On the other hand, Li Dian and Yue Jin were sent back to Zhang Yan to attack Bingzhou and wipe out the high officials.
Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi knew that Cao's army was about to arrive, and knew that the existing troops were no match at all, so they lost the city and took their troops to western Liaoning overnight to join Wuhuan.
After Wu Huanzhu, the governor of Youzhou, learned of the news, he gathered all the officials in Youzhou. After discussion, they came to a unanimous opinion, and even made a blood alliance to discuss how to betray Yuan Shao and join Cao Cao.
Wu Huanzhu led everyone and began to swear, saying: "I know that Prime Minister Cao is a hero of the world. Go and surrender now. If there is any objection, he will be beheaded immediately." After saying this, everyone took the knife in their hands and began to bleed from their fingers.
, when it came time to leave Han Heng, he suddenly quit.
, threw the knife to the ground and shouted: "We have received the kindness of the Yuan family and his son. Now that the master has failed, we have no way to rescue, and we have no courage to kill ourselves. We really lack loyalty! If we surrender to the north,
Cao Cao, there is no way I can do it!"
When everyone saw his actions, the color of their faces changed and they were very nervous.
Wu Huan nodded and said: "Those who want to do big things must have great loyalty. Whether a thing can succeed or not cannot be decided by one person. Since Han Heng has such ambitions, let him go." So.
Push it out.
Everyone else had no other ideas, so Wu Huanchu took everyone to greet the three groups and told them about surrendering to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was very happy and named him General Zhenbei.
Cao Cao was preparing to have a banquet to celebrate, but someone came to report and said: "Le Jin, Li Dian, and Zhang Yan attacked Bingzhou, but Gao Gan defended the Hu Pass and could not capture it."
Cao Cao had no choice but to separate from Wu Huanzhu and lead his troops to the main battlefield in person. When the three generals saw Cao Cao, they all explained the current situation and described how difficult it was to attack the pass.
Cao Cao summoned everyone to discuss how to capture this pass.
Xun You said: "Under the current situation, it is impossible to attack by force. We can use the strategy of false surrender." Cao Cao agreed, and called the surrendering generals Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang, and quietly told them his plan.
So Lu Kuang took some troops to the pass and shouted: "I am the original general of the Yuan family. For some reasons, I had no choice but to join Cao Cao. However, I found that Cao Cao was very treacherous and neglected us. We are very
I regret it, I have found my way back, I hope you can accept it."
The senior officials were not very convinced, so they asked the two men to go to the gate to talk and learn more about the situation. The two generals took off their armor, dismounted their horses, walked to the gate, and said to the senior officials: "Cao Jun has just arrived here. You can take advantage of them."
If the morale of the army is not stable, we will go to rob the stronghold tonight, and I am willing to be the vanguard."
Gao Gan was very happy and followed his advice. He let the two men take the lead that night and led tens of thousands of troops. When they arrived at Cao Village, there were loud shouts from behind and ambush soldiers and horses came from all directions. Gao Gan knew that he had been tricked.
, prepared to retreat, but it was already too late. Yue Jin and Li Dian had already captured the pass. Gao Gan ran away and finally broke through the siege and went to join Shan Yu.
Cao Cao led his soldiers and horses to guard the pass and sent people to pursue Gao Gan. When Gao Gan arrived at Shanyu's territory, he happened to meet their King Zuoxian. He quickly dismounted and bowed to him, pointed behind him, and told the other party that Cao Cao's army was chasing them and that they would annex the territory.
, hoping to be rescued, to resist Cao Jun together, and to protect the safety of the north.
King Zuo Xian said: "I have no hatred against Cao Cao, so why are you invading my land? You are trying to make me have a grudge against Cao Cao and the others. It is your conspiracy!" After saying this, he dismissed Gao Gan.
Thinking that there was no way out, Gao Gan had no choice but to secretly seek refuge with Liu Biao. When he arrived at Shangluo, he was discovered by Captain Wang Yan, who immediately beheaded him and sent his head to Cao Cao, who made him a marquis.
The process of assessing Hebei was very smooth. Cao Cao discussed attacking Wuhuan to the west. Cao Hong and others came out to persuade: "Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang was defeated and killed. Basically, he has no power anymore. He has fled to the desert far away. Now he is leading his troops."
Pursuit, if Liu Bei and Liu Biao take advantage of the emptiness of Xudu and attack our rear, we will have no chance to come to rescue, and the disaster will be great. I hope to return to Xudu first and then discuss it."
Only Guo Jia came out to object and said: "What you are saying is wrong. Although my lord is powerful in the world, people over the desert think that we are afraid of trouble and are in a remote location, so they will not be prepared. At this time, we launch a surprise attack
, we can definitely defeat them. Moreover, Yuan Shao and Wu Huan have a close relationship, and
The two brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi are still there, so we have to get rid of them. Liu Biao is just a guest. He knows that his talents are not as good as Liu Bei. If he is used more important, he is afraid that he will not be able to control it. If he is used lightly, he is afraid that he will not be able to use his talents. Even if we
There is no need to worry about conquering the desert at the risk of emptiness."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "You are right." Then he led the three armies, counted the first two chariots, and moved forward.
When they came to the desert full of yellow sand, strong winds were blowing and the road was rugged, making it very difficult for people and horses to walk. At this time, Cao Cao had some intention of retreating and went to find Guo Jia.
Because Guo Jia went on an expedition with the army, he was not acclimated to the climate and was lying ill in the carriage. Cao Cao cried: "Because I am preparing to go on an expedition to the desert and make you travel a long distance and your body will get sick. I really feel uneasy!"
Guo Jiadao: "I am grateful to the Prime Minister for your great kindness. Even if I die, I will not be able to repay you."
Cao Cao said: "I saw that there is nothing but yellow sand in the north, and the mountain roads are very rugged. I am going to go back. What do you think?"
Guo Jia shook his head and said: "Soldiers are valuable and quick. Now that we are running thousands of miles, the heavy baggage has become a burden. It is better to go into battle lightly and be unprepared. We need to find some people who know the road to guide us."
So Cao Cao left Guo Jia to recuperate in Yizhou, and sent people to find some locals to lead the way. Someone recommended that Yuan Shao's old general Tian Chou was very familiar with the environment here, so Cao Cao recalled him for questioning.
He replied: "This road has water in summer. Although it is shallow, it is not passable by cars and horses. It is deep but it cannot be driven by boats. It is difficult to pass. Why don't you go back? From Lulongkou, cross the dangerous place of Baitan, and from the land of emptiness."
Come out and get close to Liucheng, so that you can be unprepared and capture Tadun in one battle."
Cao Cao followed this suggestion and made Tianchou the general of Jingbei. As the guide and front guard, Zhang Liao followed closely behind. Cao Cao himself followed behind, only leading the light cavalry.
Tian Chou took Zhang Liao to Bailang Mountain, and happened to encounter Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang joining Tadun and other tens of thousands of cavalry. Zhang Liao quickly went to report the situation to Cao Cao. Cao Cao went to the heights to check the situation in person and saw that Tadun's team was in disarray.
, uneven, with no combat effectiveness at all, Cao Cao said to Zhang Liao: "The enemy soldiers look very disorganized, there should be no preparations, you can just attack."
So Zhang Liao was sent to attack directly. Zhang Liao led Xu Chu, Yu Jin, Xu Huang and others in four separate groups and went down the mountain together to attack Tadun. His troops were in chaos and couldn't figure out where to attack him.