Cao Xiu(?) –228), courtesy name Wenlie, was a native of Peiguo County (沛国谯县, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), a general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, a son of Cao Cao, and a nephew of Cao Hong.
Cao Xiu went to defect when Cao Cao raised an army against Dong Zhuo and was known as the "Thousand Mile Colt". Cao Cao treated him like a parent and was extremely fond of him, allowing him to lead the elite troops of Cao's army, the Tiger and Panther Rider.
During the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Xiu saw through Zhang Fei's plan and defeated Wu Lan. After the establishment of Cao Wei, the town guarded the eastern line of Cao Wei and repeatedly broke the Wu army.
In the seventh year of the Huang Dynasty (226), Cao Pi died, and Cao Xiu, together with the zhenjun general Chen Qun, the Chinese general Cao Zhen, and the Fujun general Sima Yi, were entrusted with the edict to assist the government.
After Emperor Cao Rui of Wei ascended the throne, Cao Xiu was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Changping. At that time, the Wu general Zhen Detun was stationed in Anhui City, and Cao Xiu broke it, beheaded Zhen De, and surrendered the Wu generals Han Zong, Zhai Dan and others. He was promoted to Sima Da and became the supreme commander of Cao Wei's army, the governor of Yangzhou.
In 228, Sun Quan ordered The Taishou Zhou Of Poyang (鄱阳, in modern Poyang, Jiangxi) to write to Cao Xiu of Wei with a trick to lure the enemy, expressing his willingness to rebel against Wu and return to Wei, and asking Cao Xiu to send troops to take over.
Cao Xiu was deceived by the news and personally led 100,000 infantry and cavalry to Anhui City (present-day Qianshan County, Anhui Province) to meet the surrendered Wu general Zhou Qu.
At the same time, Emperor Ming of Wei ordered Sima Yi to march toward Jiangling and Jia Kui to the direction of Dongguan, and the three major armies marched at the same time to attack Wu.
In August, Sun Quan entered Anhuikou (present-day Huaining, Anhui) and appointed Lu Xun as the governor of Dadu, zhu huan and Quan Chun as the left and right governors, each leading 30,000 horses to meet Cao Xiu.
Zhu Huan said to Sun Quan: "Cao Xiu was originally a relative of the emperor and the state, so he would be reused, not because he had courage and strategy. Now he will lose the battle with us, and he will flee after defeat, and when he escapes, he will certainly pass through stones and trailers. Both roads were dangerous and narrow, and if 10,000 soldiers could be cut off with firewood, then all his men could be captured, and even Cao Xiu could be captured. If we are blinded by the power of the gods and make Cao Xiu surrender automatically, we can take advantage of the victory and drive straight in, and then take Shouchun, obtain Huainan, and further threaten Xuchang and Luoyang. ”
Sun Quan couldn't make up his mind after hearing this, and asked Lu Xun again, but Lu Xun thought it was too risky, so Sun Quan did not approve this good strategy to capture Cao Xiu.
Cao Xiu learned of being deceived when he approached the city of Anhui, but instead of heeding the advice of Sun Li, the Prince of Lang, not to go deep alone, he held his own army and continued to lead his troops to Shiting (石亭, in present-day Tongcheng, Anhui), intending to start a major war with Eastern Wu.
As a result, the "Battle of Shiting", which was no less than the "Battle of Chibi" in the Three Kingdoms Era, broke out.
Lu Xun personally commanded the zhonglu army, ordered Zhu Huan and Quan Chun to be on the left and right flanks, marched in three directions, and ambushed Cao Xiu at Shiting. Cao Xiu was defenseless, and after the first battle was unfavorable, he hurriedly withdrew.
Cao Xiu's previous marching route was backed by lakes and flanked by large rivers, and the march was blocked and very slow when the emperor retreated. The Wu army chased after them again, and the Wei army had no intention of fighting, and was killed more than 10,000 times, discarding countless ordnance vehicles and horses.
When Cao Xiu broke through to Jiashi, he was ambushed by Sun Quan. Cao Junshi had no way to retreat and pursued the soldiers, and in fear, he defected one after another, and Cao Xiu's men and horses had almost collapsed into an army.
At this critical juncture, jia kui, who had always been at odds with Cao Xiu, came to the rescue.
Cao Xiu and Jia Kui had always been at odds, and during the Early Huang Dynasty, the Wei Emperor Cao Pi wanted to grant Jia Kui a rune, but Cao Xiu obstructed from it, saying: "Jia Kui has a strong temperament and has always despised the generals. Cao Pi then dismissed the idea of reusing Jia Kui.
At this time, Jia Kui, who was in Dongguan, did not find the Wu army, and speculated that the Wu army must have gathered in anhui city, and Cao Xiu would lose the battle with it. Although Jia Kui and Cao Xiu were at odds, but the enemy was current, Jia Kui abandoned his previous suspicions, ordered his troops to advance by land and water, rushed 200 miles, came to Jiashi, planted flags everywhere, and beat more war drums.
The Wu army thought that the Wei rescue army had arrived, so it quickly withdrew from the battlefield. After Jia Kui rescued Cao Xiu safely, he took out grain and military supplies to supply the hungry Cao Xiu's army.
However, what Jia Kui did not expect was that after Cao Xiu was rescued, he complained that Jia Kui's rescue was slow, reprimanded Jia Kui on the spot, and in the name of Sima Da, ordered Jia Kui, who was the assassin of Yuzhou, to help him pick up discarded honor guards, armor and other items.
Jia Kui thought that he had no shame in his heart, but said to Cao Xiu:
"Originally for the country to make the history of Yuzhou, do not come to pick up and abandon the war."
(Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu XV, Biography of Jia Kui)
After Jia Kui finished bumping into Cao Xiu, he led the army back to Yuzhou alone, leaving a stunned Cao Xiu to be angry and angry alone.
Afterwards, Cao Xiu returned to Luoyang to write a letter of apology. Soon after, he died of a poison sore on his back caused by anger, at the age of about 50.
At the Battle of Shiting, the State of Wei sent a large army, but the loss of soldiers was broken, and Cao Xiu soon fell ill and died. It was not until 24 years later, that is, in 252, that the State of Wei launched another large-scale attack on Wu, the Battle of Dongxing.
A year after the Battle of Shiting, in 229, Sun Quan was the last to claim the title of emperor, and the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu stood on their feet.
This article refers to: "The Hero's Chess Game - The Military Geography of the Three Kingdoms"