The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

During his expedition to the west to attack Huang Zu, Sun Ce sent his troops from Shicheng to the north to attack Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling.

Although his military strength was ten times that of Chen Deng, he suffered a crushing defeat in Kuangqi City, with tens of thousands of people captured or killed.

In December, after conquering Huang Zu, Sun Ce personally returned to take back Yuzhang County and gave heavy troops to his younger brother Sun Quan, who was less than 20 years old, and asked him to go east along the river first and attack Guangling County again.

In the first month of 200, Sun Quan led a large army and attacked Guangling.

Chen Deng defeated the larger force with a smaller one by taking advantage of the surprise attack.

Now Sun Quan is attacking with a force far greater than that of Guangling. He will surely learn from his mistakes and use his troops with caution. Chen Deng can no longer guarantee victory.

So he sent Chen Jiao, the county's military officer, to ask Cao Cao for help.

If Cao Cao was at Guandu at this time, the time it would take Chen Jiao to go back and forth would probably be too much to help.

"In his early years, Chen Jiao lived in the Jiangdong area to avoid chaos. At that time, Sun Ce and Yuan Shu both tried to recruit Chen Jiao, but Chen Jiao refused and decided to return to his hometown, Guangling County."

"Guangling Governor Chen Deng invited Chen Jiao to serve as the county's Gongcao and ordered Chen Jiao to go to Xuchang. He pointed out:"

"There are some discussions among the scholars in Xudu, and it seems that they don't think very highly of me. Please go to Xudu and get some information for me, and then come back and tell me."

"After Chen Jiao returned to Chen Deng, he said, "I heard from people around me that you are quite arrogant."

"When it comes to those who have strict family traditions and are virtuous, I respect the two brothers Chen Yuanfang (Chen Qun's father and uncle) the most."

"When it comes to people with high moral character and purity like jade, I respect Hua Ziyu (Hua Xin) the most; when it comes to people with integrity and justice, who hate evil as if they were their enemy, I respect Zhao Yuanda (Zhao Yu) the most;"

"When it comes to those who are knowledgeable, have a strong memory, and are talented, I respect Kong Wenju (Kong Rong) the most; when it comes to heroes who are outstanding and have the strategy of a king or a hegemon, I respect Liu Xuande (Liu Bei) the most."

"How can I be a proud person when I respect others so much? It's just that other people are too mediocre and not worth talking about."

"It shows how noble Chen Deng's character is. And this noble man also has deep respect for Chen Jiao."

"Later, Guangling County was besieged by Sun Quan, and the military situation was urgent. Chen Deng ordered Chen Jiao to go to Cao Cao for help. When Chen Jiao met Cao Cao, he said:"

"Although Guangling is only a small county, it is a place with a superior geographical location."

"If we can get your help, my county will become your vassal state, which will be enough to make Sun Quan helpless and ensure Xuzhou's eternal peace."

"In this way, your reputation will spread far and wide, and your kindness will spread. Those countries that have not yet obeyed you will also come to you."

"This move can both promote virtue and cultivate power. It is truly what a king does!"

"After hearing Chen Jiao's analysis, Cao Cao was impressed by his wisdom and wanted to keep him by his side."

"But Chen Jiao said: My country is being persecuted, I am just following orders to run around to seek emergency help. Even if I can't get reinforcements like Shen Baoxu did, I can't forget Hong Yan's loyalty!"

"Cao Cao sent troops to help, successfully repelling Sun Quan's army and saving Guangling. At that time, Chen Deng also set up an ambush on the retreating route of Sun Quan's army and took advantage of the situation to defeat Sun Quan's army."

"Soon after, Chen Jiao was recruited by Cao Cao to serve as a subordinate of the Minister of Works, and later became the magistrate of Xiang County."

"In 209 AD (the th year of Jian'an), he was appointed Chief Clerk of the General Who Conquers the South."

"When Chen Jiao was the Chief of the Southern Expedition (Cao Ren), he and Cao Ren stationed troops in Jiangling. At that time, Zhou Yu attacked."

"Cao Ren's general Niu Jin led his troops to fight and was surrounded. Cao Ren saw that Niu Jin was in danger and wanted to put on armor and go out to fight. Chen Jiao advised Cao Ren:"

"The enemy troops are numerous and unstoppable. Even if it is a painful decision to abandon those hundreds of people (referring to Niu Jin and his soldiers), why do you have to take the risk yourself, General?"

"In the end, Cao Ren insisted on sending troops to rescue them, and with his bravery, he rescued Niu Jin and his army back to the city."

"When Chen Jiao saw this, he was deeply impressed by Cao Ren and praised him, saying: 'General, you are truly a man of heaven!'"

Li Bai: At this time, Cao Cao should have basically conquered Liu Bei's Xuzhou, opened up the Si Shui route to Guangling, and was in Xia Pi.

Reinforcements are needed like putting out a fire. It is reasonable for Chen Jiao to go to Xia Pi City to ask Cao Cao for help.

Chen Jiao was from Dongyang County, Guangling Prefecture.

Dongyang City is located in Dongyang Village, Ma'ba Town, Xuyi County, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province.

During the reign of Tao Qian, there was war in Xuzhou and Chen Jiao fled to Jiangdong. He was invited by Sun Ce and Yuan Shu, but he refused neither.

After Chen Deng became the governor of Guangling, he made great achievements. Chen Jiao returned to his hometown and was invited to be his county official. He once went to Xudu to inquire about Chen Deng's reputation and was respected and loved by him.

The geographical location of Guangling County is very important. If it can be rescued, it will become a barrier for Cao Cao in the southeast, preventing Sun Ce from moving north.

It would not only keep Xuzhou peaceful, but also allow the vassal states that had not yet surrendered to surrender to Cao Cao to see his benevolence and surrender. Sending troops to rescue was a move that would help the king achieve his goal.

This proved that Chen Deng was a very independent vassal. Although he obeyed the court, he was not Cao Cao's subordinate.

Cao Cao did not regard Chen Deng as one of his own who must be rescued. Chen Jiao and other people from Guangling did not consider themselves to be Cao Cao's subordinates, but instead sought help based on the interests between the princes.

Chen Deng and Chen Jiao believed that Sun Ce's attack on Guangling County was not just a personal grudge between the two families, but that he had plans against Cao Cao, and they expressed this view to Cao Cao.

Although Chen Jiao's words made sense, Cao Cao also had his own difficulties.

Yuan Shao was ready to march south at any time. Compared with Yuan Shao's army, Cao Cao's military strength was already stretched thin. Sending troops to rescue him might well affect the situation on the main battlefield.

Like Chen Deng, Sun Ce was nominally obedient to the court. If troops were sent to rescue Chen Deng, they would have to fight against Sun Ce's army.

If the two sides fell out, Sun Ce would be in danger of attacking Cao Cao from behind. At this time, Cao Cao would rather sacrifice Chen Deng than provoke the more powerful Sun Ce.

Therefore, Cao Cao was still unwilling to send troops to rescue Guangling.

But after listening to Chen Jiao's words, he realized that this was a talent and wanted to keep him.

My country is being devastated by war, and my mission is to ask for help.

Even if I cannot cry outside Qincheng for seven days and seven nights like Shen Baoxu in the Spring and Autumn Period, without drinking a drop of water, in order to beg for reinforcements.

We should also not forget the loyalty of Hong Yan, who cut open his own stomach, put the only remaining liver of Duke Yi of Wei in it, and used himself as Duke Yi of Wei's coffin!

Cao Cao was impressed by Chen Jiao's loyalty and righteousness, and sent troops to rescue Guangling.

The reinforcements from Cao Cao that Chen Jiao had worked so hard to invite had not yet arrived in Guangling, but Chen Deng defeated Sun Quan's army on his own.

Sun Quan's army then attacked the Guangling fortress of Kuangqi City.

Chen Deng quietly ran to a place ten miles northwest of Kuangqi City and built a military camp.

Then, in the south of the military camp, the soldiers were ordered to collect a lot of firewood, tie it into two bundles in a row, with each row ten steps apart, to form a long snake formation that resembles a marching army.

When it gets dark, all the long rows of firewood will be lit.

It looked like reinforcements were coming out of the camp with torches to rescue Kuang Qicheng.

He also asked the people in Kuang Qi's city to run to the tower and cheer loudly, celebrating the arrival of reinforcements. Chen Deng was indeed a generalist, and he also had a deep understanding of war psychology.

Because Sun Jun was careless in the previous attack on Kuang Qi and suffered a surprise attack from Chen Deng, the commander-in-chief Sun Quan was very cautious this time.

But it is this caution that can be utilized.

Chen Denghe did the opposite of what he did last time, taking advantage of Sun Jun's caution and setting up false alarms.

Sure enough, Sun Quan and his men outside Kuang Qi City saw the flames that looked like a long marching snake and really thought that Cao Cao's reinforcements had arrived.

Sun's army must have been attacking Kuangqi City for some time and was somewhat tired. In addition to the shadow of the last disastrous defeat, and perhaps also the factor of distrust in the young Sun Quan's ability, Sun's army was terrified by the fire and collapsed.

"Chen Jiao later served as the governor of Pengcheng and Leling, and the commander of the western part of Weijun."

"Once, a man in Quzhou County offered a cow as a sacrifice to pray for his father's illness, but was sentenced to death by the county magistrate."

"After Chen Jiao learned about this, he thought this man was a filial son, so he wrote a petition to pardon his crime."

"Not long after, Chen Jiao was promoted to the position of governor of Wei County."

"At that time, there were many cases in the county, and thousands of prisoners were imprisoned. This situation remained the same for several years."

"Chen Jiao believed that there were three codes in the Zhou Dynasty and three chapters of law in the early Han Dynasty. It can be seen that the state must have a basis in the criminal code in order to make proper judgments and enforce the law."

"It is absurd that in order to avoid the tedious task of sentencing all criminals, all criminals are imprisoned without ever considering the other problems that may arise from long-term imprisonment of criminals."

"Chen Jiao then used his own strength to verify all the crimes in the county one by one and made a reasonable judgment immediately."

"In 211 AD (the th year of Jian'an), Cao Cao led a large army to the west to attack Ma Chao, and Chen Jiao was ordered to serve as the chief secretary of the prime minister."

"After Cao Cao returned, Chen Jiao returned to Weijun and was transferred to serve as the Prime Minister of the Western Cao."

"Later, he followed the army to attack Hanzhong, and after returning to the court, he was promoted to Shangshu."

"In 220 AD (the th year of Jian'an), Cao Cao died. The officials in Yedu all believed that if they wanted to let Crown Prince Cao Pi inherit Cao Cao's title, they had to wait for a formal imperial decree from the emperor."

"Chen Jiao objected: "The king died outside the country, and the whole world was in fear."

"The Crown Prince (referring to Cao Pi) should put aside his grief and take the throne immediately to calm the people's hearts."

"Moreover, the king's other sons are also nearby. If we don't act immediately, some of them may become disloyal and cause disorder among the people. Then the country will face a serious crisis."

"So Chen Jiao set up the proper etiquette, and then, under the pretext of Lady Bian's order, let Cao Pi inherit the title and issued a general amnesty."

"Cao Pi later said: Chen Jibi was able to show his wisdom and extraordinary wisdom even in the face of such a major event. He can be said to be a hero of the time!"

"In the same year, Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty and established the Wei Kingdom. Chen Jiao was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and was granted the title of Marquis of Gaolingting and later moved to the position of Shangshu Ling."

"In 226 AD (the first year of Taihe), after Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, ascended the throne, Chen Jiao was promoted to the title of Marquis of Dongxiang, with a fief of households."

"Once, Cao Rui arrived at the gate of the Shangshutai by carriage. Chen Jiao saw that Emperor Ming was there in person, so he went out and knelt to greet him, and asked Cao Rui what he wanted to say."

"Cao Rui said: I just want to check the documents. Chen Jiao responded: These documents are my duty, not your Majesty's business."

"If I am incompetent, please dismiss me from my post. Your Majesty, you'd better go back."

"After hearing what Chen Jiao said, Cao Rui felt ashamed and took a carriage back to the palace. It can be seen that Chen Jiao was a very upright person. He was later promoted to the position of Shizhong and Guanglu Dafu."

"In 237 AD (the first year of Jingchu), Chen Jiao was promoted to Minister of Works. In July of the same year, Chen Jiao died and was posthumously named Zhen."

Su Shi: Thus, tragedy happened again. Chen Deng led his troops to pursue immediately.

During the Han Dynasty, military merit was recorded by the number of heads taken in battle. The soldiers in Guangling County competed for merit, and the number of heads they captured alone exceeded ten thousand.

This time, Sun Ce's army suffered even greater losses than last time.

Chen Deng lost his independence. As the saying goes, it is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away.

Cao Cao's reinforcements arrived only after the battle and had no effect at all.

However, Sun Ce, the new generation military god, would not give up after suffering two consecutive defeats. He would naturally attack again.

Therefore, Chen Deng still needed this support force to stay in Guangling.

After Cao Cao's men enter Guangling, power will inevitably be divided.

Chen Deng's independent status in Guangling was gradually lost, and Cao Cao's influence became increasingly greater.

It is the same principle as Chiang Kai-shek sending Xue Yue's Central Army to enter and seize Guizhou on the pretext that the Guizhou warlords were failing to contain the Red Army.

This is the reason why Chen Deng was later transferred out of Guangling County.

Unexpectedly, before Sun Ce could personally lead the expedition, he was assassinated. After that, the power in Jiangdong changed, and the strategy and diplomacy were adjusted. Finally, Chen Deng stayed in Guangling and did not attack again.

In other words, if Chen Deng had not asked Cao Cao for reinforcements, Cao Cao would not have taken away Guangling County.

Chen Jiao was later recruited by Cao Cao as a clerk in the Sikong Mansion, and he rose to the rank of Sanlian Tu in Cao Wei.

Once again, I was amazed by Chen Deng's fighting skills. No matter how many people his opponents had or how cautious they were, he could always find a clever way to defeat them.

However, asking Cao Cao for reinforcements in this battle not only failed to work, but also laid the groundwork for the decline of his family.

Things in the world are full of unexpected events. Even a wise man like Chen Deng cannot know everything!
Among all the generals in Cao's army, Cao Ren had a very high status.

In the "Book of Wei" compiled by the Wei people themselves, it is even said that Cao Ren's wisdom and courage are superior to Zhang Liao, and he is the best general of Cao's army.

Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, looking at his military career, Cao Ren is indeed worthy of the evaluation of "both wise and brave".

However, this wise and brave general was defeated by Zhu Huan, whose reputation was far lower than his, in the last battle of his military career.

Moreover, Cao Ren suffered a crushing defeat even though he had an absolute advantage in military strength and the enemy fell into a trap.

In fact, for a military general, especially one who can stand on his own, the key to making a living is to rely on his own abilities.

After all, swords and guns are merciless. No matter who your relative is, if you are really a good-for-nothing, you would have been eliminated by the cruel war long ago!
Looking at Cao Ren's entire military career, if he was not a relative of Cao Cao, he might not have held such a high position. However, relying solely on his wisdom and courage, he would definitely be among the top generals.

Although there were many brave generals in the Three Kingdoms period, there were only a handful of them who could rely on their personal bravery to defeat the larger enemy with a smaller one despite the huge disparity in numbers.

Among all the generals of Cao's army, not to mention bodyguards like Dian Wei and Xu Chu, among the leading generals, only Cao Ren and Zhang Liao had such performance.

After the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu led the allied forces of Sun and Liu to attack Jiangling.

After thousands of allied vanguards arrived at the city, Cao Ren sent Niu Jin to lead 300 men to fight. (End of this chapter)