Prelude
See also: Battle of Dushi FordThe geographical position of Guandu (官渡; northeast of present-day Zhongmu County, Henan) made it a militarily strategic position. It was near Yan Ford (延津; north of present-day Yanjin County, Henan) on the Yellow River and laid on the road leading to the capital city Xu. Cao Cao recognized its strategic importance and in the autumn of 199, he stationed troops there and prepared fortifications. Other deployments along the frontline included Liu Yan (劉延) in Boma (白馬; near present-day Hua County, Henan), Yu Jin in Yan Ford, Cheng Yu in Juancheng (鄄城; near present-day Juancheng County, Shandong), and Xiahou Dun in Meng Ford (孟津; present-day Mengjin County, Henan). At the same time, Cao Cao sent Zang Ba to harass Qing Province (青州), which was governed by Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan, to prevent his eastern flank from coming under attack.
In the first month of 200, Liu Bei rebelled against Cao Cao and seized Xu Province (徐州) after killing Che Zhou (車冑), Cao Cao's appointed Inspector (刺史) of Xu Province. Cao Cao, in an unexpected move, left his northern front exposed to Yuan Shao and turned east to retake Xu Province. Yuan Shao tried to use the opportunity to start a campaign south, but was daunted by Yu Jin, the defender of Yan Ford.
When Cao Cao returned to Guandu after his victory over Liu Bei, who sought refuge under Yuan Shao afterwards, Yuan Shao wished to renew the campaign against Cao Cao. The aide-de-camp (參軍) Tian Feng, who had urged Yuan Shao to attack Cao Cao while he was away, advised against such a campaign, reasoning that they had lost their chance and must wait. Yuan Shao ignored Tian Feng's repeated remonstrations and imprisoned him under charges of demoralizing the army.
Shortly after, Yuan Shao had Chen Lin draft a document condemning Cao Cao in what is essentially a declaration of war, and marched his main army toward the forward base of Liyang (黎陽; northwest of present-day Xun County, Henan) north of the river. At the time, Yuan Shao's army boasted of numbers up to 110,000, including 10,000 cavalry.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Guandu
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