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[If we are talking about the most obvious thing that defined Cao Cao's army back in the Three Kingdoms, the general impression boils down to one simple word: more.
Take the Battle of Guandu, where they had to pull off a miracle winning with fewer troops against the rich warlord Yuan Shao. But in every other battle, Cao Cao's army loved having way more troops to crush the enemy and used sheer overwhelming force to bully the weak. That is honestly the safest and most reliable way to fight a war.
Faced with such a massive army, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao came up with a clever battle plan.
They ordered Wu Lan and Lei Tong to hold Xiabian City with the main garrison, while Zhang Fei and Ma Chao took a smaller force and set up camp on Mount Gu just north of the city.]
"It should be done by ordering the troops to chop down trees, dress up the flags, and make a whole lot of noise to fake a full blown attack on Cao Cao's rear guard. Cao Cao's army would definitely panic and lose their grip. Once they fall into chaos, our main force can charge out steady and strong, and their whole line will crumble all on its own!"
Zhang Fei spoke with complete composure and confidence, as though victory were already assured. This was basically his signature move. Just like back at Changban, when he had his men cut down branches, tie them to horses, and drag them around to kick up massive clouds of dust, creating the perfect illusion of a massive ambush waiting in the woods. That trick made Cao Cao's army freeze in their tracks and turned Zhang Fei into a living legend at Dangyang Bridge.
Liu Bei could not help feeling so proud. Sure enough, whenever his third brother started talking military strategy, he was actually incredibly reliable!
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[As the Cao army drew near, Zhang Fei ordered his men up on the mountain to make as much noise as possible, wave their banners high, and shout at the top of their lungs, "Cao's whole rear guard has been cut off!"
When Cao Hong saw the thick forest of banners covering Mount Gu, he instantly suspected an ambush and froze right there. He called Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen over to discuss whether they should pull back or press on.]
Zhang Fei gazed out the hall with absolute pride.
'See there! That is my military strategy! Fake troops make the three Cao's retreat and clever decoy tactics secure Hanzhong!'
He could not help but daydream.
'Next, using Xiabian as a springboard and making me the supreme commander, taking Hanzhong would be a piece of cake! After that, I guard Hanzhong, second brother guards Jingzhou, big brother declares himself emperor in Chengdu, and the world is settled!'
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[Facing Cao Hong's hesitation, Cao Xiu stepped forward.]
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Zhang Fei's heart.
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[Cao Cao's army always fought as one big family: brothers, cousins, fathers, and sons side by side. Cao Hong was Cao Cao's own cousin. Cao Zhen was his adopted son. Cao Xiu was treated no differently than a biological son. On top of that, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu were actually uncle and nephew. So when Cao Xiu spoke, everyone knew his opinion carried serious weight.
Cao Xiu laid it out clearly. If the enemy truly wanted to cut our supply lines, they would have hidden in the dark and set up a secret ambush. Making such a loud show of force is obviously just a decoy trick. Our best move is to ignore the distraction up there, take advantage of the light defenses in Xiabian, and storm the city as fast as possible!
That judgment turned out to be completely correct. Cao Hong ordered his troops to ignore the feint on the mountain and charge straight for Xiabian. The city fell in no time at all. Wu Lan and Lei Tong both died fighting to the end.
And the two mighty warriors, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao? Oh, they successfully slipped away to fight another day. What a heroic retreat.]
Zhang Fei's face turned bright red with embarrassment. He hung his head and mumbled, "Dang it, why does Cao Cao have so many sons and nephews..."
Zhao Yun teased him with a grin. "Yide, that trick you pulled at Changban taught Cao Cao's army such a good lesson they never forgot it. That is why it did not work up here in Hanzhong! I heard Cao Xiu also commands the elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. He might even be one of the officers who faced you back then at Changban. No wonder he saw right through you. You already tricked him once before."
Guan Yu stepped in with a sharp warning. "Yide, the art of war lives in constant change. You must never rely on the exact same trick over and over again. Keep doing that and not only will it fail, it will get your own men killed along with you."
Zhang Fei's face blazed as red as Guan Yu's own ruddy complexion. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "I get it already!"
Guan Yu gave him a look of pure disdain and swatted the back of Zhang Fei's head hard. "If you understand, then you understand! Why are you yelling so loud?"
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[Xiabian sits in what we call Gansu province today. Folks who have traveled there to film videos for themselves all say the mountain terrain is incredibly rugged and steep. Plenty of people get curious and ask how on earth Zhang Fei and Ma Chao managed to slip away if Cao Cao's army had them pinned down at the foot of the mountain.
But honestly, it really should not be that surprising. Remember the old ranking: first Lu Bu, second Zhao Yun, third Dian Wei, fourth Guan Yu, fifth Ma Chao, sixth Zhang Fei.
If two of the toughest fighters on that entire list really wanted to make a break for it, who in the world was going to stop them?]
Jian Yong laughed so hard his shoulders shook. "Hahaha, Yide, so this is what they mean by courage that ten thousand men cannot stand against!"
Mi Zhu tilted his head in genuine curiosity. "First Lu Bu, second Zhao Yun, third Dian Wei... That actually rolls right off the tongue. Did later generations really come up with this? I wonder what they even based the ranking on."
"The light screen already told us these are the novel's peerless warriors!"
Jian Yong grabbed half a dried persimmon, stuffed it into his mouth, and kept talking around the mouthful. "Obviously there is plenty of exaggeration and fancy twisting in there. Who knows, maybe Lu Bu's own descendants made the whole thing up to puff him up."
By now Zhang Fei had his head bowed so low it was practically disappearing under the desk.
"Even if we take it with a grain of salt, Lu Bu really does not have much to show for himself in actual battles,"
Mi Zhu pressed on, unconvinced. "He lost to Sun Wentai at Luoyang, got driven out of Chang'an by Li Jue, and never pulled off any real big wins in Xuzhou, Yanzhou, or Puyang. How on earth does he deserve the number one spot?"
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[And speaking of that famous ranking rhyme, it was most likely put together by modern internet fans. The earliest real connection we can trace actually comes from our founding leader, who once praised Zhengding County in Shijiazhuang with these words: "Zhengding is a truly great place because it gave the world Zhao Zilong." That exact quote still hangs proudly on the archway right outside the Zhao Yun Temple today. It really is the perfect tribute to this legendary general.]
Right here, Wen Mang dropped in a few clear photos of the main gate at the Zhao Yun Temple.
The right side read: "Revered in Changshan, we recall the days of old. Righteousness pierces gold and stone, loyal bravery upholds the Han."
The left side read: "His name lives on in Ba and Shu, shining upon future ages. His spirit swallows mountains and rivers, his noble character stands tall."
Walking further inside stood a second pair of matching couplets.
The right side read: "Master of both pen and sword, steady and prudent through countless battles. A lifetime of glory passed down for ten thousand generations."
The left side read: "Marquis Shunping, complete in virtue, strict yet calm, achieving wondrous deeds time and again. His majestic legacy shakes the nine provinces."
Seeing this, every civil and military official in the hall stared with eyes wide open in pure awe. Even Sun Qian, whose mind was usually as calm and still as an ancient well, got so distracted he nearly smudged ink all over Zhuge Liang's sleeve.
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[Later on, folks expanded that simple ranking into what we know as the Twenty-Four Famous Generals of the Three Kingdoms. This bigger list covers top commanders from Wei, Shu, and Wu, stretching across the entire era. It even includes later standouts like Deng Ai and Jiang Wei from Shu Han's final years, making it a really thorough and well rounded lineup.
But no matter which version you read, Lu Bu always sits firmly at the very top. Plenty of people call him out for having no real military victories to his name and for constantly turning against everyone who ever trusted him.
Yet if you look at it another way, the fact that he could run wild and act like an absolute menace during those chaotic warlord days at the end of the Han dynasty and somehow still survive for so long just proves how ridiculously strong he really was.]
'Whoa whoa, host! You are getting distracted again! Stop rambling about Lu Bu already! Just tell us who the rest of those twenty-four generals are!'
Every single civil and military official in the room was practically screaming in their heads. 'Who among us would not want our own deeds to be remembered and honored for all time?'
Zhao Yun got his very own temple standing tall for seventeen hundred whole years! And more than a thousand years later, the founding leader of that future age not only sang his praises but even left a special inscription just for him! That alone was enough to make anyone twist green with envy!
Jian Yong's mind was already racing a mile a minute.
'If later generations could just make up these rankings out of thin air, why couldn't I do the same thing? I could dream up the Twenty-Four Great Civil Officials of the Three Kingdoms! Or maybe the Twenty-Four Famous Scholars of the Era! It does not matter one bit if people right now go along with it or not. The important part is to sneak my own name right onto the list so it gets passed down forever! Huhehehe... future descendant, just be good and accept it!'
Zhang Fei grumbled out loud with a sour edge in his voice. "So can we just call you Yunmei of Shijiazhuang from now on?"
The green eyed monster had definitely gotten the better of him. Just one short cup of tea ago the screen was tearing apart his proudest trick saying it got completely seen through by Cao Cao's men and ended up costing his own allies their lives.
And now all of a sudden it was singing someone else's praises and talking about glorious fame that would last ten thousand generations?
Zhao Yun just smiled calm and easy. "Call me whatever you like Yide. It is all the same to me."
'A whole temple built just for me!! I, Zhao Zilong, am now Zhao-the Unbothered-Steady as a Mountain-Yun! History will judge my every merit and fault, and the eyes of future generations truly see everything clearly!'
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[We can save the full story of Zhao Yun for later because his legendary seven charges and seven breakouts at the Battle of Hanzhong are coming up soon anyway.
Back to that ranking rhyme and Lu Bu. Here is another way to look at it. Sure, Lu Bu was incredibly tough and managed to run wild for years before finally meeting his end. But personal bravery only goes so far. True power comes from unity!
The real secret was the Bingzhou cavalry under his command. They were absolutely ferocious! This unit had deep roots stretching way back.
During Emperor Wu of Han's reign, three elite cavalry corps were formed to crush the Xiongnu nomads: the powerful mounted forces of Liangzhou, the hardened riders of Bingzhou, and the shock cavalry of Youzhou. From that time all the way to the end of the Han dynasty, young men from these three regions flocked to enlist.
The Book of the Later Han also has this recorded: "Emperor Shizu relied on the cavalry of Youzhou and Bingzhou to bring the whole realm under control. He established a dedicated camp at Liyang overseen by a special commissioner. The cavalry numbered a thousand men and they received generous tax exemptions and privileges."
This passage talks about how Liu Xiu depended on those You and Bing cavalry units to conquer the world. He set up permanent camps for them and freed them from all tax obligations. This was basically the birth of a true professional standing army.
How could part time militiamen ever hope to stand against disciplined pros? The real reason Lu Bu could bounce around right under the noses of all those Central Plains warlords for ten whole years was simple. His cavalry force, built on the foundation laid by Emperor Wu, was just way too ridiculously strong!]