"If you don't know the enemy but know yourself, you will win every time; if you don't know the enemy but don't know yourself, you will be destroyed in every battle." [Sun Tzu: Planning for Attack]
In the autumn of the second year of Jian'an, the most difficult period of the drought and locust years came. There was almost no harvest in the fields, the government's grain reserves were exhausted, and both warring parties were exhausted from the war that lasted for more than a year.
At the beginning of August, Cao Cao took advantage of Zang Hongxin's defeat and before he and Tian Fen could regroup their forces, and led more than ten thousand Qingzhou soldiers to ping the counties in Xiping. Due to the shortage of food and grass, Cao Cao sent troops and horses to the fields to harvest wheat on the way.
In the ban, Li Zheng and others saw that most of the people were sent out to seize the goods, leaving only more than a thousand people to guard. The camp was empty and not conducive to defense, so they all discussed: "Why bother our soldiers? Why not recruit the surrounding villagers?"
Do you want to work and help our army cut wheat?"
They reached a consensus with each other and walked in groups towards the Chinese army's tent. However, no one saw Shi Huan at the tent. As Cao Cao's bodyguard, Shi Huan had always been inseparable from Cao Cao. Since he was not here, then
Cao Cao was definitely not there either. So after some inquiring, I learned that Cao Cao had gone to the back camp where he was storing grain and grass. There were several cone-like piles of wheat straw scattered in the open space of the back camp, and more than a hundred women and children were holding their arms.
The work of threshing and transporting wheat.
Yu Jin and others walked around in a circle, and then saw Cao Cao half-lying on a pile of wheat straw.
"Wang Bi has already inquired about it. The disaster is the worst in Yanzhou. All the young men who can run have gone south to Yuzhou. Only the old, weak, women and children are left in the villages and towns, which is of no help." Cao Cao turned over and sat up, waving his hand to Shi Huan.
He took a few handfuls of wheat straw from the haystack and put them on the ground. He said: "I will leave these women in the camp and let them guard the wall. If the enemy dares to invade, they will be guarded from the side."
."
Yu Jin was suddenly enlightened. He moved his buttocks on the stiff ground, clasped his fists and said, "Cao Gong's brilliant plan! I remember that there are deep forests in the west of the camp. The trees are lush and it is easy to hide troops. As long as you use women to lure the enemy, you can all ambush them."
, defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.”
"Chen Gongtai is very resourceful, and he knows that I am very clever in using troops, so he must have predicted this. If I follow the plan, the ambush will not succeed, and it will make others laugh, which is inappropriate." Cao Cao was full of admiration in his heart, but his face remained calm, waving his hands and saying:
"This plan must be unique and cannot be predicted by Chen Gongtai. I know him well. If Chen Gongtai sees that forest, he will definitely conclude that our troops are hiding in it. Once they think so, they will ignore him.
Here, this is our army’s opportunity.”
Yu Jin and others were convinced, but before they could speak, Cao Cao changed the topic and suddenly asked: "This is not because I am hiding my clumsiness, but because Chen Gongtai knows me very well. This plan should not be conceived by me, but should be entrusted to
You are so smart."
This is a good opportunity to show off. You must know that Cao Cao himself has excellent military strategies, and he has Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Xi Zhicai and others around him to make suggestions. Generals and commanders like them rarely make suggestions on military strategy. Now Cao Cao wants to prevent
He, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others were once too familiar with Chen Gong and knew each other well, which resulted in a situation where others were predicting the opportunity. Yu Jin and other foreign generals who had not had much contact with Chen Gong were specially allowed to make plans.
But there were too few suitable places to set up ambush around. Under the existing conditions, Yu Jin, Le Jin and others didn't come up with a good idea for a while. Cao Cao was not in a hurry, scratching his head in contentment and pulling out a piece of hair from the back of his head.
A long and slender wheat straw is gently twisted in the hand.
In fact, this was a helpless move. Xun Yu was sent to Liang State to try to contact Chen Xiangzhong Shao in the southwest and Pei Xiang Tianchou in the southeast. It would be best to formally establish a line with the imperial court and gain actual support from the imperial court. Cheng Yu relied on
With his identity and reputation as a famous scholar in Yanzhou, he lobbied all the counties in Yanzhou, hoping that the neutral counties would re-join him, and now he has achieved great results.
Since the death of Xi Zhicai, there has been no capable adviser around him to advise him. Recently, Cao Cao often feels that his military operations are not as smooth and comfortable as before, and since he has to pay more attention to things than before, his headaches have become more frequent.
stand up.
For this reason, he asked Xun Yu for advice more than once, hoping that the other party could recommend more famous advisors and advisers among you and Ying for his use. However, the people listed by Xun Yu either fled to Jingzhou for refuge, or were recruited into the court.
.Although Xun Yu had a wide network of contacts, it was difficult for a clever woman to make things difficult for him. Cao Cao knew that there were still some people who lived in seclusion and had no hope in the imperial court and were unwilling to serve a local power like him. In desperation, he stopped mentioning this matter.
.
Just when Cao Cao and the generals were all thinking, lowering their eyes and pondering, suddenly a man at the end of the seat said: "Mr. Cao, I have an humble opinion, I don't know whether I should speak it or not?"
Everyone looked around and saw that the person sitting at the end was Li Zheng, the son of Li Qian. He was a strong man in Yanzhou. Cao Cao sent troops to send Li Qian back to Sangzi Cheng clan to comfort the counties. As a result, he was surrounded by troops led by Tian Fen and others.
, Tian Fen saw that he was also one of the many powerful men in the local area, so he went to surrender in person, describing it as a blessing and a disaster, and blaming him for his kindness: "Li Qian doesn't realize that the general situation is evil? I am the governor of Yanzhou, and the imperial court has conferred it on you. You are the generals of Yanzhou."
, you should be my subordinates, the sworn bond of 'lord and minister', why would you and I go to war like this!"
"Then let me ask you, where were you when the Yellow Turbans were in chaos in Yanzhou? The Jibei Kingdom was famine and could not endure the cold winter, so where were you? Cao Zhendong was conquering the Taishan bandits, why couldn't you produce any food?" Li Qian stood at that time
From the top of the city, he cursed, his words like nails: "The appointment of Baier to Yanzhou by the imperial court can be said to be a favor. Now that the royal family is weak and the world is in chaos, you have neither the intention to support you nor the peace of mind. I only know that I am Fu."
Mr. Yuan, you are like a fly from an ox's tail. You call yourself a minister of the Han Dynasty in vain, how can you explain to me the meaning of 'king and minister'!"
Many Yanzhou heroes who brought guests and soldiers to cheer were greatly moved after hearing these generous words, and their thoughts suddenly changed. Even Zang Hong changed his face in surprise and showed hesitation. Tian Fen was so angry that he didn't wait for others to react.
He ordered a strong attack and soon after the city was broken, Li Qian was beheaded. Only Li Zheng and his remnants escaped.
Later, Cao Cao regained Chengshi and learned the cause of Li Qian's death. He saw Li Zheng again and cried bitterly for a while. He knew well the meaning of attacking the heart first in battle, and almost cried with joy: "Respecting the words of the ancestor is worth a hundred thousand.
soldiers."
So he ordered Li Zheng to lead the old troops and replenished his troops.
Now everyone looked at Li Zheng, thinking that the other party had some idea. Unexpectedly, Li Zheng also looked blank. Seeing everyone looking at him, he was stunned for a moment, then looked back and scolded
Said: "Mancheng, all the generals have not spoken, please stop talking nonsense!"
Behind him stood a young general, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a childish face, somewhere between a teenager and a child.
Cao Cao was surprised to see him, and he saw that he looked very similar to Li Zheng. He also knew that Li Zheng had not yet married, so he asked, "Is this the younger member of your family?"
"This is my younger brother Li Dian. His father died early. He was raised by his father since he was a child and stayed with the Cheng family. When the city was destroyed last time, my father entrusted him to me and gave him his name."