In April of the fifth year of Jian'an, there was a gloom in White Horse City. Liu Yan, the Taishou of Dongjun, was exhausted, and saw that Yuan Shao's tens of thousands of troops had besieged the city for more than two months. At this critical juncture, Cao Cao's surprise soldiers raided and turned the tide. At the critical moment, Yan Liang, the pioneer general of the Yuan Army, was captured alive by Guan Yu, which is incomprehensible. How could a fierce general who had been in the battlefield for a long time make such a fatal mistake? What was it that deceived Yan Liang at that time that he would end up like this? Let us explore the whole story of this "white horse unsolved case."
The reason why Yan Liang was captured
It is said that in the spring of the fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, the two major warlords, had been facing each other in the Central Plains for a long time. Yuan Shao relied on his large number of people to besiege Cao Cao's White Horse City. Yan Liang is the vanguard general of the Yuan Army, who has been on the battlefield for a long time and is known as the "brave champion of the three armies". This time, he personally led a large army to guard the White Horse City, trying to take Cao Cao's base camp in one fell swoop and become famous.
Who knew that Yan Liang had made a series of fatal mistakes at this critical moment. First of all, he was proud and complacent and despised Cao Jun. Although Cao Cao's army was far inferior to Yuan's army, Yan Liang was deeply deceived by the old concept of "more people must win" and turned a blind eye to the strength of Cao's army. He decided that Cao Cao was just bluffing this time, and there was no chance of victory.
Second, Yan Liang was inappropriate in command and operation. When he learned the news of Cao's surprise attack on Baima, he hurriedly dispatched his troops and failed to properly deploy the formation. As a result, as soon as the tens of thousands of troops left the city, they were in great confusion, and their troops were scattered, unable to concentrate their forces on the enemy.
The most important thing is that Yan Liang was carried away by greed and neglected to take precautions. Seeing Cao Cao appear in person, he had the idea of taking the first credit. So he put aside all caution and personally charged forward, trying to defeat Cao's army in one fell swoop and seize Yan Liang's great achievements.
But where was Cao Cao waiting to be defeated? He had already laid a net of heaven and earth, and personally led the elite troops Zhang Liao and Guan Yu to carry out a surprise attack on Yan Liang's army. Zhang Liao was invincible, and Guan Yu took advantage of the chaos to attack Yan Liang's camp. Yan Liang was shocked to realize that the big thing was not good, but it was too late. With his extraordinary bravery and resourcefulness, Guan Yu killed Yan Liang in the melee and snatched his head with one sword.
In this way, Yan Liang, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, was captured alive among the ten thousand armies, which is really incredible. Such a major mistake was really caused by Yan Liang's complacency, improper operation, and negligence in prevention. If it weren't for that, with his strength and experience, it would have been difficult for Cao Cao to make such a surprise attack. It's a pity that in the end, because of a momentary negligence, it paid such a heavy price and became a major unsolved case in history.
Cao Cao's surprise attack
It is said that when Cao Cao was surrounded by Yuan Shao's tens of thousands of troops in White Horse City, he was in an extremely dangerous situation. Yuan's army is outnumbered, and Cao Cao's strength is far inferior to that of his opponent, so if he fights head-on, he may not be able to escape defeat. At this critical juncture, Cao Cao fought back, using the strategy of attacking the east and the west, and finally reversed the situation.
At that time, Cao Cao personally led the elite troops and pretended to cross the Yellow River to attack Yanjin. As soon as the news came out, Yuan Shao was really fooled and hurriedly mobilized an army to meet the attack. In fact, Cao Cao had no intention of crossing the river at all, but only used this camouflage action to attract the main force of Yuan's army to leave White Horse City.
After the Yuan army left, Cao Cao took advantage of the situation and suddenly changed his course and went straight to Baima. This surprising and winning strategy caught Yuan Jun off guard. At that time, Yan Liang, the vanguard general of the Yuan army, was heavily guarded under the White Horse City, but who expected that the Cao army would suddenly kill him, and the battle was in chaos in an instant.
Cao Cao's surprise attack can be described as a step-by-step strategy and strategizing. First of all, he personally commanded the army, which fully embodied the most important task of this campaign. Secondly, he carefully deployed the vanguard troops, and the two fierce generals Zhang Liao and Guan Yu took the lead in opening the way.
Zhang Liao was a brave general under Cao Cao, who led 800 cavalry alone and broke into Sun Quan's 100,000 army. This time, he was invincible and opened up territory for Cao's army. Guan Yu was the world's first fierce general, and with his extraordinary martial arts and wit, he killed Yan Liang in the melee and captured the leader of the Yuan army.
With Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, the two vanguard generals, to open the way, Cao Cao's surprise attack plan can be like a tiger. Next, Cao Cao personally led the army to attack Baima, echoed and cooperated with Xu Huang and other fierce generals, and completely defeated Yuan's army. In this way, with the conspiracy of attacking the east and the vanguard general, Cao Cao finally reversed the crisis of being besieged and lifted the siege of the White Horse.
In this battle, Cao Cao can be described as strategizing and taking every step of the way. Not only did he devise an ingenious surprise strategy, but he also personally commanded the army and commanded it with certainty. More importantly, he arranged Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, the two fierce generals of the world, to pioneer and expand the territory for the surprise attack. It was with these careful deployments that Cao Cao was able to achieve a miraculous victory in the face of being inferior to Yuan's army in terms of manpower and material resources.
Yuan Shaojun's heart gradually lost
Yan Liang was gone, and Yuan Shao's army was suddenly greatly injured. It is unbelievable that this battle-hardened general was captured alive among the armies. Yan Liang's defeat was the beginning of Yuan's army's gradual loss of military morale.
At that time, although Yuan Shao was known as "a large number of people", his military spirit was actually in jeopardy. As a military general, Yuan Shao is arrogant and arrogant, and he neglects to employ people, which is his biggest common problem. He only knew how to drive his subordinates, but he did not understand the way to employ people, so that it was difficult for the army to gather.
Yan Liang's arrest is undoubtedly worse. Yan Liang is the vanguard general of the Yuan Army and is known as the "Brave Champion of the Three Armies". As soon as he went, Yuan Jun's morale suddenly plummeted. What's more, as soon as the news of Yan Liang's capture spread, Yuan's army was in chaos and was defeated.
At that time, Yuan's army was besieging White Horse City, and it was already in an advantageous position. But Cao Cao's surprise attack came suddenly, Yan Liang was defeated in a battle, and Yuan's army was suddenly defeated. Such a heavy blow naturally made Yuan Junjun's heart gradually lost.
More importantly, Yan Liang's arrest exposed the drawbacks of Yuan Shao's improper employment. Although Yan Liang is brave, he has a quick personality and is difficult to take on the task alone. As early as the beginning of the expedition, the prison army had already raised objections, believing that Yan Liang could not defend the white horse alone. It's a pity that Yuan Shao was arrogant and ignored it, and finally made a big mistake.
After that, the trust of Yuan Shao's generals in Yuan Shao was also shaken. When they saw that Yuan Shao was so unscrupulous, they naturally had doubts and became more and more distrustful of his command. Once the morale of the army is weakened, it will naturally be difficult to maintain discipline, and the formation will naturally be in chaos.
In this way, Yan Liang's defeat in the first battle became the fuse for Yuan Junjun's gradual loss of heart. From then on, Yuan's army was in chaos, defeated like a mountain, and finally completely defeated in the Battle of Guandu. Yan Liang's capture was the beginning of the fall of Yuan's army.
All this stems from Yuan Shao's arrogance and negligence in employing people. Although he was outnumbered, he failed to make good use of the soldiers and horses in his hands. Yan Liang's arrest is a microcosm of Yuan Shao's improper employment. Since then, Yuan Junjun's heart has gradually lost, and finally caused a catastrophe.
Guan Yu is both wise and brave
It is said that Guan Yu was a genius in the sky, wise and brave, and could be called a peerless general. It was with his extraordinary martial arts and wit that he was able to capture Yan Liang alive in the Battle of the White Horse and turn the tide of the battle.
First of all, Guan Yu is strong in martial arts and brave. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and he once took it straight when he was righteous in Taoyuan, and he destroyed everything he wanted. and long, he has learned a peerless martial arts, such as the Qinglong Yanyue Knife, the horse step moving stars and changing the fight, etc., all of which are martial arts mastery.
Secondly, Guan Yu was witty and saw through Yan Liang's bluff. At that time, Yan Liang saw the Cao army raiding, and he was carried away by greed for merit, so he hurriedly responded to the battle. Guan Yu saw through Yan Liang's omission at a glance, and took advantage of the chaos of his formation to fight bravely.
What's more important is that Guan Yu has a good command and strategizes. He personally led the elite troops, first interspersed on the battlefield to disturb the formation of Yan Liang's army. When Yan Liang was overwhelmed, he took advantage of the weakness to smash Yan Liang's camp and captured the leader of the Yuan army in one fell swoop.
It can be seen that Guan Yu is not only strong in martial arts, but also has a good command and responds to the situation. It was with this double advantage that he was able to capture Yan Liang alive among the ten thousand armies and turn the tide of the war.
At that time, Guan Yu was invincible, like entering a no-man's land. He personally led the elite troops to fight out of the Cao army's camp. On the way, Yuan Jun blocked him, Guan Yu swung his knife and took it straight and immediately rushed away. Then he rode his horse and approached Yan Liang's camp, although Yan Liang's personal soldiers blocked it, but after all, they could not defeat Guan Yu's martial arts.
Just when Yan Liang was at a loss, Guan Yu had already killed him. He took Yan Liang's head with a knife and captured the leader of the Yuan army alive under his horse. Seeing this, the surrounding Yuan army was greatly injured, the formation was in chaos, and the army was defeated like a mountain.
All of this stems from Guan Yu's wisdom and bravery. He is not only strong in martial arts, but also has a good command and responds to emergencies. It was with this double advantage that he was able to capture Yan Liang alive among the ten thousand armies and turn the tide of the war.
Since then, Guan Yu's prestige has spread far and wide. Everyone praised him as "a fierce general of the ages". Even the generals of the Yuan army, after seeing his martial arts, had to admire his bravery and resourcefulness. Guan Yu's strength in the first battle was the key to Cao Cao's reversal of the crisis.
Cao Cao's key to victory
Yan Liang's defeat in the first battle certainly stemmed from his own mistakes, but Cao Cao's ability to reverse the danger of being surrounded this time and achieve a miraculous victory lies in his careful deployment and strategizing.
First of all, Cao Cao devised an ingenious surprise strategy. He first pretended to cross the Yellow River to attack Yanjin and lure the main force of Yuan's army to leave White Horse City. After Yuan Jun took the bait, he took advantage of the situation and suddenly changed his route and rushed straight to the white horse, which caught Yuan Jun off guard. This plan to attack the east and the west was the first move of Cao Cao's surprise attack.
Secondly, Cao Cao personally commanded the army and commanded Ruoding. He understood that the stakes were high and that he had to personally oversee the battle. So he waved his army straight to White Horse City, echoed and cooperated with Xu Huang and other fierce generals, and completely defeated Yuan's army. It was precisely with Cao Cao's personal command that the surprise attack plan could be strengthened.
More importantly, Cao Cao arranged for Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, two fierce generals in the world, to open the way for the vanguard. Zhang Liao was invincible and expanded the territory for Cao's army. Guan Yu relied on his extraordinary martial arts and wit to kill Yan Liang in the melee and captured the leader of the Yuan army. It was with these two vanguard generals who opened the way that Cao Cao's surprise attack was able to achieve a decisive victory.
In addition, Yan Liang's complacency of underestimating the enemy, improper operation, and negligence in prevention are also a big help for Cao Cao to win. Yan Liang saw the surprise attack of Cao's army, and he was carried away by greed for merit, and hurriedly responded to the battle. He failed to properly deploy the formation, but instead the formation was in chaos, which was taken advantage of by Cao's army. What's more critical is that Yan Liang neglected to take precautions, and actually let Guan Yu kill him under his command and was captured alive under the horse. Such a major mistake was a great opportunity for Cao Cao to turn the crisis around.
In general, Cao Cao was able to win this time, although he relied on exquisite strategies and personal command, but more importantly, he arranged for Zhang Liao and Guan Yu, two fierce generals in the world, to open the way for the vanguard. It was with the expansion of the territory of these two vanguard generals that Cao Cao's surprise attack was able to achieve a decisive victory. At the same time, Yan Liang's series of mistakes also paved the way for Cao Cao's victory.