In ancient warfare, people sometimes used arson as a means of attacking the enemy, and the era from the end of the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms was no exception. During this period, three fires directly determined the political landscape of the three countries.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-center-line" > wuchao burning grain</h1>
In the fifth year (200) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao, who had 100,000 heavy troops, confronted Cao Cao, who had only 20,000 horses, at Guandu (present-day Zhongmu County, Henan).
Before the decisive battle, Yuan Shao sent the general Chun Yuqiong to lead more than 10,000 soldiers to escort the army's food and stockpiled it in Wuchao (present-day Fengqiu County, Henan Province), 40 miles behind Yuan's camp.
The strategist Frustrated Zhi suggested that the general Jiang Qi be sent to lead an army to guard the flank of the Bird's Nest in case the Cao army copied. The strategist Xu You, expecting Cao Cao's soldiers to run out of food, suggested that Yuan Shao devote all his strength to the battle.
Xuchang was empty in the rear of the Cao army, and if he sent a fine horse to attack Xuchang with light armor, he would be able to defeat the Cao army. But Yuan Shao, who was self-conscious, did not accept it at all. At this time, Xu You's family violated the law and was imprisoned by Yuan Shao's subordinates, and Xu You, in a fit of rage, defected to Cao Cao.
Xu You suggested that Cao Cao send elite troops to attack and burn the grain barley stored by the Yuan army in Wuchao. Cao Cao listened to the great joy and gladly accepted it.
Cao Cao immediately made a decision, personally led 5,000 soldiers and horses, carried firewood and grass and other arson equipment, pretended to be Yuan Jun, and went straight to Wuchao from the path at night. Upon arrival, the Cao army immediately surrounded Yuan Shao's camp and set fire to it from all sides, suddenly taking off in flames and illuminating the sky with red light. Yuan Jun was unguarded and panicked.
When the reinforcements of Yuan Jun would arrive at Wuchao, Cao Cao resolutely refused the proposal of his subordinates to divide their troops to block the attack, strictly ordered the soldiers to fight, and went all out to break through Chun Yu Qiong's camp, cut Chun Yu Qiong, and then set another fire to burn all the grain, grass, and vehicles stored in Wuchao. Smoke rose in the sky and spread for miles.
The Cao army attacked Wuchao and returned to Guandu with victory. The Bird's Nest grain and grass were burned, and the news of Chun Yuqiong's killing quickly spread throughout the Guandu front, and the Yuan army was shaken and internally divided, and soon collapsed, while the Morale of the Cao army was greatly boosted.
The Great Victory of Guandu enabled Cao Cao to replace Yuan Shao as the most powerful warlord in the north, laying the foundation for unifying the north and establishing the state of Wei.
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After unifying the north, Cao Cao grew ambitions to annex Jiangnan and unify the whole country.
In July 208, Cao Cao personally led an army of more than 100,000 people to attack Jingzhou, and in August, Liu Biao, the mu of Jingzhou, fell ill and died, and his second son Liu Chun asked to surrender. In September, Cao Cao led a light horse to pursue Liu Bei, who had fled south, and defeated him at Changshanpo in Dangyang.
Liu Bei retreated to Xiakou (夏口, in modern Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan, Hubei Province) and sent Zhuge Liang to Chaisang (柴桑, in present-day west jiujiang, Jiangxi) to meet Sun Quan and conspire to break Cao's grand plan.
In the winter of 208, Cao Cao relied on his military might, arrogantly indulged in light enemies, pro-unified the army, and marched on land and water, directly approaching Jiangnan. Sun and Liu joined forces from Xiakou to the river and met Cao Jun at Chibi.
Cao Jun's new water division was vulnerable, coupled with the plague epidemic, the initial battle was unfavorable, and retreated to Wucun, north of the Yangtze River (present-day Honghu, Hubei Province), to confront the combined forces of Sun and Liu.
In order to alleviate the turbulence of the wind and waves on the river, Cao Cao ordered that the warships be connected with iron chains and wooden planks, so that infantry and cavalry could be hired on them to facilitate the offensive battle.
The combined forces of Sun and Liu responded by fire. They prepared 20 fire boats, loaded with reeds and dried firewood, filled with fish oil, and then covered with sulfur, flame salt and other fire-inducing objects, led by the fallen Yellow Cover, and sailed towards the Cao Army.
When approaching the Cao army, under the order of Huang Gai, twenty fire boats were ignited at the same time, and the ships rushed straight into the water village like arrows. The fire took advantage of the wind, the wind helped the fire, and the Cao Ying ships continued to catch fire, and suddenly there was a sea of fire.
Because the ship was chained, there was no escape. However, seeing the fire on the river surface flying in the wind, a faction was red, and the combined forces of Sun and Liu took advantage of the victory to attack.
After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei took the opportunity to capture the four counties of Changsha, Lingling, Wuling, and Juyang (all in present-day Hunan Province) and appointed himself Jingzhou Mu as a base for Yizhou (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan Province). The situation in which the three kingdoms were standing was basically formed.
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In 200, Cao Cao fell ill and died. In October, his son Cao Pi became emperor of the Han Dynasty. In April of the following year, Liu Bei also declared himself emperor in Chengdu.
In 221, Liu Bei, in revenge for the loss of Jingzhou and the killing of Guan Yu, led a large army to attack Wu in July.
In the first month of 222 AD, the Shu Han Wu ban and Chen style water army entered the Yiling area and attacked both sides of the Yangtze River. In February, Liu Bei personally led the main force from Zigui to The Pavilion and established a base camp.
When the Shu army attacked, the Wu army led by Lu Xun took the initiative to retreat, lured the enemy to go deeper, and ceded hundreds of miles of canyons and mountains north of present-day Xuandu in Hubei and the east bank of the Yangtze River to Liu Bei, so that the Shu army's front line was extended and its defects were exposed.
After the two armies held each other for half a year, the Wu army made full use of the terrain and climatic conditions to skillfully attack the fire, when the wind was tight and the fire was urgent, the trees were all there, the fire was rising in the sky, and the north and south of the river shone like daylight.
Then Lu Xun concentrated his forces on all sides and annihilated tens of thousands of Shu troops. Liu Bei collected the remnants of the defeated generals and returned to the White Emperor City. He died the following year.
After this battle, the Shu state became the weakest of the three kingdoms.
Wen | Fan Qiangqiang
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