During the Three Kingdoms period, famous generals emerged. The Shu Han Dynasty had five tiger generals, Cao Ying had five sons of liang generals, and among the five sons of liang generals, Zhang Liao was the most meritorious and the most famous, and was highly respected by historians.
Why did Zhang Liao become the first general of Cao Ying? In his lifetime, there were three wars, and the performance was a classic.
1. To persuade Chang Feng to surrender.
Zhang Liao was originally a native of Yanmen Mayi, and initially he was a subordinate of Dong Zhuo, and after Dong Zhuo's defeat, he belonged to Lü Bu. Cao Cao broke Lü Bu in Xia Pi, and Zhang Liao led the people to surrender. After that, he made many military achievements, was promoted to general of Yu, and was ordered to go with Xiahou Yuan to the East China Sea to encircle and suppress Chang Feng.
Chang Feng has been operating in the East China Sea for many years, and the city is strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Zhang Liao and Xiahou Yuan besieged Donghai County for several months, and when the army ran out of food, some people proposed to withdraw their troops. Zhang Liao disagreed, and he persuaded Xiahou Yuan: "I am an old acquaintance with Chang Feng, and during the siege of the city these days, Chang Feng often looks at me consciously or unconsciously, as if he has the intention of surrendering. In addition, the arrows fired from the city are becoming more and more sparse. According to my speculation, the garrison in the city is the end of the crossbow. It would be a pity if I had given up on this. The general might as well have me go to the front to persuade Chang Feng, or persuade him to surrender. Xiahou Yuan agreed.
Zhang Liao rushed to the city alone and offered to meet with Chang Feng. Chang Feng did indeed go down to the city to talk with Zhang Liao, and Zhang Liao persuaded: "Cao Gong Shen Wu, Fang Yi Virtue huai four sides, the first to surrender will be rewarded heavily." Zhang Liao also promised to personally introduce Chang Feng and guarantee his safety with his own life. Chang Feng then led his army to surrender.
Zhang Liao took Chang Feng to see Cao Cao, and Cao Cao did accept Chang Feng. After sending Chang Feng away, Cao Cao criticized Zhang Liao, saying, "You are taking risks with your life, which is not the work of a general. Cao Cao's concern for Zhang Liao was intended to be expressed. Zhang Liao was touched in his heart and said, "Lord Gong Enwei is all over the world, so Zhang Liao expects that Chang Feng will not dare to do harm." Cao Cao laughed when he heard this, and he appreciated Zhang Liao even more.
Sun Tzu said, "Eli moves." "Famous generals lead troops, not for profit, as commanders, we must be good at looking at the overall situation and clearly distinguishing the interests and harms." Zhang Liao was able to observe the trend of military intelligence in Chang Feng's words and deeds, which can be described as sharp-eyed and insightful. Zhang Liao, who was rewarded with a heavy reward for his first surrender, persuaded Chang Feng, who surrendered.
Second, wait for the uproar and quell the military chaos at your fingertips.
Zhang Liao followed Cao Cao in his conquest of Yuan Tan, and after Yuan Tan was breached, Zhang Liao led an army to pacify the seashore, and greatly broke the Liaodong Thief Kou, Liaodong Liu Yi and others, and when they returned to Yicheng, Cao Cao personally greeted him, took a carriage with Zhang Liao, and worshiped Zhang Liao as the general of Lang Kou.
At that time, Jingzhou was not yet pacified, and Zhang Liao was ordered to go to Changshe Tunbing. When the army set out, some people in the army suddenly plotted a rebellion, and the flames were everywhere, and the whole army was shocked. Zhang Liao told the people around him: "Don't move! The rebels are definitely a minority, and if the army is in chaos, it will be taken advantage of by the rebels. ”
Then he ordered, "Those who do not rebel, sit down!" ”
Most of the soldiers in the army, who were good people, put down their weapons one after another and sat quietly on the ground, while Zhang Liao led dozens of his soldiers to sit firmly in the Chinese army. In an instant, several arson rebels were found. A mutiny was put to rest at the snap of a finger.
Sun Tzu said, "Wait and see." "If there is chaos in the military, it is easy to get into chaos. Zhang Liao ordered him to sit down, easily calm the chaos in the army, and not be alarmed, and indeed had the dignity of a famous general.
Third, the three armies can seize the breath, and the threat is chaotic.
The most glorious battle in Zhang Liao's life was the Battle of Hefei.
At that time, Cao Cao personally led a large army to attack Zhang Lu and fight against the Eastern Wu side, leaving Zhang Liao and Le Jin to defend Hefei. While Cao Cao and Zhang Lu were at war, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu took the opportunity to send an army to attack Hefei.
Cao Cao had already given the order that if Sun Quan arrived, Zhang Liao and Li Dian would go to war and Le Jin would guard it. The generals were stunned by this order left by Cao Cao. At that time, Sun Quan had an army of 100,000, and there were only 7,000 defenders in Hefei. Even if the 7,000 people in Hefei City were all elite cao troops, they were not at all the opponents of Eastern Wu's 100,000 troops. Many people want to withdraw their troops, but they are afraid of losing the city and will be questioned.
In the end, Zhang Liaoli defied the public opinion and put forward his own views.
Zhang Liao said, "The public expedition is outside, and it is better to save me than to save me." It is to teach the use of its unconscionable counterattack, to fold its grand momentum, to reassure the hearts of the people. Then it can be kept also. Success or failure opportunities, in this battle. What doubts do you have? Zhang Liao's words can be understood in three layers.
The first layer: Zhang Liao pointed out that Cao Cao was on an expedition, and by the time the large army arrived, the Wu army must have already breached Hefei, and the practice of waiting for reinforcements was obviously unwise.
The second layer: since the reinforcements are unreliable, they can only take the initiative to attack. The orders that Cao Cao had left behind, although inconsistent with the facts, were the only way out for everyone.
The third layer: Zhang Liao pointed out that before the Eastern Wu army was encircled, it was necessary to take the initiative to attack and break its sharpness in order to stabilize the hearts of the people, and Hefei City had a glimmer of vitality.
Zhang Liao's proposition was supported by Li Dian, so Zhang Liao recruited eight hundred strong men overnight and launched a fierce attack in the early morning of the next day. Zhang Liao personally put on armor and charged forward, slashing dozens of people in a row and rushing into the Wu army. When Zhang Liao charged, he shouted, "Zhang Liao is here!" Under the onslaught of eight hundred brave men, Zhang Liao rushed all the way to Sun Quan's tent.
At that time, it was not yet dawn, Wu Jun was still asleep, was rushed by Cao Jun, and suddenly fell into chaos, plus Zhang Liao directly rushed to Sun Quan's army main account, and various large armies of the Wu army came to save Sun Quan. The military system of the Wu army was disrupted, the orders were not smooth, and it was suddenly defeated. Sun Quan led his army to escape, and Zhang Liao pursued him fiercely, until several famous generals of Eastern Wu arrived, and Zhang Liao ordered the withdrawal of his troops.
The entire war was fought from early morning to noon, and the Wu army threw away its armor and trampled on each other, killing and injuring countless people. Zhang Liao led his army back to Hefei, the morale of the Wei army soared, Sun Quan collected the remnants and re-besieged Hefei, although the Wu army was still far more numerous than the Wei army, but the morale was low and could not withstand a battle. After Sun Quan besieged Hefei for more than ten days, he could not break the city and could only withdraw his troops. As the Wu army retreated, Zhang Liao led his army in pursuit and almost captured Sun Quan again. After this battle, Sun Quan was as afraid of Zhang Liao as a tiger.
Many years later, Cao Cao fell ill and died, Cao Pi was proclaimed emperor, and Zhang Liao was transferred to Yongqiu Tunbing, where he became seriously ill in old age. Sun Quan once again led an army to attack the Wei border. Cao Pi immediately transferred Zhang Liao to the front, and Sun Quan was very jealous, telling the generals: "Although Zhang Liao is ill, he must not be treated!" In that year, Zhang Liao led the generals to break the Wu army again, and in the following years, Zhang Liao's condition became more critical, but as long as Zhang Liao was alive for a day, the Wu army did not dare to violate the border.
Sun Tzu said: "The three armies can seize the breath." "When Zhang Liao was in full swing of the Wu army, he took the initiative to attack, broke its morale, and broke the Wu army with 800 people, which can be called one of the most splendid battles of the Three Kingdoms.
Zhang Liao's ability to become the head of the five sons of Liang generals can be described as well-deserved.