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Yuan Shang, courtesy name Xianfu, was a native of Ruyang County, Runan Commandery. He was the third son of Yuan Shao, one of the warlords at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Shang was favored by Yuan Shao and inherited Yuan Shao's official position and title after Yuan Shao's death. This incurred the resentment of his elder brother Yuan Tan, and the brothers often fought each other.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), Cao Cao attacked Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan asked Yuan Shang for help. Yuan Shang was afraid that Yuan Tan would not return the soldiers after receiving them, so he left Shen Pei to guard the area and led the soldiers to rescue Yuan Tan himself.

In 203 AD, Cao Cao attacked Liyang. Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan retreated to Ye. Cao Cao took the opportunity to make Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan kill each other.

Later, both Yuan brothers were defeated by Cao Cao. Yuan Shang and his second brother Yuan Xi fled to Liaoxi to seek refuge with Tadun, the leader of the Wuhuan. However, Cao Cao soon pacified the Wuhuan, and the two had no choice but to seek refuge with Gongsun Kang, the governor of Liaodong. However, they were beheaded by Gongsun Kang, and their heads were sent to Cao Cao.

In 200 AD, Yuan Shao was defeated at the Battle of Guandu. He died in grief and indignation in 202 AD.

Before his death, Yuan Shao wanted to make Yuan Shang his successor because of his good looks and the favor he received from his second wife, Lady Liu, but he never formally expressed his opinion.

The people wanted to make his eldest son, Yuan Tan, the successor, but Feng Ji and Shen Pei had always been arrogant and extravagant, which made Yuan Tan resentful. Xin Ping and Guo Tu were close to Yuan Tan and had conflicts with Shen Pei and Feng Ji. Fearing that Xin Ping and others would harm them after Yuan Tan ascended the throne, Shen Pei and others pretended to be sent by Yuan Shao and supported Yuan Shang as the successor.

Unable to succeed to the throne, Yuan Tan proclaimed himself General of Chariots and Cavalry and stationed himself at Liyang. Yuan Shang did not give Yuan Tan many troops and sent Feng Ji to accompany him. However, later, because Shen Pei refused Yuan Tan's request for reinforcements, Feng Ji was killed, and the two became even more estranged.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), Cao Cao attacked Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan asked Yuan Shang for help. Yuan Shang was afraid that Yuan Tan would not return the soldiers after receiving them, so he left Shen Pei to guard the area and led the soldiers to rescue Yuan Tan himself.

At the same time, Cao Cao dispatched Guo Yuan, the governor of Hedong, to join forces with Gao Gan, the governor of Bingzhou who supported Yuan Shikai, and Luan Ti Huchuquan, the Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, to attack Hedong. He also joined forces with Ma Teng and other generals in Guanzhong to launch an attack. Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to resist, and Zhong Yao sent Zhang Ji to persuade Ma Teng to support him.

Ma Teng was successfully persuaded and sent Ma Chao and Pang De to rescue Zhong Yao. Zhong Yao attacked while Guo Yuan was crossing the river, inflicting a major defeat on Guo Yuan's army. Pang De even beheaded Guo Yuan. Upon seeing Guo Yuan's death, the Southern Xiongnu chieftain surrendered. Gao Gan also surrendered to Cao Cao.

In 203 AD, Cao Cao attacked Liyang and defeated Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, who retreated to Ye City. Cao Cao pursued them to Ye and harvested wheat fields.

At this time, all the generals of Cao Cao's army hoped to take advantage of the situation to eliminate the remaining forces of the Yuan clan, but Cao Cao ultimately followed Guo Jia's plan and withdrew his troops, leaving Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan to kill each other.

Yuan Tan said to Yuan Shang, "Our armor is not good, which is why we were defeated by Cao Cao last time. Now that we are retreating, everyone is thinking about going home. If we take advantage of the fact that they have not yet reached the river, we can launch a surprise attack and completely defeat Cao Cao's army. This plan must not be lost."

Yuan Shang, out of suspicion, did not agree, neither sending more troops to Yuan Tan nor changing his armor. Yuan Tan was furious, and Guo Tu and Xin Ping took this opportunity to tell Yuan Tan, "The one who wanted your father to adopt you as his brother's heir was Shen Pei's scheme to frame you."

Yuan Tan thought this made sense, so he led his troops to attack Yuan Shang. The two sides fought at the outer city gate, and Yuan Tan was defeated. He then led his troops back to Nanpi.

Wang Xiu led troops to rescue Yuan Tan and advised the brothers to live in harmony. Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, also wrote to Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, urging them to unite and work hard to manage the territories they now controlled, but neither of them accepted the advice. Yuan Shang then launched a major offensive, and Yuan Tan was defeated and retreated to Pingyuan to hold his position.

Yuan Shang then besieged the city, prompting Yuan Tan to send Xin Pi to Cao Cao for help. However, after meeting Cao Cao, Xin Pi advised him to seize the opportunity to annex Hebei. Cao Cao then dispatched a large army to attack Yuan Shang, who immediately returned to Ye City. Lü Xiang and Lü Kuang betrayed Cao Cao and surrendered.

In 204 AD, Yuan Shang attacked Pingyuan again, ordering Su You and Shen Pei to defend Ye. Cao Cao attacked Ye, and Su You attempted to rebel, but the plot failed and he fled. Cao Cao defeated Yin Kai and Ju Hu, and Han Fan, Liang Qi, and Zhang Yan surrendered, all of whom were rewarded.

When Yuan Shang learned of the crisis in Ye City, he led more than 10,000 men back to rescue the city. He ordered Li Fu to enter the city and inform Shen Pei to launch a joint attack, but they were intercepted by Cao Cao and defeated. Yuan Shang fled to a bend in the Zhang River and set up camp. Cao Cao surrounded him again, but before the encirclement was complete, Yuan Shang was afraid and sent Yin Kui and Chen Lin to request surrender, but Cao Cao refused.

Yuan Shang had no choice but to turn back and flee to Lankou. Cao Cao advanced again and quickly surrounded Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang's generals, including Ma Yan, surrendered in the face of battle, and his troops completely collapsed. Yuan Shang fled to Zhongshan.

Cao Cao seized Yuan Shang's baggage, seals, tallies, axes, cymbals, clothing, and other items, and showed them to the people inside the city. The city's garrison was disheartened and collapsed.

Soon after, Shen Pei's nephew, the garrison commander Shen Rong, led his troops into the city, and Shen Pei was beheaded. Yuan Shang ordered Qian Zhao to seek help from Gao Gan, but was refused, and Qian Zhao surrendered to Cao Cao.

While Cao Cao besieged Ye City, Yuan Tan betrayed Cao Cao and took the opportunity to plunder and occupy Ganling, Anping, Bohai, and Hexian, and attacked Yuan Shang in Zhongshan. Yuan Shang was defeated and fled to Gu'an to seek refuge with Yuan Xi.

In the tenth year of Jian'an (205 AD), Yuan Xi's subordinates Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan rebelled, and Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang fled to Wuhuan.

In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207 AD), Tian Chou helped Cao Cao launch a surprise attack on Liucheng. Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and tens of thousands of cavalrymen, including Tadun, Louban (the Chanyu of Liaoxi), and Nengchen (the Chanyu of Youbeiping), encountered Cao Cao in a great battle at Bailang Mountain.

Cao Cao's general Zhang Liao beheaded Tadun, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, along with several thousand personal guards, defected to Gongsun Kang in Liaodong. Gongsun Kang planned to capture Yuan Shang to claim credit, so he secretly arranged for elite and brave soldiers to be hidden in the stables before inviting Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi became suspicious and didn't want to go in, but Yuan Shang forced him to. Before they could even sit down, Gongsun Kang ordered his ambush troops to capture them. Their heads were cut off and sent to Cao Cao, thus unifying the north.

In the seventh year of Jian'an (202 AD), Yuan Shao, the governor of Ji Province, died of illness, and his third son Yuan Shang succeeded him as the head of the family, ruling over the four provinces of Qing, You, Ji and Bing.

Since Yuan Shang possessed the four wealthy provinces of Hebei, why was he defeated by Cao Cao in less than three years and lost all of Hebei? Let me explain in detail.

Yuan Shang was born into the prestigious Runan Yuan clan, a top aristocratic family during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was the son of Yuan Shao, the governor of Ji Province, and his second wife, Lady Liu. Originally, Yuan Shang was Yuan Shao's third son, with two older brothers, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi, and was not legally entitled to inherit the position of family head.

However, Yuan Shang had a good mother who did her best to help her son fight for the throne. At the same time, Yuan Shang was handsome and resembled his father Yuan Shao, so Yuan Shao loved this son very much.

Yuan Shao already favored Lady Liu, and since Lady Liu had repeatedly praised Yuan Shang for his talent, he extended his affection to her son and decided to change the heir, giving his eldest son Yuan Tan to his elder brother Yuan Ji.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Yuan Shang's ascension to the throne would have been a matter of time. However, an unexpected event occurred: in 202 AD, Yuan Shao died of anger after repeated defeats at the hands of Cao Cao, leaving no clear successor. This resulted in Yuan Shang's legitimacy being questionable. At the time, Yuan Shao had many advisors, and Xin Ping and Guo Tu had long supported Yuan Tan, so they proposed establishing an heir based on primogeniture, which gained the support of the majority.

However, Shen Pei and Feng Ji had always been at odds with Xin Ping and Guo Tu. Fearing that Yuan Tan would be suppressed by Xin and Guo after he ascended the throne, they strongly advocated following Yuan Shao's wishes and made Yuan Shang the head of the family.

Yuan Tan, the governor of Qingzhou, naturally disagreed with his younger brother Yuan Shang, so he stationed his troops at Liyang, intending to observe the situation. Meanwhile, Yuan Xi, the governor of Youzhou, and Gao Gan (Yuan Shao's nephew), the governor of Bingzhou, both chose to support Yuan Shang.

However, not wanting to see Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fight like brothers, they chose to remain inactive. Therefore, Yuan Shang only nominally controlled the provinces of You and Bing, and in reality, only controlled Ji province.

Just then, Cao Cao launched a northern offensive, so Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan reconciled and joined forces to resist Cao Cao. At the same time, in order to alleviate his own pressure, Yuan Shang appointed Guo Yuan as the governor of Hedong and sent him and his cousin Gao Gan to attack Hedong.

Several months later, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were defeated in a major battle against Cao Cao and had to flee north to Ye City. At the same time, Guo Yuan and Gao Gan's army was also defeated by Zhong Yao, a subordinate of Cao Cao. Subsequently, in order to cause infighting between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, Cao Cao took the initiative to withdraw his troops and march south to attack Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou.

Seeing Cao Cao retreat, Yuan Tan suggested to Yuan Shang, "The reason we were defeated by Cao Cao was because our armor was not good enough. Now that Cao Cao has retreated, the people are eager to return home. We can launch a surprise attack while they are crossing the river and we will surely win. I hope you can allocate troops and armor to me so that I can attack Cao Cao."

However, Yuan Shang suspected that Yuan Tan was feigning an attack on Cao Cao to trick him into giving him armor and horses, so he refused. Yuan Tan was furious and, following the advice of Xin Ping and Guo Tu, attacked Yuan Shang, but suffered a crushing defeat and had to flee to Nanpi.

When Wang Xiu, the Prefect of Qingzhou, heard of Yuan Tan's defeat, he went to his aid and advised him to reconcile with Yuan Shang to jointly fight Cao Cao. However, Yuan Tan refused to listen, so Yuan Shang launched an attack. Liu Biao, hearing of the conflict between the two Yuans, wrote to them urging them to make peace and jointly resist Cao Cao, but neither Yuan paid any attention.

Yuan Tan was defeated and had to flee to Pingyuan, sending messengers to Cao Cao for help. Upon hearing that Cao Cao was coming, Yuan Shang abandoned the siege of Pingyuan and returned to Ye City. Subsequently, Cao Cao and Yuan Tan arranged a marriage between their children, and then Cao Cao feigned a withdrawal of his troops.

In 204 AD, Yuan Shang left Shen Pei to defend Ye City while he led his army to attack Yuan Tan again. Upon hearing of Yuan Shang's expedition, Cao Cao immediately launched a northern attack on Ye City.

Yuan Shang, having failed to capture Pingyuan after a prolonged siege, and hearing of the imminent danger at Ye City, had no choice but to return to its aid. However, fearing Cao Cao, Yuan Shang could only encamp at the Fu River, seventeen li from Ye City, and set fire to coordinate with Shen Pei inside the city, hoping to launch a pincer attack on Cao Cao from both inside and outside.

Cao Cao saw through Yuan Shang's intentions and launched a preemptive attack, repeatedly defeating Yuan's army. Knowing he was no match for Cao Cao, Yuan Shang sent someone to surrender, but Cao Cao refused.

Knowing that Yuan Shang was already a frightened bird after his defeat, Cao Cao pressed his advantage and once again inflicted a crushing defeat on Yuan Shang, forcing him to flee. Yuan Shang intended to retreat to Zhongshan to regroup, but Yuan Tan took advantage of his misfortune and launched another major attack, resulting in another crushing defeat for him. He had no choice but to go to Youzhou to seek refuge with his second brother, Yuan Xi.

Soon after, Cao Cao captured Ye City, and Shen Pei was killed for refusing to surrender. Seeing that the Yuan family's power was waning, Gao Gan took the initiative to submit to Cao Cao. Then, seeing that the Yuan family's power was waning, Yuan Xi's subordinates also betrayed and surrendered to Cao Cao in the tenth year of Jian'an (210 AD), which led to Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi having no choice but to flee north to the Wuhuan.

Because Yuan Shao had always treated the Wuhuan people well, the Wuhuan chieftain Tadun took in the Yuan brothers. In order to completely eliminate future troubles, Cao Cao launched a campaign against the Wuhuan in 207 AD. As a result, the Wuhuan suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, and the two Yuan brothers had no choice but to flee to Liaodong to seek refuge with Gongsun Kang, the governor of Liaodong.

Yuan Shang, known for his bravery, saw that Liaodong was far from the Central Plains and conspired with Yuan Xi to assassinate Gongsun Kang, seize Liaodong, and revitalize the Yuan family. However, Gongsun Kang had already made two preparations: if Cao Cao came, he would use the two Yuan brothers to fight against him.
If Cao Cao had no intention of seizing Liaodong, Gongsun Kang would kill the two Yuan brothers to curry favor with him. As expected, Cao Cao knew Gongsun Kang's intentions and took the initiative to withdraw his troops. Gongsun Kang then killed the two Yuan brothers and presented them to Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao besieged Ye City, Yuan Tan captured Ganling County, Anping State, Bohai State, and Hejian State. After his defeat, Yuan Shang fled back to Zhongshan State.

Yuan Tan then attacked Zhongshan, forcing Yuan Shang to flee to Gu'an County, whereupon Yuan Tan absorbed his troops. Cao Cao wrote to Yuan Tan, condemning him for breaking the agreement and severing his marriage ties with Yuan Shang, ordering his daughter to return to her parents' home, before launching a military campaign against him.

Yuan Tan was terrified and withdrew from Pingyuan County, retreating to Nanpi County to hold his ground. In December, Cao Cao entered Pingyuan County and reclaimed the counties that Yuan Tan had captured.

Cao Cao besieged Ye City, while Yuan Tan conquered the surrounding areas. This demonstrates that during the Three Kingdoms period, the wars between various separatist forces were extremely fierce, and the struggle for territory and resources was one of the main objectives of these wars.

Yuan Shang was defeated in this war and fled back to the State of Zhongshan. Yuan Tan continued to attack the State of Zhongshan and annexed Yuan Shang's troops.

This shows that in war, the victorious side often expands its territory and sphere of influence, while the defeated side is forced to retreat and may even lose its army and territory.

The purpose of Cao Cao's letter was to condemn Yuan Tan for breaking the agreement and to sever his marriage ties with Yuan Shang. This demonstrates that in war, upholding agreements and alliances is crucial, and breaking alliances often leads to war.

At the same time, Cao Cao also strengthened his deterrent power on the battlefield and expressed his authority and determination through this method.

Upon hearing news of Cao Cao's advance, Yuan Tan was terrified and withdrew from Pingyuan County, fortifying his position in Nanpi County. This demonstrates that in war, the retreat and entrenching of troops are often strategic moves to better protect themselves and find the optimal defensive strategy.

The struggle between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang for territory and power reflects the political struggles within families during the Three Kingdoms period.

This phenomenon was very common in Chinese history, with brothers fighting each other for power and territory, leading to family divisions and even extinction. Therefore, this material offers us the following lessons:
1. Family ties cannot withstand the temptation of self-interest. Under the lure of power and territory, even brothers can fight and kill each other.

This shows that kinship is unreliable when it comes to interests, so people should pay more attention to the distribution and balance of interests in order to avoid internal strife and division.

2. Trust Crisis. The reason why Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought each other was because their trust had been compromised.

This shows that trust is very important in politics and within families, and once trust is broken, it can easily lead to internal struggles and divisions.

3. The Importance of Centralized Power. The struggle between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang ultimately led to the division of the family and the dispersion of power, demonstrating that within politics and families, power should be centralized as much as possible to avoid its dispersion and loss of control. (End of Chapter)