In the spring of the second year of Xingping (195), Cao Cao, who had recovered, led an army to attack Lu Bu, forcing Lu Bu to retreat. In the summer, Lu Bu retaliated, and was ambushed by Cao Cao on the way, and fled in defeat. Cao Cao won his first major victory over Lu Bu. Lu Bu, who was retreating, joined the Chen Gong Department, assembled more than 10,000 troops and turned to fight Cao Cao again. Cao Cao boldly used the "false plan" to bluff, and Lu Bu did not dare to attack rashly. Cao Cao recalled a large number of troops overnight. And Lu Bu knew that Cao Cao's action yesterday was just a bluff, and he took the initiative early the next morning. As a result, Cao Jun was ambushed and defeated Lu Bu. Lu Bu fled overnight, abandoned Yanzhou and went to Liu Bei. In this war, Cao Cao performed very well. He didn't lose heart in repeated failures, lost again and again, and fought again and again. He aroused the fighting spirit of the whole army with the crazy enthusiasm of starting a prairie fire. Although he was in adversity, he completely overwhelmed Lu Bu in momentum and finally won.

(After textual research, this is indeed Cao Cao's. At that time, there was a man named Guo Chong who worshipped Kongming very much, so he fabricated Zhuge Liang's empty plan. This is questionable, but it did happen to Cao Cao, and it did happen. )

2. Battle of Guandu

In the fifth year of Jian 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (200), Cao Cao's army defeated Yuan Shao's army in Guandu (now Zhongmou, Henan). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, strongmen became independent and fought in the Central Plains. At that time, Yuan Shao owned four states: Hebei, Qinghai, Youzhou and Hebei. Relying on his ample food, he plotted to destroy Cao Cao in Yanzhou and Henan. In January of the fifth year of Jian 'an, the decline rate of elite soldiers was 654.38+ 10,000. Before that, Cao Cao had defeated Liu Bei, who was allied with Shao, and moved to Guandu, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. In April, Cao Cao defeated Yan Liang and defeated the army in Baima (now hua county, Henan) by a diversion. Shao lost the first battle, and his spirit was frustrated, so he divided his troops and attacked the camp. The two armies fought in Guandu for several months. At the same time, Cao Cao wanted to defend Xuchang (now Xu Changdong, Henan) for lack of soldiers and food. Yu Xun, the counselor, believes that Cao Jun will defeat the strong with weakness, and at this time, withdrawing troops will take advantage of it; On the other hand, the defeated army underestimates the enemy and there is internal discord. After a long stalemate, it will definitely change, and it will be a surprise victory. Cao Cao listened to his words, sent troops to attack and burned the commissary car; He also led an elite army of 5,000 people to attack the grain depot in Wu Chao (now Henan), wiped out the defeated army and burned all the stored grain. When the news came, Shao and others were shaken and surrendered. Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack on all fronts and annihilated more than 70,000 enemy troops. Only 800 father and son fled north. The battle of Guandu laid the foundation for Cao Cao to unify the north, and Shao's decline never recovered. The battle of Guandu is a famous example in the history of ancient wars in China.