There are clouds in the art of war: "Soldiers are impermanent, and water is impermanent." "Commanding troops in combat and becoming familiar with the military book and tactics is only the most basic step, the most important step, and it is necessary to adjust the deployment in a timely manner according to the changes in the actual war situation, so that we can never lose a hundred battles."
Cao Cao's commanders have never played cards according to the routine, and the dangerous moves of the soldiers are also one of the reasons for his high victory rate, but the Battle of Wuhuan in the North is the most difficult battle in Cao Cao's life, according to Cao Cao's words, that is, "take advantage of the danger to be lucky, although it is obtained, the heavens are also the same." ”
Even the pragmatic Cao Cao blamed the victory of this battle on flukes, so how did Cao Cao win this battle?
After the war, Cao Cao did not punish those who opposed the dispatch of troops, but gave heavy rewards.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > Cao Cao prepared to send troops to Wuhuan, but was opposed by the generals, and only Guo Jia supported it</h1>
After Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan fought with each other, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to raise an army to conquest, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were forced to run to Wuhuan and defect to the Wuhuan chieftain, Jiandun.
In 207 AD, a choice question was in front of Cao Cao, whether to go on an expedition to Wuhuan or wait until he had stabilized his feet.
Therefore, Cao Cao consulted with the generals, many generals did not approve of the expedition, Yuan Shao was a fugitive, Wu Huan would not necessarily send troops to help, and once our army sent troops, Liu Bei and Liu Biao in the rear were likely to copy our back road, and once this happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Everyone said it very reasonably, Cao Cao fell into contemplation, although Liu Biao did not have the ambition to chase the deer in the Central Plains, but Liu Bei was not a fuel-saving lamp.
Guo Jia objected here, saying to Cao Cao: "If you go out to attack Wuhuan, the Wuhuan people think that the distance is far away, they must be defenseless, and they can succeed in a battle." Yuan Shao had kindness to the people of the four states, but we do not now, if Yuan Shang used Wu Huan's soldiers and horses to shake his arms and shout, the people of the four states would definitely respond one after another, so things would be very difficult to handle. And Liu Biao's ambitions are not big, and he is also wary of Liu Bei, so even if we lead a large army to go on an expedition, we don't have to worry about the rear. ”
Guo Jia's analysis of the situation was more comprehensive, and Cao Cao thought about it again and again and decided to send troops to Wuhuan. Although Guo Jia's perspective on the problem was not wrong, they all underestimated one point, that is, the difficulty of the expedition to Wuhuan.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="70" > was a dangerous one, but it was a big victory</h1>
While persuading Cao Cao to send troops, Guo Jia also suggested that Cao Cao reduce the weight of the army, speed up the marching speed, and surprise him to attack him unprepared, so that he could win, and Cao Cao also adopted Guo Jia's strategy.
On this road, the mountains are high and the road is far, without a guide, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses are difficult to arrive on time, fortunately, Cao Cao found Tian Domain, Tian Domain is a local, and there is a vendetta with the Wuhuan people, plus Cao Cao subdued people with virtue, Tian Domain sincerely served Cao Cao.
At that time, the summer rain was very heavy, the road was muddy, and it was impossible to march, so Cao Cao asked Tian Yu, who pointed out an ancient road to Cao Cao, which had fallen into disrepair, although it was difficult to walk, but it was also in line with Cao Cao's unexpected strategy. Cao Cao then threw a smoke bomb at the Wuhuan people and made a sign on the side of the road, which read: "Fang this summer and summer, the road is impassable, and in the autumn and winter, it is a compound march." ”
Why Cao Cao trusted Tian Yu so much, he had just defected, and from this, we also saw Cao Cao's wisdom of knowing people, that is, there is no doubt about the use of people, doubtful people do not need, Tian Cao helped Cao Cao choose this road, but also in line with Cao Cao's mind.
The army opened the road and met the water and built a bridge all the way, marched 500 miles, passed through the Xianbei King's Court, and pointed directly to Liucheng. At a distance of 200 miles from Liucheng, Wuhuan discovered Cao Cao's army, and then the Wuhuan people began to reorganize their armaments.
At this point, although Cao Cao was unexpected, the army traveled far, the soldiers were tired, and there was not enough grain and grass, and the war at this time was also very unfavorable to Cao Cao. Many generals of the Cao Army only wore light armor or no armor in order to march quickly, and the enemy was well equipped, and the generals of the Cao Army also showed a look of fear.
Although Cao Cao had many worries in his heart, he must not show it, he climbed the White Wolf Mountain to look at the distance, saw that the enemy army had not yet arranged the formation, so he immediately ordered the general Zhang Liao to lead the army to attack, Zhang Liao's bravery was also famous in cao's army. After Zhang Liao took the order, he led his army to kill the enemy camp, and the Cao army was like a bamboo, a charge killed Wu Huan in a chaotic position, and Zhang Liao beheaded Ta Dun and many leaders of his tribe.
After this battle, more than 200,000 Han and Wuhuan surrendered, and the Cao army won a complete victory.
Historical records record that "when it was cold and dry, there was no water for two hundred miles, and the army was short of food, and thousands of horses were slaughtered for food, and the ground was chiseled into more than thirty zhang to get water." Even if he asks the former counselors, everyone knows why, and everyone is afraid. ”
Although Cao Cao gambled correctly and won the victory, the situation of Cao Cao's army at that time was also very bad, because the road was long, the mountain road was difficult, the troops ran out of food, they had to kill thousands of horses to feed the soldiers, the water source was equally difficult to solve, and it took more than 30 zhang to hit the water, and these dilemmas Cao Cao deeply understood. If the Cao army did not win in time, the defeat might be in the future.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" after > class, Cao Cao rewarded those who opposed the troops</h1>
After the war, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled again, and they defected to Gongsun Kang, the Taishou of Liaodong County, and Cao Cao, seeing this scene, did not send troops to catch up, and directly ordered the banshi. Why didn't Cao Cao take advantage of the victory to pursue and kill Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to avoid the consequences? Cao Cao used his troops to deceive many ways, and at this time, there was no need to continue to pursue, because Gongsun Kang was afraid of Cao Cao and would definitely send the heads of Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang.
Cao Cao expected things like gods, and soon after, two bloody human heads were sent to Cao Cao's camp, and Cao Cao's military strategy also reached the peak of his life at this time.
After returning to the army, Cao Cao sent people to find those who opposed the dispatch of troops, and there were many generals who opposed Cao Cao's dispatch of troops, but now, everyone thinks that Cao Cao will punish them, which has caused panic in the hearts of the people.
Cao Cao said to the crowd, "Don't panic, although I won the victory in this expedition, it was all because of Providence, it was a fluke, and your suggestions are the perfect solution, so I want to reward you again, and I will put forward opinions and ideas in the future." ”
It can be seen from this that Cao Cao has some sense of obedience, and it is no accident that Cao Cao can achieve such a great cause. Cao Cao fought this battle very hard, if there is no army, it is also possible to keep the base camp and the territory of the four states, but if it fails, 80% of the four states will be lost, and Cao Cao's army is far away from the base camp, it is likely to end up with a complete army, and even Cao Cao himself may die on the battlefield.
Cao Cao's kindness to the military generals also showed his broad and broad mind, as a leader, he must be good at adopting the opinions of others, know people's good deeds, and only then is the truth that he will never lose a battle.
Under the heavy reward, everyone was even more loyal to Cao Cao, and before the land of the four states was stable, it was also cao Cao's urgent need to win people's hearts, so that everyone was united in their will, and Cao Cao's confidence in unifying the country was even stronger.
On the way back from the Northern Expedition, Cao Cao wrote the two most popular poems: "Old Ji Futuo, determined to be in a thousand miles; the hero is in his twilight years, and his heart is strong." ”
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shuyi, Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 65
Author: Our special guest author Nine Fish Pavilion