Tian Feng 田豐

Chen Shou's main text does not give Tian Feng's courtesy name or place of origin. After Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan at Yijing and absorbed his followers, he put his eldest son Yuan Tan in charge of Qing Province, his second son Yuan Xi in charge of You Province and his nephew Gao Gan in charge of Bing Province. When his followers numbered several hundred thousand, he had Shen Pei and Feng Ji take overall charge of military affairs, made Tian Feng, Xun Chen and Xu You his chief strategists and Yan Liang and Wen Chou his generals, and selected a hundred thousand picked soldiers and ten thousand horse to attack Xu. Records, Wei 6 §49

According to the Biography of Xun Yu, Kong Rong said to Xun Yu that Yuan Shao's territory was broad and his troops strong, and that Tian Feng and Xu You, men of wisdom and stratagem, planned for him, so would he not be hard to overcome? Xun Yu answered that although Yuan Shao's troops were many his laws were not in order, that Tian Feng was unbending and defied his superior, and that Xu You was greedy and did not govern his own conduct. Records, Wei 10 §29–30

Before this, Liu Bei, whom Cao Cao had sent to Xu Province, killed the Inspector Che Zhou and was stationed at Pei, and Yuan Shao sent cavalry to support him. In the 5th year of Jian'an (200), when Cao Cao went east in person to attack Liu Bei, Tian Feng urged Yuan Shao to strike Cao Cao from behind. When Yuan Shao refused, pleading that his son was ill, Tian Feng raised his staff, struck the ground and said, 'To meet with an opportunity so hard to come by and then lose the moment because of an infant's illness — what a pity!' Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei, and Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao. Records, Wei 6 §50

When Yuan Shao was advancing south, Tian Feng said that Lord Cao was skilled in using troops and endlessly changeable, so that even though his forces were few he could not be taken lightly, and that it would be better to hold out for a long time. Yuan Shao, he said, relied on the strength of mountains and rivers and commanded the forces of four provinces; he should ally with heroes abroad and cultivate farming and war preparations at home, and then select his elite troops, divide them into surprise forces, and take advantage of gaps to raid Henan by turns. If the enemy relieved the right, he would strike the left, and if they relieved the left, he would strike the right, so that the enemy would be worn out running to and fro and the people could not settle to their livelihoods; then within two years he could win without stirring. If he abandoned the strategy of securing victory in the temple councils and staked success or failure on a single battle, he said, it would be too late for regret should things not go as he wished. Records, Wei 6 §55–56

Yuan Shao did not follow his advice. When Tian Feng remonstrated earnestly, Yuan Shao grew very angry, accused him of undermining the morale of the army, and put him in fetters and imprisoned him. Yuan Shao confronted Cao Cao at Guandu for a long time, and when Chunyu Qiong and the others stationed at Wuchao were crushed by Cao Cao, his army collapsed entirely, and he withdrew across the Yellow River with Yuan Tan, each on a single horse. Records, Wei 6 §56 · 53–54

When Yuan Shao's army was defeated, someone said to Tian Feng that he would surely now be valued. Tian Feng answered that had the army won he would surely have been safe, but since the army had lost, he would die. On his return Yuan Shao said to those around him, 'I did not use Tian Feng's advice, and as expected I have become his laughingstock,' and finally put him to death. Chen Shou wrote that Yuan Shao was outwardly generous, refined and magnanimous but inwardly full of jealousy and malice, and that everything was of this kind. The Biography of Xun Yu records that Tian Feng's execution for his remonstrance was just as Xun Yu had reckoned. Records, Wei 6 §56–57Records, Wei 10 §32

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Yuan Shao and Liu Biao both liked to plan but could not decide, could not use the men of talent they had, and could not accept good advice when they heard it. He added that Xiang Yu of old lost his royal enterprise by turning his back on Fan Zeng's counsel, but that Yuan Shao's killing of Tian Feng was far worse than what Xiang Yu did. Records, Wei 6 §96–97