Good subjects choose the Lord and do things, and good birds choose trees to perch.
In a chaotic world, if the courtier wants to achieve something, he must follow the lord. Otherwise, there will be a talent in the air, exhaust a body and blood, and in the end, it will only be a wasted work. These 5 conspirators of the Three Kingdoms are very capable, because they followed the wrong lord, and the end was more miserable than the other.
First, Li Ru
Li Ru was Dong Zhuo's adviser.
After the death of Emperor Hanling, Dong Zhuo took advantage of the internal struggle between foreign relatives and eunuchs to lead troops into Beijing and control the imperial court. At that time, Dong Zhuo did not have many soldiers and horses, and he could not control the Beijing Division. With the help of Li Ru, Dong Zhuo persuaded Ding Yuan's general Lü Bu to surrender, instigated him to kill Ding Yuan, and surrendered to himself.
With Lü Bu and Ding Yuan's State Army, Dong Zhuo was like a tiger, and no one dared to resist him anymore. Subsequently, in order to help Dong Zhuo establish his prestige and consolidate his power, Li Ru brought people into the palace and forced Empress He and Emperor Shao of Han to drink poisoned wine, killing both of them. This incident aroused the indignation of the people of the world, and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others raised an army against Dong Zhuo. Due to the discord between the princes' combined forces, the crusade ultimately failed.
Fortresses are easiest to break through from within. Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and other princes did not destroy Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo and his righteous son Lü Bu, in order to compete for Wang Yun's adopted daughter, instead broke out infighting. Li Ru persuaded Dong Zhuo to put the overall situation first and give the woman to Lü Bu, but Dong Zhuo did not listen, resulting in him being killed by Lü Bu. After Dong Zhuo's death, Li Ru lost his patron, and he was afraid that the people of the world would kill him to avenge Emperor Shao of Han and went into hiding.
2. Chen Gong
Chen Gong was also a top strategist.
After Dong Zhuo rebelled, Cao Cao went to assassinate Dong Zhuo in order to support the Han Chamber. After the defeat, Cao Cao fled from Luoyang. On the way to escape, Cao Cao met Chen Gong. Chen Gong's heart is related to the Han Room, so the two hit it off and are ready to join forces to achieve a career. On the way to escape, Cao Cao, due to a misunderstanding, killed Lü Bohao's family who had taken them in. Subsequently, Cao Cao made one mistake after another and killed Lü Bohao.
What is even more hateful is that Cao Cao said: "I would rather teach me to bear the people of the world, and teach the people of the world to bear me." This made Chen Gong realize Cao Cao's nature and insisted on leaving him. After leaving Cao Cao, Chen Gong began to assist Lü Bu in the battle for the world, but Lü Bu was a brave and resourceful man with long children's feelings. During the Battle of Xia Pi, Lü Bu refused to follow Chen Gong's advice, resulting in the flooding of Xia Pi City, and both he and Chen Gong were captured by Cao Cao.
After being captured, Cao Cao wanted to persuade Chen Gong to surrender and let him do things for himself, but the Tao was different, and Chen Gong refused, and was eventually killed by Cao Cao.
3. Xu You
Xu You was a courtier under Yuan Shao.
At the Time of Guandu, because Cao Cao had fewer soldiers and horses than Yuan Shao, in order to increase the odds of victory, he transferred all the soldiers and horses he could transfer, which also led to the emptiness of Xuchang in the rear. Xu You suggested that Yuan Shao send a surprise army to attack Xuchang when Guandu and Cao Cao were confronted, which would cause Cao Cao to be unable to take care of each other and defeat Cao Cao's army in one fell swoop, but Yuan Shao was indecisive and lacked foresight, and did not take Xu You's advice.
Yuan Shao had many advisers under his command, and the infighting between them was very serious. Xu You's political enemies interrogated xu you, and in order to suppress Xu You, after Xu You's family broke the law, they were arrested, which made Xu You angry and defect to Cao Cao. After arriving at Cao's camp, Xu You, in view of the shortcomings of Yuan Shao's army, offered Cao Cao the advice to attack Wuchao. Cao Cao personally led his troops to attack Wuchao at night, and a large fire burned Yuan Shao's grain and grass, which made Yuan Shao's army fall into panic. Subsequently, Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack, defeated Yuan Shao, and won the Battle of Guandu.
After Xu You followed Cao Cao, he was killed by Cao Cao because he repeatedly spoke ill of Cao Cao and provoked Cao Cao.
Fourth, Tian Feng
Tian Feng was Yuan Shao's adviser.
Before the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's strength was stronger than Cao Cao's, but Tian Feng felt that Yuan Shao should not fight Cao Cao prematurely, but fight a protracted war with Cao Cao. Using elite troops, he constantly attacked and harassed Cao Jun, making Cao Jun tired of coping, and eventually playing a role in dragging down Cao Jun, but Yuan Shao adopted the advice of Guo Tu and other advisers and insisted on fighting a decisive battle with Cao Cao at Guandu. Tian Feng had a very upright personality, and in order to avoid the lord's mistakes, he constantly advised Yuan Shao. This made Yuan Shao tired of it, and finally in a fit of rage, he imprisoned Tian Feng in a big prison.
In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao, as Tian Feng expected, lost to Cao Cao. Afterwards, Yuan Shao was very upset, but he did not start to weigh Tian Feng at this point, but Guo Tu took the opportunity to speak, saying that Tian Feng laughed at Yuan Shao in prison, which made Yuan Shao furious and ordered Tian Feng to be killed.
5. Discouragement
Frustrated was an important advisor under Yuan Shao.
During the late Han Dynasty, after the great chaos in the world, Frustrated Zhi persuaded Yuan Shao to welcome the Tianzi, but Yuan Shao did not listen, causing him to miss the opportunity to "blackmail the Tianzi to order the princes". Later, Yuan Shao wanted to divide the land of his four states among his three sons and one nephew. Frustrated, he believes that the separation of sons is the way to cause trouble. For the sake of their own interests, there may be infighting, so he opposed separation, but Yuan Shao still did not adopt it.
Before the Battle of Guandu, Frustrated Zhi offered Yuan Shao a three-year exhaustive strategy, suggesting that Yuan Shao should not rush to engage Cao Cao, but instead use military strength and geographical situation to fight a protracted war with Yuan Shao, so that if it lasted for three years, Cao's army would be exhausted, and then Yuan Shao would take the opportunity to attack and defeat Cao's army in one fell swoop. Yuan Shao also did not adopt it. After the defeat of the soldiers at Guandu, Frustrated Zhi was captured, and because he refused to surrender, he was killed by Cao Cao.
Among the Three Kingdoms, there were also Xun Yu, as well as Yuan Shao's subordinates Guo Tu, ZhenBei, Feng Ji and other courtiers, and the outcome was also relatively tragic, and most of them lost their lives.