Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at Guandu 

He also has a healthy sense of humor. And, perhaps most impressively, Jianbin is able to portray Cao Cao's inherent uncertainty. He is a man painted a traitor by history, but his actions demonstrated unwavering loyalty--even at great personal risk. Jianbin's portrayal allows equally for either interpretation.

Arsene Lupin Unwavering loyalty? He was the greatest traitor in the Three Kingdoms period. He was the one who defeated the major number of rivals, but also was the most hated person. The number of subordinates and people who wanted him dead and refused to serve him are uncountable.

Cao Cao did what he had to, to survive and secure the state. One of his most famous quotes was "I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me." Meaning he basically did whatever he had to, for the greater good. He was a pragmatist who made agreements when he had to and broke them when they could not work for him. He was not a nice man and he wasn't going for popularity, he did what he needed to for the security of the state.

Compared to his peers, yes, he was a paragon of loyalty. Don't confuse the novel's fictitious accounts for actual history. Cao Cao was loyal to the Han until the day he died. He may have "betrayed" others, but his first and foremost allegiance was to the Han, and he never betrayed the Han.

Arsene Lupin No, i am not confused with novel events, bro. To use the Emperor to personal gain is not loyalty, and he historically did it. To defile women such as Zhang Ji's wife is not example of any type. To kill the entire family of Lü Boshe, even trying to avoid danger is not exemplary either. To show disrespect for the Emperor carrying weapons at court is not loyalty, but treachery and lack of respect. Are you saying that Chen Gong, that refused to join him after know his true character, or Xun Yu, one of his best advisers, were wrong? Gao Shun, Ju Shou, many people refused to join him, despite the nice crew he already had in his service. I can understand your point being Cao Wei fans, but he was a cunning traitor. He used his father's death at the hands of Zhang Kai a poor excuse to massacre thousands of innocents in Xu province. He used it as an excuse to destroy Tao Qian. Sorry, but that does not justify him. Of course, if you are a fan of Cao Cao, you will never agree with me, but all this i have just said is history, not the novel or Dynasty Warriors, yes? I respect your arguments, but at least, try to also recognize his flaws, like all the other warlords have, before stating your response. Good day.

Brilliant! I start watching the latest Three Kingdoms and it's so gud! I thought Cao Cao was cunning when he deployed a plan to divide Liu Bei and Lu Bu. What I didn't expected was seeing the boy emperor using a scheme to divided Cao Cao and Liu Bei. He secretly accused Cao Cao of being a tyrant while he was living in luxury under Cao Cao protection. His blood written edict pretty much guaranteed a long and bloody civil war. We need to remember how the boy emperor was abandoned and starving. Nobody come to his rescue except Cao Cao. His selfish action just prolong the civil war. Same goes for Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu. They all died trying to revive a corrupted Dynasty where super intelligent men kowtow to a child emperor. I'm at the scene with the 3 visits at the Sleeping dragon ridge. I realize both men was using each other's for their own goals. "Zhuge Liang created his own lord" Xu Shu previously explained to Liu Bei. To me, Zhuge Liang was the devil who invented divided and conquered. Liu Bei on the other hand knew about the rampage corruption of the Han. He should let it die and be reborn. Nope, he always complained about war and unrest while provoking Cao Cao instead of working together for a better future. There was this line I didn't really understand when I young. It's where a villager would shout "A dead Kongming have scared away Sima Yi!" Now I realize it's was a face saving propaganda, similar to western medias keep saying Ukraine is winning while ignoring the enormous casualties from the last Kherson and Kharkov offensives on September 18, 2022. Similar to Zhuge Liang disastrous Northern campaigns, they got absolutely nothing except deaths. The biggest lost was Wei Yan. Special note: I read about the 3 visits, it was fictional. It was actually Zhuge Liang who visited Liu Bei for a job. And he want the highest paying job. Cao Cao already have Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Sima Yi as his strategists. Sun Quan have Zhou Yu and Lu Su. Worthy mention. It was Xun Yu's suggestion that Cao Cao chose to escort Emperor Xian, who was then living in the ruins of Luoyang, to his own base at Xu (present-day Xuchang, Henan) in 196, taking on the role of protecting the emperor. Xun Yu's plan was to "control the insubordinate in the name of the emperor" (奉天子以令不臣); the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms subtly distorts this to "hold the emperor hostage to control the nobles" (挾天子以令諸侯). In the long run, this strategy would give Cao Cao a considerable political advantage over his rivals, allowing him to legitimise his actions by taking them in the name of the emperor. Guo's advice to Cao Cao on how to handle Liu Bei. Guo Jia told Cao Cao, "Liu Bei has great ambitions and has won the hearts of many people. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are formidable fighters and they have pledged to serve him with their lives. From what I observe, Liu Bei will never truly submit to anyone, and his intentions are unclear. The people in the past once said, 'If you let the enemy off today, they will become a threat to you for a long time.' You should settle (Liu Bei) soon." At the time, Cao Cao was using Emperor Xian as a figurehead to command respect and had attracted many heroes to serve under him so he did not heed Guo Jia's advice. When Cao Cao later sent Liu Bei with an army to attack Yuan Shu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu warned Cao, "Liu Bei will rebel if you let him go!" By then, Liu Bei had already left and he really did rebel against Cao Cao as he later seized control of Xu Province from Che Zhou, the provincial governor appointed by Cao Cao. Cao Cao regretted not following Guo Jia's advice. -Fu Zi Update I'm at the scene where Liu Biao is dead and Cai Mao with a large army surrendered to Cao Cao. The show mentioned subtlety where Zhuge Liang using scorched earth to burn every resident buildings, this forced civilians to fled with Liu Bei. In other word, they're being used a human shield. It remind me a lot about Ukraine and Zelensky. Liu Bei was like Zelensky to western medias. They need a hero to run their propaganda against the communist. Anyway.. The smartest person currently is Cai Mao. He won a battle without having to lost a single soldiers. He even got a promotion. Liu Bei should be like Cai Mao. My favorite part. E 35 part 3 of 3 at 00:11:47 Liu Biao son, Liu Cong surrender Jing province to Cao Cao. My second favorite part. Cao Cao using a scheme to recruit Guan Yu while he was in a life and death situation was the most interesting. Sun Quan try to recruit Guan Yu, but they end up beheading him after he refused lol

Yuan Shao: theres no way we can lose at guandu. The gang loses at guandu

lol saame

Google knows.. gooooogle knoooows..

Remember google is watching you....

I really need to buy a pc for running three kingdoms

gdi it happened to me too, right as the moment I have to wage war against Yuan Shao lol

Also to add that one's styled name (two characters) usually has the same meaning or conveys the same message with their name (one character during this period of history). Mengde literally translates into "great virtue" whereas his name "Cao" also means virtue. Guan Yu's name "Yu" means "feathers" whereas his styled name "Yunchang" literally means "high and far in the clouds".

Thanks for the explanation! I had no idea where "Mengde" and "Ahman" came from, now I do.

Wow, this new to me

Chinese confuss this too we also need to do a lot of homework.

Thanks for this. Fascinating.

nerd

@@amnesiacangel7212 :)

@@amnesiacangel7212 ;)

@@amnesiacangel7212 lol

@@amnesiacangel7212 Nerds are the one who rules the world and are inventing shit. Its not really a insult Seems you are looking for a insult then use the word autism. Its a very popular word that is frequently used by low intellects, who don't have a clue what autism means

Why they all see at the sun?

@@flaviuskenneth2232 It is very important turning your back on the sun when you fight. Else, sun might disrupt your (and your armies) visibility.

@@akim1932 but all those 700.000 man did see the sun why they didnt say anythings?

@@Robin...222 It's just a drama. The real battle was not like that. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao NEVER drunk tea together during the battle. I am not even sure they saw each other's face since they were highest commander. I assume they wanted to stay in the best safest position of the basement.

Hans this series is not based on the real history, but on a Ming Dynasty novel, San Guo Yan Yi, which only contains 70% truth. So, to be more dramatic......However, this trick is mentioned in an ancient Chinese military strategy guidebook, Sun Zi Bing Fa, and so are many other tricks in this series.

However, when this dram firstly launched in China, the actor of Caocao was criticized by the Three Kingdom fans. Because they still prefer the old version one.

Chen Jianbin is a great actor, he plays a lot of different characters but you will never think of that it is the same person.

hahaha he runs off like a lego character

Charles Shi That might be because of how different perceptions can be of Who Cao Cao actually was. He's either a brilliant hero or a devious villain, depending on who's telling the story.

@@Christian-rn1ur To me, he is both at the same time, since I see one perspective of the opposition of Cao Mengde, a ruthless, cutthroat villain who will use any advantage he can afford, while, at the same time, to his troops, generals, and the populace under his banner, he is a hero, a strategist, and a very smart businessman. The same could be said of Vlad Tepes.

16:08 I lost my shit whenever I see that laugh, specially when he forcefully blinks.

For the whole video I though cao cao was in armor.. lol (came from tot:3 kingdoms. need to watch this series I guess)

I keep coming back to watch this just for that.

I like him running away at the end lol, with the serious music turning up

Yeah. He makes Cao Cao the most likeable character in the entire series by far.

@@crusaderofthelowlands3750 well cao cao was one of the most likeable characters in that period by far

its pretty god damn good acting for most of the people in the series. Im genuinely impressed.

Ringo Yu who played Guan Yu is awesome too! He is also an underrated veteran actor

Cao Cao was actually the real hero of that era, and Liu Bei was the guy who betrayed everybody that ever helped him. Portraying Cao Cao as cunning and comical couldn't be further away from history. This actor looks like a street scammer or something, while all history books record Cao Cao as a man of great disposition and charm. What a waste.

You mean Sima Yi: IMBECILE!

Also to give his cavalry time to circle around Yuan Shao's flank.

Double the damage... damn.. he's good....

But did they actually get blind ?

我只看到孙子曰：兵者，国之大事，死生之道，存亡之地，不可不察也，就是说打仗关系到一个国家的生死存亡，不可以犹犹豫豫，也不可大意马虎，要一击必胜，如果不能干掉对手，就必被其所杀

Lmao

they were whispering to each other from 500 meters away lol

Ah, a reminder of biggest season fail ever

😂

Mao and Chiang also met and signed peace agreement before the civil war... yet both sides were preparing for a bloody war

WE ARE STILL AND WILL NEVER BE OVER THE FACT HOW THEY WROTE FINALE SEASON

Aye. I start watching the latest Three Kingdoms and it's so gud! I thought Cao Cao was cunning when he deployed a plan to divide Liu Bei and Lu Bu. What I didn't expected was seeing the boy emperor using a scheme to divided Cao Cao and Liu Bei. He secretly accused Cao Cao of being a tyrant while he was living in luxury under Cao Cao protection. His blood written edict pretty much guaranteed a long and bloody civil war. We need to remember how the boy emperor was abandoned and starving. Nobody come to his rescue except Cao Cao. His selfish action just prolong the civil war. Same goes for Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu. They all died trying to revive a corrupted Dynasty where super intelligent men kowtow to a child emperor. I'm at the scene with the 3 visits at the Sleeping dragon ridge. I realize both men was using each other's for their own goals. "Zhuge Liang created his own lord" Xu Shu previously explained to Liu Bei. To me, Zhuge Liang was the devil who invented divided and conquered. Liu Bei on the other hand knew about the rampage corruption of the Han. He should let it die and be reborn. Nope, he always complained about war and unrest while provoking Cao Cao instead of working together for a better future. There was this line I didn't really understand when I young. It's where a villager would shout "A dead Kongming have scared away Sima Yi!" Now I realize it's was a face saving propaganda, similar to western medias keep saying Ukraine is winning while ignoring the enormous casualties from the last Kherson and Kharkov offensives on September 18, 2022. Similar to Zhuge Liang disastrous Northern campaigns, they got absolutely nothing except deaths. The biggest lost was Wei Yan. Special note: I read about the 3 visits, it was fictional. It was actually Zhuge Liang who visited Liu Bei for a job. And he want the highest paying job. Cao Cao already have Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Sima Yi as his strategists. Sun Quan have Zhou Yu and Lu Su. Worthy mention. It was Xun Yu's suggestion that Cao Cao chose to escort Emperor Xian, who was then living in the ruins of Luoyang, to his own base at Xu (present-day Xuchang, Henan) in 196, taking on the role of protecting the emperor. Xun Yu's plan was to "control the insubordinate in the name of the emperor" (奉天子以令不臣); the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms subtly distorts this to "hold the emperor hostage to control the nobles" (挾天子以令諸侯). In the long run, this strategy would give Cao Cao a considerable political advantage over his rivals, allowing him to legitimise his actions by taking them in the name of the emperor. Guo's advice to Cao Cao on how to handle Liu Bei. Guo Jia told Cao Cao, "Liu Bei has great ambitions and has won the hearts of many people. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu are formidable fighters and they have pledged to serve him with their lives. From what I observe, Liu Bei will never truly submit to anyone, and his intentions are unclear. The people in the past once said, 'If you let the enemy off today, they will become a threat to you for a long time.' You should settle (Liu Bei) soon." At the time, Cao Cao was using Emperor Xian as a figurehead to command respect and had attracted many heroes to serve under him so he did not heed Guo Jia's advice. When Cao Cao later sent Liu Bei with an army to attack Yuan Shu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu warned Cao, "Liu Bei will rebel if you let him go!" By then, Liu Bei had already left and he really did rebel against Cao Cao as he later seized control of Xu Province from Che Zhou, the provincial governor appointed by Cao Cao. Cao Cao regretted not following Guo Jia's advice. -Fu Zi Update I'm at the scene where Liu Biao is dead and Cai Mao with a large army surrendered to Cao Cao. The show mentioned subtlety where Zhuge Liang using scorched earth to burn every resident buildings, this forced civilians to fled with Liu Bei. In other word, they're being used a human shield. It remind me a lot about Ukraine and Zelensky. Liu Bei was like Zelensky to western medias. They need a hero to run their propaganda against the communist. Anyway.. The smartest person currently is Cai Mao. He won a battle without having to lost a single soldiers. He even got a promotion. Liu Bei should be like Cai Mao. My favorite part. E 35 part 3 of 3 at 00:11:47 Liu Biao son, Liu Cong surrender Jing province to Cao Cao. My second favorite part. Cao Cao using a scheme to recruit Guan Yu while he was in a life and death situation was the most interesting. Sun Quan try to recruit Guan Yu, but they end up beheading him after he refused lol 😅

bb Lmao

looooool wtf

You make it sound like a medical operation... or something really perverted.

How about me paying you a wooden fish in exchange for your daughter?

And he basically got half night battle when defending. That is some skill tree.

@@josephmatthews7698 it's the same way we all venerate leaders like Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, etc. They all are deemed great in their own right due to something they did. Cao Cao is no different. He may be cruel, yet everything he does seems to have a purpose. He looks more into the big picture. And that is his strength.

@@josephmatthews7698 People venerate Liu Bei more and he was arguably worse.

@@josephmatthews7698 the Chinese are tough people they need a tough leader.

@@kgo4026 he's not tough. Committing genocide and familial exterminations is a sign of cowardice not strength. A tough man wouldn't be so damned paranoid and scared.

@@josephmatthews7698 yeah because conquering half of china is considered "weakness"

Tony Li Hmmmm I think All Under Heaven is a history noun

Thanks! I've found Chinese history to be deeply compelling--and there's just sooo much of it. I don't want to come across as presumptuous, I just like sharing stuff I love, so if you're already aware of this stuff, don't mind me at all. Otherwise, you may want to check out: 1. The "four great Chinese novels." They're all historical fiction with varying levels of fantastical/mystical elements: Romance of the Three Kingdoms (the basis of this TV show); Water Marigin; Journey to the West (there's a great, slightly abridged English translation that's simply titled "Monkey" I'd recommend reading first); and Dream of the Red Chamber. 2. The Fengshen Yanyi! 封神演義 Usually translated as either "The Creation of the Gods" or "The Investiture of the Gods." I got ahold of a four-volume bilingual edition a few years ago, and it is probably my most-prized book. Written about 500 years ago, it's part-history, part-mythology, and is really cool. Definitely my favorite of the "classics." English translations can be hard to come by, though. 3. There's a book called "When China Ruled the Seas," by Louise Levathes. It's fairly short nonfiction about how Chinese fleets were plying the oceans oceans all over the world centuries before the Europeans, but this brief period of exploration was basically lost to history after a subsequent emperor erased the records. Really fascinating stuff--and it's pop-nonfiction, so short and easy to read! 4. "Tun Huang" is, while not my favorite, arguably the most well-known novel by Inoue Yasushi, one of Japan's greatest writers, focuses a great deal on Chinese history. Likewise his other novel, "Blue Wolf," which focuses on the Mongol Invasion. He had a background as a newspaper journalist in pre-war Japan, so his writing is very clear and accessible. Heavily recommended! 5. I'm getting further and further from the topic at hand here, but if you're delving into Chinese history and culture, I'd be remiss if I didn't point you at Xiao Hong. Another turn-of-the-century writer, her short stories are -phenomenal.- The collection, "The Dyers' Daughter," is the perfect place to start. 6. And lastly, there's tons of pop-culture media based off of Chinese history and classics. Most of it sucks. The TV show the clip is from? Almost perfect. Maybe also keep an eye out for the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" grand strategy games by Tecmo-Koei (I think the latest is on Steam and PS4, though I can't remember if it's localized in English or not). There's also a total conversion mod based on the same period for Rome Total War, and maybe Medieval 2 Total War, if you can't wait for the next TW game or can't run it, or if it ends up being terrible. There's also the Kessen series of semi-historical RPGs on the PS2; IIRC the first two are based on the three kingdoms era. And so, so, so many movies.

@@Netherfly dynasty warriors is a great game series based off of realistic events in china

Lord Sadicus I recommend records of the three kingdoms for most of the real experience.

The Japanese game suikoden pretty much is water margin lol Hell it even translates into water margin (sui-ko-den) = sui hu zhuan

I've never really been interested in Chinese history, as I have grown up learning and being fascinated by almost exclusively European (and near east) history. I've visited Japan, and so have researched their history a bit, but not extensively. One of my best friends is even Chinese, who immigrated from Henan when he was 15, about 13 years ago. But even knowing him, I never cared much to learn about the histories of China. So, when I saw that Total War's next historical title was going to be the Three Kingdoms period, I was a little bit disappointed, and definitely not looking forward to it's release as much as I did for previous titles (we won't get into the whole Warhammer debacle, which IO'm not too pleased with...Total War, IMO, should be exclusively historical...but hey, I'm not the one those games are made for, so it's neither here nor there). My only exposure to the period was the Dynasty Warriors series, of which I only played DW3, years ago, and my knowledge of China's history as a whole could probably be boiled down to the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, and Mao. Having said all of that....I love the game, and am now fascinated by the Three Kingdoms period. Furthermore, I'm eager to learn more about the histories of China.

Sends ships as gifts Fire ships

well technically, both only manage give cao cao a minor set back and nothing more. Didnt really end his career tho. XD

Coa coa died of illness and old age. Nobody stopped him.

@@ravezon hardly a "minor" setback, but his recovery was very impressive.

@@SuperNintendawg thats why its a minor setback dawg. No other warlord can simply brush it off then come back even stronger. Cao cao the only one can do it after hes done with yuan shao. Cao cao have the best starting position to grow while Sun and Liu mostly moving around until certain point where they both got their place to grow.

Not to mention Cao Cao referred to himself as Cao Mengde

Yea he was just an idiot.

@@yousafmehmet Agreed, he was probably Yuan Shao's worst advisor out of the bunch. Xu You, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou were way better than him

Maverick Stone you should watch the old version during 1990

Sima Yi and Xu Chu are also brilliant characters in the show.

FoI2eman 82 love the show but I’ll never forgive them taking the “10 ways Cao Cao is better than Yuan Shao” from Guo Jia and giving it to Xu Chu.

Nope, it's 16:03 XD

Shou Yanbo 15:42 for me--when he first laughs.

+Shou Yanbo yep when he runs away all funny looking 😂

Cacao is the best character!

Right here!

And where is my ROTK people?

I play DW and ROTK so count me in 🙋‍♂️

Present!

@@sieg-sandrodeshannon3035 been here for about 30 years now... NES, Rotk 1 and 2 :)

I found youuuuuu

How

TBH, many of his advisors were telling Cao Cao to continue with the war. This part wasn't mentioned in great detail with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms version.

你太小看曹操了，许悠的确对这次战役有功，但曹操一方的郭嘉却早已料定了袁绍的败亡，袁绍之败非许悠一人尔

dog king

Dynasty Warriors, close enough lol

Giết bắc kỳ Kill the north What do you mean?

Here here

Heh, kid... I'm here because of Dynasty Warriors.

Gigas0101 what is name of the series?

@@GinoNL Three Kingdoms (2010)

Infyra thank you😁

Don’t worry, he live in luxury all of his life. Cao cao and his son treated him well, not kill him.

@@thanhtc1988 Luxury is meaningless if you don't have peace of mind, liberty, love and respect. What was done to the Emperor was terrible.

Lol

Even Sima Yi acted with emotion towards Zhuge Liang later on in the show. Zhuge Liang is simply fantastic and Sima Yi was not his match.

@@VerilyTriumphant I agree- and further - i try to conduct myself in life as Zhuge Liange - Like i literally ask myself what would he do - its a lingering effect of this I hope i never forget bc so far it has helped me from making impulsive mistakes or emotional... mistakes ....

Ew. No.

Except he's real

Especially with that little head gesture at 16:04

FuriousDragon12 I guess that means you think cao cao has a good actor playing him..? Haha.

After 27 episodes, every time he was on screen i was worried for someone elses life. He's always so smiley and positive then somene gets beheaded

+Avlonitis Stephen Yes, Cao Cao Mengde, Mengde is his stylized name, I think.

Cao is his origin name from father etc.... Mengde is his second name when he became older (mean adult) someone(famous) grant him this name also Cao is his family name too :D :D :D

Cao cao = formal name Cao Mengde = name used for friends and people close to him i believe its a chinese cultural thing where people have formal and informal names

Cao Cao, formal name. it is an insult to call a person's full name in ancient China. Mengde style name, used to show respect, and recorded in the family tree. Ah-Man baby name, it is a serious insult to an adult.

Yes

Sid Sharma 1220-1280 AD was China's Song Dynasty.

A book from 500 years have them another 1000 more to infinite fame

Right?! That's the first thing I thought of too!

Lmao i thought the same dude

LoL good one I am actually related to Johny Depp

but with negative energy

I intentionally moved my capital to the border so my enemies can take the emperor for themself lol, screw the emperor, I'm willing to trade him with wooden fish if I could

Only is useful if it is possible to annex the empire.

Cao Cao adored Art of War. This type of field allowed him to use one its advice to maximum effect. " fight with the sun on your back so that the light be on the enemies' eyes"

@@artofthepossible7329 Cao Cao said that out of everyone in his childhood only he himself and Yuan Yi (Murdered early by Yuan Shu before he could take office) kept on reading and studying such books. This is in contracts to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Miao, and Liu Yu had pretty much stopped studying.

As bonus, he got Zhang He

Fantoche Dollmaker he winds up getting worse as time goes on

He’s also killed people who’ve helped him or at his kin just to further his ambition. He’s even entertained the idea of replacing the puppet emperor in his grip with himself and seize the Imperial throne himself, an act considered especially heinous and treasonous in Asian culture. Before this battle, he had the pregnant Empress strangled, so he could replace the Emperor’s wife with his own daughter and make himself father-in-law to the ruler of the country.

same, Cao Cao is a beast

Weak Finished this entire series 2 years before the game got announced

Wan Castle, Chibi, Hanzhong. ;)

And then the red cliffs happened

he was

He was so kind to his men he allowed them to rape and pillage Xu Province to their heart’s content.

He is a good strategist and poet,but kindness has nothing to do with him

@@denglinzhiniao he was kind when it served him. Even utter bastards can be kind.

Also immediately calls him Yuan Shao instead of the earlier "Brother Benchu". The act is up!

Yeesh, if I was Yuan Shao I wouldn't trust ANY of those three as far as I could throw them.