Cheng Yu
Yuan Shao died in 202, after which his sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang started fighting over their father's territories. During the Battle of Liyang of 202–203 against the Yuan brothers, Cao Cao put Li Dian and Cheng Yu in charge of escorting food supplies to the frontline by crossing the Yellow River. Yuan Shang sent his subordinate Gao Fan () to station near the river bank to block Cao Cao's supply route. Cao Cao had instructed Li Dian and Cheng Yu to send the supplies by land if they could not cross the river. However, Li Dian gathered his men and told them, "Gao Fan's troops are lightly armoured and they block the water route. This shows that they are lax, so they can be overcome easily. The military does not act against orders, but they can make their own decisions if they feel they are doing something beneficial to the country. Let's take them out quickly." Cheng Yu agreed with Li Dian, so they led their forces across the river to attack Gao Fan and defeated the enemy, thus securing the supply route across the river.