Talk:Battle of Guandu

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[edit] Cao Cao Vs. Yuan Shao: A Warlord Establishment

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both considered the central fighters of the Han dynasty just before their conflict at GuanDu. But before they came to be in power, take a look at all they accomplished.

Yuan Shao: Led the coalition of warlords, commanders, generals, and fighters against Dong Zhuo after Cao Cao raises a call-to-arms. Once Dong Zhuo fled from the capital, Yuan Shao turns his attention towards his surrounding enemies/allies and absorbs their land and cities before his battle with Gongsun Zan. With the north now belonging to Yuan Shao, he became known for his numerous soldiers, his well known generals (Wen Chou and Yan Liang), and the talented advisors (Guo Tu, Shen Pei, Ju Shou, and Tian Feng).

Cao Cao: After Cao Cao fails to eliminate Dong Zhuo, he turns his attention to the central plains and deals with the remains of the Yellow Turban rebels. Once defeated, three hundred thousand troops were at Cao Cao's command while more than one million ordinary people joined him. After a series of battles between Cao Cao and Lu Bu, the Wei ruler takes control over the northeast plains. Later, Cao Cao, with the help of Liu Bei, Lu Bu, and the aid of Sun Ce using the Great River, manages to destroy the all powerful Yuan Shu. Just before the conflict with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao rids himself of Lu Bu at the Xiapi by flooding the city. With most of Cao Cao's enemies gone, he became known as the second power in the land with generals like Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, Li Dian, Zhang Liao, Cao Hong, Yu Jin, and Yue Jing and advisors like Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Liu Ye.

[edit] Cao Cao Vs. Yuan Shao: A Warlord Conflict

Though heavily out numbered, Cao Cao and his advisors knew the full strength of Yuan Shao's generals and how he operates on the field. The same thing can be said for Yuan Shao's advisors (Ju Shou and Tian Feng) who were described from the Novel's P.O.V.

  • Tian Feng: Bold but treacherous
  • Xu You: Greedy and ignorant
  • Shen Pei: Devoted but stupid
  • Peng Ji: Steady but useless
  • Wen Chou: Confident yet foolish
  • Yan Liang: Brave with A narrow mind
  • Zhang He, Gao Lan, Han Meng, Chunyu Qiong: Poor, Rough stuff

Although Yuan Shao had the advantage in numbers, Tian Feng's three year plan and Ju Shou's understanding of Cao Cao and his army explain how well balanced the Hero of Chaos is. Just before the confrontation, Tian Feng and Ju Shou proposed carefully planning to Yuan Shao while Shen Pei and Guo Tu raise the self-esteem of Yuan Shao with different plans.

Tian Feng: "Do not raise an army. The people are worn out, and the granaries are empty with these constant wars."

Ju Shou: "Victory is not always to the many. Cao Cao's discipline is excellent; his soldiers are brave and well drilled. He will not sit down quietly waiting to be surrounded as Gongsun Zan did."

Shen Pei: "The military genius of our illustrious lord having overcome the hordes of the north, to dispose of Cao Cao is as simple as turning one's hand."

Guo Tu: "But if our master would take the chance now offering itself of coming into his own, he will accede to the request in the letter of Zheng Xuan and ally himself with Liu Bei for the destruction of Cao Cao. This would win the approval of Heaven and the affections of the people, a double blessing."

[edit] The Battle of Guandu

During the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, (from the novel's P.O.V.) Cao Cao manages to get the help of Guan Yu, Liu Bei's sworn brother, who was separated from his sworn brothers. Though Guan Yu had long wish to return to Liu Bei, he made himself useful in the hands of Cao Cao by defeating Wen Chou and Yan Liang, Yuan Shao's top generals.

At that time, Tian Feng was imprisoned for his recent actions that Yuan Shao described as such, "You fellow who cultivate literature and despise war have made me miss a lot!" With Tian Feng now imprisoned, Ju Shou would be appointed to be the top adviser for the war against Cao Cao. (Though in the ROTK, he knew that his end would be near either in the hands of his enemy or ruler.)

Though Yuan Shao lost his two famous generals, Cao Cao was far from finish while Yuan Shao steady readies himself for later assaults. As the battles rage on throughout the day and night, Yuan Shao finds himself in full rage and fury at his advisors and generals treating them as though they are more than trash. Cao Cao, on the other hand, manages to make good and careful planning attack on Yuan Shao's army with the advise of Liu Ye. At the end of the battle, Cao Cao, as we know, stuck at the food supply of Yuan Shao's Wu Chao causing his entire army to lose many provisions and forcing his enemy to retreat.

[edit] Northern Ruler

(From the Novel) Although Yuan Shao lost many troops and generals, he still had a sizable morale of soldiers that came to him once he managed to get away from the battle field of Guan Du. Tian Feng, at the time, knew his death would come and he later cuts his throat in prison. Yuan Shao manages to try and regain the honor he lost, but he dies shortly after a battle against Cao Cao.

Cao Cao, having completed his campaign, finished conquering the remaining Yuan Family members but at the cost of losing Guo Jia. With the Yuan Family no longer a serious threat, Cao Cao became the central power of the land in the north.