Gongsun Kang
Cao Cao, a Commandant of Cavalry during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and then Colonel in the Army of the Western Garden by 188 CE, was Governor of Yan Province (modern western Shandong and eastern Henan) in 196 CE when he took the emperor from Luoyang to his headquarters at Xuchang. Yuan Shu declared his own Zhong Dynasty (仲朝) in 197 CE, yet this bold move earned him the desertion of many of his followers, dying penniless in 199 CE after attempting to offer his title to Yuan Shao. Gaining more power after defeating Gongsun Zan (d. 199), Yuan Shao regretted not seizing the emperor when he had the chance and decided to act against Cao. The confrontation culminated in Cao Cao's victory at the Battle of Guandu in 200 CE, forcing Yuan to retreat to his territory. After Yuan Shao died in 202 CE, his sons fought over his inheritance, allowing Cao Cao to eliminate Yuan Tan (173–205 CE) and drive his brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi to seek refuge with the Wuhuan people. Cao Cao asserted his dominance over the northeast when he defeated the Wuhuan led by Tadun at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207 CE; the Yuan brothers fled to Gongsun Kang (d. 221 CE) in Liaodong, but the latter killed them and sent their heads to Cao Cao in submission.