Cao Cao, as we all know, was one of the most important figures in the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. By the time of the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao's power was the strongest among the princes. Of course, strong strength is inseparable from strong military support. If there was no strong military strength, Cao Cao could only be slaughtered by others, let alone be as strong as later. In Cao Cao's army, there was an army that was very special, which could be said to be similar to modern special forces, and that was the tiger and leopard riding. The soldiers of this unit were not only one of the hundred, but only the Cao clan could command them.
In the composition of Cao Cao's fortune, there were many powerful troops. For example, the Qingzhou soldiers, who were only loyal to Cao Cao, were very strong in combat effectiveness, but military discipline was not good. There is also the Tiger Guard commanded by Dianwei, which is also very strong in combat effectiveness, and is known as the strongest attack infantry. However, the Tiger and Panther Riders are distinctly different from these two forces. The two units above are more numerous and are mainly infantry. Unlike them, the Tiger and Panther Riders were a cavalry-based unit and relatively small in number. The soldiers were all one of a hundred, similar to the current special forces.
According to historical records, Cao Cao's troops were mainly divided into three parts, the Central Army, the Local Army, and the Tuntian Army. The local army does not need to be explained, mainly the army guarding the local area, generally more defending the city. This kind of army is composed of many local personnel, backward equipment, relatively little training, and relatively low combat effectiveness; the Tuntian army knows that they want Tuntian by name, and generally speaking, they only want Tuntian in the border areas. This kind of army is a border guard army, protecting the border defense; the central army is also called the Chinese army, which is under the direct command of Cao Cao. The central army is divided into internal army and foreign army, the so-called internal army is to protect the imperial palace and the capital, and the later dynasties also have called the Royal Forest Army. The combat effectiveness is still relatively strong. And foreign troops are the armies that fight directly outside.
After reading these introductions, we know that the tiger and leopard riding definitely belongs to the foreign army in the Central Army. There is no point in forming such a force if it is not fighting outside.
The Tiger and Panther Horse was established two or three years after the Battle of Guandu, roughly between 202 and 203 AD. This unit was all cavalry, which was still relatively rare at the time, although in the Warring States period, the Zhao Wuling King Hufu established cavalry when riding and shooting, and then the Western Han Dynasty used cavalry during the expedition against the Xiongnu, but most of the time the cavalry was used as an auxiliary. Generally speaking, cavalry is used for sneak attacks and encirclement, and rarely used as the main battle force. Cao Cao's tiger and leopard riding was also used as an auxiliary. Even if you want to use it as the main force, it is not allowed, after all, the number of people is too small.
The reason why it is called tiger and leopard riding is because the seal used by the officers inside has two animals, tiger and leopard. The criteria for the selection of tigers and leopards are still relatively high, and Cao Cao is selected from the whole army, which is roughly one out of a hundred. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms records that "the tigers and leopards who are purely supervised are all sharp in the world, or they will be supplemented by a hundred people." "Pure" here refers to "Cao Chun". I have to say that in order to build this army, Cao Cao really made a bloody contribution.
Since Cao Cao had made a bloody contribution to form this unit, and the combat effectiveness was so strong, the person who commanded this unit was certainly not an ordinary person. When the Tiger and Leopard Riders were first formed, they were commanded by Cao Chun. Cao Chun was Cao Cao's cousin and Cao Ren's younger brother, and his relationship with Cao Cao was naturally relatively close. After Cao Chun's death in 210, Cao Cao wanted to hand over the troops to someone else's commander, but he did not find a suitable person for a while and personally commanded for a period of time.
Later, Cao Ren, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen also commanded this unit. Needless to say, Cao Ren, like Cao Chun, was Cao Cao's cousin and authentic self; Cao Xiu was Cao Cao's subordinate, and his father was Cao Cao's father's subordinate. Cao Cao treated Cao Xiu like his own son, calling him his "Thousand Mile Colt". Not to mention this relationship; Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu are similar, but the relationship is closer than Cao Xiu. Cao Zhen lost his father at an early age, and Cao Cao adopted him, and he was Cao Cao's adopted son. This is also the authentic self-person.
Seeing this, we can see that this force is not simple. The personnel were originally one in a hundred, and the combat effectiveness was really explosive. The commanders were all cao cao's own family, and they had no dissent for Cao Cao. Not only that, these commanders were not only their own relatives, but also the famous generals at that time. In this case, the combat effectiveness of this unit can be imagined.
Of course, the foregoing is just talk, whether the combat effectiveness is strong or not, we must try it ourselves to know. According to later records, tiger and leopard riding has appeared in many battles, and the battle results are really strong.
The first appearance of the Tiger and Panther Rider was on the offensive Yuan Tan. After the Battle of Guandu, although Yuan Shao lost, several of Yuan Shao's sons still had heavy troops, and Yuan Tan was one of them. When Cao Cao attacked Yuan Tan, the tiger and leopard rode to help Cao Cao kill Yuan Tan, which was still a relatively large credit.
The second was the capture of one of Wu huan's leaders during Cao Cao's Northern Expedition. Wuhuan is an ethnic minority in the north, they are mainly nomadic, and they are all cavalry. Tiger and leopard riding this time can be against the authentic cavalry, in the face of such a strong opponent, tiger and leopard riding can also achieve this kind of achievement, it can be said that it is very rare. Fighting against cavalry can also achieve such a record, which can show the strength of the tiger and leopard riding.
The third was to pursue Liu Bei at Changshanpo. At that time, Cao Cao also abandoned Liu Beichai's wife and son. Although Liu Bei's strength is not very good, he is also experienced in hundreds of battles. There are really not many troops that can turn Liu Bei into such a unit.
This is the general situation of the tiger and leopard riding, and it can be said that there is really no defeat. Of course, many people will say, since the combat effectiveness is so strong, why does Cao Cao not form more tiger and leopard horses?
In fact, it was not that Cao Cao did not want to, but that strength did not allow it. As mentioned earlier, the tiger and leopard riding is one of the best in a hundred, that is, the selection criteria, not that everyone can meet this standard. In addition, the consumption of cavalry is very large, and a strong cavalry unit is a great pressure on finances. Even if Cao Cao had so many people, he might not have so much money.
Of course, no force can exist forever. As a rare cavalry special force, the Tiger and Panther Rider is even less likely to exist forever. After this unit appeared for about a dozen years, it was cancelled by Cao Cao and merged into other units. At this point, the tiger and leopard ride has disappeared in history, although it is a short-lived, but it has also been brilliant.
This is the general situation of the tiger and leopard riding. However, although the tiger and leopard ride is powerful, there is no record in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" that we are familiar with. I really don't know how it would be recorded if the tiger and leopard riding were recorded in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the possibility of ugliness may be greater, after all, the book is turned to Liu Bei.
Resources:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of the Later Han Dynasty