This paper analyzes the reasons for Cao Cao's two results in the battle of Guandu and Battle of Red Cliffs.

Date of war: July 2008 ~ 2008 1 1 month.

Venue: Wulin (now northwest of Puyin, Hubei)

Results: Sun and Liu Lianjun won.

Fighting sides: Cao Cao; Sun Quan and Liu Bei

Commander: Cao Cao; Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Liu Bei

Strength: Cao Junyue160,000; Sun Youbing is about fifty thousand.

Battle of Red Cliffs: Battle of Nagasaka-Battle of Wulin-Battle of Gangneung.

From the 13th year of Jian 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (2008) to the following year, Sun Quan and Liu Bei joined forces to defeat Cao Shuijun in Chibi (now northwest of Puyin, Hubei), a famous strategic decisive battle on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords scuffled and the world was in chaos. After Cao Cao basically unified the north (see Cao Cao's unified northern war), he wanted to annex Jiangnan and unify the world. In the spring of the 13th year of Jian 'an (AD 208), Xuanwu Pool was built in Ye (now southwest of Linzhang, Hebei Province) to train the water army and prepare for the southern expedition. In July, more than 65,438+000,000 armies went south to Jingzhou in an attempt to destroy Liu Biao first and then advance eastward along the river, defeating Sun Quan and unifying the world. In August, Liu Biao died of illness in Jingzhou, and his second son, Liu Cong, was asked to surrender. Thousands of Meng Chong and bucket boats of Jingzhou Water Army were all owned by Cao Cao, and Cao Jun's strength was greatly enhanced. At that time, Liu Biao, who was stationed in Fancheng (now Hubei Province), was subordinate to Liu Biao. After hearing the news, he led the army south. In September, Cao Jun marched into Xinye (now Henan), pursued Liu Bei who fled to the south with fine riding, and pursued and defeated Liu Beijun in Changbanpo, Dangyang. Liu Bei retreated to Xiakou (now Wuhan), and Cao Cao continued to go south. Occupy Jiangling and advance into Jiangdong.

Generally speaking, Cao Jun's operational deployment is: Zhao Yan is the magistrate (the county is in the southeast of Zaoyang, Hubei), commanding seven armies, including General Hu Ban, General Pindi, General Pinglu, General Li Dian, General Zhang Dangkou and General Feng Kai, to command the actions between Hanshui and Huaishui in a unified way. In Jingzhou (now Xiangfan City, Hubei Province), Cao Cao stationed troops in Jiangling (now Jiangling City, Hubei Province), Xiangyang, Fancheng and other places, leading the main force along the Hanshui River and the Yangtze River to the east. Cao Cao tried to destroy Liu Bei at Fankou first, and then annexed Dongwu downstream.

Faced with the grim situation at that time, Liu Bei decided to unite Wu against Cao. In October of the 13th year of Jian 'an (AD 208), after retreating to Xiakou, Zhuge Liang was sent to Chaisang (now southwest of Jiujiang, Jiangxi) to meet Sun Quan, and * * * made a plan to resist Cao. At that time, some advisers in Dongwu were awed by Cao Jun's momentum of 800,000 and advocated peace. Sun Quan hesitated between peace and war. Zhuge Liang, Lu Su, Zhou Yu and others made an incisive analysis of the current situation: they pointed out that although Liu Bei was defeated by Nagano, he still had certain strength. Now there are more than 10,000 troops and Guan Yu's elite water army, and Liu Qi's army is no less than 10,000. If we join forces with Wu Dong's army, our strength will be considerable. Cao Jun claims that there are 800,000 people, but in fact there are only150,000 or 60,000 people. Coupled with the unstable rear and tired expedition, he was not acclimatized and did not learn to fight in the water. As long as he makes good use of these weaknesses and unites against Cao, he will surely win. Sun Quan thus strengthened Sun Quan's determination to resist Cao Cao, that is, appointed Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu as the left and right governors, Lu Su as a captain of Zanjun, led an elite navy division of 30,000, and signed a contract with Liu Beijun for 50,000 to enter Xiakou. In the winter of that year, Cao Cao relied on his military strength, arrogantly belittled his enemy, ignored the advice of his ministers, and kept pace with the whole army, pushing south of the Yangtze River. Sun Liujun went up the river from the gorge and met Cao Jun at Chibi.

Cao Jun mainly relies on walking, facing the big river, and immediately loses its advantage. The newly compiled and attached Jingzhou water army was weak in fighting capacity and was attacked by the plague, so that the first battle was unfavorable. It retreated to the Wulin (now Honghu Lake in Hubei Province) north of the Yangtze River and confronted Sun Liu's allied troops in Jiajiang. In order to reduce the wind and waves on the river, Cao Cao ordered the warships to be connected with chains and boards, just like castles, so that cavalry could gallop on the ground for easy attack. In view of the fact that the enemy was outnumbered and wanted to make a quick decision, Zhou Yu adopted Huang Gai's strategy of attacking with fire. In view of the serial warships in Cao Jun, Huang Gai sent someone to send Cao Cao a fake surrender letter, and agreed on the surrender time with Cao Cao in advance.

One day in 10, Meng Chong and a bucket boat led by Huang Gai 10 were filled with flammable hay and firewood, filled with grease, surrounded by a curtain for external use, and planted the flag agreed with Cao Cao. Another fast chariot is ready, tied behind Meng Chong and the battle ship, so that the officers and men can move and evacuate after arson. The southeast wind was urgent, and Huang Gai led warships straight to Cao Jun water town. When Cao Jun saw that Huang Gai had come down, "Wait and see, it means that he has come down" ("The History of the Three Kingdoms, Wu Zhi, Zhou Yuchuan"), and he was unprepared. When the allied warships approached Cao Ying, Cao Jun relaxed his vigilance and they all ran to see Huang Gai come down. Huang Gai ordered the firewood to be lit. At the same time, the fire was fierce, and the ship was like an arrow leaving the string, burning the north ship and extending to the camp on the shore. Of course, this kind of smoke has been burned for a long time, and many people have been burned to death and drowned "("Zi Jian "Volume 65). Sun and Liu Lianjun's main fleet on the south bank took the opportunity to beat drums, crossed the Yangtze River and defeated Cao Jun. When Cao Cao saw that the defeat was irreversible, he immediately set himself on fire and led the army to retreat. The allied forces pursued quickly. Cao Cao fled to the north via Huarong Road (now south of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province), leaving Man Chong in Dangyang. Generic object service functional specification

Comments:

Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Liu and the allied forces were fearless in the face of strong enemies, attacked the enemy with fire, and defeated the strong with the weak, creating brilliant records, which were famous war examples in the history of China.

After the unification of the north, Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to go south and seized Jingzhou in one fell swoop. At this critical moment, we should have concentrated our efforts on thoroughly pursuing Liu Bei, and then planned Wu Dong. However, he is arrogant, underestimates the enemy, and strikes two enemies at the same time, which leads to Sun Liu's alliance with Cao Cao and puts himself at a disadvantage. Jiangnan is a water network area, which is conducive to water warfare, while Cao Jun has been conquering in the north for a long time, not learning water warfare. Although Cao Cao trained some water forces before marching, his fighting capacity was not strong; Although Jingzhou Water Army surrendered in the March, its morale was unstable. In this case, it is obviously a shortcoming to compete with Dongwu, which was founded by the Water Army. As a result, Sun Liu took advantage and failed.

In the Chibi water war, Sun Liu's allied forces were able to win more with less, and win the strong with weakness, mainly for the following reasons:

First, don't be intimidated by strong enemies, and don't be confused by superficial phenomena. Through calm analysis, we can see that Cao Cao160,000 troops are under siege, which is a great threat. Moreover, the rear of Cao Cao is unstable, and the troops are tired from afar. They are not used to water and do not learn water warfare. I saw Liu Bei's new defeat and insufficient strength, and I also saw favorable battlefield conditions and 50,000 to 60,000 water troops who were good at water warfare, thus having a foundation for winning.

Second, unite against Cao Cao and attack the main enemy. Although Sun Quan and Liu Bei have contradictions, at present, their enemies will be defeated one by one if they are not United. Together, it relatively changed the balance of power and created conditions for defeating Cao Jun.

Third, actively confront the enemy first. Adopting this policy was in line with the situation at that time. One is that Cao Cao took Jingzhou lightly, developing too fast, his troops were not concentrated, and the occupied area was not consolidated, so he could take advantage of his unstable foothold and take advantage of it. Second, Fan Kou was still in Liu Bei's hands in a strategic place. Before Cao Jun reached the amphibious converging attack, he forced Cao Jun to fight on the river and defeated its water army, making it difficult to go downstream. Third, Cao Cao relies on victory and is arrogant. He first gave Cao Jun a head-on blow, which made him shocked, confused and passive.

Fourth, strike short with long strokes and win by surprise. Taking advantage of being good at water warfare, Cao Jun, which was exhausted after a long journey, was not good at water warfare and paralyzed the enemy, unexpectedly used fire attack. Then, taking advantage of the enemy's chaos, he quickly threw himself into the main force and carried out a powerful assault, defeating Cao Jun. Battle of Red Cliffs had an extremely important impact on the development of the history of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao failed and could not March into Jiangnan. Sun Quan and Liu Bei used victory to develop their forces and expand their territory, which laid the foundation for the formation of the three pillars in the future.

Battle of Red Cliffs is one of the famous wars in the history of China. In 208 AD (13th year of Jian 'an, Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty), Cao Cao led an army of land and water, claiming to be a million, launched the Jingzhou Campaign, and then marched eastward to Sun Quan.

In the autumn of July, Cao Cao led more than 100,000 troops south to Jingzhou. In the words of Wang Fuzhi in Zi Zhi Tong Jian, it is "using Yuan Shao's strength to attack Jing and Wu". In an attempt to wipe out Liu Biao and Sun Quan in Jiangdong and unify the world. Just when Cao Cao was dying, Liu Biao died in August. In September, Liu Cong, the second son, surrendered to Cao Jun in Xinye (now Henan) without fighting. Thousands of Meng Chong and battleships of Jingzhou Water Army were owned by Cao Cao, and the strength of Cao Jun's water war was greatly enhanced. Liu Bei, who belonged to Liu Biao and was stationed in Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei), heard the news and led the army to withdraw south.

At that time, Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei Province) stored a large amount of grain, grass and weapons of Liu Biao, so on the one hand, Liu Bei retreated from Fancheng to Jiangling, on the other hand, he ordered Guan Yu to lead the water army to meet at Jiangling through Hanshui River. In September, Cao Jun led Tiger Leopard and other 5,000 troops to pursue Liu Bei and occupied Jiangling after defeating Liu Beijun in Changbanpo, Dangyang (now northeast of Dangyang, Hubei).

After Cao Cao arrived in Jiangling, he immediately took measures to stabilize the state officials and ordered "Jingzhou officials and people to start a new stove."

Jia Xu advised the resources of Jingzhou, Cao Liyong, to regulate the army and the people and stabilize NSW, but Cao did not listen. Cao Jun's operational deployment is roughly as follows: Zhao Yanwei (the county is in the southeast of Zaoyang, Hubei Province) is the satrap, and seven armies, including Yu Ban, Zhang He, Li Dian, Zhang Liao and Feng Kai, are in unified command of the actions between Hanshui and Huaishui. In Jingzhou, Cao Cao stationed Coss and Xia in Jiangling, Cao Hong in Xiangyang, and another water army from Xiangyang along the Hanshui River to Xiakou. Cao Cao personally led a group of troops and the newly attached Jingzhou people to attack Wu Dong along the river.

When Cao Cao went south, Sun Quan sent Lu Su to Jingzhou to pay tribute to Liu Biao, saying that Liu Bei had joined forces with Cao Cao. Lu Su and Liu Bei joined forces in Dangyang, and then Liu Bei used his plan to retreat to the southeast of Hanshui River to meet Guan Yu's water army from the east of Hanshui River, and retreated to Xiakou (now Wuhan, Hubei Province) with more than 10,000 troops of Liu Biao's eldest son Jiangxia satrap, in an attempt to unite Sun Quan against Cao Cao. Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang and Su to fight Cao Cao.

When Zhuge Liang arrived in Chaisang (southwest of Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province), Sun Quan had received a threatening letter from Cao Cao, which said, "Today, there are 800 water conservancy troops, and Fang and others will hunt in Wu." Sun Quan didn't want to be controlled by Cao Cao with "all the land of Wu, hundreds of thousands of people", and he was worried that Sun Liu's allied forces could not compete with Cao Cao. Sun Quan's leadership represented by Lu Su and Zhang Zhao's leadership also had a heated debate. Zhuge Liang analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of both sides for Sun Quan: "Although the Yuzhou (Liu Bei) army was defeated by Nagano, there are still 10,000 troops in Guan Yu's water army, and Liu Qihe's troops are not less than 10,000." He pointed out: (1) Cao Cao's expedition made the foot soldiers tired; (2) northerners "don't learn water fights"; (3) The people of Jingzhou have not convinced Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang's conclusion is that if Sun and Liu Lianhe get together, they will win.

Lu Su persuaded Sun Quan by challenging him, and suggested that Sun Quan immediately recall Zhou Yu to Poyang (now northeast of Poyang, Jiangxi). Zhou Yu supported the opinions of Zhuge Liang and Lu Su, and successively analyzed Cao Jun's weaknesses, pointing out: First, Cao Jun was exhausted; Second, "it's cold now, and the horses have no grass." Third, Ma Chao and Han Sui are still in Kansai, which is Cao Cao's future trouble. Then, the actual strength of Liu Biao was analyzed, and it was pointed out that there were only 150,000 to 60,000 people from the Central Plains, while the newly reduced number of 70,000 to 80,000 people by Liu Biao was not welcomed by Cao.

Sun Quan strengthened the confidence of uniting Cao to win, and appointed Zhou Yu and Lu Su as the left and right commanders and Zanjun as a captain. Zhou Yu led 30,000 elite troops down the river and joined Liu Bei's army of more than 20,000 people to fight against Cao.

Wulin defeat: Zhou Yu's army joined forces with Liu Bei at Fankou. Then upstream, to the red cliff, to meet with jun, Cao Jun's new, new Jingzhou water army fighting capacity is weak, and suffering from the plague, the first battle is unfavorable. Cao Cao had to "lead the army northward" and tilt the warship to the Wulin side on the north shore. Zhou Yu docked the warship on the red cliff side of the south bank, and the two sides confronted each other.

Northern soldiers were not used to life on the ship, so Cao Cao ordered the warships to be tied together with chains to reduce bumps. Zhou Yu suggested that Huang Gai defeat Cao Jun with fire attack tactics: "It is difficult and lasting to fight many people today. However, the military ship is connected with the ship end to end, and it can burn away. " Zhou Yu adopted Huang Gai's suggestion and immediately decided to let Huang Gai approach Cao Cao's warship by pretending to surrender. Ten Huang Bei warships, full of diesel oil, were disguised as curtains for external use and planted with flags agreed with Cao Cao.

It's the middle of winter, and it's windy in the north, but according to meteorological laws, it's common to have cold days and less warm days after a few days, and the wind direction may turn to the east or south. It is said that on Jiazi Day (65438+ February 7th, 2008)1/month12nd, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and the weather was sunny. In the evening, the south wind rises, and at midnight, the wind is urgent. Huang Gai set out from the prepared boat and sailed with the wind to Cao's boat. In the middle of the river, Huang Gai saw the torch with his hand, and all the soldiers shouted in unison: "Come down quickly!" " "The officers and men in Cao Jun were unprepared." They all waited, watched and pointed at those words. "Two miles from Cao Jun, Huang Gai ordered the firewood to be lit, and at the same time he became very angry. The fire was fierce, and the ship flew like an arrow, burning up the north ship and extending to the camp on the shore. After a while, "the smoke was burning, and many people drowned." "

South Sun Jun's main fleet took the opportunity to beat gongs and drums; At the same time, Liu Bei also moved from Shushan to Wulin. The Allies crossed the Yangtze River and defeated Cao Jun. Seeing that the defeat was irreversible, Cao Cao immediately set himself on fire and led the army to retreat. Zhou Yu and Liu Bei's army went hand in hand, and Cao Cao retreated in the direction of Jiangling along Huarong Road (now Jianli North, Hubei Province), suffering from plague and hunger, and Cao Jun lost most of it. Thanks to Zhang Liao, Chu Xu and others, they were out of danger. At the gates of Jiangling, Cao Cao retreated to the north for fear of instability in the rear, leaving Coss and Huang Xu guarding Jiangling and Man Chong stationed in Dangyang.

Consequences: Before Chibi, Cao Cao's advantages were very great: first, Cao Cao "relied on the emperor to make the princes", and the princes could not compete morally; Second, Cao Cao went south with his newly won army, full of energy. Third, Cao Cao's strength is several times that of Sun and Liu. Since Cao Cao has such advantages, Sun Liu's record is even more brilliant. In this battle, Sun played an important role in the water war and skillfully attacked it with fire, which can be said to be a decisive and famous war example in the history of China. After Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao returned to the north, and there was no chance to go south to Jingzhou on such a large scale. Cao Cao Group also lost the possibility of unifying the whole country in a short time.

Zhou Yu and others confronted Coss across the river and sent Gan Ning to attack Yiling (now Yichang, Hubei). Coss led troops into this area, and Zhou Yu led troops to rescue them. Liu Bei returned to Xiakou, wanted to return to Hanshui, and went around behind Coss. The following year, Coss was forced to withdraw. Sun Quan continued to form an alliance with Liu Bei to jointly resist Cao Cao. Liu Bei took advantage of the situation to acquire most of Jingzhou, including Wuling (county in Changde, Hunan), Changsha, Guiyang (county in Chenxian, Hunan) and Lingling (all in Hunan). Later, he won Yizhou in Liu Zhang. Sun Quan occupied Jiangdong, forming a separatist situation of Wei, Shu and Wu.

Cao Cao did not use victory to completely defeat Liu Bei.

Pei Songzhi, who annotated the History of the Three Kingdoms, disagreed. He thinks: "Cao Cao is both a new peacemaker and a deterrent;" The water warfare tool endowed with Liu Biao, taking advantage of Jingchu, will be a good opportunity to shock and outline; If you don't take this opportunity to win Wu, you will be safe? 」

One aspect that traditional comments generally ignore is the epidemic factor. Cao Cao blamed the failure on illness. Sun Quan wrote a letter saying, "Battle of Red Cliffs, who is seriously ill, left the boat alone and made Zhou Yuxi famous all over the world. Pei Songzhi commented on Battle of Red Cliffs: "As for the defeat of Chibi, there is luck. In fact, it is vigorously promoting the peak of disease damage, and the wind comes from the south and is used as a burning potential. This is a fact of life, is it a person? Li Yousong's article "Discussion on the Relationship between Cao Cao's defeat in Chibi and Schistosomiasis" points out that the reason for Cao Cao's defeat in Battle of Red Cliffs is "disease"-acute schistosomiasis. The battlefield in Battle of Red Cliffs was precisely the area where schistosomiasis was seriously prevalent at that time, and it was the infection season of schistosomiasis at that time. Battle of Red Cliffs starts in winter, but Cao Jun migrates and trains in autumn. Cao Cao's water army was infected with schistosomiasis before the Middle War in Battle of Red Cliffs, and it took more than a month to get sick, which made it exhausted and vulnerable in the war. However, Liu and Sun's troops have been engaged in production and life in schistosomiasis endemic areas for a long time, and the soldiers have more or less developed certain immunity.

The position of Chibi

For many years, academic circles have been discussing the issue of "Red Cliff", and various theories have been called "New Red Cliff War" by modern media. Generally speaking, there are at least seven kinds of "Red Cliff Theory": Puyin Theory, Huangzhou Theory, Zhongxiang Theory, Wuchang Theory, Hanyang Theory, Hanchuan Theory and Jiayu Theory. Judging from the current discussion, the focus of the debate is Pu Yin's theory, Jia Yu's theory and Huang Zhou's theory, and the other four theories are difficult to establish.

1. Puyin said: Yin Falu's Notes on the Translation of Ancient Books wrote: "That Chibi is in the northwest of Puyin County, Hubei Province, on the south bank of the Yangtze River." "Yuanhe County Records" also said: "Chibi Mountain is 120 miles west of Pu Xian County, and there is a great river in the north, and its north shore is Wulin, that is, Zhou Yu used Huang Gaice to burn Cao Gong boat, but it failed. Hu Sansheng's "Learning from the Same Experience" and Tan Qixiang's "Atlas of Chinese History" are also key points. Among the three statements, Puyin is more credible, because in recent years, a large number of cultural relics have been unearthed in Puyin Chibi. 199 1 The Essays on the Ancient Battlefield Puyin Chibi published by the School of Humanities of Hubei University agrees with the above viewpoint.

2. Jiayu said: "Ancient Chinese" edited by Wang Li and "Selected Literary Works of China in Past Dynasties" edited by Zhu Dongrun both hold the view that Chibi is in the northeast of Jiayu County, Hubei Province. If we trace back to the source of this theory, there is evidence that the Draft of the Unified History of Qing Dynasty was quoted from Zhu. "Notes on Water Classics" said: "Chibi Mountain is in the south of Bairen Mountain, and it should be in the northeast of Jiayu County, at the junction with Jiangxia, and go to Wulin for 200 miles." This statement was later recognized by Yang Shoujing, a famous geographer in the late Qing Dynasty.

3. Huangzhou said: There is another saying that Chibi is in the east of Wuhan today. Du Mu in the Tang Dynasty and Su Shi in the Northern Song Dynasty regarded Chibiji (now Dongpo Chibi) in the northwest of Huanggang (ancient Huangzhou) as Chibi, because the rock wall here is vertical and red, just like a fire. Su Shi's "Thousand Chibi Fu" said: "Looking at Xiakou in the west and Wuchang in the east (now Ezhou City, Hubei Province). 」

Battle of Red Cliffs: Battle of Red Cliffs was a famous decisive battle in the 13th year of Jian 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 208). Sun Quan of the State of Wu and Liu Bei of the State of Shu led the troops in Chibi of the Yangtze River (now northwest of Puyin in south-central China and northeast of Jiayu).

After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and Wu Huan and basically unified the north, he went south from Wan (now Nanyang, Henan Province) in July of the thirteenth year of Jian 'an, hoping to destroy Liu Biao first, then advance eastward along the river and defeat Sun Quan, thus unifying the world.

Cao Jun marched into Xinye (now Henan). At that time, Liu Biao in Jingzhou was dead, and his son Liu Cong surrendered without a fight. Cao Cao incorporated Liu Biao's army, claiming that 800,000 troops were advancing on the Yangtze River. After Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Jun in Changban (now Dangyang, Hubei), he sent Zhuge Liang back to Chaisang (now southwest of Jiujiang, south-central Jiangxi) to fight Cao. Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Zhuge Liang, the generals of the State of Wu, brilliantly analyzed the situation and pointed out that although there were more than 200,000 troops, there were some weaknesses, such as unstable rear, long-distance training, acclimatization, and being shorter than the water war, which further strengthened Sun Quan's determination to form an alliance with Liu Bei against Cao. Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu as the general and Cheng Pu as the deputy, and led 30,000 elite water troops to join forces with Liu Beijun in Fankou (now Ezhou, Hubei). * * * About 50,000 people marched westward along the Yangtze River to meet Cao Jun. Cao Jun was not good at water warfare, and the epidemic was prevalent. He was blocked by Sun Liu's allied troops in Chibi. The combat effectiveness was greatly reduced and the first battle was frustrated. He was forced to be stationed in the Wulin in Jiangbei (now Honghu County, Hubei Province) and confronted the allied forces across the river. Cao Cao ordered the warships to be connected end to end in order to drill the water army and wait for an opportunity to attack the war.

Zhou Yu adopted the fire attack plan put forward by Huang Gai and ordered him to send a letter to Cao Cao and pretend to surrender in order to win the surprise attack. Cao Cao is confident that he is a shoo-in, and his guard is lax. Huang Gai chose a suitable time, sent a boat close to Cao Jun, and ordered the firewood on the boat to be lit. The fireboat sailed into Cao Jun's fleet, and suddenly it was a sea of fire, extending to the camps on the shore, causing heavy casualties in Cao Jun. Zhou Yu and others led the army to take advantage of the situation to kill, and Cao Jun was defeated. Cao Cao led the disabled soldiers to escape from Huarong Road (now south of the Yangtze River in Hubei Province) to Jiangling. Most of them were damaged, unable to fight again, and they were losing ground. The allied forces took advantage of the victory to expand the results. Zhou Yu led the troops to capture Jiangling along the river and dispatched Gan-Ning bypass to capture Yiling (now Yichang, Hubei). Sun Quan led an army to March eastward to Hefei (now Anhui Province in the southeast of China). After Liu Bei led his troops to Jiangling, he returned to Xiakou (now Wuhan), detoured north along the Hanshui River to the rear of Cao Cao's army, and divided his forces to seize Jingzhou.

In the decisive battle at Chibi, Cao Cao underestimated the enemy's conceit, made mistakes in command and finally lost. Sun Quan and Liu Bei formed an alliance to resist Japan at the critical moment when the strong enemy advanced, and skillfully attacked with fire, eventually defeating the strong with the weak. This battle laid the foundation for the division of Wei, Shu and Wu.

Battle of guandu

A strategic decisive battle to lay the foundation for Cao Cao's unification of the North

Guandu, located in the north of Xuchang (now Xuchang City, Henan Province) and south of the Yellow River, is a military stronghold from Hebei to Henan and is famous for its Guandu War, which shocked the world.

Although the vigorous peasant uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was suppressed, it dealt a heavy blow to the rule of the landlord class and made the decadent Eastern Han regime exist in name only. In the process of suppressing the Yellow turban insurrectionary, state and county officials monopolized the military and political power, and the landlords organized a trilogy (private armed forces) to occupy the territory, forming separatist forces of all sizes, which evolved into a long-term struggle for power and profit and mutual annexation, resulting in the tragic scene of "white bones exposed in the wild, thousands of miles without chickens crowing" in the Central Plains. At that time, the separatist forces mainly included Yuan Shao in Hebei, Zhang Yang in Hanoi, Cao Cao in Yu Yan, Lu Bu in Xuzhou, Yuan Shu in Yangzhou, Sun Ce in Jiangdong, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Gongsun Zan in Youzhou and Zhang Xiu in Nanyang. In the years of these separatist forces, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao gradually developed and expanded.

In the third year of Jian 'an (198), Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan and occupied the land of Qing, You, Ji and Sizhou. In the first year of Jian 'an, Cao Cao took Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty to Xuchang, forming a situation of "holding the emperor to make the princes" and gaining political advantage. In the spring of the second year of Jian 'an (197), Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Shouchun (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province). Cao Cao attacked and destroyed Yuan Shu in the name of "Feng Zhao can't be a minister". Then destroy Lu Bu and use the infighting of the propaganda department to obtain Hanoi County. From then on, Cao Cao's influence reached Guanzhong in the west and Yanzhou, Henan and Xuzhou in the east, controlling most of the areas south of the Yellow River and north of Huai Han, thus forming a confrontation with Yuan Shao in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Yuan Shao's strength at that time far exceeded that of Cao Cao, so he was naturally unwilling to be under Cao Cao. He is determined to fight against Cao Cao. In June of the fourth year of Jian 'an (199), Yuan Shao selected 65,438+10,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 war horses in an attempt to attack Xu Changnan, and the battle of Guandu began.

The news of Yuan Shaoju's troops going south reached Xuchang, and Cao Cao thought that Yuan Jun was powerful and invincible. However, according to his understanding of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao thought Yuan Shao was ambitious, lacking in courage, despicable and ungrateful, headstrong, too many soldiers to command clearly, and he would be arrogant and have different orders, so he decided to confront Yuan Shao's attack with tens of thousands of troops he could concentrate. In order to gain the strategic initiative, he made the following arrangements: sending elite troops into Qingzhou (now Linyi North, Shandong Province), occupying Qi (now Linzi, Shandong Province), Beihai (now Changle, Shandong Province), Dong 'an (now Yishui County, Shandong Province) and other places to contain Yuan Shao, consolidate the right wing and prevent Xuchang from attacking from the east; Cao Cao led his troops into Liyang, Jizhou (now east of Xunxian County, Henan Province, on the north bank of the Yellow River), and ordered him to ride two thousand men to guard the important ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River (now north of Henan Province), assist the prefect of Dongjun to guard Baima (now east of Huaxian County, Henan Province, south bank of the Yellow River), prevent Yuan Jun from crossing the river, and at the same time set up a base in Guandu (now northeast of Zhongmou, Henan Province) to stop Yuan Shao. Send someone to subdue Guanzhong, take Liangzhou and stabilize the flank. Judging from the above arrangements, Cao Cao's strategic policy is not to divide his troops to defend the south bank of the Yellow River, but to concentrate his forces, guard key passes and focus on fortifications for the enemy. Judging from the situation at that time, this deployment was appropriate. First of all, there are more Yuan Shaobing than Cao Cao and Serenade, and there are many places to cross the Yellow River. If we divide our forces to stop the code from going south, it will not only be difficult to stop Yuan Jun from going south, but also make his already inferior forces more dispersed. Secondly, Guandu is located in the upper reaches of the gap and is close to Bianshui. Xiaqu, which connects Hulao Pass, Gongguan and Luoguan in the west and Huaisi Pass in the east, is a barrier between the north and the south of Xuchang, an important Tianjin and a battleground for Yuan Shao to seize Xuchang. In addition, Guandu is close to Xuchang, and the logistics supply is more convenient than Yuan Jun. In December of the fourth year of Jian 'an (199), when Cao Cao was deploying to fight against Yuan Shao, Liu Bei rose up against Cao Cao, occupied Xiapi, and moved the capital to Pei County (now Pei County, Jiangsu Province). Increase to tens of thousands of people, and contact Yuan Shao, intending to jointly attack Cao. In order to keep Xuchang in touch with the Qing and Yan States and avoid fighting on both sides, Cao Cao personally led a good soldier to crusade against Liu Bei in February of the following year, quickly occupied Pei County, turned to Xiapi and forced Guan Yu to land. Liu Bei was wiped out and fled to Hebei alone to go to Yuan Shao. At the height of the fierce battle between Cao and Liu, Tian Feng, Yuan Shao's counselor, suggested that Yuan Shao "lead the army to attack the rear", but Yuan Shao refused to adopt it on the grounds that his son was ill, which led Cao Cao to defeat Liu Bei calmly and return to Guandu.

In the first month of the fifth year of Jian 'an (200), Yuan Shao sent Chen Lin to write a campaign and published it, in which Cao Cao was cursed. In February, he marched into Liyang, attempted to cross the river, and sought a decisive battle with the main force of Jun. First, he sent Yan Liang to attack Ada, the satrap of Baima East County, in an attempt to seize the south bank of the Yellow River to ensure that the main force crossed the river. In April, in order to take the initiative, Cao Cao won the first battle and personally led the troops to the north to rescue the white horse. At this time, Xun You, the counselor, thought that Yuan Shaobing had more troops, and suggested a diversion to disperse his troops. First led the troops to Yanjin, crossed the river in disguise, attacked the rear of Yuan Yuan, let Yuan Shaobing divide his troops and March westward, and then sent a light horse to attack Yuan Jun, who was attacking the white horse, so as to defeat Yan Liang. Cao Cao adopted this suggestion, and Yuan Shao was sure to divide his troops and delay Tianjin. Cao Cao took the opportunity to lead a Qingqi and sent Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as pioneers, eager for a white horse. Guan Yu quickly approached Yan, Yan Liang was killed and Yuan Jun was defeated. After Cao Cao solved the siege of Baima, the people who migrated to Baima retreated westward along the Yellow River. Yuan Shao led the army to cross the river in pursuit, and the army went south to Yanjin, and sent generals Wen Chou and Liu Bei to continue to lead the troops in pursuit of Jun. At that time, Cao Cao had only 600 cavalry, stationed under South Sakan (Baima South), while Yuan Junda rode five or six thousand, followed by infantry. Cao Cao ordered the soldiers to untie their saddles and release their horses, deliberately leaving the trench by the roadside. As soon as Yuan Jun saw the recruits, he began to fight for property. Cao Cao suddenly attacked, finally defeated Yuan Jun, killed Wen Chou and returned to Guandu smoothly.

Yuan Jun lost the first battle, but his troops still had the upper hand. In July, he marched into Wu Yang (now Zhongmou North, Henan Province) and prepared to attack Xu Changnan. In August, Yuan Jun's main force approached Guandu, and camped in the sand pile, which was about dozens of miles wide from east to west. Cao Cao also camped and confronted Yuan Jun .. In September, Cao Jun once attacked, failed to win, and returned to the camp to hold on. Yuan Shao built a tower and a mountain, and hit Cao Ying with an arrow. Cao Jun built a mine car with a riprap device, which destroyed the building built by Yuan Jun ... Yuan Jun dug a tunnel to attack again, and Cao Jun also dug a long trench in the camp to resist. After three months of stalemate between the two sides, Cao Cao almost lost the confidence to persist, because of the difficult external environment, the lack of food in the front serenade, the fatigue of the foot soldiers and the instability in the rear. Hey? Tunnel. Cao Cao was determined to stick to the crisis and strengthen the defense. He ordered Ren Jun, who was in charge of logistics supply, to take 10 road column as one, shorten the distance between the front and rear of the motorcade, and strengthen the escort with multiple arrays (two arrays) to prevent Yuan Jun from attacking. On the other hand, he actively sought and captured fighters, defeated Yuan Jun, and quickly sent Huang Xu and Shi Huan to intercept and burn thousands of grain trucks in Yuan Jun, which increased the difficulties in Yuan Jun.

In October of the same year, Yuan Shao sent a car to transport grain, and Chunyu Qiong led the troops with 10,000 escorts, stationed in the old city (in Yanjin County, Henan Province) and Wu Chao (now southeast of Henan Province) about 20 kilometers north of Yuan Jun Daying. Just then, Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You surrendered to Cao Cao and suggested that Cao Cao take the Wu Dynasty lightly and burn his trench. Cao Cao immediately put it into practice, leaving Cao Hong and Xun You to guard the camp, personally led the troops to ride 5,000, falsely used the banner, tied the horse's mouth with medals, each with a pile of firewood, and attacked Wu's lair in the dark. Upon arrival, they immediately surrounded and set fire to it. Yuan Shao heard that Cao Cao attacked the Wu Dynasty and made a mistake. He only sent an army to save Wu Chao, and then rushed into Cao Jun's camp in Guandu with his main force. I just know that Cao Caoqiang can't attack. When Jun rushed to Wu Chao Chunyu Qiong Barracks, Yuan Shao's reinforcements were approaching. Cao fought to the death, defeated, killed Chunyu Qiong and burned all his food. The news that Wu Chao's grain and grass were burned spread to the front line in Yuan Jun, which shook people's hearts and divided them internally. Cao Jun took advantage of the situation and defeated Yuan Jun .. Yuan Shao returned to Hebei in a panic with 800 riders, and successively annihilated and trapped more than 70,000 Yuan Jun. The battle of Guandu ended in Yuan's defeat. Later, Cao Cao went north to destroy Yuan Shang, the son of Yuan Yuan and Yuan Shao, and wrote "Viewing the Sea" on Jieshi Mountain.

The battle of Guandu was the key battle for the transformation of Yuan Cao's power. At that time, the northern part of China was divided and unified, which had an extremely important impact on the development of the history of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Jun's victory in this battle was not accidental. Although the dispute over the merger of Yuan and Cao belonged to the struggle between feudal separatist forces, it objectively satisfied the people's desire to achieve regional reunification.

Cao Cao suppressed the strongmen politically and won the support of the small and medium-sized landlord class; "Holding the emperor to make the princes" put him in a favorable political position; Pay attention to recruiting talents and get the support of landlord class intellectuals; Reclaiming farmland economically not only effectively solved the logistics supply, but also stabilized social life to a certain extent and won the hearts of the people. In addition, excellent operational guidance is also an important factor in his victory. According to the specific situation that the enemy is strong and we are weak, Cao Cao adopted the operational policy of taking a step back, waiting for success, and then attacking it. In defensive operations, we can strive for initiative and flexible command from passivity; In the face of crisis, we must be firm and calm; Be good at capturing fighters and implementing them decisively; Be good at listening to the opinions of subordinates, firmly grasp the key link of surprise attack on Wu Chao, and finally win. On the other hand, Yuan Shao indulged the strongmen politically, annexed land and plundered wantonly, so he was opposed by the people. Yuan Shao was divided internally, arrogant and headstrong, unable to adopt the correct suggestions of the Ministry, hesitant and repeatedly missed opportunities. In the end, the grain and grass were burned, the roads in the rear were copied, the morale of the army was shaken, the internal division was broken, and the whole army was wiped out.