Battle
Battle of Huguan 壺關之戰
About this event
The Battle of Huguan was the campaign from the 10th year of Jian'an (205) to the 11th (206) in which Cao Cao attacked and took Huguan from Gao Gan, who had rebelled with Bing Province. Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan, who had surrendered when Ye fell and had again been made Inspector of Bing Province, seized the Administrator of Shangdang and held the mouth of the Huguan pass on hearing that Cao Cao was attacking the Wuhuan. Cao Cao sent Yue Jin and Li Dian to attack him, and in the 1st month of spring in the 11th year of Jian'an went out in person, taking Huguan after a three-month siege. Gao Gan, unable to obtain help from the Chanyu, fled toward Jing Province but was caught and beheaded by Wang Yan, Commandant of Shangluo. Records, Wei 1 §93–94Records, Wei 6 §66 · 69
Chen Shou recorded this battle in the Annals of Emperor Wu (Records of Wei 1) and the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao (Records of Wei 6), and also included parts of it in the Biographies of the Xiahou and Cao Clans (Records of Wei 9), the Biographies of Ren, Su, Du, Zheng and Cang (Records of Wei 16), the Biographies of Zhang, Yue, Yu, Zhang and Xu (Records of Wei 17) and the Biographies of the Two Lis, Zang, Wen, Lü, Xu, Dian, the Two Pangs and Yan (Records of Wei 18). The Romance depicts it in the middle of Chapter 33, "Guo Jia's Last Plan Settles Liaodong," as a battle in which Huguan is taken through the feigned surrender of Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang. Records, Wei 1 §93–94Records, Wei 6 §69Records, Wei 9 §35Records, Wei 16 §27Records, Wei 17 §23Records, Wei 18 §6Romance, Ch. 33 §26–29
Course of events in the Records
Yuan Shao had entrusted Bing Province to his nephew Gao Gan. In the 9th year of Jian'an (204), when Cao Cao took Ye, Gao Gan surrendered with Bing Province, and Cao Cao kept him on as Inspector of Bing Province. Records, Wei 6 §49 · 66Records, Wei 1 §93
In the 10th year of Jian'an (205), on hearing that Cao Cao was attacking the Wuhuan, Gao Gan rebelled with Bing Province, seized the Administrator of Shangdang, and raised troops to hold the mouth of the Huguan pass. According to the biography of Du Ji, Wei Gu and Fan Xian of Hedong outwardly pretended to be seeking to keep the Administrator Wang Yi in office while secretly colluding with Gao Gan; Gao Gan entered Huoze, and in the counties of Shangdang the senior officials were killed. Du Ji, newly made Administrator of Hedong, gathered more than 4,000 men and held out, and Wei Gu and the others, together with Gao Gan and Zhang Sheng, attacked him but could not take his position. Records, Wei 1 §93Records, Wei 16 §21 · 27
Cao Cao sent Yue Jin and Li Dian to attack Gao Gan, and Gao Gan went back to hold the city of Huguan. The biography of Yue Jin records that he entered Shangdang by the northern road and came round behind Gao Gan, and that when Gao Gan and the others held Huguan he fought battle after battle and cut down the enemy, but Gao Gan held fast and could not be dislodged. Records, Wei 1 §93Records, Wei 6 §69Records, Wei 17 §23Records, Wei 18 §6
In the 1st month of spring in the 11th year of Jian'an (206), when Cao Cao attacked Gao Gan in person, Gao Gan left his generals Xia Zhao (夏昭) and Deng Sheng to hold the city and fled to the Xiongnu to ask the Chanyu for help, but the Chanyu would not take him in. Cao Cao besieged Huguan for three months and took it. The biography of Cao Ren records that Cao Cao had ordered that everyone be buried alive when the city fell, and when it held out for several months, Cao Ren told him that in besieging a city one must show the defenders a gate to life; Cao Cao followed this, and the city surrendered. Records, Wei 1 §93–94Records, Wei 6 §69Records, Wei 9 §35
Gao Gan fled south toward Jing Province with a few horsemen but was caught and beheaded by Wang Yan, Commandant of Shangluo. Cao Cao recorded Cao Ren's merits from first to last and enfeoffed him as Marquis of a Chief Village. In Bing Province, in the aftermath of the turmoil Gao Gan had caused, the Hu and Di tribes ran rampant and officials and people fled to their settlements, but Liang Xi, appointed to the post of Inspector of Bing Province, won them over and took them in, and put down those who would not submit. Records, Wei 1 §94Records, Wei 6 §69Records, Wei 9 §35Records, Wei 15 §29–30
In the Romance
In Chapter 33 of the Romance, Cao Cao, having pacified Nanpi, followed Guo Jia's advice and had the surrendered generals of the Yuan clan attack You Province, and had Li Dian and Yue Jin attack Gao Gan in Bing Province together with Zhang Yan. Since Gao Gan was blocking the mouth of the Huguan pass and the three generals could not take it, Cao Cao went there in person. Romance, Ch. 33 §22 · 26
When Xun You proposed a stratagem of feigned surrender, Cao Cao whispered instructions to the surrendered generals Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang and sent them off. The two, saying that Cao Cao was treacherous and treated them poorly and that they would return to their old lord, went up onto the pass and proposed a raid on the enemy camp that night, since Cao Cao's troops had only just arrived. Gao Gan, who went out with more than ten thousand men on their word, fell into an ambush, and when he hurried back he found that Yue Jin and Li Dian had already seized the pass. Romance, Ch. 33 §26–28
Gao Gan went to the Chanyu and asked the Wise King of the Left of the northern barbarians for help, proposing that they defend the north together, but was rebuked—there was no reason to make an enemy of Cao Cao—and driven away. Gao Gan, intending to go to Liu Biao, was killed at Shangluo by the Commandant Wang Yan, and Cao Cao enfeoffed Wang Yan as a full marquis. With Bing Province pacified, Cao Cao discussed attacking the Wuhuan. Romance, Ch. 33 §28–30
Where the Romance differs
Gao Gan's rebellion: In Chapter 33 of the Romance, Gao Gan, as Inspector of Bing Province on the Yuan side, held Huguan against Cao Cao. In the Annals of Emperor Wu and the account of Yuan Shao in the Records, Gao Gan surrendered with Bing Province when Ye fell and became Inspector, then rebelled on hearing that Cao Cao was attacking the Wuhuan. Romance, Ch. 33 §26Records, Wei 1 §93Records, Wei 6 §66
How Huguan was taken: In Chapter 33 of the Romance, following Xun You's plan, Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang feigned surrender and lured Gao Gan out, and meanwhile Yue Jin and Li Dian seized the pass. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, Cao Cao came in person and took it after a three-month siege, and the biography of Cao Ren records that the city surrendered when, on Cao Ren's advice, a gate to life was opened for the defenders. Gao Gan had already left the city to his generals and gone off to the Xiongnu before that. Romance, Ch. 33 §26–28Records, Wei 1 §93–94Records, Wei 9 §35
Whom he asked for help: In Chapter 33 of the Romance, Gao Gan asked the Wise King of the Left of the northern barbarians for help and was driven away. In the Annals of Emperor Wu and the account of Yuan Shao in the Records, he went in person to the Xiongnu Chanyu to ask for help, but the Chanyu would not take him in. Romance, Ch. 33 §28–29Records, Wei 1 §93Records, Wei 6 §69
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 | |
| Commanders | Cao Cao, Yue Jin, Li Dian, Cao Ren | Gao Gan |
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 §94