Gao Rou

Gao Rou (onyomi: Kō Jou) is a minor advisor of Yuan Shao. He surrendered to Cao Cao after the battle of Guandu, and faithfully served the state of Wei throughout its entire reign. In his twilight years, he helped secure Luoyang for Sima Yi's Coup d'état. He is the younger cousin of Gao Gan.

Roles in Games
In Dynasty Warriors 7, Gao Rou appears in the battle of Guandu as one of the defenders of Yuan Shao's main camps. He then appears again during the Jin campaign during the Coup d'état, being one of the few officers to ally with the Sima clan. Dynasty Warriors 8 expands his role slightly, giving the player the option to rescue him and Sun Qian, which in turn leads to him blocking Cao Shuang's escape. Gao Rou's role in Dynasty Warriors 9 is expanded by primarily serving as an auxiliary officer attacking the camp chains controlling the flow of reinforcing officers for Yuan Shao, Wei, and Jin. He also periodically participates in the final chapter battles for late Wei and Jin chapters.

Gao Rou has been absent more often than present within In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. When available, he is typically given moderately high intelligence and political rating (high 70s) and middling war and leadership stats (mid 50s). He also has a small talent for domestic growth and recruiting other officers.

Historical Information
Gao Rou was raised in Chenliu, which was under the governorship of Zhang Miao. As rebellion brewed in Yan Province, Zhang Miao advised the young Gao Rou and others in Chenliu to seek safer dwelling. Gao Rou told his plight to his older cousin Gao Gan, who invited him to join him under Yuan Shao at Hebei. Gao Rou readily accepted the invitation and made the perilous journey, for much banditry was amuck at the time, while maintaining proper mourning attire and behavior for his recently departed father, Gao Jing. Once in the north, Gao Rou finished his studies and served Yuan Shao as a minor official.

When Yuan Shao's forces fell to Cao Cao in the early 200s, Gao Rou joined his cousin in surrendering in 204. Cao Cao appointed him as a county magistrate in a county struggling with law and order. Gao Rou convinced the previously corrupt officials to step up and maintain their jobs, making his county much more stable. Around the same time Gao Gan attempted to lead a rebellion against Cao Cao, which Gao Rou refused to participate. Nevertheless, once Gao Gan was crushed, Cao Cao ordered Gao Rou arrested as well, intending to execute him. When Cao Cao saw that Gao Rou continued to perform his governing duties from jail, he changed his mind and let him go.

In 211, Gao Rou wrote a warning to Cao Cao about sending Zhong Yao to attack Zhang Lu, believing it would provoke Ma Chao and Han Sui into further rebellion, which it did. In 213, Gao Rou was made gentleman of writing. When Song Jin and others fled to Hefei, Gao Rou advised leniency in their abandoned families, as such kindness would help deter future desertions. Cao Cao agreed with such sentiment and placed Gao Rou under his son, Cao Pi. Under Cao Pi, Gao Rou worked to end the reliance on informants, as there was no incentive to refrain from lying about one's political enemy to get them killed. Cao Pi was slow to adopt Gao Rou's suggestion, so in the meantime Gao Rou gained a reputation for seeking out the truth of an accusation before passing judgement. Gao Rou was one of several officers who refused to execute Bao Xun, recognizing Cao Pi just wanted him dead because he hated him.

Under Cao Pi's heir, Cao Rui, Gao Rou served as minister of justice, where he sought to curtail the excessive spending on construction projects and other displays of wealth. He even wrote Cao Rui in regards to the overly regulated royal hunting grounds, which meant too many animals good for hunting were left unhunted or eaten.
 * "I have profoundly reflected: The reason why Your Majesty does not take these deer early is that you wish them to multiply to the extreme, when you will take them on a large scale to make them serve army and state. But I presume to think that, as it is, the deer will daily decrease and you will have no chance to get them on a large scale. Why do I think so? Now the Imperial enclosure extends to an area of more than a thousand li. In my calculation, there are in this area easily 600 tigers, large and small, 500 wolves, and 10,000 foxes. Supposing a large tiger eats one deer every three days, one tiger will eat 120 deer in a year; since there are 600 tigers, that means that the tigers will eat 72,000 deer a year. Supposing ten wolves eat a deer each day, the 500 wolves will eat up 18,000 deer a year. A newly born deer is not good at running; let ten foxes eat one young deer a day—during the period of a month when the young deer begin to run fast, the 10,000 foxes will eat 30,000 young deer a month. In all, the number of deer falling prey to these animals amounts to 1,200,000. The harm due from vultures, I have not counted. Thus seen, there will be no chance of obtaining them in large numbers. There is nothing like taking them early."

Cao Rui responded positively to his letters, but little change was brought about due to them. Gao Rou remained focused on seeing justice done, to the point that he even wrote Cao Rui numerous times when a court official, Zhang Jing, passed the blame he owed for hunting animals reserved for the emperor onto a peasant. His hard worded letters finally got through to Cao Rui and he saw justice done.

After the death of Cao Rui, power in the Wei court split between Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. Gao Rou tended to favor Sims Yi's camp. By 248, Gao Rou was elevated to the post of minister of the masses, which put him in charge of the labor force (and their guards) around Luoyang. Such a placement served Sima Yi very well, for in the following year, Sima Yi stages his Coup d'état while Cao Shuang was at the Gaoping Tombs. Gao Rou aided Siam Yi through his unique position: he was in charge of the only non-private military force around the capital. He used said forces to secure the city for Sima Yi and accepted the temporary post of acting General and Chief to take command of the personal army that Cao Shuang kept not far from the capital. Gao Rou's loyalty to the Sima clan eventually earned him the rank of Grand Commandant, a post he held until the autumn season of 263, when he passed away. His time of death was around the beginning of the final Shu invasion.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Gao Rou's only appearance in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is in chapter 107, where he and Wang Guan secure the forces of Cao Shuang and Cao Xi, which were stationed nearby and posed a threat to Sima Yi's plan.