Cao Cao's use of Emperor Xian as titular authority While Yuan Shao was still indecisive on whether to welcome Emperor Xian or not,
Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to bring the emperor to his territory. At that time, Cao Cao was still a relatively minor warlord, with only Yan Province (兗州; covering present-day western
Shandong and eastern
Henan) under his control. In 196, Cao Cao led his army towards Luoyang. He encountered
Dong Cheng and
Yang Feng (who were shielding Emperor Xian from Li Jue and Guo Si), convinced them of his loyalty, and was allowed to meet the emperor. In name, Cao Cao was sharing power with the other officials and nobles, but actually, he was in control, but yet he ensured that the officials and nobles were treated with due respect, hence he faced minimal opposition in the imperial court. Later, Cao Cao escorted the emperor back to his base in Xu (許; present-day
Xuchang, Henan), establishing the new capital there. From then on, although Cao Cao was a subject of Emperor Xian in name, he actually wielded state power and controlled the imperial court. Despite so, Cao Cao never showed disrespect to Emperor Xian, and instead, honoured the emperor according to formal imperial protocol. Cao Cao also issued imperial edicts in Emperor Xian's name to other warlords, ordering them to submit to imperial authority when in fact they were actually submitting to him. Yuan Shao was among those who had received Cao Cao's edicts; only then did Yuan realize that he had lost an opportunity to make use of the emperor to control other warlords.
Cao Cao's rise to power (196–199) box with zoomorphic feet Even after moving to the new capital at Xu, the central government still lacked funds and food supplies. As suggested by Zao Zhi (棗祇), Cao Cao implemented a new
tuntian policy to promote agricultural production, in which soldiers were sent to grow crops, and the harvest would be shared between the military and civilian population. The policy yielded commendable results as the area around Xu developed into highly productive farmland and the problem of shortage of food was resolved. At this time, the most prominent warlords in China were: • Yuan Shao, who controlled
Ji,
Bing and
Qing provinces (covering most of present-day
Hebei,
Shanxi and
Shandong). Some of the territories were governed by Yuan Shao's three sons (
Yuan Tan,
Yuan Xi and
Yuan Shang) and nephew (
Gao Gan). •
Yuan Shu, who controlled most of present-day
Anhui and parts of
Jiangsu •
Gongsun Zan, who controlled
You Province, including present-day
Beijing,
Tianjin and western
Liaoning •
Liu Biao, who controlled
Jing Province (covering present-day
Hubei and
Hunan) •
Liu Zhang, who controlled
Yi Province (covering the
Sichuan Basin) •
Lü Bu, who seized control of
Xu Province (covering present-day northern
Jiangsu) from its previous governor
Liu Bei There were still many other minor warlords, and Cao Cao particularly sought to get them to submit to him. In 197,
Zhang Xiu surrendered Wancheng to Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao later had an affair with Zhang Xiu's widowed aunt, angering Zhang. Zhang, who learned of Cao Cao's planned assassination on his life, rebelled and launched a surprise attack on Cao Cao at Wancheng. In
this battle, Cao Cao's eldest son
Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and bodyguard
Dian Wei were killed, and Cao Cao himself narrowly escaped from death. On the advice of
Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu eventually surrendered to Cao Cao in the winter of 199–200. In addition, in 197, Cao Cao was able to persuade
Ma Teng and
Han Sui, who controlled Yong and Liang provinces (covering most of present-day
Shaanxi and
Gansu), to submit to him. That year, Yuan Shu declared himself "
Son of Heaven" in Shouchun (壽春; present-day
Shou County, Anhui), an act perceived as treason against the Han dynasty government, prompting other warlords to use that as an excuse to attack him (see
Campaign against Yuan Shu).
Sun Ce, son of
Sun Jian, who had
conquered several territories in
Jiangdong between 194 and 199, ended his alliance with Yuan Shu and became an independent warlord. Lü Bu, who was also previously Yuan Shu's ally, broke ties with Yuan and dealt him a major defeat near Shouchun. Cao Cao also attacked Yuan Shu and defeated him. Yuan Shu attempted to flee north to join Yuan Shao but his way was blocked and he would die of illness on his return to Shouchun in 199. In 198, Yuan Shao tried to persuade Cao Cao to move the capital to Juancheng (鄄城; in present-day
Heze, Shandong), which was nearer to his own territory, in an attempt to wrestle Emperor Xian away from Cao, but Cao refused. Later that year, Cao Cao joined forces with Liu Bei to attack Lü Bu, defeating him at the
Battle of Xiapi. Lü Bu was captured and executed on Cao Cao's order, and Xu Province came under Cao's control. In 199, Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at the
Battle of Yijing and he committed suicide by setting himself on fire. Gongsun Zan's territories, which extended to the northern boundaries of the Han dynasty's empire, were completely annexed by Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao then turned his attention south towards Cao Cao, who was an emerging power in central China. Yuan allied with Liu Biao and was intent on attacking Cao Cao.
Guandu campaign (200–201) Against the advice of
Ju Shou and
Tian Feng, who reasoned that their troops were exhausted after the battles against Gongsun Zan and needed rest, Yuan Shao prepared for a campaign against Cao Cao, confident that his much larger army could easily crush Cao Cao's. While Cao Cao readied himself for battle, he discovered that
Dong Cheng, Liu Bei and a few other officials were conspiring against him. In early 200, Liu Bei used an opportunity to break away from Cao Cao and seize control of
Xu Province, after killing Cao Cao's appointed governor of the province,
Che Zhou (車冑). On the other hand, Dong Cheng and the others were making plans to assassinate Cao Cao. However, the plot was exposed and all the conspirators in the capital were massacred along with their families. Cao Cao then took a risk by attacking Liu Bei in Xu Province, leaving his flank open to attacks from Yuan Shao. However, Cao Cao made the right choice because Yuan Shao did not heed Tian Feng's urging to seize the chance to attack him. Liu Bei was defeated and he fled north to join Yuan Shao. Liu Bei's general
Guan Yu surrendered to Cao Cao and temporarily served under Cao. Only after Liu Bei's defeat did Yuan Shao start implementing his plan to attack Cao Cao, but this time Tian Feng opposed his decision, saying that their opportunity had passed. Yuan Shao became annoyed with Tian Feng and had Tian imprisoned, after which he led his army south to attack Cao Cao. At the
Battle of Boma, Yuan Shao's general
Yan Liang was slain by Guan Yu while another of Yuan's generals,
Wen Chou, was killed in action against Cao Cao's forces. The morale of Yuan Shao's army was greatly affected by the loss of the two generals. By late 200, the armies of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao finally clashed at Guandu (官渡; in present-day
Zhengzhou,
Henan), south of the
Yellow River. Yuan Shao had two advantages over Cao Cao - numerical superiority and a greater amount of supplies, but Cao Cao's troops were better trained than his. After some minor skirmishes, both sides became locked in a stalemate, until Cao Cao personally led a small detachment on a surprise attack on Yuan Shao's supply depot at Wuchao, which was defended by
Chunyu Qiong. Instead of sending reinforcements to Wuchao, Yuan Shao sent
Zhang He and Gao Lan (高覽) to attack Cao Cao's camp but was unsuccessful. The fall of Wuchao dealt a major blow to the morale of Yuan Shao's army, which was subsequently routed by Cao Cao's forces. Yuan Shao fled north of the Yellow River while most of his troops were either killed or surrendered to Cao Cao. From that point on, although Yuan Shao continued to remain as a major power player, he could no longer challenge Cao Cao's growing supremacy. The latter destroyed and defeated the remaining Yuan troops south of the Yellow River in the
Battle of Cangting (201), concluding the Guandu campaign.
Fall of the Yuan power bloc (202–207) tombs After Yuan Shao died of illness in 202, a succession struggle developed between his oldest son
Yuan Tan and third son
Yuan Shang. Several years before Yuan Shao's death, based on the traditional order of succession, Yuan Tan should have been designated as the
heir apparent, but as Yuan Shao's wife Lady Liu favoured Yuan Shang, Yuan Shao had Yuan Tan posthumously adopted by the latter's uncle, Yuan Cheng (袁成). Yuan Shao then divided his territories between his sons and nephew
Gao Gan, ostensibly so that he could determine their abilities. His base of Ji Province was given to Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan controlled Qing Province,
Yuan Xi governed You Province, and Gao Gan ruled Bing Province. On his deathbed, Yuan Shao did not leave any explicit instruction as to who should succeed him. Of Yuan Shao's followers,
Pang Ji and
Shen Pei supported Yuan Shang, while
Xin Ping and
Guo Tu favoured Yuan Tan. After Yuan Shao's death, most of his subordinates initially wanted Yuan Tan to be their new lord since he was the oldest son. However, Shen Pei and Peng Ji forged a will, naming Yuan Shang as the successor. Yuan Tan was furious and mobilized his forces under the pretext of attacking Cao Cao, drawing Cao's attention, and Cao preemptively retaliated. Yuan Shang came to his oldest brother's aid, and they fought inconclusively against Cao Cao in the
Battle of Liyang. In 203, Cao Cao scored a major victory over the Yuans, who retreated to Ji Province's capital,
Ye. Cao Cao then planned to besiege Ye, but later withdrew his forces after heeding
Guo Jia's advice. Guo Jia reasoned that if Cao Cao pressured the Yuans, they might unite against a common enemy; however, if Cao Cao retreated, the disgruntled Yuan brothers would start fighting among themselves. Guo Jia's prediction came true later when Yuan Tan, still bearing a grudge against Yuan Shang for receiving a larger inheritance, attacked Yuan Shang, but his forces in Qing Province defected to Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan fled to
Pingyuan (in present-day
Dezhou,
Shandong) and was besieged by Yuan Shang there. Yuan Tan sought help from Cao Cao, and Cao advanced north to attack Ye, forcing Yuan Shang to lift the siege on Pingyuan. In early 204, Yuan Shang incorrectly believed that Cao Cao had withdrawn, so he attacked his brother again at Pingyuan. Cao Cao
attacked Ye once more and Yuan Shang headed back to defend his base but was defeated by Cao Cao. Yuan Shang then fled north to
Zhongshan (in present-day
Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Ye fell to Cao Cao. Gao Gan also surrendered Bing Province to Cao Cao. During Cao Cao's siege on Ye, Yuan Tan did not help attack Ye but sought to take Yuan Shang's territories, defeating Yuan Shang in Zhongshan. Yuan Shang fled further north to join Yuan Xi in You Province. Cao Cao now accused Yuan Tan of breaching the trust in the alliance so he turned east to attack him,
capturing Yuan Tan's last stronghold at Nanpi (南皮; in present-day
Cangzhou, Hebei) and killing Yuan. Meanwhile, in You Province, Yuan Xi's subordinate
Jiao Chu (焦觸) revolted and surrendered to Cao Cao, forcing Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to flee further north to join the
Wuhuan tribes under chief
Tadun. Around this time, Gao Gan also rebelled against Cao Cao but was defeated by 206 and killed while attempting to flee south to join
Liu Biao. In 207, Cao Cao's army headed north to attack the Wuhuan, defeating them at the
Battle of White Wolf Mountain. Tadun was killed in battle while Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang sought refuge under
Gongsun Kang, a warlord who controlled most of present-day
Liaoning. Gongsun Kang feared that the Yuans might turn against him and seize his territory, so he had them executed and sent their heads to Cao Cao. By this time, the Yuan clan had been eliminated and much of northern China had been reunified under Cao Cao's control.
Developments in southern China (194–208) During his reunification of northern China, Cao Cao did not conduct any major campaigns south while awaiting an opportunity to act against the remaining three most prominent warlords:
Sun Quan, who had succeeded his older brother
Sun Ce after the latter died in 200;
Liu Biao, governor of
Jing Province; and
Liu Zhang, governor of
Yi Province. During that time, Sun Quan was developing his territories in
Jiangdong, and strengthening his military forces. In 208, Sun Quan defeated and killed Liu Biao's vassal
Huang Zu at the
Battle of Jiangxia, seizing most of Huang's territory at Jiangxia (江夏; present-day
Xinzhou District, Wuhan,
Hubei). While Cao Cao was attacking the Yuan clan in northern China,
Liu Bei fled south to join Liu Biao and became a vassal under the latter, who stationed him at the northern border in
Xinye County to keep Cao Cao at bay. An initial Cao attack on Liu Bei was repelled during the
Battle of Bowang (202). == Red Cliffs campaign (208–209) ==