Today's Three Kingdoms idiom story is found in the sixth episode of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which takes place during the Battle of Xingyang, and the relevant characters are Cao Cao, Lü Bu, Xiahou Huan, and Cao Hong. The original text is as follows:
Lü Bu laughed and said, "Not as Li Ru expected!" "Swing the general's horse away. Cao Cao stepped out of his horse and shouted, "Reverse thief! What will the son of heaven do when he robs and displaces the people? Lü Bu scolded: "Coward who betrays the Lord, why should he speak in vain!" Xiahou Raised his gun and took Lü Bu directly. The battle was not counted, and Li Dai led an army to kill from the left, and ordered Xiahou Yuan to meet the enemy. The shouts on the right began again, and Guo Feng led the army to kill, and Cao Ren was anxious to meet the enemy. The three routes and horses are unstoppable. Xiahou Huan could not resist lü Bu and returned to the battlefield on flying horses. Bu Ying iron rode to cover up the killing, and the Cao army was defeated, looking back at Xingyang and leaving.
Walk to the foot of a barren mountain, about two o'clock, the moon is as bright as day. Fang Cai gathered the remnants of the soldiers, and was about to bury the pot to make rice, only to hear the shouts around him, and Xu Rongfu's soldiers came out. Cao Cao hurriedly planned his horse, took the road and fled, and when he met Xu Rong, he turned around and left. Rong took the arrow and shot at the shoulder. Flee with arrows and stomp over the hillside. Two sergeants crouched in the grass, saw the horse coming, fired two shots at the same time, and the horse was shot and fell. turned over and fell off his horse, and was caught by the second pawn. Only to see a flying horse coming, wielding a knife to hack two infantry, dismounting and rescuing Cao Cao. In his opinion, it is Cao Hongye. Cao Yue: "I died here, brother Xian can go quickly!" Hong Yue: "Hurry up and get on the horse!" Hong willing to walk. Cao Yue: "The thieves catch up, what will Ru do?" Hong Yue: "There can be no flood in the world, and there can be no justice." Fu Yue: "If I am regenerated, so will the power of Ru." ”
According to the plot of the novel, Dong Zhuo withdrew from the capital Luoyang, passed through Xingyang and met the Taishou Xu Rong. The strategist Li Ru thought that the pursuing troops of the Eighteenth Route princes would surely come to Xingyang, and suggested that Xu Rong and Lü Bu set up an ambush here. Dong Zhuo adopted this suggestion and left Xu Rong and Lü Bu behind. Not long after, Cao Cao's troops arrived, and they were immediately attacked by Lü Bu, Li Dai, and Guo Feng. Xiahou Huan was defeated by Lü Bu, and the Cao army was defeated, and was subsequently ambushed by Xu Rong. Cao Cao was shot by Xu Rong and fled with his wounds. Fortunately, Cao Hong appeared in time, gave up his war horse to Cao Cao, and walked on his own. After some tribulations, he finally escaped.
The idiom to be introduced in this article is the situation when lü Bu, Li Dai and Guo Feng's three-way army besieged the Cao army, which is called "unstoppable", which means that the coming force is rapid and irresistible. The earliest source of this idiom is the "Group reverse indulgence, its overwhelming power, can be counted, and it is difficult to compete." ”
The plot of Cao Cao's crushing defeat of Xingyang described in the novel is real in history. However, the historical Battle of Xingyang had nothing to do with Lü Bu, when Cao Cao faced dong zhuo's general Xu Rong. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms, "(Cao Cao) then led troops to the west and will hold Chenggao. Wei Zi divided wei zi into troops with Taizu. When he arrived at Xingyang Beishui, he met the Zhuo general Xu Rong, who was unfavorable to the battle, and the soldiers were killed and wounded a lot. Taizu was in the middle of the stream. In this battle, Cao Cao was indeed seriously wounded, but he was not killed or wounded by Xu Rong, as the novel suggests. In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms, it is said: "Taizu was in the middle of the flowing arrows, and the horse he rode on was created, and from his brother Hong yima and Taizu, he had to flee at night." The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms of Cao Hong also states: "Taizu rebelled against Dong Zhuo and went to Xingyang, where he was defeated by the Zhuo general Xu Rong. Taizu lost his horse, the thief chased after him, and Hongxia gave Taizu a horse. ”
As for Xu Rong, who defeated Cao Cao, he is also a real historical figure. Regarding the historical origin of this character, the records in the historical records are very scattered. First, combined with the relevant historical materials, make a brief introduction to this character. According to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, The Biography of Gongsun Du": "Gongsun Du zi sheng ji, the original Liaodong Xiangping people also. Du Father Yan, avoiding the official Ju Xuanju, Ren Du was a county official... Later, in addition to Shang Shulang, he slightly moved the history of Jizhou to avoid rumors. Xu Rong of the same county was the general of Dong ZhuoZhonglang, and the recommended degree was Liaodong Taishou. It can be seen that Xu Rong's place of origin is the Xiangping people clan of Liaodong County, Youzhou.
When Xu Rong joined Dong Zhuo's clique is not recorded in the historical records, but one thing is certain, he is one of Dong Zhuo's most trusted generals. According to the above record of the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Biography of Gongsun Du", at that time he was already in an important position as a general in the middle of the lang. In the commentary on volume 59 of Husan Province's Zizhi Tongjian, it is mentioned: "General, the school is called Zhonglang General and Lieutenant Colonel. Li Dai, Guo Feng, Duan Sheng, Dong Yue, Niu Fu and others were all among the generals and schools at that time, and Xu Rong, who was not from the Liangzhou clan, was also in the position of a general, which showed Dong Zhuo's trust in Xu Rong.
Speaking of Xu Rong's performance during the period when the Kwantung princes were seeking Dong, it can be said that Dong Zhuojun was the most outstanding one. In addition to severely injuring Cao Cao in the Battle of Xingyang, Xu Rong also had a prominent record. The Later Han Shu Dong Zhuo Biography says: "When Changsha Taishou Sun Jian also led the counties of Yuzhou to discuss (Dong) Zhuo. Zhuo Xian sent Xu Rong and Li Meng out of the raid, Rong Yu (Sun) was firm in Liang, and the battle was broken, and the Yingchuan Taishou Li Min cooked. This was also the most brilliant achievement of Dong Zhuo's army in the Battle of Dong Zhuo.
As for Xu Rong's ending, he did not die at the hands of Xiahou Huan as described in the novel. According to the "Book of Later Han and the Biography of Dong Zhuo", Xu Rong later came to Chang'an with Dong Zhuo. After Wang Yun and Lü Bu killed Dong Zhuo, Xu Rong turned to Wang Yun again. When Li Dai and Guo Feng gathered the remnants to besiege Chang'an, "(Wang Yun) sent Zhuo to attack Hu Yi and Xu Rong on Xinfeng. Glory died in battle, and the crowd surrendered. This also means that Xu Rong's final end is to die at the hands of Li Dai and Guo Feng, and he has also changed from Dong Zhuo's accomplice to a hero who is loyal to the country.
Reference books: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Romance of the Three Kingdoms