Zhang Liao and Zhang Gao, both of whom were good generals of Cao Wei's five sons, were both brave and good at fighting, highly skilled in martial arts, and could stand alone in commanding the army, and were deeply loved and valued by Cao Cao.
So, on martial arts alone, which of Zhang Liao or Zhang Guo is higher? In fact, Cao Cao had given the answer.
In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought against each other.
On Yuan Shao's side, the main generals were Zhang Gao, Gao Lan, Han Meng, and Chun Yuqiong, while on Cao Cao's side, the main generals were Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Li Dian. Before the war, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had a conversation. Cao Cao said, I am under the commandment to beg the thief. Yuan Shao said, I am dressed in clothes and belts to beg thieves. The two did not speculate, and the two sides immediately began a big war.
Cao Cao sent the general Zhang Liao into battle, and Yuan Shao's camp and Zhang Gao faced Zhang Liao. The two men played forty or fifty times, regardless of whether they won or lost. Cao Cao saw that Zhang Hao's martial arts were successful, and secretly praised in his heart, so Xu Chu understood Cao Cao's meaning and immediately went out to help in the battle, while on Yuan Shao's side, the general Gao Lan met Xu Chu.
The thirtieth time in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "I am now commanded to ask for Ru!" Shao Yue: "I am a thief with a robe!" angry, make Zhang Liao go to war. Zhang Tai leaps horses to greet him. The two generals fought forty or fifty times, regardless of victory or defeat. Cao Cao saw it and secretly marveled. Xu Chu swung his sword and rode straight out to help the battle. Gao Lan held it with a gun. The four members will catch and kill each other.
There are two questions.
On the one hand, when Zhang Liao and Zhang Gao fought, why did Cao Cao secretly marvel?
Obviously, Cao Cao secretly said that it was because Zhang Liao encountered an enemy, Zhang Liao was strong in martial arts, unexpectedly, when he met Zhang Gao, he actually encountered a hard stubble, Cao Cao thought that Zhang Liao could win, who knows, unexpectedly, did not achieve the expected purpose.
This also shows from the side that Cao Cao admires Zhang Gao very much, and sees that Zhang Gao's martial arts are stronger than Zhang Liao's, otherwise, can Cao Cao secretly be amazed?
On the other hand, why did Xu Chu help in the battle?
In front of the two armies, the generals singled out one-on-one, which is also the fairest in theory, so what does Xu Chu mean when he comes forward to help the battle?
This shows two points, the first point, Cao Cao praised Zhang Gao, recognized Zhang Gao's force, Xu Chu understood the meaning of the boss, so he wanted to help defeat Zhang Gao, in order to gain Cao Cao's favor and steal the limelight.
Second, Zhang Liao and Zhang Hao were single-handed and in a disadvantageous position, otherwise, how could Xu Chu go to help the battle? Is it glorious to play two and one? Especially the head-to-head between the generals, two to one, should be very humiliating.
Then, at this time, Xu Chu was already Cao Cao's beloved general, there was no need to curry favor with Cao Cao for this, he must have seen that Zhang Liao was not Zhang Guo's opponent, so he came out to help the battle. Unexpectedly, Xu Chuyi assisted in the battle, but was stopped by Gao Lan, and the two sides then began a melee.
The thirtieth time in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Huan and Cao Hong, each with three thousand troops, to rush to the other side. Seeing that the Cao army had come to charge the front, he ordered the cannon to be released: two crossbows were fired at the same time, and the archers in the Chinese army rushed out of the battle to shoot randomly. How the Cao army resisted the enemy, looking south and hurrying away. Yuan Shao drove his troops to cover up the killing, and the Cao army was defeated and retreated to Guandu.
Of course, Xu Chu's assistance in the battle did not rule out Xu Chu's disobedience to Zhang Gao's mood, but disobeying Zhang Gao also showed that Zhang Gao's martial arts were above Zhang Liao's, otherwise, Zhang Hao was not as good as Zhang Liao, how could Xu Chu not obey? Therefore, it can be seen from the side that Zhang Liao's martial arts are not as good as Zhang Gao's.