Yuan Shao had three sons in total. The eldest son was Yuan Tan, who was sent to guard Qingzhou, the second son Yuan Xi was sent to guard Youzhou, and the third son Yuan Shang was born to a beautiful wife later. He was tall, big, and very handsome. Yuan Shao liked him very much, so he kept him by his side and trained him personally.
After Yuan Shao was defeated at Guandu, he felt powerless. At this time, the Liu family also came out to persuade Yuan Shao to establish an heir. Yuan Shao discussed it with Shen Pei, Feng Ji, Xin Ping, and Guo Tu. However, these four people had their own concerns. Shen and Feng assisted Yuan Shang; Xin and Guo assisted Yuan Tan; each of the four was his master.
Yuan Shao was also aware of this situation and said: "Now that the foreign invasion has not subsided, this matter should indeed be put on the agenda. I am planning to have an heir. My eldest son is a man of strong character and likes killing. My second son is a very good man." I'm afraid he won't be able to rule a party because he is weak. Only the third son has the appearance of a hero, and he is a corporal of courtesy and virtue. I am going to make him a son, what do you think?"
Guo Tudao said: "Among the three sons, Yuan Tan is the eldest and has been guarding one place for a long time. If the lord deposed the eldest and established the youngest, it would not be in line with etiquette. Now our army Morale has been depressed, and the enemy soldiers have arrived in our territory. At this time, how can there be a situation where father and son are fighting for each other's territory? The lord should concentrate on thinking about how to defeat Cao's army and establish an heir, and don't waste it anymore. It’s time.”
Yuan Shao thought this analysis was reasonable, so he hesitated. Suddenly someone came to report that Yuan Xi was coming from the direction of Youzhou with an army of 60,000, Yuan Tan was coming from the direction of Qingzhou with an army of 50,000, and his nephew Gao Gan was also coming. He brought 50,000 soldiers from Bingzhou, all of whom came to Jizhou to assist in fighting against Cao's army.
Yuan Shao felt refreshed and organized his troops to duel with Cao Cao again.
At this time, Cao Cao was stationed on the bank of the Yellow River with his victorious troops and horses. Some local residents came to greet them with some food and drink.
Cao Cao saw that most of them were old people with gray hair, so he invited them to sit in the camp and asked, "Old man, how old are you?"
He replied: "I'm almost a hundred years old!"
Cao Cao was shocked and said: "We soldiers have disturbed your hometown, and I feel really sorry."
The old man said: "During the period of Emperor Huan, the celestial phenomena showed that yellow stars were seen in Chu and Song Dynasties. There was a Liaodong man named Yin Kui who was very good at observing celestial phenomena. He came to stay with us and told us that yellow stars were seen in Qianxiang just shines on our place. In another fifty years, a real person will rise between Liang and Pei. Calculated according to this, it will be a full fifty years. Yuan Shao has levied and extorted money from the people, and the people's resentment is already very heavy. Prime Minister The soldiers of benevolence and righteousness were raised to fight against Yuan Shao for the people. In the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's army of millions of people was directly defeated, which just fulfilled Yin Kui's words at that time. By prospering the people, we can hope to return to peace."
Cao Cao was very happy after hearing this. You must know that Gaozu also had a story about killing the white snake before, which was a good omen. However, he was still very humble and said: "How can it be as good as you said?" After saying that, he let people take it. Bring some daily necessities to the elderly, and then send someone to send them back.
At the same time, military regulations were set up in front of the three armies, which read: "If someone goes to the countryside to kill the people's chickens and dogs, he is committing the same crime as murder."
After this military order was issued, both the sergeants and the people were very satisfied. Cao Cao's reputation was further improved, and he himself was very happy.
At this time, someone suddenly reported that Yuan Shao had gathered from all the states and counties, with a team of about two to three hundred thousand people, and they had arrived at Cangting.
Cao Cao smiled and said: "I haven't gone to find them yet. They came to me on their own. It's really interesting." So he immediately ordered his troops to advance forward and found the place to lower the stronghold.
On the second day, the two armies faced each other and formed a formation. Cao Cao appeared in front of the formation with his generals, while Yuan Shao came with his three sons, nephews, and hundreds of civil and military officials.
Cao Cao thought of the previous battles around Yuan Shao. Compared with the one in front of him, there was still a lot of difference. He smiled and said: "Yuan Shao, you don't have many people here. Why don't you want to surrender early? Why are you resisting? Don't wait until I take over." I put the knife on your neck before surrendering, then I won’t have a chance to regret it.”
Yuan Shao was furious after hearing this and said to everyone: "Which of you dares to take action?"
Yuan Shang also heard that his father wanted to have an heir. In order to show off, he brandished his two swords and went to the front of the formation to challenge. Pegasus came out and galloped in all directions. The formation was very impressive.
Cao Cao pointed to him and asked everyone, "Who is he? Do you know him?"
Someone knew about it and replied: "This man is Yuan Shao's son, his name is Yuan Shang."
Before he finished speaking, a general on Cao Cao's side couldn't wait and came out with his gun drawn. Cao Cao saw that the man was one of Xu Huang's subordinates, named Shi Huan. The two fought for less than three rounds before Yuan Shang Shi Huan rode his horse sideways, and Shi Huan rushed over. The opponent suddenly took out a bow and arrow, turned around and fired. Shi Huan was not prepared and was shot in the left eye. He fell to the horse's back and died.
Yuan Shao was very happy to see his son's victory. He waved his whip and pointed it at Cao Jun. The large group of troops rushed forward. The two sides fought in a melee, and then each returned to their own camp.
Cao Cao and the generals began to discuss how to defeat Yuan Shao's plan. Cheng Yu offered Cao Cao a strategy of ambush from ten sides. Specifically, Cao Cao's army retreated to the edge of the Yellow River, then ambush ten groups, and then lured Yuan Shao's team to the river.
Cheng Yu said: "From now on, our team will have no retreat and will definitely fight to the death. This will greatly improve the combat effectiveness, and it will be easy to defeat Yuan Shao."
Cao Cao accepted this suggestion and divided it into five teams. Left: Team 1 Xiahou Dun, Team 2 Zhang Liao, Team 3 Li Dian, Team 4 Le Jin, Team 5 Xia Houyuan; Right: Team 1 Cao Hong, Team 2 Zhang He, Team 3 Xu Huang , four teams are in the ban, and five teams are watching. Xu Chu of the Chinese army was the vanguard, and ten teams of troops went to the edge of the Yellow River first and entered an ambush state as planned.
The next step was to execute the seduction plan. In the evening, Cao Cao sent Xu Chu to advance with troops and horses, pretending to intercept Yuan Shao's camp. Yuan Shao seemed to be prepared, and five people came out together to capture him.
Xu Chu immediately turned around and left. Yuan Shao led his soldiers and horses in hot pursuit, shouting loudly. By the next morning, they arrived at the edge of the Yellow River and there was no way out.
Cao Cao also stopped and shouted: "Now we have no retreat, why don't you fight to the death? This way there will be a glimmer of hope."
So everyone turned around and stepped forward bravely, with no fear at all. Xu Chu flew in front and killed more than a dozen young generals at once.
