Author: Hanging Bi (public name of the same name), authorized to read the history of the release. Click here to view the previous article
From the beginning of this chapter, it is about to enter the Cao Liu Hanzhong War Drama, and the climax of this series is also coming.
Generally speaking, the Battle of Hanzhong in the narrow sense began at the end of 217 when Liu Bei formally made up his mind to seize Hanzhong from Cao Cao, and ended in the summer of 219, when Cao Cao abandoned Hanzhong and withdrew to Chang'an.
But in fact, the battle between the two sides for Hanzhong began shortly after Zhang Lu fled.
In recent years, Liu Bei's power has developed very rapidly, in addition to the three counties of Jingzhou, he has also taken almost the entire Chengdu Plain, generally achieved the predetermined goal of Longzhong, and has initially possessed the strength to break the wrist with Cao Cao.
For Cao Cao, the fact that Liu Bei had risen to power over the years was not the result of his laissez-faire, but that under the combined action of various factors, he had no time to take care of Liu Bei.
First of all, for Cao Cao, calling the state a state and preparing to usurp the Han Dynasty was the top priority.
Secondly, in the East Road Hefei and The First Line of Fusu, Sun Quan was always moving continuously, which involved Cao Cao's not a small amount of energy.
Finally, and most importantly, Cao Cao was not objectively very convenient to launch an attack on Liu Bei's clique.
Since Cao Ren abandoned Jiangling and shrunk to xiangyang at the northernmost tip of Nan County, Cao Cao had always taken a defensive position in the direction of Jingzhou, which may have been a careful arrangement made by Cao Cao.
Jingzhou is the middle of the world, and at present, the three forces are intertwined and complex. If Cao Cao could temporarily withdraw from Jingzhou, the Sun and Liu families would have friction without external pressure, and it was in this context that the Xiangshui demarcation had taken place before.
Therefore, the strategy of shrinking the defense in Jingzhou was most likely deliberately done by Cao Cao.
At this time, if you go south to Jingzhou again, the victory and defeat will be put aside first, and the first inevitable consequence will be that the two families of Sun and Liu will stand together against Cao again, which is obviously not worth the loss.
Therefore, in the short term, the possibility of a war between the Cao and Liu families in Jingzhou is extremely low.
So the central line remains harmonious, why can't the western front fight? This is because the two sides did not border each other on the western front before, so they could not meet together.
The eastern front repeatedly tugged, the central line contracted the defense, and the western front focused on the attack, which was Cao Cao's strategy. In the past few years, Cao Cao has successively crushed warlords such as Ma Chao, Han Sui, and Zhang Lu, and the large and small forces in Guanzhong, Longyou, and Hanzhong have all submitted, and the progress has been relatively smooth.
Liu Bei was also very busy, and the Battle of Jinchuan alone was fought for two and a half years, so during this time the two sides were very tacit in their own development and expansion, and there was no conflict.
However, with the collapse of Zhang Lu's forces in the buffer zone between the two powers, the brief calm between the Cao and Liu families was about to end. This time the two sides have made thorough contact, so it is inevitable to start a big war.
Previously, Cao Cao seized the perfect opportunity for Sun liu's two families to fight in Jingzhou, and first took Hanzhong for Qiang, and then transferred his energy after Liu Bei and Sun Quan reached a reconciliation, and Hanzhong had long become Cao Cao's pocket.
However, at this time, Zhang Lu just fled south, which gave Liu Bei a chance.
At this time, although Zhang Lu was basically a lonely man, he had been operating in Hanzhong for many years and his foundation was still there. If Zhang Lu could be brought under his command, he could use his prestige and connections to win over some of Zhang Lu's former generals and the local clans of Hanzhong, which would also be a help in the future when fighting against Cao Cao.
Therefore, after Huang Quan proposed that if Hanzhong was lost, The Three Ba would be weakened, Liu Bei accepted his suggestion and prepared to meet Zhang Lu.
And Cao Gong broke Zhang Lu, Lu walked into Bazhong, Quan Jin said: "If you lose Hanzhong, then the three Babas are not vibrant, this is the arm of cutting Shu." "So the lord took power as his protector and led the generals to meet Lu. (Shushu Huang Li Lü Ma Wang Zhang Chuan XIII)
The person who carried out this task was also Huang Quan, and he should be very active in this regard, because Huang Quan was born in Langzhong, Bashi County.
Unfortunately, I would have illuminated the moon with my heart, but the bright moon shone in the ditch. Zhang Lu did not look up to Liu Bei at all, and with the famous sentence "I would rather be a slave to Cao Gong than a guest for Liu Bei", he finally chose Cao Cao, which completely shattered Liu Bei's hopes.
The current situation was extremely favorable to Cao Cao, and Sun Quan on the eastern front made a disgraceful face and no longer dared to fight the idea of Hefei, and Zhang Liao could sit here and sit back and relax. In Jingzhou, the three forces are also temporarily in a period of equilibrium.
In this way, Cao Cao could continue to devote his main energy to the western front, and now Zhang Lu, who was sandwiched between Cao and Liu's two families, had completely fallen to Cao Cao, and under such a huge advantage, it was reasonable that he should continue to go south to Shuzhong and not let Liu Bei continue to sit big, otherwise there would be endless troubles.
There were also many people in Cao Cao's camp who held this concept, such as Liu Ye and Sima Yi, who all agreed, saying that at present, Liu Bei had just defeated Liu Zhang to seize Chengdu, and he had not yet gained a firm foothold for the time being, which was a great opportunity to fight him, and if he raised a tiger and left him behind, it would not be easy to fight him in the future.
However, Cao Cao did not agree, and said that he would not "have long wang shu" like the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu, why is this?
Wei Wuyue: "Man is bitter and has no feet, he has long right, and he wants to regain Shu!" "I don't follow the words. (Jin Shu Xuan Emperor Ji)
In fact, this is not because Cao Cao was confused by the old man, I think there are probably two main reasons, one of which is that Cao Cao intends to go further in terms of usurping Han.
At this time, Cao Cao's intention to usurp the Han can be said to be obvious, but this matter is urgent, it must be done step by step, although the usurpation itself is despised by people, but the procedure that should be taken must be taken, it cannot be saved at all, or it must be followed by Wang Mang's set of procedures.
At present, Cao Cao is already the Duke of Wei, and the next step is naturally to become king. But if you want to promote the title, it is best to achieve merit, only in this way can it be convincing.
After Cao Cao returned from a thorough sweep of Hebei, he became a chancellor within a few months. Later, in 213, he won a small victory over Sun Quan at Shusu, and only four months later he became the Duke of Wei. This time he took Hanzhong and made such a great contribution, which was a great opportunity to become king, how could Cao Cao easily let it go?
Of course, the above is only part of the reason, after all, Cao Cao is also a generation of male lords, not just for the sake of a king's name to waste the great cause, he does not want to start a war with Liu Bei at this time should have another layer of consideration, because he knows that he is not suitable for continuing to expand the war at present.
Cao Cao's opponents actually saw this very thoroughly, and there was this person in Liu Bei's camp who understood, and he was Fazheng.
Cao Cao returned to Yecheng shortly after taking Hanzhong. Fa Zheng said: "Cao Cao did not attack south but returned to Yecheng, not because he could not understand this reason, but because he was not able to catch them, they were going to have problems internally."
It is said that the first lord said: "Cao Cao surrendered Zhang Lu in one fell swoop, ding Hanzhong, and did not take Tuba and Shu because of this situation, but left Xiahou Yuan and Zhang Gaotun to guard, and returned to the north, this is not his wisdom and lack of strength, there will be worries within." (Three Kingdoms ZhiShu Book Pang Tong Fa Zheng Zhuan Vii)
Of course, this is not to say that there was any rebellion within Cao Cao's clique, and no matter how wise Fa Zheng was, he could not have calculated it to this extent.
What Fa zheng really means is that Cao Cao's group has always been unstable and often needs Cao Cao to personally control the situation.
In fact, compared with Liu Bei and Sun Quan, the stability of Cao Cao's clique is indeed worse, mainly because of the different nature of the regime.
Liu Bei and Sun Quan (to be precise, the Sun regime in Jiangdong) belonged to independent entrepreneurship, whether their goal was to divide and dominate or create another imperial industry, in short, Emperor Shangao was far away, and his subordinates were also their own people, so they were at ease and no one interfered.
Cao Cao was different, he chose to blackmail the princes of Tianzi and take the imperial court into his own hands, which inevitably would be constrained by those so-called loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty, as long as there was a move out of line, it would encounter a huge backlash.
That is to say, there are two sides to this matter, since Cao Cao chose to hold high the sign of the Han Dynasty and chose to enjoy the political bonus brought about by this great righteous name, then he was doomed to be eaten by this force and pay a certain price, that is, to face constant internal turmoil.
From Dong Cheng to Ji Ben to Wei Yi, under Cao Cao's rule, the voice of opposition has never subsided, whether these people are sincerely supporting the Han Room, or just for the sake of power and profit, but they at least operate against Cao in the name of supporting the Han Room, which also brings him some trouble.
Correspondingly, Cao Cao continued to crack down on this group. Killing Kong Rong as a beggar and calling the Duke of Wei a secret curse on Xun Yu all shows an attitude of those who follow us and those who oppose us.
However, Cao Cao's hegemonic rule required him to always control the imperial court and monitor the court, and never stay away from the imperial court for a long time.
Even if he had now established the state of Wei, his new hometown of Yicheng would not necessarily be able to go anywhere, and there would always be people who would take this opportunity to stir up trouble, and the above-mentioned Wei Yan later launched a rebellion in Yecheng.
Therefore, this is a limitation of Cao Cao's regime, he has worries about the future, and the period of dispatching troops cannot be too long. Liu Bei was much stronger at this point, and even if the Battle of Jinchuan was fought for more than two years, he could safely hand over the rear to Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu.
Let's take a closer look at Cao Cao's past developments. During the Battle of Guandu, he went on a campaign for about seven or eight months; the Southern Expedition against Liu Biao and chibi was about five or six months; and it took seven months to break Ma Chao Han Sui.
And the longest time to eliminate the remnants of the Yuan clan and the Battle of Pingwuhuan, Cao Cao only took ten to eleven months, less than a year.
And this conquest of Hanzhong was set off in March 215, by the time Zhang Lu formally surrendered it was almost the end of November, and now nine months have passed, if you don't go back again, it will soon be more than a year, Cao Cao has never been out for so long before, he must be a little relieved, and going south to Shuzhong is not an overnight thing.
When he first attacked Hanzhong, the rugged terrain here left a deep impression on Cao Cao, and he even planned to retreat.
Taizu Yue: "How can this demon's national ear be the one to have it?" Our army eats less, it is better to pay back quickly. (Three Kingdoms Zhi Wei Shucheng Guo Dong Liu Jiang Liu Chuan XIV)
The slightly easier Chen Cang Dao was still like this, and the Golden Bull Road leading to Shuzhong could only be more difficult, not to mention that there was also the world-famous Dangerous Pass Sword Pavilion.
Therefore, Cao Cao knew in his heart that at this time, attacking Shuzhong from the south must be a protracted war, Liu Bei had completed a magnificent turnaround, and his strength should not be underestimated, and it could not be easily destroyed.
When Liu Bei attacked Liu Zhang for more than two years, if he was trapped here, he would easily be unable to get out, and then the DPRK did not know what chaos would happen. I think this is the real reason why Cao Cao did not continue to go south.
Therefore, at present, Cao Cao needs to consider not only strategic issues, he must also consider political issues. Because the position is different, the perspective of considering the problem is also different.
And Liu Ye and Sima Yi were just courtiers, and with their status at that time, it was not surprising that they did not take into account these deep-seated things.
In fact, Cao Cao did not make up his mind to go back so quickly, he stayed in Hanzhong for seven days after rejecting Liu Ye's proposal, during which he heard that there was turmoil in Shudi, so he asked Liu Ye again if he could still fight, but Liu Ye said that Shudi had been preliminarily decided and could not be consulted.
Fu Ziyi: On the seventh day of residence, the Shu descender said: "Shuzhong was shocked by dozens of shocks a day, and although he was prepared to cut it off, he could not be safe." Taizu Yan asked Ye Yue, "Is it still possible to strike now?" Ye Yue: "Now that it has been decided, it is not yet possible to strike." (Three Kingdoms Zhi Wei Shucheng Guo Dong Liu Jiang Liu Chuan XIV, Pei Note)
This incident basically reflected Cao Cao's hesitant mentality, not only wanted to crush Liu Bei with a single blow, but also worried that if he rushed to attack, he would not be able to win but would fall into the quagmire of a protracted war, and he was even more relieved that he could not do anything about the DPRK, and finally calmed down and had to give up.
At the end of 215, Cao Cao finally made up his mind to go back for the time being, and before leaving, he left Xiahou Yuan to preside over the overall situation, and left Zhang Guo and Xu Huang to Xiahou Yuan as assistants.
In these years, Xiahou Yuan was really too smooth, and cao cao also gave him a very high evaluation, but at the same time, Cao Cao also saw the hidden dangers behind it. Xiahou Yuan was too fluttery, and sooner or later he would suffer a big loss if he went on like this.
Therefore, Cao Cao could only pour cold water on Xiahou Yuan, warning him: "As a leading general, you can't only rely on brute courage, but also rely on wisdom, otherwise you are a puppet." ”
Cao Cao confidently handed over Hanzhong to Xiahou Yuan to return to Yecheng, perhaps because he thought that Xiahou Yuan could listen to his own words, but unfortunately this was only Cao Cao's wishful thinking, and the two of them became Yongqiao...