Cao Cao stands as one of the Three Kingdoms period's most formidable leaders—though "great" here comes with serious caveats. His reputation for ruthlessness is well-earned; plenty of people call him outright cruel, and they're not wrong. But that brutality was calculated. His cold-blooded approach to strategy meant he could squeeze maximum effectiveness out of his forces and actually get things done, which is partly why he managed to dominate northern China the way he did.
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