The Battle of Guandu in 200 AD was not only a duel between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, but also the first battle in which the situation of the Three Kingdoms began to become clear.
At that time, Yuan Shao had 100,000 elite soldiers, while Cao Cao had only 20,000 troops. Many people in the Cao camp predicted that Yuan Shao would win, so they wrote to Yuan Shao to plan their own way out. But Yuan Shao lost in the end. Why? Because he spent 10 years smashing a good hand of cards bestowed by God.
political opportunism
Yuan Shao came from the "Runan Yuan family", a powerful official family in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. . But soon after his mother died of illness, he resigned from office and went into mourning. After that, he refused the imperial court's call and lived in seclusion in Luoyang.
In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the dictatorship of eunuchs intensified, and party members represented by bureaucratic scholar-bureaucrats and imperial students were brutally persecuted. Although Yuan Shao claimed to be living in seclusion, on the surface he did not talk to guests in vain, but secretly he was making friends with chivalrous men like Zhang Miao, He Yong, Xu You. In 184 AD, the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out, and the imperial court was forced to lift the ban on the party and amnesty the party members all over the world. Only then did Yuan Shao enter the sect of the great general He Jin .
Afterwards, the power minister Dong Zhuo gained power in the imperial court. He abolished establishments without authorization and killed people indiscriminately. All kinds of atrocities aroused the resentment of all classes. In 190 A.D., all the heroes from all over the Kanto attacked Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Shao was elected as the leader of the alliance. Yuan Shao was only the prefect of Bohai at that time. The reason why people recommended him was not because of his strong military strength, but because of his political advantages. On the one hand, he was a celebrity and had a certain appeal among scholars; on the other hand, Dong Zhuo forced Han Xiandi to kill the Yuan family including Yuan Kai and Yuan Ji. Yuan Shao's disciples and old officials are all over the world, and Yuan Shao won the sympathy of people all over the world after suffering this catastrophe.
However, Yuan Shao's political capital lasted only 10 years from the bloodshed against Dong Zhuo, to the separation of the various families, and even the defeat by Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu.
Guandu battle situation map
Yuan Shao once planned to recommend Youzhou Mu ( Han Wudi set up thirteen prefectures, each with a governor, Han Chengdi changed the governor to prefecture) Liu Yu was Emperor, Cao Cao and others objected, but Liu Yu himself resolutely refused. So many people suspected that Yuan Shao's attack on Dong Zhuo was nothing more than Dong Zhuo's attempt to coerce the emperor to order the princes. Yuan Shao's disloyalty to Emperor Xian is clearly visible.
Dong Zhuo was killed by Lu Bu, the generals Li Que and Guo Si wanted to avenge him, so they forced to kill Wang Yun, drove away Lu Bu, and took control of the court. Later, the two were suspicious of each other. Li Que hijacked Emperor Xian, and Guo Si hijacked all officials. The two sides refused to compromise and fought fiercely. In the winter of 195 A.D., Xiandi, who became a hostage, escaped fortunately and wandered all the way, heading east to Luoyang. Some people suggested that Yuan Shao take this opportunity to meet Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, but he took an evasive attitude.
In 197 A.D., Yuan Shao's cousin, Yuan Shu, became emperor in Huainan , and was attacked by Cao Cao and Lu Bu in turn. Within two years, he was impoverished and defeated. So he sent someone to give the emperor's honorary title to his cousin Yuan Shao, saying: "The royal family of the Han Dynasty is exhausted, and the Yuan family should accept the destiny to be the king." Yuan Shao actually accepted this unreliable approach and returned it. Send the eldest son Yuan Tan to pick up in Qingzhou . However, Yuan Shu was intercepted by Liu Bei and others, and died of vomiting blood.
was probably touched by the transfer of the throne by his cousin, and Yuan Shao also wanted to proclaim himself emperor. He instructed the chief bookkeeper Geng Bao to persuade himself to ascend the throne, and then used Geng Bao's words to solicit the opinions of the soldiers, but he was unanimously opposed. In the end, in order to save his family's face, Yuan Shao actually killed Geng Bao to absolve himself of the crime.
In short, Yuan Shao, as one of the biggest vested interests in the Eastern Han Dynasty, did not show his loyal nature in a series of political incidents.On the contrary, he behaved opportunistically, with both ends, short-sighted and selfish, and his disobedience was fully exposed. All of these are constantly weakening his political appeal and credibility. Both Xun Yu, known as the "talent of Wang Zuo", and Guo Jia, the "Qi Shi", left him in the process and defected to Cao Cao.
Military Fist and Embroidered Legs
In 199 AD, Yuan Shao had just won the ten-year war with Gongsun Zan , and wanted to attack Cao Cao immediately. The supervising army Jushou Shoushou said that the timing was wrong. Because of years of war, the people were exhausted, and there was no food in the warehouses. The most urgent task was to let the people recuperate. In addition, Jushou also suggested that he send an envoy to present the victory report of the elimination of Gongsun Zan to the emperor. If the victory report cannot reach the emperor, it can be reported that Cao Cao severed his ties with the court. Jushou explained: "Gain the political initiative, and then take long-term strategies. Now Cao Cao is ordering the world under the order of the emperor. If you send your teacher to the south, you will violate the righteousness, and the teacher will have no name." Yuan Shao not only refused to listen, but also The military power granted by Ju was dismantled.
AD 200, Liu Bei colluded with Dong Cheng and others to murder Cao Cao, and Cao Cao was going to attack Liu Bei. At this time, the counselor Tian Feng suggested that Yuan Shao take advantage of the unsolved opportunity of the Cao Liu company and "raise the army to attack the latter". This is exactly what Cao Cao's generals are most worried about. Yuan Shao declined because of his son's illness, and missed a golden opportunity. Tian Feng was so angry that he raised his staff and hit the ground, shouting that it's a pity.
After Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei and returned to the army Guandu , Yuan Shao's son was almost cured of his illness, so he summoned his subordinates to "Naiyi attack Xu". Tian Feng objected: "Since Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei, Xudu is definitely not a city without soldiers. Moreover, Cao Cao is good at using troops, and his changes are endless. Although there are few soldiers and horses, they should not be underestimated. Now, it is better to stand still and fight with him. "Because Yuan Shao has the strength of the mountains and rivers and has people from the four prefectures, Tian Feng gave him a perfect plan, suggesting that he make friends with talents externally, pay close attention to farming internally to prepare for war, and then select elite soldiers to form a surprise army to frequently attack the enemy's weak points place. But Yuan Shao refused to listen, and insisted on "deciding success or failure in the First World War", and imprisoned Tian Feng on the grounds of strong remonstrance.
Not only was the timing wrong, but Yuan Shao's ability to select generals was also poor. The high-ranking generals he reused, such as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Chunyuqiong, etc., all had the courage of ordinary men, but no talent for command. Even a talented general like Zhang He performed mediocre under his subordinates, but after surrendering to Cao Cao, he showed extraordinary abilities of both wisdom and courage.
The hearts of the people in the team were deviated
In 199 AD, Yuan Shao selected 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 horses, and went south to attack Xudu. Prior to this, in order to avoid being attacked by the enemy, Cao Cao had defeated Liu Bei first and stationed in Guandu, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack. This kicked off the prelude to the Battle of Guandu.
Facing Yuan Shao's attack, what was Cao Jun's reaction? "All the generals under Xu are afraid when they hear that Shao will attack Xu." Kong Rong is the representative of those who are afraid. With loyal officials like Shenpei and Fengji working for him, and brave generals like Yan Liang and Wen Chou leading the army, I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat!" Xun Yu's analysis is intriguing: "Although Yuan Shao has many soldiers and horses, the law and discipline are not Strict. Tian Feng is upright, but often offends his superiors; Xu You is greedy for money, but has no way of governing; examines and distributes has no strategy; he is decisive in dealing with discipline, but self-righteous. These people are bound to be incompatible, and there will be internal strife .Yan Liang and Wen Chou are nothing but the bravery of men, and they can be caught in a single battle."
Cao Cao's analysis is highly consistent with Xun Yu's: "Although Yuan Shao has many troops, he cannot manage them well. His generals are arrogant and his government orders are inconsistent. He has a vast land , Food is plentiful, these are just prepared for us!"
The result of the war was just like this, the two sides stalemate for more than a year, Cao Cao sent troops to surprise Yuan Jun's granary Wuchao (now Fengqiuxi, Henan), and then defeated the main force of Yuan Jun. Yuan Shao was defeated and retreated back to Hebei with 800 cavalry in a hurry. Since then, he has been depressed.In 201 AD, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao broke out in the Battle of Cangting, and failed again. A year later, he became ill and died of hematemesis in Jizhou.
Source: Magazines from all walks of life, Issue 4, 2022
Author: Zhang Guogang
