The videos I watched became popular in ancient times

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Dian's uncle Li Qian gathered thousands of followers and joined Cao Cao.

Li Dian followed his uncle to join Cao Cao, participated in suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and attacked Yuan Shu and Lu Bu.

After his uncle Li Qian and cousin Li Zheng died, Li Dian served as General of the Central Army and led his relatives and old subordinates.

Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and pacified the north, and Li Dian was promoted to general for his merits.

Li Dian followed Cao Cao in his campaigns. In the 11th year of Jian'an, he was promoted to General Capturing Prisoners and was granted the title of Marquis of Duting due to his merits.

After Cao Cao captured Wei County, Li Dian moved more than 3,000 families of his clan and subordinates to Wei County. Cao Cao appreciated his loyalty and promoted him to General Breaking the Enemy.

"In October of the 19th year of Jian'an, Li Dian, Zhang Liao and Le Jin were stationed in Hefei."

"In August of the following year, Cao Cao marched west to Hanzhong, and Sun Quan took the opportunity to attack Hefei."

"Li Dian put aside his personal grudges and worked together with Zhang Liao and Le Jin to defeat Sun Quan."

"Soon after, Li Dian fell ill and died at the age of 36. He was posthumously named Marquis Min."

"Chen Shou, a historian of the Western Jin Dynasty, commented that Li Dian was both brave and resourceful, elegant and studious, respected the wise and respected scholars, and did not compete with other generals for merit."

"Song Dynasty scholar Zhang Yu and late Ming Dynasty scholar Huang Daozhou believed that Li Dian moved his clan members to Wei County out of loyalty to his master,"

"During the Battle of Hefei, he put aside his own interests and assisted Zhang Liao in defeating Sun Quan with a small force. He is truly a famous general."

"In his early years, Li Dian lived with his clansmen in Chengshi County. Li Dian's uncle, Li Qian, was a man of great character and had thousands of followers in his hometown."

"During the Chuping period, Li Qian led his followers to join Cao Cao in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, and Li Dian also followed them."

"Li Dian was studious when he was young. He did not like military campaigns. Instead, he studied the Zuo Zhuan and read widely."

"Cao Cao admired Li Dian very much and once arranged for him to handle the affairs of governing the people in order to test his ability."

"In the first year of Xingping, Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou. His generals Zhang Miao and Chen Gong started a rebellion in Yanzhou to welcome Lu Bu. All the counties in Yanzhou responded one after another."

"Cao Cao sent Li Qian back to his hometown, Chengshi County, to pacify the surrounding counties. Lü Bu's generals Xue Lan and Li Feng recruited Li Qian and persuaded him to rebel against Cao Cao. Li Qian refused and was killed."

"Cao Cao asked Li Qian's son Li Zheng to lead his old subordinates and participate in the pacification of Yanzhou."

"After Li Zheng died, Li Dian was transferred to Yingyin County as the magistrate and served as the General of the Central Army, commanding Li Zheng's troops. Soon, Li Dian was promoted to the governor of Lihu County."

"In the fifth year of Jian'an, the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao met at Guandu."

"Li Dian led his clan and subordinates to transport food and cloth for military supplies."

"After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, Li Dian was promoted to general due to his merits and stationed in Anmin City."

"In the seventh year of Jian'an, after Yuan Shao's death, Cao Cao continued to march into Liyang to attack Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, and sent Li Dian and Cheng Yu to transport military supplies by boat."

"Yuan Shang sent Weijun Governor Gao Fan to lead troops to block the Yellow River and cut off the water route."

"Earlier, Cao Cao had ordered Li Dian and Cheng Yu to disembark and travel by land if the grain transport fleet could not cross the river."

"Li Dian discussed with his generals and believed that Gao Fan's army lacked armor, relied on the natural barrier of the Yellow River, and had low morale. If they launched a sudden attack, they would surely win."

"Cheng Yu also thought so, so his army crossed the Yellow River to the north, attacked Gao Fan, defeated the enemy, and opened up the waterway."

"In the same year, during Cao Cao's campaign against Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, Liu Biao sent Liu Bei to invade northwards and reach Ye County. Cao Cao sent Li Dian to accompany Xiahou Dun and lead an army to stop them."

"Liu Bei suddenly burned down his camp and retreated, and Xiahou Dun led his troops in pursuit."

"Li Dian saw that this was Liu Bei's fake escape plan. He set up an ambush beforehand, then pretended to retreat to lure Xiahou Dun to attack, and then waited for an opportunity to ambush him."

"Li Dian advised Xiahou Dun not to pursue, but Xiahou Dun refused to listen and asked Li Dian to stay in the camp while he and Yu Jin led the army to pursue Liu Bei. As expected, they fell into Liu Bei's ambush and suffered a disastrous defeat."

"Li Dian hurriedly led his troops to rescue them. When Liu Bei saw the reinforcements coming, he dispersed and retreated."

"In the ninth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao ordered Li Dian to lead his troops to assist Cao Hong in besieging Ye County."

"In October of the following year, Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou, rebelled again after surrendering. Cao Cao sent Li Dian and Le Gong to attack Gao Gan, who retreated to Huguan County."

"Li Dian and Le Jin besieged the city for three months but failed to capture it. Cao Cao personally led a large army to assist them and finally captured Huguan."

Li Bai: Li Dian was born into a prominent family of Cheng in Yanzhou.

As mentioned before, many local wealthy families in the late Han Dynasty had their own armed forces. Li Dian's family had an army of several thousand people at that time.

The head of the Li family at that time was Li Dian's cousin Li Qian, a man of great courage and capability. When Cao Cao took control of Yanzhou, he, like many other Yanzhou gentry, surrendered to Cao Cao.

Then he followed Cao Cao to defeat the Yellow Turban Army in Shouzhang, and together with Yuan Shao, he beat up Yuan Shu who intended to lay his hands on Yanzhou, and went to Xuzhou to show off his military power.

In other words, the Li family is the capital for Boss Cao's Series A financing, and they have considerable weight and qualifications in the Cao Group.

In 194, Zhang Miao, Chen Gong and others supported Lu Bu as their leader, and Yanzhou rebelled across the country. All counties and prefectures in Yanzhou came to Lu Bu's aid.

Li Dian's Li family did not explicitly withdraw its investment from Cao Cao's group, but they also did not explicitly resist the Yanzhou rebellion which was mainly led by the Yanzhou gentry. Let's let the bullets fly for a while.

Later, Lu Bu and Cao Cao fought fiercely in Yanzhou, but they encountered drought and locust plagues, and they both fell into a food shortage crisis.

Lu Bu's army became the "Imperial Army" of later generations. They would force their way wherever they went. However, they ran into a tough obstacle, the Li family, in Chengshi.

What the hell? We can't even get enough to eat, how can we have enough food to feed you puppet troops?

Brothers, grab your weapons and drive away these big-tailed wolves. The Li clan, under the leadership of Li Jin, drove away Lu Bu's mopping-up army.

Cao Cao was naturally very happy when this happened, and Lu Bu was naturally very angry. Cao Cao wanted to quickly save this revolutionary spark, and Lu Bu naturally wanted to find ways to eliminate this troublemaker.

So Cao Cao sent Li Qian back to Chengshi to take charge of the situation. If you can win, then fight. If you can't win, then bring your brothers and quickly transfer to our main force.

In the summer of 195, Lu Bu's deputy driver Xue Lan and governor Li Feng led their troops to Juye County. They first sent people to persuade Li Qian to surrender, saying that as long as Li Qian and the Li family could recognize the situation and wake up in time, they would forgive them for their past mistakes.

Li Qian said he didn't believe it. As a result, Xue Lan and Li Feng suppressed Li Qian with armed force.

After Cao Cao learned about the situation, he responded quickly. First, he arranged for Li Qian's son Li Zheng to continue to take over the Li family's troops;

Second, he promptly arranged for other generals to cooperate with Li Zheng to attack Xue Lan and Li Feng to avenge Li Qian. Without further explanation, this is a standard operation to win people's hearts. After Li Zheng defeated Xue Lan and Li Feng, he followed Cao Cao wholeheartedly. He followed Cao Cao to pacify the counties of Yanzhou, made many military achievements, and was gradually promoted.

It was not until 200 that the Battle of Guandu officially broke out. War is always a continuation of political struggle.
Cao Cao expressed his disapproval of some of Yuan Shao's political appointments. He said that the appointment of Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan as the governor of Qingzhou was not formal and incomplete.

Since this was an illegal appointment, he issued an order himself, stamped it with the official seal of Emperor Xian of Han, and appointed Li Zheng as the governor of Qingzhou.

As a result, not long after, Li Zheng passed away without any warning.

At that time, Cao Cao was in a stalemate with Yuan Shao at Guandu, so he quickly ordered Li Dian to be the magistrate of Yingyin County and serve as the General of the Central Army to lead Li Zheng's troops.

There is a little episode here. Li Dian has never been interested in fighting and killing since he was a child. Instead, he was determined to be a top student.

So when Cao Cao ordered him to take over Li's army, he declined, saying that he wanted to be a civil servant and had no intention of fighting on the battlefield.

But Cao Cao is such a cunning person. The private army of the Li family has always been led by you, the Li family. Can we command it all at once?
If you, Li Dian, don't come out to support them, who can command them? If you want to be a civil servant, that's fine. I'll give you the title of magistrate of Yingyin County.

However, you cannot abandon this army, so serve as the part-time General of the Central Army and continue to lead them.

Given that Li Dian's development path was unclear, Li Dian was not assigned to work on the front line. He did administrative work in the local area and logistics work in the army.

He was soon promoted to the position of Lihu prefect, leading his family and the troops under his jurisdiction to transport food and cloth to the Guandu front to supply military supplies.

After the victory of the Battle of Guandu, Li Dian was appointed as a general and stationed his troops in Anmin.

"In August of the 11th year of Jian'an, the pirate Guan Cheng gathered a crowd to riot. Cao Cao led a large army to Chunyu County and sent Li Dian and Le Jin to lead troops to defeat the rioters. After being defeated, Guan Cheng fled to the islands, and the coastal area was pacified."

"After the war, Li Dian accumulated his previous merits and was promoted to General of Capturing Prisoners and was granted the title of Marquis of Duting."

"In July of the 13th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao marched south to Jingzhou, and Li Dian followed the army to fight."

"In August of the same year, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, died of illness. His son Liu Cong succeeded him and led his people to surrender to Cao Cao."

"In December of the same year, Liu Bei and Sun Quan formed an alliance. Cao Cao led a large army to Chibi and appointed Zhao Yan as the commander-in-chief to coordinate the seven armies of Yu Jin, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao and Feng Kai to attack Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Cao's army was defeated in the battle."

"In July of the 16th year of Jian'an, Ma Chao and Han Sui rebelled in Guanzhong, and Cao Cao personally led a large army to suppress them."

"Li Dian led his troops to the battle. Cao Cao used a trick to alienate Ma Chao and Han Sui, defeated their armies, and pacified Guanzhong."

"Li Dian followed Cao Cao in his campaigns and made great contributions."

"Li Dian's clansmen and subordinates numbered more than 3,000 people, all living in Chengshi County. He took the initiative to propose to Cao Cao that they move to Wei County to supplement the population of Cao Cao's territory."

"Li Dian moved more than 13,000 of his clansmen and subordinates to live in Ye County. Cao Cao admired his loyalty and encouraged Li Dian by citing Geng Chun, a famous general who revived the Han Dynasty, and promoted him to General Po Lu."

"In July of the 19th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao went south to attack Sun Quan."

"In October of the same year, Cao Cao led his army back, leaving Li Dian, Zhang Liao, Le Jin and others to guard Hefei with more than 7,000 people."

"The following year, Cao Cao marched west to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, and Sun Quan took the opportunity to lead a large army to besiege Hefei."

"Cao Cao had previously left a handwritten order that if Sun Quan led his troops to attack, Zhang Liao and Li Dian would lead the troops, while Le Jin would be in charge of defending the city."

"Le Jin, Li Dian, and Zhang Liao don't get along well with each other, and Zhang Liao is worried that the two won't obey orders."

"Li Dian generously stated that in the face of national affairs, he would rely on Zhang Liao's orders and should not forget justice because of personal prejudice."

"Li Dian's words dispelled Zhang Liao's worries and he focused on deploying his troops. He recruited 800 warriors overnight, slaughtered cattle as rewards, and prepared for the battle tomorrow."

"The next day, Zhang Liao and Li Dian led their troops out of the city, lined up to meet the enemy, and defeated the Wu army."

"Sun Quan besieged Hefei for more than ten days. Li Dian, Zhang Liao and Le Jin worked together to defend the city. Sun Quan failed to capture Hefei and had to lead his troops to retreat."

"After the war, Li Dian was granted an estate of 100 households, bringing his total to 300 households."

"Li Dian died at the age of thirty-six, and his son Li Zhen inherited his title."

"After Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, ascended the throne, he remembered Li Dian's achievements in the Battle of Hefei and increased Li Zhen's fiefdom by 100 households. He also granted another son of Li Dian the title of Marquis of Guannei, with a fiefdom of 100 households, and posthumously named Li Dian Marquis Min."

"In the fourth year of Zhengshi, the court of Emperor Cao Fang of Wei issued an edict that Li Dian and other deceased generals from the time of Cao Cao could be offered sacrifices in the temple of Emperor Cao Cao of Wei."

Su Shi: Cao Cao attacked Liyang, intending to clear Hebei in one fell swoop. Li Dian once again went back to his old job - transporting grain and grass.

Once, Li Dian and Cheng Yu were transporting grain and grass by water, and they happened to encounter Weijun Prefect Gao Fan, who was under Yuan Shang's command and led his troops to cut off the waterway.

Cao Cao ordered them to go ashore and take the land route if the water route was blocked.

But Li Dian discussed with Cheng Yu and others that Gao Fan's gang were just pretending and they were vulnerable as they were not fully equipped.

A general is not subject to the orders of the king when he is away from home, so we just beat him up and that's it. As a result, we successfully defeated the enemy and passed the waterway.

Li Dian's impromptu decision this time made Cao Cao look at his military ability with even higher regard.

The leader likes those comrades who obey orders in all their actions, and also likes those comrades who can be flexible and adaptable to achieve ultimate victory.

In the same year, Liu Bei, who had fled to Jingzhou, launched an attack on Ye County under the arrangement of Liu Biao.

Cao Cao sent his generals Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin and Li Dian to resist the enemy. As a result, the two sides confronted each other in the Bowangpo area.

Then, Liu Bei felt that there was no point in just standing there and watching, so he burned down the camp and prepared to retreat.

Xiahou Dun was ready to chase after them in full armor, but Li Dian quickly stopped him and said, "Leader, don't be impulsive. The south is a good place for an ambush. Liu Da'er is not a good person. It won't be too late to chase after him after you find out the situation."

However, Xiahou Dun said that Li Dian was making the matter too complicated and that this opportunity would be gone if missed, so he and Yu Jin led troops to pursue the enemy and asked Li Dian to stay behind.

As a result, they were ambushed by Liu Bei and beaten badly. At the critical moment, it was Li Dian who arrived with the reinforcements and scared Liu Bei away, rescuing Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin.

In the following years, Li Dian just played supporting roles here and there. In 206, he was promoted to General Capturing Prisoners and was granted the title of Marquis of Duting.

At this time, Cao Cao had basically swept Hebei, and it could be said that the situation was set. Li Dian did a very smart thing.
He took the initiative to request that all of his 3,000 subordinates and clansmen be moved from Chengshi to Weijun, which was equivalent to submitting the fate and honor of his entire family to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was a little bit unconvinced that Li Dian was so sensible, and asked him with a smile if he wanted to emulate Geng Chun of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Who wouldn't like someone who is good at dealing with people and flattering the boss?
Cao Cao agreed to his request and sent more than 13,000 people from Li Dian's clans to Ye County, and conferred the title of General Po Lu on Li Dian. (End of this chapter)