This article analyzes the Battle of Xiangfan through Sun Tzu’s strategies. Sima Yi urged Cao Cao to ally with Wu, luring Sun Quan with territory to attack Guan Yu’s rear. Arrogant Guan Yu ignored hidden threats, lost Jingzhou, embodying the cost of ignoring diplomatic and deceptive warfare principles.
Based on The Art of War, this article analyzes Guan Yu’s ruinous arrogance. Wu’s Lü Meng and Lu Xun used feigned weakness and flattering words to relax his vigilance. Guan Yu moved rear troops north, lost Jingzhou, and his defeat crippled Shu Han’s unification ambitions.
This article takes Jingzhou’s fall as a deception case for Sun Tzu’s rule. Eastern Wu used Lü Meng’s feigned illness and Lu Xun’s flattering letters to lull arrogant Guan Yu, bribed his discontented subordinates, and seized Jingzhou stealthily, costing Guan Yu his life.
A persistent question among readers of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is whether Liu Cong, the younger son of Liu Biao, was murdered by Cao Cao after surrendering Jing Province in 208 CE.
In early 204 CE, Cao Cao launched his decisive campaign to capture Ye City (Yecheng), the capital of Jizhou (Ji Province) and the last stronghold of the Yuan clan. As chronicled in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Chapters 33–34) and corroborated by historical sources like the Records of the Three Kingdoms, this siege marked…
The Battle of Guandu (200 CE) – the decisive confrontation between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao – did not unfold in isolation. Even as the two warlords marshaled their forces along the Yellow River, a cascade of events across the empire shaped the conflict’s trajectory.
In the winter of 199 AD, Yuan Shao stood at the zenith of his power. Having annihilated Gongsun Zan at Yi County and crushed the Heishan bandits who came to his aid, Yuan Shao now controlled four northern provinces: Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou. With this vast territory and immense manpower, he was poised…