Chapter 46 6. Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's first battle against Nanpi

In the ninth year of Jian'an (204), Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou appointed by Yuan Shao, surrendered. Cao Cao accepted his surrender and still appointed him as the governor of Bingzhou in the name of Emperor Xian.In this way, Xi Mian can be put aside for a while.For Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang in the north, and Yuan Tan in the east, Cao Cao decided to attack the east first. When Cao Cao was busy besieging Ye County, Yuan Tan took the opportunity to act and rapidly expanded his power, successively capturing some places in Ganling State, Anping State, Bohai County, and Hejian State to the east of Wei County.Ganling State is Qinghe County. In the second year of Emperor Huan Jianhe, Qinghe County was changed to Ganling State, and the government was moved to Ganling County (now Gaotang, Shandong). In the eleventh year of Jian'an (206), Cao Cao again Restore it to Qinghe County.

Yuan Tan's actions are tantamount to showing the world that he has betrayed Cao Cao again.Not only that, Yuan Tan also attacked Yuan Shang. After Yuan Shang fled from Ye County to Zhongshan State (where the government is located in Ding County, Hebei Province), Yuan Tan attacked him.Yuan Shang was defeated and fled to Yuan Xi.Yuan Tan withdrew his troops and moved the main force to Longcou. It is unknown where Long Cou is located, but Yuan Shao had a fierce battle with Gongsun Zan here twelve years ago, and Gongsun Zan was defeated. Yuan Tan's rebellion just gave Cao Cao an excuse, and Cao Cao could send troops to attack him openly.Before leaving the teacher, Cao Cao first wrote a letter to the in-laws, blaming him for breaking the contract, announcing the dissolution of the marriage contract between the two parties, and sending Yuan Tan's daughter home.Afterwards, Cao Cao personally led the army to approach Long.

Yuan Tan knew that he was no opponent, so he took the initiative to retreat, retracting the main force to the territory of Bohai County, and sticking to Nanpi, the seat of Bohai County (now Nanpi, Hebei). "Nanpi" means "leather city in the south", and the name originated in the Spring and Autumn Period.According to the records of "Taiping Huanyu Ji", at that time, the northern minority Shanrong attacked the state of Yan, and the state of Yan asked for help from the state of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi sent troops to aid Yan and passed through the current Cangzhou. In order to ensure military supplies, he found a place to build a city dedicated to Engaged in leather processing, the city is called the leather city.Because there is a "Bei Pi Pavilion" in Zhangwu County (now Huanghua, Hebei) to the north of it, this city is called "Nan Pi".

Yuan Shao served as the prefect of Bohai County, and this is his old base.After Yuan Tan retreated to Nanpi, Cao Cao first attacked Pingyuan County in the south of Bohai County at the end of the ninth year of Jian'an (204), cleared the Yuan army there, and drove the main force outside Nanpi City at the beginning of the second year. Cao Cao attached great importance to the Battle of Nanpi, and not only brought Zhang Liao, Cao Ren, Le Jin, Yu Jin and other famous generals to the battle, but also brought a mysterious army that had just been trained to participate in the actual battle. This army has a famous name: Tiger Leopard rides.

Cao Cao's "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry", together with Gongsun Zan's "White Horse Righteousness", Lu Bu's "Trapped Camp", and later Shu Han's "Wudang Flying Army", were called the most elite troops in the late Han Dynasty. Yu Zhengshi can be called the trump card teacher, the elite of the elite. Every time Cao Cao goes to war, the Chinese army is generally responsible for defending the general headquarters. Cao Cao's Chinese army is also called the Wuwei Camp, which is the core of Cao's main force, and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is the core of the Wuwei Camp. It is Cao Ren's younger brother Cao Chun.

Cao Chun was previously appointed as Yilang, which is really not a job he likes and is good at.Cao Cao asked him to participate in the military work of Sikong Mansion as Yilang (Jian Sikong Military) and became a senior military staff officer.Cao Cao has always wanted to create an invincible iron army. The number of this army is not necessarily large. It is mainly composed of cavalry. The task was handed over to brothers Cao Ren and Cao Chun. Cao Ren had been in the horse business before and was very familiar with war horses. Together with Cao Chun, he selected candidates from the entire army, and the criteria were very strict.According to the "Book of Wei", the tiger and leopard cavalry is the best in the world, and its members are selected from a hundred (or made up from a hundred generals). In addition, the horses equipped with it are also selected from the best, and the weapons and equipment are all superior. It is conceivable that such a team Once the elite division appears on the battlefield, how powerful it will be.

However, until now the Tiger and Leopard Cavaliers were still just a name at most, and they had no chance to prove their strength in actual combat. The Battle of Nanpi was undoubtedly a good opportunity. In addition to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry being directly commanded by Cao Chun, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and other younger generations of the Cao family are also in this team.In addition, Cao Pi, who just became a bridegroom, also participated in the Battle of Nanpi. Although he was not a member of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, he often stayed with Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu during the battle. These situations are recorded in Cao Pi’s personal letters preserved recorded.

In addition to Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu, Cao Pi also has two good friends, one is Xia Houyuan's nephew Xia Houshang, who is currently serving as a first-level officer in the Cao army; About ten years older than Cao Pi, he was a native of Jiyin County, Yanzhou Governor's Department. He defected to Cao Ying when Cao Cao was in charge of Yanzhou, but has been unknown.Cao Pi admired him very much, and thought that he was talented, unique, and good at communication, so he became a close friend. Wu Zhi became Cao Pi's think tank. He always followed Cao Pi and became one of the important figures who influenced Cao Pi's life.In this battle of Nanpi, Xia Houshang and Wu Zhi also came.

Cao Jun, who gathered famous generals and strong soldiers, should have won a battle against Yuan Jun who was defending the lonely city, but what is surprising is that the battle did not start smoothly. Apart from the tenacious resistance of Yuan Jun and the strong defense of Nanpi City, the biggest reason for this situation comes from the climate.It was the first lunar month at this time, and the North China Plain was in the severe cold season. The dripping water on the city turned into ice, which was beneficial to the defending side, but obviously disadvantageous to the attacking side. Seeing this situation, Cao Cao wanted to retreat first, and wait until the weather got warmer.All the generals didn't have any opinions, but one person quit after hearing it, and he was Cao Chun.

This battle is the opening battle of the tiger and leopard cavalry. Cao Chun is really not reconciled to returning without results like this. He really wants to make a contribution.Cao Chun advised Cao Cao: "We are going on an expedition alone. If we retreat, it will inevitably affect morale. Now that the enemy has the upper hand in the offensive and defensive battle, it will inevitably breed pride. As long as we persevere, we will definitely defeat the enemy!" Cao Cao felt that what Cao Chun said was also reasonable. If Yuan Tan could not be resolved smoothly this time, then the resolution of Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang and Gao Gan's problems would have to be delayed. Under the circumstances, it is worth paying more sacrifices for this.

Cao Cao made up his mind to take Nanpi no matter what.Cao Cao came to the front to command in person, and he also personally beat the drums to help in the battle. All the soldiers of Cao's army fought bravely to take the lead, and Yuan's army guarding the city was gradually exhausted. Le Jin led his troops to rush into the city first, broke through the east gate first, entered the city, and Yuan Jun began to flee. Yuan Tan escaped from Nanpi on horseback under the protection of the guards. Unfortunately, as soon as he left the city, he encountered Cao Jun who was in charge of intercepting him, and it happened to be the tiger and leopard cavalry who were gearing up to show off. Siege is not the strength of the cavalry. Cao Chun led tigers and leopards to intercept Yuan Jun who was fleeing, and finally blocked Yuan Tan. The tiger and leopard rode up and beat them fiercely. Yuan Tan and his guards were no match for them, they were killed and disarmed.It was also because the tiger and leopard cavalry were too fierce, and the fight was a bit unstoppable. A charge actually killed Yuan Tan, but no one was caught alive. Guo Tu, Yuan Tan's chief adviser, was captured alive in the city and executed by Cao Cao's order. According to "The Story of Heroes", when Cao Cao heard that Yuan Tan was killed, he was so happy that he played and sang on the horse, dancing with his hands (Cao Cao attacked Yuan Tan in Nanpi and beheaded him. He operated the advocacy, claimed to be long live, and danced on the horse).The tiger and leopard cavalry beheaded Yuan Tan with all their strength, making a big splash.Afterwards, this powerful force followed Cao Cao to fight everywhere. In addition to defending Cao Cao, they also made great achievements in the Northern Expedition to Wuhuan, beheading Wuhuan Shanyu Tadun; He defeated Liu Bei; in the Battle of Tongguan, he defeated the Liangzhou Corps headed by Ma Chao, and made remarkable achievements. Nanpi was breached, and the people in the city were terrified. Everyone heard that Cao Jun had massacred the city in Ye County, so they fled one after another. Those who had no time to escape were also terrified, and the city was in chaos. At this time, someone asked to meet Cao Cao, and Cao Cao summoned him. He claimed to be Li Fu, and he was the former director (chief book) of the Jizhou government office.Cao Cao was very unfamiliar with Li Fu's name, and a former subordinate official in the state government would not attract his attention, but when the person who came said that he was the one who delivered letters to Ye County and entered and exited Cao Ying, Cao Cao Can't help but look at him with admiration. This person is indeed Li Fu, he was also dispersed in Yuan Tan's army, and now the situation has become chaotic, he thought that this situation must be ended as soon as possible, and some people could be killed less. Cao Cao was deeply impressed by Li Fu's rush to Cao Ying, and he believed that this was a talent.Cao Cao asked Li Fu what he thought, and then asked him what to do. Li Fu said: "It is time to restore normal order and stop the looting. But now that people in the city are chaotic and some people are taking advantage of the fire to loot, we should send someone who the people in the city can trust to explain the situation to everyone to reassure the people." Cao Cao thought it was reasonable, so he ordered that no one should rob and burn in the city, and anyone who took advantage of the fire to rob would be killed. At the same time, he appointed Li Fu to preach the policy to the officials and people in the city to stabilize people's hearts.After hard work, the situation quickly stabilized. After that, Cao Cao ordered to rest here, and Cao Pi and others also entered the city.When the fighting stopped, this group of young people showed the nature of young people in their prime, and they often met in Nanpi to relax. Those who attended the party included Cao Pi, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen and Wu Zhi.In the later private letters between Cao Pi and Wu Zhi, the "Travel to Nanpi" was mentioned more than once, and one of them Cao Pi wrote: "Every time I think about the trip to Nanpi, it is really unforgettable. At that time, everyone was immersed in classics and learning, and played chess games, played a few games of Go to decide the outcome, and played a guzheng. Or plunged into the embrace of nature. Go for an outing in the north of the city, or have dinner in a restaurant in the south of the city (Chiqi Beichang, Lvshi South Restaurant). Melons are soaked in spring water and taken at any time, and red plums are placed in ice cubes to quench their thirst and heat (floating sweet melons in Qingquan , Shen Zhu Li Yu Han Bing). This kind of entertainment lasted day and night, and finally everyone sat in the car to swim in the back garden, the night wind was gentle, and the beard was low, how could it not make people feel extremely happy and sad, and feel sad!" Cao Pi also wrote that this situation was exciting, and he turned his head to these young partners in the car and said: "Such happiness is not often seen (Sle Nanchang)!"