In history, Cao Cao has considerable attainments in military affairs, in the entire history of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao participated in countless large wars and small wars, unmatched at that time, Cao Wei owned Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Sili, Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou, and the northern part of Jingzhou were basically Cao Cao alone to fight, Liangzhou and other places were Cao Cao sent Xiahou Yuan and other generals to seize.

It can be said that the history of Cao Cao's army is the history of the development of Cao Cao's group.

【Brilliant Record】

Cao Cao has participated in numerous battles throughout history, and the number of direct battles he has participated in is unmatched even in the entire Three Kingdoms era. Cao Cao first participated in the operation to eliminate the Yingchuan Yellow Turban Army as a reinforcement, and defeated Dong Zhuo in the Kwantung Coalition Cao Cao Cao was defeated by Xu Rong in the Battle of Bianshui, and then Cao Cao dominated Yanzhou, first defeated in Dongjun, Bai Huan, Zhenggu, Yu Fuluo and others, and later became the Yanzhou Mu, eliminated the Yellow Turban Army entrenched in Yanzhou, and united with Yuan Shao to defeat the troops of Yuan Shu, Tao Qian and Gongsun Zan in the Battle of Chuping.

Later, Cao Cao avenged his father and washed Xuzhou twice, but in the same year, Zhang Miao, Chen Gong and others took advantage of Cao Cao's absence to launch a rebellion and welcome Lü Bu into Yanzhou, Cao Cao and Lü Bu started a big battle in Yanzhou, and finally won a miserable victory.

Cao Cao welcomed the Son of Heaven and moved the capital to Xuchang, and personally crusaded against Zhang Xiu of Wancheng three times, but he did not resist, and then Zhang Xiu surrendered again at the suggestion of Jia Xu. During this period, Yuan Shu once invaded Yuzhou, trying to recapture the territory occupied by Cao Cao, Cao Cao personally sent troops to defeat it, Lü Bu chose to unite with the self-reliant Yuan Shu after occupying Xuzhou, betrayed the imperial court, Cao Cao personally led an army to crusade, surrounded it in Xiapi and wiped out.

During his confrontation with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao first quelled the rebellious Liu Bei and later defeated Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu.

Later, Cao Cao pacified the north under the advice of Xun Yu, Xun Yu and others, defeated Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan and others, and occupied the four northern states.

After pacifying the north, Cao Cao went south to seize Jingzhou, defeated Liu Bei in Dangyang, and attempted to further eliminate Sun Quan, as a result of Sun Quan and Liu Bei's alliance, Cao Cao was defeated by the Sun-Liu coalition army in Chibi, and then Cao Cao's group launched a tug-of-war with Sun Quan in the south and Jianghuai, Cao Cao twice returned in vain at the mouth of the river, and finally ended with Sun Quan's request for peace. In the west, Cao Cao first defeated the Ma-Han coalition army in Guanzhong, and then conquered Hanzhong, but Hanzhong was eventually acquired by Liu Bei, and Cao Cao was also repelled by Liu Bei.

For the Cao Wei Group, Cao Cao is the master of pioneering, and it was Cao Cao who led the Cao Wei army to break out of this world.

【Defects】

Cao Cao won more and lost less on the whole, and only four of them lost badly, namely the Battle of Bianshui, the Battle of Wancheng, the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Hanzhong.

The Battle of Bianshui was the first fiasco in Cao Cao's life, this battle Cao Cao was abused by Xu Rong, and he almost didn't run away, this battle not only brought Cao Cao back to the starting point, but also may lead to the dissolution of the sour jujube coalition.

Although Cao Cao also lost the Battle of Wancheng and the Battle of Chibi, in fact, Cao Cao did not lose in the hands of his opponent, but lost to himself.

In the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Cao's army and Liu Bei's army actually had the upper hand in many battles, but because Liu Bei's troops won the key battle, Hanzhong fell to the enemy, and Cao Cao was in the rear Chang'an for a long time to lead the overall situation, until Xiahou Yuan died in battle, he led the army to the battle, but because of the loss of geographical advantages and returned in vain, he had to sit back and watch Liu Bei seize Hanzhong.

Although Cao Cao eliminated the Yuan brothers in history, it has to be said that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu defeated by Cao Cao were not the strongest. In the battle of Guandu, a big reason why Cao Cao was able to defeat the strong with the weak was that Yuan Shao was fooling himself, and Yuan Shao's strongest military general in history was actually Lu Yi, but before this battle, Lu Yi had been killed by Yuan Shao and did not have the opportunity to fight Cao Cao.

As for Yuan Shu, when Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu for the first time, Yuan Shu was actually weakened because of Sun Jian's defeat in Jingzhou and the supply was cut off by Liu Biao. And Sun Jian, Sun Ce, father and son, who are the strongest under Yuan Shu, Cao Cao also didn't have a chance to fight them, otherwise Yuan Shu might not have lost so badly.

In the battle of Cao Lu Yanzhou, although Cao Cao finally defeated Lu Bu, but in fact it was not very easy, in this duel, Lu Bu had an advantage in turf, Cao Cao had the upper hand in military strength, both sides had advantages and disadvantages, and the overall strength was not much different, but it was in this situation that Cao Cao almost lost his life, and his general Xiahou Dun also lost an eye, and finally relied on Yuan Shao's support to drive Lu Bu out of Yanzhou. Later, when Cao Cao sent troops to surround Lu Buyu in Xiapi, he almost retreated, but Xun You and Guo Jia dissuaded Cao Cao.

As for Cao Cao's other battles, if you want to pick a bone in the egg, you can find some flaws more or less.

[Others]

Cao Cao was fond of reading in history, and was familiar with the works of Sun Wu, Wu Qi and other military strategists of the previous generation. The "Brief Explanation of Sun Tzu" was written by him, which created a precedent for sorting out and commenting on the thirteen articles of "Sun Tzu", and enriched and developed ancient Chinese military theory. He advocated the concept of war of "soldiers acting with righteousness" and emphasized that the division was famous and in line with morality. It is flexible in strategy and tactics, adapts to the situation, wins in any situation, and never tires of deceit.

In terms of leading troops, he governed the army strictly, and the laws and regulations were strict, and the "Wei Wu Military Order", "Wei Wu Boat Battle Order", and "Wei Wu Infantry Battle Order" included in the "General Dictionary and Military Dictionary" also reflected his strict military orders.

In terms of imperial generals, Cao Cao was drawn out of the ban, Lejin was in the march, and Zhang Liao and Xu Huang were among the prisoners, all of whom made meritorious contributions and were listed as famous generals. Cao Cao was able to use his strengths according to the characteristics of the generals.

Cao Cao was quite flexible in his use of the army, and constantly used tactics such as attacking the east and attacking the west, avoiding the real and making the false, ambushing, outflanking, raiding, dividing, robbing grain, attacking the other to save the enemy, abandoning objects to lure the enemy, and so on, so as to win the enemy.

In terms of military affairs, Cao Cao can be questioned, but it cannot be denied, because Cao Cao has really defeated most of China, and his military achievements are unsurpassed in the entire Three Kingdoms era.

Overall, Cao Cao was already one of the top military strategists during the Three Kingdoms period, and even in the entire history of China, Cao Cao had his own place in military affairs.