My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 782: Zhang Yu's Death Struggle

"Guan Yu has already reached Juancheng? This is impossible! How could he get here so quickly?"

"Even if he knew that the Prime Minister had just been defeated in Hebei and used this to shake the morale of our army, it is impossible for him to force the surrender of more than a dozen counties in two prefectures in just a few days! Could it be that the morale of the imperial garrison has dropped to this level?"

One day at the end of October in the 17th year of Jian'an, when Guan Yu's army finally arrived at the city of Juancheng.

Cheng Yu, Cao Cao's confidant who was in charge of Yanzhou's defense and the governor of Yanzhou, could not help but ask desperate soul-searching questions.

As Guan Yu's old rival, Cheng Yu had also commented on Guan Yu's talents many times. Cheng Yu was of course very aware of Guan Yu's strength and his current prestige.

Over the past decade, Guan Yu defeated Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren several times in Xuzhou and Huaibei. He also seized Jingbei from Cao Cao's rule in the Battle of Xiangfan, and finally seized Huaibei.

Although history has been greatly changed, Guan Yu's achievements have also changed greatly in the same period of history. It is still not an exaggeration to say that he is "terrifying China".

But even so, Cheng Yu was not mentally prepared. He did not expect Guan Yu's advance to be so rapid.

Under the pressure of Guan Yu, and with the latest bad news that "Prime Minister Cao's main force was defeated by Zhuge Situ in Hebei", the counties of the three central prefectures of Yanzhou actually collapsed.

So many local tyrants and bandit forces all surrendered to Guan Yu overnight, which left Cheng Yu dumbfounded.

However, there is obviously not much time for Cheng Yu to be sad now.

The most urgent task at the moment is to decide whether to continue to defend Juancheng.

If he hesitated for a while longer, Guan Yu would have been able to completely encircle Juancheng.

"Your Excellency, you should make a decision early! The Prime Minister's army was defeated in Hebei. If we continue to defend Juancheng, we will be isolated behind enemy lines. Cangting on the other side of the Yellow River is already in the hands of Zhuge Jin. If Guan Yu surrounds all the places on the south bank, I'm afraid we won't be able to break out!"

The generals around Cheng Yu all advised him in this way, which made Cheng Yu upset.

Cheng Yu certainly knew the importance of Juancheng. When Lu Bu and Cao Cao were fighting for Yanzhou, Xun Yu and Cheng Yu worked together to save only three counties in Yanzhou, among which Juancheng was the most important.

Because all the families of Cao's generals and soldiers were detained by Cao Cao in Juancheng. This is similar to the fact that Guan Yu left the families of his generals and soldiers in Jiangling City when he went north to fight the Battle of Xiangfan.

In history, after Guan Yu's Jiangling City was stolen by Lu Meng, no matter how strict Guan Yu was in disciplining his army, his 30,000 soldiers quickly lost their morale and dispersed, unable to fight anymore.

If Cao Cao had failed to defend Juancheng and it had been stolen by Lu Bu, his fate would have been the same as Lu Meng's family being stolen. His subordinates would never have worked for Cao Cao again because the hostages would have been transferred to the enemy's hands.

Now that so many years have passed, the importance of Juancheng has naturally declined. After all, the families of the soldiers in Cao Cao's camp have been transferred to more important places for detention, such as Luoyang and other places.

The only people left in Juancheng were the hostages and families of the elite troops from other counties in Yanzhou. But even so, the consequences of losing Juancheng were very serious.

As long as the hostages were returned to Guan Yu, the Cao army east of Puyang would no longer work for Cao Cao. Even if Guan Yu retreated, these people would never be able to rebel in the future.

The entire Yanzhou, including the part east of Puyang, was completely lost.

However, Cheng Yu now seemed to have no choice. He could not defend Juancheng if he stayed. Once surrounded from all sides, there was Zhuge Jin on the other side of the Yellow River and Guan Yu on this side.

The strongest civil official in the world and the strongest military general in the world joined forces to serve Cheng Yu. How could he ever enjoy such a blessing?
It’s better to break out and escape as soon as possible.

However, no matter how much you escape, you still have to do some necessary things.

Considering that Juancheng was the place where Cao Cao had always detained the families of civil and military officials as hostages in the Yanzhou area, this had been the case for the past twenty years.

Cheng Yu was leaving. Even if it was impossible to relocate the families of all the soldiers, he had to at least relocate the families of all the senior generals.

Even the families of the civil and military officials who had surrendered to Guan Yu in other counties in the three central counties of Yanzhou were still to be taken away by Cheng Yu.

As for those whose crimes were particularly serious, such as taking the lead in surrendering to Guan Yu and who had no possibility of redemption, Cheng Yu even considered killing them in public to deter those who surrendered.

"Prime Minister Cao is merciful. He hasn't killed the families of the civil and military officials who surrendered to the bandits for a long time. Do you really think that Prime Minister Cao's sword can't kill people? This time, two or three counties surrendered without a fight. They just followed the bandits after hearing the news of the Prime Minister's defeat. How can we deter the situation if we don't kill a lot of them?"

This was what Cheng Yu was thinking at the time.

Moreover, Cheng Yu had also considered that if he wanted to find a way to evacuate with a group of family members and hostages, the transportation would certainly be more troublesome and the roads would be difficult to travel. The fewer people he had to take with him, the better, so for those who could obviously be killed without fear of being wrongly accused, he would decisively kill them in Juancheng, which would also save some transportation capacity and reduce the target during the retreat.

After understanding these principles, Cheng Yu immediately began to make preparations for both scenarios.

He instructed his staff and subordinates separately: "You should prepare two things immediately. First, collect enough ferries as soon as possible. You should set off within two days and retreat upstream along the Yellow River to Puyang.

Guan Yu came from the south with a light force and crossed many rivers, including the Jishui River. Therefore, Guan Yu must have lacked water transportation and warships, and it was impossible for him to cross the Yellow River in a short time.

It is not even November yet, and the Yellow River is unlikely to freeze in the near future, so we cannot wade across it, let alone ride horses. As long as we have a fast boat, we can safely evacuate the families of civil and military officials.

Secondly, pick out the representative officials from Jiyin and Dongping who were the first to surrender to the enemy, as well as the families of the powerful who took the initiative to serve as accomplices to Guan Yu. As long as they are in Juancheng, take them to the city government and behead them in public before noon tomorrow! Hang their heads for public display! "

Cheng Yu's order really scared his staff and clerks.

Although everyone knows that Cheng Yu's approach is correct from the perspective of military law, since Prime Minister Cao likes to detain the families of soldiers, when the situation really collapses and a large number of civil and military officials surrender to the enemy, it is only natural to pick out some typical examples and kill them.

Otherwise, if we keep holding hostages but not killing them, what deterrent effect does the hostage system have?

But nowadays, Cao Cao rarely uses his butcher knife to solve these problems. If it really comes to this, everyone can't help feeling a sense of grief for the other party.

Originally in history, even though Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu in the Battle of Xiangfan, and so many of Yu Jin's generals and soldiers also surrendered, Cao Cao actually showed leniency and did not really take action against the families of Yu Jin and others.

Cao Cao also hoped that the value of the hostage system would remain at the level of deterrence rather than actual killing. It may also be that Cao Cao in history still had some confidence at that time, believing that he was still the strongest party and could turn the tables, so there was no need to kill Yu Jin's family for a temporary setback.

But now, the situation has finally changed, and Cao Cao's camp has become the weaker side.

Cheng Yu's actions were his last struggle and madness before his demise. It was time to stop the defectors from being deterred unless he killed the hostages.

We must use bloody examples to prove to the world that Prime Minister Cao really dares to kill hostages and is not just threatening.

Faced with Cheng Yu's tyranny, although the staff and subordinates felt that it was cruel and that killing was too easy, they could only dare to be angry but not say anything and just carried out his orders obediently.

The five or six families of "negative examples" chosen by Cheng Yu to be killed could definitely not be saved.

However, Guan Yu's atrocities also made the military and civilians in Juancheng increasingly panic-stricken, and more people secretly tried to contact Guan Yu who was marching towards Juancheng, and told him what was happening in Juancheng.

……

Guan Yu received this news on his final journey towards Juancheng.

He immediately informed Lu Su of the relevant situation and asked Lu Su to make a judgment.

Lu Su spent the shortest time to review the existing evidence and quickly came up with a few points of certainty:
"Cheng Yu was stubborn and stubborn. He even used military law to kill the families of the civil and military officials who were supporting our army. It was obvious that he was determined to follow Cao Cao to the end.

Although his killing can have a deterrent effect, the local people in Juancheng will definitely become more and more panicked, which is very unfavorable for long-term defense - because the Cao army in other cities in Yanzhou may worry that "after we surrender, the family hostages in Juancheng will be killed", but the local people in Juancheng don't have to worry about this situation. Because as long as they can offer Juancheng, or at least help our army take Juancheng, these family members will fall into our hands, and Cheng Yu will not be able to kill them. The more crazy Cheng Yu is to establish his prestige, the more likely these fearful people will find ways to get rid of Cheng Yu's terrorist threat as soon as possible.

With Cheng Yu's wisdom, it is impossible for him not to see this, so I guess he must want to kill a group of them and then retreat, to abandon Juancheng, to avoid being surrounded by our army."

Guan Yu was also furious when he heard this, and slammed the table in front of him: "Cheng Yu is a bastard, stubborn and unrepentant! I heard that he was unscrupulous and inhumane, even killing the elders of his hometown to feed Cao Cao.

If this old dog falls into my hands, I will definitely cut him into pieces. Zijing, is there any way for our army to kill this thief right now? I want to force a march immediately, speed up the approach, and surround Juancheng. Is it possible to make it in time? "

Lu Su thought about it for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "It is unlikely that he will catch up. With Cheng Yu's wisdom, if he dares to do this, how could he not be on guard in advance? He must have thought of a retreat route, and he would have used scouts to closely monitor the speed of our army's advance. As long as our army approaches Juancheng, he will escape in advance.

Moreover, Juancheng is close to the Yellow River, so Cheng Yu must have warships. However, our army came across several rivers such as the Jishui River, and it was all overland, so it was impossible to bring ships with the army.

At that time, even if we send a small number of light cavalry to chase Cheng Yu to the bank of the Yellow River, what will happen? We can just let the cavalry shoot arrows at the enemy ships on the Yellow River. "

When Guan Yu heard this, his inner enthusiasm couldn't help but cool down.

Indeed, he had abandoned his retreat and advanced here with his light troops. During the advance of the main army, he had never attempted to fully open up the waterway.

Guan Yu's own warships are still located in the east of Suiyang City, blocked in the lower reaches of Sui River.

Cheng Yu had a boat but he didn't, and Juancheng was close to the Yellow River, so how could he intercept him?

Guan Yu thought for a while, but still couldn't figure it out. Lu Su was quicker to react and provided another idea:

"If Yunchang is really determined to kill Cheng Yu... maybe he can only consider sending out scouts as soon as possible, through the enemy-occupied area, straight to the bank of the Yellow River, find a sampan to secretly cross the river, and contact Situ.

Although Situ's army in Hebei did not prepare Yellow River warships in advance, they had already advanced to the bank of the Yellow River and arrived at the river earlier than us.

In addition, the main force of Cao Cao was defeated in Hebei a few days ago. When the main force of Cao Cao retreated, there might be boats and rafts captured by our army along the river. Although these boats and rafts are definitely not big and not necessarily suitable for fighting, if they fall into Gongjin's hands, they may be able to turn decayed into something powerful and try to kill Cheng Yu who is retreating on a regular warship..."

Lu Su's few words were enough to enlighten Guan Yu.

He didn't have a boat himself, but Zhuge Jin on the north bank might already have one.

Zhuge Jin had previously advanced upstream along the Baigou River to Weijun to fight Cao Cao, and did not take the Yellow River. Zhuge Jin did not have any warships of the Yellow River Navy at the moment, and if he did, they were all temporarily captured from Cao Cao.

However, Lu Su knew his old friend Zhou Yu too well, and was too confident in Zhou Yu's ability in naval warfare.

Lu Su firmly believed that with Zhou Yu's level, even if he had a much smaller and weaker boat than Cheng Yu, he might be able to defeat and kill Cheng Yu on the Yellow River.

Guan Yu certainly would not dare to gamble with this confidence. He was not very familiar with Zhou Yu and did not fully understand Zhou Yu's talents.

Therefore, it would be most appropriate for this suggestion to be put forward by Lu Su.

In that case, whether Zhou Yu accepts this task in the end is Zhou Yu's own decision and has nothing to do with Guan Yu.

Even if Zhou Yu capsized, failed to intercept, or even died in battle, no one would think that Guan Yu was forcing Zhou Yu to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, and it would not affect internal unity.

"Acting this way... the success rate of killing Cheng Yu might be greatly increased, but wouldn't it be too risky for Gongjin?"

Guan Yu still had to be polite. After all, Zhou Yu was not under his command, and he couldn't be generous to others, so he asked this question.

Lu Su was closer to Zhou Yu and could help Zhou Yu take on more responsibilities. He immediately said, "Yun Chang can contact Situ as soon as possible. Situ will naturally ask Gong Jin if he is willing to take the risk."

Guan Yu thought about it and it made sense. He was just making a suggestion and laying out the opportunity. It was up to Zhou Yu to go or not. Even if an order was given to Zhou Yu, it was Zhuge Jin's order and there was no overstepping of authority.

So Guan Yu made up his mind completely.

"In this case, our army will continue to advance step by step, but we must not push too fast, otherwise Cheng Yu will be scared away in advance. We should agree on a time to meet up with the insider in Juancheng, but we should not contact him too often to avoid increasing the risk of leaks.

As for whether to kill Cheng Yu and his breakout troops, let Ziyu and Gongjin decide. Our army can only ensure that Cheng Yu cannot escape by land on the south bank of the Yellow River, and that is all we have done. "

When Guan Yu thought about this, he sorted out his thoughts and responsibilities, and at the same time, he wrote an urgent letter and asked someone to deliver it to Zhuge Jin.

In Guan Yu's letter, he also divided the responsibilities for trying to intercept Cheng Yu and others - this division was not discussed, but was decided. If Cheng Yu dared to retreat by land on the south bank of the Yellow River, and let Cheng Yu escape, it would mean that Guan Yu had not fought well.

If Cheng Yu fled upstream along the Yellow River, it would mean that Zhuge Jin failed to stop him. But Guan Yu would not pursue anything, and it was impossible for him to pursue anything. It was nothing more than Zhuge Jin's troops wasting a fighting opportunity.

……

The two sides were assigned tasks, and Guan Yu quickly carried out the plan step by step, gradually tightening the noose around the necks of Cao's army in Juancheng.

Inside Juancheng City, Cheng Yu also made preparations for breaking out as quickly as possible.

The families of the civil and military officials and the elite troops who had to be taken away were gathered together and arranged on board the ship, and the supplies and rations for the ship were also prepared.

While all this was being prepared, the families of surrendered generals and powerful people who had previously taken the initiative to contact Guan Yu in other counties to serve as internal supporters were also picked out, involving a total of six or seven families.

The next day, early in the morning of November 4th, Cheng Yu personally presided over the process, tied up all the hostages and took them to the busiest Shicao in Juancheng, and then announced their crimes.

It was called the Shicao, because the war was approaching and the people in Juancheng were in a panic, and there were not many people walking around in the Shicao. It was only when they heard that a large number of people were going to be executed that many people secretly watched from a distance, but few people dared to come close to watch.

This also shows the fear of Cheng Yu among the military and civilians of Juancheng.

Cheng Yu also knew the mentality of the locals, and he didn't care about it anymore. He just wanted to establish his authority before leaving, to prove that the prime minister was serious about holding hostages, not just for fun.

Following his order, a group of executioners swung their knives. Heads rolled everywhere, blood spurted from necks, and hundreds of hostages were killed on the spot within the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

"This is what it means to betray the court! Betray the Prime Minister! The consequences of welcoming the enemy! If one person welcomes the enemy, the whole family will be considered traitors!"

Cheng Yu fiercely promoted and strengthened Cao Cao's accumulated prestige. He knew that once he used this tactic, people would become more panic-stricken, but he had no choice.

After killing everyone, he organized the remaining main force and the families that should be taken away, went out of the city to the north, boarded the boat, took the Yellow River waterway, and retreated upstream to Puyang.

He felt that Puyang upstream could still be held. Firstly, Puyang was more solid. Secondly, as long as they retreated to Puyang, there would be no bulge, and the front line could be flattened, so they would not be surrounded by Guan Yu or Zhuge Jin.

The reason why Juancheng could not be defended was that Cangting on the opposite bank had been lost and fell into the hands of Zhuge Jin. Once Guan Yu arrived in the south, they were surrounded on all sides and there was no way to retreat.

If they retreated to Puyang, the other side would be between Liyang and Dunqiu in Wei County. Liyang was the gateway to Yecheng and was still firmly in the hands of Cao's army.

Therefore, after retreating to Puyang, no matter how Guan Yu pursued him in the south, he would not be able to completely surround him. Cheng Yu was confident that he could use his accumulated power to intimidate those who wavered and make them continue to work for Prime Minister Cao.

As for whether Guan Yu could intercept him on the surface of the Yellow River, Cheng Yu was not too worried about that.

(End of this chapter)