Warlord
Guo Si faction 郭汜
About this faction
This faction was a warlord faction led by Guo Si, a former general of the Dong Zhuo faction, who after Dong Zhuo's death held the court at Chang'an together with Li Jue. Guo Si, who had been a colonel under Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu, took Chang'an with Li Jue and others in the 3rd year of Chuping (192) and became General of the Rear and Marquis of Meiyang, controlling the government of the court at will together with Li Jue and Fan Chou. Records, Wei 6 §19–21Records, Wei 1 §21
Later he and Li Jue grew suspicious of each other and fought within Chang'an for several months, and when the Son of Heaven set out east, Guo Si tried to bring him back to Mei County but was defeated by Yang Feng (楊奉). He joined hands with Li Jue again and pursued the Son of Heaven, but in the end he was attacked by his own general Wu Xi (五習) and died at Mei County. Records, Wei 6 §24–26 · 30
Chen Shou recorded this faction in the passage on Li Jue and Guo Si that follows the Biography of Dong Zhuo in Records of Wei 6, the Biographies of Dong, the Two Yuans and Liu. The Romance first brought Guo Si forward in Chapter 3 as one of the generals Dong Zhuo led toward Luoyang, and portrayed this faction in Chapter 9, where, after Dong Zhuo's death, he marched on Chang'an together with Li Jue. Records, Wei 6 §18Romance, Ch. 3 §2Romance, Ch. 9 §36–38
Rise and fall in the Records
Guo Si was a colonel under Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu, General of the Household. Niu Fu, stationed separately at Shan County, sent the colonels Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji (張濟) to plunder the counties of Chenliu and Yingchuan. Records, Wei 6 §19
In the 4th month of the 3rd year of Chuping (192) Dong Zhuo died and Niu Fu too was beheaded, and the colonels Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and others wanted to disband their troops and slip home to their villages by back roads. When Jia Xu told them that there was talk in Chang'an of killing every man from Liang Province and urged them to lead their men west and attack Chang'an, they collected troops wherever they went until their host numbered more than 100,000, and together with Dong Zhuo's former subordinates Fan Chou, Li Meng, Wang Fang and others they surrounded the city of Chang'an and took it in ten days. The Annals of Emperor Wu recorded that Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue, Guo Si and others killed Wang Yun and attacked Lü Bu, and that Lü Bu was defeated and went out through the Wu Pass. Records, Wei 6 §16 · 19–20Records, Wei 10 §70–71Records, Wei 1 §21
Guo Si became General of the Rear and Marquis of Meiyang, and together with Li Jue, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Fan Chou, General of the Right, these three controlled the government of the court at will. On entering Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si made Liu Biao General Who Guards the South and Governor of Jing Province, seeking to make him an ally. When Cao Cao, who had taken on the governorship of Yan Province, first sent an envoy, Li Jue, Guo Si and the others wanted to detain the envoy but accepted Zhong Yao's persuasion and replied generously, and Dong Zhao wrote letters on Cao Cao's behalf to the generals in Chang'an, Li Jue, Guo Si and others, expressing goodwill to each according to his weight. Records, Wei 6 §21 · 83Records, Wei 13 §3–4Records, Wei 14 §49
The generals, contending for power, killed Fan Chou and absorbed his host. Guo Si and Li Jue grew increasingly suspicious of each other and fought within Chang'an. When Li Jue took the Son of Heaven hostage in his own camp and sent the high ministers to Guo Si to seek peace, Guo Si detained them all. In the several months that the two attacked each other, the dead numbered in the tens of thousands. Records, Wei 6 §24
When Li Jue's general Yang Feng rebelled and Li Jue gradually weakened, Zhang Ji came from Shan County and reconciled the two, and the Son of Heaven was at last able to get out and reached the area between Xinfeng and Baling. Guo Si again tried to coerce the Son of Heaven into returning to make Mei County the capital. The Son of Heaven fled to Yang Feng's camp, Yang Feng attacked and defeated Guo Si, and Guo Si fled to the Southern Mountains. The Biography of Xu Huang recorded that when Li Jue and Guo Si threw Chang'an into turmoil, Xu Huang, who was following Yang Feng, persuaded Yang Feng to escort the Son of Heaven back to Luoyang. Records, Wei 6 §25Records, Wei 17 §57
Regretting having let the Son of Heaven go, Guo Si and Li Jue made peace with each other again and caught up with him at Caoyang in Hongnong. Yang Feng called in Han Xian, Hu Cai, Li Le and other former leaders of the White Wave of Hedong and fought a great battle, but was defeated, and Li Jue and the others killed high ministers and officials, carried off palace women, and entered Hongnong. The Son of Heaven crossed the Yellow River, and Yang Feng, Han Xian and the others made Anyi his capital. When the Minister Coachman Han Rong came to Hongnong and made peace with Li Jue, Guo Si and the others, they returned the palace women, high ministers and officials they had seized, along with a few of the Son of Heaven's carriages and horses. The Annals of Emperor Wu recorded that in the 2nd year of Xingping (195) Chang'an was in turmoil, and the Son of Heaven, moving east, was defeated at Caoyang, crossed the Yellow River, and went to Anyi. Records, Wei 6 §26–27Records, Wei 1 §33 · 35
The Son of Heaven returned to Luoyang, and Cao Cao received him and made Xu County the capital. The Biography of Dong Zhuo, after recording that in the 2nd year of Jian'an (197) Li Jue was put to death by the generals of Guanxi led by Pei Mao, Supervisor of the Internuncios, recorded that Guo Si was attacked by his own general Wu Xi (五習) and died at Mei County. It did not state separately the year of Guo Si's death. Records, Wei 6 §28 · 30
In the assessment of Volume 6, Chen Shou discussed only Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, and did not assess Guo Si separately. Records, Wei 6 §96–97
In the Romance
In Chapter 3 of the Romance, Guo Si appeared as one of the generals, together with Li Jue, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, whom Dong Zhuo led when he received He Jin's secret letter and advanced on Luoyang. In Chapter 5, on Dong Zhuo's orders, he and Li Jue led 500 soldiers to surround the house of the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and killed everyone in it, old and young alike, and together with Li Jue he held the Sishui Pass with 50,000 troops. In Chapter 6, together with Li Jue, he drove millions of the people of Luoyang toward Chang'an. Romance, Ch. 3 §2Romance, Ch. 5 §40–41Romance, Ch. 6 §10
In Chapter 9, when Dong Zhuo died, Guo Si fled toward Liang Province with Li Jue and the others, then heeded Jia Xu's words and marched on Chang'an. While Li Jue met Lü Bu on the mountain, Guo Si repeatedly struck at the rear of Lü Bu's lines and withdrew whenever Lü Bu turned around. Having entered Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si berated Wang Yun, who had leapt down from the tower of the Xuanping Gate, and killed him. In Chapter 10 Guo Si became General of the Rear and Marquis of Meiyang with the tally and axe, and took charge of the government of the court together with Li Jue. Romance, Ch. 9 §29 · 36–38 · 43–44 · 50–51Romance, Ch. 10 §2
In Chapter 13 Guo Si made himself General-in-Chief. When Yang Biao's wife hinted to Guo Si's wife that her husband was having an affair with Li Jue's wife, Guo Si's wife secretly put poison in the wine and food sent by Li Jue and showed him a dog dying after eating it. When Guo Si came home from a banquet at Li Jue's house with a stomachache, his wife said he had been poisoned and made him vomit by feeding him liquid dung. Saying that unless he struck first he would come to harm, Guo Si readied his troops to attack Li Jue. Romance, Ch. 13 §10–15
When Li Jue carried off the Son of Heaven, Guo Si entered the palace, seized the consorts and palace women, took them to his camp, and burned the palace halls. When ten bouts of single combat with Li Jue before the battle lines produced no victor, he locked up the more than sixty court officials, including Yang Biao and Zhu Jun, who came to urge peace, saying, "Li Jue has abducted the Son of Heaven; why should I not abduct the high ministers?" and released only Yang Biao and Zhu Jun. The two fought each other every day for more than fifty days. Romance, Ch. 13 §16–17 · 21–24
When Zhang Ji reconciled them, Guo Si released the high ministers. But saying that he had meant to deceive Zhang Ji and take the imperial carriage back into the Mei Fortress, he beheaded the two officers who had let the carriage pass over the bridge at Baling and raised troops to pursue it. Meeting Yang Feng's troops, he lost his general Cui Yong, who was cut down by Xu Huang, and fell back more than twenty li; the next day he attacked again and was heavily defeated when Dong Cheng arrived. Romance, Ch. 13 §35–38 · 40–41 · 43
Guo Si joined forces with Li Jue again and plundered Hongnong, and when Li Le's troops arrived he had clothing thrown onto the road and crushed them while they scrambled to pick it up. In Chapter 14, after a heavy defeat by Cao Cao, he fled west with Li Jue to become a bandit in the mountains, and in Chapter 17 word came that Wu Xi (伍習) had killed Guo Si and presented his head. Wu Xi became General Who Exterminates Caitiffs and guarded Chang'an. Romance, Ch. 13 §45–49Romance, Ch. 14 §14Romance, Ch. 17 §32–33
Where the Romance differs
The Yuan Wei clan: In Chapter 5 of the Romance, on Dong Zhuo's orders, Li Jue and Guo Si surrounded the house of the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and killed everyone in it. In the Records, the Biography of Yuan Shao states only that Dong Zhuo put to death all of Yuan Shao's clan, including the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, and Guo Si's name does not appear. Romance, Ch. 5 §40Records, Wei 6 §47
Why he split with Li Jue: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, through Yang Biao's scheme, Guo Si's jealous wife secretly put poison in the wine and food sent by Li Jue, so that her husband came to suspect Li Jue, and the two fought. The Records say only that Guo Si and Li Jue grew increasingly suspicious of each other and fought within Chang'an, without giving the reason. Romance, Ch. 13 §12–15Records, Wei 6 §24
The detained high ministers: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, Yang Biao and Zhu Jun gathered more than sixty officials of their own accord and went to Guo Si's camp to urge peace, and were locked up. In the Records, Li Jue sent the high ministers to Guo Si to seek peace, and Guo Si detained them all. Romance, Ch. 13 §23–24Records, Wei 6 §24
The pursuit of the Son of Heaven: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, Guo Si pursued the imperial carriage to take it into the Mei Fortress, lost his general Cui Yong to Xu Huang, and was defeated again the next day by Dong Cheng. In the Records, when Guo Si tried to take the Son of Heaven back to Mei County and make it the capital, the Son of Heaven fled to Yang Feng's camp, and Yang Feng defeated Guo Si, who fled to the Southern Mountains. Cui Yong does not appear in the Records. Romance, Ch. 13 §38 · 40–41 · 43Records, Wei 6 §25 · 18–30
The battle with Li Le: In Chapter 13 of the Romance, Guo Si threw clothing onto the road to scatter Li Le's troops. The Records say only that Yang Feng called in Han Xian, Hu Cai, Li Le and others and fought a great battle with Li Jue and Guo Si, but that Yang Feng's troops were defeated. Romance, Ch. 13 §49Records, Wei 6 §26
The fight with Cao Cao: In Chapter 14 of the Romance, Li Jue and Guo Si were heavily defeated by Cao Cao and became bandits in the mountains. The passage on Li Jue and Guo Si in the Biography of Dong Zhuo in the Records contains no fight with Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 14 §14Records, Wei 6 §18–30
The end: In Chapter 17 of the Romance, Wu Xi (伍習) killed Guo Si, presented his head to Cao Cao, and became General Who Exterminates Caitiffs. The Records say only that Guo Si was attacked by his own general Wu Xi (五習) and died at Mei County, and record neither the presenting of the head nor the office Wu Xi received. Romance, Ch. 17 §32–33Records, Wei 6 §30
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Lineage
- Controlled court: Eastern Han (192~195) — 「傕、汜、稠擅朝政」
- Preceded by: Dong Zhuo faction — 「傕、汜、稠擅朝政」
Members (1)
Related events (1)
- Revolt of Li Jue and Guo Si 192 · Combatant
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