu Meng. That guy's abilities must be more than what he showed now. After all, he is a person who "should be looked at with admiration after not seeing him for three days."
This guy might be hiding some evil ideas, so be careful.
Xu Shu also nodded in agreement.
After that, the two of them parted ways. Xu Shu returned to Wuling County to guard it, while Zhang Xi returned to his mansion to hand over the affairs of Nanjun to Zhao Lei, Wang Ji and others. At the same time, he summoned Zhang Ni and asked him to hand over the mining area affairs to Deng Ai. , and reported to Guan Yu's army.
Time passed by unconsciously, and it came to the end of April.
News came from Xudu that in early April, Geng Ji and the imperial doctors Ling Jiben, Sizhi Weihuang, Jin Yi and others launched a rebellion. They attacked Xudu at night, burned the gates, tried to kidnap the emperor and fled, and shot Cao Cao who was left in Xudu. The prime minister of the capital, Wang Bi, has a long shoulder.
Although this matter, Geng Ji, Jiben and others did not make any waves at all, and asked Wang Bi to put it down the next day. However, Cao Cao, who had already raised troops in Yecheng and crossed the Yellow River, heard about this and quickly ordered his army to Change the route and go to Xudu to suppress the rebellion and pacify the place.
Where is Te Xudu? It was Cao Cao's old lair in his early years and where the emperor was.
Xudu has also experienced countless overt and covert power struggles, and Cao Cao has eliminated countless enemies before Cao Cao can safely go to Yecheng, Hebei to establish the capital and become king. Now there are still people trying to rebel? !
Not to mention, the purpose of this group of people is to echo Guan Yu and kidnap the emperor to escape.
If this really allowed those people to succeed, would things still be okay? !
Xudu was a very sensitive place, and Cao Cao had to go there personally to take charge. He was worried about whoever was allowed to go there.
Obviously, these are some of Guan Yu's arrangements north of Xiangyang over the years, and they are now working.
After Guan Yu learned about the rebellion of Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others, he quickly made arrangements and prepared to attack Xiangyang.
Although Guan Yu also knew that when he received the news and raised troops, the rebellion of Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others might have been quelled, but this is not important.
The rebellion in Xudu will inevitably cause instability in the hearts of people in Jingbei and other places. Cao Cao will definitely visit Xudu, and by attacking Xiangyang at this time, he can better contain Cao Cao's troops.
Therefore, Guan Yu decided to divide his troops into two groups and attack Xiangfan.
One way, Guan Yu personally led the troops, leading the navy up the Han River, approaching Xiangyang from the west. The other way, the army led by Zhang Xi, attacked Linju, then turned around in a small circle and went north, approaching Xiangyang.
Guan Yu's timing can be said to be very good, and Sun Quan's timing is not bad either.
After learning that Cao Cao had led his army to attack Xuchang and that Guan Yu had also launched an army to attack Xiangfan, Sun Quan from Jiangdong led 30,000 troops, led by the clan generals Sun Yu and Sun Huan, to invade Hefei.
Sun Quan didn't believe that Cao Cao could ignore the gains and losses of Hanzhong and Xiangyang, and now came to compete with him for Hefei.
For a time, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong, Guan Yu attacked Xiangfan, Sun Quan attacked Hefei, and Cao Wei faced the enemy on three sides, feeling quite exhausted.
Cao Cao also had a very real headache.
Faced with such a bad situation, Cao Cao suffered from headache again, and it was very severe.
Cao Cao also brought it upon himself. Apparently there was a famous doctor named Hua Tuo who could help him treat his head wind. Each treatment was particularly effective. The most important thing is that he didn’t really propose to open your head. Just because he couldn’t ask for an official. , and if he didn't return after his leave was overdue, Cao Cao had him killed.
Okay now, you deserve to be hurt to death.
But Cao Cao has always been a tycoon, very strong in spite of his headaches, analyzing the situation and making responses.
First, Cao Cao led his troops to Xudu, immediately raided the entire city, and arrested all those who had anything to do with Geng Ji and others.
In Cao Cao's eyes, this kind of thing was something he would rather kill than let go.
Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao received the news that Guan Yu sent troops to attack Xiangyang, and immediately sent Cao Ren to lead an army of 10,000 to Xiangyang to fight, and asked Cao Ren to defeat Guan Yu and save Xiangyang.
As for Hefei, Cao Cao first ordered Hefei guard Zhang Liao to defend, and then personally wrote to Zang Ba, who was guarding Xuzhou, asking him to send troops to reinforce Zhang Liao when necessary.
Zang Ba, although he obeyed Cao Cao's orders, he was still a local snake in nature. Cao Cao had better not offend him to death, otherwise Cao Cao would really feel uncomfortable if chaos broke out in Xuzhou again.
After doing these things, Cao Cao continued to focus on Liu Bei, who was attacking Hanzhong and was Cao Cao's biggest worry.
But the problem is that Cao Cao does not dare to leave Xu Du easily now. He must wait until all the things in Xu Du are settled before Cao Cao can move westward with confidence. He can only temporarily hold Xia Houyuan in place and wait for his reinforcements.
By the way, I wrote a letter to severely criticize Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen. Facing a reckless man like Zhang Fei and Ma Chao, the three of you were beaten like shit. If you can't guard Chencang Road, then you three will Don't come back to see me.
While Cao Cao was making arrangements, some changes also occurred in the war in Hanzhong.
Xia Houyuan saw Liu Bei's army hoarding in front of Yangping Pass, so he sent Zhang He to Guangshi outside Mamingge Road. On the one hand, he could protect the flanks of Yangping Pass, and on the other hand, he could go east to threaten Liu Bei's army's grain road.
Liu Bei also responded quickly, sending Wei Yan and Chen Shi to lead an army of 10,000 people across the mountain to attack Maming Pavilion Road, trying to cut off the connection between Guangshi and Yangping Pass. While protecting the grain road, it also broke the corner of the Yangping Pass. potential.
Xia Houyuan's reaction was not slow, and he quickly sent Xu Huang to cooperate with Zhang He in Guangshi. The two famous generals joined forces to attack Wei Yan and Chen Shi.
The two sides launched a fierce battle around Maming Pavilion Road.
(End of chapter)
