On Shen Pei's advice Yuan Shang sent a mere five thousand men. Cao Cao, learning of it, had Yue Jin and Li Dian intercept the relief force. The two generals surrounded the small unit before it arrived and wiped it out. When Yuan Tan learned that his brother had sent a small force and that Cao's commanders had swiftly eliminated it, he angrily summoned Pang Ji for an explanation. "Let me write to my lord and have him come himself," Pang Ji said. Yuan Tan agreed, and Pang Ji dispatched a letter.
Shen Pei advised Yuan Shang to turn down Pang Ji's request. "Guo Tu is full of tricks," Shen Pei argued. "Last time, Yuan Tan left without contesting Jizhou because Cao Cao was in our territory. But now, if he breaks Cao, he will try for Jizhou. Send your brother no aid. Let Cao's army take care of him." Yuan Shang did as Shen Pei advised. Enraged by his brother's treachery, Yuan Tan had Pang Ji executed immediately; then he discussed with his officers the possibility of surrendering to Cao Cao. Informed of his brother's intent, Yuan Shang said to Shen Pei, "If my brother surrenders to Cao Cao and they attack us jointly, we will be overcome." In the end Yuan Shang went to Liyang to relieve Yuan Tan.
Yuan Shang left Shen Pei and Commander Su You guarding the city and set out with a force of thirty thousand. The vanguard was led by two brothers who had volunteered, Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang. They reached Liyang, and Yuan Tan, pleased that his brother had come in person, dropped the idea of surrendering to Cao Cao. His troops, stationed inside the city, and Yuan Shang's, stationed outside, were positioned for mutual support. Before long, Yuan Xi and Gao Gan also arrived in force. Now the Yuans had three strongpoints. Every day they sent out troops to skirmish with Cao's. Again and again Yuan Shang was outfought by Cao Cao.
In the second month of Jian An 8 (a.d. 203) Cao Cao divided his army to attack the Yuans' positions and succeeded in his units' routing the Yuan brothers and Gao Gan, who abandoned Liyang. Cao Cao pressed on to Jizhou. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang established a defense within the city; Yuan Xi and Gao Gan camped thirty li away and made a show of force.
Cao Cao's initial attacks on Jizhou failed to subdue the city. Guo Jia advised him, "Yuan Shao named the junior, not the elder, as his heir. The brothers are competing for power, and each has his faction. Threatened, they cooperate; otherwise, they quarrel. I think we should abandon this front and march south against Liu Biao in Jingzhou. When the Yuan brothers fall out again, Jizhou will be ours." Satisfied with this proposal, Cao Cao left Jia Xu governing Liyang and Cao Hong holding Guandu; then he started for Jingzhou.
Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang congratulated each other on Cao Cao's withdrawal. Yuan Xi and Gao Gan went home to their respective provinces. Yuan Tan said to his advisers Guo Tu and Xin Ping, "Though the eldest, I have not been named heir. Shang is the son of a later wife, yet he has the title to my father's estate. I cannot put up with it!" "My lord," Guo Tu suggested, "hold your troops in readiness outside the city while you entertain your brother and Shen Pei. Have your men cut them down at the feast and settle this business!" Yuan Tan approved, but Assistant Inspector Wang Xiu, just arrived from Qingzhou, opposed it. He said to Yuan Tan, "Brothers are like two limbs. When locked in struggle with somebody, can you cut off your right arm and say, 'Now I'm sure to win'? Deny fraternal love and who will trust you, who will hold you dear? Give no heed, I beg you, to those who would set kinsmen at odds for passing advantage." But Yuan Tan rebuked Wang Xiu and issued the invitation.
Yuan Shang consulted Shen Pei. "Guo Tu's plotting," he said. "There is treachery in this. Now is the time to attack." Yuan Shang agreed. He donned his armor and rode out of the city at the head of fifty thousand men. Seeing that his brother had come with troops, Yuan Tan knew his plot had been exposed. He, too, armed himself and mounted. The two brothers faced off, hurling scorn at each other. "You poisoned Father," Yuan Tan cried, "and stole his estate. Now you come to kill your elder brother." The two engaged. Yuan Tan was defeated. Braving stones and arrows, Yuan Shang drove his opponent into the town of Pingyuan.5
On Guo Tu's advice Yuan Tan assigned General Cen Bi to renew the fight. Yuan Shang took the field again. Two opposed fronts formed, close enough for the troops on one side to see the banners and drummers on the other. Cen Bi and Lü Kuang clashed and Cen Bi fell. Defeated again, Yuan Tan retired once more to Pingyuan and would not come out. Yuan Shang besieged the city from three sides. "We are short on rations," Guo Tu told Yuan Tan. "The attackers are at full strength. Surrender to Cao Cao and try to get him to attack Jizhou. Yuan Shang will have to retreat to protect his city. Between Cao's army and ours, he will be taken. After Cao defeats him, we can seize his supplies and deny them to Cao. Too far from his base to feed his troops, he will have to withdraw, and Jizhou will be ours. Then we can plan further."
Yuan Tan asked, "Who will take Cao our message?" Guo Tu replied, "Xin Ping's younger brother Pi (styled Zuozhi), the prefect of Pingyuan and an eloquent scholar, may be trusted with this mission." Yuan Tan summoned the man, who came readily, provided him with a letter, and had him escorted past the border by three thousand men. Xin Pi took Yuan Tan's letter to Cao Cao at a time when Cao Cao was positioned at Xiping, preparing to attack Liu Biao. Liu Biao had sent Xuande to lead the vanguard against Cao Cao. Yuan Tan's envoy arrived before the battle.
Presenting himself to Cao Cao, Xin Pi explained Yuan Tan's proposal and delivered his letter. Cao Cao took it to his advisers. Cheng Yu said, "Yuan Tan is reeling from his brother's attack. Don't trust a man who comes under duress." Lü Qian and Man Chong also argued against turning the army around at the moment of battle, but Xun You favored the reversal. "You three gentlemen are mistaken," he said. "Liu Biao stays put between the Great River and the Han because, in my view, he lacks ambition. The Yuans, however, hold the four provinces north of the Yellow River and have hundreds of thousands under arms. If the two Yuan brothers get together to defend their land, the question of who rules the empire will remain unsettled. It is a rare occasion when one of the Yuans is desperate enough to come to us. Dispose of Yuan Shang, watch for the chance to destroy Yuan Tan, and you can control the empire. Do not let the opportunity pass."
Pleased with Xun You's advice, Cao Cao invited Yuan Tan's envoy to a banquet. "Is this surrender genuine?" Cao Cao asked Xin Pi. "Can Yuan Shang's army really be conquered?" "My lord," the envoy replied, "what need to ask? The situation speaks for itself. Year after year the Yuans have suffered defeat. Their armies are exhausted. Their advisers have been dismissed or executed. Slander and scheming have divided the brothers—and the realm. Add to that successive famines, natural disasters, and human crises—even a fool can see that the Yuans are on the verge of collapse. Heaven has doomed them. Now, my lord, you attack Ye, the administrative seat, and if Yuan Shang withdraws from Pingyuan to defend it, he loses his bastion. Yuan Tan will strike him from behind, and your mighty host will sweep away the wearied enemy as a storm does fallen leaves. Compare this to your present campaign against Liu Biao's Jingzhou, a prosperous territory, whose people and government enjoy a relationship far too harmonious for you to undermine. Besides, the north is your main problem. Once you have tamed it, your protectorship of the Emperor will be secure. Please consider this fully." Exuberantly, Cao Cao said, "How I regret coming to know you so late!" That same day Cao Cao supervised the shift of his armies to the north. Liu Xuande, well acquainted with Cao Cao's treacherous devices, pulled back to Jingzhou instead of pursuing him.
Yuan Shang learned that Cao Cao had crossed the Yellow River. He called off the siege of Pingyuan and hastily led his troops back to Ye, with Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang bringing up the rear. Yuan Tan mobilized his troops at Pingyuan and gave chase for several dozen li. Suddenly a bombard sounded, and two units confronted him, Lü Kuang to the left, Lü Xiang to the right. Yuan Tan reined in and denounced them: "I always treated you well when my father was alive. How can you oppose me like this in my brother's service?" At Yuan Tan's words the two commanders offered to surrender. Yuan Tan said, "Surrender to the prime minister, not to me." They followed Tan back to his ca
mp. When Cao Cao's army arrived, Yuan Tan conducted the brothers Lü into his presence. Cao Cao welcomed them with pleasure and promised Yuan Tan one of his daughters in marriage. Cao Cao had the Lü brothers arrange the match.
Yuan Tan appealed to Cao Cao to attack Jizhou. The prime minister replied, "We are still waiting for grain. Transport is a major problem. I'll have to recross the Yellow River and divert the Qi into the White Canal in order to open up a supply route. After that we can advance." Cao Cao quartered Yuan Tan in Pingyuan and then withdrew to Liyang. He granted the Lü brothers noble titles and placed them in his army with orders to hold themselves in readiness.
Guo Tu warned Yuan Tan, "This proposed wedding conceals Cao Cao's true intent. His generosity to the Lü brothers is meant to win over the northerners. It will end badly for us, though. My lord, have two seals of command carved and secretly delivered to the Lüs binding them to serve you. Then, after Cao defeats Yuan Shang, you can make your move." Yuan Tan adopted this plan, but the moment the Lü brothers received their seals, they turned them over to Cao Cao, who said with a laugh, "Tan has sent these so that you will help him after I defeat Shang. Very well. Accept the charge. I have my own way of handling it." Then and there Cao Cao decided to dispose of Yuan Tan.
In Ye, Yuan Shang said to Shen Pei, "Cao is moving grain through the White Canal. An attack must be coming. How shall we defend ourselves?" "First," Shen Pei replied, "have Yin Kai, our precinct master at Wuan, garrison Maocheng, where he can reach the Shangdang supply line. Next, have Ju Shou's son, Ju Gu, hold Handan to back up Yin Kai. You, my lord, will then send troops to Pingyuan and launch a lightning strike on Yuan Tan. Destroy Yuan Tan first, then Cao Cao." On this advice, Yuan Shang left Shen Pei and Chen Lin guarding Ye and sent generals Ma Yan and Zhang Yi to spearhead his attack on Pingyuan.
Yuan Tan informed Cao Cao that his brother Shang's troops were again approaching. The prime minister said, "This time I shall take Jizhou!" He was working out the tactics when Xu You arrived from the capital and said, "Your Excellency, what are you waiting for? For thunder to strike the Yuans?" "I have reached a decision," Cao responded with a smile. He dispatched Cao Hong to attack Ye while he moved against Yin Kai. In the action Xu Chu made short work of Yin Kai and scattered his ranks. Cao Cao welcomed all who surrendered, then guided his forces to Handan. There he found Ju Gu ready to do battle. Zhang Liao rode onto the field and fought with Ju Gu. The issue was quickly decided: Ju Gu fled in defeat. Zhang Liao raced after him and, as his mount narrowed the distance, brought him down with a single shot of his bow. Cao Cao dispersed Ju Gu's men and proceeded to Ye.
Cao Hong had already reached Ye. Cao Cao's troops ringed the wall around the city, piled up dirt mounds, and dug a tunnel out of the enemy's sight. Within the city Shen Pei issued stern orders on maintaining defenses and severely punished Feng Li, commander of the east gate, for drunkenness and negligence. The resentful Feng Li escaped through an underground passage and went over to Cao Cao. Cao Cao asked him how to reduce the city; Feng Li answered, "The earth is thick just behind the sally port.6 Tunnel through there to get inside." Cao Cao then gave Feng Li three hundred men, and they began digging that night.
After Feng Li's defection Shen Pei mounted the wall himself to survey the scene. One night he noticed that there were no fires outside the wall by the sally port. "Feng Li must be digging his way in," Shen Pei whispered to himself. He ordered his best troops to crush the passage with heavy stones. It fell in, and Feng Li and his corps of three hundred perished underground.
Unable to penetrate the city, Cao Cao returned to the banks of the Huan to await Yuan Shang. Shang had heard of the defeat of Yin Kai and Ju Gu as well as the siege of Jizhou, so he broke off the battle at Pingyuan and started back to his city. A subcommander, Ma Yan, said to him, "Take the small road. Cao Cao will have an ambush on the main road. If we go by way of Xishan and come out at the head of the River Fu, we can raid his camp and break the siege." Yuan Shang approved the plan and left Ma Yan and Zhang Yi guarding the rear. Informed of Yuan Shang's movements, Cao Cao said, "If he takes the main road, we will avoid him. If he takes the small road out of Xishan, I can capture him in one battle. My guess is that he will signal with fire for reinforcement from the city: we will attack both him and the city." Cao Cao divided his troops in preparation for the action.
Yuan Shang passed the River Fu and went east to Yangping, where he established a position seventeen li from Ye, keeping near the water. During the night he made a bonfire to signal the city and sent his first secretary, Li Fu, to Ye disguised as one of Cao's inspectors. At the base of the wall, Li Fu shouted for entry. Shen Pei, recognizing the voice, admitted him. Li Fu said to Shen Pei, "Yuan Shang is at Yangping precinct waiting for reinforcement. When you send the men, light a fire as a signal." Shen Pei had the fires set to transmit the message. Li Fu continued, "The city is out of grain. Let the old and weak, the disabled and the women surrender to Cao. It'll put him off guard, and our troops, close behind them, can attack." Shen Pei approved this plan.
The next day a white flag went up on the wall proclaiming the surrender of the people of Jizhou. "They have no grain," Cao Cao said. "They'll push the old and weak out first, but the troops will be right behind." Cao Cao had Zhang Liao and Xu Huang conceal three thousand men on either side of his position; then, mounted, he spread the canopy of command and went to the city wall. He watched the people issuing from the gate, white flags in hand, supporting the elderly and pulling the children along. Soldiers rushed from the city in the wake of the exodus, but at a signal from Cao Cao's red flag Zhang Liao and Xu Huang emerged from hiding and drove the Jizhou troops back inside the city wall. Cao Cao raced to the side of the drawbridge, hoping to force an entry, but arrows rained down on him. One pierced his helmet and nearly killed him. His commanders pulled him back to the battle line for safety.
Cao Cao changed his armor and horse and led an attack on Yuan Shang's camp. Yuan Shang met him in the field, and the brigades of both sides swept into the fighting. Yuan Shang, severely beaten, withdrew to his camp at Xishan. Unknown to him, his outpost commanders, Ma Yan and Zhang Yi, had already accepted amnesty and enfeoffment as lords from Cao Cao.
Cao Cao attacked Xishan again the same day. At his order the Lü brothers, with Ma Yan and Zhang Yi, cut Yuan Shang's supply line.7 Yuan Shang fled to Lankou in the night. But Cao Cao's men were waiting for him. Before he could pitch camp, Yuan Shang was encircled by torches and hidden troops. His soldiers, caught unprepared, were driven off fifty li. Desperate, Yuan Shang sent Yin Kui, imperial inspector of Yuzhou, to plead with Cao Cao to accept his surrender. Cao Cao pretended to heed the plea, even while sending Zhang Liao and Xu Huang to raid Yuan Shang's camp that night. Yuan Shang abandoned everything—regalia of office, tally of authority, and broadaxe of command, as well as armor and stores—as he fled north to Zhongshan district.
Once again Cao Cao turned his attention to Jizhou. Xu You advised him to divert the River Zhang and flood the enemy out. Cao Cao approved and had a moat forty li in circumference dug around the city. Shen Pei watched the digging from the wall. Observing that the trench was shallow, he thought smugly, "Cao will have to dig deep to flood this city," and took no measures for defense.
During the night, however, Cao Cao had the number of workers multiplied tenfold and by dawn the channel was nearly twenty spans wide and twenty deep. The Zhang was diverted into the trench, and the city was inundated. Soon rations ran out within the city and the defenders began to starve. Outside the wall Xin Pi held up to view Yuan Shang's seal, cord, and apparel, while offering amnesty to the resisters. In a rage Shen Pei executed eighty members of Xin Pi's family on the wall and threw down their heads. Xin Pi howled and groaned. Shen Pei's nephew Rong, a close friend of Xin Pi's, indignant at the slaughter of his friend's family, shot an arrow over the wall bearing an offer to surrender the city gate. The message was taken to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao issued an order: "When we enter the city, the old and young of the Yu
an clan are to be spared; soldiers and civilians who surrender shall receive amnesty." The next morning Shen Rong opened the west gate to Cao Cao's army. Xin Pi leaped to the fore, and Cao Cao's commanders followed, slashing their way in. From the tower at the southeast gate Shen Pei saw the enemy inside the wall and tried to do battle. Xu Huang captured him and took him out of the city. On the way they met Xin Pi, who gnashed his teeth and whipped Shen Pei about the head, crying, "Thug! Cutthroat! Today you die!" "You're the traitor," Shen Pei retorted, "helping Cao Cao take our city. If only I had killed you."
Xu Huang brought Shen Pei to Cao Cao. "You know who yielded the city to us?" Cao Cao asked him. "No," Shen Pei said. "Your own nephew," Cao Cao said. "The vicious little brat!" Shen Pei responded angrily. "When I came to the wall," Cao Cao went on, "why were so many shots fired at me?" "Too few! Too few!" was Shen Pei's answer. "It was only natural," Cao Cao continued, "that you were loyal to the Yuans. Will you submit to me?" "Never! Never!" Shen Pei cried. Pleading from a prostrate position, Xin Pi wept. "This villain slaughtered eighty of my people," he cried. "Put him to death, Your Excellency, I pray you, to avenge my family." Shen Pei declared, "Alive, I served the Yuans. Dead I shall remain their loyal ghost. I'm not one of your fawning, wheedling villains. Get it over with!" Cao Cao ordered him executed. Facing death, Shen Pei shouted at the axeman, "My lord is to the north. I won't die facing south!" Turning north, Shen Pei kneeled and stretched his neck for the knife. Later a poet expressed his admiration for Shen Pei in these lines:8
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