Chapter 379: Three Families Gathered to Rescue Zhao However, because of Cao Cao's death, Ma Teng, Han Sui and others rebelled against Cao and gathered dozens of princes to attack Chang'an with troops. Unexpectedly, the matter was leaked and the army was defeated by Guo Jia, Jia Xu and others. His sons Ma Chao, Ma Xiu and Ma Shi were all killed in the city. The Cao army lost its general Cao Hong again. The two sides won and lost alternately and were in a stalemate outside the city of Chang'an. At this time, Xiahou Dun withdrew from the three counties of Shangdang, Hedong and Henei, and gathered his troops at Puzhou. According to the plan of Guo Jia and others, they would first block the troops of Ma Teng and Han Sui, and then counterattack when Xiahou Dun arrived. But right behind Xiahou Dun, Yuan Shao followed Tian Feng's plan and advanced all the way to Hedong. This was also one of Tian Feng's calculations. Since they entered Shangdang in the past, Yuan Shao wanted to wait until Xiahou Dun retreated to Guanzhong before taking over a few counties, but Tian Feng suggested that Yuan Shao immediately raise an army to pursue Xiahou Dun! Because in Tian Feng's view, Xiahou Dun's retreat must have been because something happened in Guanzhong and he urgently needed military rescue. After all, after the defeats in Hanzhong and Nanyang, Guanzhong fell into a delicate situation, with the allied forces of Liu Bei and Liu Zhang on one side, Ma Teng and Han Sui in the west, and Luoyang in the east was also blocked.

Even if the situation dictated that Cao Cao would withdraw from Hebei, Cao Cao was a man of strong character and would not easily put himself in a desperate situation. Therefore, retreating the army meant that Cao Cao was in a dead end. Either Liu Bei went north, or Cao Cao died, or Ma Teng and Han Sui rebelled. No matter which of the above situations is the case, they must bite Xiahou Dun's tail and follow him closely to Guanzhong. Only in this way can they react as quickly as possible when something unexpected happens in Guanzhong and prevent others from benefiting. Therefore, under Tian Feng's suggestion, for every step Xiahou Dun retreated, Yuan Shao advanced one step, and the distance between him and Xiahou Dun would not exceed fifty miles. Faced with this situation, Xiahou Dun naturally knew that Yuan Shao must have bad intentions, but he could do nothing about it now! Because this time he returned to Chang'an not to simply withdraw his troops, but to repel Ma Teng and others and save Chang'an. At this time, if he led his troops to block the attack, he would run the risk of being held back by Yuan Shao and delayed for time. The only way was to speed up. However, under Tian Feng's advice, Yuan Shao closely followed his marching route. After capturing the city, he did not even send troops to garrison it. He directly persuaded the city to surrender and then marched along the way. In this way, the two armies marched one after the other, passing through Changzi and Gaodu, reaching the foot of Wangwu Mountain, passing Anyi, until Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin joined forces. After arriving here, Yuan Shao stopped and began to gather troops, preparing to attack Guanzhong in one fell swoop. Xiahou Dun also knew this, so after crossing the Yellow River, he dared not advance westward any further, and only stayed on the west side of Puban to prevent Yuan Shao from crossing the river. At this time, it was the seventh day of the tenth month of the seventh year of Jian'an. The Sili areas from west to east were Ma Teng, Han Sui, Chang'an, Xiahou Dun, and Yuan Shao. The Cao army had less than 60,000 soldiers and was sandwiched between the two armies of nearly 100,000. At this time, the 40,000 soldiers led by Qin Zhen had already reached Lantian. However, since the end of June, Qin Zhen and Guan Yu led their troops to defeat Cao Ang and other troops, and have been stationed in Nanyang. Since Cao Ang died in battle, Qin Zhen personally searched for his body and buried it together with Cao Ren and others, holding a grand funeral. The reason for this is, firstly, because he has a personal relationship with Cao Ang, and secondly, because he is very clear about the current situation! To put it nicely, they defeated Cao Cao strategically and gained an early advantage, but to put it bluntly, it took them four months to seize only a quarter of Cao Cao's land, but they annihilated more than 100,000 of Cao Cao's troops! This means that Cao Cao’s military strength is now very insufficient and he cannot defend the remaining territories under his command. If they were the only ones in the world with troops at this time, they could naturally recuperate slowly and wait until next year to march north again. But the problem is that at that time they were not the only one dominating the world. Yuan Shao, a hungry wolf, was also sharpening his knife beside Cao Cao.

If they don't advance now, Yuan Shao will certainly advance, which means that Yuan Shao is likely to seize the fruits of their victory from the north. After all, they were marching from Nanyang, and the road along the way was full of rugged mountains and various checkpoints! But when Yuan Shao marched from the north, there was only one Huguan Pass and the Yellow River along the way that could block the road. This means that Yuan Shao could enter Guanzhong earlier than them, gain an advantage, and even capture Chang'an. At that time, there was no news of Cao Cao's death in Guanzhong, but Qin Zhen was ready to continue his march northward. On the one hand, he asked Guan Yu to return to Chenliu, and on the other hand, he used preferential policies to recruit prisoners to surrender and increase his own military strength. One of these captives was Qin Zhen’s old rival Xun You, but the two did not draw their swords when they met. On the contrary, since being captured, Xun You has been eating and drinking as usual, and apart from refusing to surrender, he has even seemed somewhat relaxed and contented. Qin Zhen could naturally understand this. He knew very well what role Xun You played under Cao Cao. On the one hand, due to the existence of Xun Yu, Xun You had to ease the conflict between Xun Yu and Cao Cao. On the other hand, due to his status as a strategist, he had to give advice to Cao Cao. This made Xun You unpopular with both sides. No matter what he did, the conflict between Cao Cao and Xun Yu would deepen. So he chose to fade out of Cao Cao's sight for a while, and even after Cao Cao's return, he chose to continue to assist Cao Ang. Now that he was captured by him, although he had lost his freedom, he had escaped from the whirlpool and no longer had to face the situation of Cao's army. Not to mention that Xun You felt relaxed, even he would feel relaxed and at ease facing this situation. However, although Xun You did not surrender, he did not treat Xun You as a mere bystander here. He brought Xun You around to chat with him every day. They didn't talk about military or national affairs, but just talked about their respective situations, families, customs of different countries, and commented on ancient people. Xun You knew what Qin Zhen was thinking, but he had no choice but to flatter him since he was living under someone else's roof. Unexpectedly, after talking for a few days, he found that he got along well with Qin Zhen. Talking with Qin Zhen not only did not make him feel bored, but he often felt refreshed, and gradually he no longer disliked it. As time went by, Xun You became the second Zhou Yu beside Qin Zhen, and would inadvertently reveal some key information subtly. Such as the economic situation, food and grass situation, and the distribution of power in the court that Cao Cao had faced before. After learning that Cao Cao had fallen into an economic crisis, Qin Zhen sighed and said to Xun You: "When I was under Cao Gong's command, I often told him that if he wanted to fight, he should not just fight, but should first put the country first." "Only when the country is rich and the people are strong, and the system is strict, can we win every battle. However, since Yuan Shu, Cao Gong has been using all his military power. At the time of Guandu, he even shook the foundation and made his rule uneasy." "Although this move can gain temporary benefits, it will bring disaster to future generations. As for the current situation, how can we not fail?" In response to his comments, Xun You fell into silence. He knew that Qin Zhen was not showing off, but was really feeling sorry for Cao Cao. In fact, in the past two years he has been reflecting on why Liu Bei became stronger and stronger while they became weaker and weaker. At first, he thought it was a problem of their original strategy, but after the defeat at Guandu and their retreat to Guanzhong, he found that what they lacked was not military strategy, but economic and institutional. Qin Zhen never gave up on economic and institutional reforms under Liu Bei. The reason why Liu Bei became stronger and stronger was not because of the bravery of his soldiers and generals, but because Liu Bei's economic system matched the strategy of Liu Bei's army. This allowed Liu Bei to enter the fastest adjustment period after conquering cities and territories, and prepare for the next campaign.

In contrast, their only system was the military farming system established by Qin Zhen. Once the war began to shake the military farming system, it would lead to their defeat. Obviously, since Qin Zhen left, they have been affecting the production of his subordinates. It seems that they have gained the advantage according to his strategy, but in fact it is only a superficial advantage. As Qin Zhen's strategy changed, they had no strong economic support and could only suffer continuous defeats. While thinking, he couldn't help but look up at Qin Zhen in front of him, and asked with a complicated look: "If Cao Gong had followed your advice and changed the system, I wonder how the situation in the world would have changed now?" But after he asked the question, Qin Zhen shook his head and sighed, without saying a word, and walked away slowly. There is no such thing as "if" in this world. Everything that seems accidental is bound to happen. He is just a small butterfly. As for what kind of storm it would cause, that was not something he could guess. The only thing he could do was to keep flapping his wings. But after this conversation, the relationship between the two has become better. They are no longer as silent as before and have become friends. There is no need to elaborate on what happened next. As the news of Cao Cao's death came, Xun You and Qin Zhen were both somewhat depressed. However, after adjusting his situation, Qin Zhen still chose to send troops decisively, heading north through Wuguan to Guanzhong. Perhaps because of Cao Cao's last words, Wuguan, the gateway to Guanzhong, seemed to have been forgotten by Guo Jia, with less than a thousand soldiers guarding it. As soon as Qin Zhen's troops arrived, they captured the pass after seven days of fierce attack. As for Shang County, the county magistrate surrendered without a fight, and as for Shangluo, the county magistrate fled without a fight. All this seemed to tell Qin Zhen that Cao Cao seemed to have opened the door to him before his death, intending to let him go north. After he told Xun You his guess, Xun You sighed and said, "It must be that Lord Cao left a will to surrender, otherwise there are still Yuan Chang, Feng Xiao, Lou Zibo and others in the court, they would not give up the pass so easily." "But Guanzhong hasn't sent any letter yet. I'm afraid something has happened. If Ma Teng and Yuan Shao march forward, Guanzhong will be in danger!" He was originally unwilling to surrender out of his loyalty to Cao Cao, but now that he had guessed Cao Cao's last wishes, he simply gave up insisting. "Ma Teng and his men have few soldiers and horses, and it is difficult to unite the people, so they are unlikely to cause a big threat. The only concern is that Tian Feng and Ju Su under Yuan Shao are both wise and resourceful." "Now that the situation is like this, they may suggest Yuan Shao to advance. Yuan Shao is a man of high reputation and good at winning people's hearts. He will definitely send envoys to win over Ma Teng, Zhang Baiqi and others." "If you let this person persuade them to cooperate, even if your army goes north, the situation in Guanzhong will be controlled by this person. You should make plans quickly!" After Qin Zhen heard this judgment, he immediately asked the man what he should do. Xun You saw this and suggested to Qin Zhen: "Yuan Shao is close by, but your army is far away. Yuan Shao is trying to win them over, and your army has no way to stop him. The only feasible strategy is to attack Wei and save Zhao." "Fortunately, you asked Guan Yu to go north to Luoyang in advance. You might as well send a letter to have Guan Yu march into Henei and go north to Hedong to cut off Yuan Shao's retreat!" "Send another letter to Liu Zhengdong, telling him to go out via the slanting road, not to go to Chang'an first, but to take Chencang, Yongxian, Duyang and other places to cut off Ma Teng and Han Sui's return route." "Once these two routes arrive, your army can head north to Chang'an and join forces with ours to defeat their troops and achieve complete success!" In fact, Qin Zhen's arrangement to transfer Guan Yu to the north was to prevent Yuan Shao from sending troops. However, he did not consider Liu Bei's route. After listening to Xun You's suggestion, he immediately sent letters to various places to take action. Therefore, in mid-October of the seventh year of Jian'an, Qin Zhen led his troops to Lantian County south of Chang'an and officially entered the Guanzhong Plain. At this time, just as Xun You speculated, after marching into Anyi, Yuan Shao began to send envoys to contact surrounding forces. The reason why he did not take any action was that he was preparing to contact Zhang Baiqi to first seize control of Hongnong County and prevent the Luoyang troops from advancing westward.

It should be said here that Hongnong County is located between Chang'an and Luoyang, south of Hedong County. Because there are many mountains and complex terrain in the area, there are often banditry and chaos. Zhang Baiqi, whose real name was Zhang Sheng, was the leader of the Black Mountain bandits. Because he rode a white horse, he was called Zhang Baiqi. He led tens of thousands of bandits. After Cao Cao captured Chang'an in the past, Zhang Baiqi retreated into the mountains and did not dare to fight with him. Later, when he entered Luoyang with Xu Shu, he sent envoys to contact him and asked him to send troops to occupy the important towns of Mianchi and Shan County in Hongnong County. This move was naturally the direct cause of the rebellion under Cao Cao's command, but in a sense, it also cut off Xu Shu's way to the west. At first, Zhang Baiqi had only received Xu Shu's seal and led his troops to respond between Yao and Han, preparing to take the opportunity to gain an official position. As a result, as soon as he raised his army, he received the response of hundreds of people. In less than two months, he had gathered tens of thousands of people and was extremely powerful. Faced with this situation, Zhang Baiqi naturally became ambitious. Seeing that Yuan Shao also sent people to win him over, he agreed to Yuan Shao's words. As for the sudden attack on Hongnong City on October 10, Du Ji, who was in charge of guarding the city, saw it and hurriedly sent troops to fight. However, Yuan Shao attacked his rear and took Hongnong. On October 15, the seventh year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao crossed the river from Fenglingdu and launched a surprise attack on Tongguan. Xiahou Dun had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat. At this time, Yuan Shao's envoy also entered the army of Ma Teng and Han Sui, promising that if the two could help capture Chang'an, he would recommend them as the governor of Yongzhou and Liangzhou respectively, and all the property of Chang'an would belong to them. At this time, Ma Teng and Han Sui had been in a stalemate with Guo Jia and others for more than a month, and their attacks had been unsuccessful. They knew that it would be difficult to capture the city with their own troops. Originally, Ma Teng and Guo Jia and others had a grudge against each other for killing each other's sons. Seeing Yuan Shao's temptation, they directly accepted Yuan Shao's request for an alliance. At this point, before Liu Bei arrived, Yuan Shao had taken advantage of the early advantages, united the various forces in Guanzhong, and prepared to launch a fierce attack on Chang'an. But just as he was about to launch a fierce attack, his adviser Xun Chen suggested that instead of launching a fierce attack, Yuan Shao should send envoys into the city to persuade Cao's army to surrender. If they could persuade Cao's army to surrender, they would be able to seize the entire Guanzhong area. When Yuan Shao heard this proposal, he nodded in agreement, and then sent Xun Chen as an envoy to head towards Chang'an city. (End of this chapter)