Battle of Cangting The Battle of Cangting was part of a mop - up operation undertaken by the warlord Cao Cao after his victory over his rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu in 200 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . The battle was also mentioned in Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " as the final clash between the forces of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao before Yuan Shao died . In history . After Yuan Shao ' s defeat at Guandu , many cities within his territory north of the Yellow River rebelled and switched allegiance to Cao Cao . Despite this , Cao Cao ' s forces were too exhausted from the strain of battle to take advantage of the situation . Yuan Shao still retained a presence south of the river at Cangting ( 倉亭 ; north of present - day Yanggu County , Shandong ) , a lone bridgehead down the river east from the battlefields of Guandu . Cao Cao had originally wanted to follow up his victory over Yuan Shao by turning south to attack Liu Biao and Sun Quan , the latter who had newly inherited his domain from his deceased brother Sun Ce . Cao Cao ' s strategist Xun Yu cautioned against such action , reasoning that Cao Cao should take the opportunity to settle the matter with Yuan Shao , who was now facing internal turmoil after his recent defeat . Xun Yu also realized the danger of turning the focus to the south at such a time , since the remnants of Yuan Shao ' s men might band up and attack Cao Cao ' s rear . Cao Cao then gave up on the idea and continued the campaign against Yuan Shao . Cao Cao went to collect grain from Anmin ( 安民 ; southeast of present - day Dongping County , Shandong ) . This position was well to the east of his former defences at Guandu , as well as near to Yuan Shao ' s position at Cangting . Cao Cao may have been drawing supplies from far afield to mount an attack across the river , but the amount he gathered was no match for Yuan Shao ' s resources north of the river . In the fourth lunar month , in summer , Cao Cao drew up his troops from upriver to attack Yuan Shao ' s men at Cangting and defeated them . With this battle , Yuan Shao ' s last units south of the river were eliminated . Afterwards , Cao Cao returned to his base in the capital Xu City in the ninth lunar month to give his troops a few months of needed rest . Yuan Shao was able to regather his defeated armies to settle the rebellions in his own domain , soon reestablishing order and restored the status quo ante . In the fifth lunar month of the next year , summer 202 , Yuan Shao died in illness and agony over his defeat , leaving his domain to be contested by his sons and a looming Cao Cao . In fiction . In chapter 31 of Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " , the scarcely recorded Battle of Cangting was elaborated on and given new light . It became the last battle that Yuan Shao personally commanded , in which he also brought all his sons along . The battle also provided Cao Cao ' s tactician Cheng Yu with an opportunity to show off his skills of ambuscade . After his defeat at Guandu , Yuan Shao became dispirited and uninterested in politics . That was until his oldest son Yuan Tan brought 50 , 000 men from You Province , second son Yuan Xi brought 60 , 000 men from Qing Province , and nephew Gao Gan brought 50 , 000 from Bing Province . Yuan Shao prepared to face Cao Cao again after assembling the new reinforcements , and brought the total of some 300 , 000 men to camp at Cangting . Cao Cao marched his force nearby and faced the challenge . The next day , the two armies arrayed themselves against each other . Yuan Shao ' s youngest son Yuan Shang rode out to seek a duel to impress his father . Xu Huang ' s subordinate Shi Huan ( 史渙 ) challenged Yuan Shang , but was shot in the left eye and died . Seeing that his son had won the duel , Yuan Shao directed his armies to charge and the two armies battled . At night , Cao Cao held a conference to discuss the battle plan , and it was then Cheng Yu presented his " ambush from ten sides " ( 十面埋伏 ) strategy . He suggested that Cao Cao retreat to the riverbank and leave ten brigades in ambush , and lure Yuan Shao ' s men to the river . Cao Cao accepted and set the plan in motion . At midnight the following day , Cao Cao sent Xu Chu to pretend to launch a raid on Yuan Shao ' s camp . Yuan Shao ' s men responded to the bait and gave chase until Cao Cao ' s men reached the river . With retreat out of the question , Cao Cao ' s men turned around and fought to the death , bringing chaos to Yuan Shao ' s army , who had to turn back after facing such stiff resistance . It was then Xiahou Yuan and Gao Lan emerged from their ambush to block Yuan ' s way . The Yuans broke through , but then Yue Jin and Yu Jin appeared before them , followed by Li Dian and Xu Huang . With much casualties , the Yuans made their way back to their camp and prepared for a meal . Just then , Zhang Liao and Zhang He came out of ambush and attacked the camp . Yuan Shao hurried mounted his horse and fled toward Cangting , with Cao Cao ' s main army in pursuit . Finally , Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun appeared before him , and the desperate Yuan Shao had to fight his way out . After the battle , all of Yuan Shao ' s warhorses were dead , corpses piled across the fields , and blood flowed like creeks . Yuan Xi and Gao Gan were wounded by arrows , and once together , Yuan Shao hugged his three sons and cried . Soon afterwards , he fainted and spat blood ceaselessly . In anguish , he said , " I have campaigned on several occasions , never have I suffered like today ! Heaven dooms me ! You [ sons ] shall return to your home provinces and promise to settle matters with Cao once and for all ! "