In February of the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Liu Bei led an army of 25,000, with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Mi Fang, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao and others as generals, and Chen Gong, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and others as conspirators. Go to intercept Yuan Shu.
It is said that Liu Bei's army and Yuan Shu's army met near Lingbi, and the two sides started to fight. Under the premise that the strength of the two armies was similar, Liu Bei followed Chen Gong's plan, first feigning defeat for several battles, and then taking advantage of Yuan Shu's pride and complacency to launch a massive counterattack. His army was defeated in one fell swoop, and Yuan Shu himself even killed Guan Yu in the rebellious army. Yuan Shu's army had already been defeated, but after seeing the death of his lord, it became a complete mess, with many people fleeing and surrendering.
Yuan Shu's generals Chen Lan and Lei Bo surrendered to Liu Bei, and most of the other generals died in the battle.
After defeating Yuan Shu's army, Liu Bei did not return to Xuchang. Instead, following Chen Gong's policy, he set up swordsmen and axemen in the military tent to ambush Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao. After killing these two men, Liu Bei declared to the outside world that they He contacted Yuan Shu, executed him according to his crime, and recruited 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei led his army to Xuzhou and lied to Chezhou, the governor of Xuzhou, that he was ordered by Cao Sikong to enter Xiapi City to adjust his troops.
Although Cha Zhou is not as outstanding as Zhang Liao and others in terms of military prowess, he is still a good general. Otherwise, Cao Cao would not have appointed him as the governor of Xuzhou to defend his side. When he first saw a large army coming, , the chariot commander immediately ordered the four gates to be closed and ordered the defenders to assume a defensive posture.
However, although Che Zhou has certain military talents, he lacks the understanding of the dangers of people's hearts. When he saw that the army was holding a flag with the word "Cao" and saw that the leader of the army was Liu Bei, Che Zhou Che Zhou soon felt relieved. At this time, Che Zhou had no idea that Liu Bei had rebelled, nor did he know that Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao had been harmed by him. In Che Zhou's impression, Liu Bei was known as a benevolent gentleman. Such a person He would never betray Cao Cao, nor would he forge Cao Cao's orders to deceive himself.
Therefore, Che Zhou had no doubts about Liu Bei and quickly ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome him.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the city gate opened, Zhang Fei took the lead and rushed out. He mercilessly stabbed a hole in the chest of the chariot with a snake spear eight feet eight feet long, leaving only a corpse with a surprised look on his face.
Xiapi City returned to Liu Bei's hands.
With Chen Gong's methods and the popularity Liu Bei had accumulated in Xuzhou, the entire territory of Xuzhou was soon under Liu Bei's control again.
When Cao Cao learned that Xuzhou had fallen, he was furious!
Kill my generals and seize my land, the big-eared thief An Gan'er!
Fighting against Yuan Shao is tiring enough, but you Liu Bei dare to cause trouble for me. Xuzhou is next to Yanzhou's bed. If it is obtained by others, how can Cao Cao feel at ease when he has a decisive battle with Yuan Shao in the future!
Cao Cao urgently ordered Xiahou Dun, Gao Shun, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Huang Zhong and other generals to go to war, with a total of 65,000 troops, and sent troops to Xuzhou again.
Cao Cao's army was approaching, and Liu Bei was stunned.
Earlier, Chen Gong offered a plan to Liu Bei, asking him to kill Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao, and use chariots and armor to seize Xuzhou. Liu Bei was puzzled and asked: "My strength is low, but Cao Cao's thieves are powerful. Even if I capture Xuzhou, I may not be able to capture it." If you can't hold on, it will only anger Cao Cao, so why bother?"
"Otherwise, the one Cao Cao is worried about is Yuan Shao in the north. He attacked Xuzhou earlier because his relationship with Yuan Shao was still good at that time. Even if Cao Cao led his army out, Yuan Shao would not necessarily harass his rear. But now the situation is serious. Because of the difference, Yuan Shao declared war on him, and Cao Cao had declared war on him. The relationship between them was at odds. The war was about to break out. Once Cao's army left Xuchang, Yuan Shao would send his army south to invade. Therefore, even if the lord captured Xuzhou, Cao Cao would not worry about Yuan Shao. I dare not send troops to Xuzhou at this time. Therefore, my lord can stay in Xuzhou, increase his strength, and watch the two tigers fight. If Yuan and Cao want to decide the winner, they will not be able to compete for merit for several years. A few years are enough for the lord to steadily expand his strength and participate in the conflicts in the world."
The above is Chen Gong's analysis. It's a pity that if Yuan Shao had not proclaimed himself king, then Chen Gong might have suggested that Liu Bei ask Yuan Shao for help. However, Yuan Shao is now rebellious. In that case, although Liu Bei can take advantage of him, he cannot take the initiative to fight with him.
There is a connection, otherwise it will be true.
Chen Gong's answer at that time made Liu Bei very excited. But the current situation is completely inconsistent with what Chen Gong said!
That's an army of 65,000, which is almost 60% of the total strength of Cao Cao's army! And except for a few famous generals in Cao Cao's army, almost all of them are gathered in this army. In this way, Xuchang City's
The defense is bound to be empty. If Yuan Shao takes advantage of the situation to attack, things will be in danger!
Could it be that Cao Cao really had a deep grudge against him and wanted to attack him first even at the risk of being destroyed by Yuan Shao?
Not only Liu Bei didn't understand, Chen Gong was even more puzzled. Although there was no room for others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch, the couch was about to be lifted. No matter how you considered it, you should deal with the person who was about to lift the couch in advance.
But now no matter how depressed it is, it is of no use. In any case, Cao Cao's army has arrived in Xuzhou.
———————————————————————————————— “My lord, it is a God-given opportunity for us to have Cao Cao’s army attack Liu Bei.
It is time to attack Xuchang and eliminate Cao's thieves!" In the meeting hall of Yecheng, Tian Fengzheng, the commander of Jizhou Province, persuaded Yuan Shao to attack Cao in high spirits.
Cao Cao's large army went out, leaving only a few troops to guard the cities. The garrison in Xuchang City was only 10,000. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defeat Cao Cao!
"What Yuan Hao said is very consistent with Gu Yi." Yuan Shao twirled the goat's beard on his chin and said happily.
Cao Mengde, Cao Mengde, I didn’t expect that you would be confused and send most of your troops out at this critical moment. Do you want to give Xuchang to me because of our past friendship?
However, at this moment, a guard rushed to Yuan Shao anxiously and whispered a few words to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao's expression suddenly changed.
"Lord, could it be that something unexpected happened?" Yuan Shao's expression suddenly became extremely bad. He could even be described as looking haggard. Tian Feng felt very sad about this. Could it be that Cao Cao had used another trick?
"Of the three sons I have born so far, I love Xianfu the most. Now he is suffering from scabies and his reputation is on the line. Does Guan have the heart to discuss military matters?" Xianfu is the cousin of Yuan Shao's youngest son Yuan Shang. Just now the sergeant came to report,
It was said that he was seriously ill and his life was in danger. Yuan Shao usually loved this son the most, but after hearing the news, he was immediately distraught and his appearance was extremely miserable.
Tian Feng couldn't help but feel disappointed when he saw Yuan Shao in such a dejected state, but he still had to do his duty as a counselor and tried his best to say: "Cao Cao's eastward campaign against Liu Xuande has left Xuchang empty. If a large army takes advantage of it, he can
, then the affairs of the world can be decided, and my lord must not hesitate! You must know that the opportunity cannot be missed, and the time will never come again."
But no matter how hard Tian Feng tried to persuade him, Yuan Shao was worried about his young son's condition and didn't listen to much of what he said.
"Tian Yuanhao, it is human nature for my lord to worry about your son. Why are you so unreasonable and aggressive?" Tian Feng was about to speak, but Guo Tu, who had always been a stranger to him, said first, "Besides, there is a huge gap in strength between Cao's army and our army. Even if
It is fully equipped and our army can defeat it with dignity and dignity, so why bother to rush it?"
"The public principles are very good." Although Tian Feng still wanted to argue, Yuan Shao's words were completely final. Yuan Shao, who was worried about the safety of his young son, hurriedly ended the discussion and hurried towards the direction of Ye Gong's Mansion.
.
"If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer disaster!" Looking at Yuan Shao's retreating back, Tian Feng could only hit the ground with his staff to express his dissatisfaction.