The Battle of Red Cliff 1 (Three Kingdoms 45)
History of Three Kingdoms
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Catalog of Three Kingdoms’ history
The year 208 A.D. was a very special year in the history of China. In this year, Cao Cao returned with his victory against the nomadic Wuhuan乌桓, and northern China was once again unified. It was the same year that Zhuge Liang诸葛亮 and Sima Yi司马懿 both appeared on the scene, and it was the same year that the Red Cliff which was on the northern bank of Yangtze River was coloured red with fire.
By the beginning of 208 A.D., Cao Cao had occupied Jizhou冀州, Qingzhou青州, Yanzhou兖州, Xuzhou徐州, Yuzhou豫州, Sizhou司州, most of Youzhou幽州 except Liaodong辽东 Commandery, and a small part of Bingzhou并州. In addition, Nanyang南阳 in Jingzhou荆州 and Jiujiang九江 in Yangzhou扬州 were also under the control of Cao Cao.
Of the remaining territories, Liaodong was the independent kingdom of Gongsun Kang公孙康, Hanzhong汉中 commandery in Yizhou益州 belonged to Zhang Lu张鲁, and Jiaozhou交州 had long since occupied by Shi Xie士燮.
At Late Han period, Jiaozhou was in a chaotic situation with frequent civil unrest, Emperor Ling of Han(reigned 167-189AD) then appointed Shi Xie, who is from a local powerful family, to be the Commandery Governor of Jiaozhi交趾（the capital of Jiaozhou）, hoping him to stabilize the situation in Jiaozhou with the help of the Shi士 clan's great influence. Soon Shi Xie had actual control of the six commanderies of Jiaozhou except for Cangwu苍梧 commandery.
Jiaozhou has 7 Commanderies, among which Cangwu belonged to Liu Biao, he appointed hus man Wu Ju吴巨 as the Commandery Governor of Cangwu, and sent troops there. For the remaining six commanderies, the governor of Jiaozhi was held by Shi Xie himself, the governor of Hepu合浦, Jiuzhen九真 and Nanhai南海 were all held by Shi Xie's younger brothers, and the governors of Yulin郁林 and Rinan日南 were all loyal subordinates of Shi Xie. From then on, no matter who was sent by the court to be the Provincial Governor of Jiaozhou, he could not actually control the area. Cao Cao then ordered Shi Xie to govern whole Jiaozhou in the name of the emperor, and Shi Xie officially became a warlord in southern China and Northern Vietnam .
The northwestern Liangzhou at this time was still in chaos, just large and small independent forces have more than a dozen, among them Ma Teng马腾 and Han Sui's韩遂 forces as the strongest, but they had both nominally expressed submission. Cao Cao then sent an official Zhang Ji张既 to persuade Ma Teng to give up his troops and join the court as an official, although Ma Teng agreed verbally, he was still hesitant to do so.
See that ,Zhang Ji, on one hand, ordered all the counties in GuanZhong to intensify the storage of military food in preparation for the war; on the other hand, he made the important officials in the neighbourhood go out of the city and greet him in a parade, making the scene very grand. Ma Teng was just one of the more powerful warlords in Liangzhou, he has no direct affiliation to other factions. Zhang Ji made such a mess, spreading the news that Ma Teng wanted to join the court as an official to everyone. Ma Teng couldn't stay in Liangzhou any longer, so he took his family to Yecheng邺城. However, Ma Teng's forces were not disbanded, and with Ma Chao's马超 formidable personal abilities and bright battle successes, he had actually gained widespread support from Ma Teng's former troops and gained control of this force. Cao Cao then appointed Ma Chao as a Supporting General, and made him a Marquis of Capital Village, which was tantamount to acknowledging this established fact.
While The veteran rebel expert Han Sui, who was in Jincheng, said he would wait and see for a few more years, and sent only a son and his son-in-law's parents into the court as hostages, thus allowing Liangzhou to continue to maintain its fragile peace.
Most of the remaining three provinces, Yangzhou, Jingzhou and Yizhou, were controlled by Sun Quan孙权, Liu Biao刘表 and Liu Zhang刘璋 respectively. So destroying these three forces and conquering the south in one stroke turned out to be Cao Cao's next goal.
In June 208 A.D., Cao Cao abolished all the Three Excellencies ,which were: the Excellency over the Masses司徒, the Excellency of Works司空 and the Excellency Commandant太尉. Cao Cao reinstated the position of the Prime Minister, which had been abandoned for more than 200 years, appointing himself as the Prime Minister, taking control the affairs of Imperial Secretariat录尚书事.
A month later, Liu Biao, the 67 year-old Provincial Governor of Jingzhou, fell critically ill. When the news reached Yecheng, Cao Cao quickly gathered his troops and marched south. With the former grudge against his old friend Liu Bei, and the desire for the land of Jingzhou, he charged straight to the capital of Jingzhou : Xiangyang襄阳.
If Cao Cao met Liu Bei , he may not find something changed of Liu Bei, except that he's a little heavier, and there's a 27-year-old young man next to him. That's the military advisor Liu Bei had previously visited three times before he was able to employ.
In Longzhong隆中,a place near Xiangyang a few months ago, during the cold winter, a "Sleeping Dragon", gave Liu Bei, a depressed "Hidden Dragon", a magnificent strategic blueprint, the short summary is that :
“Cao Cao is very powerful and we should not fight against him forcely. The Sun Quan in Eastern Wu is stable and can be united. Jingzhou, with its excellent land and water transport, we should occupy first. Yizhou is rich with materials,foods and a large population, so it can be plotted later. By that time we can hold the dangerous passes and pacify the minorities in the west and south,and then alley with Sun Quan externally and develop the economy internally. Once a great event occurs in the Central Plains, we will send a mighty general to lead the troops from Jingzhou northward to the Central Plains,you,my lord, on the other hand, will personally lead the troops from Yizhou westward out of Hanzhong , and by then the great cause can be accomplished. ”
This young man, not only gave Liu Bei his unique insight and analysis, to guide a clear direction for the confused Liu Bei, but also with his own influence, let Liu Bei and his force, to complete a crucial metamorphosis and sublimation.
From then on Liu Bei's life gradually moved from the bottom to the peak, From then on Liu Bei’s side is no longer only warriors and fellow townsmen, but more scholars such as Pang Tong庞统, Ma Liang马良, Xi Zhen习桢 and other civil talents. From then on, Liu Bei no longer sighed at the passing of time and the fat growing on his thighs.
Since then, history has been rewritten, added with so much praise, so much poignant, so much blood and loyalty, so much exciting moments. And also a remarkable war and an equally extraordinary era are coming upon us.
To be Continued.
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