Chapter 923 Sun Quan conquers Hefei
Perhaps the wishes made by Cao Miao and Cao Zhi played a role.
Of course, the greater possibility is that the Wei State has been too unsatisfactory in recent years, so it finally began to bottom out.
The good news first came from Bingzhou.
The imperial guards led by Qin Lang defeated the combined army of Kebineng and Budugen in one fell swoop.
This is not a surprise.
The imperial guards stationed in Luoyang are the most elite troops in the Wei state.
Although it is not as good as the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry set up by Emperor Wu himself.
But to be honest, before the Battle of Longyou, except for the imperial guards of Wei who were not used to water warfare, no one north of the river could compete with them.
If Feng Thief hadn't been too cunning, the thousands of Chinese troops led by Zhang He would not have been able to reverse Longyou's situation at the street pavilion.
After the Battle of Longyou, Cao Rui often thought about how great it would be if the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were still there.
Especially after the Battle of Xiaoguan, King Feng Gui sent Zhao Sanqian to drill through the camp of a hundred thousand troops, which made him famous all over the world.
Cao Rui felt even more regretful:
The Wei Dynasty disbanded the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Now it seems that it may have been a mistake?
It’s just that if the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are not disbanded, there will be no way to establish a central guard army.
the reason is simple.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry spent too much money and food.
There are simply too many.
When the number of Tiger and Leopard Riders was at its highest, it was only around 5,000 people.
Because of this, no one could have imagined that in the battle of Xiaoguan, the Shu people could actually produce three thousand armored cavalry that were more terrifying than the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
With the strength of eight states, Wei State found it difficult to support five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry.
How did the Shu people, who only had one state, raise these three thousand armored cavalry?
Did their money and food fall from the sky?
This is not only one of the biggest mysteries in Cao Rui's heart, but also one of the biggest confusions for the generals and ministers of Wei.
In recent years, he has been fighting with the Shu people and suffered successive defeats, which made Cao Rui self-doubt about the combat effectiveness of the Wei army.
Fortunately, last year, Tian Yu first attacked and killed Zhou He, and then Man Chong repelled Lu Xun's sneak attack.
Now Qin Lang led the Chinese army again and decisively defeated the combined forces of Ke Bineng and Bu Dugen.
Let Cao Rui finally regain some confidence.
GE thieves are known as Wolong, and Feng thieves are called ghost kings. Sure enough, there is some truth.
It's not that we, the Wei Dynasty, can't do it, it's that the Shu people have these two thieves who are too cunning.
As soon as I had this thought, someone from Qinlang in Bingzhou sent another message:
Kebineng wanted to annex the Budugen tribe because of heavy losses, and the two had internal strife.
In the end, Bu Dugen was killed by Ke Bineng. Bu Dugen's nephew, Xie Gui Ni, was frightened and led his tribe to escape again, and surrendered to the Wei Dynasty again.
Some ministers in the court wrote:
Hu people are unrighteous, shameless, and capricious. When they lose power and have no way out, destroy their tribes to avoid future troubles.
After thinking about it, Cao Rui refused and said:
"Xie Guini and Ke Bineng had a hatred of killing their father, so they escaped from Ke Bineng first and returned to Budugen."
“Now Bu Dugen has been killed by Ke Bineng again, and between Xie Guini and Ke Bineng, there is another uncle who was killed.”
“Furthermore, Xie Gui Ni repeatedly escaped from Ke Bineng’s place, which shows that this person is indeed not the same type of person as Ke Bineng.”
“At the same time, the other side is too powerful to join us. If the Wei Dynasty takes the opportunity to destroy it, it will only damage its reputation. How can we win the trust of the Hu people in the future?”
So he ordered that Xie Guini be worshiped as the King of Guiyi, and that he be given banners, qugai, and drums, so that the tribe of Xie Guini could live in the place where the Budugen tribe had been.
After this defeat, Kebi Neng was severely weakened and led his tribe to flee to Mobei.
Coupled with the appeasement policies of Cao Rui and Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, towards the Hu people, Youzhou finally gained temporary peace after merging the two states.
In November, Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong sent another big gift:
Wu State Taichang Zhang Mi, Zhi Jinwu Xu Yan and others had their heads removed, and reiterated that they were ministers of the Wei State.
Cao Rui got the heads of Zhang Mi, Xu Yan and others. Overjoyed, he made Gong Sun Yuan the Grand Sima and promoted him to Duke Lelang.
Cao Rui's happy event was a funeral for Sun Quan.
I learned that most of the soldiers sent to Liaodong were killed by Gongsun Yuan, and that all the rare treasures brought by the fleet were swallowed up by Gongsun Yuan.
Sun Quan’s eyes were filled with darkness!
Recalling that when he decided to send a fleet to Liaodong, almost all the ministers in the imperial court opposed it, and Emperor Sun's face was burning.
Gongsun the thief, would you rather accept the title of Duke of the Wei thief than the title of the king of Wu? !
At the thought of this, Sun Quan felt his chest churning, and blood almost rushed to his throat.
In great anger, Sun Quan drew his sword in his hand and said angrily:
"I have passed the age of knowing my destiny, and I have never experienced difficult and easy things in the world. I didn't expect that a rat would take advantage of me. It is really an insult to me!"
"I swear that I will personally lead the army, flatten Liaodong, chop off the heads of rats, and throw them into the sea. Otherwise, I will face all the nations with such shame!"
The ministers below, from Prime Minister Gu Yong to the following, were all trembling when they heard His Majesty swearing this oath in public in the court hall!
Before the change, when people like Liu Bei and Cao Cao were still there, it was most normal for them to say that they wanted to personally lead the army on an expedition.
After all, they are all emperors on horseback, fighting on the battlefield throughout their lives.
It is different now. The world is divided into three parts and the potential of a tripod has been established.
It is better for the emperor to stay in the rear and not to go to war easily.
Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will easily cause turmoil in the country, and even worry about overthrow.
Even Liu Bei, who has been fighting all his life, didn't he almost bring about the destruction of Shu because of the Battle of Yiling?
In the end, the Kingdom of Shu relied on the obstacles of mountains and rocks, and there was also Zhuge Liang, who was one of the top three in the world in terms of governance, so he managed to get through.
If it weren't for the emergence of Feng Yong, who was top-notch in military affairs, people's livelihood and wealth accumulation.
Even if there is Zhuge Liang in Shu, I am afraid he will be trapped and die in Shu forever.
Zhuge Liang and Feng Yong worked together for more than ten years, which led to the current situation of Shu.
Otherwise, it’s hard to say what the world would have become like if Feng Yong had left the army ten years earlier and served Liu Bei.
More recently, look at Cao Rui's imperial authority over the years.
Although it was mainly because since he ascended the throne, Wei State suffered successive defeats.
But the earliest reason was that during the Battle of Longyou, he lightly promised to personally conquer and supervise the battle in Chang'an, and was finally forced to run back to Luoyang in despair?
It is said that he went back holding Zhang He's coffin hinge, but everyone in the world is not a fool, and everyone knows what the real facts are.
At that time, there were still people in Luoyang who encouraged the Bian family to make Cao Zhi the new king!
It can be seen how bad Cao Rui's situation was at that time.
Zhang Zhao, the most important minister of Wu State, is still staying at home and refuses to go to court.
As the prime minister, Gu Yong was obliged to be the first to oppose:
“Your Majesty, with his body of ten thousand chariots, is at the moment when China is about to be conquered and the great harvest is coming, yet he cannot bear to be angry and gets angry. This goes against the principle of ‘a son of a rich man cannot sit down in the hall’.”
"Today, powerful invaders are in the country, and they have not yet surrendered. Your Majesty, underestimating the weight of thousands of vehicles, is going on an expedition in a canopy. How is it different from traveling thousands of miles to the middle road and then stopping, and planning all over the world to be careful and do harm?"
"In the past, when Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty wanted to control a large ship, Xue Guangde asked him to cut his neck and stain the chariot with blood. Why? The danger of water and fire is extremely dangerous, and it is not suitable for an emperor to get involved!"
"Your Majesty wants to take a boat to conquer thousands of miles away, but the mountainous difficulties are still in front of you. Although your Majesty is regretting losing the soldiers of Liaodong, where is the foundation of Jiangdong for eternity?"
Select Cao Shangshu and Lu Hao as the third one:
“The Wei thieves are connected with the country, and if there is a gap in the country, they will definitely wait for the opportunity to move. The reason why your majesty crossed the sea to seek horses, and turned to Gongsun Yuan, is to eliminate the immediate troubles of his confidants.”
"Now that we want to personally conquer Liaodong, we are abandoning our roots to pursue the end, focusing on the near and far, using anger to change the rules, and stirring up the crowd. The cunning captives will be happy when they hear this. This is not the plan of the Great Wu!"
Isn’t it similar to the situation where the officials persuaded Sun Quan not to send a fleet to Liaodong with great fanfare?
Sun Quan became more and more ashamed and angry. Although he knew that what the ministers said was reasonable, he felt that his face was so dull that he could not get off the stage.
"However, the rats bully me and humiliate me like this. If I tolerate it, won't I make the world laugh at me?"
Lu Mao is good at understanding people's hearts, and now he comes out again:
"Your Majesty, you are the one who rebelled, so you punished the rioters and threatened the barbarians. Now that the riots in the Mid-Xia Dynasty have not ended, your Majesty has launched a counter-conquest in Liaodong. In fact, you are abandoning the near and dealing with the distant."
"In the past, Zhao Tuo rebelled and arrogated the title of emperor. At that time, the world was stable and the people were prosperous. However, the Chinese text just said that the expedition was not easy, and it was just a metaphor. Today, China's fierce Jie has not died, so it is not appropriate to take the Yuan as the first priority."
"May your majesty suppress your power and let your plans be in control, temporarily calm down the six divisions, hide your mind and ambition, and wait for your majesty to achieve great success in time, and the rats will not surrender."
These words, taking Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty as an example, and also intending to compare Sun Quan with Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, finally made Sun Quan's face look a little better.
In his excitement, someone finally gave him a step, and Sun Quan naturally walked down the slope:
"My anger is not for myself, but for the sake of many soldiers in Liaodong! Since we want to punish Yuan, we must first pacify Zhongxia. I heard that the Wei thieves built a new city in Hefei, and it is the right time to attack..."
When the ministers heard that the emperor no longer wanted to attack Liaodong, but wanted to attack Hefei, they subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
It is good to attack Hefei, but as long as we do not attack Liaodong, everything is easy to say.
Hefei is close to the river and there is Chaohu Lake. If you cannot defeat it, you can always run back...
"Your Majesty is wise! If Wu wants to advance northward to the Central Plains, it must attack Hefei. It is the right time to attack."
Gu Yong was afraid that Sun Quan would change his mind, so he quickly made a decision.
Although Hefei is not easy to fight, it is still much better than crossing the sea to fight Liaodong.
The most important thing is that given the current situation in Dawu, both the east and south are surrounded by the sea.
The breakthrough directions are only west and north.
To the west is Yongan.
Leave aside the fact that Shu is an ally of Wu, even if the two sides are still enemies, Yong'an is the most difficult to fight.
Otherwise when Liu Bei was defeated at Yiling, wouldn't the general want to take the opportunity to invade Shu?
Unless there are internal changes in the Shu Kingdom, with the current national strength of the Shu Kingdom, it will be difficult for Wu to invade Shu from Yong'an, even with the strength of the whole country.
Not to mention that to the northeast of Yong'an, there is Xiangyang where the Wei thieves have a heavy army.
If they raise their troops to attack Yong'an, who knows what the Wei thieves in Xiangyang will do?
On the other hand, if we march north to Xiangyang, who can guarantee that the Shu people in Yong'an have no other ideas?
This is why when the Shu people promised the benefits of sugar cane, the Wu army was just a show of force, and they immediately withdrew their troops after beating Xiangyang at will.
If the world is said to be a tripod of tripods, then Nanjun Yong'an and Xiangyang are also a smaller version of the tripod.
Therefore, Yongan cannot be attacked and Xiangyang cannot be conquered. The best breakthrough point for Wu is in Hefei.
This is also the reason why Wu has to conquer Hefei every year.
Some aristocratic families in Jiangdong may be content to segregate the land south of the Yangtze River.
But Sun Quan was an emperor after all, and he was definitely not willing to do nothing and die trapped in the south of the Yangtze River.
It’s just that the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty saw it clearly:
"His intelligence is not strong, so he limits himself to the river to protect himself. He can't cross the river, just like the Wei thieves can't cross the Han Dynasty. Unless he has more strength, he can't gain any advantage."
Wu Guo is not saying that no one can see this reality.
But so what if you can see it?
Emperor Sun said, since you Shu people can break through Qishan Mountain, why do you say that I "can't cross the river"?
I don’t accept it, I will definitely defeat Hefei!
Now that he has the support of his ministers, Emperor Sun became very proud and said:
“I have been unable to attack Hefei many times, which shows that the city is indeed strong for the Wei thieves. Now that the city is strong but the thieves have abandoned it, this can be said to have been captured without attacking it!”
"When I lead the army to the city, the thieves will definitely be timid. Is there any reason why they can't be defeated?"
So in December of the 11th year of Jianxing, Emperor Sun once again personally led an army of 100,000 people and marched north.
Although Lu Xun's attack on Lu'an City in Lujiang County failed last year, it also revealed that it was not easy for Lu'an City, Shouchun City, and Hefei City to rescue each other.
So Sun Quan followed suit and sent General Quan Cong to supervise 50,000 troops to attack Liu'an.
And he took 50,000 troops and marched into Hefei.
Enter Chao Lake from Juchao County and reach the north bank of Chao Lake, which is Xiaoyaojin.
Sun Quanli watched from the boat and saw that the old city of Hefei, which was built on the lake in the past, had been destroyed.
The city gates have long been demolished and the moat has been filled in.
Only the city wall covered with various scars is still there, but many of the dangerous places have been deliberately demolished and become dilapidated.
Many places are completely like a barren hillock of loess, because no one maintains it. Dry weeds and withered vines can be seen everywhere on the city walls.
Sun Quan couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw that the fortified city that had been invincible in the past could now be freely entered and exited without any precautions.
I just feel that it seems a bit too much. At this glance, it is more than twenty days.
“Your Majesty, the army has been here for a long time. Do you want to go ashore?”
The general below finally couldn't bear it anymore and came to ask for instructions.
“Go ashore?”
When Sun Quan heard this, the expression on his face was stagnant.
For some reason, he looked at the shore in front of him and saw a general wearing armor and holding a halberd, shouting loudly: "I am Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan!"
While taking the lead in the battle.
Behind him, there were only a few hundred soldiers, but they dared to charge towards the camp of a hundred thousand troops.
Before reaching the camp, the advance army was already welcoming the general out, but the general beheaded two generals and killed dozens of people...
This is a nightmare!
It was after this battle that Sun Quan knew that he was really afraid.
From then on, even though he led troops to attack Hefei many times, he never set foot on the shore easily.
But in order to eliminate this nightmare in his heart, he always thought of leading the army to conquer Hefei himself.
But when the Wei people gave up Hefei and the Wu army could enter the city of Hefei without spending a single soldier, Sun Quan began to hesitate again.
Or he suddenly realized that he did not have enough courage to face the nightmare in his heart.
Hearing the general reminding him that the army had been lingering here for too long, Sun Quan's face became hot. He finally gritted his teeth, held his whip and shouted at the old city of Hefei:
“Ashore!”
As an emperor, if you don’t dare to face the nightmare in your heart, how can you bring peace to the world?
Today, he will not only enter the old city of Hefei, but also attack the new city of Hefei!
When he learned that Sun Quan had led his army to abandon the ship and land on the shore, Man Chong, who was standing at the top of Hefei New City, laughed:
“Sun Quan learned that we were moving the city, so he came with a large army. He must have wanted to gain some temporary success. However, those who have stayed there for more than twenty days without daring to land, are they afraid of fear?”
"Now they reluctantly go ashore to show off their force, but they are just showing their strength, and their intention to attack the city may not be firm. Moreover, the Wu people are good at water warfare, but they are insufficient in land warfare, so they will be defeated at the right time!"
(End of this chapter)