Guo Tu

Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was a senior official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Life

Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around present-day Xuchang, Henan. He started his career as a subordinate of Han Fu, the Governor of Ji Province. In 191, Guo Tu, along with Xin Ping, Xun Chen and others, managed to convince Han Fu to relinquish his governorship to the warlord Yuan Shao. Guo Tu then became an adviser to Yuan Shao.

In 195, the Han Emperor Xian called for help from the warlords, pleading them to escort him and the imperial court away from the tyrants Li Jue and Guo Si. Yuan Shao's strategist Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to take the emperor in and use him as a puppet to control and manipulate the other warlords.¹ Just as Yuan Shao was about to agree and send out an army to rescue the Emperor, Guo Tu objected and said Emperor Xian would control him, not the other way round.² Yuan Shao was persuaded by it and did not rescue the Emperor. As a result, the much less powerful warlord Cao Cao took Emperor Xian into his capital of Xuchang and issued many edicts in the Emperor's name, including a harshly worded edict condemning Yuan Shao for conquering Han provinces from other governors.

During the Battle of Boma in 200, Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang, with Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong providing support, to lead troops to attack Boma (白馬; near present-day ), which was defended by Liu Yan (劉延), a military officer under Yuan Shao's rival . Yan Liang lost the battle and was slain by , who was then a subordinate of Cao Cao.