Before the decisive battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's group also conducted a serious discussion in order to confront Cao Cao, and the result was that Yuan Shao did not change his mind and personally led a large army to crusade against Cao Cao, while the frustration who advocated moving slowly and fighting a protracted war was ostracized.

【Pre-war controversy】

After Yuan Shao eliminated Gongsun Zhan, he returned to Jizhou, selected 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 good horses, and planned to attack Xudu directly. He managed the military with trial and discipline, with Tian Feng, Xun Chen and Xu You, a native of Nanyang, as the main advisers, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou as generals.

At this time, Yuan Shao's army also had a debate on how to deal with Cao Cao, and at that time, he advocated a prudent strategy and moved slowly, on the contrary, Guo Tu, Xian Pei and others supported Yuan Shao's approach, trying to quickly solve the battle and eliminate Cao Cao immediately.

At that time, he persuaded Yuan Shao: "Recently, the crusade against Gongsun Zan has sent troops year after year, the people are tired, there is no savings in the warehouse, and there are many taxes and labor, which is something that the state is deeply worried about. We should step up agricultural production so that the people can rest and recuperate. First send an envoy to present the good news of the destruction of Gongsun Zan to the Son of Heaven, if the good news cannot reach the Son of Heaven, we can point out that Cao Cao has severed our ties with the imperial court, and then send troops to Liyang, gradually developing south of the Yellow River. At the same time, we will build more ships, refurbish our weapons, and send elite cavalry to harass Cao Cao's borders, so that he will not be able to settle down, and we will wait for work, so that within three years we can sit in peace and settle the world. (Note 1)

Guo Tu and the judge said: "The method in the war book is to surround the enemy if there are ten times more than the enemy, and attack the enemy if there are five times more than the enemy, and the strength is equal to the battle." At present, with the might of the gods of Ming Gong, it is easy to meet the powerful army in the Heshuo region and use it to crusade against Cao Cao. If you don't attack it in time now, it will be difficult to deal with in the future. ”

He said: "Eliminate the trouble, the violence is a moral army; The army of pride is called a proud army. The army of righteousness has no rival, and the army of pride perishes first. Cao Cao embraced the Son of Heaven and built a palace in Xudu. Now to launch all the troops south to attack Cao Cao is against righteousness. Moreover, victory over the enemy lies in strategy, not in the strength of strength. Cao Cao's decree has been implemented, and the soldiers are strong and capable, not the kind of people who are waiting to be surrounded. Now discard the strategy of total safety, and unleash an army without a valid reason, I fear for you privately. ”

Guo Tu and others said: "King Wu of Zhou's crusade against Shang is not unjust; Besides, if you send troops to attack Cao Cao, I'm afraid that you won't be able to find a reason! Besides, the lord's troops are strong and brave, and the generals and soldiers are trying to fight, and if they do not seize the opportunity to decide on the great cause early, they will become what people say, 'God gives it instead of receiving it, but is condemned by God'. This is the reason why the Yue State is hegemonic and the Wu State is so perishable. The method of supervising the army lies in upholding prudence, not in the expedient measure of grasping the opportunity according to the situation. ”

Yuan Shao then rejected the view of Fu Zhu and adopted Guo Tu's opinion. Guo Tu and others took this opportunity to say bad things about Fu Zhu: "Fu Zhu supervises inside and outside, and the authority shakes the three armies, if he gradually becomes stronger, what method will he use to control him?" When a subordinate has the same power as the monarch, the state perishes, which is taboo in the book "Yellowstone". Besides, it is not advisable for those who command the outside army to take part in internal affairs. ”

So Yuan Shao divided the army under the command of Fu Zhu into three parts, commanded by the three governors, and sent Fu Zhu, Guo Tu and Chun Yuqiong to unify the army. At that time, in addition to frustration, Cui Yan, a cavalry lieutenant and a native of Qinghe, was also dissuading Yuan Shao, he said: "The Son of Heaven is in Xudu, and the people's will is inclined to that side, so you can't attack!" Yuan Shao didn't listen.

At that time, Yuan Shao was already ready for a quick victory, and he was ready to eliminate Cao Cao at one time, and rejected Fu Zhu and others who advocated protracted war, and instead reused Guo Tu, Chun Yuqiong and others.

【Inevitable Action】

After Yuan Shao eliminated Gongsun Zhan, although the north was not completely unified, there was no longer a force that could threaten him, and Cao Cao, who was located in the hinterland of the Central Plains at that time, developed rapidly and had the reputation of righteousness, so it was necessary to have some restrictions and could not let Cao Cao develop.

Cao Cao did not lack territory at that time, there was no shortage of manpower, what was lacking was the time and space for development, he already had Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, plus some other fragmentary territories, almost also had the territory of four states, and the territory was not less than Yuan Shao.

In terms of talents, Cao Cao occupied the absolute upper hand, although Yuan Shao's command was also full of talents, Wen You, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, Xun Chen, Xu You, Trial, Feng Ji, Cui Yan, Wu Zhang He, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Lan, Chun Yuqiong, Liu Bei.

And how many heroes did Cao Cao have at that time?

Among its civil servants and strategists, Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Jia Xu were five people, and these five people were later known as the five major strategists under Cao Cao in the early Three Kingdoms, all of whom were top strategists and first-class strategists in the Three Kingdoms era, in addition to Dong Zhao, Ren Jun, Mao Jue, Man Chong, Chen Qun, Chen Deng, Yuan Lian, Zhong Xuan, Liu Ye, Wei Qi and other talents.

Among the generals, Cao Cao's relatives include Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Xiahou Xuan, Xiahou Yuan, seven generals, in addition, Cao Cao employs people in an eclectic manner, as well as Le Jin, Shi Lian, Yu Ban, Li Dian, Lu Qian, Han Hao, Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Xu Chu, Li Tong, Xu Huang, Liu Xun, Zhu Ling, Zhang Xiu, Zhang Liao, Guan Yu and other outstanding generals with foreign surnames. Among them, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Yu Ban were all included in the five good generals of Cao Wei by later generations, and Guan Yu was a famous general in later generations.

Although the list here is only some of the more important subordinates under Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, it can already be seen that the quality and quantity of Cao Cao's talents at that time were stronger than Yuan Shao, and the two cannot be compared at all.

At that time, Cao Cao's weak territory was much more powerful than Yuan Shao's side in the war, so he lacked sufficient food and grass and logistical support to mobilize more troops, but in terms of potential, it was above Yuan Shao, if Cao Cao continued to develop normally, Cao Cao would sooner or later catch up with Yuan Shao and become a more powerful prince than Yuan Shao, which was very similar to the situation of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao back then.

Therefore, in the internal discussion of Yuan Shao's group, Yuan Shao must send troops to attack Cao Cao, and Cao Cao can no longer be given time and space for development. Moreover, the second step in the "Jizhou Pair" is to welcome back the Son of Heaven and achieve great righteousness, and the crusade against Cao Cao is also in line with the long-term strategic requirements of Yuan Shao's group.

It is not a problem for Yuan Shao to send troops to fight against Cao Cao, the question is how to fight, whether he should do his best and make a desperate bet, or should he go slowly, expand the enemy's disadvantage, and then give a fatal blow.

And about this, Gongsun Chan of that year is a good example.

Note: It is recorded in "The Biography of Emperor Xian" that Tian Feng and Fu Zhu proposed to Yuan Shao together at this time.