How did Battle of Red Cliffs happen?

After Cao Cao pacified the north, in 208 AD, he led a great army south and attacked Liu Biao. Before his troops arrived in Jingzhou, Liu Biao had died of illness. Liu Cong, his son, was frightened by the great momentum of the sword and Cao Jun, and sent someone to surrender first. At this time, Liu Bei was stationed in Fancheng (now Xiangfan City, Hubei Province). He heard that Cao Cao's army was going south and decided to retreat to Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei). People in Jingzhou heard that Liu Bei was kind to others and would rather retire with him.

Cao Cao rushed to Xiangyang, heard that Liu Bei was retreating to Jiangling, and learned that Liu Biao had hoarded a large amount of rations in Jiangling, fearing that Liu Bei would take it, and personally led five thousand light cavalry to chase Liu Bei. Liu Bei's men brought weapons and equipment, and hundreds of thousands of people followed him, and they could only March for more than ten miles every day. Cao Cao's cavalry drove more than 300 Li a day and night, and soon caught up with Liu Bei in Changbanpo, Dangyang (now northeast of Dangyang County, Hubei Province). Liu Bei's men were shattered by Cao Cao's cavalry, but Zhang Fei resisted for a while in Changbanpo. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang took several troops to get rid of the pursuers. However, the road to Jiangling has been cut off by Cao Jun, and we have to divert to Xiakou (now Wuhan, Hubei).

Cao Cao occupied Jiangling, continued eastward along the river, and soon reached Xiakou. Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei, "The situation is urgent, so we have to ask Sun Quan for help." Just as Sun Quan was afraid that Jingzhou would be occupied by Cao Cao, he sent Lu Su to Liu Bei to persuade him and Sun Quan to jointly resist Cao Jun. Zhuge Liang went to Chai Sang (now southwest of Jiujiang, Jiangxi) with Lu Su to see Sun Quan. When Zhuge Liang met Sun Quan, he said, "Now that Cao Cao has captured Jingzhou, he is about to attack Soochow. If the general is determined to resist, he will break off relations with Cao Cao as soon as possible and resist with us; Otherwise, simply surrender to them. If you hesitate again, the disaster will be too late. " Sun Quan asked, "Then why didn't General Liu surrender to Cao Cao?" Zhuge Liang said solemnly, "General Liu is descended from the royal family, so he can conquer the world. How can he surrender to Cao Cao? " Hearing Zhuge Liang's words, Sun Quan also said excitedly, "I can't give away the land in Jiangdong and 100,000 troops in vain. However, General Liu just lost the battle. How can he resist Cao Jun? "

Zhuge Liang said, "Don't worry. General Liu was defeated for a while, but the water army still has 20 thousand. Although Cao Cao had many soldiers and horses, the soldiers came from far away and were exhausted. Besides, northerners are not used to water warfare, and Jingzhou people are not satisfied. As long as we work together in Qi Xin, we will surely defeat Jun. "Sun Quan was very happy after listening to Zhuge Liang's analysis, so he immediately called his generals to discuss ways to resist Cao Cao.

Just then, Cao Cao sent soldiers to pick up the gauntlet. The letter said: "I was ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to lead troops south. Today, there are 800,000 water troops, and I am willing to compete with the generals. " Sun Quan handed the letter to his men, and everyone was pale and speechless. Zhang Zhao is the oldest official in Wu Dong. He said: "Cao Cao used the name of the son of heaven to make a real conquest." We have to resist him. Theoretically, we have already lost. Besides, we wanted to rely on the Yangtze River natural barrier, but now we can't rely on it. Cao Jun occupied Jingzhou with thousands of warships. They came down by land and water, and we couldn't resist them. I think we have to surrender. " After Mr. Zhang said this, many people immediately echoed it. Only Lu Su looked on coldly and said nothing. Hearing this, Sun Quan felt that it was not a taste, so he walked out of the house, followed by Lu Su. Sun Quan took Lu Su's hand and said, "What do you think?"

Lu Su said, "I can't help but listen to what Zhang Zhao and others say. Speaking of surrender, I, Lu Su, can surrender, but the general can't. Because I surrendered, I can't go back to my hometown, I still associate with celebrities, and I can be a county magistrate if I have the opportunity. If the general surrenders, all six counties in Jiangdong will fall into the hands of Cao Cao. Where are you going? " Sun Quan sighed and said, "What everyone said just now really disappointed me. Only what you say suits me. " After the meeting, Lu Su advised Sun Quan to recall Zhou Yu, a general in Poyang, to discuss.

As soon as Zhou Yu arrived in Chai Sang, Sun Quan summoned officials from civil and military departments to discuss. Zhou Yu said emotionally at the meeting: "Cao Cao is known as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, but he is actually a traitor of the Han Dynasty. This time he came to die himself, and there is no reason to surrender to him. " He analyzed many disadvantages of Cao Cao, and thought that the northern soldiers would not have a water war. If they went far to this strange place, they would definitely get sick. It's useless to have more soldiers and horses.

Sun Quan was encouraged by Zhou Yu's words. He stood up and pulled out his sword. With a "notch", he cut off a corner of the watch case. He said sternly, "Whoever wants to surrender to Cao Cao again is just like this table."

That evening, Zhou Yu went to see Sun Quan alone and said, "I have already asked clearly. Cao Cao's military forces claim to be 800 thousand, which is a bluff. In fact, it is only 200 thousand, and many of them are Jingzhou soldiers, so they may not really fight for him. As long as you give me 50 thousand soldiers, I'll keep him and beat him. "