The same defeat, why Cao Cao had nothing to do with it, but Liu Bei died of depression?

Let's talk about the battle of Guandu first. This battle that decided the hegemony of the North was a famous battle in the early days of the Three Kingdoms. The two sides of the war were Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. If you look at the strength comparison on the surface, the gap between the two sides is really wide, and the outcome seems to be self-evident. Yuan Shao lives in Jizhou, Youzhou, Qingzhou and Bingzhou. He is not only vast in territory, but also well-armed, with plenty of food and grass, and his ministers and military commanders are a dime a dozen. Cao Cao only has Yanzhou and Xuzhou, and his strength is less than one tenth of that of Yuan Shao. Moreover, he is also faced with the dilemma of lack of food and grass, and his strength in all aspects is far less than that of Yuan Shao.

As the initiator of the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was quite confident in his own strength and thought it was easy to defeat Cao Cao. In addition to Yuan Shao, many people held the same view at that time. There are also many civil servants and military commanders in Cao Jun who correspond with Yuan Jun and seek a way out. Even Cao Cao didn't think he could defeat Yuan Jun. He tried to surrender or retreat several times. However, a series of things happened unexpectedly. Yuan Shao's successive decision-making mistakes provided an opportunity for Cao Jun. Later, Xu You fled to the Wu Dynasty and was burned, which caused a big blow to Yuan Jun. Yuan Shao's troops were distracted, and Cao Cao seized the opportunity and won a brilliant victory.

Yuan Shao was defeated in the battle of Guandu, and the strength gap between the two sides has narrowed, but Yuan Shao's influence is still very strong. Although Cao Cao won the battle of Guandu, he was unable to pursue the victory because of running out of food and grass, so he had to retreat to Xudu, which also gave Yuan Shao a chance to breathe. There are four states in Yuan Shao's hand. After cleaning up his remnants, they still have the strength of World War I.. However, Yuan Shao never recovered, lost his determination to compete with Cao Cao, and soon died of depression, which is really a pity.

Let's talk about Cao Cao again He is a very thin man. Compared with Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Sun Quan and others, Cao Cao's starting point is not high, but he has outstanding talent and excellent ability of employing people, which is also the reason for his rise in troubled times. Cao Cao did well when he conquered the yellow turban insurrectionary thief. Later, he defeated Tao Qian, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiu, and even won the battle with Yuan Shao for northern hegemony, which showed his superb ability.

However, the good times did not last long, and Cao Cao, who was full of ambition, also suffered great setbacks. Cao Cao has always had the ambition to run the world, so after pacifying the north, he began to prepare his troops and wait for an opportunity to go south to complete the great cause of unifying the world. With the death of Liu Biao and the succession of Liu Cong, the situation in Jingxiang became more and more unstable. Cao Cao decisively attacked and sent his troops south. When Liu Cong and others heard the news, they gave up without a fight. Cao Cao won several counties in Jingxiang as easy as blowing off dust, and his strength increased greatly. Cheng Yu and Jia Xu, Cao Cao's counselors, advised them to recuperate at this time, waiting for Sun Quan in Jiangdong to surrender, but Cao Cao refused.

Cao Cao, who has always been brilliant, was carried away by victory and became very conceited. He insisted on a decisive battle with Sun Quan in the Yangtze River. But the northern army led by Cao Cao was not good at water warfare, and there were some unexpected factors, so Cao Cao's army was defeated by Zhou Yu. Cao Cao's situation at this time is very similar to that of Yuan Shao, but his practice is admirable. Cao Cao didn't feel depressed, but made a painful reflection on himself, and finally got out of the trough and began to face it positively and make a comeback. The hegemony of the north cannot be shaken. It can be seen that Cao Cao has a strong heart and a firm will when facing difficulties and setbacks.

The last thing to say is Liu Bei. In fact, Liu Bei is also a very ambitious and determined person. Liu Bei's first half-life experience was very bumpy, and he was basically in defeat and exile. With the help of Zhuge Liang, he finally gained a foothold in Jingxiang and other places, and Liu Bei's strength began to grow gradually, and he could even fight with Cao Cao in the Hanzhong War.

Unfortunately, after Guan Yu's defeat in Jingzhou, Liu Bei Group began to decline again. In particular, Liu Bei, despite the dissuasion of ministers, invaded Wu to the east, only to be defeated in the battle of Yiling. The army of Shu and Han suffered heavy losses, and Liu Bei himself was physically and mentally exhausted and soon died of illness. According to Liu Bei's character, a failure is not at this point. At this time, he is old and he is facing the pain of losing two brothers. The foundation he worked so hard to lay is also crumbling, and it really can't stand such a huge blow.