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Gao Shun was from Chenliu, Yanzhou. During his time following Lü Bu, he and Chen Gong were known as Lü Bu's left and right arms.

Gao Shun was a general during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, serving as a lieutenant general under Lü Bu. He was known for his integrity and dignity, disliked drinking, and commanded a disciplined army known as the "Trap Camp."

In 196 AD, while Liu Bei was attacking Yuan Shu in the east at the Huai River, Lü Bu seized Liu Bei's base, Xiapi. Afterwards, Liu Bei surrendered to Lü Bu, who ordered Liu Bei to garrison Xiaopei and proclaimed himself the governor of Xuzhou.

In the same year, Hao Meng, one of Lü Bu's subordinates, rebelled and led his troops to attack Xiapi, where Lü Bu was located. Lü Bu was defeated and fled to Gao Shun's camp, where he was rescued by Gao Shun and killed Hao Meng.

In the third year of Jian'an, Lü Bu once again allied with Yuan Shu and sent men to attack Liu Bei. Liu Bei was no match for him and requested Cao Cao's support. Cao Cao then sent his capable general Xiahou Dun to his aid. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle outside Xiapi, and Lü Bu was ultimately defeated by Gao Shun.

In 198 AD, Cao Cao personally led an expedition against Lü Bu. Lü Bu suffered three consecutive defeats and held firm at Xiapi, refusing to leave the city. In December, Xiapi fell, and Gao Shun and Chen Gong were captured by the traitorous generals Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu. Lü Bu was forced to surrender. In 199 AD, Gao Shun was killed by Cao Cao.
Gao Shun had over seven hundred men under his command, though he claimed to have a thousand. Their armor and weapons were all well-trained and complete. They strictly adhered to military discipline, were well-equipped, and were extremely brave in battle, achieving victory in every engagement. They were known as the "Trap Camp".

In the middle of the night in June of the first year of Jian'an (196 AD), Hao Meng, a subordinate of Lü Bu, launched a rebellion and led troops to attack Xiapi, the city where Lü Bu was located. However, due to the strong defenses of Lü Bu's residence, the city could not be captured for a while, and Lü Bu did not know who was rebelling.

He hurriedly ran to the inner room, grabbed his wife, jumped over the wall, and fled to Gao Shun's camp for help. Gao Shun quickly asked the general if he knew who it was, and Lü Bu only said that it was the voice of a man from Hanoi.

Gao Shun guessed that it was Hao Meng, so he immediately led his troops to quell the rebellion. Gao Shun's army thought that the crossbows were aimed at the rebels, and the fierce battle lasted until dawn.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Hao Meng's subordinate Cao Xing immediately turned against Hao Meng and attacked him. During the battle, Hao Meng stabbed Cao Xing, and Cao Xing also cut off one of Hao Meng's arms. Later, Gao Shun arrived and ordered his men to fire ten thousand arrows, killing Hao Meng and beheading him as a warning to the public.

In the second year of Jian'an (197 AD), Lü Bu prepared to personally lead his troops to attack Zang Ba. Gao Shun, seeing his impulsiveness, advised him against it.
General, you are going to personally assassinate Dong Zhuo, which will awe you and make you famous far and wide. People in the surrounding areas are afraid of you. Why would you have to go and ask for money yourself when you can't get what you want? If you fail and don't get what you want, wouldn't that damage your reputation?
Lu Bu pretended not to hear. He was determined to launch a campaign, but Zang Ba, fearing Lu Bu's forceful plundering and abuse, held his city firmly, preventing Lu Bu from conquering it and forcing him to return empty-handed.

It wasn't until much later that Zang Ba reconciled with Lü Bu, which is why Gao Shun repeatedly advised Lü Bu against it.
Those who bring ruin to their families and countries do so not because they lack loyal and wise ministers and subordinates, but because they fear that these ministers will not be given important positions.

The general is unwilling to consider things carefully and often makes mistakes. Can mistakes be allowed to happen repeatedly?

Although Lü Bu knew Gao Shun was loyal to him, he did not give Gao Shun an important position. Later, due to Hao Meng's rebellion, Lü Bu became even more distant from Gao Shun.
Because of his close relationship with Wei Xu, he seized all the soldiers of the Trapped Camp led by Gao Shun and gave them to Wei Xu, until the time came for war.
That's why Wei Xu was ordered to return the elite troops under Gao Shun's command and the military tally. Even so, Gao Shun never harbored any resentment.

In the third year of Jian'an (198 AD), Lü Bu once again relied on Yuan Shu and sent someone with gold to Hanoi County to buy horses. However, Liu Bei robbed them. As a result, Lü Bu sent Gao Shun to attack Liu Bei in Pei County.

Liu Bei suffered repeated defeats and sought help from Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent his general Xiahou Dun to his aid. Gao Shun's army fought against Xiahou Dun's army outside Xiapi and even had a duel with him.

The two sides fought for forty or fifty rounds before Xiahou Dun defeated Gao Shun. Gao Shun wanted to retreat back into the city, but Xiahou Dun ordered his warhorse to give chase.

Xiahou Dun pursued Gao Shun deep into his army's territory. Gao Shun's subordinate Cao Xing secretly aimed an arrow at Xiahou Dun, and the arrow struck Xiahou Dun's left eye.

Xiahou Dun pulled the arrow out of his eye, along with his eyeball. He then swallowed his own eyeball and spurred his horse straight at Cao Xing, piercing Cao Xing's face with his spear.

Cao Xing was killed, and Gao Shun then ordered his troops to attack. In the end, Gao Shun defeated Xiahou Dun's forces.

In September of the first year of Jian'an (198 AD), Cao Cao personally led an eastern expedition against Lü Bu. Lü Bu suffered three defeats in a row and then fortified the city of Xiapi, refusing to come out.

Subsequently, Cao Cao's army gradually surrounded Xiapi City. Chen Gong suggested that Lü Bu "set up camp outside" while he "stayed inside" to form a "pronged attack" and support each other.

Lü Bu personally led cavalry to cut off Cao Cao's supply lines, while Chen Gong and Gao Shun held the city of Xiapi. However, due to his wife's words:
Gao Shun and Chen Gong have always been at odds. If they were to defend the city together, they might plot a rebellion if the general left the city, preventing him from re-entering.

This caused Lü Bu to hesitate and miss a golden opportunity. In December, Xiapi fell, and Gao Shun and Chen Gong were captured by the traitorous generals Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu. Lü Bu had no choice but to surrender.

Cao Cao defeated Lü Bu and captured Gao Shun, Lü Bu, and others alive. After his capture, Gao Shun refused to surrender to Cao Cao, remaining silent throughout.
After Lü Bu, Chen Gong, and Gao Shun were beheaded, their heads were sent to Xuchang. The heads of the three were displayed in front of the city gate of Xuchang and then given a grand burial.

Under Lü Bu's command were two extremely brave generals: Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, who was even more outstanding than Zhang Liao!

However, after Lü Bu's defeat and death, Zhang Liao was pardoned, while Gao Shun, who was stronger than Zhang Liao, was executed by Cao Cao.
Both Gao Shun and Zhang Liao were outstanding generals under Lü Bu, and their fighting prowess was comparable. However, in terms of status and military talent, Gao Shun was superior to Zhang Liao.

In particular, the Trapped Camp, commanded by Gao Shun, was almost invincible, inspiring fear in the enemy!
Logically speaking, Gao Shun actually had greater value than Zhang Liao. Gao Shun held a high position in Lü Bu's camp, and recruiting him would have been more helpful in controlling Lü Bu's subordinates.

Furthermore, Gao Shun possesses top-tier military talent and personal combat prowess, and will undoubtedly become a valuable general for Cao Cao in the future. Such a talent should be treated with great respect! If one wishes to establish authority, executing Zhang Liao would actually be more appropriate than executing Gao Shun!

However, at the White Gate Tower, the final outcome was that Zhang Liao was pardoned, but Gao Shun, who was more valuable than Zhang Liao, was executed. What exactly happened? Why did Cao Cao execute Gao Shun but spare Zhang Liao? In fact, to understand why Cao Cao killed Gao Shun but spared Zhang Liao, we only need to look at the support behind Zhang Liao!
At the White Gate Tower, Gao Shun was the first to be brought before Cao Cao. Cao Cao had already witnessed Gao Shun's abilities during his battle with Lü Bu, and therefore held him in some regard. He then asked Gao Shun what his plans were for the future.

Cao Cao's intention in saying this was actually to give Gao Shun a way out and persuade him to surrender. However, Gao Shun remained silent and did not respond at all, which greatly embarrassed Cao Cao.

More importantly, no one present was willing to plead for Gao Shun. Everyone just watched this awkward scene without doing anything, which made Cao Cao even more embarrassed and helpless. Without a mediator to mediate, Cao Cao couldn't very well ask Gao Shun to surrender, could he?
Finally, Cao Cao found himself in a dilemma and had no choice but to order Gao Shun's execution to resolve this awkward situation. The renowned general Gao Shun also passed away with regret at this moment.

At that time, Gao Shun was actually prepared to die. However, Cao Cao was also willing to spare him a chance. After all, Cao Cao loved talented people. If someone could mediate and give Cao Cao some advice, Cao Cao would go with the flow and spare Gao Shun, and then slowly soften Gao Shun's firm will.

Unfortunately, Gao Shun had no one to back him up, and in the end, he was executed... This is precisely the difference between Gao Shun and Zhang Liao!
After Gao Shun was executed, Zhang Liao was taken to the White Gate Tower. Seeing that even such a powerful figure as Gao Shun had been killed without being pardoned, Zhang Liao felt that he had no chance of survival either. He abandoned the idea of ​​surrendering and vented his anger by cursing Cao Cao.

Enraged by Zhang Liao's actions, Cao Cao, who hadn't expected Zhang Liao to be so audacious, drew his sword, intending to kill him. Just then, Zhang Liao's protector appeared!

Cao Cao intended to execute Zhang Liao, but Liu Bei reached out and stopped him, and Guan Yu also knelt before him. Clearly, these two men wanted to plead for Zhang Liao; they were Zhang Liao's trusted advisors.

Now that Zhang Liao's powerful backer has been revealed, Cao Cao has to carefully consider whether or not to kill Zhang Liao.

In this situation, there will only be two outcomes: First, Liu Bei and Guan Yu's influence is insufficient, and Cao Cao will not show them any mercy and insist on killing Zhang Liao.
Secondly, Liu Bei and Guan Yu's influence was great enough that Cao Cao abandoned the idea of ​​killing Zhang Liao. As can be seen from the original text, the second outcome occurred.

At that time, Liu Bei vouched for Zhang Liao, and Guan Yu even offered his own life as a guarantee, hoping that Cao Cao would spare Zhang Liao's life. Clearly, these two were doing everything in their power to save Zhang Liao.

At that time, Cao Cao greatly appreciated Liu Bei and Guan Yu. Moreover, neither Liu Bei nor Guan Yu had declared their allegiance to Cao Cao; they were in a cooperative relationship.

Therefore, Cao Cao took this opportunity to befriend Liu Bei and Guan Yu, attempting to recruit them into his ranks!

Imagine that Liu Bei and Guan Yu valued Zhang Liao highly. If Cao Cao disregarded their feelings and killed Zhang Liao, how could Liu Bei and Guan Yu willingly submit? How could Cao Cao then persuade them to surrender?
It is evident that from the moment Liu Bei and Guan Yu stepped forward to vouch for Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao's life was secured!
Although Cao Cao was extremely resentful of Zhang Liao's insults, as a qualified lord, he would not sacrifice the overall situation for small gains, nor would he make enemies with Liu Bei and Guan Yu because of Zhang Liao. Therefore, he had no choice but to let Zhang Liao go.

Cao Cao not only did not make things difficult for Zhang Liao, but also personally untied him, put clothes on him, and even granted him the title of Marquis of Guannei. This can be considered as giving Liu Bei and Guan Yu enough face.

However, despite Cao Cao's show of respect to Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Zhang Liao openly humiliated them and immediately surrendered to Cao Cao, completely forgetting about Liu Bei and Guan Yu.

After Lü Bu's defeat and death, Cao Cao executed Gao Shun, but why did he spare Zhang Liao?

Simply put, Cao Cao executed Gao Shun because no one vouched for him, and Gao Shun was determined to die, so Cao Cao had no choice but to take action.

Cao Cao spared Zhang Liao's life because Liu Bei and Guan Yu vouched for him. To avoid making enemies of these two, Cao Cao had no choice but to let Zhang Liao go.
Gao Shun's Appearance: In 196 AD, Hao Meng, a subordinate of Lü Bu, launched a rebellion against Lü Bu under the instigation of Yuan Shu. In the quiet of the night, Lü Bu was suddenly awakened by the noise outside and discovered that there was a mutiny. He and his wife fled the government office in disarray and headed straight for Gao Shun's camp.

Seeing Lü Bu in such a sorry state, Gao Shun asked him who had rebelled. Lü Bu had no idea and only mentioned that he had heard someone with a Hanoi accent. Gao Shun immediately determined that it was Hao Meng. Then, Gao Shun immediately led the Trapped Camp to quell the rebellion. In just one night, they quelled the rebellion and killed Hao Meng.

Although Lü Bu knew of Gao Shun's loyalty, he never used him. He even stripped Gao Shun of his command of the Trapped Camp and gave it to Wei Xu. Only when war came did he return the command to Gao Shun. However, Gao Shun remained loyal to Lü Bu and always charged ahead in battle.

In the third year of Jian'an (200 AD), Lü Bu once again submitted to Yuan Shu. Because Liu Bei had robbed him of the gold he had used to buy horses, Lü Bu dispatched Gao Shun and Zhang Liao to attack Liu Bei.
At this time, Gao Shun was the commander-in-chief and Zhang Liao was the deputy commander. On the battlefield, Gao Shun made clever arrangements and took the lead in the battle, causing Liu Bei's group to suffer repeated defeats. Even if Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Liao used all their strength, they were still no match for Gao Shun's group.

Helpless, Liu Bei sought help from Cao Cao, who sent Xiahou Dun to fight. Xiahou Dun not only failed to reverse the defeat but also lost an eye, becoming a one-eyed general. Subsequently, Gao Shun occupied Xiaopei and captured Liu Bei's wife, forcing Liu Bei to seek refuge with Cao Cao.

However, this battle also brought Gao Shun a fatal disaster. Cao Cao personally led an expedition to attack Lü Bu. Lü Bu's group fought hard and it was difficult to determine a winner for a time. At the critical moment, Lü Bu did not heed Chen Gong's advice, which led to the flooding of Xiapi and the eventual defeat. Gao Shun, Chen Gong, and others were all captured by Cao Cao.

At the White Gate Tower, Lü Bu begged Cao Cao to spare his life, but Cao Cao refused. Zhang Liao surrendered to Cao Cao after Guan Yu pleaded for him. Only Gao Shun remained silent and faced death, and was eventually hanged.

He could forgive Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu, who killed Cao Ang, but couldn't forgive a professional soldier? As for why Cao Cao was so determined to kill Gao Shun, perhaps that has long been forgotten in history.

Gao Shun's life was that of a good general with the qualities of a professional soldier. He was not fond of money, wine, or corruption, and he could lead by example. His military talent was comparable to Zhang Liao's, and his political wisdom was no less than Chen Gong's. However, he was bound by moral constraints because of his absolute loyalty to Lü Bu.

Gao Shun used his life to interpret another dimension of value: even if you entrust your beliefs to the wrong person, upholding your beliefs is itself a spiritual monument that transcends success or failure.

This contradiction gives his image a unique tragic beauty throughout history. If Cao Cao had valued talent and spared Gao Shun, a general surpassing the Five Tiger Generals would have emerged in the mid-Three Kingdoms period. Unfortunately, history cannot be rewritten. (End of Chapter)