Late Han Zhao Tang

In March, the city of Gong'an fell. Cao Ren and Jiang Qin were killed while trying to escape, and Le Jin fled into the mountains.

Gao Shun led 30,000 infantry and cavalry from Yizhou, remaining to oversee Jingzhou. He subdued four counties south of the Yangtze River and quelled rebellions and bandits. Wen Ping led the navy eastward down the river and joined Zhang Liao at Xiakou.

On April 3, Zhang Liao led 100,000 troops from Jing and Yu provinces by land and water to sail south. The ships stretched for dozens of miles, like dragons swimming in the river, and joined forces with 30,000 Yizhou naval troops led by Guo Huai at Xunyang.

The 130,000 troops set up camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River, a feat unprecedented in Jiangdong, and the southern soldiers and officers were all terrified.

Since it was his first time fighting in Jiangdong, Zhang Liao became increasingly cautious in his military operations. Instead of rushing into battle, he and his generals tried to contact the Tang army attacking Jiangdong and to ascertain the water conditions of Pengli Lake (Poyang Lake).

Seeing the overwhelming force of the Tang army, the soldiers and officers of Chaisang were terrified, and everyone wanted to surrender to the Tang army. In order to appease the people, Zhou Yu led his troops to patrol the camp day and night, gave all his money to his subordinates as rewards, and urgently reported to Cao Cao.

As the Han Canal was dredged, the military situation north of the Yangtze River became increasingly unfavorable for Cao Cao.

If Li Song had adopted Tian Feng's strategy, he would have used the pretext of the formidable defenses of Shouchun to feign lifting the siege of Shouchun, set up a grain depot north of the river, and led his troops westward, intending to enter the Han Canal from Huaiyin and join forces with Xu Huang to attack Cao Cao.

When Xiahou Dun saw that Li Song had lifted the siege without reason, he thought he had forced the Tang invaders to retreat. He then sent someone to find out the military situation and learned that Jingzhou had fallen, Xu Chu had launched a surprise attack on Jiangdong, and Cao Cao had led his troops back to reinforce the city. He was greatly shocked by the series of changes.

Fearing that Li Song would march south to the Han Canal and Cao Cao would be unable to stop him, Xiahou Dun wanted to attack the grain camp in Huaibei to relieve the pressure on Cao Cao.

On April 6th, Xiahou Dun led his troops across the river to attack the grain camp. Zhao Yun, who was prepared, led his elite troops to defeat him. Xiahou Dun was defeated and fled, causing unrest in Shouchun.

Soon after, Li Song led a large army north of the Huai River and, taking advantage of Xiahou Dun's defeat, launched another siege of Shouchun City. Li Song's return was clearly a trap set for Xiahou Dun, using the pretext of withdrawing troops to the Han Canal to lure Xiahou Dun into sending troops.

Jiangdong was in grave danger. Xiahou Dun's army suffered a defeat, and the Tang army's return cast a huge psychological shadow on the officers and soldiers of Shouchun.

Faced with the crisis, Lei Xu, a powerful figure in Huainan, saw the situation was dire and believed that Cao Cao was in danger of being defeated, so he decided to surrender to the Tang army. After some effort, Lei Xu contacted several fellow Huainan natives, including Mei Qian and Chen Lan.

Taking advantage of the darkness of night and Xiahou Dun's unpreparedness, Lei, Chen, Mei, and several other generals led several thousand of their troops in a rebellion. They first stormed into the inner city, captured Xiahou Dun, and then sent envoys to surrender to Li Song.

Upon hearing that the generals of Huainan had surrendered, Li Song was overjoyed. He personally comforted the envoy and promised to grant the generals official titles and ranks. Seeing Li Song's warm reassurance, the generals then escorted Xiahou Dun out of the city and welcomed the Tang army to Shouchun.

On April 10, Li Song captured Shouchun, and his army advanced directly towards Hefei, greatly boosting his prestige in Huaixi.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yu held out in Huaiyin for half a year. The city's arrows ran out, and many soldiers and civilians were suffering from epidemics. When Xu Huang was in charge of the siege, the city was already on the verge of collapse. If Xu Chu had not asked for help, would Xu Huang have left so easily?

Therefore, Qu Yi took over the besieging army, and in his pursuit of military merit, he launched a fierce attack day and night for several days, and Huaiyin City fell.

Cheng Yu had killed many Tang soldiers, which greatly angered the generals. They not only killed Cheng Yu and his son, but also engaged in looting due to their anger. Qu Yi lacked the prestige to suppress the looting, so he had no choice but to allow the soldiers to loot and submitted a memorial to Zhang Yu to apologize.

On April 12, Qu Yi captured Huaiyin, and Cheng Yu and his sons and nephews were killed. The Tang army then plundered Huaiyin.

With the fall of Shouchun and Huaiyin, the Tang army in Huaidong advanced to Hangou, and Xu Huang's troops grew increasingly large. The troops in Huaixi advanced directly to Hefei, and their approach to Chaohu frightened Cao Cao so much that he dared not station his troops north of the Yangtze River.

With the solid foundation laid in the first half of the year, the Tang army achieved almost complete victory, with nearly 200,000 troops facing the Yangtze River, forming an encirclement of Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao had 70,000 to 80,000 troops, he had less than 50,000 available soldiers.

By April 15, Zhang Liao had made contact with Ma Dai, the Tang general who was attacking Shucheng and Wancheng, and learned that Li Song's army had besieged Hefei and that Xu Huang's army was approaching Jiangdu. He then summoned his civil and military officials to discuss matters.

Inside the main tent, Zhang Liao sat in the highest position and said, "General Bosong has captured Shouchun and is approaching Hefei. He intends to cross Chaohu Lake to view the Yangtze River. General Gongming is stationed north of the river and his troops are stationed in Guangling, where he and Jia Qu stand side by side at the mouth of the Han River. Cao Cao is afraid that the enemy will advance westward to take Jinling, so he has stationed his troops south of the river."

"I observe that all armies are advancing together, and the time is ripe to punish the traitor. I intend to have the naval forces of Jing and Yi attack Zhou Yu at Chaisang. What do you all think?"

"Zhou Yu has used Chaisang City as a water fortress, hiding all his boats and ships on the riverbank and in the marshes, making it difficult for our army to track his movements. This is what I am worried about," Guo Huai said. "I pursued him here, but was defeated by Zhou Yu because of the unique water conditions."

Chaisang is situated near the river, overlooking the mouth of Poyang Lake to the east and bordering the Yangtze River to the north. It is one of the few cities on the Yangtze River that is convenient for naval garrisons to station. Historically, Zhou Yu trained his navy in Chaisang precisely because of its unique terrain.

Wen Ping pondered for a moment and said, "To defeat Chaisang, we must first defeat its navy. Now Zhou Yu has hidden his navy well, so our army should force him to use his forces."

“Zhongye, please explain in detail!” Zhang Liao said.

Wen Ping, without any politeness, stepped forward to the map and pointed, saying, "Our navy has as many as seventy or eighty thousand men, while Zhou Yu only has thirty thousand. Therefore, our army can first send thirty thousand naval troops south to force Zhou Yu to intercept us. If Zhou Yu holds back, our army can join forces with the Tang army in Huainan to attack Cao Cao; if Zhou Yu leads his troops to intercept us, our army can then send the upstream navy to join the advance navy in a pincer attack."

After a pause, Wen Ping added, "With this kind of military strategy, I fear that Nanjing may be captured first by other generals."

Zhang Liao smiled and said, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with the grand plan to conquer the South. We must prioritize the important matters. Xu Huang's ingenious plan to take Jiangdong by sea has already made him famous. If he were to take Nanjing, what would be wrong with that? Li Song's southern expedition has yielded few merits. If we take Nanjing, we can achieve great merit and not disgrace this mission."

The prospect of conquering a kingdom would inevitably tempt Zhang Liao. However, when faced with such a grander goal, Zhang Liao prioritized unifying the entire country.

As he spoke, Zhang Liao looked at Jia Xu and asked, "What are your thoughts, Protector General?"

Jia Xu pondered for a long time and said, "This plan is not impossible, but I am worried that Zhou Yu and Cao Cao will join forces. At that time, Cao Cao will come from downstream and Zhou Yu will come from upstream. The vanguard may be defeated, which will prevent the rearguard from defeating the enemy."

"Then, in your opinion, what plan do you have?" Zhang Liao asked.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Since Zhou Yu has hidden his ships deep in Pengze, the commander-in-chief might as well cross the river and set up camp, ordering the navy to block the mouth of Pengze, showing his intention to hold out for a long time, and offering heavy rewards to recruit soldiers and generals who come to surrender. With this strategy of winning hearts and minds, Zhou Yu will surely be very worried, and in order to stabilize the morale of his army, he will definitely launch an attack on us."

"The soldiers and generals are terrified, and we are outnumbered while attacking a large force. Even if Han Xin were alive, he could not defeat me!"

As he spoke, Jia Xu smiled and said, "The commander-in-chief has already made a great contribution by taking Jingzhou. Now, by defeating Zhou Yu and taking Yuzhang and Danyang, how can the achievement be less than the accomplishment of subduing Jinling?"

Zhang Liao nodded slightly and said, "General Zhongye's plan is too risky, while Mr. Jia's plan is more prudent. Our army can use Mr. Jia's plan first."

Then, Zhang Liao looked around at his generals and said, "Wen Ping will lead the navy to blockade Pengzekou, while Huang Zhong will lead his troops to cross the river, seize the strategic pass, and set up camp. Meanwhile, our main force will cross the river in batches to force Zhou Yu to send troops."

"Yes, sir!" the generals replied in unison.

On April 16th, Wen Ping occupied Jiangzhou and sent his navy to block the exit of Pengze; Guo Huai occupied the north bank of the river, coordinating with Wen Ping's forces. Huang Zhong led 7,000 troops across the river first, set up camp on the south bank, and spread rumors to persuade Cao Cao's soldiers and generals to surrender.

On the 17th, Zhang Liao sent Huang Zu with 5,000 troops to cross the river. Quan Rou, the prefect of Yuzhang, worried about his family's future, led his son Quan Cong and 1,000 followers to surrender to the Tang army. Zhang Liao retained Quan Rou's official position and had him write a letter to persuade his colleagues to surrender.

That night, Zhou Yu saw that the people were in a state of panic and understood the Tang army's strategy.

Zhou Yu paced back and forth, sword at the ready, and stopped on the riverbank. He said to Cao Hong, “The Tang have been managing their navy for many years, with seventy to eighty thousand soldiers. If our army fights them with all its might, we may not be unable to win. Therefore, I intend to hold out until the rainy season in May, when the river is flooded and the riverbank is damp. We will conserve our strength and wait for the enemy to tire before engaging them in battle. If we are fortunate enough to win, Jiangxi will be temporarily pacified!”

"However, there are now heroes among the enemy's troops who know my plan. They have sent Huang Zhong to garrison Jiangnan and Wen Ping to lock down Zekou, using psychological warfare to unsettle our soldiers. Therefore, our army has no choice but to send troops. Tomorrow, I intend to take advantage of the Tang army's division of troops to cross the river and send out a large force to attack Huang Zhong first to blunt the Tang army's advance."

Cao Hong, with a solemn expression, cupped his hands and said, "In this time of national crisis, I am willing to be the vanguard, with Gongjin leading the central army to provide support. In this decisive battle, we will fight to the death for our country, with no regrets. If we achieve victory, we can repay the kindness of our sovereign."

"good!"

Zhou Yu grasped Cao Hong's hands and said in a deep voice, "The outcome depends on tomorrow. If we cannot win..."

"Since Zixiao died in Jingnan, I, Hong, should repay my country with my life!" Cao Hong said without hesitation.

"mutual encouragement!"

When Cao Hong learned of Cao Ren's death in battle, he wept bitterly. Now that it was his turn to go to the battlefield, Cao Hong knew that tomorrow's chances of survival were slim, but he still longed to fight, not only to avenge Cao Ren but also to contribute to the Cao family's legacy. After all, he knew very well that it was better to fight and die than to suffer defeat and humiliation.

On the 18th, the sun gradually rose, and the sky began to brighten.

Zhou Yu abandoned his boats and went ashore, leading 30,000 infantry and cavalry, along with 5,000 elite armored soldiers led by Cao Hong, to first besiege Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong defended himself by relying on the palisades and requested reinforcements from Huang Zu and the main army north of the river.

Huang Zu went south to relieve the siege and bought time for the Tang army in Jiangbei to cross the river.

Cao Hong led his elite troops to meet the enemy, buying Zhou Yu the opportunity to break through Huang Zhong's camp. Before the battle, Cao Hong promised to use his personal wealth to reward everyone after victory. The soldiers and officers, knowing Cao Hong's wealth, were all delighted.

"kill!"

The two armies fired a volley of arrows from a distance. Under Cao Hong's selection, three hundred elite Cao soldiers donned iron armor and charged towards the Tang army under Huang Zu's command with a roar.

On the plains, the drums suddenly sounded, and a brutal close-quarters battle immediately broke out, with high-pitched battle cries shaking the heavens.

Huang Zu was stationed at Xiakou and fought against Cao Cao's army year-round, so his troops were well-trained. However, compared to the elite troops led by Cao Hong, they were slightly inferior in fighting spirit, and because Huang Zu was corrupt about supplies, his troops were not as well-equipped as Cao Ren's elite troops.

Therefore, under the fierce attack of Cao Cao's army, Huang Zu's troops only fought for an hour before collapsing due to the defeat of their front ranks. Cao Hong led his troops in pursuit, intending to annihilate Huang Zu's forces and prevent the Tang army's follow-up troops from crossing the river.

On the plains, the two armies fought, one fleeing and the other pursuing. Cao Cao's army pursued with great strides, and any Tang soldiers who were slow to escape were killed with a single blow.

"Kill the thief!"

Cao Hong spurred his horse forward, thrusting his spear and killing a fleeing soldier. He shouted, "For every enemy killed, a hundred acres of land will be awarded!"

"Kill one thief!"

A cavalryman bravely charged forward, stabbing a fleeing soldier to death, and shouted, "A hundred acres of land as a reward!"

The horse's hooves never stopped, and Cao Qi shot and killed a Tang soldier with his bow, then said, "Kill two traitors!"

"A hundred acres of land as a reward!"

Seeing the cavalrymen vying to be the first, Cao Hong laughed heartily and said, "My family owns abundant land and wealth. With you all killing bandits like this, it will be difficult to divide all of my land among yourselves!"

"Let me kill ten more!" said Cao Qi, the most valiant of the cavalrymen. "I fear the general's land and resources will not be enough to distribute as rewards!"

"Ha ha!"

Cao Hong laughed loudly, "If we can win this time, the Prime Minister and I will certainly not treat our sons badly."

"kill!"

Huang Zu's Tang soldiers fled in disarray, pursued by Cao Hong's troops. Zhou Yu, worried that Cao Hong would pursue them too closely, sent Chen Wu and Song Qian with 10,000 elite soldiers as reinforcements.

After pursuing for four or five miles, the front rank of Cao's cavalry suddenly spotted a cavalry unit on tall horses on the plain ahead. The soldiers were all armored and had bows hanging from their hands, and they were slowly advancing in a line.

Armored Cavalry!

Cao Qi was alarmed; how could they not know the formidable reputation of the Tang army's armored cavalry?

At the same time, Pang De's cavalry, who had recently crossed the river, also spotted them. Pang De led about five hundred cavalry to meet them, and they engaged in a fierce battle with Cao Cao's pursuing cavalry.

Before long, Cao Hong discovered that the number of Tang bandits' cavalry was similar to theirs, but when the two armies clashed, Cao's cavalry were routed and fled in panic.

The fierce Cao cavalry, who had previously boasted of killing ten more men after their victory, were now shot to death by Tang cavalry with horse archers, posing almost no threat to the Tang cavalry!

Cao Hong immediately realized the ferocity of the Tang cavalry and ordered his men to gather the infantry, preparing to use spears and crossbows to meet them off.

The order was relayed to the infantry at the rear, and the more than four thousand infantrymen began to stop their pursuit, frantically forming ranks with spears, bows, shields and other weapons.

Just then, scouts suddenly rushed back from the western forest, shouting, "General, there are Tang invaders, numbering no less than several thousand in infantry and cavalry!"

Upon hearing this, the experienced Cao Hong's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "The Tang army has set up an ambush! My lords, form ranks and attack the enemy, while awaiting reinforcements!"

Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, Cao Hong suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from the woods to the southwest. A while later, dust billowed from the east.

"The Tang army has set up an ambush on all sides?"

Cao Hong looked shocked; he seemed to feel as if he had walked into an ambush set up by the Tang army.

The Tang army did indeed surround Cao Hong from all sides, but it was not a premeditated plan; rather, it was a last-minute change of tactics by Hao Zhao.

This morning, according to the previous plan, Hao Zhao was to lead 15,000 troops across the river to oversee military operations on the south bank. However, Zhou Yu launched an attack, so Hao Zhao changed his plans and directly engaged in the battle.

Upon discovering that Huang Zu's army was on the verge of defeat, Hao Zhao devised a plan to use this opportunity. He deployed troops during the pursuit, waiting for Cao Hong to walk right into the ambush. In order to defeat Cao Hong's elite troops, Hao Zhao ordered Wang Wei to lead the army to block Chen Wu and Song Qian. The plan was to drive the defeated army to attack Song Qian and Chen Wu's armies after defeating Cao Hong.

"Bah!"

The sound of horses' hooves grew more and more urgent.

After defeating the pursuing Cao cavalry, Pang De spurred his horse and approached the Cao soldiers' square formation. Seeing that the formation was somewhat solid, Pang De led his cavalry to circle around the formation and use mounted archery to find weak points.

"Whoosh!"

Arrows rained down, and Cao's soldiers raised their shields to block them. The Tang cavalry made a charge, but the front ranks of Cao's army did not move. Pang De circled around to the flank, fired a few shots from horseback, and then coordinated with a feint attack, but Cao's army still did not move.

Seeing this, Pang De ignored the rear guard, moved to the east, and used arrows to strike the flank of Cao Cao's army.

"rush!"

Suddenly, Pang De noticed a small group of Cao Cao's troops in disarray. Seizing the opportunity, he shouted, "Follow me and break through their formation!"

"Bah!"

With the sound of hooves breaking apart, Pang De's five hundred cavalrymen increased their speed to the maximum, charging towards the flank of the chaotic Cao army with the force of an overwhelming wave.

Seeing the Tang cavalry charging towards them, the cowardly soldiers in Cao's army fled in fear, disrupting the formation. If a few men desert, it will incite dozens more, causing a riot involving a hundred or so men.

Pang De, clad in black armor and a red robe, moved with the ferocity of a charging tiger, thrusting forward with his spear and sending a soldier flying!
In the next instant, hundreds of armored cavalry surged in, smashing the flank into pieces and throwing Cao Cao's troops into chaos!

Following Pound's charge, four hundred Tang cavalrymen from the west also followed closely behind, launching a fierce attack on the west side.

Looking down from the sky, one can see two groups of four or five hundred cavalrymen attacking Cao Cao's army like pincers, breaking through the square formation in one fell swoop, and Cao Cao's army soldiers scattered everywhere.

Compared to Cao Hong, who spent an hour defeating Huang Zu's troops, his own troops were routed by the Tang cavalry in less than half an hour, just the time it takes to eat a meal.

Seeing the rout of his troops, Cao Hong's eyes widened in fury. Under the cover of his cavalry, he fled in disarray toward the main army.

The Tang cavalry were very experienced. After defeating the leading Cao army, they did not rush to fight. Instead, they drove them together and made them surge towards Song Qian and Chen Wu's armies like cattle and sheep.

Wang Wei came from the southwest, and his troops were arrayed in a north-south formation. In order to meet him, Song Qian and Chen Wu changed their generals' formations, changing their original east-west formations to a north-south formation as well.

Just as the two armies were about to clash, the routed soldiers, deliberately driven by the Tang cavalry, charged straight at Song Qian's flank. The flank troops knew they couldn't allow the routed soldiers to surge into the enemy lines, so they desperately tried to drive them away.

After driving away the fleeing soldiers, the flank formation was nearly shaken by the impact. Pang De discovered the flank formation and rallied nearly a thousand cavalrymen, launching a three-stage charge against the flank.

After Pang De led one wave of men to charge, a second wave of three hundred cavalrymen immediately followed, continuing to attack with mounted archers.

The Cao soldiers in the formation retaliated with bows and crossbows. Even though the horses neighed in the middle, the Tang cavalry showed no mercy to their beloved horses and repeatedly charged and shot.

Nearly a thousand cavalrymen launched five repeated attacks until the flank soldiers were frightened away, at which point Pang De finally ordered the charge.

In order to win the final battle, the cavalry roared and charged forward, fearless of death.

Meanwhile, the cavalrymen who had been lying in ambush on the east side were prepared and launched an attack on the rear of Chen and Wu's troops when Pang De launched his charge.

Click!

In the instant of impact, the lances of the riders snapped in two by the force of the charge, and Cao soldiers were sent flying. The Tang cavalry, wielding swords and spears, rampaged through the infantry ranks, carving a bloody path through them.

Influenced by the previous defeat of Cao Hong's troops, the soldiers were already fearful. Now, they were engaged in fierce fighting with Wang Wei's troops on the front, while being attacked by Tang cavalry from the flanks and rear. If they did not collapse under these circumstances, Cao's army would probably have already defeated the Tang army!
Under siege, Cao's army of ten thousand followed in the footsteps of Cao Hong's troops, and was defeated by the Tang army. They were then driven like livestock towards Zhou Yu's troops.

In the midst of the battle, Chen Wu, in an attempt to salvage the situation, rode his horse into the chaotic ranks, only to be cut down by Tang cavalry. Of the two generals, Song Qian hid among the defeated troops and fled in panic.

Zhou Yu's 15,000 troops were engaged in a fierce battle with Huang Zhong. Although Huang Zhong had fewer soldiers, he fought against Cao Cao's army by relying on the bravery of his troops and the danger of the wooden palisades.

Cao Hong rode out first, and informed Zhou Yu of the defeat.

"Gongjin, after defeating Huang Zu's forces, we pursued them for several miles into the mountains and forests, where we were ambushed by Tang cavalry from multiple directions. Although we have many troops, we are not able to establish a firm foothold."

Cao Hong, his face full of shame, said, "The routed soldiers are charging at Generals Chen and Song, while the Tang cavalry are following closely behind. I fear that the two generals will suffer more defeats than victories!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu was dumbfounded and completely dazed!

He had deployed his entire army of 30,000, but now they were no match for the Tang army. He had not yet captured Huang Zhong's camp, but now half of his troops had been defeated. He was at a loss for words!
"Gongjin, what should we do now?" Cao Hong asked.

"Fool!"

Zhou Yu stroked his sword and sighed, saying, "Even though I boast of having a hundred schemes, I have no troops to use. What can I do?"

Zhou Yu was arrogant and boasted of his superior military strategy, believing he could assist Cao Cao in establishing a balance of power in the Central Plains. Even now, despite his defeat, Zhou Yu did not attribute it to a lack of ability, but rather to a lack of sufficient troops.

"General Zilian, our army has been defeated, and Jiangdong will surely perish."

Zhou Yu looked coldly at Cao Hong and said, "Last night, General, you spoke of repaying the country with your life. Now you ask me about my way out. Are you afraid?"

Cao Hong stared blankly at Zhou Yu, and said in a low voice, "I now understand Gongjin's intention. We should gather the defeated troops and repay our lord with our lives." (End of this chapter)