Sun Quan received Lu Su with the greatest respect, and they held daylong discussions. One day, after court had adjourned, Sun Quan kept Lu Su behind to share a simple repast; then they went to bed at opposite ends of the same couch. In the middle of the night Sun Quan asked, "Now the house of Han totters precariously, and the four quarters of the empire are in turmoil. I have taken up an unfinished task left to me by my late father and elder brother. I yearn to emulate those ancient hegemons, patriarchs Huan and Wen, who took the Son of Heaven under their protection.12 How should I proceed?"
"When the Han was founded," Lu Su began, "the Supreme Ancestor sought to give devoted service to the Righteous Emperor, but Xiang Yu frustrated his every effort.13 Now Cao Cao may be compared to Xiang Yu. It is he who holds the Emperor in thrall. It is not within your power to play a lord protector's role. In my judgment, the Han is past recovery; and Cao Cao cannot be finally removed. Therefore the best plan for you, General, is to make the Southland the firm foot of the tripod, consolidate your region, and look for opportunities to take action. You can exploit the many preoccupations of the north: knock out Huang Zu's position, attack Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and take control of the Great River in its entirety. This done, establish your imperial title and turn your ambitions toward the rest of the realm, as the founder of the Han once did." Lu Su's analysis made Sun Quan exuberant. He slipped on a garment and got up to thank his guest. The next day he sent rich gifts to Lu Su, and fine clothes, curtains, and other items of value to Lu Su's mother.
At this time Lu Su recommended to Sun Quan another man of great learning, talent, and filial devotion, Zhuge Jin (Ziyu) from Nanyang in Langye. Sun Quan treated Zhuge Jin too as an honored guest.14 On Zhuge Jin's advice Sun Quan decided not to associate himself with Yuan Shao, but rather to follow Cao Cao's lead for the time being until he could maneuver against him more easily. Consequently, Sun Quan sent Yuan Shao's envoy home with a letter declining the offer of an alliance against Cao Cao.
When Cao Cao heard that Sun Ce had died, he wanted to muster his forces and descend upon the Southland. But the censor Zhang Hong dissuaded him, saying, "To attack when the land is in mourning is dishonorable. If you fail, you will have thrown away whatever amity still exists and created instead a profound enmity. I would suggest you take the opportunity to treat the southerners handsomely." Cao Cao took this advice and recommended to the Emperor that Sun Quan be appointed general and governor of Kuaiji.15 At the same time Zhang Hong was made military commander of Kuaiji and given the seal of office to deliver to Sun Quan. Sun Quan was elated to have Zhang Hong released from the capital,16 and instructed him to work closely with Zhang Zhao in administering his kingdom.
At this time Zhang Hong recommended another man to Sun Quan, Gu Yong (Yuan-tan), a disciple of Court Counselor Cai Yong. Gu Yong was a man chary of speech, not given to drink, both severe and correct. Sun Quan employed him as a governor's deputy and acting governor. Throughout the Southland Sun Quan's prestige was recognized, and the people became deeply devoted to him.
Chen Zhen returned to Yuan Shao and delivered this message: "Sun Ce is dead, and Sun Quan has succeeded him. Cao Cao has made Sun Quan a general, thus securing his support." Yuan Shao was furious and summoned the armies of the four provinces he controlled, Ji, Qing, You and Bing. He called up some seven hundred thousand men in preparation for another attack on Xuchang, the capital. Indeed:
No sooner did the wars in the south subside
Than the battle cry was heard afresh in the north.
Which of the two great rivals would emerge supreme, Cao Cao or Yuan Shao?17
Read on.
30
Yuan Shao Suffers Defeat at Guandu;
Cao Cao Burns the Stores at Wuchao
As Yuan Shao's vast army moved toward Guandu, Xiahou Dun called for help: Cao Cao mobilized seventy thousand men, leaving Xun Wenruo to hold the capital.
Before Yuan Shao ordered his northern army to advance, Tian Feng had sent him a warning from jail. "Now it is better," he wrote, "to sit tight and let the ways of Heaven run their course than to launch a general offensive that may well end in failure." But Pang Ji said critically, "My lord, we go forward in the name of the highest virtue and duty. Feng's ominous predictions are groundless." Yuan Shao ordered Tian Feng executed, but vigorous intercession by the officials won him a reprieve. "After we crush Cao Cao," Yuan Shao said, "his offense will be duly punished." With that, he commanded the army to march without delay.
Flags and banners covering the field, blades thickly clustered like a forest, the northern army pitched camp at Yangwu. Ju Shou said, "We outnumber Cao, but our troops don't have their courage and ferocity. On the other hand, despite the quality of their forces they are low on grain and fodder, while we have more than enough. Thus, their interest is to force a fight; ours, to delay and defend. If we can outwait them, we will win without having to fight." To this advice Yuan Shao retorted angrily, "First Tian Feng tries to undermine morale—the day I return he dies—now you advocate delay." He shouted to his attendants, "Arrest Ju Shou. After Cao's defeat I will take care of him and Tian Feng together!" He then ordered his force seven hundred thousand men to post themselves along the ninety li perimeter of the camp.
Spies returning to Guandu described Yuan Shao's order of battle, sending a shiver of fear through Cao Cao's newly arrived army. Cao Cao consulted his advisers. Xun You said, "Though Yuan Shao's army is large, we need not fear it. Our men are at their keenest. Any one of ours could take on ten of theirs. But we need to engage quickly. Our provisions will not last if this drags on." "My thought, exactly," Cao Cao said. He ordered the commanders to advance with much noise of drums and shouting. Yuan Shao's army encountered them, and the battle lines took shape. Shen Pei, one of Yuan Shao's generals, placed five thousand crossbowmen out of view at either wing and five thousand archers near the front entrance to the camp. All were to shoot on hearing the bombard sound.
The triple drumroll finished. Poised on horseback, Yuan Shao stood before his line in golden helmet and armor, fine surcoat and studded belt. His generals grouped around him, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Han Meng, and Chunyu Qiong. The flags and banners and instruments of command stood in perfect order.
Cao Cao rode forth from the bannered entrance to his line. Around him were Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Li Dian, and others, all fully armed. Pointing at Yuan Shao with his whip, Cao Cao cried, "I petitioned the Son of Heaven to appoint you regent-marshal. What justifies this rebellion?" Yuan Shao retorted, "You who pass yourself off as prime minister to the Han are the real traitor. Your crimes mount to the skies, higher than those of the usurpers Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo. Yet you slander others as rebels!" Cao Cao replied, "I bear an imperial decree to punish you." "And I," Yuan Shao countered, "have the decree the Emperor hid in the girdle as authority to bring a traitor to justice!"
Too angry to speak further, Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao into the field. From Yuan Shao's side Zhang He sprang to the challenge. The two commanders clashed some fifty times: it was an even match. Cao Cao watched Zhang He, secretly awed. Flourishing a blade, Xu Chu joined the battle to assist Zhang Liao, and Gao Lan, spear raised, took him on. The four grappled, hewing and slashing at one another.
Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong to charge the enemy line with three thousand fighters each. To counter this move Shen Pei released the bombard, signaling the crossbowmen to commence shooting. At the same time the archers near the front stepped in order through the first line of soldiers, letting fly volleys that drove Cao Cao's troops back toward the south. Yuan Shao directed the infantry in a swift and murderous follow-up, turning Cao Cao's rout to defeat and driving all his troops back to Guandu.
Yuan Shao moved his camps closer to Guandu, Cao's strategic strongpoint. Shen Pei said, "Have a hundred thousand men raise mounds directly facing Cao's camp. Then our archers can control their positions. If Cao retreats, we gain the key point of entry to the capital area, and the capital will fall." Yuan Shao approved the plan. He
had his brawniest fighters ply their shovels and carriers, and soon heaps of earth were rising. Cao Cao's men wanted to attack at once, but Shen Pei's archers, commanding the routes of access, deterred all advance. Within ten days more than fifty hills, topped with lookout posts and manned by crossbowmen, loomed over Cao's camp.
Fear gripped Cao's army. The soldiers crouched behind shields as bolts rained down periodically at the signal of wooden clappers. Yuan Shao's men howled with laughter at the sight of the cowering enemy. Confusion spread in the ranks, and Cao Cao convened his counselors. Liu Ye suggested building ballistas to stone the northerners and presented a model he had designed. Over the next several nights hundreds of frames were manufactured, then placed against the camp barricades and aimed at the scaling ladders by the mounds. The next time the archers let fly, Cao Cao's men discharged the first massed battery. Missiles filled the air and demolished the enemy stations. Unable to hide, the crossbowmen perished in great numbers. Yuan Shao's men termed the ballistas "thunder machines" and stopped climbing the mounds to stage attacks.
Shen Pei next proposed tunneling into Cao's camp. Yuan Shao approved the plan, and a corps of sappers went to work. Informed of the threat, Cao Cao again consulted Liu Ye. "Since they can't attack openly," he said, "they are trying to bore into our positions from under the ground." "How can we stop them?" Cao Cao asked. "A trench circling the camp will make their tunnel useless," was the reply. Cao Cao had one cut, and Yuan Shao's effort was wasted.
* * *
* * *
Cao Cao had held at Guandu from the beginning of the eighth month to the end of the ninth (a.d. 200). His men weary, his rations spent, he began thinking about retreating to the capital and wrote Xun Wenruo for advice. The reply that came back said in part:
I have your esteemed letter instructing me to advise whether or not we should withdraw. In my humble view Yuan Shao has concentrated his forces at Guandu in order to seek a decision. Your weaker force is up against his stronger one. If you cannot dominate the enemy, prepare to have them dominate you. This is a fateful moment for the empire. Yuan Shao has many troops but cannot use them well. Your superb mastery of warfare and clear judgment should carry the day, whatever the circumstances. Though your numbers are few, you are still better off than Liu Bang when he divided the realm with Xiang Yu at Xingyang and Chenggao. Holding your ground at a crucial spot has blocked the enemy. The situation is critical, and at a turning point. It is time for an ingenious move. Do not let it pass. Pray consider my humble suggestion.
Heartened by Xun Wenruo's letter, Cao Cao ordered officers and men to hold firm with renewed effort.1
Yuan Shao's army pulled back thirty li, and Cao Cao sent scouts to reconnoitre. Shi Huan, one of Xu Huang's corps commanders, captured a northern spy. Under interrogation the man told Xu Huang, "Yuan Shao expects General Han Meng with a shipment of grain. They had me out to check the roads." Xu Huang informed Cao Cao. Xun You said to Cao, "Han Meng is a foolhardy warrior. One commander with a few thousand cavalry could knock him out, and the loss of supplies would throw their army into chaos. Xu Huang is the man to do it!" Cao Cao approved the plan, sending Xu Huang and Shi Huan first, with Zhang Liao and Xu Chu as reinforcements.
That night as Han Meng was escorting the several thousand supply wagons, Xu Huang and Shi Huan attacked. Han Meng struggled to defend the stores, but Xu Huang locked him in combat while Shi Huan and his squad put the carters to flight and set the carts afire. Han Meng turned and fled. Xu Huang urged his men on; they burned the whole train and its cargoes. From his base Yuan Shao saw flames to the northwest and in rising alarm learned of the loss from one of the routed guards. Yuan Shao sent Zhang He and Gao Lan to block the main road, but they crossed paths with Xu Huang coming back from the raid. Fighting began as Zhang Liao and Xu Chu arrived, driving off Yuan Shao's generals in a two-sided assault. Cao Cao's four generals returned together to Guandu. Cao Cao, elated by the victory, rewarded his officers and men handsomely. He then had defense points in the form of pincers constructed in front of his camp.
Han Meng returned defeated to an enraged Yuan Shao. Only the intercession of the entire body of officials saved him from execution. Shen Pei advised Yuan Shao, "Food is most vital to an army on the march. It must be protected at all costs. Wuchao is our main depot and should be heavily guarded." "I have formulated a strategy," Yuan Shao said to Shen Pei. "I want you to return to the capital2 to assure that we have adequate supplies." Shen Pei went to implement the command, and Yuan Shao sent twenty thousand under General Chunyu Qiong to protect Wuchao. Assisting him were army inspectors Gui Yuanjin, Han Juzi, Lü Weihuang, Zhao Rui, and others. Chunyu Qiong was a hot-tempered drinker feared by his men. After reaching the depot, he passed his time carousing with the commanders.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao was almost out of food and had written to Xun Wenruo in the capital to arrange for a shipment of provisions. The messenger was captured barely thirty li from Guandu, however, and brought in bonds to Xu You. Xu You (Ziyuan), a companion of Cao Cao's in his youth but now in Yuan Shao's service, took Cao's intercepted letter to Yuan Shao and offered a suggestion. ''Cao Cao has been holding Guandu for a long time, "he said." It's a stalemate. But his capital at Xuchang is vulnerable. A surprise attack will give us the capital, and then we can take Cao Cao. Now that their grain is nearly gone, we can strike twice. "" Cao Cao is wily, "Yuan Shao replied," that letter leads to a trap. "" Unless we act on this plan, "Xu You argued," we will suffer for it. "
At this moment a messenger from Ye arrived with a letter from Shen Pei saying that grain was on its way. In addition, he mentioned Xu You's conduct in Jizhou—how he had taken bribes and how his sons and nephews had been jailed for raising tax rates for personal profit. "You thieving upstart!" Yuan Shao thundered. "You have the face to make proposals? You and Cao Cao go back a long way. I'm beginning to think you're in his service, here to stir up trouble in our ranks. You deserve to die, but we will leave your head where it is for the time being. Now get out and never come before me again."3
Turning his eyes to Heaven, Xu You left. With a sigh he said to his attendants, "What's the use of serving a fool who takes offense at loyal counsel? Shen Pei is persecuting my relatives. How can I go back to Jizhou and face my people?" He reached for his sword, but his men snatched it from him. "My lord," they pleaded, "do you hold your life so lightly? If Yuan Shao rejects honest counsel, he will surely fall to Cao. Once you were Cao's friend—why not foresake this hopeless cause for a brighter prospect?" These words opened Xu You's eyes, and he decided to offer his services to Cao Cao. Later a poet wrote:
Yuan Shao's proud spirit towered o'er the realm.
How foolish to despair at the stalemate at Guandu!
If he had taken Xu You's sound advice,
How could Cao have made the north his prize?
And so Xu You quietly approached Cao Cao's outposts. Sentries arrested him. "I am an old friend of the prime minister's," he told them, "Xu You of Nanyang. Please inform him at once." Cao Cao had already undressed when he was told Xu You had come. Without bothering even with footgear, he went to meet Xu You, rubbing his hands and laughing with pleasure the moment he laid eyes on him. Cao Cao took You's hand and led him back to his own quarters. Then he prostrated himself before his visitor. Xu You rushed to help Cao Cao up, saying, "You are the prime minister of the Han. I, a commoner, cannot accept such homage." "You are one of my oldest friends," Cao Cao said, "and friends need not stand on ceremony or be affected by considerations of status." "I chose my lord unwisely," Xu You went on. "I lowered myself to serve Yuan Shao. He ignored all my ideas, my plans. Now I have left him and only hope that you will accept my service."
Cao Cao said, "Now that you have done us this honor, our cause is served. Now tell me, I pray, how to defeat Yuan Shao." Xu You replied, "I urged Yuan Shao to surprise the capital with light cavalry while hitting Guandu with his main army." "That would have finished us," Cao Cao said, shaken. "How much grain have you got?" Xu You asked. "A ye
ar's worth," Cao replied. "Perhaps not," Xu You suggested, smiling. "Actually, enough for six months," said Cao. Xu You rose to leave, flicked his sleeves, and strode out of the tent, saying, "I came to you in all sincerity, little expecting to be deceived." "Don't be angry, old friend," Cao said to detain him. "The truth is, our grain will last three months." Xu You smiled again, saying, "The world calls you 'villain.' I see how true it is." Cao Cao was smiling too. "As you should know," he said, "there's no end of tricks in warfare." Whispering, he added, "We have enough for the month, and that's it." "Stop fooling around!" Xu You retorted abruptly. "Your grain is finished." "How did you know?" Cao asked, stunned.
Xu You then handed Cao Cao his own letter to Xun Wenruo asking for food. "Who wrote this?" Xu You inquired. "How did you get hold of it?" Cao Cao demanded. Xu You explained that Cao's messenger had been captured. Cao Cao took Xu You's hand and said earnestly, "Advise me what to do, old friend, I pray you." "My lord," Xu You began, "you face a vastly larger adversary: without a quick victory you are doomed. But I have a way to cause his million-strong multitude to destroy itself inside of three days. Will you give me a hearing, my lord?" "Yes," Cao Cao responded with great interest. Xu You continued, "Yuan Shao's rations and supplies are concentrated in Wuchao and guarded by Chunyu Qiong, a commander fond of liquor and ill prepared for an attack. Go there with picked troops, pretending to be Yuan Shao's general Jiang Qi, who has been detailed to help guard the grain. If you can burn the place down, Yuan Shao's army will fall apart in three days." Elated with this plan, Cao Cao treated Xu You royally and kept him in his camp.
The next day Cao Cao selected five thousand horsemen and soldiers for the mission. Zhang Liao warned the prime minister, "Their depot can't be altogether unguarded. You are running a great risk. What if it's a trap?" "I don't think it is," Cao replied. "Heaven has sent me Xu You to defeat Yuan Shao. We don't have the food to sustain our positions. Unless we use Xu You's plan, we'll be squeezed sitting here. Would he agree to remain here if it were a trap? Anyway, I've wanted to take this step for some time. We have to do it. Set aside your doubts." "We still have to defend this point while you're leading the operation," Zhang Liao said. "I have thought of everything," Cao answered, smiling.
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