| Battle of Yan Province | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Cao Cao | Lü Bu | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Cao Cao | Lü Bu | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 10,000 | 5,500 | ||||||||
| Battle of Yan Province | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 兗州之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 兖州之战 | ||||||
|
|||||||
The Battle of Yan Province was a battle fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu for control of Yan Province (covering present-day southwestern Shandong and eastern Henan) during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle lasted for at least one hundred days with an indecisive conclusion.
Contents |
In 192, remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels from Qing Province invaded Yan Province and occupied Dongping and Rencheng. Liu Dai, Inspector of Yan Province, wanted to attack the rebels but Bao Xin, Chancellor of Jibei, advised him against it. Liu Dai ignored Bao Xin's warning, engaged the rebels in battle, and was eventually defeated and killed.
At that time, Cao Cao's advisor Chen Gong urged him to take control of Yan Province and secure it as a base for conquering other territories. Chen Gong volunteered to persuade Liu Dai's followers to join Cao Cao. Bao Xin, who was friendly towards Cao Cao, travelled to Dong Commandery (southwest of present-day Puyang, Henan) to invite Cao to be the new Inspector of Yan Province.
Cao Cao then attacked the Yellow Turban rebels at Shouzhang but failed to defeat them. After that, Cao Cao reformed his army, enforced military rules more strictly, and used incentives to encourage his men. He recognized that the rebels did not have a stable flow of supplies, as they relied on plundering to sustain themselves. Hence, Cao Cao launched surprise attacks on the rebels, prevented them from pillaging, and achieving ultimate victory and forcing the rebels to retreat north. Cao Cao pursued the rebels and defeated them again at Jibei (south of present-day Changqing District, Shandong). The rebels, numbering more than 300,000, including 100,000 civilians, surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao reorganized the surrendered troops to form the Qingzhou Corps (青州兵), while implementing the tuntian system for the people to provide for themselves and the military.
In 193, Cao Cao's father Cao Song was killed by Zhang Kai (張闓), a subordinate of Tao Qian, Governor of Xu Province. In retaliation, Cao Cao launched an attack on Tao Qian, sweeping through Tao's lands and slaughtering thousands of Xu Province's population, including civilians. Tao Qian retreated to Tancheng (郯城), where Cao Cao was unable to conquer the city and retreated after his army was running low on supplies.
The following year, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian again, conquering many counties in Langya and Donghai commanderies of Xu Province. Just then, Cao Cao's subordinates Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled against him and aided Lü Bu in taking over his home base of Yan Province. Cao Cao then decided to abandon his campaign on Tao Qian and turn back to retake Yan Province.
Cao Cao and Lü Bu's forces were locked in a stalemate for at least a hundred days, with Cao on the disadvantageous end. Eventually, Lü Bu abandoned his position because of a famine outbreak. Cao Cao then laid siege to Lü Bu at Juye, Puyang. Cao Cao's advisors Xun Yu and Cheng Yu defended the cities of Juancheng, Fan and Dong'e, but this left only two counties with solid defenses, so Cao Cao led his army back. Lü Bu arrived and was unable to take Juancheng by siege so he went west and garrisoned Puyang. Lü Bu re-stationed his forces to the east at Shanyang.
In battle, Lü Bu used his cavalry in the first clash of arms, charging towards Cao Cao's Qingzhou Corps. The Qingzhou Corps fled in terror and Cao's formations were in complete disarray. Cao Cao, seeing the confusion, quickly galloped ahead when a fire broke out, but he fell from his horse and burnt the palm of his left hand. Cao's army halted before they reached camp, because most of Cao's generals had not seen their lord and feared for his safety. Cao Cao then strained himself to rouse his men, ordering that siege weapons be prepared immediately so that they can besiege Lü Bu again.
Zhang Miao followed Lü Bu and left his brother Zhang Chao (張超), Administrator of Guangning, to take care of their family at Yongqiu. Cao Cao laid siege on Yongqiu for several months and eventually captured the city, killing Zhang Chao and his family. Zhang Miao pleaded for assistance from Yuan Shu but was rejected and killed by his soldiers. At the same time, a locust plague broke out, causing many to starve while some resorted to cannibalism. Lü Bu had also used up all his provisions, horse feed, and grain supplies so both sides were forced to withdraw.[1][2]
When Cao Cao later surrounded Lü Bu at Puyang, the influential Tian clan, who were initially on Lü's side, switched allegiance to Cao and allowed his forces to enter the city. Cao Cao set fire to the eastern gate as a sign that he had no intention of reversing course, thereupon he came under attack and was defeated. Some of Lü Bu's horsemen captured Cao Cao but were unaware of his identity. Cao Cao saw a man riding on a yellow horse and lied that the man was him, so Lü Bu's horsemen released him and chased the rider. Cao Cao then dashed through the burning eastern gate and escaped from Puyang.[3]
Within two years, Cao Cao was able to recapture all the cities in Yan Province and defeated Lü Bu at Juye. Lü Bu then fled eastwards to join Liu Bei, who had taken over Xu Province from Tao Qian.
The Battle of Yan Province led to the subsequent Battle of Xiapi in 198, when the allied forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei launched an attack on Lü Bu in Xu Province. Lü Bu was executed on Cao Cao's order after his defeat.
The events of the battle were mentioned in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as described below.
In the first engagement, Lü Bu's generals Zang Ba and Zhang Liao fought against Cao Cao's generals Yue Jin and Xiahou Dun. Lü Bu grew impatient and charged towards them with his "Sky Piercer" ji in hand. Xiahou Dun and Yue Jin fled; however, Lü Bu kept pressing the attack and Cao Cao was forced to retreat by ten li and make camp.
The next day, Cao Cao attacked Lü Bu's camp, which was defended by Gao Shun, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng, from four directions and Lü's forces were sustaining heavy losses. Cao Cao marched into the city and engaged Gao Shun in battle. After the fourth watch, as dawn was breaking, Cao Cao abandoned the assault after hearing hearing that Lü Bu was personally leading reinforcements from the west to help Gao Shun. Gao Shun, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng chased the retreating Cao Cao, with Lü Bu taking the lead in the pursuit. Cao Cao then sent Yu Jin and Yue Jin to block Lü Bu but was unsuccessful. As he headed north, Cao Cao fell into an ambush by Zhang Liao and Zang Ba. Cao Cao sent Lü Qian (呂虔) and Cao Hong to face the enemy but they were defeated as well. Cao Cao then sought safety in the west but encountered Lü Bu's men again, who were led by Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Cheng Lian (成廉) and Song Xian. Just when Cao Cao was in grave danger, he called for help and Dian Wei came to his aid. Cao Cao managed to escape back to his camp.
In another attack on Lü Bu's city of Puyang, Cao Cao realized he had fallen into a trap after riding into the city. The trap was set by Chen Gong, and Cao Cao's evasion routes were sealed. Two enemy forces attacked Cao Cao from the east and west, respectively led by Zhang Liao and Zang Ba. As Cao Cao dashed north, he was blocked by Cao Xing and Hao Meng, so he turned south but encountered Gao Sheng and Hou Cheng. Cao Cao's generals Dian Wei, Li Dian and Li Yue fought their way through hordes of enemy soldiers in search of their lord. When Cao Cao met up with Dian Wei, he made a dash again towards the north gate, where Lü Bu stood in the open, calling out for Cao Cao. However, Lü Bu mistook another rider for Cao Cao and chased that man, allowing Cao Cao to escape under the protection of Dian Wei and Xiahou Yuan.[4]
The following day after Cao Cao's defeat at Puyang, word reached Lü Bu that Cao Cao was killed in a fire during the fifth watch. Lü Bu immediately gathered his troops and proceeded to attack the enemy camp via Maling Road. As he passed through the hills, he heard the sound of war drums from both sides and was ambushed by Cao Cao's soldiers. Only by desperate fighting did Lü Bu manage to get out of the melee and return to Puyang, where he fortified his defenses and became more wary of being lured in ambushes by the enemy.
During Cao Cao's next attack on Lü Bu, six of his generals led the battle: Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Li Dian, Lü Qian and Yu Jin. Lü Bu came out alone to fight the enemy but was overwhelmed and forced to retreat. However, Lü Bu was betrayed by the influential Tian clan in Puyang, who had switched allegiance to Cao Cao. The Tians closed the city gates, denying Lü Bu entry and forcing him to flee. Chen Gong brought Lü Bu's family out of Puyang through the east gate and met up with Lü Bu later. By then, Cao Cao had recaptured Puyang from Lü Bu.
Meanwhile, Lü Bu took refuge in Dingtao with Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao. He went out to scout Cao Cao's camp later but withdrew when he feared an ambush after seeing that Cao's camp was located near a forest. Later, Lü Bu decided to force out the enemy lying in ambush by setting fire to the woods, but to his surprise, not a single enemy soldier emerged from the forest. Still hearing the sound of enemy war drums, Lü Bu saw enemy troops coming from the shelter in the stockade and he immediately rode forth to engage them. At that moment, Cao Cao's army, led by Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Li Dian and Yue Jin, launched an attack on Lü Bu, inflicting a crushing defeat on him, with two thirds of Lü's troops killed. Lü Bu's general Cheng Lian was also killed by an arrow. The remnants of Lü Bu's forces returned and reported the situation to Chen Gong, after which Chen and Gao Shun gathered Lü Bu's men and abandoned their position at Dingtao. Zhang Chao committed suicide while Zhang Miao fled to join Yuan Shu. When Lü Bu rejoined his men later, the northeast of Yan Province was back in Cao Cao's hands.
Lü Bu was undaunted, so on Chen Gong's advice, he inquired about serving Yuan Shao once again. In response, Yuan Shao sent his general Yan Liang with 50,000 troops to attack Lü Bu. Unable to hold off Yuan Shao, Lü Bu fled to Xu Province to join Liu Bei, where he was received warmly by Liu.[4]
The battle was featured as a stage in Koei's video game Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends called the "Battle of Yan Province". In Dynasty Warriors 7, the battle is part of the "Battle of Xu Province", which has Lü Bu attacking Cao Cao's main camp. It should not be confused with the "Battle of Yan Province", which deals with remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels.