Guo Si

Historical Record

Guo Si, styled Aduo, was a native of Zhangye and originally a subordinate commander under Dong Zhuo. After Dong Zhuo's death, his old subordinates Li Jue, Guo Si and others, fearing they would be executed, on Jia Xu's advice rallied their forces and counterattacked Chang'an^[1]. At that time, after their cause had been defeated and the masses had nowhere to turn, the Liang Province troops—anxious and fearful because there was no amnesty decree and they had heard that Chang'an intended to exterminate all the people of Liang Province—adopted Jia Xu's plan and marched west gathering troops. In the end, Guo Si joined forces with Li Jue, Fan Chou, Li Meng, Wang Fang and other old subordinates of Dong Zhuo, their troops reaching more than a hundred thousand, and besieged the city of Chang'an. After ten days of assault, the city of Chang'an fell. After the city fell, Guo Si fought with Lü Bu within the city, and Lü Bu was defeated and fled. Li Jue, Guo Si and the others then let their soldiers loose to plunder Chang'an, slaughtering old and young, the dead lying everywhere. They also executed the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, who had originally plotted the killing of Dong Zhuo, and cast his corpse into the marketplace. In the face of disaster, Wang Yun still kept the state in mind and refused to seek to escape, and was ultimately killed by Li Jue, Guo Si and the others; his wife and clan, more than ten people, did not escape either. Among the men and women, old and young, in the city of Chang'an, there was none who did not weep^[1].

Dong Zhuo's corpse was buried at Mei, but a great storm of wind and rain shook Zhuo's tomb, water flowing into the burial chamber and floating his coffin—a sign of the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of men. Afterward, Li Jue was enfeoffed as General of Chariots and Cavalry and Marquis of Chiyang, with the post of Colonel-Director of Retainers and the right to bear the staff of authority; Guo Si was enfeoffed as General of the Rear and Marquis of Meiyang; and Fan Chou as General of the Right and Marquis of Wannian. From this point on, Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou usurped control of the court and held the great power of the Han imperial house^[1].

In the Novel

In the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Guo Si's image is further developed: as an important commander under Dong Zhuo, he repeatedly took part in Dong Zhuo's military operations and political intrigues. He first appears advancing on Luoyang together with Dong Zhuo^[2]. When Dong Zhuo confronted the allied lords of the eighteen routes at Hulao Pass, Guo Si and Li Jue were ordered to lead fifty thousand troops to guard Sishui Pass, but were ordered not to give battle, so as to tie down the lords^[3].

When Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, Guo Si and Li Jue were ordered to drive the several million common people of Luoyang toward Chang'an, allowing the soldiers along the way to violate men's wives and daughters and seize people's grain, causing countless deaths, until the palaces of Luoyang were reduced to scorched earth—displaying his cruelty^[4]. Before Dong Zhuo was about to receive the abdication and proclaim himself emperor, Guo Si, together with Li Jue, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, was appointed by Dong Zhuo as a trusted commander, leading three thousand of the Flying Bear troops to guard Meiwu^[5].

After Dong Zhuo was executed, Li Jue, Guo Si and the others counterattacked Chang'an and took Emperor Xian of Han hostage. They at first wished to assassinate the emperor, but on the remonstrance of Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, changed course and honored the emperor as sovereign, intending to lure the lords into the pass. Subsequently Li Jue, Guo Si and the others each demanded high office and rich emoluments from the emperor, and Guo Si was enfeoffed as General of the Rear with the staff of authority, holding the government together with Li Jue^[6].

Later, conflict arose between Li Jue and Guo Si over the struggle for power and profit. Under Yang Biao's stratagem of sowing discord, Guo Si's wife suspected that Li Jue had poisoned him, leading Guo Si and Li Jue to take up arms against each other, and the city of Chang'an fell into chaos^[7]. Li Jue took the emperor hostage, while Guo Si seized palace ladies and concubines and set fire to the palaces^[8]. The two fought below the walls of Chang'an for more than fifty days, with countless casualties^[9]. Through the mediation of Yang Biao and others, the two once briefly made peace, but soon clashed again over a misunderstanding. Guo Si once wished to take the emperor hostage, but the emperor was rescued by Yang Feng, Dong Cheng and others^[10]. In the end, Guo Si joined forces with Li Jue to pursue the emperor, but fought a great battle with Yang Feng, Dong Cheng and others at Hongnong^[11].

Key Relationships

* Dong Zhuo's Faction (senior_official): Guo Si was one of the important commanders under Dong Zhuo, who together with Li Jue, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others formed the core strength of Dong Zhuo's military faction. He took part in many of Dong Zhuo's important military operations and political decisions, and was a capable lieutenant of Dong Zhuo^[2].
* Dong Zhuo (serves): Guo Si was utterly loyal to Dong Zhuo; after Dong Zhuo was killed, he and Li Jue and the others avenged Dong Zhuo, counterattacked Chang'an, and ultimately seized control of the court^[1]. In the novel, before his departure Dong Zhuo appointed Guo Si and other trusted commanders to guard Meiwu^[5].
* Xiliang Army (lord_of): Guo Si was one of the representative figures of the Xiliang warlords. After Dong Zhuo's death, he and Li Jue and others rallied the Liang Province troops and became warlords carving out their own domain, controlling Chang'an, the political center of the Han dynasty^[1].
* Emperor Xian of Han (betrayed_by): Although after Dong Zhuo's death Guo Si nominally honored Emperor Xian of Han as sovereign, in reality he took the Son of Heaven hostage and manipulated the court, bullying and suppressing Emperor Xian of Han. His internecine strife with Li Jue caused Emperor Xian of Han to suffer the hardships of constant flight and displacement^[6].

Signature Scenes

* Counterattacking Chang'an and Executing Wang Yun: After Dong Zhuo's death, Guo Si and Li Jue and others adopted Jia Xu's plan and rallied the Liang Province troops to counterattack Chang'an. After the city fell, they let their soldiers loose to plunder, executed the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, and seized control of the Han court—this was the turning point of Guo Si's political career and the mark of his rise to the pinnacle of power^[1].
* Driving the People of Luoyang to Relocate to Chang'an: In the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, Guo Si and Li Jue, on Dong Zhuo's orders, drove the several million common people of Luoyang to relocate to Chang'an. In the course of this, they allowed the soldiers to burn, kill and plunder, causing countless casualties among the people and reducing Luoyang to scorched earth, fully displaying his cruelty and his ravaging of the common people^[4] (unique to the novel).
* Internecine Strife with Li Jue and the Chaos of Chang'an: After Guo Si and Li Jue had seized control of the court, internecine strife broke out over the struggle for power and profit. The two took up arms against each other within the city of Chang'an, attacking each other and throwing the city into chaos, so that Emperor Xian of Han too suffered terror and displacement. This event was a microcosm of the warlord melee at the end of the Eastern Han, and accelerated the decline of the Han imperial house^[7].
* Seizing the Emperor and Pursuing the Imperial Carriage: In the internecine strife with Li Jue, Li Jue took the emperor hostage, while Guo Si seized the palace ladies. Subsequently Guo Si led troops in pursuit of the emperor's carriage, attempting once more to take the Son of Heaven hostage. This series of events made Emperor Xian of Han's situation even more difficult, and also highlighted the contempt and manipulation of imperial authority by warlords such as Guo Si^[8].