The second phase of the Battle of Guandu (200 CE) marked a critical juncture in the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Though Cao Cao had successfully quelled rebellions in his rear and repelled Liu Bei’s incursions, the situation at the front remained dire. Outnumbered nearly ten to one and running dangerously low on supplies, Cao Cao teetered on the brink of retreat – until a dramatic betrayal from within Yuan Shao’s own camp altered the course of Chinese history.
Drawing on both Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) and Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this account details how desperation, strategic insight, and a single defector converged to deliver one of the most famous upsets in military annals.
The burning of Gushi Granary
Despite his numerical superiority, Yuan Shao struggled to break Cao Cao’s defensive line. He dispatched general Han Meng to harass Cao Cao’s left flank, but Cao Ren swiftly repelled him. Undeterred, Yuan Shao soon sent Han Meng again – this time to escort thousands of supply carts to Gushi, a forward depot.
Cao Cao’s strategist Xun You immediately recognized the opportunity:
“Han Meng is brave but reckless. Strike now, and we can destroy the convoy.”
When Cao Cao asked who should lead the raid, Xun You recommended Xu Huang. Alongside Shi Huan, Xu Huang led a swift cavalry strike on Gushi, routing Han Meng and burning all the grain.
Though this was a tactical victory, it came too late to solve Cao Cao’s deeper crisis: his own granaries were nearly empty. Morale plummeted, and Cao Cao seriously considered retreating.
Xun Yu’s letter: The resolve to hold on
In despair, Cao Cao wrote to his chief advisor Xun Yu in Xuchang, proposing withdrawal. Xun Yu’s reply was unequivocal – and historically pivotal:
“Your current plight is not as desperate as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu’s standoff at Xingyang and Chenggao. Neither dared retreat, for the first to yield would lose everything. You, with only one-tenth of Yuan Shao’s forces, have held him at bay for half a year. His weaknesses are now exposed; his momentum is spent. This is the moment for cunning strategy – not retreat.”
This letter rekindled Cao Cao’s resolve. To rally his exhausted troops, he declared:
“In fifteen days, I will defeat Yuan Shao – and you’ll never haul grain again!”
With renewed determination, Cao Cao and his men endured.
Liu Bei’s second gambit and the southern distraction
Meanwhile, Liu Bei, having fled back to Yuan Shao after his defeat by Cao Ren, proposed a new plan: ally with Liu Biao in Jingzhou to open a second front against Cao Cao. Whether this was genuine strategy or a ploy to escape Yuan Shao’s increasingly unstable court remains debated.
Yuan Shao agreed and sent Liu Bei once more to Runan, where he joined rebel leader Gong Du, amassing several thousand men. When Cao Cao dispatched Cai Yang to suppress them, Liu Bei killed him in battle – a rare success that briefly threatened Cao Cao’s southern flank.
Yet this distraction proved minor compared to the seismic shift about to occur at Guandu itself.
Xu You’s defection
By October 200 CE, tensions within Yuan Shao’s camp reached a breaking point. His advisor Xu You had long advocated a bold strategy:
“Cao Cao has committed all his forces here – Xuchang is weakly defended. Split our army: pin Cao Cao down while a light force strikes Xuchang. Capture the Emperor, and we can issue edicts in his name to condemn Cao Cao as a traitor.”
But Yuan Shao dismissed the plan, insisting:
“I will crush Cao Cao head-on.”
Furious and prideful, Xu You’s frustration turned to betrayal when he learned that Shen Pei, Yuan Shao’s loyalist administrator in Ye City, had arrested his entire family for corruption. Enraged, Xu You defected to Cao Cao.
Upon hearing of Xu You’s arrival, Cao Cao rushed out barefoot – a gesture of profound respect – and exclaimed:
“Ziyuan has come! My cause is won!”
The truth about grain and the plan for Wuchao
Inside Cao Cao’s tent, Xu You cut straight to the heart of the matter:
“How much grain do you have left?”
Cao Cao lied twice – first claiming a year’s supply, then six months – before finally admitting:
“Only enough for this month.”
Xu You then revealed the decisive intelligence:
“Yuan Shao’s entire reserve is stored at Wuchao, lightly guarded and poorly secured. Send a fast, elite force under cover of night. Burn the granary. Within three days, his army will collapse from hunger and panic.”
The plan was extraordinarily risky. Wuchao lay deep in enemy territory. Failure meant the loss of Cao Cao’s best troops – and possibly the war. Many of his officers distrusted the newly arrived Xu You.
But Xun You and Jia Xu strongly endorsed the plan. Trusting their judgment – and his own instinct – Cao Cao made the fateful decision: he would raid Wuchao himself.
This bold gamble would soon ignite the final act of the Battle of Guandu – and seal Yuan Shao’s fate.
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