The jin unification of the Central Plains ended the chaotic world and was established on the basis of Cao Wei. Cao Cao's strength was due to the abundance of talents under his command, and the five-member group of strategists led by Xun Yu contributed countless ingenious strategies to Cao Cao's creation of hegemony, of which the chief strategist Xun Yu was Cao Cao's most reliant strategist.
In the first year of Xingping (194 AD), Cao Cao's father Cao Song and his family went to Yanzhou to visit Cao Cao, and when passing through Taishan County, they were killed by Xuzhou Mutaoqian's subordinates, Cao Cao cried when he heard this, but Xun Yu ran to cao Cao, who was sad.
After Cao Cao listened to Xun Yu's words, he not only did not scold him, but instead said with a smile: Listening to Jun's words is like drinking fine wine. What did Xun Yu say to Cao Cao? It made Cao Cao, who had just experienced the pain of losing his father, smile happily?
Xun Yu (荀彧字文若) (163-212 AD), a native of Yingyin County, Yingchuan County, Xun Yu introduced a large number of Yingchuan talents to Cao Cao, such as Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Cao Cao's most prestigious Drama Zhicai (for drama Zhicai, see the first article).
At the beginning of Cao Cao's army, Xun Yu went to surrender, and after talking with Xun Yu, Cao Cao directly called Xun Yu the talent of Wang Zuo, and called him Wu's son Fang (harmoniously referring to Zhang Liang, the chief strategist of Liu Bang at that time), after which Cao Cao's strategic policy and marching plan were formulated by Xun Yu and became the first strategist of Cao Cao's camp!
When Cao Cao's father was killed, Cao Cao had not yet unified the north, and if he wanted to achieve world hegemony, he must first expand his power to the hinterland of the Central Plains! Cao Cao already had the idea of attacking Xuzhou in his heart, and in ancient times, the use of troops to fight must be famous, and Cao Cao was suffering from no excuse to attack Xuzhou!
At this time, Xuzhou Mutaoqian's subordinates just killed Cao Cao's father, so that Cao Cao had enough reasons to use troops against Xuzhou City at the junction of the Central Plains, Xun Yu was looking at the advantages of this place, so he smiled and said hello to Cao Cao, and his words also expressed what Cao Cao had in mind. After some analysis, Cao Cao felt that what Xun Yu said was very much in line with his own ideas, so he smiled happily and praised Xun Yu for listening to him like drinking fine wine!
Later, Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou under the banner of avenging his father, and the Xuzhou general Mu Taoqian, in order to resist Cao Cao's attack, asked Liu Bei for help to let him guard Xuzhou on his behalf.
At this time, Xun Yu suggested to Cao Cao that the attack on Xuzhou City needed to be suspended, so why did Xun Yu suddenly change his strategic deployment?
Take a look at the records of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The Biography of Xun Yu:
Yu Yue: The river and the ji, the key places under the heavens, although they are now damaged, it is easy to protect themselves, and they are also the generals of Guanzhong and Hanoi, and they cannot be broken in one fell swoop. If Xuzhou is uncertain, the general should be safe? And although Tao Qian died, Xuzhou did not die easily. If the general does not attack, he will not gain anything, and within ten days, the 100,000 people will not fight and will be trapped in their ears. Before the rebuke of Xuzhou, the punishment was carried out, and his sons remembered the shame of their fathers and brothers, and they would guard themselves, and if they did not surrender their hearts, they would be able to break it, and they could not have it yet. Husbands inherently abandon one or the other, and can be used for the big and the small, for the safety and danger, and not for the inherent incurable. Now the three Morley, may the general consider it. He also worked with Cheng Yu to make Fan and Dong'a, and to kill all three cities to wait for Taizu. Taizu returned fire on Bu Puyang from Xuzhou, and Bu Dong left.
This is the famous "drive away the tiger and swallow the wolf" strategy.
The suspension of the attack on Xuzhou was because Xun Yu sensed that Liu Bei would definitely replace Tao Qian into the city of Xuzhou, and Lü Bu had long coveted Xuzhou, and when both of them were defeated, it would be much easier to attack the city of Xuzhou, and it would also deplete the strength of Liu Bei and Lü Bu.
Cao Cao took Xun Yu's advice and prepared to withdraw, while Lü Bu took advantage of Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou to launch a fierce attack on Cao Cao's stronghold of Yanzhou. Xun Yu, who remained in Yanzhou, immediately deployed a defensive force and stubbornly resisted Lü Bu's strong attack with a weak force, and Cao Cao quickly returned to help and defeated Lü Bu. The Battle of Yanzhou, xun yu's stronghold, laid a solid guarantee for Cao Cao to conquer Xuzhou and defeat Yuan Shao to unify the north.
This strategy is written in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Biography of Xun Yu:
Jian'an Yuan, Emperor Xian of Han returned to Luoyang from Hedong. Taizu agreed to welcome Du Xu, or to Shandong Weiping, Han Forced and Yang Fengxin sent Tianzi to Luoyang, and Zhang Yang in the north, and did not have a pawn. Yu advised Taizu to say: "The former Han Dynasty Gaozu Dongfa returned to the heart of the world for the sake of The Righteous Emperor. Since the Son of Heaven sowed yue, the general sang the first song of the righteous soldiers, in vain shandong disturbance, failed to go far to Guan right, but Yu sent a general, a messenger of danger, although the imperial difficulties are outside, but the heart is all in the royal family, is the general doctor of the world's Su Zhiye. Now the car is spinning, the righteous have the idea of survival, and the people feel old and mourn. Sincerity is therefore, to serve the Lord to the people's expectations, Da Shunye; to serve Xiongjie to be honest and righteous, to be roughly also; to help Hongyi to be handsome, and to be virtuous. Although there are anti-knots in the world, they must not be tired, and they will be clear. Han Xian and Yang Fengqi dared to do harm! If it is determined from time to time, the four parties will have a heart, and although they are worried about it, they will not reach it. Taizu went to Luoyang and greeted the Son of Heaven.
This is Cao Cao's "blackmail of the Son of Heaven to order the princes" to open a grand plan of hegemony. At that time, many of Cao Cao's advisers were not in favor of welcoming Emperor Xian, and it was Xun Yukou who advocated to welcome Emperor Xian, and he gave the example of King Xiang of Zhou and Liu Bang controlling the king's power to achieve the world, so that Cao Caoli led a large army into Luoyang and welcomed Emperor Xian of Han back to XuDu, and from then on Cao Cao had the advantage of serving the son of heaven to order the princes, which was the most important decision in Cao Cao's life.
On the road to unifying the north, Yuan Shao of the Fourth Dynasty and the Third Duke had many generals and was Cao Cao's greatest enemy. In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), the Battle of Guandu, which decided the northern pattern, broke out, and the battle was carried out in the autumn, and Cao Cao's soldiers were exhausted and their food was running out, so he wrote a letter to Xun Yu, who remained in Xudu, preparing to withdraw his army and retreat to XuDu, xun Yu immediately replied to Cao Cao, so that Cao Cao could not retreat from the army at a good opportunity.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Biography of Xun Yu, it is recorded:
Taizu Bao Guandu, Shao Weizhi. Taizu's army ran out of food, books and yu, and Yi wanted to return to Lead Shao. Yu Yue: "Although the army has little food today, it is not as good as Chu and Han?" dazzling? Yang and Chenggao also. It was time for Liu and Xiang Moken to retreat first, and those who retreated first were bound to yield. It has been half a year since the Public took the throne and guarded it, strangling its throat and not entering it. When the situation is exhausted, there will be changes, and this time of strange use must not be lost. "Taizu is a resident. So he attacked Shao Beitun with a surprise soldier, beheaded his general Chun Yu Qiong and others, and Shao retreated. The trial was based on the illegality of the Xu You family, and the adoption of his wife, and you were angry and rebellious; Yan Liang and Wen Ugly were given the first place; and Tian Feng was advised to see the curse: all as Yu had planned.
In Xun Yu's reply to Cao Cao, he stressed that the side that retreated first would inevitably be passive, the battle had been going on for half a year, the morale of Yuan Shao's army was definitely about to be exhausted, as long as it was held on the spot, the battle situation would soon be reversed, Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's suggestion and insisted on waiting for the fighter.
Sure enough, soon after Yuan Shao's subordinate Xu You defected to Cao Cao and offered a plan to sneak attack Wuchao, Cao Cao burned Yuan Shao's army grain in Wuchao, Yuan Shao's army was demoralized and was annihilated by Cao Cao by 70,000, after Yuan Shao crossed the Yellow River north and fled, the victory at the Battle of Guandu allowed Cao Cao to unify the north, just cross the river to pacify the south of the river, you can end the situation of war and chaos in the world. After Cao Cao was crowned the Duke of Jiuxi, Xun Yu's life would also come to an end.
Cao Cao's intention to crown the Duke of Guo was to claim the title of emperor, and the chaos in the Han Room could not be recovered, xun Yu knew it in his heart, but the only remaining thoughts of the Han room made Xun Yu openly oppose Cao Cao's decision to crown the duke, and Cao Cao was furious at Xun Yu's behavior.
Later, Cao Cao sent a box of food to Xun Yu, and after opening the box, there was nothing in the box, and Xun Yu was forced to commit suicide by taking poison at the age of fifty, and the following year Cao Cao was enfeoffed as the Duke of Wei.