Gao Shun Gao Shun ( died 198 ) was a military general serving the warlord Lü Bu during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history . Although he only had 700 men under his command , his unit was nicknamed as the " camp crusher ( or formation breaker ) " for its destructive charges , and Gao came to be known as Lü ' s most able commander . His noted accomplishments included conquest of Xiaopei and the subsequent victory over a relief force led by Xiahou Dun , a prominent general under the " imperial warlord " Cao Cao . In the same year , however , Cao personally laid a siege on Lü Bu ' s base in Xiapi , and defeated and captured Lü . Gao Shun was then executed along with his lord . Biography . According to Pei Songzhi ' s annotation in Chen Shou ' s " Records of Three Kingdoms , " Gao Shun , from Shang Dang , was a stern and incorrupt man , with an air of authority and few words . As an unblemished and pure person , Gao Shun refused alcohol and undue gifts . It is also stated in " Records of Heroes " ( 英雄記 ) by Wang Can that Gao only commanded 700 men , but his men were considered equivalent to a thousand , and they were a well - equipped , well - trained , and disciplined elite force . Whenever his battalion fought , they were always successful of breaking into enemy formation , and could perform well , even if surrounded by enemies , so they were collectively called the " camp crusher " . Zang Ba , the head of the bandit leaders around Mount Tai , attacked and defeated the Chancellor of Langye , Xiao Jian , at Ju . He then seized Xiao ' s treasure and provisions , and promised to present them to Lü Bu . When he reneged on his words , however , Lü Bu went to ask for the goods himself . Gao Shun objected : " Your authority and reputation are known and respected everywhere . How can you ask for something and fail to obtain it ? Yet you are going in person to beg for a present . If for some reason you are not successful , you will surely lose face . " The rapacious Lü Bu could not follow Gao ' s words . Indeed , Zang turned Lü down , and the Bandits of Mount Tai no longer listened to Lü ' s orders . One night in 196 , a subject of Lü Bu named Hao Meng rebelled . Hao ordered his troops to surround the government house of Xiapi , where Lü Bu resided . The startled Lü Bu had to climb over the wall of the toilet and escape to the camp of Gao Shun . Lü Bu told Gao Shun that the leader of the rebels has a Henei accent , and Gao Shun says that it must be Hao Meng . Gao Shun then led a force to quell the rebellion . By the next morning Hao and his troops had all been forced to retreat back to their own camp . Cao Xing , a subordinate of Hao , turned on Hao Meng and the two dueled . Cao was injured in the fight but cleaved an arm off of Hao Meng . Gao had also identified the rebels , and arrived at the scene to finish off Hao Meng ( who was a man from Henei or captain of the Henei soldiers ) . Although Lü Bu knew Gao Shun was very loyal , his advice was not always welcome . Furthermore , Lü trusted Gao even less after the incident of Hao Meng , and stripped Gao of his commission and reassigned his troops to Wei Xu , who was Lü ' s relative . Whenever there was a battle , however , Gao Shun would be reinstated . Despite this treatment , he remained eternally loyal and never bore a grudge against his lord . Lü Bu , whose actions were seldom consistent , made decisions hastily . For that , Gao often remonstrated him by saying , " When you start something , you never think of the details . Whenever there is a choice between the way to success or the possibility of failure , you always make the wrong decisions ! " Gao Shun went on and said , " Those who lost their homes and states did not do so because they lacked loyal ministers and wise advisers . They did so because they wouldn ' t listen to those men . General , you are reluctant to think things through carefully before you act , and thus you commit mistakes , which are too many to count . " Lü appreciated his loyalty , yet could not follow his advice . In the same year , Lü Bu was threatened by his vassal Liu Bei , who was forced to surrender earlier and was now constantly builting up forces , so he sent Gao to attack Xiaopei , fortress city of Liu and Gao Shun succeeded his mission . Liu ' s new ally , Cao Cao , then sent his trusted general Xiahou Dun to rescue Xiaopei , but the allied forces were again defeated by Gao . In the end , Liu had to desert the city to take shelter under Cao Cao . In the winter of 198 , Cao and Liu came back with a sizable army and attacked Lü ' s homebase , when the city finally fell , Gao Shun was captured along with Lü Bu . Showing no fear nor resistance , Gao then saw Cao shifting his attention to him , and guards surrounding Gao hustled him in front of Cao . " Anything to say ? " Cao Cao asked him . Not wishing to join Cao , Gao remained silent and accepted his fate . Cao then had him executed along with Chen Gong . The heads of Lü Bu , Chen Gong , Gao Shun , and some of the other generals were sent to Xuchang where they were buried . In fiction . In Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " , Gao Shun was said to have dueled Xiahou Dun during an encounter outside Xiaopei . After forty to fifty bouts , Gao Shun was outmatched and had to retreat . Xiahou Dun urged his mount forward and chased Gao Shun deep into the enemy ranks . Then Cao Xing , a subject of Gao Shun , secretly took aim and fired an arrow at Xiahou Dun . The arrow hit the target right in the left eye . With a cry , Xiahou Dun pulled out the arrow along with his eyeball , which he swallowed , filling soldiers on both sides with fear . His spear firmly held up , Xiahou Dun then came straight for Cao Xing . With no time to react , Cao Xing was impaled through the face and died beneath his nemesis ' horse . Gao Shun then turned and rallied his troops forward to defeat Xiahou Dun .