Chapter 69 5. The Tragedy of Zang Hong

In less than a year, Lu Bu was defeated from Yanzhou across the board, and the result was beyond many people's expectations.Lu Bu didn't expect it, Zhang Miao didn't expect it, and Yuan Shao didn't expect it either. Only then did Zhang Miao, who had been stationed in Chenliu County, realize that Cao Jun's next target after Lu Bu would be himself.The former close friends and the allied forces who fought side by side in order to oppose Dong Daye are about to meet each other on the battlefield so soon.Thinking of this, Zhang Miao would surely burst into tears. Zhang Miao's age is unknown, Zheng Tai once referred to him as the old man who was born in Dongping (Dongping Elder), presumably his age is much older than both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Sure enough, after driving Lu Bu out of Yanzhou, Cao Cao did not pursue him. Instead, he sent his troops westward, heading towards Zhang Miao.Zhang Miao thought, if he and Cao Cao meet before the battle, he really doesn't know what to say.At the same time, he knew that he was not Cao Cao's opponent, so he gave up Chenliu County and asked his younger brother Zhang Chao to guard Yongqiu, and he went to rescue soldiers. If it was another person, another option might be considered: abandoning Chenliu County and following Lu Bu.However, Zhang Miao has been operating here for many years. His fellow villagers, subordinates, family members, and property are all here.

There is only one person who can help Zhang Miao now: Yuan Shu.As Yuan Shao's enemy, Yuan Shu was the only one who could help him.In Luoyang before, Zhang Miao and Yuan Shu also had friendship, but now that the matter has come to an end, Zhang Miao can only take a trip himself to try his luck.But Zhang Miao had no chance to see his old friend Yuan Shu, because he was killed by his subordinates on the way.There is another theory, which is only recorded in "Xiandi Chunqiu", that Zhang Miao went to Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu did not send troops, which is expected.Zhang Miao then stayed with Yuan Shu. Two years later, Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhang Miao persuaded him.

In August of the second year of Xingping (195), Cao Jun surrounded Yongqiu. In the city were Zhang Chao, Zhang Miao's younger brother, and Zhang Miao's family members.Yongqiu is an ancient city, which was called the State of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the allusion of "alarmists worrying about heaven" comes from here.All the cities that have been the capital of the country are relatively strong, and the same is true of Yongqiu. Cao Jun attacked the city for several months, but did not take the city down. Another proof of the solid defense of Yongqiu is the Battle of Yongqiu during the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty.In the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Zhenyuan ordered Zhang Xun of the Tang Dynasty to lead more than 2,000 soldiers and civilians to guard Yongqiu, and Linghu Chao under An Lushan led more than 40,000 people to attack. From February to July, There were more than 300 battles before and after, but Yongqiu was not defeated. In the end, the defenders used sneak attack tactics to defeat the enemy, creating a classic example of the ancient city defense battle where fewer wins more.

If the defenders of the city feel that they have no escape and nowhere to go, they will fight desperately, and the combat power they will arouse will be quite astonishing. This is the current situation in Yongqiu City.Most of them were locals, and they had long heard that Cao's army would slaughter every city they captured. The only choice in their hearts was to resist to the death, and pin their hopes on the rescue soldiers brought by the prefect Zhang Miao. But the rescue was delayed.Zhang Chao encouraged everyone: "It doesn't matter, someone will come to rescue us soon. If others don't come, Zang Hong will definitely come."

When Zhang Chao was the prefect of Guangling County, he discovered the talent of Zang Hong and recruited him.Zang Hong later came to Yuan Shao to develop, and is now Yuan Shao's newly appointed prefect of Dongjun. Everyone thought that it was impossible for Zang Hong to come because he was under Yuan Shao's command at the moment.Zhang Chao said: "Zang Ziyuan is a righteous man, I believe he will come!" Ziyuan is Zang Hong's character. Zang Hong, who was stationed in Dongwuyang on the north bank of the Yellow River under Yuan Shao's order, was shocked when he heard that Cao Cao led an army to besiege Yongqiu. He immediately asked Yuan Shao to give Cao Cao an order to stop the attack.

Of course Yuan Shao refused to accept it, and asked Zang Hong to stand by and not act without authorization. In December of the second year of Xingping (195), Cao Jun finally captured Yongqiu City after five months of attacking. Le Jin made his first contribution in this battle and was the first to climb the city wall (first). After defeating Yongqiu, Zhang Chao committed suicide, and Cao Cao ordered the destruction of Zhang Miao's clan.According to "Han Shu" Criminal Law Chronicles, the "three clans" generally include parents, wives, children, and brothers and sisters.

When the news came, Zang Hong was very sad. He walked up and down on the ground barefoot and wailed loudly (crying in vain).Zang Hong announced that he would formally break away from Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was furious when he heard the news, and personally led his troops to attack.A miracle happened, the little Dongwuyang was stunned, and Yuan Jun was forced to attack the city for a year. During this period, Yuan Shao asked his big pen and chief secretary Chen Lin to write a letter to Zang Hong, accusing him of being ungrateful and asking him to be wise and surrender as soon as possible.Chen Lin is also from Guangling County, and is from the same hometown as Zang Hong.Chen Lin's writing style is very good, and the letter he wrote must be impassioned and well-founded, but Chen Lin's letter has not been preserved, because historians think the other party's reply is more exciting.

This long letter with a length of 1,500 characters is completely preserved in "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zang Hong".This letter is written with eloquence and emotion, and is righteous and strict.After Yuan Shao saw it, he knew that Zang Hong could not surrender, so he increased his troops and continued to attack the city. Zang Hong saw that the city must be destroyed, so he said to the people around him: "Yuan Shao is not righteous. I oppose him. It has nothing to do with you. It will cause you to suffer this catastrophe. You should run for your lives now." But no one escaped, and everyone said: "The general and Yuan Shao have no grudges or enmities, just to show righteousness, how can we leave you?" Zang Hong sent several groups of people out of the city to find rescuers, one of them was Chen. Rong's fellow villager was a scholar who followed Zang Hong from his hometown Guangling County and admired Zang Hong very much.As soon as Chen Rong left the city, Yuan Shao caught him and detained him.

Dongwuyang was besieged for a year, and there was basically nothing to eat in the city. At first, you could dig a mouse or something. Later, you even boiled the tendon on the bow. In the end, there were only three buckets of rice left in the city. The people around him wanted to cook some porridge for Zang Hong, but Zang Hong said with tears, "How can I enjoy it alone?" Let everyone eat together. According to the records of "Three Kingdoms", Zang Hong also made an astonishing move: he killed his concubine and distributed it to the soldiers (killing his concubine to feed the soldiers)!

However, the city was finally broken. After Yuan Jun entered the city, he found that there were seven or eight thousand people who starved to death in the city, and everyone lay there with their pillows on each other. Zang Hong was arrested, and Yuan Shao had always liked him very much, intending to keep him alive.Yuan Shao said: "Zang Hong, why did you let me down? Have you accepted it now?" Although Zang Hong was dizzy from hunger, he was still full of energy and reprimanded Yuan Shao in front of the soldiers.Yuan Shao had no choice but to order Zang Hong to be killed. Chen Rong was present at the time, and he immediately shouted at Yuan Shao: "Zang Hong is a righteous man, how can you kill him?" Yuan Shao didn't want to kill Chen Rong anymore, so he was dragged out. Chen Rong quit, he shouted: "Benevolence and righteousness are natural, those who obey are gentlemen, and those who disobey are villains. I would rather die with Zang Hong than live with you (I would rather die with Zang Hong on the same day." and die, not born on the same day as the general)!" Yuan Shao had no choice but to order Chen Rong to be killed as well. Zang Hong has always been admired for his integrity, but objectively speaking, his behavior is very problematic.Although Zhang Chao is his old leader, he has been kind to him, but this does not seem to be a reason for him to oppose the current leader. It seems doubtful whether his behavior can be completely regarded as loyalty.It seems that personal interests must be subordinated to collective interests, and local interests must be subordinated to overall interests. Yuan Shao should do more to educate his subordinates in this regard. This incident dealt a heavy blow to Yuan Shao.For as long as a year, the main force of Yuan's army was dragged on the southern front, and he could only stay on the defensive on the northern front. Watching Gongsun Zan overhaul the fortifications by the Yishui River, Zhang Yan and Yu Fuluo in the west took the opportunity to make trouble again. Yuan Shao caused a lot of trouble. If there was no Zang Hong incident, Yuan Shao could concentrate on dealing with Gongsun Zan during the second year of Xingping (195), so that Gongsun Zan would not have time to build the Yishui line of defense, and Yuan Shao's solution to the Youzhou issue might be advanced.A year later, when Emperor Xian Liu Xie returned to the Central Plains, Yuan Shao would not be unable to duplicate himself because he was controlled by Gongsun Zan. Perhaps he should be the one who seized the historical opportunity. In the end, although Yuan Shao also eliminated Zang Hong and Gongsun Zan, they both happened to be one step behind in the time process. As the saying goes, "If you don't keep up with one step, you can't keep up with every step": when Yuan Shao beat Zang Hong, Gongsun Zan had a breathing space. opportunity; when Yuan Shao beat Gongsun Zan, he left a chance for Cao Cao to welcome Emperor Xian. Yuan Shao paid a heavy price for an arrangement that seemed brilliant at the beginning but was actually a failure.