Text: Mustard Lao Sheng (author's original authorization)
In October of the 24th year of Jian'an (219 AD), taking advantage of the fact that Guan Yu and his main army were fighting with Cao Jun on the front line of Xiangyang (present-day Xiangyang District, Xiangyang, Hubei Province), Sun Quan suddenly launched an attack in two ways, one with Lü Meng and Lu Xun leading elite troops to sneak into Gong'an (present-day Gong'an County, Hubei Province) and Jiangling (present-day Jingzhou City, Hubei Province), and Jiangling (present-day Jingzhou City, Hubei Province) with Jiang Qin leading the water army north along the Han River to attack Xiangyang. A tianluodi net against Guan Yu was opened by the Cao and Sun families.
Lü Meng was the first to send the army, leading the soldiers to hide in disguised merchant ships, tricking Guan Yu into the vigilance of the many observation posts along the river to reach the public security, and the guards gave up resisting and surrendering after receiving the letter of persuasion; then Lü Meng took Shi Ren hostage and quickly entered Jiangling, and NanJun Taishou Lufang opened the door and surrendered as soon as he saw the Jiangdong army, and Lü Meng occupied these two fortresses without wasting his strength.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Lü Meng Biography: Meng to Xunyang, as much as possible to ambush its elite soldiers
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Biography of Jiang Qin": Quan Guan Yu, Qin Overseeing the Water Army into the Turmoil.
Here we want to correct many people's long-standing misunderstanding of "crossing the river in white clothes". Lü Meng", "making the white clothes shake and the merchants wear the clothes", this so-called "white clothes" does not mean that the soldiers wear white clothes, but refers to "civilians and ordinary people". "Crossing the river in white clothes" is to let ordinary people or soldiers dressed as ordinary people, drive military warships disguised as merchant ships to cross the river. However, in later generations, it is said that the soldiers of Jiangdong crossed the river by boat after putting on white clothes.
On the way back from the Xiangyang front, Guan Yu judged that Jiangling could not be recovered, so he led his troops to defeat Maicheng (maicheng) (southeast of present-day Danyang, Hubei).
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Lü Meng Biography: Huiquan found, Yu knew that he was lonely and poor, but he walked maicheng, west to Zhangxiang, and all the yu were entrusted to yu. Quan made Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang cut off their paths, that is, father and son were captured, and Jingzhou was decided.
The betrayal of these two traitors, Mi Fang and Shi Ren, was the most direct and important cause of Guan Yu's defeat and death, but the combat effectiveness of the troops led by Guan Yu was very strong, and there were many troops, so why did they not even fight a battle with the Jiangdong troops, and in less than a month, they fell into a situation of succumbing to the enemy and retreating to nowhere, and quickly collapsed?
In fact, there are many examples in history of such a large army going on an expedition and a traitor in the rear, such as 25 years ago, Zhang Mi and Chen Gong betrayed Cao Cao and defected to Lü Bu.
In the first year of Xingping (194 AD), Zhang Mi, cao cao's half-sister who was regarded by Cao Cao as being able to entrust his wife and son, Chen Gong, who had actively promoted Cao Cao to enter Yanzhou as a master of yanzhou and a highly regarded hero, joined forces to lead a rebellion during Cao Cao's expedition against Tao Qian, betrayed him fiercely, and welcomed Lü Bu to Yanzhou, where almost all the counties under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou defected to Lü Bu.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" WuDi Ji: Hui Zhang Mi and Chen Gong rebelled against Lü Bu, and the counties should respond. Xun Yu and Cheng Yu protected juancheng, Fan and Dong'a counties were firmly held, and Taizu Nai led the army back.
How similar is this critical situation to the situation that Guan Yu encountered, but why was Cao Cao able to turn the tables and win in the end, but Guan Yu was defeated and killed?
Moreover, four years ago, in the twentieth year of Jian'an (215 AD), Sun Quan also sent Lü Meng to lead a large army to secretly attack Guan Yu. However, that time Sun Quan only seized Changsha County, Guiyang County, and Lingling County, and Guan Yu quickly gathered a large army to prepare for a counterattack at any time after receiving the news, and in the end, the two sides ended the dispute with peace talks and did not start a major war.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Lü Meng Biography: Quan ordered Meng Xi to take the three counties of Changsha, Zero, and Gui. Meng shifted the book to the second county, looking at the wind and obeying ... Prepare from Shu to the public security, send Yu to fight for the three counties ... Liu Bei asked meng, Quan Nai Gui Pu and others, cut off Xiangshui, and returned it with Lingling.
So why, this time, Guan Yu did not have the slightest strength to fight back, and Sun Quan also had to cut the grass and root out Guan Yu?
The rebellion launched by Zhang Mi and Chen Gong in the first year of Xingping (194 AD) made almost overnight that of the dozens of counties in Yanzhou, only Juancheng (in present-day Juancheng County, Shandong Province, where Cao Cao's family members were located), Fan County (present-day Fan County, Henan Province), and Dong'a (present-day Yanggu County, Shandong Province) did not defect and surrender under the efforts of Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and Xiahou Huan, and Cao Cao's territory was rapidly squeezed into a very small area, and the situation was extremely dangerous.
However, Lü Bu made an irreparable strategic mistake in a good situation. Instead of taking advantage of the fact that Cao Cao's army was outside, the troops remaining were extremely empty, and the people's hearts were greatly panicked, he did his best to uproot Cao Cao's last three base areas and leave Cao Cao with nowhere to retreat, but instead, after launching a superficial attack on Juancheng, he withdrew to Puyang (present-day puyang County, Henan Province), the seat of the eastern county government; moreover, he did not seize the favorable opportunity to seize the strategic location of Dongping (present-day Dongping County, Shandong Province). Occupying favorable terrain, Cao Cao set up an ambush on the two roads that Cao Cao had to retreat from Xuzhou to Yanzhou on the two roads of Kangfu (present-day Jining, Shandong Province) and Taishan Dao, so he allowed Cao Cao to easily withdraw to his own territory, and peacefully joined the remaining troops, gaining a precious breathing opportunity and being able to regroup.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chronicle of Emperor Wu": Bu arrived, attacking Juancheng could not go down, Xitun Puyang. Taizu Yue: "Once Bu gets a state, he can't take Dongping, cut off the way of his father and Taishan, and take advantage of the danger to want me, but It is Tun Puyang, and I know that he is powerless." ”
In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215 AD), Lü Meng was ordered to rob the three counties. He rushed straight down the Xiang River, quickly occupied the garrisoned and empty Changsha Commanderies and Guiyang Commanderies, and then used false intelligence to lure Hao Pu, who was holding Lingling County, and then joined Lu Su in Dongting Lake, Zishui, and Yiyang (present-day Yiyang County, Hubei Province) to block Liu Bei and Guan Yu's attempt to cross the Xiang River to retake the three counties.
However, for this military operation, Sun Quan was aimed at fighting for the territory of the three counties rather than to start an all-out war with Liu Bei, coupled with the pressure of Guan Yu's army and Liu Bei's final concessions, the two armies only opened up the posture but did not really fight.
Today, unlike Lü Bu, who had acted hastily and made fatal mistakes; unlike when he had only wanted to seize Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling Counties, Sun Quan had been planning for the seizure of the three counties of Jingzhou for a long time and was extremely well prepared; after launching a sneak attack with lightning speed and concealing his ears, all kinds of arrangements and responses were also extremely appropriate, and the tactics of attacking the heart and attacking the city were directly to the point, and Sun Quan's purpose was to completely eliminate Guan Yu, who was regarded as a bear and a tiger by them, and let them sleep and eat, and to bring Jingzhou into his palm.
After Lü Meng captured Gong'an and Jiangling City, the two most important strongholds of Guan Yu in Jingzhou, Lü Meng quickly took control of Guan Yu and the families of all the soldiers.
However, unlike in the past, when large armies entered the city, there would certainly be captives, burns, and killings, Lü Meng not only showed more comfort and compassion for the families of the enemy troops, but also ordered the troops to pay strict attention to military discipline and never take a needle and a line with the masses, and for this reason, he even did not hesitate to behead one of his compatriots who only took a bucket hat from the people's homes to correct the military law.
He also let his subordinates go everywhere to appease the people's emotions, carry water and firewood for the lonely old, find doctors and send medicine to the sick, and ask for warmth and food to the hungry and cold people.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Lü Meng Biography: Meng entered the stronghold, and the families of the soldiers were comforted, and the military was ordered not to go to the people's homes and ask for something. The underscrew of Meng, a native of Runan, took a piece of the people's family and used it to cover the official armor, and although the official armor was public, Meng Yu thought that he had violated the military order, and could not abolish the law in the township, so he beheaded him. So the army was shocked, and the road did not pick up. Meng Dan Twilight made him close to the elderly, asked what was insufficient, gave medicine to the sick, and gave food and clothing to the hungry and cold.
In order to show his attitude of being a corporal and eager to reuse Jingzhou talents, Sun Quan also personally went to recruit Pan Rui, who had previously claimed to be ill at home and refused to surrender.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Pan Biography: Quan Ke Jingzhou, the officials are all attached, and Rui Du claims to be ill. The right to send people to the bed of the family public opinion,...... Make the close to him wipe his face with a hand towel,
Such a set of combined punches down, public order everywhere is immediately good, and the people's hearts are determined.
On the way back to the army, Guan Yu sent people to Gangneung to contact Lü Meng several times, trying to understand what the purpose of their attack was and what was going on in Gangneung City now. Lü Meng's previous actions and measures of a performative nature in Gangneung City finally came into play at this time, and each group of messengers sent by Guan Yu to contact him was not only warmly received by Lü Meng, but also deliberately took them around the city to observe and visit, and on his return he also brought back a family letter to others to report safety. When they returned to their lives, they privately told everyone about the situation in Gangneung City and the fact that the families of the soldiers had not only not been harmed but had been given preferential treatment, and the morale of Guan Yu's troops was thus lost.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Lü Meng's biography: Yu Huan, on the road, counts people to hear about Meng, Meng Yuan's generous encounter with his envoys, travel around the city, ask questions from home, or handwritten letters. Yu Ren also, privately consulted, Xian Zhi's door was unharmed, and he saw that it was too usual, so Yu Shi had no fighting heart.
At the same time, Lu Xun led his army to rapidly advance to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and Yidu Taishou Fan You abandoned the city and fled, and all the officials and officials under his command surrendered. By November, Lu Xun had captured Zhijiang (in present-day Zhijiang County, Hubei Province), Yidao (in present-day Zhicheng, Hubei Province), and Zigui (秭回县, in present-day Zigui County, Hubei Province), and defended Yiling (present-day Yichang, Hubei Province) with heavy troops. After that, he commanded his troops to the north, and after defeating the troops of Zhan Yan and Chen Feng, he kept capturing Linfeng, Fangling County, and Nanxiang County.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) Lu Xun (陸逊傳): Sun Jingjin (逊径進), Lingyi Du Taishou (太守), General Fubian (扶抚邊將軍), Marquis of Fenghuating (封华亭侯). The Capital of Beiyi was too defensive of Fan You's committee to go to the county, and the governors of the cities and the barbarian rulers all surrendered. Sun asked for gold, silver and copper seals, in order to fake the initial attachment. It was also November of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an. The Sun dispatched generals Li Yi and Xie Jing to attack the Shu generals Zhan Yan and Chen Feng. The different generals and sailors, the jing generals, the infantry, cut off the danger, that is, break the Yan, etc., and are born and descend to the phoenix. He also attacked Fangling Taishou Deng Fu and Nanxiang Taishou Guo Mu, and broke it. Zigui surnamed Wenbu, Deng Kai and other Heyi soldiers thousands of people, head and tail in the west. Sunfubu Jingjing rags, Kai. Bu and Kai took off, and Shu thought it would be. Sun tempted, and the cloth handsome cockroach also fell. Before and after the recruitment, where tens of thousands.
Pan Rui, who had just surrendered, also showed his enthusiasm as a convert, and took the initiative to ask Sun Quan to lead an army to quell his former colleague, Wuling Commandery, fan Ling launched a counterattack against the Jiangdong army.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (三国志潘傳): Wuling Commandery engaged in Fan Ling's induction of Zhuyi, and the figure was based on Liu Bei, who belonged to Wuling... That is, the dispatch of the dredging will be five thousand, and the fruit will be flattened.
At this point, there was no longer a base in Jingzhou that Guan Yu could use to temporarily base itself on to save the situation; the Jiangdong forces had completely cut off all the water and land communication routes between Yizhou and Jingzhou, so that Guan Yu could not return to Yizhou, and Liu Bei could not send troops to Jingzhou to support.
At this time, Guan Yu was still unaware of the dangerous situation in the rear and was leading his army to rush back to Jiangling. At this time, Cao Jun also voluntarily abandoned the pursuit of Guan Yu's troops who had begun to retreat. Zhao Yu told Cao Ren, "If we follow Guan Yu in hot pursuit now, I am afraid that it will cause Sun Quan to be suspicious of us, and he may not take the initiative to eliminate Guan Yu's troops." Our best strategy now is to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. ”
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) And the biography of Zhao Yu (赵俨傳): "Now because of the danger of the feathers, we will be able to chase the birds." "Quan invited Yu to join the army in the difficulty, wanted to cover up the aftermath, Gu Yu also saved, afraid that I would accept his two fatigues, so I resigned to seek results, took advantage of the change, in order to see the blunt ears." Now that Imaha is alone, it is more appropriate to think that it is a danger to power. If you go deep into the north, Quan will change to the other, and he will suffer from me. The king will take this as a deep concern. "Ren is the untying of the strict. Taizu heard that Yu yu was gone, and he was afraid that he would chase after him, and the fruit would be sick and benevolent, as he had planned.
In December, with the arrival of the Jiangdong army, Guan Yu, who was already at the end of his rope, abandoned the city after retreating to Maicheng for a few days, with only a dozen people following him, and was soon captured after an ambush in Zhangxiang (章乡; present-day Zhangshuibei, northeast of Danyang, Hubei Province), and was immediately executed along with his sons and comrades-in-arms.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Wu Lord's Biography: Guan Yu is still Dangyang, Xibao Maicheng. The right to induce it. Feathers descended, and the banner was erected for the elephant people in the city, because they fled, the soldiers were disbanded, and there were still more than ten horses. Quan Xian made Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang cut off their paths. In December, Sima Mazhong of Zhang, yu and his son Ping, the governor of Zhao Lei, were equal to Zhangxiang and established Jingzhou.
Guan Yu's northern expedition to Xiangyang and the first war shook China, what a glorious feat, but the brave warrior flicked his sword, the mighty mourned, and a generation of heroes fell in such a way and suddenly disappeared from the vision of that era, how tragic.