In the history of the wars of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Battle of Yongqiu is a noteworthy battle. For the Cao Cao clique, after the Battle of Yongqiu, it finally completely recovered Yanzhou and greatly consolidated its own base area. So, which warlord was on the other side of the Battle of Yongqiu? What about the specifics of this battle?
The answers to these questions can be found in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of Emperor Wu. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of Emperor Wu:
Bu Dong ran to Liu Bei, Zhang Mi from Bu, and made his brother Chao general Bao Yongqiu' family. Autumn and August, WaiYong Hill. In the winter of October, the Son of Heaven worshiped Taizu Yanzhou Mu. In December, Yongqiu collapsed and committed suicide.
It can be seen that the two warring sides of the Battle of Yongqiu were actually Cao Cao and Zhang Chao. Zhang Chao was the younger brother of Zhang Mi (張邈), who was then the Taishou of Guangling in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Similar to Cao Cao, Zhang Chao was one of the first warlords to raise the banner of Dong Zhuo in the first year of Chuping (190), when the garrison was Chen Liu. After that, Zhang Chao, together with Zhang Mi, Kong Ling, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao and others, launched the so-called "Sour Jujube Alliance".
As for why the Battle of Yongqiu broke out between Cao Cao and Zhang Chao, it was essentially a product of the Battle of Yanzhou. In fact, the Battle of Yongqiu itself was the last constituent battle of the Battle of Yanzhou, the last battle launched by Cao Cao to recover the whole of Yanzhou.
Zhang Chao, himself, was the main figure who launched the Yanzhou rebellion with Chen Gong and Zhang Mi in the first year of Xingping (194), and was an important hostile force intent on subverting Cao Cao's rule in Yanzhou. From the first year of Xingping (194) to the second year of Xingping (195), Cao Cao, after several battles, basically won the victory at the Battle of Yanzhou, driving out Lü Bu and Zhang Mi, while Zhang Chao was left by Zhang Mi in Yongqiu to hold firm, known in history as "Bu Dong Ben Liu Bei, Mi Congbu, Liu Chao's family Tun Yongqiu." ”
It can be said that at that time, Yongqiu not only had Zhang Mi's family clan, but also the last base of the Anti-Cao forces in Yanzhou. Therefore, for Cao Cao, the essence of launching the Battle of Yongqiu was the final battle to completely and completely quell the Yanzhou Rebellion, which was of great significance.
Therefore, Cao Cao personally led the army to launch the Battle of Yongqiu, and Zhang Chao, who was alone and alone, could not resist, and eventually Yongqiu fell, Zhang Chao was forced to commit suicide, and his clan relatives were all killed by Cao Cao.
In summary, the Battle of Yongqiu was a battle between Cao Cao of Yanzhou and Zhang Chao of Guangling Taishou, and the last battle initiated by Cao Cao to completely and completely recover Yanzhou. Marked by the victory at the Battle of Yongqiu, Cao Cao finally quelled the Yanzhou Rebellion. After that, Cao Cao paid more attention to consolidating the Yanzhou base area and actively expanded to Yuzhou and Xuzhou.