Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred towards the end of the Han dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, though the two were not on good terms with each other.

One of the most powerful warlords of his time, Yuan Shao spearheaded a coalition of warlords against Dong Zhuo, who held Emperor Xian hostage in the imperial capital, Luoyang, but failed due to internal disunity. In 200, he launched a campaign against his rival Cao Cao but was defeated at the Battle of Guandu. He died of illness two years later in Ye. His eventual failure despite his illustrious family background and geographical advantages was commonly blamed on his indecisiveness and inability to heed the advice of his advisors.

Family background

Yuan Shao was born in Ruyang County (), Runan Commandery, which is in present-day Shangshui County, Henan. His family had for over four generations been a prominent force in the Han civil service, having produced numerous members in high positions since the first century CE. Descended from Yuan An, who served during the reign of Emperor Zhang, Yuan Shao's exact parentage was the source of some controversy, being one of the primary points of contention between himself and his half-brother, or cousin, Yuan Shu. Yuan Shao was a son of Yuan Feng () and the eldest sibling, supposedly to the ire of Yuan Shu. Both Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are recognised as great-grandsons of Yuan An, as recorded in Wang Shen's ''Book of Wei'' ().

Yuan Shao's mother was originally a servant of Yuan Feng. Since Yuan Feng lacked male heirs, the birth of Yuan Shao elevated his mother to the status of a concubine. The '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' contend that Yuan Shao was in fact an older cousin of Yuan Shu, and was adopted by the elder brother of Yuan Feng, Yuan Cheng, who also lacked male heirs. The act of adopting Yuan Shao would have infuriated Yuan Shu, because his own mother, a concubine of Yuan Feng, held a higher status than that of Yuan Shao's mother; however, by Yuan Cheng's adoption of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu was no longer the eldest son of the Yuan family. Yuan Shao enjoyed more privileges than Yuan Shu, despite the latter being a blood-related member of the clan.

When Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu became involved in disputes later, Yuan Shu used Yuan Shao's mother as an excuse to claim that he was not a "true son" of the Yuan family. When compared to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao had a more serious appearance and respected men of talent regardless of their background; as such, he was welcomed by many since his childhood, including Cao Cao and Zhang Miao.

Service under the Han dynasty (169 –189)

When Yuan Shao was young, he participated in saving some of the "partisans" from death or other terrible fates during the second of the Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions. One such "partisan" was He Yong, whom Yuan Shao befriended after He escaped to Runan and became close with. When the second of the Disasters of Partisan Prohibitions began, He Yong often secretly entered Luoyang, where he discussed plans with Yuan Shao on how to help the "partisans". For the "partisans" who were destitute, the plans were to provide material help. For the "partisans" who were imprisoned, the plans were to work within the bureaucracy so that the partisans may escape. After he entered the civil service, Yuan Shao initially served as an aide to General-in-Chief He Jin, who deeply trusted him.

After the death of Emperor Ling in 189, He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to eliminate the eunuch faction, but Empress Dowager He was against their idea. He Jin then summoned Dong Zhuo to lead troops into the imperial capital, Luoyang, to pressure the empress dowager. The eunuchs became fearful and they forged an edict in the empress dowager's name, summoning He Jin into the inner palace. Yuan Shao cautioned He Jin, reminding him that he should order an attack on the eunuchs instead of entering the palace. After He Jin refused to accept his advice thrice, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu led 200 elite troops to wait outside. On 22 September 189,de Crespigny, Rafe (2007), p. 312. inside the palace, He Jin was ambushed and assassinated by the eunuchs, who tossed his severed head over the wall. He Jin's angered followers set fire to the palace and charged in, slaughtering every person (except females) without facial hair; to the extreme that many young men without facial hair had to show their genitals to avoid being mistaken for eunuchs and killed.''Sanguozhi'' vol. 6. Over 2,000 people were killed in the massacre, while the young Emperor Shao and Prince of Chenliu (future Emperor Xian) escaped during the chaos. The resulting power vacuum provided Dong Zhuo, who found and rescued the emperor and prince, with an opportunity to seize control of the imperial capital when he arrived.

Dong Zhuo then discussed with Yuan Shao about his plan to depose Emperor Shao and replace him with the Prince of Chenliu, but Yuan Shao disagreed. Relations between the two deteriorated and Yuan Shao fled from Luoyang to Ji Province (present day southern Hebei). At the time, Yuan Shao just got out through the city gates of Luoyang, Dong Zhuo thought about sending men after him, but Zhou Bi, Wu Qiong and He Yong secretly helped Yuan Shao by convincing Dong Zhuo to let him go. As suggested by the three men, Dong Zhuo appointed Yuan Shao as the Administrator of Bohai Commandery in a bid to appease him.

Coalition against Dong Zhuo (190–191)

Sun Jian's advancement

By early 190, however, Yuan became openly hostile. A coalition of regional officials and commanders from the eastern provinces, including Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Zhang Miao and Bao Xin, formed up behind him in a campaign to oust Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao declared himself General of Chariots and Cavalry () and camped at Henei (), near a ford on the Yellow River just north of Luoyang. Dong Zhuo ordered the execution of all members of the Yuan clan in Luoyang, and sent out emissaries with imperial edicts ordering the regional officials to disband. However, members of the coalition listened to Yuan Shao, and had all the emissaries executed instead (except Han Rong). Dong Zhuo then sent Hu Zhen, Lü Bu and Hua Xiong to deter the coalition vanguard led by Sun Jian. Despite initial success, Sun was able to capitalise on the internal conflict between Hu Zhen and Lü Bu and defeated them at Yangren. After that loss, Dong Zhuo decided to move the imperial capital to Chang'an, where his home base of Liang Province was nearby. A year later, Dong Zhuo burnt Luoyang to the ground and withdrew to the west with the mass of refugees. Although lacking a logistical base, Sun Jian and Cao Cao requested to pursue Dong Zhuo's retreating force, but Yuan Shao and other members largely disagreed with their opinion. Sun Jian was ordered to rendezvous with Yuan Shu, so Cao Cao led his own men to go on the pursuit alone, and was soundly defeated by Dong Zhuo's subordinate, Xu Rong.

Dissolution

During this time, Yuan Shao and Han Fu had intended to establish the legitimacy of the coalition by declaring Liu Yu, the governor of You Province (present day northern Hebei), the new emperor to replace Emperor Xian. However, believing that it would be faithless to Emperor Xian for him to accept, Liu Yu declined the offer. When the scene of the ruined capital coming into their eyes, the disunited leaders of the coalition realised that the Han dynasty was coming to an end, and started planning on strengthening their position, and soon returned to their respective home bases.

Unifying northern China (191–199)

Acquisition and consolidation of Ji Province (191)

As many volunteers from different provinces had flocked to join Yuan Shao, Bohai Commandery would be far from sufficient to supply his army. Thus, Pang Ji suggested to Yuan Shao to form a secret alliance with the warlord Gongsun Zan and incite the latter to attack Han Fu's Ji Province.''Houhanshu'' vol. 74. Facing an imminent attack from Gongsun Zan, Han Fu was terrified so he listened to Yuan Shao's lobbyists, Gao Gan (Yuan Shao's nephew) and Xun Chen, to give up the governorship of Ji Province to Yuan Shao in order to drive back Gongsun Zan. Yuan Shao then began to build a warlord state from Ye, the capital of Ji Province. In order to curtail Yuan Shu's sphere of influence, Yuan Shao formed an alliance with Cao Cao and Zhang Miao, and named his follower, Zhou Yu () as the Inspector of Yu Province, a title to which Sun Jian had already been entitled, and sent him to attack Sun Jian's territories in Yu Province while the latter was on his way back from Luoyang. In response, Yuan Shu allied with Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian, and ordered Sun Jian to fight his half-brother.

Although Zhou Yu managed to defeat the forces of Sun Jian in the Battle of Yangcheng, he lost to Sun Jian in the following battles. The first battles between the brothers ended in Yuan Shu's favour: he had engaged and defeated Yuan Shao's forces in both Yangcheng and Jiujiang, restored the position in Yingchuan Commandery under Sun Jian, and eliminated Zhou Yu as a threat once and for all although Jiujiang was not yet conquered. For Yuan Shao, on the other hand, the situation was extremely difficult: besides the failure in the south, he was also under threat from Gongsun Zan, who held Yuan Shao responsible for the death of his cousin Gongsun Yue () in battle and formally declared war against him, rejecting all of Yuan Shao's protestations of goodwill. This led to the clash between Yuan Shao and Gongsun in the Battle of Jieqiao.

The Battle of Yangcheng, being the first move in the struggle between the two Yuans, marked the beginning of a new stage in the confusion of wars which brought about the end of the Han dynasty. This internecine struggle confirmed the undoing of the alliance against Dong Zhuo as the warlords of the North China Plain started to battle each other for the ultimate dominion of China.

In order to focus on the conflicts with Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao entered into a general alliance with Liu Biao against Yuan Shu. In the winter of that year, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan's elite cavalry at the Battle of Jieqiao with the use of massed crossbowmen. The Han imperial court issued an edict ordering Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan to cease fire. Yuan Shao then returned to Ye and started targeting the Heishan bandits, who had been causing trouble in Ji Province. With temporary aid from Lü Bu, Yuan Shao managed to defeat the Heishan bandits despite suffering heavy casualties. In any case, Yuan Shao succeeded in drastically reducing the threat posed by the Heishan bandits to his western flank.

Conquest of Qing Province (192–196)

Despite warnings from Ju Shou that the move could sow seeds for future trouble, Yuan Shao insisted on sending his first-born son, Yuan Tan, away to "govern" Qing Province.

In subsequent years, Yuan Shao achieved considerable success in consolidating his domain. At the same time, Yuan Tan also achieved exceptional success on expanding his territories in Qing Province, driving out Gongsun Zan's general Tian Kai in 193 and defeating Beihai chancellor Kong Rong in 196.

Refusal to host the emperor (195–196)

In 195, Ju Shou suggested to Yuan Shao to welcome Emperor Xian to Ji Province so he could effectively control the Han central government and use the emperor as a figurehead to enhance his legitimacy. However, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong opposed this move under the faulty logic that if Yuan Shao were to do so, he would have to yield to Emperor Xian on key decisions. Yuan Shao, valuing his autonomy, listened to Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong and let the opportunity pass by. In contrast, his would-be rival, Cao Cao used the opportunity to welcome Emperor Xian to his base in Xuchang, where the new imperial capital was established.

In 196, the Han imperial court, under Cao Cao's control, awarded Yuan Shao the appointment of Grand Commandant. However, Yuan Shao rejected the appointment because Grand Commandant ranked below General-in-Chief, the position held by Cao Cao. As a result, Cao Cao gave up his position and offered it to Yuan Shao, who readily accepted it. Yuan Shao was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Ye.

Annihilation of Gongsun Zan (198–199)

In 198, Yuan Shao advanced against Gongsun Zan and encircled his remaining force at Yijing (present-day Xiong County, Hebei). By early 199, Yuan Shao had completely defeated Gongsun Zan at the Battle of Yijing and held absolute power over the four provinces north of the Yellow River. Then, after establishing an alliance with the Wuhuan

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