Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province was a punitive invasion launched by the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao (; ; ; 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a Chinese statesman, warlord, and poet who rose to power during the end of the Han dynasty (), ultimately taking effective control of the Han central government. He laid the foundation f ...

against Tao Qian, the Governor of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient Ch ...

, in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

'' for the invasion was the murder of Cao Cao's father,

Cao Song Cao Song (died 193), courtesy name Jugao, was an official who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the foster son of the eunuch Cao Teng and the father of the warlord Cao Cao, who rose to prominence in the final years of Easte ...

, in Xu Province. Although Tao Qian's culpability was questionable, Cao Cao nonetheless held him responsible. The invasion took place in two separate waves in 193 and 194, during each of which Cao Cao captured a number of towns and engaged in collective punishment of the civilian populace.

Background

Cao Cao's father Cao Song was living in his hometown Qiao (; present-day

Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

) after retirement until it became a battlefield during the

Campaign against Dong Zhuo The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the i ...

. So Cao Song along with the rest of his family moved to Langya (; present-day

Linyi Linyi ( zh, s=临沂 , t=臨沂 , p=Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the eas ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

) in Xu Province. By 193, Cao Cao had established a base in

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China, a list of regions compiled by Yu the Great when he toured the land after stopping the Great Flood and succeeding Emperor Yao. Description In the Shang Shu, translated b ...

(covering present-day southwestern

and eastern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

), and invited his father over to his territory. Cao Song was very wealthy, and had brought with him a baggage train consisting of more than 100 covered carts full of his effects. In or near Hua County (near

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...

), on the border of Xu Province and Yan Province, Cao Song and his son Cao De ( 曹德) were ambushed and killed. There were two accounts of how they were murdered. According to the ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' and ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'', Tao Qian had garrisoned men nearby at Yinping, who were tempted by greed for Cao Song's riches and murdered him for his wealth en route to his destination. According to Wei Zhao's ''Book of Wu'' – the official history of

Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...

– Tao Qian despatched 200 bodyguards led by Commandant of the Capital Zhang Kai ( 張闓) to escort Cao Song, but Zhang instead murdered Cao and made off with his riches. Regardless of Tao Qian's culpability, Cao Cao intended to hold him responsible for the murder of his father.

The first invasion

In the summer or autumn of 193, Cao Cao invaded Xu Province with an unspecified number of troops and easily captured over ten cities.''Zizhi Tongjian'', .1945: 秋，操引兵擊謙，攻拔十餘城，至彭城，大戰，謙兵敗，走保郯。''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', .249, biography of Tao Qian: 初平四年，太祖征謙，攻拔十餘城，至彭城大戰。謙兵敗走，死者萬數，泗水為之不流。謙退守剡。''History of Chinese Warfare'', vol. 4, p 67 After conquering Pengcheng (; present-day

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

), Cao Cao killed possibly more than 10,000 defenders. Tao Qian fled to Tan (; present-day Tancheng County,

), he was joined by

Tian Kai Tian Kai (died 199) was an official serving under the warlord Gongsun Zan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Little is recorded about Tian Kai in history. He probably started his career as a subordinate of the warlord Gongsu ...

, with the reinforcements Tao Qian was able to resist Cao Cao. Cao Cao's forces eventually ran out of supplies and had to withdraw back to Yan Province. Thwarted and low on rations Cao Cao turned his army around, in the process sacking the counties of Qulü (), Suiling (), and Xiaqiu (). The local population was swollen with refugees from the violence of the capital regions. Cao Cao's army killed over 100,000 civilians, including both men and women, such that the

Si River The Si River (Chinese: 泗河, pinyin: Sì Hé; formerly 泗水, pinyin: Sì Shuǐ) is a river in Shandong Province, eastern China. It also ran through the area of modern Jiangsu Province until floods changed its course in 1194. Course The S ...

was stoppered up with their corpses. His army took the chickens and dogs for food and tore down the villages into ruins.

The second invasion

In the spring of 194, Cao Cao's army returned to Xu Province, and Tao Qian begged aid from

in the nearby

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

(). Tian Kai sent Tao Qian a force of some thousand men commanded by

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

. Tao Qian, seeking to open a southern front against Cao Cao, appointed Liu Bei as the Inspector of Yu Province, and transferred 4,000 soldiers into his service.''History of Chinese Warfare'', .68 Along with Tao Qian's officer

Cao Bao Cao Bao (died 196) was a military officer serving under Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He became a subordinate of Tao Qian's successor, Liu Bei, after Tao's death in 194. He was killed by ...

, Liu Bei encamped east of Tan ().''Zizhi Tongjian'', .1950: 曹操使司馬荀彧、壽張令程昱守甄城，復往攻陶謙，遂略地至琅邪、東海，所過殘滅。還，擊破劉備於郯東。謙恐，欲走歸丹陽。''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', .249, biography of Tao Qian: 興平元年，復東征，略定琅邪、東海諸縣。謙恐，欲走歸丹楊。會張邈叛迎呂布，太祖還擊布。 Cao Cao's army plundered Langya and Donghai (; near present-day Tancheng, Shandong), destroying all in its path. Returning west, Cao Cao engaged and defeated Tao Qian's forces led by Liu Bei. According to one source, Cao Cao conquered the nearby city of Xiangben () after this. Xu Province was only granted reprieve when

Zhang Miao Zhang Miao may refer to: * Zhang Miao (politician) (died 195), official in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China * Zhang Miao (cyclist) (born 1988), Chinese cyclist * Zhang Miao (table tennis) (born 1991), Chinese para table tennis player *Zhang Mi ...

betrayed Cao Cao and invited

Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...

to take over Cao Cao's home base in

(). Cao Cao broke off his vengeance against Tao Qian and turned his army back to attack Lü Bu.

Aftermath

Liu Bei characterisctically shifted his alliance from Tian Kai towards Tao Qian and he remained in Xu Province after Cao Cao left. When Tao Qian died of illness later in 194, his sons Tao Shang () and Tao Ying () were passed over for governorship by the local elite in favour of Liu Bei. Thus Liu Bei gained his first territory as a result of Cao Cao's campaign.''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', .873, biography of Liu Bei: 謙病篤，謂別駕麋笁曰：「非劉備不能安此州也。」謙死，笁率州人迎先主，先主未敢當。 ...先主遂領徐州。

In popular culture

Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province is featured as playable stages in the second PSP installment, seventh, eighth,

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

, and

Origins Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

instalments of

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...

's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'' video game series.

Notes and References

Notes

# The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (.1945) has "autumn", while the ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (.11) has "summer". ''History of Chinese Warfare'' specifies "the sixth month" (vol. 4, p 67), which would have been around August. # This casualty statistic, which appears in Tao Qian's biography in ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (.249), is attached to a phrase describing the

being dammed with the bodies of the dead. According to

Rafe de Crespigny Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny (born 1936), also known by his Chinese name Zhang Leifu (), is an Australian sinologist and historian. He is an adjunct professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. ...

(
To Establish Peace
', volume 1, internet edition (2004), note 24 nternet pagination, this is unsupported by geography and probably happened during Cao Cao's massacre of civilians somewhat farther south, not during his battle at Pengcheng. Thus, the casualty figure is most probably not reliable. # The ''Book of the Later Han'' (.2367) also includes Pengcheng and Fuyang (; in present-day

) among Cao Cao's ravages.

Citations

Sources

Chen Shou Chen Shou ( zh , t = 陳壽 ; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work, the ...

, 三國志 (''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regard ...

''), 280s or 290s.

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanizati ...

annotation An annotation is extra information associated with a particular point in a document or other piece of information. It can be a note that includes a comment or explanation. Annotations are sometimes presented Marginalia, in the margin of book page ...

, 429. Hong Kong: Zhonghua Publishing, 1971. 5 vols. * * Fan Ye, et al., 後漢書 (''

''), 445. Beijing: Zhonghua Publishing, 1965. 12 vols. *

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', a monumental work of history. B ...

, et al., 資治通鑒 (''

''), 1084.

Hu Sanxing Hu Sanxing (; 1230–1302), born Hu Mansun (胡滿孫), courtesy names Shenzhi (身之), Meijian (梅澗), and Jingcan (景參), was a Chinese historian and commentator who lived during the late Song dynasty and early Yuan dynasty. Hu was born in ...

, annotation, 1286. Beijing: Zhonghua Publishing, 1956. 20 vols. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province 193 194 Military history of Jiangsu 190s conflicts Campaigns during the end of the Han dynasty Punitive expeditions Cao Cao