Chapter 321 The Xu Family Gong Ming
Suddenly we passed Xinfeng City and returned to Xiliu Camp. ----------"Watching Hunting" by Tang Wangwei
It is said that Dragon Zhou's plan in Qingxian Palace was to advance in two directions, to attack Dingtao in vain and to capture Juancheng in reality. The imaginary became real and the real became fictitious. It was necessary to teach Cao Cao to be in a hurry and find it difficult to attack Qingzhou with peace of mind. Chen Long's first real military goal was to set up an ambush against Puyang's reinforcements during the attack on Juancheng, and finally capture the strategically important Puyang in one fell swoop.
It's just that Cao Cao has many soldiers and generals, and the famous generals Man Chong and Xu Huang who guard Puyang are by no means easy to deal with. In the official history, Man Chong's entire career was both civil and military, with brilliant achievements. He was a veteran of the four dynasties of the Northern Wei Dynasty and remained standing. Xu Huang is even more impressive. Among the generals with foreign surnames in the White Tiger Army, he is the only one who can be compared with General Xu Chu.
Xu Huang, courtesy name Gongming, was born in Yang County, Hedong. He was originally a cavalry captain under Yang Feng. After Yang Feng was defeated by Cao Cao, he turned to Cao Cao. He made many achievements under Cao Cao and participated in major battles such as Guandu, Chibi, Guanzhong Expedition, and Hanzhong Expedition. In the Battle of Fancheng, Xu Huang served as Cao Ren's reinforcements and defeated Guan Yu. Because of his strict military management in this battle, he was praised by Cao Cao as "having the style of Zhou Yafu".
According to the official history, Xu Huang served as a minor official in Hedong County when he was young. He was promoted to the rank of Cavalry Captain because of his meritorious service with the Cavalry General Yang Feng in attacking the bandits. In the third year of Chuping, Wang Yun and Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue, Guo Si and others broke through Chang'an City, killed Wang Yun and others, and then fought with each other and massacred Chang'an. Xu Huang persuaded Yang Feng to escort Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty eastward to Luoyang. When Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty crossed the river to Anyi, he rewarded the meritorious personnel of the escort, and Xu Huang was granted the title of Dutinghou.
In the first year of Jian'an, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty returned to Luoyang under the protection of Hanoi Governor Zhang Yang, Xingyi General Yang Feng and other remaining court officials. Yang Feng was worshiped as a general of chariots and cavalry, and was stationed in Daliang. Xu Huang saw that the fighting between the general and Sili school captain Han Xian and the Wei general Dong Cheng was intensifying, so he persuaded Yang Feng to join Cao Cao. Yang Feng decided to follow Xu Huang's advice.
In the second year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao protected Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and wanted to move the capital to Xuchang, Yang Feng changed his mind about joining Cao Cao at the instigation of Han Xian, and instead sent troops to rob him with Han Xian. Yang Feng was defeated by Cao Cao's army in Liang County, and Xu Huang took the opportunity to defect to Cao Cao. From then on, he became a loyal general of Cao Cao, following Cao Cao to fight in the north and south, and made many contributions to the founding of Cao Wei. Cao Cao assigned his troops to Xu Huang and sent him to attack Juan and Yuanwu. He defeated them and was worshiped as General Pi. He also followed Cao Cao to attack Lu Bu and surrendered to Lu Bu's generals Zhao Shu, Li Zou and others. Later, he and Shi Huan killed Sui Gu in Hanoi.
In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), in the Battle of Guandu, Xu Huang accompanied Cao Cao to defeat Liu Bei who had taken refuge in Yuan Shao. He also accompanied Cao Cao to defeat Yan Liang, captured Baima, and advanced to Yanjin, where he defeated Wen Chou and was worshiped as a partial general.
In September, Cao Cao sent troops to fight Yuan Shao, but returned without victory and defended himself. At that time, Yuan Shao brought thousands of grain and grass carts to Guandu. Advisor Xun You said to Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao's grain cart will arrive overnight. The general who escorts the grain and grass, Han Yong, is fierce but underestimates the enemy. He can be defeated with an attack." Cao Cao asked: "Who can take on this important task?" Xun You said: "Xu Huang and Xu Gongming." So Cao Cao sent Xu Huang and Shi Huan with thousands of cavalry to attack Han Meng, intercepting and burning his baggage in the old city. In this battle, Xu Huang made the greatest contribution and was named Dutinghou.
In February of the ninth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao took advantage of the conflict between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang who were competing for heirs after Yuan Shao's death, and sent troops north to attack Jizhou. Cao Cao surrounded Yecheng and captured Handan. Yi Yang ordered Han Fan to pretend to surrender and defend himself. Cao Cao sent Xu Huang to attack. Xu Huang came to the city, wrote a letter to Han Fan, shot an arrow into the city, stated his interests, and persuaded Han Fan surrendered. After being persuaded, Han Fan changed his mind and decided to surrender the whole city.
Xu Huang advised Cao Cao: "Now Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang have not been defeated, and the cities that have not been captured are waiting for news. If Yiyang is destroyed today, those cities will be defended with all their strength tomorrow, and Hebei will never be pacified. Request You recruit Yi Yang to surrender and show it to the cities, so that they will obey him." Cao Cao accepted his advice and made Han Fan the Marquis of Guannei. Then, he surrendered Liang Qi, the head of She County, and also granted him the title of Marquis of Guannei. Cao Cao was able to quickly eliminate Yecheng's wings, conquer Yecheng, and seize Jizhou, which is inseparable from the fact that he listened to Xu Huang's advice.
Soon Xu Huang attacked Maocheng again, set up an ambush and defeated Yuan's army, breaking the three villages. Later, he followed Cao Cao to defeat Yuan Tan in Nanpi. Yuan Tan was killed by Cao's army. Xu Huang also pacified the rebels in Pingyuan. In the twelfth year of Jian'an, Xu Huang followed Cao Cao in his northern expedition to Wuhuan. In the Battle of Bailang Mountain, he defeated the enemy. Tadun and more than ten people below the famous king were killed. Cao Cao finally defeated Wuhuan and completely eradicated the remnants of the Yuan family. Xu Huang was worshiped as General Hengye for his merit.
In July of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao unified the north, he sent more than 100,000 pro-unification troops to march south to Jingzhou, hoping to annex the south of the Yangtze River and unify the world. Xu Huang went on an expedition with Cao Cao and attacked Zhonglu, Linju, Yicheng and other places. He also teamed up with Man Chong to conquer Guan Yu in Hanjin. Later, Cao Cao was defeated by Sun Liu's coalition forces in the Battle of Chibi. Cao Cao left Xu Huang to guard Jiangling with Cao Ren, the general who conquered the south, and turned to general Yue Jin to guard Xiangyang, leading the army back north. In the same year, Xu Huang and Cao Ren jointly resisted Wu general Zhou Yu's attack in Jiangling.
In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, Xu Huang followed Xia Houyuan to Taiyuan to quell the rebellion, captured Daling, and beheaded its leader Shang Yao. In the 16th year of Jian'an, ten coalition forces led by Ma Chao and Han Sui gathered more than 100,000 troops to defend Tongguan against Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent troops to advance into Guanzhong, and Xu Huang was ordered to garrison Fenyin to control Hedong. After Cao Cao arrived at Tongguan, he was blocked by Ma Chao in Guanzhong and was unable to advance. Cao Cao asked Xu Huang about his plan, and Xu Huang said: "You have brought a large army here, but the enemy no longer divides their troops to guard Puban, which shows that they lack strategy. Please give me an elite army to cross Pubanjin as the leader of the army. Cut off the enemy's retreat and capture them." Cao Cao finally agreed to this move and sent Xu Huang and Zhu Ling with 4,000 elite troops to cross the Yellow River from Pubanjin.
Before the position was completed, the bandit Liang Xing led more than 5,000 men on foot and cavalry to attack Xu Huang at night. Xu Huang defeated him and then established a bridgehead. In the eighth month, Cao Jun crossed the river. In September, Cao Cao adopted the strategy of counselor Jia Xu to drive a wedge between Ma Chao and Han Sui, and finally defeated the Central Army and beheaded Cheng Yi, Li Kan and others. Ma Chao and Han Sui were defeated and fled to Liangzhou.
In the 17th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent Xu Huang and Xia Houyuan to pacify the Di tribes of Wei Mi and Qian, and met in Anding. After Cao Cao returned to Ye, he sent Xu Huang and Xia Houyuan to pacify the remaining thieves in Fu County and Xia Yang, beheaded Liang Xing, and surrendered more than 3,000 households.
In July of the 20th year of Jian'an, Xu Huang accompanied Cao Cao in his campaign against Zhang Lu. Xu Huang was promoted to general against the invaders due to his meritorious service. Soon, he broke the siege of General Zhang Shun and attacked more than 30 villages including Chen Fu and defeated them all. In the same month, Cao Cao returned to Ye and appointed Xia Houyuan as the Protector General. He led Xu Huang and Zhang He to garrison Yangping Pass to resist Liu Bei. In the 23rd year of Jian'an, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong. In April, the Shu army advanced to Yangping Pass. Xia Houyuan, Zhang He, Xu Huang and others led their troops to block the attack. Liu Bei sent general Chen Shi and more than ten battalions to attack Maming Pavilion in an attempt to cut off Cao's army's rear passage. However, they were defeated by Xu Huang. The Shu army surrendered into the valley, and many people died. After Cao Cao heard about it, he was very happy. He gave Xu Huang the talisman to command the army and ordered: "This pavilion road is a dangerous place in Hanzhong. Liu Bei wants to cut off the internal and external connections and seize Hanzhong. The general's move shattered Liu Bei's plan." This plan is really the best plan among plans!" Later, Xia Houyuan was killed in battle, and Cao Cao personally went to Hanzhong and withdrew the remaining troops.
In June of the 24th year of Jian'an, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he sent Meng Da and Liu Feng to capture Fangling, Shangyong and other places in the eastern part of Hanzhong County, and their power expanded. In July, Sun Quan wanted to attack Hefei, so most of the Wei army was mobilized to Huainan to defend against the Wu army. Guan Yu, the former Shu general who was guarding Jingzhou, seized the opportunity to fight. Mi Fang, the prefect of Nanjun, was left to guard Jiangling. General Fu Shiren was guarding the public security, and he led the main force to attack Jingxiang northward.
At that time, Cao Ren, the general who conquered the south, was stationed in Fancheng, general Lu Chang was stationed in Xiangyang, general Yu Jin of the left and Pang De, the general of righteousness, were stationed in the north of Fancheng. Xu Huang was stationed in Wancheng to assist Cao Ren in his campaign against Guan Yu. In August, there was heavy rain and the Han River surged. All seven of Yu Jin's armies were flooded. Under the fierce attack of Guan Yu's navy, Yu Jin was forced to surrender, and Pang De was captured and killed in a fierce battle. Guan Yu took advantage of the victory to besiege Fancheng and surrounded Xiangyang with a force. At this time, Hu Xiu, the governor of Wei Jingzhou, and Fu Fang, the governor of Nanxiang, all surrendered to Guan Yu. Sun Lang, a native of Lu Hun, and others also killed officials and raised troops to respond to Guan Yu. Guan Yu's momentum "shocked China" for a while.
Cao Cao believed that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was in Xudu and was close to thieves. He once prepared to move the capital, but was stopped due to the advice of Prime Minister Sima Yi and Cao Jiangji. Cao Cao adopted Sima Yi's strategy of using conflicts to destroy the alliance between Sun and Liu in order to reap the benefits, and sent an envoy to see Sun Quan. At the same time, he ordered Xu Huang to lead his army to rescue Cao Ren. Most of Xu Huang's troops were new soldiers and it was difficult to compete with Guan Yu, so he went to Yanglingpo to garrison. Cao Cao sent generals Xu Shang and Lu Jian to pass the order: "We must wait until the troops and horses are assembled before attacking together." At that time, Guan Yu's front troops were stationed in Yancheng. , Xu Huang pretended to build a long trench to show that he would cut off the Shu army's retreat. The Shu army was afraid of being surrounded, so they burned their camps and withdrew. Xu Huang's army marched into Yancheng and camped on both sides. The Shu army gradually approached the besieged city. Xu Huang's army camp was only three feet away from Guan Yu's siege.
Cao Cao's envoy returned to Luoyang and brought a secret message from Sun Quan, saying that he would send troops westward to attack Guan Yu, but please keep it secret in case Guan Yu knew that he was prepared. Cao Cao adopted Dong Zhao's opinion and deliberately leaked the contents of the letter. Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang to use arrows to shoot the contents of Sun Quan's secret message into Fancheng and Guan Yu's camp respectively. After the besieged Wei army gained the trust, their morale doubled and their defense became stronger; after Guan Yu gained the trust, they were in a dilemma.
At this time, in order to rescue Fancheng and Xiangyang, Cao Cao led the main force from Luoyang to Mobei. He also sent twelve battalions of soldiers including Yin Shu and Zhu Gai to Yancheng, all under the command of Xu Huang.
The main force of Guan Yu's army was stationed at Weitou, and the other group was stationed at Sizhong. Xu Huang used the tactic of attacking from the east to the west and threatened to attack Beitou, but he unexpectedly raided Sizhong. Guan Yu was afraid that the four tombs had been lost, so he led five thousand infantry and cavalry into the battle. Before the war, because Guan Yu and Xu Huang were from the same hometown and had a good relationship, they talked to each other from a distance, but in life, they were not as good as in military affairs. Soon Xu Huang dismounted and declared a military order. "Whoever gets Guan Yunchang's head will be rewarded a thousand catties." Guan Yu was horrified and said, "Brother, what are you talking about?" Xu Huang replied, "This is a matter of state." Then the two armies fought, and Guan Yu He was defeated by Xu Huang. When he retreated from the camp, Xu Huang led his army to pursue him and rushed into the camp closely behind him. At that time, Guan Yu's camp had deep trenches and ten layers of antlers on the outside. The obstacles were extremely tight, making it extremely difficult to attack from outside the camp. Taking advantage of the chaos that his army was in, he made a surprise attack from within, defeated them in one fell swoop, and killed Hu Xiu and Fu Fang who had surrendered to Shu. Guan Yu then retreated, and Fancheng was besieged. Soon, Lu Meng, the governor of Soochow, launched a surprise attack on Jiangling, and Guan Yu was captured and killed. This battle played a major role in consolidating Cao Cao's southern territory and stabilizing the rear. It not only defeated Guan Yu's powerful offensive, but more importantly destroyed the alliance between Sun and Liu, changed the strategic pattern at the time, and allowed Cao Cao to take the strategic initiative. When Fancheng and Xiangyang were in danger, Cao Cao transferred the famous general Zhang Liao and other generals back to assist Cao Ren. However, before Zhang Liao and others arrived, Xu Huang had already relieved the siege of the two cities, and his achievements were comparable to Zhang Liao's battle of Hefei.
Cao Cao said in an order: "The enemy encircled ten layers of antlers, and the general won the battle completely. Then he was surrounded by thieves and beheaded many prisoners. I have been using the army for more than thirty years, and I have heard of people who were good at using soldiers in ancient times. No one can march straight into the enemy's siege for such a long time. Moreover, the siege of Fan and Xiangyang is better than the previous siege of Ju and Jimo, so the general's merit is better than that of Sun Wu and Rang Ju."
When Xu Huang returned to Mobei in triumph, Cao Cao personally went out of the camp to meet Xu Huang and held a banquet to celebrate and comfort Xu Huang. Cao Cao raised his head and said to Xu Huang: "The preservation of Xiangyang and Fancheng is all thanks to you, general!"
Xu Huang lived a simple life, was strict in running the army, and enforced orders and prohibitions. At that time, all the armies gathered in Mobei, and Cao Cao's case was carried out in various camps. Many soldiers came out to watch, but Xu Huang's army camps were neat and orderly, and the soldiers stayed stationary. Cao Cao sighed: "General Xu is like Zhou Yafu!"
In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Pi ascended the throne of Wei and granted Xu Huang the title of General on the Right and the title of Marquis of Luxiang. In October, Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and granted Xu Huang the title of Marquis of Yang. He and the general Xia Houshang of the southern expedition attacked Shu general Liu Feng in Shangyong and defeated his army. Liu Feng fled back to Chengdu and was sentenced to death by Liu Bei. Because Xu Huang guarded Yangping, he was granted the title of Marquis of Yangping. Sun Quan then sent his general Chen Shao to guard Xiangyang. Xu Huang and Cao Ren attacked Chen Shao and captured Xiangyang.
In September of the third year of Huangchu, Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi led his army to conquer Soochow. Emperor Wen of Wei ordered Cao Xiu, the general of the expedition to the east, Zhang Liao, the former general, and Zang Ba, the general of Zhendong, to come out of the cave, Cao Ren, the general of the upper army, to come out of Ruxu, Cao Zhen, the general of the upper army, Xiahou Shang, the general of the south expedition, Zhang He, the left general, and Xu Huang, the right general, to surround Nanjun. . Wu Jianwei's general Lu Fan supervised the fifth army, and used the boat army to resist Cao Xiu and others. General Zhuge Jin of the left, general Pan Zhang of the north, and general Yang Can rescued Nanjun. General Zhu Huan of the auxiliary army resisted Cao Ren with the help of Xudu. However, due to the immature time and hasty preparations, Cao Pi failed to achieve the expected goals for his first expedition to Wu, leading to failure.
In May of the seventh year of Huangchu, Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi died. Wu State took the opportunity to send left general Zhuge Jin and others to attack Xiangyang. Xu Huang and Sima Yi defeated Zhuge Jin. Xu Huang gained 200 additional towns due to his meritorious service, totaling 3,100 households before and after. In the first year of Taihe, Xu Huang died. He was posthumously named Zhuanghou and was succeeded by his son Xu Gai. In the fourth year of Zhengshi, Xu Huang was enshrined in Cao Cao's temple.
Xu Huang, Xu Gongming and Man Chong Man Boning, one was rigorous in military management, and the other was both civil and military. They were the best civil and military partners. Cao Cao dared to hand over such an important place as Puyang to the two of them. Now, Chen Long's first military target is Puyang, and a battle for Puyang is inevitable.
Whether Chen Long and Zhou Buyi captured Puyang, or whether Xu Huang and Man Boning defended Puyang will be analyzed next time.
