The Siege of Shouchun occurred in 197 AD when the forces of Cao Cao and other warlords loyal to the Han dynasty laid siege to Yuan Shu's stronghold of Shouchun after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself Emperor. The coalition succeeded in destroying Yuan Shu's power, although he continued to be a threat to China's unity until his death two years later.
Background[]
In 197 AD, the powerful southern warlord Yuan Shu proclaimed himself Emperor of the "Zhong dynasty" from his castle at Shouchun, having grown confident in his chances of victory from an impending marriage alliance with Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu was unaware of Yuan Shu's plans to claim the throne for himself, and, when Yuan Shu's envoy Han Yin informed Lu Bu that Lu Bu's daughter Lu Lingqi would one day become Yuan Yin's Empress, Lu Bu grew enraged, refusing to betray the Han dynasty (which, under Prime Minister Cao Cao, had just given him a general's rank). Lu Bu had Han Yin sent to Cao Cao for execution, angering Yuan Shu, who sent 200,000 troops to invade Lu Bu's base of Xu Province. Lu Bu repelled his invasion after calling for his former enemy Liu Bei's aid, and Cao Cao then sent a letter to the southern warlord Sun Ce, asking him to help him defeat Yuan Shu. Sun Ce declined Yuan Shu's request for troops and proceeded to declare war on him, and Cao Cao sent out a call to arms to several powerful warlords with the intent of forming a coalition to defeat Yuan Shu for good.
Cao Cao's 170,000-strong army marched to Xu Province, where he gave Lu Bu a general's rank and enlisted his support. He also received the support of Liu Bei, whom he had made Governor of Yu Province, and Liu Bei presented him the heads of the bandit leaders Yang Feng and Han Xian, who had used their government positions to plunder the residents of their cities. Cao Cao formed the center of the northern army, Lu Bu commanded the left wing, and Liu Bei commanded the right wing, while Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin led the vanguard. Yuan Shu's advisor Yang Dajiang advised Yuan Shu to leave 100,000 troops under Li Deng, Yue Jiu, Liang Gang, and Chen Ji in Shouchun without sending reinforcements there, as the city was famine-stricken and could not support any more troops; Yang Dajiang believed that the besiegers would eventually run out of supplies.
Siege[]
The Coalition troops readying for battle
Sure enough, Cao Cao - who had an army of 170,000 troops - was forced to act hastily to capture Shouchun. Sun Ce sent 100,000 carts of grain to help alleviate the famine, but Cao Cao's troops continued to starve and even threatened to mutiny. In order to prevent a mutiny, he asked Wang Hou to serve as a scapegoat, and he promised to take care of his wife and children after he died; Wang Hou was executed before he could complain, and his head was presented to the army. This appeased the discontented soldiers and restored morale, and Cao Cao issued an order that his generals would be put to death if the city was not taken within three days. Under the shower of stones and arrows, Cao Cao's troops filled the castle's moats, and, in a very short time, the walls were scaled, the gates were battered down, and the defenders were overwhelmed. Li Deng, Yue Jiu, Liang Gang, and Chen Ji were captured alive and executed in the market place after the castle fell.
Aftermath[]
Yuan Shu fled across the Huai River, and Xun Yu convinced Cao Cao not to pursue him, as an advance would weary his tired and hungry army. Cao Cao was ultimately forced to turn and face Zhang Xiu's uprising in Nanyang in 198.