Cao Xiu was a son of Cao Cao and a nephew of Cao Hong. When Cao Cao launched an army to attack Dong, he traveled thousands of miles from Wu to the Central Plains to seek refuge.
Later, Cao Cao asked Cao Xiu to eat and live with Cao Pi and treat him as his own son. After joining the army, he trained among the most elite tiger and leopard cavalry for a long time. Cao Cao has been training him as a reserve commander.
After Cao Chun, the commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, died of illness, the expensive Tiger and Leopard Cavalry came under the direct control of Cao Cao. In case of emergency missions, he was commanded by Cao Xiu, which made him a qualified general and the second commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry in a practical sense.
Cao Xiu went to war as a cavalry captain and joined the army. Although he was the actual commander, he lacked qualifications due to his long-term service in the Hubao Cavalry.
Cao Cao pushed the guard general Cao Hong to the front, and other famous Cao Wei generals such as Yilang Xinpi, partial general Cao Zhen, and Yongzhou governor Zhang Ji, who also joined the army, came to Chang'an to join forces with Cao Xiu to repel Zhang Fei who invaded Wudu.
In early February of the 23rd year of Jian'an, troops from all walks of life supporting Wudu gathered in Chang'an. The total number of troops exceeded 50,000, and the strength was twice that of Zhang Fei's partial division. At the same time, grain and grass from various places in Yongliang were also allocated according to the strength of the troops. They were transported to the front line with the army one after another.
In mid-February, Cao Hong's army, led by Yang Fu, the governor of Wudu, arrived at Hechi County, which Wu Yi had abandoned.
When Cao Hong arrived at Hechi, he did not rush to attack. Instead, while waiting for food and fodder from the rear, he led Cao Xiu to familiarize himself with the affairs of the army. He seemed to want to hand over the work, which surprised Zhang Ji, Yang Fu and other foreign ministers.
"Yi Shan has fought with Zhang Fei, doesn't he say that this black guy is very fierce in fighting? Why is it that we have been in Hechi for two or three days, and he is still waiting there without moving at all?"
After two days of stalemate, the military supplies from Guanzhong arrived, and Cao Hong immediately summoned the generals to discuss how to deal with Zhang Fei, who was arguing.
Yang Fu cupped his hands and replied: "Although that black guy is reckless, he is not stupid. Our troops are twice as strong as theirs, so we probably focus on defense."
Cao Hong frowned and snorted: "This guy went all the way over the mountains and ridges just to occupy this untenable position? Isn't Wolong Fengxiao known as being resourceful? Why did he make such a stupid decision?"
Xin Pi advised: "Several military advisors in the court have analyzed to King Wei that Zhang Fei's move may be to attract the defenders of Hanzhong and to open up the situation for Liu Bei to seize Hanzhong."
"The way to go is to have a large number of soldiers and a broad general. Such devious tricks are nothing. Zhang Fei wants to hold on to the city and act like a tortoise. I will lead the troops to Xiabian tomorrow. I don't know if this black guy is old or weak." Cao Hong was a little disdainful. .
After hearing this, Yang Fu quickly added: "Zhang Fei's martial arts skills are still as good as before, and there is also a brave Ma Chao by his side. If the general attacks the city, he must not fight in front of the generals..."
"Why does Yishan need to be more prestigious than others? No matter in terms of strength, equipment, or training, our army is stronger than Liu Bei's army. This time, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao must be defeated." A stern look flashed in Cao Hong's eyes.
As soon as Cao Hong finished speaking, Zhang Ji, the governor of Yongzhou, spoke up and said: "Wudu County is surrounded by mountains and densely covered with ravines. We only need to hold Hechi County in front of us, and then send a partial division to bypass the Qishan Road and lower the village, so as to intercept Zhang Fei's insertion at both ends. The wings cannot escape.”
"De Rong's plan is very clever, but if he divides his troops rashly, Zhang Fei will easily find a flaw. It's inappropriate..." Cao Hong shook his head.
Zhang Ji glanced at Cao Xiu and continued: "The King of Wei transferred three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry to General Wen Lie. The entire Chenghui Basin is such a big area, so it is just right for him to lead the troops and divide them."
"Inappropriate..." Cao Hong frowned.
"How could it be inappropriate? The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are well-equipped and come and go like the wind. Even if their troops are small and unable to stop Zhang Fei's attack, they can still flexibly retreat along the Qishan Road. But if Xiabian City dares to divide its troops, we can easily recapture it. City." Zhang Ji analyzed again.
"Wen Lie, what do you think?" Cao Hong sounded very reasonable at first, but how could he send the coach to be the bait? So he looked at Cao Xiu and asked what to do.
Cao Xiu thought for a while and replied: "Zhang Fei's army is unclear about its actual strength. We will wait until a battle is over before making a decision. How can they last long if they go deep alone?"
"Wen Lie is right. Let's all go back to the camp and rest first. We will go to Zhang Fei tomorrow to find a fight." Cao Hong saw that others still had opinions, but he supported Cao Xiu unconditionally, so he terminated the pre-war meeting without mercy.
Early the next morning, Cao Hong left Zhang Ji and Xin Pi to guard the Hechi camp, and led 40,000 troops directly to Xiabian in the west.
Xiabian was only a hundred miles away from Hechi, so Cao Xiu asked Cao Hong to hold down his position and control the speed, arriving at the scheduled location of Xiazhai at noon on the third day.
The trees in the Chenghui Basin are short and the weeds are withered. Spring here comes relatively late, and the terrain does not give Zhang Fei a chance to set up an ambush. In addition, Cao Xiu's slow speed of traveling thirty miles a day makes it empty talk for Zhang Fei to wait for work. .
Seeing Cao Hong descending to the stronghold unhurriedly in the distance, Zhang Fei stood on the tower and stamped his feet angrily.
"Cao Hong is really despicable. He didn't give me, Old Zhang, a chance to take advantage of him. Do you have any clever ideas to defeat the enemy?" Zhang Fei paced back and forth.
"Why don't we rob the camp while it's not yet stable?" Ma Chao suggested.
Zhang Fei shook his head and expressed his disapproval. There were not many successful cases of camp hijacking in his life, so he was not prepared to take risks. Zhang Fei vaguely remembered the gist of the class in the martial arts hall: the situation is unknown, and it is better to lie down, don't be reckless, don't be impulsive.
"General Yide, I think there are experts in Cao's camp. Anyway, there is still a lot of food and grass in the city. We simply can't get out." Wu Yi suggested.
"Although it doesn't suit my style, let's leave it like this for now. Anyway, let's just delay." Zhang Fei shook his head.
At this moment, the guards around him reminded me that Cao Hong was leading a group of men to spy on the city defense. He deliberately shouted at the people on the tower: "Is Zhang Fei here? Are the city gates closed because you are afraid of me, Cao Hong?" "
Zhang Fei glanced back and ignored him, but told Wu Yi: "Ziyuan, you are still responsible for the city defense of Xiabian. Meng Qi and I will be responsible for the mobile response. Once Cao Hong reveals a flaw, we can rush in as soon as possible." go out."
"Wei." Wu Yi nodded and clasped his fists.
Cao Hong caught a glimpse of a general on the tower. He raised his riding whip and shouted again: "Hey, is the Zhuojun Butcher up there? Why don't you dare to show up to see him?"
"How can Zhang Fei be so patient?" Yang Fu muttered to himself, puzzled.
Cao Xiu had been observing the defense of Ben city from the sidelines and saw that everything was arranged in an orderly manner. He thought that if he attacked by force, the damage might be very high.
When Cao Hong saw that Zhang Fei was ignoring him, he called He Su who was accompanying the army and said, "Stop yelling at me. This black guy ignores my existence."
"Wei." He Su responded with cupped fists.
He Su cleared his throat, then raised his voice and began to talk about Zhang Fei's appearance.
How could Zhang Fei ever be so angry? He picked up the Zhangba Snake Spear and was about to go downstairs. Wu Yi hurriedly stepped forward to persuade: "Cao Hong clearly wants to anger the general. If he ventures out of the city to fight, he may fall into the opponent's trick."
"They have had their fill of mouth, and I have to have my fill of it."
Zhang Fei ignored Wu Yi's advice and walked down the tower angrily. Ma Chao chased after him worriedly.
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