Background
In 190, dissenting regional officials and warlords formed a coalition against the Chancellor of State, Dong Zhuo, who controlled Emperor Xian. Dong Zhuo was concerned that the capital Luoyang was not as easy to defend as Chang'an to the west, and thus moved all civilians and court officials, including the emperor, to Chang'an while the military under Dong stayed to defend Luoyang. During the mass relocation on April 9, Dong ordered his soldiers to raze Luoyang, confiscate from the rich, and looted from the Han emperor tombs. According to Records of Three Kingdoms, the people who died during the relocation was "beyond measure".
Cao Cao, stationed in Suanzao (酸棗, near present-day Yanjin, Henan), saw this as an opportunity to attack Dong Zhuo and announced to the dormant alliance:
We rallied troops of righteousness to destroy oppression and disorder, now that we're united, why do you hesitate? At the beginning, if Dong Zhuo heard that armies have risen (against him) in Shandong, he would have relied on the imperial house, occupied the old capital, and turned east to attack the rest of the empire; then even though he behaved immorally, he would still be a threat. Now he's burning the palace, holding the Son of Heaven hostage and moving him away. The empire is in disorder and nobody knows where to turn to. This is the time when he is condemned by Heaven. One battle and the empire will be settled. We must not lose this opportunity.Apparently, Cao Cao did not manage to rally anyone else in the alliance except his personal friend Wei Zi (衛茲), who was under the warlord Zhang Miao. Nonetheless, the detachment marched west from Suanzao with the intention to occupy Chenggao.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Xingyang (190)
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