Yes, Cao Ren did withdraw his troops without permission. But so what? !
From Cao Pi's point of view, Cao Ren is an uncle and the only person in the Cao family who can still be called a famous general. Can Cao Pi punish Cao Ren for this? !
Another thing is that Cao Pi cannot stay in Chang'an forever. Yecheng is his home base. Once Cao Pi chooses to return to Yecheng, no matter who is left to defend Chang'an, Cao Pi cannot rest assured. He will definitely have to rely on Cao Ren. What's the point of asking whether Cao Ren retreated without permission? !
But from Cao Ren's point of view, it is easier to understand.
After all, Cao Ren was also appointed to succeed Cao Hong and governor Yongliang. In the face of unfavorable war conditions, didn't he have any autonomy on the battlefield? !
Furthermore, the current battlefield situation is very urgent. There is not much time to wait for Cao Pi in Chang'an to make a decision. The communication time of more than ten days is enough for the more than 80,000 Cao troops led by Cao Ren to make a decision. Falling into a desperate situation.
Cao Ren couldn't just wait for Cao Pi's order. He had to make a judgment based on the actual situation, otherwise he would still be a qualified military commander.
Therefore, although Cao Ren retreated without authorization, Cao Ren did not feel anything wrong with his behavior.
On the contrary, staying put and waiting for Cao Pi's order is the most irresponsible choice for the 80,000 soldiers under his command.
Cao Ren retreated with a clear conscience. Therefore, after arranging for Zhang He to be the vanguard and Guo Huai to cut off the rear, Cao Ren searched for a large number of ships in Shanggui City, sailed down the Wei River, and divided his troops into two groups.
One group was led by Zhang He and rushed to cross the west bank of the Weishui River to block Zhao Yun's possible eastward route. The other group was led by himself and returned to Chang'an to meet Cao Pi first, and then decided how to defend Sanfu and hold on to Chang'an.
Cao Ren's collection of various ships in Shanggui could not be concealed from anyone at all, and was quickly detected by Liu Beijun's spies.
At that time, Pang Tong and Fazheng immediately made the correct judgment that Cao Ren was going to withdraw his troops.
In fact, there is no need for Pang Tong and Fazheng to analyze this point. Liu Bei can also see it. He, Cao Ren, can't collect ships just to go up the Wei River and outflank his own retreat, right? !
How naive must one be to come up with such a plan to commit suicide? !
It’s not surprising that Cao Ren wanted to withdraw his troops, but the question is, why did Cao Ren withdraw his troops? !
On the entire Western Front battlefield, as the Wei River thawed, Cao Ren no longer had much logistical pressure, and his troops were superior. There was really no reason to give up on Shanggui.
Cao Ren's retreat was basically equivalent to giving up Longshan and giving up the entire Liangzhou and half of Yongzhou.
There can't be no reason for such a big strategic decision, right? !
In this regard, Pang Tong and Fazheng speculated that there had been major changes in Chang'an. For example, Guan Yu captured Wancheng and went deep into the hinterland of the Central Plains. In order to ensure the safety of the hinterland of the Central Plains and Cao Pi in Chang'an, Cao Ren had to withdraw his troops to rescue him and had no choice but to abandon Yong. cold.
This speculation, in the view of Pang Tong and Fazheng, is the most likely change in the situation at present.
I really don’t blame these two plotters. After all, they are not gods. There is no way they would have thought that Meng Da would send troops without orders and cooperate with Kou Feng to open the gap in Shangyong. They didn't expect Kou Feng to be able to open up the situation in such an important place as Youfufeng.
Not to mention that he didn't expect these two things, even Zhuge Liang, who was in Hanzhong and was portrayed by Luo Guanzhong as "knowing for five hundred years before and five hundred years afterward", was also surprised after receiving the news that Zhao Yun had attacked Baoxie Road. of.
On the other side of the Baoxie Road, according to Zhuge Liang's estimation, as long as it is not a major defeat, the mission has been completed. How is it possible to break through the Baoxie Road and directly enter Guanzhong? !
After reading the battle report jointly sent by Zhao Yun, Chen Dao, Kou Feng, and Meng Da, although Zhuge Liang was very annoyed with Meng Da for sending troops without authorization, he also knew that now was not the time to pursue these details.
Once the Baoxie Road is broken, Hanzhong will have a direct channel into Guanzhong. If such a good opportunity is not seized, Zhuge Liang will not be worthy of being named "Wuhou".
Zhuge Liang immediately sent the military report intact to Liu Bei on Longshan Road. Then Zhuge Liang immediately gave an order to Yang Hong and Qin Mi who were staying in Chengdu - to conquer all the people in Shu on the spot. Adult men enlisted in the war, and all women were organized to participate in transporting grain and grass, so that men took the lead in fighting and women took charge of transportation.
To put it simply, now is the time for you, the aristocratic families in Shu, to contribute to the great Han Dynasty.
The promise you made during the previous Battle of Hanzhong should be fulfilled now.
If these aristocratic families in central Shu were really willing to spend all their belongings to support the Northern Expedition, then it wouldn't be a problem to raise another hundred thousand troops.
As long as these 100,000 soldiers come quickly enough and are sent to Guanzhong through Baoxie Road, and then cooperate with Liu Bei's army on Longshan Road, Guan Yu's Nanyang army and Cao Pi's Chang'an will definitely not be able to defend it.
Although Zhuge Liang also knows that those Shuzhong aristocratic families are not that easy to talk to at all, but with such a good situation now, if you don't take advantage of it, you will really regret it.
While Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun and others to stand firm and wait for reinforcements, he launched a general mobilization in Hanzhong. Liu Bei on Longshan Road was now busy besieging Shanggui.
Since it is speculated that Guan Yu's capture of Wancheng caused Cao Ren to retreat, Liu Bei certainly cannot let Cao Ren retreat so easily.
Therefore, Liu Bei ordered an all-out attack and besieged Shanggui. After Shanggui was conquered, he pursued Cao Ren with all his strength to prevent Cao Ren from retreating so easily.
But Guo Huai is really difficult to deal with.
In this Northern Expedition, if the most dazzling general on Liu Bei's side is Zhang Xi, then the most dazzling general on Cao Wei's side must be Guo Huai.
Although Guo Huai kept failing, Guo Huai was able to achieve defeat without collapse. He held on to Shanggui and gave Cao Wei a chance to make a comeback. Later, he defeated Zhang Fei many times and restored some reputation.
Now it's even more incredible. With 20,000 defenders, they were able to defend Shanggui in the face of Liu Beifang's almost all-star attack, covering the retreat of Cao Ren's army. Liu Bei was so angry that he couldn't do anything against Shanggui.
Guo Huai held on to Shanggui for ten days at the cost of nearly ten thousand people. After the two sides withdrew their troops one evening, he risked traveling at night to abandon Shanggui. He led his troops to retreat to the coast of the Wei River before Liu Bei pursued him. , fight and retreat.
Of course, Liu Bei could not let Guo Huai run away like this, and sent Ma Chao to lead the Qiang and Hu cavalry to pursue him. However, Guo Huai still fought and retreated. Finally, with the support of the supporting troops sent by Zhang He, he safely retreated to the west bank of the Wei River.
Guo Huai held on for ten days. Cao Ren and his troops had retreated into Guanzhong and were on their way to Chang'an.
At this time, the battle report forwarded by Zhuge Liang was delivered to Liu Bei.
There is nothing that can be done about it. The efficiency of information transmission these days is only like this. Liu Bei is fighting on Longshan Road. It is impossible for the news from Baoxie Road crossing to cross Guanzhong and Weishui River, penetrate Cao Ren's defense line in Shanggui and reach Liu Bei.
Zhao Yun and Meng Da's news of breaking through the Baoxie Road had to be first transmitted to Zhuge Liang in Hanzhong from Baoxie Road. Zhuge Liang asked Zhuge Liang to send people to Qishan Road and sent them to Liu Bei on Longshan Road, which made a big circle.
In this way, Liu Beijun's messenger was able to deliver the battle report from Hanzhong to Longshan Road within ten days. Liu Beijun's messengers did not know how many horses were killed.
But after Liu Bei learned that it was not Guan Yu who captured Wancheng, but Meng Da who attacked Baoxie Pass and opened the connection between Guanzhong and Hanzhong, he did not continue to pursue Cao Ren.
If Guan Yu captured Wancheng and threatened the hinterland of the Central Plains and Chang'an, then Cao Pi would not be able to stay in Chang'an for his own safety. As soon as Cao Pi left Chang'an, the morale of the entire Guanzhong garrison would definitely plummet.
At this time, as long as Liu Bei leads his troops into Guanzhong in time, Cao's army in Guanzhong will definitely not be able to resist Liu Bei's attack, and will eventually retreat from Hedong, abandon Chang'an, and seek the possibility of preserving the hinterland of the Central Plains.
But now they have only broken through Baoxie Pass. After Cao Ren returns to the army, Cao Jun will have enough confidence to continue to hold on to Chang'an. If Liu Bei advances rashly, he may be attacked head-on by Cao Jun in Guanzhong.
Now Cao and Liu have been fighting fiercely with each other for almost half a year, and the soldiers on both sides are already a little exhausted.
In addition, Liu Beifang's supply line is too long. Even if Zhuge Liang, a god, is stationed in Hanzhong to distribute supplies, Liu Beifang's overall strength is definitely not as good as Cao Wei, who is sitting in the Central Plains and Hebei. Now Liu Beifang's logistics pressure, in fact, It's already huge.
To put it simply, Liu Beijun was a little unable to win.
Therefore, Liu Bei chose to temporarily rest on Longshan Road, and only sent Zhang Xi and 20,000 soldiers to march eastward to the Weishui River with his old partner Wei Yan to test Cao Jun's reaction.
It's really not like Liu Bei caught a sheep and killed it, leaving Zhang Xi to do everything. In fact, the current situation requires a commander who is good at leading troops and at the same time cautious to do this.
Looking at the entire Liu Bei group, there are only a few generals who can lead troops alone.
Zhang Fei is too reckless and impulsive. Ma Chao is good at using cavalry, but infantry is not his specialty. Wei Yan is not even qualified. Is there a more suitable candidate than Zhang Xi? !
Liu Bei could only send Zhang Xi to do this.
Not to mention that Zhang Xi has almost never been defeated since he was in the army. Let’s talk about Zhang Xi’s leadership style. He is also the person who can reassure Liu Bei the most. Liu Bei is also afraid that Cao Ren will take advantage of his eagerness to enter Guanzhong and ambush him halfway. By sending Zhang Xi, even if he was ambushed, Liu Bei wouldn't have to worry about Zhang Xi being defeated.
In order to fear that Zhang Xi would have no troops but no generals, Liu Bei specially sent Wei Yan to Zhang Xi as a general to charge into the battle.
Although Liu Bei had also heard about the disagreement between Zhang Xi and Wei Yan, the facts proved that these two people were the best partners to cooperate with each other on the battlefield.
Some things are really amazing.
(End of chapter)
