As a result of Chua's spoiler, Liu Cong defeated Liu Qi in Jingzhou and officially became a Jingzhou shepherd. After the first half of the year, Cao Cao prepared his troops and led the army south. On the border of Xinye, Liu Cong succumbed to the wind. Liu Bei also fled hastily under the onslaught of Cao Cao, and through the efforts of Zhuge Liang and Lu Su, the two families formally formed an alliance.
Cao Cao used the influence of the Cai family in Jingzhou to develop the water army in Jiangbei. Sun Quan entrusted the relieving to Zhou Yu. After many choices, Zhou Yu chose to station troops at Xiakou. Textual research on Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao claimed to be "800,000", which was a bluff. He led 300,000 troops south and sent about100,000 troops to Jingzhou, totaling 400,000. While Cao Cao stationed troops in Jingzhou, which was newly acquired, and the troops were scattered, Battle of Red Cliffs only used half of the frontline troops. Liu Bei has 20,000 people stationed in Xiakou, and Sun Quan has 100,000 people stationed in firewood. The allied forces were used in the front line, and Liu, Guan and Zhang led two thousand people to help out, and * * * thirty-two thousand.
Since Cao Cao sent his troops south, the soldiers have been working hard, and Sun Liu happened to be waiting for him. Cao Cao "used tired soldiers (the troops he took) to guard against suspicious people (Jingzhou Army)". Although there are hundreds of thousands of combat troops, the morale problem is very big, so Zhou Yucai lamented that "there are many people, but they are not afraid."
I was fascinated by the war in Battle of Red Cliffs before, so I looked for a lot of information and wanted to see this battle, which was called one of the "three major battles" in the Three Kingdoms period. I'm also curious about how Sun Liulin's army defeated Cao Jun and rose to fame in the history of this war, becoming a typical battle of "winning more with less". However, apart from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is not much description about it, there is no thrilling description of war scenes, and there is no experience of fighting wits between Kong Ming and Gong Jin.
So, in the final analysis, Battle of Red Cliffs doesn't have many bright spots. Its famous campaign is set against Luo Guanzhong, and the word "less wins more" is also mysterious. Why? Because Cao Cao will lose this battle, Sun Liusheng.
"The History of the Three Kingdoms Wei Shu Wu Diji" records: (Jian 'an 13, 2008) In autumn and July, (Cao) Gongnan levied Liu Biao. In August, as a pawn, Zi (Liu) was born in Xiangyang and Liu Bei was born in Fan. In September, he went to Xinye, and then he came down to prepare for the summer exit. Gong Jin occupied Jiangling and ordered Jingzhou officials and people to start again. In 65438+ February, the war broke out, and Cao Cao went south. It was more the decision of Jingzhou's high-level ruling group to surrender without a fight. However, Jingxiang's cremation did not have a unified attitude, and Liu Bei had been resisting, so Cao Cao was only recognized by Jingzhou's high-level officials and did not have enough time to win people's hearts.
In our impression, Sun Quan conquered Jiangdong in his teens, completely obeying the civil servants and military commanders of Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao and other uncles, while Liu Bei stood in the world by virtue of benevolence and righteousness. In fact, this is the opposite. Later generations of Pei Songzhi came to a conclusion about the situation at that time: the Jing people had long obeyed Liu Zhu's majestic posture and feared Sun Quan's military strategy, which was irresistible to General Cao Shi. Of course, from now on, Pei Songzhi has been away from Battle of Red Cliffs for more than 200 years, so it is inevitable that this remark smacks of "being wise after the event". However, before Cao Cao's southern expedition, Jia Xu, an adviser, advised Cao Cao: "The Yuan family was broken in those days, but now it has a great reputation and great military potential;" If you take advantage of the old Chu forgiveness to entertain hundreds of officials, comfort the people and make the country peaceful, you can take it from Jiangdong without any effort. " Cao Cao didn't listen, and as a result, "there is no benefit in the army." This scene is very similar to the scene of Tian Feng remonstrating Yuan Shao to station troops and defeat Cao Cao ten years ago, but Yuan Shao refused to listen, resolutely cracked down on Cao Cao, and even aborted in the battle of Guandu.
And Cao Cao's heart swelled up under the achievement of unifying the north. Cheng Yu, known as "resourceful", once reminded Cao Cao: "Sun Quanxin is in office, and he is not afraid at home. Cao Gong is invincible in the world. He mentioned Jingzhou first, which is a great prestige. Although he has a plan, he can't be alone. Liu Bei is famous, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are enemies, and power must be used to defend me. " In Cao Cao's plan, Liu Bei was beheaded first, then Sun Quan. He himself knew the Force of the two men, so he chose a more secure plan. But what he never expected was that under his own coercion, Liu Bei and Sun Quan formed an alliance, thus forming a force to resist his domination of the country.
So let's talk about the results here first. Battle of Red Cliffs ended in Cao Cao's defeat, and the specific battle process is unknown in the book. The description of Battle of Red Cliffs in The Book of Filial Piety of Xian Di in the Later Han Dynasty is concise: in October, there is food every day. Cao Cao defeated Sun Quan with a boatman and Zhou Yu in Wulin and Chibi. In the history of the Three Kingdoms, from the perspective of Wei, Shu and Wu, this battle was also hand-to-hand. "The History of the Three Kingdoms, Shu Wei, Emperor Wudi" said: "(Cao) going to Chibi is not conducive to preparing for war"; "The History of the Three Kingdoms Shu Shu Ancestral" said: "(Liu Bei) fought with Cao Gong at Chibi, broke it and burned his ship. The ancestors kept pace with Wu Jun and chased Nanjun "; The reflection of the Three Kingdoms Wu Shu Wu Zhuan Zhu said: "Yu and Pu are left and right governors, each with 10,000 people, advancing with the times, and meeting at Chibi defeated Cao Gongjun."
There are two strange things here: is Cao Cao's water army really a legendary chain? Did Zhuge Liang really burn Cao Jun's warship by the east wind that day?
It is recorded in the Biography of the Three Kingdoms, Wu Shu and Wu Zhu that after Sun Liu's army defeated Cao Cao, "(Cao) burned the ship and retired, and the soldiers were hungry and exhausted, and most of the dead." You know, before Cao Cao conquered Sun Quan, there was no water army. In the north, he fought more in the plains and mountains. What he needs is infantry and cavalry who can win the battle. It was not until Liu Cong surrendered that Cao Caocai trained a water army by using Cai Mao, a former general of the water army.
What are the weapons of the water army? This is a ship.
What happened to Cao Cao that caused him to burn all the warships to stop the allied attack? You know, as long as he goes ashore, Sun Liujun will never dare to kill him. War broke out in Jianghan Plain. As long as Zhou Yu dares to send someone ashore, the cavalry Cao Cao brought from Qingzhou will definitely teach Sun and Liu to be human beings. However, it seems that Cao Cao did not lure the enemy into depth, but actually hit the allies, actually burning his own ship, thus blocking the pace of the allied attack and creating time for himself to escape.
It is mentioned in the Biography of the Three Kingdoms Wu Shu Zhou Yu that Cao was ill. On the first day of the war, the public army was defeated and led troops to Jiangbei. That is to say, before the war with the Allies, Cao Jun was plagued by infectious diseases, which led to the decline of his combat effectiveness. After Battle of Red Cliffs's defeat, he had to burn warships to stop the allied attack. Li Yousong, a modern scholar, also mentioned this point in the article "Discussion on the Relationship between Cao Cao's Defeat of Chibi and Schistosomiasis". I won't extract it. The name says everything. However, there are still questions. If schistosomiasis breaks out, then the allied forces should also avoid it. How can there be a situation where fewer people are better than more? To say the least, the allied forces are immune to this disease because they have been on the river for a long time, but most of Cao Jun's water army is adapted from Jingzhou Water Army. When the war broke out in Jingzhou and Yangzhou, the Allies could not be immune, nor could Cao Jun be immune. Therefore, this disease should be brought by Cao Jun from the north, or the soldiers in the north can't adapt to the symptoms of acclimatization in the Yangtze River area in winter.
Two-part allegorical saying Zhou Yu hits Huang Gai. Although it does not conform to historical facts, it also has a specific source. It is recorded in the Biography of the Three Kingdoms Wu Shu Huang Gai that the Ministry of Security will say to Huang Gai, "It is difficult and lasting to fight against many people today. However, looking at the warships connected end to end, you can burn them. " Report to Cao Gong first, threaten him to surrender ... cover the ship and get angry at the same time. The wind is strong and fierce, and I know that the shore camp will be delayed. Here, Huang Gai is really pretending to surrender. He also said that he would burn Cao Cao's warships, but the result was that he burned the barracks on the shore. ...
Then let's interview the client Cao Cao. In the Biography of Jiang Biao quoted in the History of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao wrote in a letter to Sun Quan: "Battle of Red Cliffs was worth a disease, and Zhou set himself on fire, which made Zhou so famous." Although Cao Cao may write this letter with discontent, he will not lie in his letter to the enemy, which is consistent with the records in the Three Kingdoms, Wu Shu and Zhou Yuchuan. There happened to be a description of this battle in Yuefu poems: Wei Wu broke Jingzhou, and he wanted to compete with the East. Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu to attack the Wulin and break away. He said: "Cao Cao's Northern Expedition led to the removal of Liucheng. Taking advantage of this victory, he conquered the south. Liu's discord shocked the eight counties. Now that everyone has surrendered, fuck Jing. There are hundreds of boats and cars, and the wind is blowing. The discussant was skeptical, but he didn't think anything. Thanks to my great emperor, I am enlightened. Tiger ministers are Zhou, Cheng and Lie. Break the Wulin and show your prestige. " Lu Ji, the grandson of Lu Xun, a famous Soochow player, wrote in "On the Debate of Death": Wei tasted victory, led a million troops, floated on the boat of the fortress, went down to Hanyin, and had thousands of feathers. Down the river, Yue Long rode a thousand miles in a hurry, and walked in a tiger's gait. His ministers gathered, and the generals were evenly matched. Suddenly, he had the ambition to devour the rivers and lakes. Zhou Yu, however, drove me away from the division, and Chibi lost its flag, so he only left without asking. These two short essays of later generations did not mention the course of this war at all, nor did they mention the course of the "East Wind", and there was no record of this fire.
When Chen Shou wrote The History of the Three Kingdoms, because he was an official of the Jin Dynasty, and the Jin Dynasty took Cao Wei as its orthodoxy, he had to gain a foothold in Cao Wei, but his hometown was Xishu, so he also missed Shu, so there were many places in the history books he wrote that used the spring and autumn brushwork. What is the spring and autumn brushwork? He once praised Wei Wendi for his excellent calligraphy and articles, ostensibly praising Cao Pi's literary accomplishment, but actually belittling Cao Pi as an emperor who got nothing but literature. However, some people can understand these spring and autumn brushwork. For more than 1000 years, only Pei Songzhi can understand the writing style of this book in the Spring and Autumn Period, so Zhu Pei's historical materials are of great value. Regarding the defeat of this war, Pei Songzhi said: "The defeat of Chibi was due to luck. In fact, the epidemic is rampant, so as to damage the sharp edge, and the wind is striding forward from the south, making a prairie fire. This is a fact of life, is it a person? However, it is not a miscalculation for Wei Wu to go east. "
Up to now, we don't know who set the fire in Battle of Red Cliffs. If you have to say "one, two, three, four", it is better to hit 50 boards each: Cao Cao set fire and Zhou Yu set fire. There is also the so-called east wind. Apart from Pei Songzhi's sentence "The wind blows from the south", there is no record of this kind of strong wind, but this kind of east wind is not blown by the wind, and it may really be borrowed by Zhuge Liang.
For this defeat, the impact of this battle is not recorded in various historical materials. The vast majority of materials are only a passing of this battle, such as (the following content is taken from Chen Shou's "The History of the Three Kingdoms" to describe the course of this war from a personal perspective):
(Cao) Going to Chibi is not conducive to preparing for war. So there was a great epidemic, many officials died, and they led the troops back. -"Wei Shu Wu Diji"
Mao (Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of posthumous title, temple name Mao) did not obey, so the army was unprofitable. Biographies of Shu Wei, Yu Xun, Xun You and Jia Xu
(1) Ancestors went hand in hand with Wu Jun by land and water, catching up with the Confederate army, but suffered from diseases and epidemics, and the Union army died many times, so Tso Gong led them back. Quan Da Yue sent Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su and other 30,000 water troops to follow Liang Yi's father and resist Tsao Gong. (2) Cao Gong was defeated in Chibi and led the army to Jianwen Emperor. Biography of Shu Shu Zhuge Liang
Sun Quan sent troops to help the late Lord refuse Tsao Gong, and Tsao Gong returned with an army. Shushu Zhang Guan Macelo Wong Zhao Chuan
So Cao Gong went back to the north, stayed in Coss, stayed in Jiangling, and was happy to enter the customs and guard Xiangyang. Biography of Wu Shu's ancestors
(1) is years old, and Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu in Wulin west tso, wai Coss in south county. Le' an was settled, and the sea raft was prepared for Taishi Ci, with Zhou Yu as the governor, breaking Cao Gong in Wulin, attacking Nanjun and leaving Coss; ② Biographies of Cheng, Jiang, Dong Ganling and Xu Panding.
Cao Gong went to Chibi, but Zhou Yu and others refused to break it. Wu Shu spread to Zhi Zhu, Zhu Ran, Lv Fan and Huan Zhu.
This battle was transformed by myth in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When we explore its reality, it is really a battle without many bright spots.
Similarly, in the Romance, in order to highlight Guan Yu's gratitude and his former character in the United States, there appeared the story of "Zhuge Liang's wisdom is a beauty, and Guan Yunchang's righteousness is released from Cao Cao", but the fact is really not that simple.
It's actually simpler than this. There is only one piece of information about Cao Cao's defeat of Huarong Road. "The Story of Yang Shan's Son" says: (Cao) burned a public ship to prepare for war and led his troops back from Huarong Road. When it is muddy, the road is impassable and windy. As we all know, the winning soldier must fill it with grass, which is too much. The victorious soldiers were beaten out of the water and trapped in the mud, killing many people. (win: old and weak. Victory: A soldier with low or no fighting capacity. )
Guan Yu has never been to Huarong Road, which was only developed in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Zhuge Liang wanted to break his head and never thought that Cao Cao would go from here.