Novel scene
Yuan Shang Contends for Ji Province 奪冀州袁尚爭鋒
About this event
Yuan Shang Contends for Ji Province is the first scene of Chapter 32 of the Romance, titled "Seizing Ji Province, Yuan Shang crosses spears; breaching the Zhang River, Xu You offers a plan": the story of how, after Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang, who had succeeded him, and his eldest brother Yuan Tan fought each other over Ji Province, until Yuan Tan, hard pressed, asked Cao Cao for help. It is the scene that leads into the Battle of Ye, and the Romance inserts the fighting at Liyang into the midst of this quarrel. Romance, Ch. 32 §2–29
Chen Shou's text also records the same affair. The Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao (Records of Wei 6) and the Annals of Emperor Wu (Records of Wei 1) record that when Shen Pei and others set up Yuan Shang, a rift opened with Yuan Tan, and that in the 8th year of Jian'an (203), while Cao Cao had withdrawn, the two attacked each other over Ji Province, and Yuan Tan, driven back to Pingyuan, sent Xin Pi to ask for help. Records, Wei 6 §60 · 62Records, Wei 1 §80
In the Romance
In Chapter 32, when Yuan Shang came back defeated from Liyang, Yuan Shao collapsed vomiting blood, and when Lady Liu asked whether Yuan Shang might succeed him, he nodded, and Shen Pei wrote his testament at his bedside. When Yuan Shao died, Shen Pei and Feng Ji set up Yuan Shang as General and Grand Marshal and made him concurrently Governor of the four provinces, and Yuan Tan, who was on his way with his troops, sent Guo Tu, who obtained Feng Ji and brought him back. Romance, Ch. 32 §1–9
The brothers, hard pressed by Cao Cao at Liyang, joined forces for a time, but once Cao Cao withdrew, Yuan Tan, saying that he, the eldest son, had not been able to inherit his father's patrimony, followed Guo Tu's scheme and tried to invite Yuan Shang to a banquet and kill him. The Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage Wang Xiu tried to dissuade him, saying that brothers are like a left and a right hand—would he cut off his right hand and still expect to win?—but was driven away, and when the plot leaked and Yuan Shang sent out his troops first, Yuan Tan met him in battle, denouncing him for poisoning their father and usurping his rank, and was badly defeated. Romance, Ch. 32 §10–18
Yuan Tan, having fallen back to Pingyuan, sent out Cen Bi again only to lose him to Lü Kuang, and when Yuan Shang surrounded Pingyuan on three sides, he followed Guo Tu's plan and sent Xin Pi to Cao Cao to surrender and ask for help. Xin Pi persuaded Cao Cao that since the Yuan brothers were slandering each other and the state had split in two, now was the time to destroy the Yuans, and Cao Cao turned back the army that was attacking Liu Biao and headed for Ji Province. Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, who were guarding Yuan Shang's rear, surrendered to Yuan Tan and then went over to Cao Cao. Romance, Ch. 32 §19–29
Where the Romance differs
How the heir was chosen: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Yuan Shao, just before his death, nodded in answer to Lady Liu's question, and Shen Pei wrote the testament. In the account of Yuan Shao in the Records, Yuan Shao wished to make Yuan Shang his heir but did not make it known, and after Yuan Shao's death, when the majority wanted to set up the eldest, Yuan Tan, Shen Pei and others raised up Yuan Shang, citing Yuan Shao's long-held wishes. Romance, Ch. 32 §2–3Records, Wei 6 §60
Wang Xiu's remonstrance: In Chapter 32 of the Romance, Wang Xiu, trying to dissuade Yuan Tan when he meant to kill Yuan Shang at a banquet, said that brothers are a left and a right hand, and was driven away. In the biography of Wang Xiu in the Records, Wang Xiu used the same comparison to dissuade Yuan Tan when, after his defeat by Yuan Shang, he wanted to attack Yuan Shang again; Yuan Tan did not listen, fought Yuan Shang, and asked Cao Cao for help. Romance, Ch. 32 §16–17Records, Wei 11 §59–61
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.