Chapter 15 5. Battle of Chibi

Zhou Yu's words were not wrong. The Battle of Chibi ended in Cao Cao's defeat. The Battle of Chibi was epoch-making: before that, all the heroes competed for the throne, and after that, the world will be divided into three parts.However, historians have different opinions on the circumstances of the war itself, including the time, place, scale, and reasons for victory and defeat. But what Chen Shou said in "Three Kingdoms" should be roughly correct. In December of the thirteenth year of Jian'an (AD 208), Cao's army went down the river from Jiangling, and Sun Liu's allied army went up the river from Fankou. The two armies met at Chibi (now Chibi, Hubei).As expected by Zhou Yu, Cao Jun had been infected with the plague on a large scale in Baqiu.Meeting on a narrow road, Cao Jun was defeated, so he had to retreat across the river and park his warship at Wulin (now Honghu Lake, Hubei) on the opposite bank of Chibi.

It was already winter.The north wind blew hard, the ships pitched, and Cao Junzhong fell ill again.So Cao Cao ordered the warships to be chained together, and the army camped on the shore.Huang Gai, one of Zhou Yu's generals, said: "We are outnumbered, and it is difficult to last long."But since Cao Jun's ships are connected end to end, he might as well burn them away with a fire. Zhou Yu followed suit, while Huang Gai pretended to surrender.Dozens of warships were filled with firewood and fueled, covered with curtains, planted flags, and sailed to the north bank in a mighty manner.The officers and soldiers of Cao Cao's army ran out to point and point, and stretched their necks to watch Huang Gai come down.Unexpectedly, after Huang Gai's ships sailed over, they set fire together.

At that time, the southeast wind was blowing, and the fire spread to the shore.Cao Cao's warships and barracks were all set ablaze, and the flames raged instantly.Some of Cao's troops were burned to death, some were drowned, and Cao Cao had to retreat. Before retreating, he also burned the remaining ships. Caught off guard, Cao Cao discarded his helmet and armor, fled in embarrassment, and ran all the way under the attack of Zhou Yu and Liu Bei. Fortunately, Zhang Liao, Xu Chu and others rescued him.Sun and Liu's allied forces pursued Cao Cao as far as Nanjun.Cao Cao left Cao Ren, the general who conquered the South, and Xu Huang, the general of Hengye, to guard Jiangling, and the general of Zhechong, Le Jin, to defend Xiangyang. He returned to the north with the defeated generals.

Cao Cao was really defeated. Yet this battle must be fought.In fact, in addition to having to capture Jingzhou and eliminate Liu Biao, Cao Cao also wanted to threaten Sun Quan.In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 A.D.), Cao Cao asked Sun Quan to send his son as a hostage, but Sun Quan refused. Cao Cao probably blacklisted him.Conquering Jingzhou and destroying Liu Biao can at least give Sun Quan a warning, which is why he wrote the threatening letter to Sun Quan. It's a pity that Cao Cao's idea completely fell through.Sun Quan was not frightened, but joined forces with Liu Bei, and burned him to death.Although Liu Biao died, Liu Bei became stronger.Although Jiang Ling got it, he lost it, which means nothing.Cao Cao only got Xiangyang.However, Jiangling is still in the opponent's hands, but his footsteps can no longer cross the Yangtze River.

This time, Cao Cao lost more than he gained. It is Liu Bei who makes a lot of money.Before the Battle of Chibi, he first lived with others, and then lost his family like a dog.However, in just four or five months, Xianyu turned around and is not what it used to be.Jin Xuan, the prefect of Wuling, Han Xuan, the prefect of Changsha, Zhao Fan, the prefect of Guiyang, and Liu Du, the prefect of Lingling, all surrendered.Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as the general of Zhonglang, the military adviser, and appointed himself the shepherd of Jingzhou, and governed the Public Security Bureau (now Hubei Public Security Bureau).

Liu Bei became a post-war upstart. Sun Quan was presented to the imperial court by Liu Bei and recommended as Xuzhou Mu.He might even have seen Cao Cao from a distance.In the spring of the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213 A.D.), Cao Cao and Sun Quan were in a stalemate in Ruxu (now Wuwei, Anhui). Sun Quan took a small boat to Cao Cao's water camp and asked the drummer to play for fun.So Cao Cao sighed and said: "Being a son should be like Sun Zhongmou!" Later, Sun Quan wrote another letter to Cao Cao, with only eight words: spring water is born, and the public should go quickly.In addition, a piece of paper was attached, and there were only eight words on it: never die under one step, never feel safe alone.

Cao Cao was convinced and withdrew his troops immediately. This is the aftermath of the Battle of Chibi. Therefore, the Battle of Chibi is really a key point in the history of the Three Kingdoms.Because of this war, the momentum of confrontation has emerged, and the momentum of confrontation has become.Since then, there have been wars in the south and the north, such as Cao Cao conquering Sun Quan in the south, and Guan Yu fighting Xiangfan in the north, but they either returned without success (such as Cao Cao) or committed suicide (such as Guan Yu), and no one can move forward take a step.

What was effective was the battle between East and West, that is, Liu Bei's capture of Yizhou and Sun Quan's capture of Jingzhou.In the summer of the 19th year of Jian'an (AD 214), Liu Zhang surrendered, Liu Bei entered Chengdu, Yizhou returned to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei took Yizhou Mu as Jingzhou Mu.In the winter of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (AD 219), Guan Yu was killed, and Sun Quan entered Jiangling. So far, the ownership of the three states along the Yangtze River has completely changed.The original three clans, Liu Yao, Liu Biao, and Liu Yan, the state shepherds, faded out of the arena one after another, and the south became the stage for the two major warlords, Sun Quan and Liu Bei.

So what about the North?