Complex sentence: When a famine broke out in Yan and Yu provinces, Xiahou Yuan and his family were adversely affected, and he decided to abandon his youngest son in favour of his deceased younger brother's orphaned daughter.
Split into simpler sentences: When a famine broke out in Yan and Yu provinces, Xiahou Yuan and his family were adversely affected. He decided to sacrifice his youngest son in favour of his deceased younger brother's orphaned daughter.