The Battle of Guandu As one of the famous battles for hegemony in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the process and results of the war are breathtaking. In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were very different in terms of military, financial resources, population, food and grass, etc. However, compared with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao himself lacked the decisiveness that a hero should have. In the end, Cao Cao was able to defeat Yuan Shao with the weak in the battle of Guandu in 200 AD (the fifth year of Jian'an). In addition to the strength given by his elite soldiers and counsellors, he also neglected to manage the next three things. The rebellion of the generals and ministers is not unrelated.
Background:
The Yellow Turban Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty plunged the decayed Eastern Han Dynasty into huge turmoil, and quickly fell apart in a short period of time. Powerful landlords from all over the country, counties, states, and state officials dominated at this time. The local power, separatism, started a war for hegemony in the Central Plains, which led to the miserable scene of "blank bones exposed in the wild and no roosters in thousands of miles" in the Central Plains. The Eastern Han Dynasty also survived in name only. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, two forces in the hinterland of the Central Plains, gradually grew stronger in the long war.
As a famous family in the north, Yuan Shao had already had the ambition to contend for the world under the tendency of crumbling to the decadent Eastern Han Dynasty. In 196 AD (the first year of Jian'an), Cao Cao's army entered Luoyang. After the emperor moved the capital to Xuchang, he began the hegemony of holding the emperor to make the princes (the emperor was not the minister), which naturally blocked Yuan Shaoming's righteous contention. The Tao of the world. After that, Cao Cao defeated Lv Bu, Yuan Shu, removed the big troubles, and since then occupied Yanzhou, Xuzhou and part of Yuzhou, south of Heli, so as to fully collect North China, north of the Huai River, faces Yuan Shao. In 199 AD (the fourth year of Jian’an) Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan , and occupied Youzhou , Jizhou , Qingzhou , Bingzhou ,Finally, he was able to collect all the land in Hebei. At this time, the time to go south to unify the north seemed to be ripe. Since then, the competition for hegemony among the world's heroes has become clear, and the two largest political groups in North China have become inevitable. However, Yuan Shao was defeated by Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu with a fairly superior force, and since then he has lost the opportunity to unify the north and contend for the world.
Antecedents
In June of the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Yuan Shao led 100,000 elite soldiers to the south, preparing to capture Xudu and destroy the Cao Cao Group. After Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, Xuzhou, part of Yuzhou and Sili, he formed a north-south confrontation with Yuan Shao along the lower reaches of the Yellow River within three years. Yuan Shao sent an army to attack Cao south, which caught Cao Cao somewhat off guard. At this time, Cao Cao was to meet Yuan Shao. A central elite unit of 10,000 people was brought from Xuchang to Guandu. There were 1,000 people from Baima Liu Yanjun and more than 2,000 people from the Forbidden Army (later increased to 4,000). , Le Jinjun estimates that there are 4,000 people in the Yanjin area (including 1,000 cavalry). In this way, the total strength of the Cao army on the Guandu frontline should be 19,000.
Although Cao Cao's forces are far inferior to Yuan Shao's one hundred thousand army, Cao Cao still ordered a concentrated force to attack Yuan Jun, taking the initiative to counterattack. The reason why Cao Cao dared to make such a deployment was precisely because of the precise judgment of the advisors and Xun Yu on the Yuan Shao Group.
In 198 AD (the third year of Jian’an), Xun Yu’s evaluation of the Yuan Shao Group has basically met the ending of the Guandu War: "Yuan Shao has many soldiers but he is not governed properly. Tian Feng is strong and has repeatedly offended Yuan Shao, Xu You is greedy for money, but can't hide his thoughts. The trial and marriage stay by Yuan Shao's side but domineering and unscrupulous. Fengji is decisive but useless. These two people will definitely stay at Yecheng, if Xu You His family broke the law during the war, and the trial and other parties will definitely not let go of this opportunity. Xu You will definitely be embarrassed, and Xu You will betray when the time comes.The suspicion of the four of them will surely cause chaos in Yuan Shao's rear. As for , Yan Liang and Wen Chou are mere braggs, and they can be defeated in a war.”
At this time, there was a small episode in history. The fifth year of Jian’an (AD 199) In February, Liu Bei rebelled from Cao Ying and planned to encircle Cao Cao with Yuan Shao, but was defeated by Cao Cao. He also forced his second brother, , Guan Yunchang, to surrender to Cao Cao, which allowed Cao Cao to take advantage of the general in the confrontation between Cao and Yuan.
Clash
In the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 years), Yuan Shao sent Chen Lin to write a crusade, in which he scolded Cao Cao bloody, and he went south to challenge Cao Li for his name. The heart of the army. The head-to-head confrontation between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's army is about to begin in Baimara.
In February of Jian'an five years, Yuan Shao's army marched into Liyang, preparing to cross the river to find the main force of Cao's army, and attempt to defeat Cao's army on the basis of a decisive battle. Attacking the White Horse, capturing the south bank of the Yellow River, and using this as a base to ensure that the main force of the army cross the river smoothly is the offensive strategy he had planned in advance. Encircle . At this time, Cao Ying’s adviser Xun You suggested that Cao Caosheng attack the west, disperse Yuan Shao’s army, and lead troops to Yanjin first, pretending to attack Yuan Shao’s rear, forming the illusion of outflanking Yuan Shao, making Yuan Shao divide his troops to the west, and then send light cavalry to attack the White Horse’s Yuan Jun, by surprise, will surely be able to defeat Yan Liang. Cao Cao made a decisive decision and quickly dispatched reinforcements as planned. Yuan Shao planned to send reinforcements. Cao Cao took the opportunity to lead the light cavalry , led Zhang Liao, Guan Yu two generals, and rushed to the white horse for reinforcements. Liu Yan.
Cao Jun’s light cavalry quickly approached Yan Liang’s regiment,Guan Yu, who was the first to bear the brunt, rushed into Wan Jun and took the head of Yan Liangxiang. Yuan Jun, who attacked the white horse, suddenly lost their heads and was defeated in all directions. After Cao Cao broke the White Horse siege, he led the people of White Horse City to the west along the Yellow River. Yuan Shao was unwilling to lose in the battle and sent generals Wen Chou and Liu Bei to continue chasing Cao Cao. At this time, Cao Cao was leading six hundred cavalry, stationed under Nanban (in the south of Baima), while Yuan Jun troops led five to six thousand horses and more than ten thousand infantry in pursuit. Cao Cao first ordered the soldiers to release their saddles and horses, deliberately discarding the baggage on the side of the road. After Yuan Jun arrived, he saw this situation as he was in the middle of the game, so he dismounted one after another to fight for the property. At this time, Cao Cao suddenly ordered an attack, defeated Yuan Jun, banished Wen Chou, and retreated to Guandu smoothly.
Stalemate
1. Variables
Yuan Shao failed to win the first battle, and lost two generals. It can be said that he was unfavorable and suffered a severe decline in morale. For those who wanted to send heavy troops to defeat Cao Cao and unify the north For Yuan Shao, it was a strategic failure. But for Cao Cao, a strategic victory does not mean that the balance of power between the two sides has been reversed. Cao Jun is still far weaker than Yuan Jun in fact. Therefore, Cao Cao can only follow Yanjin to the south, lead Yuan Jun to Guandu area, and extend Yuan Jun’s supply line. He expected that Yuan Shaoduan would not rush to attack again after his initial defeat, so he would retreat to Guandu to slow down Yuan Jun's incursion and make Yuan Shao jealous of the Cao Jun's surprise attack and prevent Yuan Jun's large-scale attack.
Yuan Shao certainly won't give Cao Cao a chance to breathe, although his adviser Jushou has repeatedly persuaded that he should defend his troops and have the advantage of food and grass to slow down the attack, but how can Yuan Shao, who is self-sufficient and self-confident and pretending to be a "Confucian general", listens They had to go in. Yuan Shao's army took a rest and approached Yangwu (now Zhongmubei, Henan) in July, ready to go south to attack Xudu directly. However, at this moment Runan County Yellow Turban Army Liu Pi suddenly rebelled. Yuan Shao dispatched Liu Bei to Xu Dunan to assist in the suppression of the rebellion. He was defeated by Cao Ren . After hearing the news, Guan Yu in Cao Ying left a book to leave and returned to Liu Bei's account. And Liu Bei also knew that returning to Yuan Ying after losing the battle would surely cause trouble to his upper body, so he used an excuse to connect with Jingzhou Mu Liubiao and left Yuan Shao since then.And this Yuan army, who never came back for reinforcements, made Yuan Shao's army offensive truly desperate.
2. Turning
In August, Yuan Shao's main army followed Cao Jun all the way along the pursuit route. At this time, Yuan Shao sought a decisive battle with Cao Cao, but he never found an opportunity. In September, Cao Cao decided to take the initiative to break Yuan Shao's pursuit, but failed to win, so he had to retreat to Guandu.
Yuan Shao used the topography to build a building scull, and shot Cao Ying with an arrow. Cao Jun counterattacked with a rock-throwing car, and the two armies were in a stalemate in this situation. The two sides confronted each other for three months. Cao Cao was gradually at a disadvantage in the protracted battle due to the urgent deployment of troops and insufficient food. So Cao Cao decided to stick to it and wait for the opportunity.
But at this time new changes have taken place in Yuan Shao's barracks. As the core of Yuan Shao's think tank, Xu You is not only Yuan Shao's cronies, but also has a big plan. If he can cleverly cooperate with Yuan Shao, perhaps the battle of Guandu will not be decided so quickly. But he was acting as a counselor for a famous family like Yuan Shao. Not only did his strategy fail to display, but he was also squeezed out by the fellow think tank members. Even if Xu You wanted to serve the Lord loyally, it was useless. Not only that, the young and old Xu You's family in Yecheng was also seized by the interrogation for violating the law, thereby suppressing Xu You. At this time, Xu You's front line was unfavorable, and the backyard caught fire, and he surrendered to Cao Cao in grief and anxiety.
Decisive battle
So, Xu You's defection became another major reason why Yuan Shao's camp finally defeated Guandu. Cao Cao confronted Yuan Shao for a long time, but the local people suffered terribly because of the army's arrival and requisition for grain. Most of the people took refuge in Yuan Shao, who had sufficient grain and grass due to hardship, and Cao Cao's grain and grass supply became more and more tense. But at the same time, Yuan Shao still insisted on going his own way, refusing to obey Jushou's strategy of cutting off Cao Cao's food transportation channels, and confronted Cao Cao face-to-face, but he did not expect that Xu You's defection would soon make him lose the last bargaining chip.
Immediately after Xu You returned to Cao, Cao Cao suggested that Cao Cao attack Yuan Shao's grain and grass-heavy ground Wuchao with light soldiers, and burn his equipment to cut off the grain and grass. Cao Cao should not act late, leaving only Cao Hong and Xun You holding the camp, while he rode 5,000 people at his own pace and used the dark night to copy the path to sneak attack on Wuchao .After Cao Jun arrived, he immediately besieged the camp and set fire to food.
At this time, Yuan Shao learned that Cao Cao had raided the rear of Wuchao, but he did not listen to the opinion of Zhang Yun. He believed that the emptiness of Cao Ying at this time was a good time to attack, so he insisted on sending Qingqi to attack. Rescue Wuchao, and ordered Ningguo Zhonglang General Zhang Yun and General Gao Lan led a heavy attack on Cao Jun's camp. However, Cao Ying was so strong that he couldn't take it in a short time, but Wuchao was still anxiously waiting for reinforcements from the army. When Cao Jun invaded Wuchaochun Yuqiong Camp, Yuan Shao's reinforcements were already approaching. Cao Cao walked rashly, broke Yuan Jun, and burned all the Wuchao Granary. But Zhang Yun and Gao Lan, who attacked Cao Ying, heard that Wuchao had been broken, and Yuan Shao had gone, so they surrendered to Cao Cao.
Yuan Shao lost two more powerful generals under the account of Yuan Shao, internal contradictions were everywhere, the split was a foregone conclusion, and the collapse of the army was approaching. Yuan Shao heard that Xu You surrendered Cao, Zhang Yun and Gao Lan defected. Knowing that the situation was over, he took his cronies and 800 cavalry back to Hebei in a hurry.
analysis
After the battle of Guandu, the north has no more separatist forces that can rival Cao Cao. The foundation of Cao Cao's unified north is considered stable.
The Battle of Guandu is a famous battle in history that wins more with less, but the changes in the battle situation are obvious. In the early stages of the war, Cao Cao took advantage of the terrain and the Yellow River Tianfeng, followed the strategy of the counselor Xun Yu, and suspend Yuan Jun’s offensive. At this time, Yuan Shao did not stop going south because of the strategy, although the counselor Tian Feng had worked long before Yuan Shao set off. Persuaded to take the long-term plan and use the four states south of the Yellow River as the rear, consume Cao Cao, and choose the opportunity to go south, but Yuan Shao, who was determined to go his own way, finally chose to go south with a hundred thousand elite soldiers. In the end, in the first confrontation, Yuan Shao not only lost the two generals, but even repeatedly hit the score, failing to maximize the strength of the elite soldiers.
Under the stalemate, Yuan Shao did not choose the good strategy of adviser Ju to give him food and military advantage, but chose to continue to follow the pace of Cao after the first defeat.Wanting to defeat Cao Jun with an overwhelmingly superior force, but this is exactly what Cao Cao has in his arms. It was Cao Cao's intention to lure Yuan Jun to a decisive battle in Guandu. At the same time, the Yellow Turban rebellion near Xudu distracted Yuan Jun's attention. Yuan Shao sent Liu Bei to attack and was defeated by Cao Ren. Liu Bei's apostasy means linking Liu Biao also made Yuan Shao lose the opportunity to contact foreign aid.
Although in the confrontation around Guandu, the advantage of the war of attrition was gradually revealed, Yuan Shao was ultimately defeated by his own self-contained and willful way. The adviser Xu You under the account was unbearable and left out and chose to vote for Cao, which also caused Yuan Shao to lose the core members of the think tank, and also caused a drastic change in Yuan Shao's overwhelming advantage. The raid on Wuchao has also become the key to breaking Yuan Shao. However, Yuan Shao made a mistake again and raided Cao Ying with a heavy force, but missed the opportunity to support Wuchao's granary, resulting in his most important confrontation bargaining chip completely defeated. In the end, the 100,000 army was completely destroyed, Yuan Shao hurried back to the north with 800 cavalry, and ended up defeated by Guandu.
Conclusion
No matter which stage of the war was the decision, Yuan Shao could not insight into himself. The true advantage of the 100,000 army, with over-confidence ignoring the advice of advisers and good generals, coupled with the escape of allies and internal conflicts that belong to management, broke out in a flash during the war, leading to the gradual loss of own advantages and hesitation. Zhong ruined himself to defeat Cao Cao and unify the north to fight for the hegemony of the world.
The three people who betrayed Yuan Shao in the battle of Guandu were initially thought to be Xu You, Zhang Xi and Gao Lan, but from the whole process of the battle of Guandu, it can be seen that the betrayal of Xu You and others was only the ultimate promoter of Yuan Shao’s failure. When Liu Bei saw that Yuan Shao was determined to go his own way and was constantly trapped in the predicament of attacking Cao, he chose to flee. When Yuan Shao finally made a decision to reinforce Wuchao, the battle for Guandu was a foregone conclusion. The conceit and hesitation of Yuanbenchu also became a foregone conclusion. All direct causes of betrayal and failure.
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