Battle
Battle of Ye 鄴之戰
About this event
The Battle of Ye was the campaign of the 9th year of Jian'an (204) in which Cao Cao besieged and took Ye in Ji Province, Yuan Shang's base. In the 2nd month, when Yuan Shang went off again to attack Yuan Tan at Pingyuan, leaving Su You and Shen Pei to hold Ye, Cao Cao advanced on Ye and attacked it. In the 5th month he breached the Zhang River and flooded the city, so that more than half of those inside starved to death, and in the 7th month Yuan Shang, returning to relieve the city, was broken on the bank of the Fu River and fled to Zhongshan. In the 8th month Shen Pei's elder brother's son Shen Rong opened the east gate at night and let Cao Cao's troops in; Shen Pei was captured and beheaded, and Ye was pacified. Records, Wei 1 §81–84Records, Wei 6 §63–66
Chen Shou recorded this battle in the Annals of Emperor Wu (Records of Wei 1) and in the account of Yuan Shang in the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao (Records of Wei 6), and also included parts of it in the biography of Xun Yu in Records of Wei 10, the Biographies of Zhang, Yue, Yu, Zhang and Xu in Records of Wei 17, and the biography of Xin Pi in Records of Wei 25. The Romance depicts the battle in Chapter 32, "Xu You offers a plan to breach the Zhang River," and continues at the beginning of Chapter 33 with what Cao Cao and his son did after entering Ye. Records, Wei 1 §81–84Records, Wei 6 §63–66Records, Wei 10 §36Records, Wei 17 §6 · 45 · 59Records, Wei 25 §7Romance, Ch. 32 §32–53Romance, Ch. 33 §1–6
Course of events in the Records
In the 8th month of the 8th year of Jian'an (203), when Cao Cao camped at Xiping to attack Liu Biao, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought over Ji Province, and Yuan Tan, driven back to Pingyuan, sent Xin Pi to ask for help. Cao Cao returned, reached Liyang in the 10th month and married his son Cao Zheng into Yuan Tan's family, and Yuan Shang lifted the siege of Pingyuan and went back to Ye. The account of Yuan Shao records that Yuan Tan secretly had generals' seals carved and gave them to Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, who had turned against Yuan Shang, and that Cao Cao, though he knew of the deceit, reassured Yuan Tan with the marriage. Records, Wei 1 §80Records, Wei 6 §62–63
In the 1st month of spring in the 9th year of Jian'an (204), Cao Cao crossed the Yellow River and dammed the Qi River to make it flow into the Baigou, opening a supply route. In the 2nd month, when Yuan Shang again attacked Yuan Tan, leaving Su You and Shen Pei to hold Ye, Cao Cao advanced as far as the Huan River, fifty li from Ye, and Su You, who had meant to act as an insider, saw his plot leak out, fought Shen Pei inside the city and fled to Cao Cao. Cao Cao attacked Ye with earthen mounds and tunnels, and Shen Pei countered by digging trenches inside. The account of Yuan Shao records that Shen Pei's general Feng Li opened the sally gate and let in more than three hundred of Cao Cao's soldiers, but Shen Pei struck the palisade gate with great stones from the wall and shut it, and all who had come in perished. Records, Wei 1 §81Records, Wei 6 §63
In the 4th month of summer Cao Cao left Cao Hong to attack Ye and himself broke Yin Kai, who was keeping open the supply route from Shangdang at Maocheng, and also took Handan, which was held by Yuan Shang's general Ju Hu. Han Fan, Magistrate of Yiyang, and Liang Qi, Chief of She, surrendered with their counties. The biography of Xu Huang records that when Han Fan feigned surrender and held out, Xu Huang shot arrows into the city to explain the stakes and won his surrender, and then told Cao Cao they should spare him so as to win over the cities of Hebei that had not yet fallen. Records, Wei 1 §81–82Records, Wei 17 §59
In the 5th month Cao Cao demolished the earthen mounds and tunnels and dug a siege trench. According to the account of Yuan Shao, the trench, forty li around, was at first dug shallow so that it looked as if it could be crossed, and Shen Pei laughed at it and did not come out to contest it, but Cao Cao had it dug in a single night to a width and depth of two zhang and breached the Zhang River to flood the city. From the 5th month to the 8th month more than half of those in the city starved to death. Records, Wei 1 §82Records, Wei 6 §64
In the 7th month of autumn, when Yuan Shang came back with more than ten thousand men to relieve the city, the generals said that troops returning home each fight to the death and that it would be better to avoid them. Cao Cao said that if Yuan Shang came by the main road he should be avoided, but if he came along the Western Hills he was as good as captured; Yuan Shang did indeed come along the Western Hills, camped on the bank of the Fu River at Yangping Pavilion, seventeen li from Ye, and raised fires to signal to the city. Shen Pei came out to the north of the city to break the siege from within and without together, but Cao Cao struck back and broke them both. Records, Wei 1 §82–83Records, Wei 6 §64–65
When Cao Cao surrounded Yuan Shang's camp, Yuan Shang in fear sent Yin Kui and Chen Lin to ask to surrender, but Cao Cao would not accept. Yuan Shang fled at night—to hold Qishan according to the Annals of Emperor Wu, Lankou according to the account of Yuan Shao—but when his subordinates Ma Yan, Zhang Yi (張顗) and others surrendered on the field, his army collapsed and Yuan Shang fled to Zhongshan. Cao Cao seized his baggage train together with Yuan Shang's seal and ribbon, his tally and axe and his clothing, and had them shown to the families in the city, and the spirit of the city gave way. Records, Wei 1 §83Records, Wei 6 §65
In the 8th month Shen Pei's elder brother's son Shen Rong, who guarded the east gate, opened it at night and let Cao Cao's troops in. Shen Pei fought back inside the city and was captured; the account of Yuan Shao records that his voice and bearing were so resolute that to the end he spoke no word of submission, and all who saw him sighed. Cao Cao beheaded him and pacified Ye, then went to Yuan Shao's tomb to sacrifice, shedding tears, comforted his widow and returned the family's treasures to them. Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
In the 9th month Cao Cao, saying that Hebei had suffered calamity on account of the Yuan clan, remitted that year's taxes, and when the Son of Heaven made Cao Cao concurrently Governor of Ji Province, he returned the governorship of Yan Province. The biography of Xun Yu records that when Cao Cao wished to restore the ancient Nine Provinces, Xun Yu dissuaded him, saying that his defeat of Yuan Shang and capture of Shen Pei had shaken the whole realm, and that if lands were cut away and attached to Ji Province, everyone would be unsettled. Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan also surrendered with Bing Province. Records, Wei 1 §86Records, Wei 10 §36Records, Wei 6 §66
In the Romance
In Chapter 32 of the Romance, when Cao Cao promised a marriage with Yuan Tan and dammed the Qi River to carry grain by the Baigou, Yuan Shang entrusted Ji Province to Shen Pei and Chen Lin, had Yin Kai and Ju Hu guard the supply route from Shangdang and Handan, and then attacked Yuan Tan at Pingyuan. When Xu You pressed Cao Cao, asking whether he was waiting for the two Yuans to be struck by lightning, Cao Cao had Cao Hong attack Ye and went out himself; Xu Chu cut down Yin Kai, and Zhang Liao shot Ju Hu from his horse with an arrow. Romance, Ch. 32 §28–35
Cao Cao attacked the city of Ji Province with earthen mounds and tunnels, but Feng Li, who had been punished by Shen Pei and had come over in surrender, was entering a tunnel with three hundred stout soldiers when he was blocked by the sluice gate Shen Pei dropped, and they all died in the earth. Yuan Shang, following Ma Yan's advice, came by a byway through the Western Hills, camped at Yangping Pavilion and signaled to the city with fire, and Shen Pei sent the old and weak among the people out to surrender and then sent troops out behind them, but they were stopped by the ambushes of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, and Cao Cao's helmet was struck by a crossbow bolt from the wall. Romance, Ch. 32 §36–43
Yuan Shang was badly defeated and fell back to the Western Hills, and Ma Yan and Zhang Yi (張顗) surrendered, persuaded by Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang. Routed again at Lankou, Yuan Shang sent Yin Kui to ask to surrender, but Cao Cao feigned acceptance and raided his camp, and Yuan Shang abandoned his seal and ribbon and his tally and axe and fled to Zhongshan. Following Xu You's plan, Cao Cao had the shallow-dug trench deepened to two zhang in a single night and breached the Zhang River to flood the city. Romance, Ch. 32 §44–47
When Xin Pi held up Yuan Shang's seal and ribbon and clothing on the point of a spear and urged surrender, Shen Pei beheaded more than eighty members of Xin Pi's family on the wall, and Shen Pei's nephew Shen Rong, enraged at this, opened the west gate and let Cao Cao's troops in. The captured Shen Pei refused to surrender and, saying that his lord was in the north, knelt facing north and died, while Cao Cao, valuing Chen Lin's talent, spared his life. In Chapter 33 Cao Pi, who was the first to enter Yuan Shao's house, took Yuan Xi's wife Lady Zhen, and Cao Cao sacrificed at Yuan Shao's tomb and wept. Romance, Ch. 32 §47–55Romance, Ch. 33 §1–6
Where the Romance differs
The flooding plan: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, breaching the Zhang River to flood the city is Xu You's plan. The Annals of Emperor Wu and the account of Yuan Shao in the Records say only that Cao Cao dug a trench and breached the Zhang River to flood the city, and do not say whose plan it was. Romance, Ch. 32 §46–47Records, Wei 1 §82Records, Wei 6 §64
Feng Li's tunnel: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Feng Li, punished by Shen Pei, left the city and surrendered, then died while leading three hundred of Cao Cao's stout soldiers into a tunnel. In the account of Yuan Shao in the Records, Feng Li, as Shen Pei's general, opened the sally gate from inside the city and let in more than three hundred of Cao Cao's soldiers, and the soldiers who came in were trapped by the palisade gate Shen Pei shut, and all died. Romance, Ch. 32 §36–37Records, Wei 6 §63
Yuan Shang's request to surrender: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, when Yuan Shang sent Yin Kui to ask to surrender, Cao Cao feigned acceptance and then raided his camp at night. In the account of Yuan Shao and the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Yuan Shang sent Yin Kui and Chen Lin to ask to surrender, but Cao Cao would not accept. In the Romance, Chen Lin holds Ji Province with Shen Pei and is captured. Romance, Ch. 32 §45 · 32 · 54Records, Wei 6 §65Records, Wei 1 §83
Why the gate was opened: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Shen Rong opened the west gate, enraged that Shen Pei had beheaded more than eighty members of Xin Pi's family. In the Annals of Emperor Wu and the account of Yuan Shao in the Records, Shen Rong opened at night the east gate he was guarding, and no reason is recorded. Romance, Ch. 32 §47–48Records, Wei 1 §84Records, Wei 6 §66
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Belligerents
| Item | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| Factions | Wei | Yuan Shang faction |
| Commanders | Cao Cao, Cao Hong, Zhang He, Zhang Liao, Yue Jin | Shen Pei, Yuan Shang, Ma Yan, Zhang Yi(張顗), Su You |
| Strength | 將兵萬餘人還救之 | |
| Casualties | 內太祖兵三百餘人…入者皆沒 | 城中餓死者過半 |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Wei 1 §84