Sun Ce receives word that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's armies are in a deadlock. Sun Ce laughs gleefully to himself as a woman walks in. Is it Ruby Lin?!? Aw, hell no. It's his wife, Da Qiao. Where the hell is Ruby Lin? Da Qiao (who at least has lines, a rare event for a female in this show) asks why her husband is so happy. He explains his time has finally come. While Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are mired together at Guandu, this leaves the city of Xuchang virtually defenseless. Sun Ce wants to attack immediately. Da Qiao councils caution.
Meanwhile, back at Guandu, more epic battle scenes as Yuan Shao's forces are literally being mowed down by this rolling spikey thing. Damn, I say. The CGI cavalry charge forward and the screen is filled with flying body parts as the two armies slam (and I do mean slam) into each other. This is money well spent, Chinese TV. Yuan Shao is forced to retreat, leaving his big ass Cadillac of a war chariot behind. (It was shot up with arrows anyway.)
As he and his men are fleeing back home, Yuan Shao runs into Liu Bei and company. Liu Bei offers to keep Cao Cao's men busy so Yuan Shao can regroup. Yuan Shao asks how many men the other has. Liu Bei replies he has under 5,000 troops. The old man shakes his head. He had 700,000 troops and was still defeated. Zhang Fei asks how in the world could Yuan Shao lose so many men? Even if they all lined up and stuck their necks out for Cao Cao it would take several days for him to go through them all. Loudmouth, you have a point.
Yuan Shao gets back home and blames himself for the defeat. (Well, it is his fault.) Guo Tu, another advisor, reminds Yuan Shao how Tian Feng had warned him it would be a disaster to go up against Cao Cao in battle. There are other ways to defeat Cao Cao, such as economically, socially and security. Yuan Shao asks where Tian Feng is and has to be reminded again how he was the one who ordered Tian Feng thrown into jail to await execution. Yuan Shao orders the poor beleaguered Tian Feng to be brought here immediately. He'll make Tian Feng his right hand man.
Xu You doesn't like the sound of this (as that's his position at the moment) and quickly tells tales of how Tian Feng laughed when he heard about Yuan Shao's defeat. Just moments after he ordered Tian Feng released, Yuan Shao orders a soldier to go execute Tian Feng. Yuan Shao, you just need a big old slap upside the head.
Meanwhile, Tian Feng is reading in his cell when a guard tells him of the defeat of Yuan Shao, just as the former advisor predicted. The guard figures Tian Feng will soon be reinstated to his position, seeing as he was right all along. Tian Feng shakes his head. He knows what a capricious putz Yuan Shao is. Tian Feng makes another prediction: he won't have long to live. Sure enough, here comes another guard to relay the order from Yuan Shao for Tian Feng to slit his own throat. The guards here seem to like their prisoner and are genuinely sadden by this order. Tian Feng writes one last letter to his lord, then he asks the guards for one favor. He doesn't want to die in his jail cell but outside underneath the stars.
Cao Cao's men celebrate into the night but their fearless leader finds himself in a bit of a jam. He knows they need to keep moving forward to hold the initiative, yet he only has enough food for ten more days. He worries about Yuan Shao finding out the truth. He has a messenger head out for Xuzhou requesting supplies be sent immediately.
Outside of Cao Cao's camp, Xu You and his men are doing reconnaissance. Security around the camp is tight, making Xu You wonder why a victorious army would be so worried about attack. Just then they see the messenger ride out and they intercept him, finding the dispatch on his body.
Guo Tu is taking a moment with Yuan Shao to lay the groundwork for screwing Xu You over when who should walk into the room but the man himself. Xu You presents the intercepted message and urges Yuan Shao to gather his forces now (he's got about 400,000 or so left) and attack. This is a golden opportunity they shouldn't lose. Yet Guo Tu convinces the easily convinced Yuan Shao that this is all a clever trick on Cao Cao's part. The prime minister wants them to attack his camp so he can finish annihilating them, therefore he makes himself appear to be vulnerable. Yuan Shao decides not to attack to Xu You's frustration.
To make things even more stickier, this is when Yuan Shao receives Tian Feng's last letter. In it, the dead man warns his lord to not trust Xu You. Poor Xu You is being screwed by the dead as well as the living. Yuan Shao chooses to allow Xu You to live - for now - but lets the advisor know he's treading on thin ice. Xu You leaves the room, thinking to himself how unappreciated his advice is and what a fool Yuan Shao is.
Cao Cao is having his toenails clipped or something when a guard comes in to report the prime minister has a visitor. Someone calling himself Xu You.