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In the winter of 199 AD, Yuan Shao stood at the zenith of his power. Having annihilated Gongsun Zan at Yi County and crushed the Heishan bandits who came to his aid, Yuan Shao now controlled four northern provinces: Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou. With this vast territory and immense manpower, he was poised…
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Popular memory—shaped heavily by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—portrays Cao Cao’s invasion of Xu Province in 193 AD as a brutal act of filial vengeance: his father, Cao Song, was murdered in Tao Qian’s territory, so Cao Cao launched a merciless campaign to avenge him.
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At first glance, it seems paradoxical: Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, sons of the same illustrious family, heirs to the prestigious Yuan clan of Runan—one of the most powerful gentry lineages of the Eastern Han—should have stood united against the chaos engulfing the empire.
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Chapter 10 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms unfolds against a backdrop of escalating chaos following the collapse of central authority in Chang’an.
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During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, warlords engaged in constant warfare to seize territory. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, though half-brothers, turned against each other due to conflicting interests, each forming their own military alliances. Initially, Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian belonged to the same faction. However, driven by self-interest, Yuan Shu…
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In February 195 AD, during a high-level meeting in Chang’an, Li Jue ordered the assassination of his fellow warlord Fan Chou, who had grown increasingly influential and independent. The killing, carried out by Li Jue’s nephew Li Li, shattered the fragile alliance among the warlords controlling the Han court. From this point on, mutual…
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Throughout his life, Cao Cao formed deep friendships with many individuals, though due to various reasons, he also fell out with numerous close friends, ultimately becoming mortal enemies. Among those who eventually turned against him, Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao are two poignant examples.