◎V.Cao Mengde Went East to Watch the Sea

In 205 BC Cao Cao destroyed Yuan Shao's ruling foundation in Hebei Province and Yuan Shao vomited blood and died.Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fled to a place which is adjacent to Qinglong County,Qinhuangdao City, colluded with the local nobles to invade the frontier for many times and captured more than 100,000 families of Han people.At that time, Liu Biao and Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou in southern China, and defeated Wuhuan ethnic group and Yuan's brothers in northern China, so Cao Cao was in a disadvantageous position of being attacked from both the north and south.In order to get rid of the unfavorable situation, Cao Cao adopted the advice of his counselor Guo Jia, and led his troops to march northward to Wuhuan in 207.They arrived in Wuzhong (today's Jizhou District, Tianjin City) in May, and encountered a flood in July, which blocked the main road near the sea.After accepting Tian Chou's suggestion, Cao Cao resolutely changed the route.After passing through Xuwu Mountain (in the north of Zunhua City of Hebei Province), he left Lulongsai in today's Hebei Province and headed directly for Liucheng (in today's Chaoyang City of Liaoning Province), winning the war.In September, Cao Cao returned home with victory and wrote the poem Watch the Sea, the first one among the poem series Expedition Walking Out of Xiamen when passing by the Jieshi area.The poem described the local customs and scenery in this area, expressed Cao Cao's personal ambition, and reflected the poet's powerful heroic spirit.