Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province

Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province
Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms
Date 193–194
Location Jiangsu, China
Result Decisive but temporary Cao Cao victory
Belligerents
Cao Cao Tao Qian
Tian Kai
Commanders and leaders
Cao Cao Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Cao Bao
Strength
Unknown More than 5,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown Over 100,000 civilians

Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province was a punitive invasion launched by the warlord Cao Cao against Tao Qian, Governor of Xu Province (徐州; covering present-day Jiangsu), during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The goal of the invasion was to punish Tao Qian for what Cao Cao saw as Tao's responsibility in the murder of Cao's father, Cao Song. The invasion took place in two separate waves in 193 and 194, during each of which Cao Cao captured a number of towns and engaged in collective punishment of the civilian populace.

Contents

Background

The death of Cao Song

Cao Cao's father Cao Song was fleeing from the turmoil consuming the capital regions following the fall of Dong Zhuo at the end of the Han Dynasty. A former high ranking government official, Cao Song was very wealthy, and had brought with him a baggage train cosisting of more than 100 covered carts full of his effects.[1][2] In or near Hua County (near Mount Tai), Cao Song and his son Cao De (曹德) were ambushed and killed.

Tao Qian's responsibility

Accounts of the degree of Tao Qian's responsiblity in the murder of Cao Song differ.

According to the Book of the Later Han and Zizhi Tongjian, Tao Qian had garrisoned men nearby at Yinping, who were tempted by greed for Cao Song's riches and murdered him for his wealth en route to his destination of Langye (琅邪; present-day Linyi, Shandong).[3][2]

The main text of the Records of Three Kingdoms makes no specific note of Tao Qian's involvement in Cao Song's murder, but Pei Songzhi's annotations mention two other accounts from two other sources now lost. According to Wei Zhao's Book of Wu, Tao Qian despatched 200 bodyguards led by Commandant of the Capital Zhang Kai to escort Cao Song, but Zhang instead murdered Cao and made off with his riches. The Accounts of the Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉世語) claim that Cao Cao ordered the Administrator of Mount Tai, Ying Shao, to escort Cao Song's entourage to safety. Before Ying Shao could arrive, Tao Qian ordered several thousand riders to attack Cao Song instead. Cao Song, expecting an escort rather than a sneak attack, was thus taken completely by surprise.[1]

All sources agree that whatever Tao Qian's degree of involvement, Cao Cao intended to hold him accountable.

The first invasion

In the summer or autumn[4] of 193, Cao Cao invaded Xu Province with an unspecified number of troops and easily captured over ten cities.[5][2][6] Arriving at Tao Qian's capital of Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu), Cao Cao conquered it, killing possibly more than 10,000 defenders.[7] Tao Qian fled to Tancheng, which Cao Cao assaulted unsuccessfully.

Thwarted and low on rations[5], Cao Cao turned his army around, sacking in the process the counties of Qiulü (取慮), Suiling (睢陵), and Xiaqiu (夏丘).[8] The local population was swollen with refugees from the violence of the capital regions. Cao Cao's army killed over 100,000 civilians, including both men and women, such that the Si River was stoppered up with their corpses. His army took the chickens and dogs for food and tore down the villages into ruins. No one returned: Tao Qian's people were annihilated.[3][2][6]

The second invasion

In the spring of 194, Cao Cao's army returned to Xu Province, and Tao Qian begged aid from Tian Kai in the nearby Qing Province (青州). Tian Kai sent Tao Qian a force of some thousand men commanded by Liu Bei. Tao Qian, seeking to open a southern front against Cao Cao,[9] appointed Liu Bei Inspector of Yu Province, and transferred 4,000 soldiers into his service.[10][11] Along with Tao Qian's general Cao Bao, Liu Bei encamped east of the city of Tancheng.[1]

Cao Cao's army plundered Langye and Donghai (東海; near present-day Tancheng, Shandong), destroying all in its path.[1][12][11] Returning west, Cao Cao engaged and defeated Tao Qian's forces led by Liu Bei.[1][12] According to one account, Cao Cao conquered the nearby city of Xiangfen (襄賁) after this.[1]

Xu Province was only granted reprieve when Zhang Miao betrayed Cao Cao and invited Lü Bu to take over Cao Cao's home base of Yan Province (兗州).[13] Cao Cao broke off his misplaced vengeance against Tao Qian and turned his army back to attack Lü Bu.

Aftermath

Tao Qian's magnanimity towards Liu Bei shifted the latter's alliance from Tian Kai, and after Cao Cao left Xu Province Liu Bei remained. Such were his connections that when Tao Qian died of illness later in 194, his sons Tao Shang (陶商) and Tao Ying (陶應) were passed over for governorship by the local elite in favour of Liu Bei. Thus Liu Bei gained his first territory as a result of Cao Cao's campaign.

Modern references

Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province is featured as playable stages in the seventh installment of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Chen Shou (1977) [280]. "卷 1: 武帝操". In Pei Songzhi. 三國志 [Records of the Three Kingdoms]. Taibei: Dingwen Printing. p. 11. 
  2. ^ a b c d Sima Guang, ed (1956) [1084]. "60: 漢紀五十二". 資治通鑒 [Zizhi Tongjian]. Beijing: Zhonghua Publishing House. p. 1945. 
  3. ^ a b Fan Ye, ed (1965) [445]. "卷 73: 陶謙列傳". 後漢書 [Book of the Later Han]. Beijing: Zhonghua Publishing House. p. 2367. 
  4. ^ Book of the Later Han (volume 73, p. 2367), followed by the Zizhi Tongjian (volume 60, p. 1945) have "autumn", while the Records of Three Kingdoms (volume 1, p. 11) has "summer". The secondary source History of Chinese Warfare specifies "the sixth month" (volume 4, p. 67), which would have been around August.
  5. ^ a b Chen Shou (1977) [280]. "卷 8: 陶謙". In Pei Songzhi. 三國志 [Records of the Three Kingdoms]. Taibei: Dingwen Printing. p. 249. 
  6. ^ a b Wu Guoqing; Mu Zhongyue. 中國戰爭史 [History of Chinese Warfare]. 4. Beijing: Gold Wall Press. p. 67. 
  7. ^ This casualty statistic, which appears in Tao Qian's biography in Records of Three Kingdoms (volume 8, p. 249), is attached to a phrase describing the Si River being dammed with the bodies of the dead. According to Rafe de Crespigny (To Establish Peace, volume 1, internet edition (2004), p. 68 note 24 [internet pagination]), this is unsupported by geography and probably happened during Cao Cao's massacre of civilians somewhat farther south, not during his battle at Pengcheng. Thus, the casualty figure is most probably not reliable.
  8. ^ The Book of the Later Han (volume 73, p. 2367) also includes amongst Cao Cao's ravages Pengcheng and Fuyang (傅陽), in present-day Linyi, Shandong.
  9. ^ de Crespigny, Rafe (2004). To Establish Peace. 1 (internet ed.). Australian National University Faculty of Asian Studies. p. 13 note 6. https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/html/1885/42048/peace1_part4.pdf. 
  10. ^ Zizhi Tongjian, volume 61, p. 1949
  11. ^ a b History of Chinese Warfare volume 4, p. 68
  12. ^ a b Zizhi Tongjian, volume 61, p. 1950
  13. ^ Book of the Later Han, volume 73 p. 2368