Chapter 28 Battle of Rang County

In March of the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), Cao Cao attacked Zhang Xiu for the third time.After the previous two campaigns, most of Nanyang's counties were under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. Zhang Xiu only retained one city in Rang County, with only a few thousand soldiers and horses, and Liu Biao donated all the food and grass.With such weak strength, not to mention blocking the advance of the imperial army, it is still unknown whether they can hold the city.But Zhang Xiu had a constant heart, and if he didn't escape or surrender, he waited for Cao Jun in the deep ditch and high fortification in Rang County.

Governor Cao Cao led the army to drive straight in, but within a few days he reached Rang County and surrounded the city impenetrably. He divided his troops into several teams and attacked the city day and night without giving Zhang Xiu any room to breathe.That Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu were also really good. In the situation of lack of soldiers and food, they fought to the death with only the danger of the city.Building ladders, shooting rockets, digging tunnels, building rush cars, no matter what clever tricks Cao Cao uses, they can always respond skillfully.In this siege confrontation, from March to June, Cao Jun still could not conquer the city, and his morale gradually declined.

Cao Cao was upset, so he summoned his military advisers and sacrificed wine to discuss the next step. Xun You and Guo Jiali persuaded him to withdraw his troops quickly.Cao Cao still refused: "Although our teachers are weak, there is more than enough to control them. After several wars in Rang County, there are no people in the city, and Zhang Xiu's soldiers are greatly damaged. Who can rely on him to defend him? Besides, the city is damaged and food and grass are almost exhausted. Xiliang Warriors are famous for riding and archery, but now they even kill their horses to satisfy their hunger, how many days can they last?"

Xun You frowned and said: "Duke Ming's words are true, but the trapped beasts are still fighting, he sticks to me and attacks, even though the enemy is exhausted, we kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred, what will happen when the soldiers are tired?" "If a minor illness is not cured, it will lead to a serious illness. If you don't get rid of Zhang Xiu today, you will definitely be hindered in the decisive battle against Heshuo in the future." Cao Cao was still afraid of Yuan Shao. Guo Jia stood up and gave a salute before speaking: "Forgive me for saying it bluntly, Duke Ming and Zhang Xiu are not enemies at all, and they are all due to a conflict of spirit." He was inconvenient to talk about Cao Cao's absurd actions in Wancheng, so his words were extra cautious. "It's not so much that Zhang Xiu has the ambition of separatism, it's better to say that he is deliberately angry with us. I look at you...you also have a sense of anger." He lowered his head and looked at Cao Cao with his eyelids up.

Cao Cao burst out laughing upon hearing this, Guo Jia really understood what was going on.However, Cao Cao waved his hand: "The matter is over, there is only one battle. Since we have come to fight, we must fight to the end." Guo Jia straightened up and said: "Now that Zhang Xiu's army is in decline, he can no longer cause troubles, so what if we let him sit and guard here? Even if we take the first Zhang Xiu of Rang County, what we get is just a ruined city and hundreds of soldiers. It is not worth the loss. ...Furthermore, Liu Biao is near Xiangyang, if he raises troops, all the achievements he made earlier will be forfeited, and he will not even be able to win this dangerous city."

Cao Cao disagreed: "Xiangyang and Rang County are close at hand. If the cavalry rushes forward, they can come here at sunset when they leave Xiangyang. I have been besieging the city for more than three months. If Liu Biao intends to save Zhang Xiu, ten battles have been fought at this moment. How can it be possible?" There is still no movement until now? Don't worry, Liu Jingsheng has no intention of coming..." Before he finished his words, he suddenly saw that Wang Bi broke into the tent without saying hello, cupped his fists and said, "My lord, there are scouts to report. Liu Biao raised 10,000 troops to rescue Zhang Xiu. The brigade has already left Xiangyang!" Liu Biao had no intention of conquering the world, he only wanted to stay in Jingzhou as the hegemony, and helping Zhang Xiu gain a foothold in Nanyang was just a barrier to stop the northern soldiers.However, Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao had a grudge against Liu Biao and had to fight with him.After Cao Cao sent back Deng Ji during the Battle of Huyang, Liu Biao was very grateful and didn't want to quarrel with his neighbors because of a watchdog, so he communicated with Xu Du and sent Zhao Qi back to Xijing, and then allowed Mi Heng to go south.The relationship between each other improved greatly, so Liu Biao intentionally abandoned Zhang Xiu. Before Cao Cao's army was trapped in Rang County, Jia Xu sent someone to Xiangyang to ask for help, but Liu Biao dismissed it hastily without comment. In fact, he just sat and watched Zhang Xiu fall.Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu's determination was as firm as iron stone, and Cao Jun could not capture it after besieging the city for three months. Liu Biao gradually felt lucky again, recalling Zhang Xiu's various benefits, he hesitated and sent reinforcements.

Cao Cao just said that Liu Biao would not come, but now he was slapped by the reality in front of him. Feeling that his face was dull, he murmured: "Liu Jingsheng is capricious, really mediocre! This time he personally To lead the troops here?" Wang Bidao: "Liu Biao was sitting in Jingzhou and did not come in person, so the governor Cai Mao was sent to lead the army, Zhang Yun was the vanguard, and Kuai Liang was the staff." Cao Cao's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but feel sad—he and Cai Mao were childhood playmates, and they didn't want the world to change. The childhood friends who fought cockfights now became enemies on the battlefield.In fact, this is no wonder, Liu Biao's wife died early, and Cai Mao's younger sister married Liu Biao as a continuation.Even so, Cao Cao sighed unknowingly, and felt that he had lost his composure, and then sarcastically said: "Liu Biao can't personally command such an important battle, which shows that he doesn't know how to use troops!" Liu Biao rode into Xiangyang, and the reason why he was able to gain a foothold in Jingzhou later was that Wen relied on the two brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, and Wu relied on the power of the Cai clan.Now Cai Degui is the general, Kuai Zirou is the staff officer, and Zhang Yun is Liu Biao's nephew as the vanguard. This army is really an elite team from Jingzhou, and its combat strength is extraordinary.

Guo Jia hurriedly went down the slope and said, "Duke Ming might as well accept the troops here to protect the merits." Cao Cao could hear it naturally, and said with a sneer, "Now the people of Jingzhou are ridiculed by the soldiers. The king will pass on my general order to divide the troops to garrison the South Road. I will see what they can do to save Rang County. Hmph! Cai Degui, Cai Degui, I can't beat you in a cockfight. I'm not afraid of you!" Guo Jia and Wang Bike didn't know what their relationship was, and they were confused when they heard this.But Xun You shook his head again and again: "If you are not afraid of fighting, you are afraid that he will not fight us when he comes close, then it will be difficult!"

As Xun You thought, Cai Mao led an army to attack Rang County, but set up a large camp to sit and watch, as if he had no intention of confronting Cao Cao.But such a move made Cao Cao more uncomfortable than real swords and guns. He wanted to attack the city and guard against his surprise attack.If Rang County is at a critical moment, Cai Mao will definitely come with his whole army; if Cao Cao withdraws his troops, he will be able to chase after him; ——Cai Mao used the method of waiting for work at ease, intending to reap the benefits of the fisherman. Cao Cao also changed his strategy, intending to recruit Zhang Xiu again to defend Cai Mao, but the enmity was so deep that it seemed difficult to do so.Although Zhang Xiu did not return to surrender, he was afraid that Cao Cao would attack the city; Cai Hao was actually also afraid that Zhang Xiu would suddenly surrender to Cao, and the Jingzhou army would be defeated if the two families attacked together.Zhang Xiu was afraid of Cao Cao, Cao Cao was afraid of Cai Mao, and Cai Mao was afraid of Zhang Xiu.No one expected that the war would develop to such a level, the three sides restrained each other, and saw that it had become a stalemate again!

At critical moments, the external environment has become the decisive factor.Cai Mao's rear is Jingzhou, Sun Ce in the east is still in chaos, and Liu Zhang in the west is closed and guarded, without any worries.However, behind Cao Cao, there were two powerful enemies, Yuan Shao and Lu Bu.After less than ten days of stalemate, suddenly Lu Zhao came to the front of the army with a secret letter from brothers Xun Yu and Xun Yan. "Yuan Shao planned a surprise attack on Xudu..." After reading the secret report, Cao Cao's head buzzed, "I missed it because of my anger!" After saying that, he fell down on the stool, his face pale and speechless for a long time.

Seeing his appearance, Lu Zhao hurriedly stepped forward and explained: "This is Tian Feng's plan to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao has not made up his mind yet. Even if he returns from Yi County at this moment, it will take time. Besides, Master Xiahou sits in Xudu, and Cheng Yu, Wan Qian and others are guarding Yanzhou, before the enemy strikes, don't worry, my lord." Lu Zhao was born as a servant of the Cao family, and although he is now serving under Xiahou Dun's tent, his title of Cao Cao has not changed. Cao Cao waved his hands to show that he should keep silent, and after thinking for a long time, he said, "I regret not listening to Xun Gongda's words, now I am really in a dilemma! I don't know that the news in Hebei may not be true, but this has reminded me. I leave Xu It's been three months, how many accidents have happened in these three months? Gongsun Zan is still alive, and Yuan Shaobie's army is not afraid even if they cross the river, but if Yuan Shao and Lu Bu attack at the same time, how will I deal with it?" He suddenly woke up Come here, and the more you think about it, the more frightened you are: the war here is still unresolved, and Liu Biao and Yuan Shao have always been on good terms. If Yuan Shao attacks me to the north and Liu Biao drags me to the south, then either Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, or the generals in Guanzhong will As long as there is another party against me, Xu Du's heart will be unstable, and my head, Cao Mengde, will move. Cao Cao didn't dare to think about it anymore, and immediately decided to withdraw his troops. He called Xun You and Guo Jia to come to discuss the right to withdraw from the army, and wrote back to Xun Yu to warn him.Cao Ying secretly announced orders to remove the siege of Rang County at night, leaving an empty camp with false banners, men holding horses and hooves, and secretly withdrawing troops to return north.In this way, the third crusade against Zhang Xiu came back without success. Although Cao Cao retreated in an orderly manner, the two soldiers immediately realized that things had changed at dawn.The crisis in Rang County was resolved, Jia Xu was left to defend the city, Zhang Xiu and Cai Mao joined forces, and within half a day they overtook Cao's brigade.It is most dangerous to retreat and be attacked. Fortunately, Cao Cao was well prepared and personally led the elite soldiers to the rear.Even with such an arrangement, Jingzhou's soldiers were all fresh troops, and even though they killed them evenly, they were still unable to repel the enemy completely.Cao Jun continued to retreat, and the two soldiers and horses followed closely. To make matters worse, the rainy season came again at this time. For Cao Cao, who is good at commanding troops, all kinds of unfavorable factors can be avoided, but the weather is helpless, and this time he caught up with the continuous rain that has not been seen for many years.It wasn't raining very hard, but it was annoying if it never stopped.Intermittently, it rained for more than ten days in a row. It seemed that the sky would never be clear again. Coupled with the hot temperature, the sky and the earth seemed to have become a big steamer, covering everything in the mist. Although the retreaters suffer as much as the pursuers, the situation is quite different from each other.Zhang Xiu's army has been trapped for a long time, and now they can vent their fighting spirit despite the bad weather; Cai Mao's Jingzhou soldiers are all from the Xiangfan area, and they grew up in the stove. The soldiers will suffer greatly! Cao's army fought the siege for three months, but they retreated in vain. The soldiers and generals were already in a slump. Coupled with this ghostly weather, everyone was so depressed that they couldn't breathe.In desperation, Cao Cao ordered a slow retreat at every step. He traveled less than ten miles a day, with muddy water dripping under his feet, and he had to pay attention to the harassment behind him at all times.At this time, the only thing to do is to be patient and fight steadily. As long as the marching speed is accelerated, the retreat will immediately turn into a rout. During these days, the clothes of the soldiers in the camp were barely dry. It was wet with rain, sweat, and mud, sticking to their bodies. When they took them off at night, they found a layer of white hair on their clothes. And the back is also full of prickly heat.What's more terrible is that the road has become muddy after several days of rain, and it is wet and slippery when you step on it. You have to take off your straw sandals and walk barefoot.After walking this way for several days, many soldiers' toes were rotten, and the pus and blood from the previous day were still struggling to survive in the mud the next day, grinning and limping in pain.After walking like this for a few days, Cao Jun has not yet withdrawn from Nanyang County. Fortunately, there is no movement in Hebei, and Yuan Shao does not seem to have adopted Tian Feng's surprise attack strategy. On this day, the weather got worse, and it was much hotter than before, but the moldy rain still didn't stop.Cao Cao led his troops to march early in the morning and repelled Zhang Xiu's two pursuits, but the soldiers were so exhausted that they had to camp for a rest after traveling only six miles. The mildew and rain continued until noon, but the temperature was unbearably sweltering, with no wind at all, and the hot water vapor made people's heads dizzy.The tents of the Chinese army were full of mist, Le Jin, Xia Houyuan and other generals were all shirtless, with swords on their backs, all showing their tendons; Xun You is an upright man, but at this moment he had to unbutton his clothes , showing a bony chest; Guo Jia didn't care so much, he not only took off his shirt, but also took off his trousers. Squat down.Cao Cao, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies of the dynasty, could not lose his dignity, but he also opened his arms openly, holding a volume of "The Art of War Festival Essentials" compiled by himself in his hand. It's not like a military meeting. Cao Hong looked at the curtain for a while, then suddenly turned around and complained: "Damn it! The enemy doesn't have tents, but bamboo and grass tents, which are much more breathable and comfortable than ours!" "This is the lesson." Xun You sighed, "If you encounter such weather in the future, you must be prepared in advance. In addition, you need some herbs to escape the heat." With a big bald belly, Le Jin panted, "Is that fellow Zhang Xiu crazy? These two days he has harassed our army day and night. There is no one who fights like this. We can't rest, but isn't he tired?" Yu Jin He continued: "It was said that Yuan Shao attacked, and it has been a few days, and there is no movement at all. Isn't this a false alarm! If I had known this, I might as well have taken Rang County and retreated." Zhu Ling snorted, and pouted his big chin and retorted: "I think it's right to withdraw the troops. If the weather in Rang County catches up with this kind of weather, even if you attack the city, you can't take it down." Hearing that he was deliberately fighting against him, Yu Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a sneer, "If you haven't fought a battle, how do you know you can't win it?" Cao Cao was annoyed at first, hearing that these two people could not work together at this moment, he slapped the bamboo slips in his hand on the table.Seeing that he was angry, Yu Jin and Zhu Ling quickly lowered their heads and dared not speak.Cao Cao looked around at the "flesh hidden and flesh visible" army tent, feeling extremely disturbed, and finally pointed to Guo Jia who was squatting aside, and said, "Feng Xiao, tell me what to do now?" Guo Jia was naked and did not forget to bow his hands to salute, and said in a low voice: "It's useless to worry about the weather. Cai Hao and Zhang Xiu will not retreat. We will be passive after all. There is nothing I can do. I just hope that Minggong can calm down." Go slowly, the sky can't be cloudy all the time, right? Besides, the further north we go, the better off we are, as long as we leave Nanyang County, they won't dare to chase after us." Saying it is tantamount to not saying it, but there is really nothing to do but be patient.At this moment, a report was heard from outside the tent, and Wang Bi and Fanqin came leading a man in coir raincoat.Seeing Cao Cao, the man in coir raincoat quickly took off his hat, showing a young and fair face, and knelt down outside the tent to salute: "The last general is Wang Tu, a lieutenant under General Xiahou, who led a thousand soldiers and horses and brought coir raincoats to help!" Cao Cao had never seen this before. Passed by Wang Tu, but was quite happy to hear that he brought the coir raincoat, and said with a smile, "Please get up! Come in quickly to shelter from the rain." Wang Tu got up and walked in, suddenly felt the smell of human flesh, earthy smell, and hot and humid air rushing to his face in the big tent, and it was not easy to complain in front of Cao Cao, so he held his breath and said, "I have one more important military situation. Report, is my lord..." As he spoke, he looked around and seemed to have scruples. Seeing that he was so careful, Cao Cao knew that it was not good news, and sighed, "It's okay to say something, is it because Yuan Shao raised his troops?" "There is no difference in Hebei, but..." Wang Tu took out a silk book from his pocket and put it on the commander's case, "Lv Bu in Xuzhou rebelled and attacked Xiaopei. Liu Bei was defeated, so he sent people to Xudu to ask for help. This is Xun Lingjun personally wrote a letter, detailing what happened, please announce it to the Lord." The hot and humid weather has stained the ink, so Cao Cao read the handwriting carefully.It turned out that the chief culprits of Lu Bu's rebellion were Yang Feng and Han Xian, the former generals of Baibo.After being defeated by Cao Cao, these two court rebels first defected to Yuan Shu, and then defected to Lu Bu.Youdao said that the nature of a thief is hard to change. In addition, Lu Bu was not strict, so Yang Feng and Han Xian often led their subordinates to plunder the people, and even crossed the state border to Xiaopei to do harm.Liu Bei made a plan, pretending that the court forgives the two past crimes, lures them into the camp, and beheads the two at the banquet.Yang Feng and Han Xian rebelled three times in their lives, and they deserved their crimes when they died at the hands of Liu Bei. Lu Bu didn't go into details, and only made the rest of the two of them hasty.Unexpectedly, Liu Bei thought that he had turned against Lv Bu. At the same time that Lv Bu sent someone to buy horses from Zhang Yang in Hanoi, Liu Bei sent his troops to kidnap Zhang Fei halfway.Lü Bu learned that he was furious, and after Chen Gong's analysis and advice, he gradually realized that he had fallen into Cao Cao's plan to stabilize the army. He immediately sent Gao Shun and his elite to attack Xiaopei, and then sent Zhang Liao to contact Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Sun Guan and other powerful forces along the coast as backup. .Liu Bei was defeated in two battles and besieged in the city. He sent people to Xudu to ask the imperial court for help. Knowing that it was Lu Bu who caused the rebellion and not Yuan Shao, Cao Cao felt much more at ease.In the past few days, he had privately discussed with Xun You and Guo Jia that after returning to Xudu, he would take a short rest and destroy Lv Bu in order to eliminate the hidden danger on the Eastern Front during the confrontation with Yuan Shao. Literally.And once this matter happened, Lu Bu felt rebellious, so he could justifiably send troops.But after thinking for a while, Cao Cao felt worried again—the crisis in front of him has not yet been resolved, and Liu Bei's fighting skills are not reassuring. If he marches slowly like this, he may not return to Xudu. It has entered Yuzhou. Xun You saw Cao Cao's thoughts from the side, and leaned into his ear and reminded him in a low voice: "Lv Bu doesn't know Chen Deng's surrender, so he can write to Guangling as soon as possible, ordering Chen Deng to raid Xiapi under the pretense of assisting Gao Shun, and Xiaopei's siege It will be solved immediately." The generals in the accounts still don't know about Chen Deng's internal response, and Xun You dare not speak out in public. Cao Cao was unwilling.Chen Deng is a nail wedged into Lu Bu's camp. If one day Cao Cao's troops enter Xuzhou, Chen Deng's sudden rebellion can deal a fatal blow to Lu Bu. If he is used now, the effect will be greatly reduced.But in Nanyang, Cao Cao had no choice but to take this bad strategy, and murmured helplessly: "Just as the military adviser said, I will write a letter and ask the military officials to send it back to Xudu as soon as possible, and tell Wen Ruo to act according to the letter..." Before he finished speaking, Wang Tu interrupted: "My lord, I'm afraid the military officials won't be able to send the letter back." "Huh?" Cao Cao was taken aback, "What do you mean?" Wang Tu knelt down on the ground: "When I led the troops over, Jingzhou soldiers and horses had detoured to the border of Anzhong County, and they seemed to want to cut off our army's return route. I used the force of the cavalry to charge past, and then came to you. In front of them. I am afraid that they have already arranged properly, and without the cover of a large army, it is absolutely impossible to rely on a messenger alone." Xun You's eyes lit up, "Jingzhou soldiers made a detour to stop our army's return? No wonder Zhang Xiu attacked our army continuously for the past two days. He wanted to cover Cai Mao and detoured to Anzhong." All the generals were stunned when they heard this.Le Jin was the first to widen his eyes, and yelled with a big belly: "Damn it! There is an interception in front and there are chasing soldiers. Isn't this forcing us to a dead end? If I say it, we will turn around and kill Zhang Now, turn around and play your life with the Jingzhou guy!" When he made a fuss, the others became anxious, and you called me to make a mess. "Hahaha..." Cao Cao suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed, "Cai Degui and Kuai Zirou! You are so smart, but unfortunately you don't know the art of war. This time I can definitely win, hahaha..." Even though the situation was even more unfavorable, he said that he would definitely win Yes, all the generals were stunned when they didn't understand; Xun You and Guo Jia understood the truth and couldn't help smiling.After Cao Cao laughed for a long time, he asked happily, "Listen everyone, I have an urgent errand now, and I have to send an order to Xu Du. Who dares to lead soldiers and horses to pass through Cai Mao's siege to send a letter to Xu Du?" "The last general is willing to go!" Wang Tu blurted out before Le Jin and Zhu Ling came to grab him. Cao Cao didn't take this young general seriously at first, and only listened to him begging for orders before he looked at him carefully.But seeing Wang Tu in his early twenties, fair and handsome, with willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, high nose bridge and thin lips, how could he look like a fighter?Cao Cao was not at ease: "General Wang, sending letters through the siege is very dangerous!" "Although the last general does not have the courage of Meng Ben and Xia Yu, he thinks he can take on the role. Since I can break through from Anzhong, I can try to break back again." Wang Tu spoke very honestly. Cao Cao nodded.Since Xiahoudun was able to promote this person, this Wang Tu must have some skills. Thinking of this, he suddenly said: "Okay! You still lead your troops to break through with a thousand soldiers and horses, and you must send my orders to Xudu. This matter is done well. Yes, I will make you a general!" "Thank you, my lord!" Wang Tu accepted it safely. "It's not too late to thank you after it's done." Cao Cao nodded and called Fanqin, "Uncle Hugh, I'll tell you to write the letter to Wen Ruo." Fanqin immediately knelt down on the side of the handsome case, and picked up the blank bamboo slips and the knife and pen—the weather is too humid, and it would take half an hour to dry it with an ink pen.Cao Cao flicked his forehead and thought for a while before opening his mouth: "The bandits are chasing me today. Although they travel several miles a day, I will surely defeat the enemy if I travel to Anzhong..." Le Jin couldn't hold back any longer, and interjected, "How can my lord be sure that Anzhong can defeat the enemy?" Cao Cao smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes, continue to write... order Xiahou Yuanrang to lead Xu Duyu's troops to rescue Liu Bei quickly!" Le Jin couldn't help but reminded: "As soon as General Xiahou led his troops away, Xudu was immediately empty. If there is an army in Hebei and we can't go back, wouldn't it be a catastrophe?" "You don't need to interrupt!" Cao Cao rolled his eyes at him, and continued, "After Yuan Rang is gone, please trouble Lingjun, Ren Jun, and Ding Chong to maintain it for a while. Don't worry about foreign aggression, and guard against the elbows and armpits. Within a few days I will return to Beijing...that's about it, Uncle Huber, you can polish it." The generals looked at each other, but they didn't know why Cao Cao was so confident.How can you defeat the enemy in such an unfavorable situation?Even if the enemy is defeated, how can we quickly return to Xudu?But since he didn't want to say anything, no one could ask any more. "After writing the letter, hand it over to Wang Tu and take it away. The generals will attack Zhang Xiu and cover him from this place." Cao Cao stretched himself, stood up, walked to the tent and stretched out his hand to catch the drizzle from the sky, "Let's go Let's go! In fact, there is nothing wrong with this rainy day." He laughed again as he spoke...