Tell me about the Battle of Chibi

War date: July to December 208 AD

During the formation of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Quan and Liu Bei's coalition forces fought in Chibi, the Yangtze River (today's Puzhou, Hubei Province) in the 13th year of Emperor Xian's Jian'an (208 AD). The famous battle that defeated Cao Cao's army in the northwest of Qi (now northeast of Jiayu) and laid the foundation for the establishment of the Three Kingdoms.

After Cao Cao basically unified the north, he used the Xuanwu Pond to train his sailors and took measures against possible unrest in the Guanzhong area. Then in July of the 13th year of Jian'an, he sent more than 100,000 troops to conquer Jingzhou (about today's Hubei and Hunan). ), wanting to unify the north and the south. At that time, Sun Quan had conquered Xiakou (today's Wuhan) from Jiangdong, opened the door to Jingzhou from the west, and was about to annex Jing and Yizhou (governing Chengdu), and then develop northward; while Liu Bei, who was attached to Jingzhou as a herdsman, Liu Biao, "visited the thatched cottage three times." "Zhuge Liang was recruited as a counselor, and he used Longzhong's countermeasures to formulate a strategy of occupying Jing and Yi first, uniting with Sun Quan, and entering the Central Plains of Tutu. He also practiced the navy and army in Fancheng. Weaknesses such as Cao Cao's army being overworked, not acclimatized to the climate, unable to fight on water, and having no food for his horses strengthened Sun Quan's determination to resist Cao Cao. Sun Quan ignored the opposition of Zhang Zhao and others who surrendered, and appointed Zhou Yu as the chief governor, Cheng Pu as the deputy governor, and Lu Su as the captain of the Zan Army. He led 30,000 elite sailors, and joined forces with Liu Bei to kill about 50,000 soldiers and went up the river. , stationed in Xiakou.

After Cao Cao took advantage of the victory and captured Jiangling, he appointed Liu Biao's general Wenpin as the prefect of Jiangxia. He still commanded his troops and guarded Hanchuan (today's Jianghan Plain). Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang also sent troops to replenish Cao Cao's army and began to pay tribute to the court. Cao Cao became even more arrogant and underestimated the enemy. He did not listen to the advice of his adviser Jia Xu to postpone his eastward march, and sent a letter to threaten Sun Quan, claiming that he would decisively fight against Wu. In winter, the pro-unification army advanced along the Yangtze River by land and water.

After the allied forces of Sun and Liu were deployed in Xiakou, they went up the river to meet Cao's army and met at Chibi. Facing the river, Cao's army lost its power on foot and cavalry. It was newly reorganized and had new sailors attached to Jingzhou. It had poor combat effectiveness and was hit by an epidemic. As a result, it suffered a defeat in the first battle. It hurriedly retreated to the north bank and stationed troops in Wulin (now Honghu, Hubei), across the river from the allied forces. Confrontation.

Cao Cao ordered the warships to be connected together, which reduced the turbulence of the wind and waves and facilitated the northern soldiers to board the ship. He wanted to step up the drill and wait for the attack. Seeing that the enemy was outnumbered and the enemy was outnumbered, Zhou Yu was determined to find an opportunity to fight quickly. In view of the weakness of Cao Jun's "serial ship", Huang Gai, the general of the Ministry, proposed a fire attack, which was praised. Huang Gai immediately sent someone to deliver a false surrender letter to Cao Cao, and then set off with dozens of ships. The first 10 ships were loaded with dry firewood soaked in oil, covered with cloth, and the flags agreed with Cao Cao were planted, and light boats were tied behind the ships. , heading towards Wulin with the southeasterly wind. When they approached the other side, Cao's troops, who were on low alert, rushed to watch Huang Gai's surrender. At this time, Huang Gai ordered the firewood to be lit, and they all transferred to small boats to retreat. The fire ship took advantage of the wind and broke into Cao's naval formation, and a sea of ????fire suddenly spread to the camp on the shore. The coalition forces took advantage of the situation to attack, causing Cao's army to suffer heavy casualties. Cao Cao knew that the defeat could not be reversed, so he ordered the remaining ships to be burned and his troops retreated.

Site of the Battle of Chibi The allied forces advanced by land and water to pursue Cao's army. Cao Cao led his troops away from the river bank and took a shortcut to Jiangling. When they encountered mud on Huarong Road (now Qianjiang South), they rode on grass and escaped. Cao Cao left Cao Ren to guard Jiangling, Manchong stationed in Dangyang, and then returned to the north.

Zhou Yu and others confronted Cao Ren across the river, and sent Gan Ning to attack Yiling (now Yichang). Cao Ren divided his troops to besiege Gan Ning. Zhou Yu led his army to rescue and defeated Cao Ren's army. He then returned his army to cross the north bank of the river and continued to confront Cao Ren. After Liu Bei returned to Xiakou from Jiangling, he followed the Han River to reach Cao Ren's rear. Cao Ren knew that it would be difficult to maintain a stalemate, so he was forced to retreat the following year.

In the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was overconfident and underestimated the enemy, made command errors, and the navy was not strong, which led to his ultimate defeat. In the face of a powerful enemy, Sun Quan and Liu Bei calmly analyzed the situation, formed an alliance to resist the war, used their strengths in water warfare, and skillfully used fire to attack, creating a famous example in Chinese military history of the weak defeating the strong. Cao Cao's Southern Expedition and the Changban Pursuit Edit this paragraph In the autumn and July of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao began his southern expedition. He asked Xun Yu for advice. Xun Yu said: "Now that you have unified China (the Yellow River Basin), the south has been shaken. You should Taking advantage of the situation and quickly marching out of Ye and Wan, Jingxiang was afraid and could pacify Jingzhou." (Note 2)

In August, Liu Biao died of illness. As expected, Liu Bei heard that Cao Cao had gone to Wancheng to abandon Xinye and go to Xiangyang. Surrender to Cao Cao. At this time, everything was going too smoothly, and Cao Cao had basically completed his strategy of going south.

There is only one old enemy left, Liu Bei. At this moment, he is fleeing to Dangyang with "100,000 people" and is about to go to the military town of Jiangling. Therefore, Cao Cao dispatched his elite troops of 5,000 "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" to "travel more than 300 miles a day and a night" to catch up with Liu Bei in Changban, defeat the main force of Liu's army, "obtain his two women's baggage, and collect his Scattered soldiers". (Note 3)

"Three Kingdoms·Liu Bei's Biography" says: "The First Lord abandoned his wife and rode away with Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and dozens of others. Duke Cao was greatly rewarded with their people's baggage."

"Three Kingdoms·Zhang Fei's Biography" records: "Cao Gong pursued him for a day and a night, reaching Changban in Dangyang. When the former master heard that Cao Gong's death was coming, he abandoned his wife and left, and sent Fei to reject twenty riders. . Flying to the water and breaking the bridge, he raised his spear with angry eyes and said: "I am Zhang Yide, come here to fight to the death!" "None of the enemies dared to approach, so they were spared."

"Three Kingdoms·Zhao Yun Biography" records: "The former master was chased by Cao Gong in Dangyang Changban, abandoned his wife and went south, Yun Shen Holding the weak son is the queen's mistress, and protecting Mrs. Gan is the queen's mistress, so they can avoid disaster."

In short, the form has many similarities with the description in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", except that Cao Cao did not. Only 830,000 troops. It should be said that this pursuit showed the powerful combat effectiveness of Cao's elite cavalry, and also showed Liu Bei's life-long military experience. Judging from the comparison of strength, both sides can be said to be invincible.

The naval force led by Guan Yu assisted Liu Bei in Hanjin, so that Liu Bei did not suffer annihilation, and Liu Bei fled to Xiakou. The attempt to occupy Jiangling against Cao Cao failed.

Cao Cao led his troops to occupy Jiangling and obtained a large number of warships and strategic supplies, which made Cao Cao decide to go further south and completely eliminate Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

As early as Cao Cao's southern expedition, Sun Quan transferred his troops to Chaisang and sent Lu Su to Jingzhou to explore the reality (Note 4). As a result, Liu Biao died, but he met Liu Bei and the two parties decided to form an alliance. Alliance, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang as envoy to Soochow. Cao Cao continued to move south and Sun Quan was determined to defeat the enemy. Edit this paragraph. After Cao Cao occupied Jiangling, he went south to Wulin, intending to cross the river to destroy Liu Bei. At the same time, he sent a message to the east of the Yangtze River with 300 old soldiers and imperial belongings to Cao Gong. Cao Cao worshiped Su as the prefect of Guanghan.

A Regarding Liu Bei's military strength during this period, you can refer to the "Three Kingdoms·Zhuge Liang Biography", which records Zhuge Liang's words: "Today's warriors have returned and Guan Yu's navy has 10,000 elite soldiers, and Liu Qi and Jiangxia soldiers have no less than 10,000 soldiers."

But this statement is obviously made for the alliance to improve its status and obtain equal treatment, so it is not small.

"Three Kingdoms·Biography of Lu Su" (should be a joint biography of Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng and others, the same below) quotes "Wu Shu" to record Lu Su's words: Shi and Yuzhou looked at Changban, The people in Yuzhou are not one school.

Even the "first school" of soldiers was not enough, which shows that Liu Bei was indeed at the end of his rope at that time.

"Jiang Biao Zhuan" records: Liu Bei "took two thousand men together with Yu and Fei. It was not because of the heavy losses since the thirteenth year of Jian'an that Cao Cao had to withdraw his troops in December and failed to do so." Continue south.

It can be seen that although the losses in Chibi are not small, the overall strength of Cao Cao's army is still much greater than that of Sun Liu, but it is not enough to continue crossing the river two years later. The Xiliang troops were severely defeated.

So, although Cao Cao burned his navy warships, Cao Cao's army still maintained a considerable number, and his elite troops basically did not suffer losses. The failure caused Cao Cao to be unable to cross the river and land, and the plague forced Cao Cao to give up his attempt to land from Chibi.

Most of these lost warships were left behind by the original Jingzhou navy. They were all former Jingzhou soldiers. Cao Cao's direct losses in the Battle of Chibi came from here. Although the indirect losses due to the plague were not small (Note 10), they were not much compared to the Jingzhou navy. It can be seen that at any time It's good to be a "direct lineage"!

B During this period, the strength of Liu Bei's army began to increase. "Jiang Biao Zhuan" records: Zhou Yu was the prefect of Nanjun and set up a separate camp in You on the south bank. Jiangkou was renamed Gong'an. Many of Liu Biao's officials rebelled and came to join the army.

It can be seen that Liu Bei must have been busy in Jingzhou for several years.

Liu Bei then took over. The counties in Jingnan further expanded their strength. In just two years, Liu Bei was able to fight on two fronts.

"The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of the First Lord" records: "The First Lord left Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and others to occupy Jingzhou, and sent tens of thousands of infantry into Yizhou. ... The First Lord gathered more than 30,000 troops, and the chariots, armor, equipment, and supplies were very abundant."

Liu Bei is indeed not a simple person, but he succeeded a little late. "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Lu Su" records: The reserve went to Jing to see Quan and asked to be the governor of Jingzhou, but Wei Su persuaded Quan to lend him, and the emperor refused Cao Gong. When Cao Gong heard that he had the power and prepared it with land, he wrote the book and put it on the ground.

C As for the strength of the Wu army, there was not much change. Although they recruited some northern troops and gained many war horses when attacking Cao Ren (Note 11), they also suffered casualties.

It should still maintain its original strength. Summary of Cao Cao's deployment and mistakes in the Battle of Chibi Edit this paragraph 1. Cao Cao's deployment:

Cao Cao captured Jiangling before October of the 13th year of Jian'an, with hundreds of thousands of supporters. On the one hand, he ordered Wen Pin to be a general and "envoy to the north" to guard the Jiangxia border. On the one hand, he personally led the army to continue southward to Wulin, preparing to land in Chibi.

So did Cao Cao arrange the absolute main force on the Wulin front line? The answer is yes.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Ren" records: From Jingzhou, he marched with benevolence to conquer the southern general, stayed in Jiangling, and rejected the Wu general Zhou Yu.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Chun" records: After conquering Jingzhou, he pursued Liu Bei in Changban, obtained his two daughters' baggage, and collected his scattered soldiers. Enter and descend to Jiangling.

"Three Kingdoms·Le Jin Biography" records: Later, he left Jingzhou and stayed in Xiangyang.

"Three Kingdoms·Biography of Xu Huang" records: Conquer Jingzhou and leave the camp in Fan.

"Three Kingdoms·Man Chong Biography" records: In the 13th year of Jian'an, Taizu conquered Jingzhou. When the army returned, General Fenwei left his favor and settled in Dangyang.

"Three Kingdoms·Zhao Yan Biography" records: Taizu conquered Jingzhou, Yi Yan led the Zhangling prefect, moved to the governor to protect the army, and protected the seven armies of Jin, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao and Feng Kai .

It can be seen that Cao Cao’s generals are almost here. Did these generals not reach Wulin and stay in various places in Jingzhou? The answer is no.

The so-called "stay in the camp" means that it is not the deployment before the Battle of Wulin, but after.

You must know that "Three Kingdoms" is based on Wei, and the Battle of Chibi was a stain on Cao Jun. Naturally, we will not write more about them, and there will be no specific deeds of them. For example, the number one surname in Cao Jun's army is General Jin. His original biography doesn't even have the words "from Ping Jingzhou". If the "Biography of Zhao Yan" hadn't mentioned him, we would have no evidence that he arrived in Jingzhou.

Another example is Zhang Liao, who was mentioned in Yu Xin's "Ai Jiangnan Ode": "Zhang Liao came to Chibi, and Wang Jun descended to Baqiu."

It can be seen that Cao Cao’s main troops have all marched to Chibi. He hoped to use the Jingzhou Navy as the main force and then use his absolute military advantage to cross the river. However, he overestimated the Jingzhou Navy and underestimated the Wu Army and the Yangtze River.

2. Cao Cao’s mistakes:

In fact, Zhou Yu has already made a very incisive discussion on this issue. The four points he analyzed should be said to be Cao Cao’s fatal flaw.

(1) Ma Chao and Han Sui are still in Kansai, causing future trouble.

The Guanxi Army has always been a threat to Cao Cao.

(2) It is not China’s strength to abandon pommel horses and use boats to compete with Wu and Yue;

Cao Cao also understands this truth. What he hopes is to use the Jingzhou navy to fight against Wu Jun, unfortunately he was wrong. The contact battle before the Battle of Chibi proved everything. That's why Cao Cao locked up the warship, but it was precisely because of this that he was attacked by the enemy. In the final analysis, it was caused by the navy's incompetence.

(3) It is also very cold today and there is no grass for horses;

"Three Kingdoms: Sun Quan's Biography" records: The remaining ships were burned and retreated, and most of the soldiers died of hunger and disease. It can be seen that the horses have no fodder, and the people are not much better. Hunger and plague are the two major problems plaguing Cao's army. Even with such a large number of troops, it is difficult to win.

(4) When Chinese scholars are driven to travel far across the rivers and lakes, if they are not accustomed to the soil and water, they will inevitably get sick.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Cao": When the Duke arrives at Chibi, it is not good for him to prepare for war. As a result, there was a great epidemic and many officials and officials died, so they led the army back. There were counties in Jingzhou and Jiangnan in preparation.

"Jiang Biao Zhuan" records: (Cao Cao) later wrote to Quan: "In the battle of Chibi, there was a disease, and the lonely ship burned and retreated, which made Zhou Yu falsely receive this name." The plague became The key factor that affects the situation of the war.

(5) Liu Biao’s newly recruited people have not yet returned home. Edit this section of Cao Cao's march route 1 Offensive route:

"Three Kingdoms: Chronicles of Emperor Wu" records: In the seventh month of autumn, Gongnan conquered Liu Biao, and in August, Biao died. His son Congdai stationed in Xiangyang, and Liu Bei stationed in Xiangyang. Fan. When the Duke arrived in Xinye in September, Cong surrendered and prepared to leave Xiakou. The Duke marched to Jiangling. ...The Duke marched from Jiangling to prepare for war and went to Baqiu...The Duke went to Chibi to prepare for war, but it was disadvantageous.

"The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms·Biography of Xu Huang" records: Conquer Jingzhou and leave the camp in Fan.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Chun" records: After conquering Jingzhou, he pursued Liu Bei in Changban, obtained his two daughters' baggage, and collected his scattered soldiers. Enter and descend to Jiangling.

"Three Kingdoms·Zhao Yan Biography" records: Taizu conquered Jingzhou, Yi Yan led the Zhangling prefect, moved to the governor to protect the army, and protected the seven armies of Jin, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao and Feng Kai .

It can be seen that Cao Cao attacked across the board from Xuchang, basically attacking Jingzhou with a suppressive posture. It was this posture that scared Liu Bei away and frightened Liu Cong into surrender.

Cao Cao's offensive route is basically as follows:

Xu - Xinye (Fan) - Xiangyang (another Wenpin is sent to defend Jiangxia) - Dangyang - Jiangling - Baqiu - Chibi.

2 Defeat route:

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian" records: The troops were walking along Huarong Road, but encountered muddy conditions, impassable roads, and strong winds. If you fill it with grass, you can ride on it. The poor soldiers were trapped in the mud by men and horses, and many died.

The "Heroes of the Late Han Dynasty" records: After the defeat of Cao Gong at Chibi, when he arrived at Yunmeng Daze, he encountered heavy fog and lost his way.

If the two records match, then "Huarong Road" and "Yunmeng Daze" should be the same place. During the Three Kingdoms period, Huarong Road was located south of Qianjiang and north of Jianli on the Jianghan Plain. Yunmeng Daze should be understood as including large swamps and scattered lakes from Dongting Lake in the south to Jiangling.

However, in the "Three Kingdoms·Guo Jia Biography", it is said: "When Taizu returned from the expedition to Jingzhou, he encountered an epidemic in Baqiu and burned the boat."

So are the records in "Zizhi Tongjian" and "Heroes" simply wrong?

This is how I see it, Cao Cao passed through Huarong from Wulin. Although the middle road was difficult and even lost, they finally reached Baqiu and retreated to Jiangling.

"Tongdian" records: "There is Cao Youzhou at the mouth of Sanjiang in Dongting Lake, where Cao Gong was defeated." "Kuo Di Zhi" records: "There is Cao Youzhou in Baqiu Lake, and Cao Gong was defeated by Sun Quan. "Ship Place."

It is worth noting that there are two places in Baqiu: one is in today's Yueyang, and the other is in today's Chongren, Jiangxi. The Baqiu where Cao Cao burned the ship should be Baqiu of Yueyang; the Baqiu who "returned to Yuzhang and Luling, and left Baqiu as a town" recorded in "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zhou Yu" should be Chongren of Jiangxi.

To sum up, we can summarize Cao Cao’s entire itinerary: Xu - Xinye (Fan) - Xiangyang - Dangyang (Changban pursuit battle) - Jiangling - Baqiu - Chibi (defeated) - Huarong Dao (Yunmeng Daze) - Baqiu (Burning Boat) - Nanjun - Qiao. "Three Kingdoms·Liu Bei's Biography" compiled in this section of the action route of the Sun-Liu coalition forces records: "Cao Gong thought that Jiangling had strong military strength and was afraid that the Lord would occupy it first, so he released the heavy baggage and sent the light army to Xiangyang. Hearing that the Lord had passed..., and at Dangyang's Changban... The First Lord headed towards Hanjin, where he met with the Yu Ship, and got Ji Mian. He met his eldest son, Jiangxia Prefect, Qi, with more than 10,000 people, and they all arrived at Xiakou... He had the power to send Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and others to the water. The army numbered tens of thousands and joined forces with the First Lord to fight Cao Gong at Chibi. They defeated him and burned his boats. The First Lord and the Wu army advanced by land and water and pursued them to Nanjun."

This record is already very detailed:

Xinye - Xiangyang - Dangyang (defeat) - Hanjin - Xiakou (joined Zhou Yu) - Chibi (win) ——Huarong Road——Nanjun.

"Three Kingdoms·Zhuge Liang's Biography" records: As for Xiakou, the First Lord... At that time, Quan supported his army in Chaisang to wait and see the success or failure.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zhou Yu" records: Quan then sent Yu and Cheng Pu and others to join forces with Bei to rebel against Duke Cao, and met at Chibi... The Duke's army was defeated and retreated to the north of the Yangtze River. Yu waited on the south bank...The army was defeated and retreated, returning to Baonan County. Bei, Yu and others resumed pursuit.

Cao Gong left Cao Ren and others to guard Jiangling City and returned north.

It is also relatively clear:

Chaisang - Xiakou - Chibi - Wulin - Jiangling.

The meeting of the two armies should be near Xiakou or Jiangkou. When the Battle of Chibi took place, edit this paragraph: In July of the 13th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao began his southern expedition and probably occupied Jiangling in October. So in what month did the Battle of Chibi take place?

"Three Kingdoms·Wudi Ji" records: "In December...the public marched from Jiangling to prepare..."

"The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records: In the tenth month of winter, Guiwei, there will be Eclipse it. On Renwu in the twelfth month, Ma Teng, the general before the expedition, was appointed as a guard. That month, Cao Cao and Zhou Yu fought in Chibi, and Cao Cao was defeated.

This seems to be the Battle of Chibi that took place in the winter of December of the 13th year of Jian'an.

However, "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and "Hou Han Shu" recorded October (Note 12).

There is also what "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" said about November:

Kong Ming said: "On the 20th, Jiazi sacrifices to the wind, and on the 22nd, Bingyin is the wind. How? "...Kong Ming said: "On the 20th of November, you can teach Zilong to wait on the south bank in a small boat."

In fact, these three statements have some truth. First of all, if we say it in October, the Battle of Chibi can actually be said to be an encounter, because Cao Cao only occupied Jiangling in October, and the battle ended in the same month; secondly, if we say it in November, it seems neither too early nor too late, but Unfortunately, this view is based on novels, and its credibility cannot be compared with official history. According to the most authoritative "Three Kingdoms", it should be the Battle of Chibi that broke out in the winter of the 13th year of Jian'an, but this is This view is somewhat contradictory to other accounts.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Jiang Ji" records: "In the 13th year of Jian'an, Sun Quan led the crowd to besiege Hefei... Quan believed in it and burned it suddenly, and the city was completely used. He was sent to Qiao next year." This shows that the battle of Hefei It was over in the 13th year of Jian'an. So if the Battle of Chibi happened in December, Cao Cao could still run from Jingzhou to Hefei during this time. It was too tight and the time could not be explained at all.

However, "Celestial Phenomenon of the Three Thousand and Five Hundred Years Calendar" records: "Wuzi in the thirteenth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the twelfth month of the twelfth lunar month, there was a small cold in the fifteenth year of Bingshen, and a great cold in the thirtieth year of Xinhai. Leap twelve On the 15th day of the lunar calendar, the 13th year of Jian'an falls in the leap twelfth month. In this way, all the tense times fall into place.

As for the theory of October 1, it is quite contradictory to other records in "Three Kingdoms".

"Three Kingdoms·Wudi Ji" records: The Duke marched to Jiangling and ordered the officials and people of Jingzhou to reform. Regarding the merits of Jingzhou's obedience, there were fifteen marquises, Liu Biao's general Wenpin was appointed as the prefect of Jiangxia, and he was responsible for commanding the troops. Jingzhou celebrities such as Han Song and Deng Yi were cited.

This shows that Cao Cao had a considerable period of time to stabilize the situation after occupying Jiangling.

The "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Zhou Yu" records: It is very cold today, and there is no grass for the horses.

"Shenghan" should be interpreted as midwinter, but October can hardly be called midwinter, and December is "the Great Cold of the 1930s".

In addition, the theory of October is not clearly stated in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" that the Battle of Chibi took place in December, but a vague record. There is room for maneuver, and it is probably the same. The authors of both books have doubts about this date, but are not conclusive.

To sum up, December should be the most authoritative and reasonable explanation.

The entire month of winter and December in the thirteenth year of Jian'an is: from December 25, 208 AD to January 23, 209 AD. The Battle of Chibi took place during this time period.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cao Cao" records: "In December, Sun Quan prepared to attack Hefei. The Duke marched from Jiangling to Baqiu, and sent Zhang Xi to rescue Hefei. When Quan heard that Xi had arrived, he left." .

According to "The Biography of Cao Cao", Sun Quan attacked Hefei first and then the Battle of Chibi occurred.

"Three Kingdoms: Sun Quan's Biography" records: "Bei, Yu and others pursued to Nanjun, and Cao Gong returned north... Quan led his troops to surround Hefei, and sent Zhang Zhao to attack Dangtu in Jiujiang. Zhao's troops were disadvantageous. Quan could not attack the city for more than a month. Cao Gong returned from Jingzhou and sent General Zhang Xi to ride to Hefei, so Quan retreated."

According to Sun Quan’s biography, Sun Quan only attacked Hefei after the Battle of Chibi.

Did Chen Shou remember it wrong? Later generations had many speculations about this. "Sun Sheng's Similarities and Differences" commented: According to Wu Zhi, Liu Bei defeated the public army first, and then Quan attacked Hefei. However, this record says that Yun Quan attacked Hefei first, and then the incident in Chibi. The two are different, Wu Zhiwei is right.

But in fact we all know that the chronicle of "Three Kingdoms" is Cao Cao. If people who read "Three Kingdoms" want to know the time, they must read this chronicle first, and other biographies must follow it. Based on this principle, Cao Cao's chronicle is absolutely strict in terms of time, otherwise the chronological order of the entire book will be chaotic. "Three Kingdoms" naturally meets this condition to be called a good history.

In other words, it is certain that Sun Quan attacked Hefei before the Battle of Chibi. Although "The Biography of Sun Quan" did not say until after the Battle of Chibi that "Quan himself led his troops to besiege Hefei", its concept of time is different from that of Cao Cao. The ratio is completely different, not to mention that there is a sentence at the end, "The siege cannot last more than a month", which shows that the battle lasted for a long time. It can be completely understood that it took place before the Battle of Chibi, and it only focuses on describing the Battle of Chibi. Let’s talk about it later.

There is an unavoidable problem with this understanding. There are contradictions in the accounts of Zhang Xi's dispatch in "The Biography of Cao Cao" and "The Biography of Sun Quan".

According to "The Biography of Cao Cao", Zhang Xi was sent before the Battle of Chibi, while according to "The Biography of Sun Quan", it was after.

If we still understand it according to the "Benji", then Chen Shou's record of this period is a failure, because the existence of Sun Quan's biography is completely misleading.

But the author does not think so.

According to "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Jiang Ji": "In the 13th year of Jian'an, Sun Quan led his troops to besiege Hefei. At that time, the army was marching in Jingzhou. When there was an epidemic, he only sent General Zhang Xi to lead the army of Runan with a thousand cavalry. In order to relieve the siege, the epidemic situation returned. The governor of Jinai Mibai received a false letter of joy. Forty thousand Yunbu cavalry arrived at Hulou. Three envoys were sent to greet the city's garrison, and one of them was able to enter the city. The whole army was captured by thieves, and Quan believed in it, so they burned it and surrounded it, and the whole city was used."

The record says: "When there is an epidemic... the disease is quite severe." It is likely that Zhang Xi was sent after a large-scale outbreak of the plague.

Moreover, Cao Cao had more than 200,000 troops before the Battle of Chibi, but he only sent a mere "single general and thousands of cavalry" to rescue such an important place as Hefei. It is really difficult to explain, unless it was after the defeat of Chibi. Cao Cao's cavalry and horses suffered heavy losses, so he had to send thousands of cavalry to support him first.

To sum up, it is true that Sun Quan attacked Hefei before the Battle of Chibi, and Zhang Xi was sent to rescue after the Battle of Chibi. This understanding can not only explain "The Chronicles of Cao Cao", but also take into account "The Biography of Sun Quan".

And there is nothing unexplainable:

First of all, Sun Quan's attack on Hefei should have been very close to the Battle of Chibi, or even at the same time, otherwise Cao Cao would not have been defeated in Chibi. Only then did they send reinforcements.

Secondly, Cao Cao's march passed through Baqiu, and he also passed through Baqiu when he was defeated, which is consistent with the record.

In addition, this can explain the movements of the remaining Wu troops in the batch of "50,000 soldiers are difficult to unite, but 30,000 have been selected" recorded in "Jiang Biao Zhuan".

Of course, if you understand that Mr. Chen Shou deliberately set up a mystery for his work, or that it was a misinformation during the copying process, that is fine.