An important turning point in the Battle of Guandu was Cao Cao's surprise attack on Wuchao in October of the fifth year of Jian'an (200), and before that, although Cao Cao Fang had accumulated small victories and did not collapse, the entire war situation had always been dominated by Yuan Shaofang.
The author will analyze the events before and after the surprise attack on Wuchao, and compare the decisions and implementation of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to give the problem of Yuan Shao's failure.
Throughout the battle, Yuan Shao's troops were not only higher than Cao Cao's, but also had more logistical supplies, and Cao Cao also had a grain problem at this juncture in October. On the night that Xu You defected to Cao Cao, he also directly attacked Cao Cao's weak heart: "How much grain do you have left?" Tell me honestly! ”
After a heart-to-heart exchange of views between Cao Cao and Xu You, Cao Cao decided to adopt Xu You's strategy:
Surprise attack on the Crow's Nest
。
Subsequently, Cao Cao also asked his staff, and among the staff, only Xun You and Jia Xu strongly approved, and Cao Cao decisively made a decision.
Cao Cao led a strong army of 5,000 men, disguised as Yuan Shao's army, to march to Wuchao, while the military camp was handed over to Cao Hong and Xun You to preside over the defense.
The defenders of Wuchao numbered more than 10,000 people, twice as large as Cao Cao's army, and the defenders were Chun Yuqiong, and Cao Cao was an old acquaintance and an old colleague. Just after Cao Cao started the battle to capture Wuchao, Yuan Shao also received intelligence, when Zhang Gao proposed to concentrate superior forces to rescue Wuchao, but Yuan Shao did not listen and adopted the compromise plan proposed by Guo Tu:
Concentrating superior forces, Zhang Gao and Gao Lan led an army to attack Cao Cao's military camp and send some light horses to rescue Wuchao.
As a result, 5,000 elites led by Cao Cao fought overnight, not only conquering Wuchao, but also defeating Yuan Shao's light cavalry reinforcements (although not many).
At this point, we can see the leadership style of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao
In order to overturn the situation, personally take risks, and lead 5,000 elite soldiers to fight deep behind the enemy's back, in order to ensure the execution of this army.
On the other hand
Yuan Shao
He sent Gao Lan and Zhang Gao to fight Cao Cao's military camp, sent light horses to rescue Wuchao, and sat firmly in the Chinese military tent himself, waiting for news.
As a result, Gao Lan and Zhang Gao were already demoralized, and they complained about Yuan Shao, and simply surrendered when they could not capture Cao Cao's military camp.
In my opinion, Guo Tu's suggestion is actually not a failure, there is still a head (Yuan Shaojun was originally superior, and two-front combat is not a problem), but it is
Yuan Shao led without a party
, resulting in a failure.
First, Yuan Shao did not have a keen judgment that Cao Cao's personal sneak attack on Wuchao would be a key battle to determine victory or defeat, and Cao Cao could take the lead and make a desperate bet.
On the other hand, Yuan Shao could not appear on a certain front to boost morale.
Second, Yuan Shao still sent Zhang Gao to fight when he knew that Zhang Gao did not have hope or confidence in conquering Cao Cao's military camp.
Apparently increased his resentment.
If Yuan Shao was a little more flexible, let Zhang Gao lead the light horse to participate in the rescue of Wuchao, and led his army to attack Cao Cao's military camp, I think this is the way to exert the greatest effectiveness.
From this point of view, Yuan Shao was inferior to Cao Cao. For example, many years later, after Cao Cao defeated the Yuan brothers, he still personally launched an expedition to Liucheng, completely clearing the Yuan forces from the north in one fell swoop.
Before the Battle of Guandu, Guo Jia commented on the differences between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, and thought that Cao Cao was "ten victories" over Yuan Shao, but there was some element of bragging about the horse. At least, judging from the key battle of the Battle of Wuchao, Cao Cao's performance was far better than That of Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao's defeat was inevitable!