Since Yuan Shao's defeat in the Battle of Guandu, in 201, Yuan Shao returned to Jizhou. At this time, Yuan Shao was upset and disregarded the government. And Yuan Shao's wife, Liu, persuaded Yuan Shao to establish an heir.

Yuan Shao had three sons. He didn't know who to appoint. Because two of Yuan Shao's three sons were each stationed in the same place. Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan, was stationed in Qingzhou. The second son Yuan Xi was stationed in Youzhou, and the third son Yuan Shang was handsome because of his good looks. Yuan Shao liked his third son very much. So let him stay by his side.

Yuan Shao couldn't make up his mind at this time. Which son should be appointed as the heir? So, Yuan Shao found his four strategists to discuss, Feng Ji, Xin Ping, and Guo Tu.

The two of them, Trial and Feng Ji, have always assisted Yuan Shang. And Xin Comment, Guo Tu and the two assisted Yuan Tan. So each of the four spoke for his master.

Yuan Shao said at this time: "Now the war ahead has not subsided. Our own internal affairs must be decided sooner rather than later. I would now like to consider the appointment of my successor. My eldest son, Yuan Tan, is fierce and easy to kill. The second son, Yuan Xi, has a weak personality and is difficult to become a big weapon. The third son, Yuan, still has the appearance of a hero and can treat the Magi with courtesy. I want to establish Yuan Shang, what do you think? ”

At this time, Guo Tu stood up and spoke. Guo Tu said: "Yuan Tan is the eldest son, and now he is stationed outside, if the lord has a young son, the situation will be chaotic, and now the father and son and brothers can't kill each other!" After Yuan Shao heard this, he hesitated.

At this time, someone suddenly came to report that the second son Yuan Xi had led 60,000 troops from Youzhou, the eldest son Yuan Tan had led 50,000 troops from Qingzhou, and his nephew Gao Gan had also brought 50,000 troops from Bingzhou. The three army horses came to help in the battle. Yuan Shao was overjoyed when he learned about it. So, put the people in order. Gather the three soldiers and horses together to start another war with Cao Cao.

On Cao Cao's side, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, he led troops and horses to be stationed on the river. Local elders welcome them with wine and food. Cao Cao was also very moved at this time, so he ordered the whole army not to kill a chicken or a dog in the people's homes, and those who violated the order were beheaded.

However, it was said that Yuan Shao took two or three hundred thousand horses and set up camp in Cangting. To fight to the death with Cao Cao. Cao Cao also came to Cangting.

The next day, the two armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao faced each other, and each set up a position.

At this time, Cao Cao took many famous generals to fight. And what about Yuan Shao's side, Yuan Shao's three sons. Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang are all here. There is also a nephew Gao Gan. and some civil and military officials. It's all coming.

Looking at the position of these two armies, it is not lower than the posture of the battle of Guandu.

So, Yuan Shaojun and Cao Caojun began to fight.

The first to fight will be Yuan Shang. At this time, Yuan Shang mainly wanted to be able to do so in front of his father Yuan Shao. can make himself Yuan Shao's successor a little more weight for success.

So, Yuan Shang brandished his double knives and Pegasus came out of battle.

Cao Cao's side sent a very unknown general. He is Xu Huang's subordinate general Shi Lian.

So, Yuan Shang and Shi Jian fought. But less than three rounds after the two of them fought, Yuan Shang played a clever trick. Yuan Shang pulled his horse and walked back, and Shi Jian hurriedly chased after him. Yuan Shang drew his bow, turned over and shot an arrow. The arrow hit Shi Lian's left eye. Shi Lian immediately fell off the horse and died.

At this time, Yuan Shao's own son won. So, Yuan Shao whipped his finger, and the team rushed over, and there was a scuffle, and then they each collected their troops and returned to the camp.

After Cao Cao returned to the camp, he discussed with the generals how to defeat Yuan Shao. So, Cheng Yu came out. He offered a strategy of "ambush on all sides". He advised Cao Cao to ambush ten tribes of men and horses, and then lure Yuan Shao to the edge of the Yellow River. And said to Cao Cao: "Our army has no way to retreat, it will definitely fight to the death, and it will definitely be able to defeat Yuan Shao." Cao Cao thought this was a good plan. So, this strategy was adopted.

Cao Cao divided into ten teams, five on the left and five on the left. Each team was hand-picked by Cao Cao. are all served by Cao Cao's love general. The author will not list them all.

The next day, ten teams of men and horses were ambushed first. In the middle of the night, Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to lead his troops forward, pretending to rob the village. After Yuan Jun found out, he immediately got up to meet the Wuzhai people for a while. Xu Chu took the men and horses, turned around and ran, and Yuan Shao's army followed. By dawn, they had already chased to the edge of the Yellow River.

Cao Jun had no way out, and at this time, Cao Cao shouted: "There is no way out, let's fight." So, Cao Cao's army all came out. So it was a blast. Defeat Yuan Jun.

After Yuan Shao's defeat, he hugged his three sons and cried bitterly. Unknowingly, I fainted. Everyone hurriedly rescued Yuan Shao and vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

Yuan Shao also sighed at this time: "I have experienced so many big battles in my life, but today I ended up in such a mess!" ”

At this time, due to the tension of the war. In order to prevent Cao Cao's attack, Yuan Shao ordered Yuan Tan to return to Qingzhou to set up defenses, and ordered Yuan Xi to return to Youzhou, and Gao Gan returned to Bingzhou, leaving only his third son Yuan Shang to accompany him back to Jizhou to recuperate. It can be seen from here that Yuan Shao still likes his third son Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang was brought with him every time he fought. And Yuan Shang also served as Yuan Shao's personal guard. No wonder Yuan Shao wanted to make Yuan Shang his successor.

At this time, Yuan Shao took Yuan Shang and others back to Jizhou to recuperate, and ordered Yuan Shang to be judged and matched, and Fengji temporarily managed the military.

In the spring of the following year, Cao Cao personally led a large army to attack Jizhou. At this time, Yuan Shao was seriously ill, so he let Yuan Shang lead the army to meet the battle. In just three rounds, Yuan Shang was defeated by Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao took advantage of the victory to pursue, but Yuan Shang couldn't resist it, so he had to lead his troops back to Jizhou.

In May 202, Yuan Shao fell ill. Died of melancholy. So far, a generation of warlords Yuan Shao has also disappeared in the long river of history. Some people say that Yuan Shao saw that Yuan Shang was defeated, and he was so anxious that he vomited blood and died. Or for some other reason. We don't know how to do it. Anyway, the prequel to Yuan Shao's death is located in the third son Yuan Shang.

However, since Yuan Shang inherited the throne of his father Yuan Shao. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone thinks that it should be the older Yuan Tan to be the heir. After that, Yuan Tan proclaimed himself a general of chariot cavalry. Since then, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan have turned against each other because of the competition for the throne.

Yuan Tan when Yuan Shang inherited Yuan Shao's position. I want to go to Jizhou to compete for the position. Later, following Guo Tu's advice, he led his troops to Liyang to meet the battle, but was defeated by Cao's army, and finally had to send someone to Yuan Shang for help.

At this time, Yuan Shang was afraid that Yuan Tan would surrender to Cao Cao, so he asked the trial to guard Jizhou, and he led 30,000 horses to Liyang. Yuan Tan Tun soldiers in the city, Yuan Shang Tun soldiers outside the city, forming a horn trend. Soon, Yuan Xi and Gao Gan also led troops to help, but the Yuan brothers were defeated repeatedly, and finally abandoned Liyang and fled to Jizhou.

At this time, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan could not hold out in Jizhou City, and Yuan Xi and Gao Gan bluffed outside the city. Cao's army couldn't capture Jizhou, and at this time the strategist Guo Jia came out to persuade Cao Cao.

The strategist Guo Jia advised Cao Cao not to rush to attack the city, and to sit back and watch Yuan Shao's three sons kill each other. Cao Cao listened to Guo Jia's plan and led his troops to retreat.

As Guo Jia expected. It didn't take long for Yuan Shao's three sons to fight over the succession. Yuan Tan used the strategy of the strategist Guo Tu to borrow Cao Jun to kill Yuan Shang, so he pretended to surrender to Cao Cao. After Cao Cao received Yuan Tan, he led a large army to surround Jizhou.

There is also a version of the canonical history here.

In September 202, Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan, and won. By February 203, Cao Cao's army had fought several battles with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang's army under the city of Liyang. Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang was defeated and fled back to the city to hold on, and Cao Cao wanted to besiege it. Yuan Tan, Yuan Shang finally escaped. In April, Cao Cao marched into Yecheng and returned to the capital city of Xu in May.

After Cao Cao returned to Xudu. Cao Cao's subordinate generals said that they should take advantage of the situation to pursue. At this time, the strategist Guo Jia said: "The current rush will make these two brothers work together, and if they slow down and fight again, they will compete first." This battle is not like the battle against Liu Biao, these two brothers should be watched and waited, once there is a change, we should do it, and it can be decided in one fell swoop. After Cao Cao heard this, he felt that Guo Jia's words were very correct, so he adopted his strategy, put down Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, and turned to attack Liu Biao.

Both versions are situations encountered by Cao Cao when he attacked Jizhou. One is that when Cao Cao saw that Jizhou could not be captured, he waited for the siege, and then Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan fell out. Cao Cao finally besieged Jizhou.

The other is that Cao Cao wanted to besiege, but Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang escaped. Cao Cao had no choice but to retreat to Xu Du to follow the advice of the strategist Guo Jia, first go to beat Liu Biao, and then wait for his changes.

And at this time, it was indeed Yuan Tan, and Yuan Shang had a falling out in Jizhou. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang are fighting for Jizhou. In the end, Yuan Tan was defeated by Yuan Shang and submitted a letter of surrender to Cao Cao. Some people say that this is Yuan Tan's fake surrender. His ultimate goal was to use Cao Cao's power to destroy Yuan Shang.

So how did Cao Cao defeat Yuan Shang in the end?

At this time, Yuan Shang, who was fighting alone, first ordered the trial to guard Jizhou, and he himself led an army to be stationed outside the city. Horns for each other. Cao Cao had no good way to break the city at this time, and the two armies were unable to hold each other. At this time, Cao Cao adopted Xu Yu's strategy to divert the water of the Zhanghe River to irrigate the city. The water in Jizhou City was several feet deep, and there was no food, and the Yuan army in the city was on the verge of despair.

And at this time, another old general of Yuan Shao was ready to surrender. This man is Simbi.

Xin Bi persuaded him to surrender outside the city, and this news reached the ears of the judge who was guarding the city at that time, and the judge was of course furious. So he beheaded more than 80 members of the Xinbi family at the head of the city. He also threw the heads of the people down the city, and Simbi wept incessantly. Because the nephew of the trial Rong and Xin Bi are close friends, he can't bear it. opened the west gate, let Cao's army enter the city, and Jizhou returned to Cao Cao.

At this time, Yuan Shang fled.

When Cao Cao entered Jizhou City with a great victory, there was another episode.

When Cao Cao entered the city, Xu Yu called Cao Cao by his nickname and said, "Ah Pu, if it weren't for me, how could you enter this gate?" Cao Cao listened, as if it was fine. Laugh and leave. Xu Chu saw that Xu Yu was too rude at this time, so he killed him and went to see Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao was very dissatisfied with Xu Chu's approach, the matter had come to this point, so he had to bury Xu You.

From here, it can be seen that Cao Cao is a person. Nothing less. You can see Cao Cao's heroic nature in troubled times.

In 205, at this time, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang's remnants met in Zhongshan, and they defected to Yuan Xi in Youzhou together. Cao Cao suddenly rebelled when he heard that Yuan Tan, who had already surrendered to him. Cao Cao, of course, was furious. And began to attack. Cao Cao led the army to pursue Yuan Tan to Nanpi, and at this time, Yuan Tan, who lacked troops and major generals, could only mobilize the local people to participate in the war. So, the two armies fought, and Yuan Tan was killed by Cao Hong. Cao Cao had Yuan Tan's head hung high on the city gate, and ordered those who dared to cry and mourn to be beheaded.

At this point, Cao Cao finally pacified Jizhou.

Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were not dead at this time, they fled to Wuhuan in the depths of the desert, Cao Cao took advantage of the victory to pursue, attacked thousands of miles, and defeated the second Yuan in the White Wolf Mountain.

In 207, Cao Cao wanted to crusade against Karasuma. The generals under him were worried that Liu Biao would take advantage of Cao Cao's expedition to attack Xudu, and Cao Cao also had such worries. However, Guo Jia stood up again, and he asserted with certainty that Liu Biao did not dare to do this, and he also urged Cao Cao to go on an expedition.

In August, Cao Cao met the enemy at White Wolf Mountain and ordered Zhang Liao to be the vanguard, causing the enemy to be defeated, and the number of surrenderers reached 200,000.

Later, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to Liaodong, and Sun Kang, the Taishou Gong of Liaodong, beheaded the two and offered their heads to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was even more convinced of Guo Jia. On the way back from Liucheng, Guo Jia fell seriously ill and died. Cao Cao also deplored.

At this point, the Yuan group has perished. Cao Cao withdrew his troops and returned to Xudu.

Later, Cao Cao accidentally got a bronze sparrow in Xudu, and all the civil and military officials said that it was an auspicious omen at this time. Cao Cao was overjoyed, so he built the Tongque Platform on the Zhanghe River, and according to the suggestion of his youngest son Cao Zhi, set up a jade dragon platform on the left, set up a golden phoenix platform on the right, and the three were connected by the overpass, which was very magnificent and majestic.

The Yuan Group has all perished. At this point, we have said goodbye to a great power group. At this time, the battle for supremacy really began a white-hot process.

And at this time, what kind of movement did Liu Bei have? Please follow below.