In Chapter 6 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Sun Jian secretly takes possession of the Imperial Seal and flees Luoyang, Yuan Shao—furious at the betrayal—sends a secret letter to Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province, urging him to intercept Sun Jian and seize the seal.
“Sun Jian has concealed the Heirloom Seal. He means to rebel. Intercept him on the road and take it by force.”
On the surface, this appears to be the sole reason Liu Biao attacks Sun Jian. But a deeper look reveals a far more complex political calculus. Liu Biao was not merely obeying an order—he was protecting his own survival in a world where power, loyalty, and territory were constantly at stake.
A threat at the border
The immediate trigger for Liu Biao’s action was Sun Jian’s military movement through Jing Province(Jingzhou). After the collapse of the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, Sun Jian—commanding a battle-hardened army—began marching south from Luoyang toward his base in Jiangdong. His route led directly through northern Jing Province, territory under Liu Biao’s control.
To Liu Biao, this was not a friendly passage. Sun Jian was not just any warlord—he was a proven conqueror, having defeated Dong Zhuo and entered Luoyang in triumph. Now, he was leading a powerful army through a vulnerable frontier. Liu Biao could not risk that Sun Jian might seize the opportunity to take Xiangyang or even the entire province.
In the warlord era, a strong army on your border was a threat, regardless of stated intentions. Liu Biao had only recently pacified Jing Province by eliminating the “Zong Clans” and securing the loyalty of local gentry. The last thing he needed was a foreign warlord with imperial ambitions marching through his land.
Thus, self-defense was the primary motive: stop Sun Jian before he could destabilize or invade Jing Province(Jingzhou).
Choosing sides: The Yuan brothers’ rivalry
Beyond immediate security, Liu Biao’s decision was shaped by the great power struggle between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, two of the most powerful warlords of the time—and bitter enemies.
Yuan Shu controlled Nanyang and parts of southern China. He was Sun Jian’s patron and the one who had appointed him as a general.
Yuan Shao, based in the north, commanded a vast coalition and was the nominal leader of the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance.
Liu Biao had aligned himself politically with Yuan Shao. This alliance was crucial for his legitimacy and survival. By blocking Sun Jian—Yuan Shu’s most effective general—Liu Biao was striking a blow against Yuan Shu’s power on behalf of his ally.
In essence, Liu Biao’s attack on Sun Jian was not blind obedience to Yuan Shao, but a strategic move to strengthen his own position within the Yuan Shao faction. It demonstrated loyalty, weakened a dangerous rival, and reinforced his role as a key southern ally.
Had he allowed Sun Jian to pass unchallenged, he might have been seen as weak—or worse, as secretly favoring Yuan Shu. In the ruthless world of warlord politics, neutrality was not an option.
The ultimate goal: Preserving Jingzhou
At the heart of Liu Biao’s decision was a single, overriding objective: to preserve his autonomy and control over Jing Province.
Liu Biao was not an ambitious conqueror like Cao Cao or Sun Jian. He was a conservative ruler, more interested in stability than expansion. His vision was to make Jing Province a refuge of peace and culture amid the chaos of the collapsing Han Dynasty.
To achieve this, he needed to eliminate any external threat—whether from Yuan Shu’s forces, Cao Cao’s rising power, or ambitious generals like Sun Jian. His ambush of Sun Jian was not an act of aggression, but preemptive defense.
When Yuan Shao’s letter arrived, it did not create Liu Biao’s desire to stop Sun Jian—it validated it. The letter gave Liu Biao political cover and a justification for action: he was not just protecting his land, but upholding the coalition’s authority against a traitor who had stolen the Imperial Seal.
In this way, Liu Biao turned a military necessity into a moral and political campaign, aligning self-interest with righteousness.
Not a Puppet, but a Strategist
So, did Liu Biao attack Sun Jian because Yuan Shao told him to?
No. He attacked because Sun Jian posed a direct threat to Jingzhou, because his alliance with Yuan Shao required him to oppose Yuan Shu, and because his survival depended on controlling his borders.
Yuan Shao’s letter was the spark—but the fuel was already there: fear, ambition, loyalty, and the fragile balance of power in a dying empire.
Liu Biao’s decision was not one of blind obedience, but of cold, calculated statecraft. He used the situation to strengthen his position, protect his people, and assert his authority—proving that even in the age of heroes and battles, the quiet ruler in the south could be just as shrewd as the warlords of the north.
Last but not least, some of the plots in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novels are different from the real history.
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