As we all know, Cao Cao had five major strategists under him, namely Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Xun You, and Cheng Yu (Erxun Guo Jia Cheng).
These five men all played an important role in Cao Cao's efforts to eliminate all forces and unify the north.
Among these five people, the most famous is the "Wang Zuozhicai" Xun Yu, who belongs to a figure like Zhang Liang, who strategizes in the rear to ensure the food and drink of the front-line army, and is Cao Cao's premier of the State Council, minister of internal affairs and minister of logistics of Cao Jun.
The second is that it should be Guo Jia, who is the chairman of Cao Cao's Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has a decisive influence on every step of Cao Jun's strategic actions, is a strategist unparalleled in the world, and the proverb of "Guo Jia does not die, wolong does not come out" in later generations has made countless Guo Jia fans shout "Heavenly envy of talents".
Again were Jia Xu and Cheng Yu, Jia Xu had been Zhang Xiu's adviser, after Cao Cao slept with Zhang Xiu's aunt for one night, he was killed by Zhang Xiu and lost his armor, and his son, nephew, and general Dianwei all died tragically, which was Jia Xu's bad move; as for Cheng Yu, everyone is more familiar with the fact that he stubbornly defended three county towns when Lü Bu secretly attacked Cao Cao and reserved a base for Cao Cao, and the later "Ten Faces Ambush" made him famous.
And the least outstanding of these five people was Xun You. However, surprisingly, in several major battles in Cao Cao's early years, Xun You, who had been around Cao Cao for advice and advice, was the most unknown. In fact, Xun You's ability is very strong, he is good at responding to the situation and military layout, and he is the one who really solves Cao Cao's worries and difficulties on the battlefield. Especially in the process of Cao Cao defeating Yuan Shao and unifying the north, Xun You repeatedly gave strange strategies.
Let's take a look at Boss Cao's chief think tank who defeated Yuan Shao, Xun You.
Born as a celebrity, Huai Cai did not meet
Xun You was a native of Yingchuan (Xuchang, Henan), and anyone who had read the Three Kingdoms knew that a large group of civil servants and generals under Cao Cao were all people from this place, such as Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Zhong Xuan, Xu Shu, etc. were all Yingchuan people, and in terms of generations, Xun You was also Xun Yu's nephew (in fact, Xun Yu was six years older than Xun Yu).
Xun You was born in a family of scholars, his grandfather Xun Tan had served as the Taishou of Guangling, but the family was in the middle of the road, his father Xun Yi was only a state to engage in such a small official, and unfortunately, Xun You's parents and grandfather died one after another, and Xun You became an orphan. However, Xun You showed his skeletal surprise at a young age and was a celebrity in the four miles and eight townships.
When Xun You was in his thirties, He Jin, a major pig killer at the time, was a great general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, distributed "hero posts" and recruited Hai Nei Zhiqing to join the imperial court, and Xun You was among them, and he also became a waiter at the Yellow Gate.
Unfortunately, as soon as Xun You became an official, the upstart He Jin was killed by the Ten Constant Attendants, and from outside there came a star of the earth-Dong Zhuo, who caused great official and popular indignation after Dong Zhuo came. Therefore, Yuan Shao tangled with the eighteenth road princes to come and fight with Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo looked at this situation, I could not afford to hide, so I moved the capital to Chang'an.
During this period, Xun You also united with a group of Xiao Qiang to prepare to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but did not want to be reported, but was arrested, fortunately Lü Bu assassinated Dong Zhuo in time, and Xun You was able to survive.
But at this time, Dong Zhuo's two horsemen, Li Dai and Guo Feng, and a bunch of cattle, ghosts, and snake gods stirred Chang'an into a chicken and dog, and the whole Guanzhong was chaotic into a pot of porridge. Xun You quickly ran out, and then heard that Sichuan's water and soil nourish people, and before they could fight, they were ready to go to Sichuan, but they were stuck in Jingzhou in the middle of the road.
Meet Bole and show your prodigy
In 196, Cao Cao successfully tricked Emperor Xian of Han into Xuchang and then issued an edict to ask for merit. Cao Cao employs people in an eclectic manner, advocating meritocracy, such as Guo Jia, who has a bad private life and a problematic style of life, and Cheng Yu, who does not understand human feelings and sophistication, and the old and colleagues have conflicts, but Cao Cao treats them all as guests.
Later, Cao Cao heard that The famous scholar Xun You of Yingchuan was still in Jingzhou and was unemployed, so he quickly sent someone to invite him, and he personally wrote a letter, knowing that he was reasonable and moved, and finally let Xun You be moved and came to run. Meng Dehui of the chicken thief knows people, and when he looks at Xun You, he is not an ordinary person.
In the years before Xun You defected to Cao Cao, Cao Cao was very important to him, and Xun You did not disappoint his boss. He contributed a lot in the battle to break Zhang Xiu's Liu Biao's alliance and capture Lü Bu alive under the flood, and soon became one of Cao Cao's core advisers.
Count all the strategies, break Yuan Shougong
Everyone knows the story of Guan Yu's beheading of Yan Liang at the Battle of Guandu, but what is unknown is that it was Xun You who planned this battle. At that time, Yuan Shao sent Yan Liang to lead a large army across the river to besiege Baima, and Cao Cao led a large army to rescue him, but Xun You promptly dissuaded and offered the strategy of "attacking the west with sound", which made Yan Liang paralyzed, and finally he was beheaded by Guan Yu's army, and the second master also succeeded in reaching the peak of his life.
After saving Bai Ma and beheading Yan Liang, Wen Qiu and Liu Bei led an army to pursue Cao Jun. Xun You also offered a "strategy to lure the enemy", successfully killed Wen Ugly, and defeated Liu Bei. These two battles allowed Cao's army to gain a good start, laying the foundation for Cao Cao to gain a foothold in the Battle of Guandu.
In the middle of the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's two armies lined up to the top of the cattle, but Cao's army was at a disadvantage, and what was more embarrassing was that the grain and grass were not enough, and they were about to break up. At this time, Xun You offered Cao Cao a plan to intercept Yuan Shao's grain delivery team, and also recommended Xu Huang, who was good at robbery, to Cao Cao, and as a result, Xu Huang lived up to expectations and burned Yuan Jun's transport team.
Of course, Xun You's greatest contribution was in the Battle of Wuchao, when the great spy Xu You staged an infernal affair to send warmth to Cao Cao, telling Cao Cao that the grain of Yuan's army was in Wuchao, and suggesting that Cao Cao go on a surprise attack. At this time, Cao Jun's subordinate generals felt that Xu You was bragging, and only Xun You and Jia Xu advised Cao Cao to hurry up and not let the cooked duck fly. Therefore, Cao Cao personally led the main force to raid Wuchao, burned the grain and grass of Yuan's army, won a complete victory, and turned the tide of the war in one fell swoop.
After Yuan Shao's death, his two sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang separated, but at this time, Liu Biao was in Cao Cao's backyard, cao Cao was a little uneasy, and a large group of his men also suggested going back to pacify Jingzhou first. Only Xun You urged Cao Cao to say that Liu Biao was a pawn, and he did not dare to give him ten guts, and he should seize the time to pacify the north first. Xun You's vision can be described as far-reaching, and in the end, Cao Cao's practice also proved that it was the right move to first determine the northern frontier and eliminate the troubles in the future.
In the war between Cao Cao and the Yuan clique, although Guo Jia and Xun Yu's strategy was good, it was only prominent in a corner, and only Xun You participated in almost the whole process, and served as the former chief of the general staff of Cao Cao's camp, designing to kill Yan Liang, offering plans to burn the enemy's grain, and advocating the first determination of northern Xinjiang, which was Cao Cao's most reliant military division on the front line.
After pacifying the north, Cao Cao once asked Emperor Xian of Han for a reward to Xun You, saying: "The military master Xun You, since the beginning of the zuochen, has no conquest and no obedience, and has defeated the enemy before and after. Therefore, Emperor Xian of Han enfeoffed Xun Youling as the Marquis of Shuting.
In 214, Xun You died of illness on the way to accompany Cao Cao on his southern expedition against Sun Quan. Following Guo Jia's death, Cao Cao lost an important core strategist, which was also a major loss for Cao Cao's clique.