The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

In the third year of Yongshou in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xun You was born into a noble family. His ancestral home was Yingyin, Yingchuan. His courtesy name was Gongda. His grandfather Xun Tan had served as the prefect of Guangling and was famous for his talent. His father Xun Yi had served as a state official.

Xun You lost his father at a young age, but was extremely intelligent. When he was 13 years old, his grandfather Xun Tan passed away. Zhang Quan, a former subordinate of Xun Tan, requested to guard his tomb.

Xun You was suspicious and told his uncle Xun Qu that he thought Zhang Quan looked strange and might have done something evil.

Later, Xun Qu asked him while he was sleeping at night and found out that he was the man who had killed someone and was fleeing.

When the imperial relative He Jin was in control of the government, he recruited more than 20 famous scholars from all over the world to serve in official positions. Xun You was among them. Later, Xun You went to the capital Luoyang and was granted the position of Yellow Gate Minister.

"In the sixth year of Zhongping, Emperor Ling of Han died. General He Jin and Yuan Shao summoned Dong Zhuo to the capital to kill the Ten Eunuchs. This led to the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, during which they took control of the court and moved the capital to Chang'an."

"Xun You believed that Dong Zhuo was a wicked man and that all the people in the world hated him. Although he had a strong army, he was not a threat."

"So Xun You, together with the counsellor Zheng Tai, He Yong, the minister Zhong Ji, the captain of the Yueqi, Wu Qiong and others, conspired to assassinate Dong Zhuo, and then occupied and controlled Mount Yu and Hangu Pass, and issued an imperial decree to command the world, thus realizing the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin."

"After the incident was exposed, Xun You and others were arrested and imprisoned. He Yong committed suicide out of fear, but Xun You continued as usual."

"In the third year of Chuping, after Dong Zhuo was conspired to be killed by Prime Minister Wang Yun and Lu Bu, Xun You was acquitted and released from prison. He chose to resign and return home. Later, he was summoned by the government again and was granted the post of Rencheng Xiang, but Xun You failed to take up the post."

"Xun You thought that Shu was a rugged and strong place, and the people lived a rich life, so he requested to be the governor of Shu County. However, he was unable to go there due to road obstruction, and stayed in Jingzhou."

"In the first year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian of Han into Xudu, he wrote a letter to Xun You, saying that the world was in chaos and it was a time for wise men to worry. Going to Shu to wait and see how the situation changed was not a long-term solution."

"So he appointed Xun You as governor of Runan and transferred him to the position of Shangshu. Cao Cao had heard of Xun You's great name for a long time and was very happy to talk with him. He told Xun Yu and Zhong Yao about it."

"He thought Xun You was an extraordinary person. If he could discuss important matters with him, he would not have to worry about gaining the world. So Xun You became Cao Cao's military advisor."

"In the third year of Jian'an, Xun You followed Cao Cao to fight Zhang Xiu. He believed that Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao depended on each other, but Zhang Xiu was living with Liu Biao. If things went on like this for a long time, Liu Biao would not be able to provide him with support, and the two would inevitably separate;"

"At the same time, I suggest that Cao Cao postpone sending troops to attack Zhang Xiu and lure him into surrender. If he attacks hastily, Liu Biao will definitely send troops to rescue him."

"Cao Cao did not follow Xun You's advice and sent troops to attack Zhang Xiu. Liu Biao came to rescue him, and Cao Cao was attacked from both sides and lost the battle."

"Cao Cao believed that this was the result of his failure to follow Xun You's advice, so he sent out another surprise attack and defeated the combined forces of Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao."

"At that time, some people in Cao Cao's camp thought that it was very dangerous to send troops to attack Lu Bu with Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu surrounding them from behind."

"Xun You thought that Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu had just been defeated and would not dare to act rashly. Lu Bu was brave and good at fighting, and he had the support of Yuan Shu. He could take advantage of the fact that Lu Bu had just rebelled against Liu Bei and the people were unstable and defeat him in one fell swoop."

"Cao Cao agreed with Xun You's suggestion, so in the same year, Cao Cao led his troops from Wancheng to the east to attack Lu Bu."""

"Faced with Cao Cao's attack, Lu Bu led his troops to retreat to Xiapi and defend it."

"Cao Cao continued to attack but still failed to capture Xia Pi. As his soldiers were tired, he planned to retreat."

"Xun You and Guo Jia believed that Lü Bu was brave but not wise. He had lost all three battles and lost all his fighting spirit. The three armies depended on their commander. If the commander was weak, the army would lose its fighting spirit. "

"Although Chen Gong is intelligent, he is slow by nature. While Lü Bu's strength has not yet recovered and Chen Gong's plan has not yet been finalized, he should lead his army to attack the city and he will surely defeat Lü Bu."

"So Cao Cao followed the advice of Xun You and others and diverted the Yi and Si rivers to flood the city. He finally broke through Xia Pi and captured Lu Bu alive."

"In February of the fifth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and Yan Liang to attack Liu Yan, the governor of Dongjun, at Bai Ma."

"In April, Cao Cao led his troops north to rescue Liu Yan. Xun You suggested that Yuan Shao's troops were large in number and should be dispersed. After Cao Cao led his troops to Yanjin,

Li Bai: This was Guan Yu's dissatisfaction when he was awarded the title of General when Liu Bei was promoted to King of Hanzhong and rewarded the Five Tiger Generals.

But Liu Bei still insisted on rewarding Huang Zhong as the rear general. Because Huang Zhong's contribution was real, Ding Jun killed Xiahou, which laid the foundation for Liu Bei's victory in the Battle of Hanzhong.
It is unacceptable in terms of morality, reason and the development of the army, so high-level rewards have to be given.

This illustrates a problem, that is, when two armies are facing each other, even if one wins, it is still hellishly difficult to kill the other side's main general.

Zhang Fei once defeated Zhang He at Wakou, but did not kill him. Later, Ma Su was in charge of defending Jieting. Zhang He surrounded and defeated Ma Su, but Ma Su was able to escape successfully.

Killing the enemy's main general and winning a battle in one go is no longer a dream. When Cao Cao was on an expedition to the north to attack Wuhuan, Zhang Liao killed the Wuhuan king Tadun in one battle. From then on, he rose rapidly in Cao's camp and became the leader of the Five Elite Generals.

Guan Yu was definitely qualified to be arrogant in this regard. He once "killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou", and later he captured Yu Jin and killed Pang De, making his name known throughout the world.

So, how were Yan Liang and Wen Chou, the first two of the "Four Pillars of Hebei", killed by Guan Yu?

Even though the enemy had the advantage in military strength, the naturally powerful General Guan Da roared, and Yan Liang's Hebei Army was frightened and dared not move.

Guan Yu took the initiative to make way and, relying on the speed of his Red Hare, he rushed to the flag of Yan Liang and killed him in one fell swoop. He then held Yan Liang's head and swaggered out.

In fact, Yan Liang was indeed beheaded by Guan Yu in public, but Wen Chou was not as described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. When Yuan Shao knew that Yan Liang was killed, he sent the unwilling Wen Chou to deliver his head and give Guan Yu experience points. Wen Chou died in the chaos of the army.

Although Ju Shou also commented that "Guan Yu is a man of mean nature and cannot be used alone despite his bravery", would it be so easy to kill him directly in front of the battle, no matter how powerful he was?

In fact, Guan Yu's ability to kill Yan Liang in one fell swoop was inseparable from the clever layout of a strategic master behind the scenes, as well as his close cooperation with Zhang Liao and others.

The director behind the scenes was Xun You, the nephew of Cao Cao's chief strategist Xun Yu. Without his brilliant strategy, it would have been difficult for the brave Guan Yu to have such an outstanding performance.

“If I lead my troops across the river to attack Yuan Shao’s rear, Yuan Shao will certainly send troops to the west to support me. Then I can send light cavalry to attack Bai Ma by surprise and capture Yan Liang.”

"Cao Cao followed Xun You's advice, and as expected, Yuan Shao sent troops west to support him. Cao Cao then led his troops to attack Bai Ma, with Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as the vanguard. Yan Liang was defeated and killed by Guan Yu."

"After Cao Cao led his troops to capture Bai Ma, they escorted the baggage and food supplies westward along the river."

"Yuan Shao led his troops through the pursuit and later encountered Cao Cao. Cao Cao's generals were very panicked and persuaded Cao Cao to retreat to the base camp."

"Xun You thought this was a good time to capture the enemy, so Cao Cao used baggage and food as bait to lure Yuan Shao's army to rob them." "Yuan Shao's general Wen Chou and Liu Bei led 5,000 to 6,000 cavalrymen to chase after them. Cao Cao's generals asked for a fight, but Cao Cao thought the timing was unknown and stopped his generals from riding their horses to fight."

"Soon after, more Yuan Shao cavalry arrived to fight for the food and supplies that Cao Cao deliberately left behind."

"So Cao Cao seized the opportunity and led nearly 600 cavalrymen to charge out suddenly, defeating Yuan Shao's army and killing Yuan Shao's general Wen Chou."

"Cao Cao and Yuan Shao formed a stalemate at Guandu. Soon after, Cao Cao's army ran out of food and grass. Xun You offered Cao Cao a suggestion, thinking that Yuan Shao's food transport carts would arrive within a day. The defending general Han Meng was brave but underestimated the enemy, and he could be defeated with one strike."

"Cao Cao asked who could be sent to carry out the mission. Xun You thought Xu Huang could do it, so Cao Cao sent Xu Huang and Shi Huan to lead their troops to intercept Yuan Shao's grain transport vehicles and burn the grain and baggage."

"Afterwards, Xu You surrendered and told Cao Cao that Yuan Shao had sent General Chunyu Qiong to lead more than 10,000 people to escort food and grass. The general was arrogant and the soldiers were lazy, so he could send troops to defeat them."

"But everyone was very suspicious. Only Xun You and Jia Xu dissuaded Cao Cao from adopting Xu You's plan."

"So Cao Cao left Xun You and Cao Hong to guard the base camp, and he personally led the army to attack Yuan Shao's army and killed Chunyu Qiong and others."

"Yuan Shao's generals Zhang He and Gao Lan came to surrender to Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao had no choice but to abandon his army and flee. Faced with the surrender of Zhang He and others,

"Cao Hong was full of doubts, and Xun You persuaded Cao Hong to dispel his concerns, and only then did he accept the surrender of Zhang He and others."

"In the seventh year of Jian'an, Xun You followed Cao Cao to Liyang to attack Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang."

"The following year, Cao Cao led his troops to attack Liu Biao, but Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were fighting for Jizhou."

"Later, Yuan Tan sent an envoy, Xin Pi, to ask for help. Cao Cao agreed and asked everyone what they thought."

"Many people think that Liu Biao is too powerful and should be pacified first, and the Yuan brothers are not a concern."

"Xun You thought that Liu Biao was in charge of Jingzhou and had no ambition to pacify the four directions, while the Yuan family occupied four states and had 100,000 soldiers. Yuan Shao won the hearts of the people with his generosity,"

"If the Yuan brothers could live in harmony, it would be difficult to send troops to pacify them. Now that the Yuan brothers are fighting among themselves, we should send troops to attack them while the chaos is going on. This is a good time to pacify the world."

"So Cao Cao adopted Xun You's proposal, agreed to make peace with Yuan Tan, and sent troops to defeat Yuan Shang. Later, Yuan Tan rebelled, and Xun You followed the army to kill Yuan Tan in Nanpi."

"After Jizhou was pacified, Xun You was granted the title of Marquis of Lingshuting for his meritorious service. In the 12th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao rewarded his generals according to their merits and increased Xun You's fiefdom by 400 households, bringing his total to 700 households. He was later transferred to be the Central Military Advisor. When the State of Wei was first established, he served as the Minister of the Chancellery."

"In the 19th year of Jian'an, Xun You followed Cao Cao in the southern expedition against Sun Quan. He died of illness on the way. He was 58 years old."

"Cao Cao was very sad about Xun You's death and cried bitterly. He thought that he had known Xun You for more than 20 years and there was nothing he could criticize."

"Because the eldest son Xun Ji died early, the second son Xun Shi inherited the title. During the reign of Emperor Cao Fang of Wei, Xun You was posthumously named Jing Hou."

"In November of the fifth year of the Zhengshi reign, Emperor Cao Fang of Wei issued an edict ordering Xun You to be included in the Taizu temple and enjoy the right to offer sacrifices."

Su Shi: The battle in which Yan Liang was beheaded became the Battle of Bai Ma, which was a precursor to the Battle of Guandu. It was somewhat similar to the Battle of Xiabian led by Ma Chao and Zhang Fei when Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought for Hanzhong.

In that battle, Ma Chao and Zhang Fei were both defeated, but they escaped.

However, this battle of Yuan Shao resulted in the direct deaths of two great generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

The battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao for leadership in the north actually took place along the Yellow River.

For example, at Guandu, if Yuan Shao wanted to attack Cao Cao, he had to cross the Yellow River to get personnel, equipment, troops, and food.

This was definitely a systematic and huge project in ancient times. You know, although the Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation, it has always had a bad temper. It has always been "the wind is roaring, the horses are neighing, the Yellow River is roaring, the Yellow River is roaring."

Then, ferries were built in places where it was easy to cross the Yellow River. For example, "Guan Du", where the Battle of Guandu broke out, means the official ferry. Yan Liang was beheaded at Bai Ma, which is on the south bank of the Yellow River under the jurisdiction of Cao Cao and is also an important ferry.

Yan Liang was ordered to attack Bai Ma in order to cover the main force crossing the river.

Just like the Battle of Jieting, Ma Su was ordered to defend Jieting. Once Jieting was lost, Cao Wei's reinforcements would continue to flow into Longyou, and their military strength would be superior, making it impossible to fight this battle.

Likewise, if Yuan Shao could capture Bai Ma and establish a forward base, then the subsequent main force would be able to cross the river easily and penetrate Cao Cao's territory, and the battle would be very difficult to fight.

Therefore, if Cao Cao wanted to avoid defeat, he had to do his best to stop Yuan Shao's army from crossing the Yellow River. Ju Shou said that Yan Liang was "narrow-minded", which was true, otherwise he would not have rushed all the way to Bai Ma.

However, Bai Ma is a fortress. Although Yan Liang advanced rapidly, this was not a sudden attack on a plain. Bai Ma Cao army defender Liu Yan chose to hold the city and urgently asked for help.

He pointed out directly that the enemy was numerous and we were few. To rescue Bai Ma, we couldn't just rush over directly, otherwise it would easily become Yuan Shao's "encirclement and attack", which would put himself in a passive position.

There is a small ferry upstream of Baimadu - Yanjin Ferry. We can make a big move and penetrate into Yuan Jun's territory from Yanjin Ferry to cut off Yan Liang's army's retreat.

Because of Yan Liang's reckless advance, Yuan Jun must be wary of this and will certainly send a large force to stop us, but we are not going to cut off our retreat.

Instead, we will launch a feint attack to attract Yuan Da's troops. Once his blocking troops come, we will pretend that our plan has been discovered and quickly retreat.

Just like Sun Bin did back then, he was defeated immediately after fighting with Wei Wuzu, attracting the blocking troops to cross the river and pursue him.

People thought we were attacking Wei to save Zhao, but in fact our main attack direction was still Bai Ma. Yan Liang and his men thought that the troops we sent were too few and that the main attacking force failed in its sneak attack.

He must have relaxed his vigilance, intensified the siege on Bai Ma, and neglected defense.

At this time, what was needed was a sudden attack by a general who could concentrate superior forces to defeat Yan Liang's troops in one fell swoop.

In fact, Yuan’s army was fooled and allocated a large part of its forces to let Wen Chou block Cao Cao’s “rear-cutting” troops.

Things turned out just as Xun You expected. Yuan Jun acted in this way. Now it was the turn of the troops led by Guan Yu and Zhang Liao to attack Bai Ma. (End of this chapter)