Battle of White Wolf Mountain The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . The battle took place in northern China , beyond the frontiers of the ruling Han Dynasty . It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and the nomadic Wuhuan tribes , who were allied with Cao ' s rivals Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi . The victory attained by Cao Cao dashed the hopes of a Wuhuan dominion , and the Wuhuan eventually became weakened , lost importance , and were gradually absorbed into China or the Xianbei tribes . Background . The northern warlord Yuan Shao had maintained good relations with the Wuhuan beyond Chinese borders during his campaign against rival warlord Gongsun Zan , their common enemy , in the 190s . Yuan Shao gave the chieftains of his Wuhuan allies seals and insignia as chanyu after the final destruction of Gongsun Zan in the Battle of Yijing , and reinforced the alliance by marrying the daughters of his subordinates to the Wuhuan leaders , pretending as though the daughters were his own . The Wuhuan war leader Tadun was especially powerful and was thus very well - treated by Yuan Shao . The Wuhuan continued to support the Yuan clan after Yuan Shao ' s defeat at the Battle of Guandu against Cao Cao , shortly after which Yuan died . Subsequently , Yuan Shao ' s oldest and youngest son , Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang respectively , fought among themselves in a succession feud , which Cao Cao exploited for himself . Soon Yuan Tan was killed in a battle against Cao Cao and Yuan Shang had to flee to his second brother , Yuan Xi , in You Province . The Yuan brothers in You Province then became attacked in a mutiny against them , and fled further north to seek protection from the Wuhuan . The Wuhuan at this time had been united under the military leadership of Tadun , and his apparent strength prompted rumours that he was seeking to emulate Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu and Tanshihuai ( 檀石槐 ) of the Xianbei in creating a hegemony over the northern nomadic tribes . With the arrival of the Yuan brothers , accompanied by a considerable number of their followers , Tadun had gained command of a combined Wuhuan and Chinese force that was said to have numbered up to 300 , 000 . In the name of helping Yuan Shang regain his territories , the Wuhuan made several raids across the Chinese border . These raids were said to have kidnapped over 100 , 000 Chinese families . Posed with such danger in the north , Cao Cao contemplated the elimination of the Wuhuan threat . Plans and preparations . To prepare for a campaign far to the north of the Chinese heartland , Cao Cao put Dong Zhao in charge of digging two canals , the Pinglu Trench ( 平虜渠 ; " Pacify - the - Caitiffs Trench " ) and the Quanzhou Trench ( 泉州渠 ) , from the autumn of 206 to spring of 207 so he could use these waterways to ship supplies to the north . While these works were under way , some generals tried to dissuade Cao Cao from campaigning so far to the north in case of an attack from the south : However , Cao Cao ' s strategist Guo Jia urged a swift attack with the following analysis : Cao Cao agreed with Guo Jia ' s analysis , and in the summer of 207 , Cao personally marched his army to Yijing ( 易京 ; present - day Yi County , Hebei ) and made the city his base camp for the campaign . From there he advanced to Wuzhong ( 無終 ; present - day Ji County , Tianjin ) , where the local leader Tian Chou ( 田疇 ) submitted to him . The oblique approach . The base of Wuhuan power was located at Liucheng ( 柳城 ; in present - day Xingcheng , Liaoning ) , and the obvious line of attack from Wuzhong was through the plains along the coastline of the Bohai Sea . However , in the seventh lunar month , the monsoon season set in and the heavy rains flooded the low - lying areas and drenched the roads in mud , making the terrain impassible . The Wuhuan also anticipated such an attack route and held the river crossings , and for some time Cao Cao ' s army could not advance . Cao Cao turned to Tian Chou , who was familiar with the area and had run - ins with the Wuhuan before , for advice regarding this situation . Tian Chou notified Cao Cao of a disused road that led to the abandoned Former Han frontier lands . From there the army can march through undefended territory and attack the Wuhuan where they least expect it , and by doing so " Tadun ' s head can be taken without a single battle " , Tian Chou said . Cao Cao , most pleased , accepted the plan and led his army back ( presumably to Wuzhong ) . He had his men erect signs on the roads by the water , which wrote " It is the middle of summer , and the road is impassable . We are waiting for autumn or winter to resume the advance . " Enemy scouts saw the sign and apparently believed that Cao Cao really retreated . As Tian Chou had predicted , the Wuhuan were convinced that any force that could not advance through the plains had to turn back , which was a miscalculation most grave . Guo Jia had advised that " swiftness is the key in war " ( 兵貴神速 , which became a Chinese idiom ) , and thus suggested that Cao Cao should leave the baggage behind and make a forced march with light troops to take the enemy by surprise , since carrying too much baggage bogs the army down and alerts the enemy of the army ' s presence . Cao Cao took the suggestion to heart . With Tian Chou leading the way , Cao Cao led a light force to embark on what has been called one of his most remarkable military adventures of his career . They climbed the hills of Xuwu ( 徐無 ; west of present - day Zunhua , Hebei ) , exited the Chinese frontiers through Lulong Pass ( 盧龍塞 ; present - day Xifeng Pass 喜峰口 ) into the upper valley of the Luan River , and marched through difficult terrain for over 500 " li " . Turning east at Pinggang ( 平岡 ; near present - day Pingquan County , Hebei ) , the expedition force crossed the grazing fields of the Xianbei and re - entered the mountain ranges that served as Later Han Dynasty ' s borders . By now Cao Cao ' s men had flanked Tadun ' s defensive positions and was advancing on a line to the sea which would divide the enemy territory into two . The battle . By autumn in the eighth lunar month , as Cao Cao ' s army reached the valley of Daling River ( 大凌河 ) , Tadun and his allies realized what was happening and hastily withdrew from their prepared positions and gathered to face Cao Cao to the north . With tens of thousands of men gathered , Tadun , along with Yuan Shang , Yuan Xi , and the two Wuhuan chanyu Louban and Wuyan ( 烏延 ) , met Cao Cao ' s army at White Wolf Mountain ( 白狼山 ; near present - day Lingyuan , Liaoning ) . The encounter was sudden for both parties . Faced with superior numbers and the baggage left in the rear , Cao Cao ' s lightly armoured men became afraid . The Wuhuan , on the other hand , were evidently unprepared for battle as they were not in proper formations , nor did they attempt to take the initiative by harassing Cao Cao ' s march . Undaunted , Cao Cao climbed a slope to observe the enemy ' s formations . He saw that the Wuhuan were unordered , and immediately unleashed his soldiers to exploit this weakness . With general Zhang Liao leading the offensive , the light force swiftly defeated the Wuhuan cavalry , and Cao Chun ' s brigade captured Tadun . Within a short time , Tadun and many of his men were killed and the battle was over . Over 200 , 000 Chinese settlers and Wuhuan tribesmen surrendered to Cao Cao . Aftermath . The battle was decisive — in one single engagement , Cao Cao had broken the back of Wuhuan resistance . With a few thousand horses , the Yuan brothers and the surviving Wuhuan leaders , Supuyan ( 蘇僕延 ) , Louban , Wuyan and others , fled east to Liaodong ( 遼東 ; eastern Liaoning ) , where the warlord Gongsun Kang enjoyed some degree of independence from the Han Dynasty imperial court due to Liaodong ' s distance from the capital and the chaotic state in China . In the ninth lunar month Cao Cao continued his march into Liucheng , and there he halted , making no intention to attack Liaodong despite the urgings of his subordinates . " I shall arrange that Gongsun Kang cuts off the heads of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi and sends them to me . No need to bother with soldiers , " he said . He later explained that applying pressure to Liaodong may bind Yuan Shang and Gongsun Kang against him , but if he left them to their devices , they would quarrel within . A few days after Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi arrived in Liaodong , Gongsun Kang arranged to see them . Yuan Shang plotted to kill Gongsun Kang and take his territory for the Yuans , but Gongsun Kang struck first , killing the brothers and sending their heads to Cao Cao . The Wuhuan leaders who followed the Yuans were not spared either and were all decapitated . After this , Cao Cao returned to the North China Plain after a particularly difficult withdrawal from Liucheng , where the coldness of early winter , shortage of food , and drought all took their toll on Cao Cao ' s men . Guo Jia , whose advice immensely helped Cao Cao ' s cause , and the former warlord Zhang Xiu were among those who perished during this campaign . Upon his return , Cao Cao rewarded and complimented the counsellors who had advised against the Wuhuan campaign earlier , acknowledging that the venture had been dangerous and risky and he had been blessed by fortune . Indeed , Liu Bei had tried to persuade Liu Biao to attack while Cao Cao was away in the north . Even though , as Guo Jia predicted , Liu Biao did not take the opportunity and later regretted this decision . In the eleventh month , at the bank of the Yi River ( 易水 ) , the Wuhuan leaders Nanlou ( 難樓 ) and Pufulu ( 普富盧 ) , who did not join Tadun ' s ill - fated resistance , came to Cao Cao and offered their homage and congratulations , formally submitting to him . The Wuhuan who had surrendered were brought into China proper en masse , and their horsemen became known as the finest cavalry force in the empire . In Cao Cao ' s remaining years , the Wuhuan would not pose any serious danger to his domain , though there were minor revolts in 216 and 218 . With the death of Tadun and the Yuan brothers , Cao Cao ' s domination of northern China was now unchallenged . The success in the north brought Cao Cao tremendous prestige as he took the title of in 208 , and the secured northern frontiers allowed Cao Cao to focus his military attention against Liu Biao to the south in the same year . On the other hand , the Battle of White Wolf Mountain scattered the Wuhuan tribes , with remnants taking refuge in Manchuria , Goguryeo , and the western borders of Liaodong . As the years went by , these remnant Wuhuan tribes were eventually absorbed by the stronger powers nearby — some were assimilated by the Chinese , but most were incorporated into the Xianbei . The decline that began at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain destroyed the Wuhuan identity and their ability to remain politically independent , and for the most part , the Wuhuan ceased to be viewed as an independent people of the northern frontiers of China .