Cao Cao

Cao Cao was once a former general of the Imperial Han who served under Liu Biao and Biao Nian, and later went on to become a very powerful warlord in China after the fall of the Han, building up the foundation for what would later be known as the forces of Wei. As an experienced war general, Cao Cao fought in many battles alongside his family, being both an experienced ruler.and commander, he led his men on a conquest throughout Luoyang, Xuchang, Xiangyang, Puyang, and Xiapi.

During Cao Cao's life, he had often worked together with other warlords such as Yuan Xi and Zhang Xiu, the latter of which he defeated at Xiangyang. He and his family had amassed quite a large force, rivaling those of Yuan Xi and Sun Jing.

After his death in 211 AD, the control of Cao Cao's forces fell to Cao Xue, Cao Zhi, and Cao Annin.

Personality
Cao Cao was the type of person who would constantly get results. He wasn't one who would take failure as an answer for many situations, and would always push his family and allies to do the same. Taking to the front lines he would always use this as a motivator to many troops, and would win many battles.

At the same time of this, Cao Cao can be one who is considered stubborn at times, such as when he tried to convince Liu Wuchan to leave the service of Tao Qian and join his ranks, refusing to give up so easily after being turned down numerous times.

Cao Cao is also a very crafty and strategic person, as one would expect from a general and ruler. He would use whatever he could to his advantage if needed, and would usually go to some of the more crueler and emotional options at first such as using Ma Teng's head in order to taunt out Ma Yunlu at Xiliang.

Early Life
Born in 165 AD, Cao Cao was born in a small village near Puyang and Qing Province. This village was supposedly supported by the Imperial Han at the time, though was still quite poor.

As Cao Cao grew up in this village, he was able to see the world around him changing. At the age of 16 in 181 AD, Cao Cao came to the conclusion that corruption was soon on the way to China. In order to stop this, he sought out to join the Imperial Army of the Han Dynasty. Enlisting as a soldier, he soon rose through the ranks and became a very well respected, well liked general in the Han by many. However, he never did gain the favor of the current Han Emperor, Gong Zuan.

Service during the Han and The Rushin Rebellion
Cao Cao made excellent progress as a soldier throughout the Han Army, constantly showing his worth on more than one occasion. He soon came to serve under the Prefect Liu Biao in 183 AD, where he met Bianshi, his most beloved wife, who he married 2 months later. He also became great friends with another Prefect named Yuan Xi, who he had known since his childhood. Cao Cao however, still had others who did not like him too well such as Biao Nian and Guang Du. He also did not have the favor of Hanhui or other important figures either.

14 years later, in 197 AD, The Rushin Rebellion swept throughout China, led by Zu Yang Jing, Shu Ting, and Wuli, their main camp established in Xiangyang. During the beginning of the rebellion, Cao Cao organized several campaigns to assault Jing Province and Xiangyang under the supervision of Liu Biao and Sun Jing, but ultimately did not make much progress other than the capture of Changsha. As such, Gong Zuan forced Cao Cao to remain in Luoyang due to this failure.

When Yuan XI led an expedition to quell the Rushin Clan in the north of China, Cao Cao was invited to aid him in his advance, to which he agreed, despite Gong Zuan's orders. While punished for insubordination, Cao Cao and Yuan XI were successful in the conquest in late 197 AD to early 198 AD.

In 199 AD, Cao Cao was given orders to join in the final assault on XIangyang to defeat Zha Ji. Given rank and a small army, Cao Cao was placed on the front line of the battle by orders of Biao Nian and Zhang Xiu. However, during this battle, Cao Cao noticed the absence of one of the officers present in battle, Zha Bai. Eventually meeting with her and Zha JI, Cao Cao learned of the latter's plans to overthrow Gong Zuan and take control of China for himself. While knowing that he would have to put a stop to Zha Ji, he also knew that he could not bother with this as long as Cao Ang, Bianshi, and the rest of his family was still on the battlefield. Cao Cao warned Zha Ji that even if he goes through with this, his reign will not last long, and he'll just throw China into a larger state of chaos. With those words, Cao Cao and Zha Ji parted ways. During this time, Zu Yang Jing had also been put down.

Cao Cao however, could not leave Xiangyang right away. He was first given orders to remain in XIangyang and aid with the defeat and capture of the Rushin Clan in the area.

Cao Cao's Escape
After Gong Zuan's assassination in 199 AD, word reached out all across China. Conspiracies and many rumors spread out about the cause as Zha Ji had not taken his position of authority yet. In Xiangyang, suspicions that Cao Cao was partially responsible fell upon the ears of Liu Biao and Guang Du, who both planned to do away with Cao Cao due to these suspicions. However before they could make their plans, Cao Hong, and Cao Xue both informed Cao Cao of their plans, which prompted him to begin making plans to flee from XIangyang.