How many times did Zhou Yu use to defeat Cao Cao's million troops? In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu used a series of tactics to defeat Cao Cao's army of one million troops three times. The first time was when Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang joined forces to defeat Cao Cao. In the Battle of Red Cliff, Zhou Yu used the drunken Cao Cao method to cause chaos in Cao Cao's army and finally defeated Cao Cao's army. The second time was during the Battle of South County, Zhou Yu used Cao Cao's reinforcements to set up a series of traps in the water, trapping Cao Cao's army and successfully defeating the enemy. The third time was during the Battle of Jingzhou, when Zhou Yu set up a trap in Jiangling, causing Cao Cao's general Sima Yi to trip and eventually defeat the enemy.