Yuan Fang

If Dian Wei is a monster among the warriors, then Yuan Fang is the monster among the military advisers. He is the first of the Eight Geniuses and he makes his first appearance early on. Unlike the other geniuses, Yuan Fang is a fictional character made up by Chan Mou. Yuan Fang is extremely talented; Master Water Mirror commented that he found the other geniuses so that Yuan Fang could have people to work with.

And how bright Yuan Fang shines. Initially he outsmarts Hua Xiong at Luoyang, but Dong Zhuo gets the upper hand on Yuan Fang. Afterward, though, Yuan fang shows his brilliance. In the battle against Lu Bu in Sishui Pass, Yuan Fang gets many generals of the other warlords killed and gets off in safety, bringing Yuan Shao's power to an incredible level. Then Yuan Fang gets Gongzun San killed using one of the scariest method that I have seen. After that, Yuan Fang defeats Guo Jia, the fourth genius, even when he is outnumbered 3 to 1.

Yuan Shao also voices his belief that historians are a bunch of assholes. They write whatever they want because only the victors can say what is real history. Ideas like righteousness and loyalty are just excuses to go to war. He gives the best example using the founder of Han, Lui Bang. He is credited as the most righteous person but also committed murderous acts agaisnt loyal court officials. Only corrupt historians can do this.

Yuan Fang is always interesting to watch in action. Both his strategies and ideas are engaging, and he always puts on a good show. His relationship as an illegitimate child of Yuan Shao also adds to his personality and that is also a reason why I like this guy.