Battle
Battle of Yangcheng 陽城之戰
About this event
The Battle of Yangcheng was the battle in which, after Yuan Shao had Zhou Ang seize Yangcheng, where Yuan Shu had stationed Sun Jian to hold off Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu sent Gongsun Zan's younger cousin Gongsun Yue to attack Zhou Ang together with Sun Jian, but failed to win. Gongsun Yue was killed by a stray arrow in this battle, and Gongsun Zan, blaming the calamity on Yuan Shao, sent his troops to the Pan River, which led to the Battle of Jieqiao. Records, Wei 8 §12
Chen Shou recorded this battle only briefly, in the biography of Gongsun Zan in Records of Wei 8, and did not give the year. The battle does not appear in the Romance; in Chapter 7, Gongsun Yue, on his way back from meeting Yuan Shao, was killed by the arrows of a band claiming to be generals of Chancellor Dong's household. Records, Wei 8 §12Romance, Ch. 7 §8
Course of events in the Records
When Liu Yu's son Liu He, on his way to Liu Yu to convey the Son of Heaven's wishes, was detained by Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, fearing that Yuan Shu would resent him, gave his younger cousin Gongsun Yue a thousand cavalry and sent him to Yuan Shu to ally himself with him. Records, Wei 8 §10–11
At this time Yuan Shu had stationed Sun Jian at Yangcheng to hold off Dong Zhuo, but Yuan Shao had Zhou Ang seize the position. Yuan Shu sent Gongsun Yue to attack Zhou Ang together with Sun Jian, but they failed to win, and Gongsun Yue was killed by a stray arrow. Records, Wei 8 §12
Enraged, Gongsun Zan said, "My brother's death—the calamity began with Yuan Shao," and sent out troops to camp at the Pan River, intending to take revenge on Yuan Shao. By this time Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao had fallen out with each other, Yuan Shu allying with Gongsun Zan to the north and Yuan Shao with Liu Biao to the south. Records, Wei 8 §12Records, Wei 6 §73
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 | Yuan Shao faction | Yuan Shu faction |
| Commanders | Sun Jian, Gongsun Yue |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Wei 8 §12