Chapter 064: The Battle of Guandu 1
Yuan Shao finally defeated Gongsun Zan and occupied Youzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Bingzhou, all of which were in Hebei, and Yuan Shao intended to go south to fight for the world. Pen | fun | pavilion www. biquge。 In this way, the two most important political and military blocs in North China, a decisive battle is inevitable, at first the situation Yuan was strong and Cao was weak, Yuan Shao had no worries, the land was vast and the people were numerous, and the number of troops that could be mobilized was more than 100,000 soldiers.
Cao Cao is in the land of the four wars, in addition to Yuan Shao in the north, the generals in Guanzhong are still waiting, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu in the south are unwilling to surrender, Sun Ce in the southeast is ready to move, and Liu Bei, who is temporarily dependent, is also in tune. Despite this, some people of insight at that time, including Cao Cao's advisers Xun Yu and Guo Jia, Jia Xu who was still under Zhang Xiu, and Yang Fu in Liangzhou, after a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, they believed that Yuan Shao was lenient on the outside and jealous on the inside, and he was indecisive, and they were all optimistic about Cao Cao and believed that the situation would change in favor of Cao.
Yuan Shao selected 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 war horses in an attempt to attack Xudu in the south, and the prelude to the Battle of Guandu began.
At that time, Yuan Shao was in a strong position and led his troops to attack Cao Cao, and the generals of Cao's army thought that the difference in strength was as much as five times, and the enemy was outnumbered and difficult to resist. Cao Cao said very confidently: "I know that Yuan Shao is a person with great ambition and short-sighted wisdom, strict on the surface but very timid, jealous of talented people but less majestic, many soldiers but clear in terms of power and responsibility, and proud generals with different government decrees; ”
Guo Jia listed the advantages and disadvantages between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, saying that Cao Cao had to make a plan, and Yuan Shao planned more and decided less, which was the key to victory or defeat. Yuan Shaozhi was talented, lacked courage, was mean and unkind, was stubborn and self-serving, had many troops and unclear command, and was arrogant and inconsistent in government orders, so Cao Cao decided to resist Yuan Shao's attack with tens of thousands of troops that he could concentrate. In order to gain the strategic initiative, he made arrangements and sent Zang Ba to lead elite troops from Langyu into Qingzhou, occupy Qi, Beihai, Dong'an and other places, contain Yuan Shao, consolidate the right flank, and prevent Yuan's army from attacking Xudu from the east.
Cao Cao led his troops into Liyang, Jizhou, and ordered Yu Ban to lead 2,000 infantry and cavalry to guard Yanjin, an important ferry port on the south bank of the Yellow River, to assist Liu Yan, the Taishou of Dongjun, who was guarding Baima, to prevent Yuan's army from crossing the river and driving southward, and at the same time to build fortifications in the area of Guandu with the main force to block Yuan Shao's attack from the front;
The strategic policy adopted by Cao Cao was to concentrate troops, hold key passes, focus on fortification, wait for work at leisure, and strike later. Yuan Shao had many troops and Cao Cao had few troops, and the Yellow River could be crossed in many places, so if the division of troops could not prevent the code of conduct, it would not only be difficult to prevent Yuan's army from moving south, but also make his already inferior forces more dispersed. Guandu is located in the upper reaches of the chasm, on the verge of Bianshui. The chasm canal connects Tiger Prison, Gong and Luo Yao Pass in the west, and goes down to Huaisi in the east, which is the barrier of the north and east of Xudu, and is the important and contentious place for Yuan Shao to seize Xudu. In addition, Guandu is close to Xudu, and the logistics supply is also more convenient than Yuan's army.
When Cao Cao was deploying to fight against Yuan Shao, Liu Bei raised troops against Cao, occupied Xiapi, and occupied Pei County, Liu Bei's army increased to tens of thousands, and contacted Yuan Shao, intending to attack Cao Cao together.
Cao Cao analyzed: "Liu Bei is a masterpiece, if you don't eliminate him, there will be troubles." Although Yuan Shao has great ambitions, but when he hesitates, he will not dare to move. ”
In order to maintain the connection between Xuchang and Qing and Yan Prefectures and avoid fighting on both sides, Cao Cao personally led his elite troops to attack Liu Bei in the east, quickly occupied Pei County, and then attacked Xiapi and forced Guan Yu to land. Liu Bei's entire army was defeated and fled to Hebei to join Yuan Shao.
When Cao Cao and Liu Bei were in the middle of the battle, Yuan Shao's strategist Tian Feng suggested that Yuan Shao raise an army to attack Cao Cao's back, but Yuan Shao refused to accept it on the grounds that his young son was sick, causing Cao Cao to calmly defeat Liu Bei and return to the military crossing.
Tian Feng, character Hao, a giant deer in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was erudite and knowledgeable, good at intrigue and strategy, and served as a servant in the court, but because he was dissatisfied with the eunuchs' dictatorship, he abandoned the official and returned home.
After Yuan Shao raised troops to defeat Dong Zhuo, he humbly asked Tian Feng to come out to assist him, and Tian Feng once persuaded Yuan Shao to welcome the Han Emperor, but Yuan Shao did not accept it. However, Yuan Shao used Tian Feng's strategy to eliminate the strong opponent Gongsun Zan and became the largest separatist occupying the land of Sizhou, and it can be said that Tian Feng made great contributions to the development and growth of Yuan Shao's group.
Cao Cao's eastward expedition occupied Liu Bei in Xuzhou, Tian Feng persuaded Yuan Shao to take the opportunity to attack Xudu, but Yuan Shao refused to accept it on the grounds that his son was ill, and missed another golden opportunity. Before and after this, because Yuan Shao's other strategist Feng Ji was afraid of Tian Feng's uprightness, he slandered in front of Yuan Shao many times, which made Yuan Shao suspicious of Tian Feng.
In the battle of Guandu, which was related to the fate of Yuan Shao's group, Fu Zhu and Tian Feng repeatedly put forward correct suggestions, but they were rejected again and again. As a result, Yuan Shao was defeated and was captured and killed because he wanted to escape; Tian Feng was thrown into prison, and after Yuan Shao's defeat, he not only did not admit his mistake, but killed Tian Feng for the sake of his own face. The two wizards ended up in such a tragic end.
At first, Yuan Shao discussed with the strategists about raising troops to attack Cao Cao, but Tian Feng thought that it was not appropriate to raise troops immediately because Yuan's army had just destroyed Gongsun Zhan, and the people were tired and had no accumulation, so he advocated "first sending someone to tell the Son of Heaven, if it doesn't work, declare that Cao Cao is separated from my king's road", strive for political initiative, and then fight steadily and win gradually.
Fu Zhu also thought that this was a good strategy, and Shen Pei and Guo Tu strongly advocated sending troops immediately, believing that it would be easy to eliminate Cao Cao, and obviously overestimating their own strength; in addition, Xu You and Xun Chen also advocated an immediate army, catering to Yuan Shao's arrogant psychology, so the theory of immediately raising troops prevailed. Facts have proved that Tian Feng and Fu Zhu's minds are much clearer.
Cao Cao's pro-army attacked Xuzhou, Liu Bei sent Sun Gan to Yuan Shao for help, Tian Feng advocated taking advantage of the situation and attacking Xudu, but Yuan Shao was in a trance because his young son was suffering from scabies and refused to send troops. Seeing this scene, Tian Feng struck the ground with a rod and said angrily: "I got this rare opportunity, but because of the baby's illness, I lost this opportunity, the general trend has gone, it is regrettable!"
Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei and recaptured Xuzhou, but Yuan Shao had lost the best opportunity to attack, but he wanted to attack Cao Cao at this time, Tian Feng resolutely dissuaded, and was imprisoned. When he saw Tian Feng in prison, he gathered his clan, scattered his wealth, and said goodbye to his relatives: "I went with the army, and if I win, I will not benefit, and if I lose, my life will not be guaranteed." ”
This has already revealed the desolate state of mind of the uncertain future of the frustrated professor, and then the frustrated admonition to discourage Yuan Shao from taking Yan Liang as the vanguard, and the discouragement of sending Wen Chou to cross the river rashly, but Yuan Shao refused; the results proved that the frustrated grant was right, and Yuan Shao lost the lives of the two generals in vain.
Yuan Shao marched south, and Tian Feng, regardless of his personal safety, wrote a letter from prison to discourage him, and was almost beheaded. Yuan Shao's two most talented strategists lost their freedom, and Yuan Shao could only slide further and further down the wrong path, and finally suffered a crushing defeat, while Fu Zhu and Tian Feng became victims in vain.
The tragedy of Frustration and Tian Feng, of course, has the factor of villains, but the fundamental reason is that Yuan Shao does not distinguish between loyalty and treachery, confuses right and wrong, is narrow-minded, and pretends to be wrong, which not only makes the hero useless, but even hides the virtuous, which makes people resentful.
However, Fu Zhu and Tian Feng themselves also have a certain responsibility, as heroic people, they are good at looking at the overall situation and good at scheming, but they can't see through Yuan Shao's essence, and they have to firmly tie their fate to Yuan Shao.
If they opened up a little bit, according to the principle of virtuous ministers choosing the main thing, and withdrew when Yuan Shao was incorrigible, why did they suffer such a tragic end?