Cao Cao's Northern Expedition 2（Three Kingdoms 37）

History of Three Kingdoms

Previous Chapter ：Cao Cao's Northern Expedition 1（Three Kingdoms 36）

Catalog of Three Kingdoms’ history

In May 203 AD, Cao Cao left his men to guard Liyang黎阳, while he led his main force back to his headquarters Xuchang许昌. In August, Cao Cao adopted his counsellor Guo Jia's郭嘉 strategy and pretended to go south to attack Liu Biao, luring the Yuan brothers into internal strife.

When the Cao’s army advanced to halfway, they indeed received news of the war between Yuan Tan袁谭 and Yuan Shang袁尚 had started.

After the retreat of the Cao’s army in Yecheng邺城, Yuan Tan requested Yuan Shang to replace the worn armor of the soldiers on the grounds of pursuing the Cao’s army. Yuan Shang was afraid that his brother would take the opportunity to rebel, so he did not agree to pursue, let alone replace the armors.

At this moment, Yuan Tan’s counsellors ,Guo Tu郭图 and Xin Ping辛评 ,were also stirring up trouble on the side of Yuan Tan. They said to Yuan Tan, "The reason why Yuan Shao adopted you to his brother then was because he listened to Shen Pei's审配 instigation."

Shen Pei is the one who supports Yuan Shang,upon hearing this, Yuan Tan became furious and led his troops to attack Yuan Shang directly. The two armies engaged in a fierce battle outside the gates of Yecheng. Yuan Tan had fewer soldiers and was quickly defeated, fleeing hastily to Nanpi南皮.

Yuan Tan was originally very influential in Qingzhou青州, but this series of defeats seriously affected his reputation. Seeing Yuan Tan gradually losing ground in the struggle with Yuan Shang, people in various parts of Qingzhou were in panic. Some of Yuan Tan's generals rebeled, and various counties in Qingzhou responded one after another.

Wang Xiu王修,the deputy governor of Qingzhou,advised Yuan Tan not to listen to slander and to decisively execute villains like Guo Tu and repair his brotherly relationship with Yuan Shang. But Yuan Tan didn't listen.

And even Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, the former ally with Yuan Shao, didn't want to see the Yuans group being collapsed so quickly,letting Cao Cao to united the whole Northern China so quick. So he wrote letters to Yuan Tan and Yuan Shao respectively, urging them not to expand in a hurry. As long as their brothers worked together and managed their existing territory well, Cao Cao would not have the opportunity to annex the north of the Yellow River.

But both of them ignored Liu Biao's advice, and soon Yuan Shang launched a massive attack on Nanpi. Yuan Tan was once again defeated and could only flee to Pingyuan平原. Yuan Shang led his troops to pursue and besieged the city heavily.

When he was at a loss, Yuan Tan had to send Xin Ping's brother Xin Pi辛毗 as an envoy to seek help from Cao Cao.But what Yuan Tan didn't expected was, Xin Pi had already seen through these two immature brothers, He said to Cao Cao: “Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought each other for years, causing great suffering for the people. They were also hit by natural disasters and famines, leaving the national treasury empty. Not to mention the shortage of military provisions, even the soldiers' armor was covered with lice. Can such a force have combat effectiveness? If you seize the opportunity to attack Yecheng and Yuan Shang does not return to rescue, Yecheng will be captured. If Yuan Shang returns, Yuan Tan will pursue his rear path. In this way, with your reputation, the land to the north of the Yellow River will be conquered easily."

Cao Cao was overjoyed and immediately turned north, stationed his troops in Liyang again in October of the same year. After hearing about it, Yuan Shang hurriedly withdrew from Pingyuan to Yecheng.

In order to prevent the two brothers from reconcile, Cao Cao agreed to untied Yuan Tan by marriage, ordering one of his son to marry Yuan Tan's daughter and officially appointing Yuan Tan as the Provincial Governor of Qingzhou. However, Yuan Tan's surrender to Cao Cao was only a temporary measure,not a sincere one,he is still secretly seeking to rebel.

In February 204 AD, Yuan Shang left Su You苏由 and Shen Pei审配 to defend Yecheng, while he personally led a mighty army to attack Pingyuan again. Yuan Shang's intelligence was really alarming. With the current pressure of the Cao’s army, Yecheng is in danger. As the lord of North, Yuan Shang did not try to resolve conflicts with Yuan Tan, but instead united all forces that could be united to resist foreign enemies. instead, he had to take some time out of his busy schedule to attack Yuan Tan again. Indeed, compared to Cao Cao, Yuan Shang still hates his big brother more.

Among all the opponents who fought against Cao Cao, Yuan Shang was likely the least capable. I even suspect that after unifying the North, Cao Cao, who used to be a master of war, suffered consecutive defeats in battles with Sun Quan and Liu Bei. This may also be related to the decline in combat effectiveness caused by excessive fighting against weaker individuals like Yuan Shang.

After Yuan Shang left, a defender of Yecheng, Su You, planned to surrender with the city, but due to the leakage of the plan, he had to escape outside the city and defect to Cao Cao along.

In April of the same year, the Cao’s army advanced to Yecheng. Cao Cao left his general Cao Hong曹洪 to lead the army to attack the city, while he himself led troops to couquer the cities around Yecheng, all of them were captured by Cao Cao. The rule of the Yuan family in Jizhou冀州 began to completely collapse.

Yuan Shao has a sincere personality, lenient policies, dislikes harsh punishment and laws, and treats his subordinates with kindness and tolerance. Therefore, under his rule, not only did the people live a prosperous life, but most of the scholars and officials in Jizhou also had considerable wealth.

Yuan Shao's easy governance philosophy is not conducive to military governance and warfare, but it is very popular. When Yuan Tan attacked Qingzhou, the local people eagerly awaited his victory. Every time Yuan's army won, everyone would spread the word and feel so happy , hoping to accept the rule of the Yuan family.

Nowadays, various counties in Jizhou and Qingzhou have rebelled one after another, with a large number of defections, just over a year after Yuan Shao's death. His strong ruling foundation has been quandered by his sons. I don't know how Yuan Shao would feel if he saw this scene underground.

Accompanied by the passionate drumbeats of the Cao’s army, The glory of the Yuan family has become the past, gradually fading under the bloody dusk of Yecheng.

To be continued