Hanzhong was the gateway to Yizhou, so after Cao Cao captured Hanzhong in 215 AD, the people of Shuzhong were floating, and the people were panicked, "counting the number of days in a day". Fortunately, Zhang Fei defeated Zhang Gao at The Canal, and the people's hearts settled down. However, Liu Bei was obviously not at ease with letting Cao Cao control Hanzhong, so he began an attack on Hanzhong in October 217. By May 219, Liu Bei had completely defeated Cao Cao and captured Hanzhong.
The Battle of Hanzhong, which lasted for a year and seven months, was one of the largest battles between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, and both sides invested many famous generals and troops. Let's take a look at the battles of the Battle of Hanzhong, and which generals from both sides participated.
In October 217, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Lei Tong, Wu Lan and others to lead an army to attack Xiaquan. Cao Cao ordered Cao Hong to be the main general, Cao Xiu to serve the military, and Zhang Jie and the general Cao Zhen and others also accompanied the army.
In 218, Zhang Fei deliberately marched into Gushan with great fanfare, making the appearance of cutting off Cao Hong's rear, trying to contain Cao Hong's army and buy time for the Shu army to assemble. But this plan was discovered by Cao Xiu. At Cao Xiu's suggestion, Cao Hong took the initiative to attack Wu Lan's Shu army. Wu Lan was defeated, and Lei Tong, Ren Fu and others were killed on the spot. After Wu Lan fled to Yinping, he was also killed by Qiangduan, the leader of the Yu clan.
After the defeat of Wu Lan's men and horses, Zhang Fei was alone and could only withdraw his troops with Ma Chao.
After Liu Bei lost the first battle, he ordered Chen Shi to lead more than ten battalions of soldiers and horses to guard Mamingge Road, the throat road connecting Guanzhong and Hanzhong, in order to cut off the connection between the Cao armies in Hanzhong and Guanzhong. Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang to lead an army to attack, but As a result, Chen Shi was defeated by Xu Huang and was killed in a big defeat, and the Shu army fell into the valley and died a lot, and the battle ended with the defeat of the Shu army.
Liu Bei, who had lost the two wars, was not discouraged, and in July 218 he personally led an army to Yangping Pass and confronted Xiahou Yuan and Zhang Guo. Cao Cao also immediately led an army to the west, and arrived in Chang'an in September.
However, for unknown reasons, Cao Cao did not rush to Hanzhong after arriving in Chang'an. In early 219, Liu Bei adopted the advice of the military master Fazheng and took advantage of the opportunity before Cao Cao arrived to forcibly cross the water and occupy Dingjun Mountain. Xiahou Yuan had to lead his troops out of the city with Zhang Gao and go down the mountain to confront the Shu army. Liu Bei then launched a fierce attack, breaking the Cao army, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Cao's appointment of Yizhou Assassin Shi Zhao And others were killed.
After Xiahou Yuan's death, Zhang Gao retreated to Yangping Pass with his remnants. Due to the death of the main general, Du Xun, Sima Guohuai, and others elected Zhang Guo to act as an agent of military affairs.
After Xiahou Yuan's death, Cao Cao personally led an army to Hanzhong to confront Liu Bei. The so-called large army did not move, the grain and grass went first, and Cao Cao ordered that grain and grass be hoarded in the North Mountain of the Han River for use by the army. Not wanting this information to be known by the Shu army, Huang Zhong led his army to seize the grain and grass in the Northern Mountains.
Cao Cao hurriedly sent troops to the rescue, and the reinforcements encountered dozens of cavalry led by Zhao Yun on the way. After Zhao Yun broke through the vanguard of the Cao Army, he withdrew to the camp, opened the camp door, and put an end to the flag. Cao Jun chased after the camp, and seeing this scene, he suspected that there was an ambush and retreated one after another. Zhao Yun ordered the drumming and ordered the crossbowmen to shoot the Cao army. Cao Jun panicked, trampled on himself, fell into the Han River and died many times.
After the Battle of Beishan, there were basically no major battles between the cao and liu armies, only occasional minor clashes. For example, Liu Bei repeatedly ordered his righteous son Liu Feng to call for battle, and Cao Cao was so angry that he said that he would let his yellow-bearded son Cao Zhang come to fight Liu Feng. Unfortunately, before Cao Zhang arrived, Cao Cao had already abandoned Hanzhong and withdrew to Hanzhong, and the two did not have the opportunity to exchange hands.
There are three more characters who appear during this period. One is Yang Xiu, and one of his most famous things in Han is the familiar allusion of "chicken ribs". And Hanzhong was also like Yang Xiu said to Cao Cao, "food is tasteless, it is a pity to abandon it", it is not worth investing too much effort, and finally chose to give up.
One is Zhang Jie, who appeared earlier. When Cao Cao decided to withdraw, he was worried that Liu Bei would join forces with the Wudu people to attack Guanzhong, so he asked Zhang What to do. Zhang Jie suggested that the Yu people be moved to Longyou to live, and Cao Cao adopted his suggestion and ordered Zhang to go to Wudu to relocate more than 50,000 local Yu people to Fufeng, Tianshui and other places.
The other person has some controversy, he is Wang Ping. Wang Ping was originally a subordinate of Cao Cao, and participated in the Battle of Hanzhong as a lieutenant, and later surrendered to Liu Bei, which side of the people is somewhat controversial. Considering that Wang Ping should have surrendered before Cao Cao was about to be defeated, most of the time on the side of Cao Jun, let's be considered Cao Cao's people.
Therefore, the history books clearly mention those who participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, Liu Bei's side includes Fazheng, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Liu Feng, Chen Shi, Wu Lan, Lei Tong, Ren Kui and others, while On Cao Cao's side, there are Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Gao, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Xu Huang, Zhao Yuan, Yang Xiu, Du Xun, Zhang Jie, Guo Huai, and Wang Pingren.
In addition, some people may have participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, but it is not clearly stated in the history books.
For example, when Liu Bei left Hanzhong and returned to Chengdu, he appointed Wei Yan as the Taishou of Hanzhong and stayed in Hanzhong, so it is likely that he also followed Liu Bei and participated in the Battle of Hanzhong. However, there is no clear record in the history books that Wei Yan participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, so it is not excluded that he came after the Battle of Hanzhong.
These people do not have enough information to prove that they participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, so this is not counted for the time being. However, even if we don't count these people, we can see that Liu Bei and Cao Cao's men participated in the Battle of Hanzhong.
Among the main generals of Liu Bei's clique, except for Guan Yu who guarded Jingzhou and Zhuge Liang who sat in Chengdu, all directly participated in the Battle of Hanzhong. Cao Cao also invested in Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu and two of the five sons of Liang, which shows the importance attached by both sides to this battle.