The Battle of Weinan was undoubtedly a very classic battle from a military point of view, but from a political point of view, the significance of this battle victory was not as great as most people imagined.

【Victory with limited significance】

Before the Battle of Weinan, there were about six forces outside Cao Cao, among which the weaker one was Gongsun Kang, who was on the side of An, but the emperor was far away, and he was not a big threat to Cao Cao, and Gongsun Kang did not show too much ambition and was basically obedient to the imperial court, so he was not taken seriously.

The other weaker way is Zhang Lu, who occupies Hanzhong, Zhang Lu had only one or more counties in his territory at that time, but because he maintained basic peace, he was taken refuge by the people in the Guanzhong area, and he was very rich. In the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211), Cao Cao sent Zhong Xuan, Xiahou Yuan and others to try to capture Hanzhong, but they indirectly helped Liu Bei capture Yizhou. Of course, Zhang Lu is the master of the Wudoumi Sect, and on the bright side, he is a rebel force all the way, although the Xuchang court controlled by Cao Cao once appointed Zhang Lu as the general of Zhenmin Zhonglang (Yizuo Zhenyi Zhonglang General), leading Hanning Taishou, but this does not mean that Zhang Lu has already returned to the imperial court, so Cao Cao wants to fight Zhang Lu also said in the past.

To the south of Cao Cao was Liu Zhang, who occupied Yizhou in the southwest, Liu Bei in Jingzhou, and Sun Quan, a strong enemy who occupied Jiangdong and Jiaozhou in the southeast.

Liu Zhang, who occupied Yizhou, was separated from Jingzhou and Hanzhong and Guanzhong, and his territory was not in contact with Cao Cao's sphere of influence, so the relationship between Liu Zhang and Cao Cao was very indifferent for a long time, until Cao Cao went south to seize Jingzhou, Liu Zhang was forced by Cao Cao's military strength to begin to pay tribute to the imperial court and expressed his submission. However, Liu Zhang sent envoys three times, but did not get the answer he wanted, and Cao Cao's army lost in Chibi and Jiangling successively, and was no longer strong, so Liu Zhang, under the advice of Zhang Song and others, began to win over Liu Bei, and the relationship between Cao Cao and Cao gradually drifted away again.

Liu Bei captured most of Jingzhou after the Battle of Jiangling and became the new master of Jingzhou, Liu Bei and Cao Cao were completely rivals, and there was no room for reconciliation between the two, when Liu Bei and Sun Quan shared the Yangtze River and formed an alliance against Cao Cao.

As for Sun Quan, he was the strongest opponent Cao Cao faced at that time, the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Jiangling, Cao Cao's army was defeated by Sun Quan's commander Zhou Yu, and Sun Quan was second only to Cao Cao in strength among all the princes at that time, and the two launched a long-term confrontation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

As for the last way, it is the princes of Guanzhong and Liangzhou represented by Ma Chao and Han Sui. And this group of princes, unlike most people think, they have been Cao Cao's quasi-allies for a long time, and they did not stand on the opposite side of Cao Cao.

As early as the second year of Jian'an (197), Cao Cao sent his servant Pei Mao to lead the Guanxi generals Duan Xuan and others to crusade against Li Dao, and finally Zhang Heng, Liang Xing and others defeated and beheaded them, and wiped out the three clans. However, this was only the beginning of Cao Cao's cooperation with these Guanxi and Guanzhong princes.

In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), in order to confront Yuan Shao, Cao Cao increased his liaison with the princes of Guanzhong and Liangzhou, and asked Zhong Xuan to lead the lieutenant of the division and supervise all walks of life in Guanzhong as a servant. After Zhong Xuan arrived, he sent a letter to Ma Teng, Han Sui and others, stating the pros and cons for them, and Ma Teng and Han Sui both sent a son to the court as a hostage. Later, during the Battle of Guandu, Zhong Miao not only stabilized the situation west of Cao Cao, but also sent 2,000 horses to supply the army.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202), under the persuasion of Zhang Ji, Ma Teng sent his eldest son Ma Chao and Han Sui's troops to support Zhong Xuan's crusade against Guo Yuan who went south, and finally Ma Chao's general Pang De killed Guo Yuan.

In the tenth year of Jian'an (205), Zhang both recruited Ma Teng, Han Sui and others to defeat Gao Gan and Zhang Shengjun, and also killed the rebellious Wei Gu and others.

In the fourteenth year of Jian'an (209), Han Sui sent his son-in-law Yan Xing to pay homage to Cao Cao, who treated Yan Xing favorably, and the court awarded Yan Xing as the Taishou. Yan Xing took the opportunity to ask his father to join the court, and Yan Xingxi also met Han Sui and told him what Cao Cao had said to persuade Han Sui to enter the court. and took the opportunity to persuade Han Sui to join Cao Cao, persuading him to send a son to the court as a hostage. Han Sui said: "Let's wait and see for a few more years!" Later, he sent his son to enter the court with Yan Xing's parents. In the same year, Ma Teng entered the court, leaving only his eldest son Ma Chao alone in Sanfu to control the troops.

In the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210), on the eve of the Battle of Weinan, Han Sui personally led his army to defeat Zhang Meng, who had rebelled against Wuwei Taishou Zhang Meng, who had previously killed the Yongzhou assassin Shi Handan Shang, and eliminated him.

From this, we can see that before the Battle of Weinan, the princes of Guanzhong and Liangzhou had basically obeyed the imperial court, and at that time Ma Teng had already entered the court, and Han Sui was even soon, and the princes of Guanzhong and Liangzhou were not a potential enemy for Cao Cao, but an obvious help.

This can also be seen from the Battle of Weinan, where the allied forces of the Guanzhong princes were clearly mainly defensive, and their purpose was to stop Cao Cao's army from attacking, not to kill out of Guanzhong. The threat of the princes of Guanzhong to Cao Cao can be said to be very limited, and it was difficult for them to take the initiative to send troops to attack Cao Cao under the circumstances at that time. Among them, Ma Chao is an example, at that time, Ma Chao's forces were mainly in Sanfu, bordering Cao Cao's forces, Ma Chao wanted to fight Cao Cao must take care of his father Ma Teng and other brothers, even if he himself was mad and didn't care about Ma Teng, but Ma Chao's subordinates only needed to ask Ma Chao: "Do you not care about the life of the old master", Ma Chao will stop cooking.

In history, the reason why Ma Chao was able to organize the princes of Guanzhong to fight against Cao Cao was not because they invaded Cao Cao's territory, but because Cao Cao's army killed their territory, and later Ma Teng was almost wiped out by Cao Cao, because Ma Chao not only resisted, but also lost, and after losing, he also set off a rebellion in Liangzhou, if Ma Chao won, Ma Teng will probably not die later.

In the final analysis, the princes of Guanzhong and Guanxi at that time had lost their determination to take the initiative to confront Cao Cao under the long-term pacification of the imperial court, and they showed no signs of joining forces with other princes, such as Sun Quan and Liu Bei, against Cao Cao, but this did not mean that they would give up on self-preservation. According to the "Book of Wei", Cao Cao later regretted not listening to Wei Qi's words and forced the generals of Guanzhong to rebel.

Compared with Ma Chao, Han Sui and others, Liu Bei and Sun Quan were Cao Cao's primary enemies at that time, and Cao Cao sent Xiahou Yuan, Zhong Xuan and others to prepare for a crusade against Hanzhong, which stimulated Liu Zhang, making him finally make the decision to welcome Liu Bei into Shu, and indirectly helped Liu Bei seize Yizhou. Later, when Liu Bei drew Zhuge Liang and others to crusade against Yizhou, Cao Cao went south to crusade against Sun Quan, and at that time, Jingzhou had been withdrawn twice, and the remaining main generals were only Guan Yu alone.

It's not that it doesn't make sense for Cao Cao to take Guanzhong, but judging from the situation at the time, Cao Cao still has more meaningful things to do.

ps: Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Cao Cao worked against each other, Cao Cao didn't beat them, Ma Chao, Han Sui and others took Cao Cao as the boss, but Cao Cao destroyed them instead, and the princes of Guanzhong were unlucky enough.