After the death of his most capable general, Sun Jian, during the campaign against Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Yuan Shu found himself in a dire strategic position. Sun Jian had been the shield of Yuan Shu’s northern frontier, holding Yuzhou and defending against threats from Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. With Sun Jian gone, Yuan Shu lacked a military leader of comparable strength to fill the void.
The strategic isolation of Yuan Shu
In spring 193 AD, Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province (Jingzhou), successfully severed Yuan Shu’s supply lines through Nanyang Commandery, cutting off his access to vital grain and reinforcements. Trapped between Cao Cao to the north and Liu Biao to the south, Yuan Shu faced a dangerous encirclement.
Nanyang, though fertile, was geographically a basin, easily blockaded. If Yuan Shao or Cao Cao captured Yuzhou, Yuan Shu would be trapped like a caged beast in Nanyang. Thus, even without Liu Biao’s blockade, Yuan Shu’s departure from Nanyang was inevitable after Sun Jian’s death. The severed supply line merely accelerated his retreat.
Yuan Shu sought to expand northward
Rather than fight a losing battle, Yuan Shu made a strategic decision: abandon Nanyang and move northeast into Yan Province and Chenliu, seeking new territory and allies. He marched his forces into Fengqiu County, establishing a temporary base, and began preparations for northern expansion.
Alliances and initial moves
To strengthen his position, Yuan Shu formed alliances with bandit forces and non-Han tribes. He invited the Heishan Bandits and Hucui Yufuluo, a chieftain of the Southern Xiongnu, to join his campaign. These forces added numbers and ferocity to his army, though they lacked the discipline of regular troops.
Yuan Shu then dispatched his general Liu Xiang to lead a vanguard force eastward, establishing a stronghold at Kuangting. This move was intended to test Cao Cao’s defenses and secure a foothold in the region.
Cao Cao’s decisive counteroffensive
At this time, Cao Cao commanded two powerful military groups: the Qing Province Army (Qingzhou Army) and the Yan Province Army (Yanzhou Army), both battle-hardened and loyal. He did not hesitate to confront Yuan Shu’s incursion.
Cao Cao, alongside his cousin Cao Ren, led his forces to Kuangting and engaged Liu Xiang’s army. The battle was swift and decisive—Liu Xiang’s forces collapsed under Cao Cao’s assault. As Yuan Shu rushed to reinforce his general, Cao Cao crushed the entire Yuan Shu army in a major defeat.
Yuan Shu’s forces were routed, abandoning weapons and armor as they fled. He retreated in disarray to Fengqiu, hoping to regroup and establish a defensive line.
But Cao Cao, seizing the momentum, immediately pursued. Before Yuan Shu could fortify Fengqiu, Cao Cao’s army arrived and laid siege. Yuan Shu barely escaped the encirclement, fleeing south to Xiangyi.
Cao Cao did not relent. He chased Yuan Shu to Xiangyi, where another battle ensued—and Yuan Shu was defeated once more. Forced to retreat again, he fled into Ningling County, within his nominal territory of Yuzhou.
Even there, Cao Cao gave him no respite. The Yan Province army surged forward, attacking Ningling. Yuan Shu’s forces, now demoralized and fragmented, were defeated yet again.
The final flight to Yangzhou
Driven from his last stronghold in the north, Yuan Shu continued his southward retreat, pursued relentlessly by Cao Cao’s victorious troops. His army disintegrated, and his dream of northern expansion shattered.
Only when he crossed into Yang Province (Yangzhou) and reached Shouchun—a city in Jiujiang Commandery—did Yuan Shu finally find safety. There, he established a new base, declaring himself Governor of Yang Province and beginning a new chapter of his rule—though his power and prestige were greatly diminished.
Historical context and legacy
This campaign in 193 AD marked a turning point in Yuan Shu’s decline. His defeat by Cao Cao not only eliminated his threat to Yan Province but also exposed his strategic weakness and lack of capable generals after Sun Jian’s death.
While Sun Jian’s absence was a critical factor, Yuan Shu’s failure to secure loyal, competent commanders and his reliance on unstable alliances with bandits and foreign tribes ultimately led to his downfall.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms dramatizes this conflict, emphasizing Cao Cao’s brilliance and Yuan Shu’s arrogance. However, historical records confirm the core events: Yuan Shu’s retreat from Nanyang, his series of defeats at Kuangting, Fengqiu, Xiangyi, and Ningling, and his final refuge in Shouchun.
This relentless campaign solidified Cao Cao’s control over central China and marked the end of Yuan Shu’s northern ambitions.
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