| rdfs:comment | - Yuan Shao, the powerful warlord of northern China, had been decisively defeated at the Battle of Guandu by Cao Cao in 200. Two years later, he died, leaving his expansive territories of Ji province (冀州), Qing province (青州), Bing province, and You province to his three sons and a nephew: Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and Gao Gan. Although the eldest son was expected to succeed his father, Yuan Shang's supporters forged a document declaring the youngest son, him, as the successor. Yuan Tan, predictably resentful, rebelled against Yuan Shang after fending off Cao Cao's invasion together in 203. Yuan Tan had wanted to take the Yuan family headquarters of Ye, but Yuan Shang defeated the besiegers chased them three hundred kilometers away to Nanpi, the capital of Bohai commandery (渤海郡). The com
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| abstract | - Yuan Shao, the powerful warlord of northern China, had been decisively defeated at the Battle of Guandu by Cao Cao in 200. Two years later, he died, leaving his expansive territories of Ji province (冀州), Qing province (青州), Bing province, and You province to his three sons and a nephew: Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and Gao Gan. Although the eldest son was expected to succeed his father, Yuan Shang's supporters forged a document declaring the youngest son, him, as the successor. Yuan Tan, predictably resentful, rebelled against Yuan Shang after fending off Cao Cao's invasion together in 203. Yuan Tan had wanted to take the Yuan family headquarters of Ye, but Yuan Shang defeated the besiegers chased them three hundred kilometers away to Nanpi, the capital of Bohai commandery (渤海郡). The commandery was north of Qing province, where Yuan Tan had held the title of Inspector (刺史) since his father's time. Here he was joined by his former subordinates such as Wang Xiu and Guan Tong (管統), but at the same time some of them rebelled against him under Liu Xun (劉詢) - Yuan Tan's foothold in Nanpi could hardly have been stable. In the autumn of 202, Cao Cao waged war against the Yuans' ally Liu Biao to his south, part of a strategy to let the Yuan brothers tire themselves out. Taking advantage of Cao Cao's apparent absence, Yuan Shang marched his men to Nanpi and defeated Yuan Tan there. Yuan Tan fled south into Qing province, to Pingyuan. Though it was Yuan Tan's former domain, Qing province had been slowly encroached by Cao Cao's general Zang Ba. So when Yuan Shang followed up his attack by laying siege to Pingyuan, Yuan Tan could not expect much help within his province. Yuan Tan's key advisor Guo Tu summarized the situation and proposed an unlikely alliance: Guo Tu's proposal was a marked departure from the calls for reconciliation by Wang Xiu and Liu Biao, and though Yuan Tan was initially reluctant to act on this advice, he soon sent Xin Pi to negotiate with his father's nemesis. When Xin Pi reached Xiping (西平), Cao Cao's staging post for his planned attack on Liu Biao, Cao Cao consulted with his advisors on how to react to the current situation. Xun Yu reasoned that Liu Biao was not ambitious enough to be a threat, so the time was right to take advantage of the Yuan family feud before the brothers reunite. Cao Cao agreed in principle, but was unsure of Yuan Tan's sincerity in an alliance. Now Xin Pi revealed his true colours, and reasoned that Cao Cao need not worry about Yuan Tan's intentions as long as the Yuan brothers remained at odds, since Cao Cao could easily triumph over their armies separately. Cao Cao, now happily convinced, turned his army north and crossed the Yellow River by the end of 203, also arranging to have one of his sons Cao Zheng (曹整) marry a daughter of Yuan Tan. Yuan Shang hurriedly led his army from Pingyuan back to Ye in response to the new alliance, while some of Yuan Shang's officers like Lü Xiang and Lü Kuang fled over to Cao Cao. The Lüs were rewarded with enfeoffment, but Yuan Tan offered them seals in an attempt to persuade them to join him instead. This was regarded as Yuan Tan's first breach of trust, but Cao Cao took no action at this point. Cao Cao made preparations to attack Ye in the year 204. Seemingly oblivious to this threat, Yuan Shang led another attempt to subdue Yuan Tan. Although Yuan Shang eventually returned with a relief force of 10,000 men when Cao Cao actually laid siege to Ye, Cao Cao had no trouble crushing his army and sent him fleeing north to Zhongshan commandery (中山郡); and in September, the city of Ye capitulated. Yuan Tan, now unchecked by his brother, marched north from Pingyuan and took the commanderies of Ganling (甘陵), Anping (安平), Bohai, and Hejian (河間), culminating in an assault in Zhongshan that drove Yuan Shang out of Ji province. At this point Cao Cao, having no more use for the alliance, accused Yuan Tan of not doing his part in the siege of Ye and only sought to further his own ends. The accusation was followed by the cancellation of the alliance, the returning of Yuan Tan's daughter, and the movement of troops into Yuan Tan's territories at the beginning of 205.
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