Cao Cao's Plot to Set Xuande Against Lü Bu and Yuan Shu

Cao Cao's Plot to Set Xuande Against Lü Bu and Yuan Shu is a two-stage effort to make rival powers weaken one another rather than unite against Cao Cao. Xun Wenruo supplies the strategy: first use an imperial promotion and secret orders to put Xuande at odds with Lü Bu; when that fails, send Xuande against Yuan Shu and leave Lü Bu uncertain whom to trust. The plot turns the authority of the emperor into a political instrument, but Xuande sees its design and refuses its intended first outcome.

Background and Strategic Aim

After Cao Cao has established control over the emperor at Xuchang, he worries that Xuande, who holds Xuzhou, and Lü Bu, now based at Xiaopei, might combine against him. Xun Wenruo’s response is to avoid confronting the two directly. He proposes setting the “two tigers” against one another, so that either Xuande’s attempt to kill Lü Bu succeeds or the attempt fails and Lü Bu turns on Xuande.

Cao Cao puts the proposal into action through a commission from the emperor. The official promotion gives Xuande a reason to welcome the envoy; the accompanying secret order, however, instructs him to kill Lü Bu. The pairing is central to the stratagem: imperial recognition provides the public face, while the concealed command is meant to create conflict between the two men.

The First Attempt: Xuande and Lü Bu

Xuande is pleased by the promotion but troubled by the secret instruction. Zhang Fei, who has long hated Lü Bu, does not wait for Xuande to decide what to do. When Lü Bu comes to congratulate him, Zhang Fei rushes in with a drawn sword and blurts out that Xuande has orders to kill him. Xuande drives Zhang Fei from the room and reassures Lü Bu that he will not carry out the command.

Later, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei press Xuande to explain why he has disobeyed the order. Xuande tells them that he has seen through Cao Cao’s design. Guan Yu understands his reasoning, but Zhang Fei remains eager to kill Lü Bu. The episode therefore shows the plot’s first failure not as a simple refusal of imperial authority, but as Xuande’s recognition that obeying the order would serve Cao Cao by turning potential opponents against one another.

The Second Attempt: Yuan Shu as a New Target

Once Cao Cao learns that Xuande will not kill Lü Bu, Xun Wenruo proposes another maneuver. Xuande is to be made to appear as though he has secretly sought permission to attack Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu will then be drawn into attacking Xuande, after which Cao Cao can publicly authorize Xuande to retaliate. While Xuande and Yuan Shu fight, Lü Bu, Xun Wenruo reasons, will no longer know whom to follow or trust.

The second message reaches Xuande, and Mi Zhu identifies it as another trap. Xuande understands the danger but says that he cannot refuse an imperial command. This time his concern is also practical: with Guan Yu needed for the expedition, he must decide who can be trusted to govern Xuzhou in his absence.

Zhang Fei volunteers to take charge and promises to stop drinking and beating people. Xuande does not accept the pledge. He cites Zhang Fei’s drunkenness, his attacks on others, and his habit of ignoring advice, and leaves Chen Deng in command instead, with instructions to watch Zhang Fei’s drinking. The decision reveals a vulnerability the broader political stratagem cannot resolve: Cao Cao may manipulate orders and rivalries, but Xuande’s own command still depends on judging the reliability of those around him.

Campaign and Outcome

The armies of Xuande and Yuan Shu meet, and the clash is brief. Yuan Shu has one hundred thousand men, while Xuande’s force is much smaller, yet Yuan Shu is defeated and retreats. The immediate military result is therefore not the mutual destruction of Xuande and Lü Bu that the first stage sought, but a victory over Yuan Shu after Xuande has accepted the emperor’s public command to campaign against him.

The plot’s political logic remains distinct from its battlefield outcome. Cao Cao’s aim was to keep Xuande and Lü Bu from combining by making their loyalties uncertain and redirecting conflict toward Yuan Shu. The episode demonstrates how imperial authorization, secret instructions, and the appearance of legitimate retaliation could be combined as instruments of division; it also makes clear that the plan’s success depended on how Xuande and the other leaders chose to respond.