Deng Ai vs Zhuge Liang

[Dong Zhou]

If he had reinforced Xiahou Yuan, I think Hanzhong would be his.

He did. Cao Hong and Cao Xiu were part of the reinforcements. Do you mean, if Cao Cao had committed himself and his elite troops to the camapign?

There were problems with one set of reinforcements pretty much doing a massive mutiny and though they arrived in time, it suggests that the western areas were not quite secure.

[Shen Ai]

Yes, if Cao Cao had bee a part of the campaign from the start and had reinforced Xiahou Yuan himself things might have played out differently, but then, there is only so much one can do when faced with higher numbers and inferior terrain.

[Dong Zhou]

Of course, the risk with Cao Cao himself going to Hanzhong early is it means he is a long way away from everything else. In the capital, he can react to events and go where the need is, go early and he both seems to be panicking and is cut off from events.

[Shen Ai]

I suppose that is true, and with things like Geng Ji's rebellion, He Fei, Ru Xu, and eventually Fan castle, Cao Cao might have been bogged down in Hanzhong and not been able to return.

[Striga]

Wasn't the only thing Xiahou Yuan really short on troops? He had more than enough commanders of great ability, but they can't possibly fight an opposing army at large troops disadvantage.

[Shen Ai]

Yeah, I guess Xiahou Yuan did have more than enough talent. Cao Xiu, Cao Hong, Zhang He, and Guo Huai all served him there and that's quite a powerhouse team. Liu Bei came personally, I think, bringing Fa Zheng, Zhang Fei, Yan Yan, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong and Ma Chao. On paper, bot sides are excellent. As said before, Hanzhong was hard to defend when the opponent was attacking from Yi. Xiahou Yuan did do well, for about a year when Shu came to attack, but eventually, he just lost to many men. Was Han River taken after his death or before? I remember reading that once the river was taken, then Cao Cao had no choice but to retreat.

[Zhilong]

It was also mentioned Cao Cao was short on supplies.