The Attrition Strategy That Went Unheeded
Before Guandu, Ju Shou argued strongly for a drawn-out war of attrition, holding that Yuan Shao’s advantage in troops and grain meant there was no need to rush a decisive battle; once fighting began, he advised strengthening the guard on the Wuchao supply line — all of it unheeded by Yuan Shao. When Wuchao fell and the army broke, Ju Shou, too slow to flee, was captured by the Cao army, refused to surrender, and was killed. Nearly every counsel of his had precisely foreseen the course of the war, yet he could never change Yuan Shao’s decisions — the most lamentable subplot of Guandu.