My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 343 Yuan Tan: The tragic defeat made me realize myself

Although Xiahou Yuan suffered several minor defeats, he fully realized the situation.

He knew that fighting naval and mountain battles with Liu Bei's army in Xuzhou was a way of taking advantage of one's own weakness to attack the enemy's strength.

However, it would take at least half a month for him to change his strategy and adjust his deployment.

As mentioned earlier, Gao Shun launched a surprise attack from the city at night, burned Cao's grain transport team passing outside Ju County, and defeated Zhang He's ambush troops guarding the grain. This happened in mid-August of the seventh year of Jian'an.

In other words, it would take Xiahou Yuan until at least the end of August to complete all strategic adjustments and organize a new offensive.

The reason why it took so long was not because Xiahou Yuan did not try hard, but because the series of failures caused serious material losses.

Since the defeat at the city of Ju County, the food that should have been transported to the siege camps in the counties further upstream was burned.

When the news spread to various counties, Gao Lan and Li Dian's troops also felt panic.

In order to prevent the troops from suffering greater unexpected losses, Gao Lan and Li Dian, after consulting Xiahou Yuan, decisively chose to lift the siege and withdraw the troops immediately.

Lu Su and Zhou Tai did not leave the city to hunt them down. But in order to save time and make the withdrawal more sudden, Gao Lan also threw away a lot of carts and other heavy supplies when he left.

Adding up all these factors, the total loss of materials is extremely exaggerated.

Even a strong army like Cao's had to raise supplies of military rations, military equipment, various baggage, and replenish vehicles and ships. This series of operations would take at least half a month to recover.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Xiahou Yuan's final decisive retreat was like sacrificing things to save people. Although a lot of extra things were lost, the army was saved.

The fighting lasted two or three months from June to August, and the total number of casualties in the army was between twelve and three thousand.

Considering that these losses were accumulated from five consecutive small defeats, and also helped Cao's army learn a lot of experience and lessons, this total amount is still acceptable.

……

While Xiahou Yuan was contracting, reorganizing and adjusting his strategy, Cao Cao, who was in Xudu, naturally received the latest report from the front line in late August.

Cao Cao was very depressed when he learned that Xiahou Yuan had lost three battles and lost another 7,000 troops within a month and a half since the last report.

Although the losses in each battle were not particularly large, the consecutive small defeats were too damaging to morale.

For a while, even the court in Xudu began to feel uneasy. In many secret corners, there were people who were dissatisfied with Cao Cao and spread rumors that although Cao Cao had the potential to be a hero, he could only defeat Yuan Shao. If he met Liu Bei, he would be defeated again and again.

Cao Cao naturally laughed off these gossips, and his confidence would never be undermined by idle talk.

He was well aware that his previous series of failures were due to the fact that he had not yet switched battlefield experience and his troops were not adapted to mountain and coastal warfare.

Victory and defeat are common in the military. As long as we learn from the lessons and sum up the experience, we will surely win the next time we fight!
To be honest, among the heroes of the late Han Dynasty, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were the two with the best mentality. Compared with them, other princes in the world did not have such indomitable spirit.

Some princes had a lot of wealth at the beginning, but they couldn't afford even a big defeat, and after losing they were unable to recover.

After accepting the failure, Cao Cao reviewed and analyzed the situation first, and then very open-mindedly chose to look forward and stop dwelling on it.

A few days after receiving the news of defeat, he summoned the two Xuns to discuss the next stage of countermeasures behind closed doors and review the overall situation.

Cao Cao didn't like nonsense, so as soon as his main advisers arrived, he asked directly:
"Miao Cai was defeated again in Langya, and lost several thousand soldiers. He has made up his mind to use Fengxiao's strategy, pretending to be the bandits of Mount Tai, invade the East China Sea in the south, and defeat Liu Bei's army in a field battle.

This strategy has been prepared for a month or two, and can be implemented at any time - I wonder if Wen Ruo and Gong Da have any objections?"

Xun Yu and Xun You both said that this strategy was not a problem and could be implemented. Xun Yu had already pointed out the risks that should be pointed out before, and since Cao Cao thought it was okay, there was no need to repeat it.

Xun Yu simply added a few words in a prudent manner, advising Cao Cao not to have too high expectations on Guo Jia's alternative plan.

"Please judge for yourself, my lord. Although Fengxiao's plan is correct, the situation has changed. In the past month and a half, General Miaocai has lost some soldiers, money and food. The morale of the troops in Xuzhou must be low.

Therefore, we should not have too high expectations for the subsequent invasion of Donghai, Xiapi, and even the Huaibei part of Guangling, but should proceed with caution. After all, we cannot fight to the death with Liu Bei. It is already August, and by the time General Miaocai has made all preparations and goes south for the decisive battle, it will probably be September.

According to the battle situation of the two Yuans in the north in the past few months, our fight with Liu Bei should be limited to this winter. If we cannot make a breakthrough quickly, we should hold on. Otherwise, when our army marches north next year, the southern part will be short of troops and Liu Bei will take advantage of it. After all, our heartland is still in Hebei. "

Cao Cao stroked his beard, pondering the schedule that Xun Yu had planned for him, and felt that it was quite safe.

As for how this time was determined, it is a long story, and it is also related to the war situation in Hebei in the past few months. …

Since May, when Yuan Shang "spoke of his father's faults", Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan started fighting soon after. The timing was basically synchronized with the war between Cao and Liu, only about ten days later.

It’s not that Yuan Shang was so impatient. As soon as he saw Cao’s army fighting Liu Bei, he had the courage to attack his own brother.

Instead, Yuan Tan was as anxious as Yuan Shang, and the two sides provoked each other, and war was about to break out.

Before the war officially started, Yuan Tan also contacted Liu Bei, hoping that Liu Bei would send reinforcements. However, Liu Bei said that "our army had just started a war with Cao Cao in Xuzhou" and that he could not spare any troops to reinforce Yuan Tan, and advised Yuan Tan to be patient.

In order to make Liu Bei's side appear to have done his utmost, Zhuge Jin also advised Liu Bei to send an envoy to Yecheng, trying to persuade Yuan Shang to admit his mistake to his elder brother. He also designed a way out for Yuan Shang, explaining his actions such as "submitting to the court in Xudu and speaking out about his father's mistakes" as "temporarily pretending to be submissive to Cao Cao and enduring humiliation in order to get back the four counties of Hejian."

However, Yuan Shang completely ignored the way out given by Liu Bei's envoy and refused to publicly declare that he was "pretending to be submissive and enduring humiliation". He also believed that this was Liu Bei's trick to divert trouble to the west in order to alienate the relationship between Yuan Shang and Cao Cao and share the pressure on Liu Bei.

The negotiations had failed to this point, and Liu Bei had done his best for the two Yuans. After hearing that his brother had refused, Yuan Tan thought he had gained more righteousness, so he launched an active attack on Yuan Shang at the end of June.

That's right, when Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang started fighting, it was Yuan Tan who attacked first. Although Liu Bei repeatedly advised Yuan Tan to be cautious and not to attack first, he still attacked.

It was because Yuan Tan overestimated the remaining power of his father Yuan Shao, and he felt that he must seize the opportunity of his third brother's unfilial behavior to raise his flag.

As for the fact that Yuan Tan's paper military, human and material resources were far inferior to Yuan Shang's, Yuan Tan did not think it was a big deal. He believed that as long as he had a righteous reputation, those old generals who remembered his father's kindness would definitely come to him.

As a result, in just over a month, the truth taught Yuan Tan a lesson and made him realize that Yuan Shao's reputation was no longer worth anything.

No one cares who is more filial between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, or who inherits Yuan Shao's legacy.

The two sides were just fighting in a faithless melee, and the official infighting among the Yuan family members made the people of Hebei fall into great emptiness, and the morale and cohesion fell to the bottom.

Many soldiers were still holding their breath and were willing to fight against Cao's army, thinking that they were defending Hebei. But as the war between the two Yuans began, everyone felt empty.

Most people no longer know what they are fighting for. Why are the Yuan family members fighting each other even more cruelly than Cao Cao? What is there to be loyal to in such a family?
Under such circumstances, Yuan Tan's strength on paper was far inferior to Yuan Shang's, and the troops he sent out to attack were almost devastated.

When they came back to defend Bohai County, they were immediately defeated and retreated to the isolated city of Nanpi.

During the bloody offensive and defensive reversal, not only did both sides suffer heavy casualties, but Yuan Shang also lost the general Su You, while Yuan Tan also lost the Youzhou general Wang Men.

Guan Tong helped Yuan Tan defend Nanpi, while Zhang Nan was transferred to Zhuo County to defend the Yishui line of defense in Youzhou. When Cao's army attacked last year, Cao Cao was not so ambitious as to directly cross the Yishui River to attack Youzhou, because Cao Cao was also worried that if he went too deep, his retreat would be cut off by the enemy.

But Yuan Shang was not so afraid of attacking Yuan Tan. Yuan Shang already controlled most of Jizhou's territory and shared a long border with Youzhou along the Yishui River. As long as he could enter Youzhou, Yuan Shang would definitely be able to gain a foothold, and there was no possibility of him advancing alone.

While Zhang Nan was defending the Yishui line to the death, other generals in Youzhou saw that Yuan Tan's side was doomed, and some of them began to change their minds. Jiao Chu, who shared the military power of Youzhou with Zhang Nan, actually turned against Yuan Shang and surrendered to him when he saw that the situation was not good.

In history, Jiao Chu was not a tough guy. After Cao Cao conquered Yecheng and took over Jizhou, he surrendered to Cao Cao with Zhang Nan as soon as he arrived at Youzhou. However, Zhang Nan later surrendered to Liu Bei during the Battle of Chibi, but Jiao Chu became a die-hard supporter of Cao Cao and worked hard for Cao Cao.

(Note: Some historical materials believe that the later Zhang Nan in Liu Bei’s army is not the same person as the Zhang Nan of Youzhou. I believe that they are the same person and simplify the treatment.)
It is not surprising that Jiao Chu, a two-faced fence-sitter, who now encounters the dispute between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in advance, would surrender directly because Yuan Shang is more powerful and is also from the Yuan family.

Fortunately, Zhang Nan in this life was valued by Yuan Tan, and fought side by side with Taishi Ci. He was also shown kindness, rewards, and favors by Liu Bei, so he was not coerced by Jiao Chu.

The final result was that Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan had an internal conflict in Zhuo County and Guangyang County, and each of them lost some soldiers. Zhang Nan fought hard to stabilize the hearts of the soldiers who were loyal to Yuan Tan, so that Guangyang County and Ji County, the core of Youzhou, were not lost.

However, Jiao Chu led his failed mutiny troops to retreat westwards and occupied the two westernmost counties of Youzhou, Dai County and Shanggu County, and surrendered to Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were in Youzhou, which meant that the land west of Yanshan Mountain was nominally under Yuan Shang's jurisdiction.

Yuan Tan was defeated in Jizhou and was left with only the isolated city of Nanpi, which was defended by Guan Tong. Youzhou also lost the two counties west of Yanshan Mountain, and it was up to Zhang Nan to hold on to Zhuojun and Ji and maintain the Yanshan defense line.

This was the backlash that Yuan Tan suffered for overestimating his own capabilities and proactively attacking his third brother.

But this was a price that had to be paid, because it was this disastrous defeat that made Yuan Tan completely face the reality and realize that his father's brand no longer had any appeal.

All of Yuan Tan's available generals were in Nanpi, Zhuo and Ji. There was no one left in Qingzhou's hometown and the Yellow River defense line. In a hurry, he could only let Guo Tu, Xin Pi and Taishi Ci take charge of Qingzhou's western defense.

Last year, Liu Bei wanted him to recommend Taishi Ci as the governor of Donglai, but Yuan Tan dragged his feet and was reluctant to do so.

Now that Yuan Tan had suffered a loss, in order to cling to his thigh and save his life, he agreed to last year's conditions without saying a word, and recommended Taishi Ci as the governor of Donglai. He also recommended two officials under Liu Bei as governor-level officials, allowing Liu Bei to send reinforcements deep into Qingzhou and take over the defense of some key areas, just to withstand the pressure from his third brother.

It was at this moment that Yuan Tan finally realized who he was and decided to be Uncle Liu's puppet. All his ambitions were crushed by his third brother.

(End of this chapter)