Battle of Ye The Battle of Ye or Battle of Yecheng took place in 204 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and Yuan Shang , son and successor of Cao Cao ' s rival Yuan Shao , in the Yuan clan ' s headquarters Ye ( in present - day Handan , Hebei ) . Cao Cao had been allied with Yuan Shang ' s elder brother Yuan Tan , who rebelled in a succession feud , and it was by Yuan Tan ' s request that Cao Cao laid siege to Ye . The successful siege of the city dislodged Yuan Shang ' s power from Ji Province ( 冀州 ) , and Cao Cao would later use the city of Ye as a major base of his military power . Background . Yuan Shao , the powerful warlord of the north , had been decisively defeated by his southern neighbour Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu in 200 and died two years later in frustration . Despite the defeat , the Yuan power bloc was by no means eliminated , for Yuan Shao was survived by his three sons Yuan Tan , Yuan Xi , and Yuan Shang ; together with their cousin Gao Gan , the Yuan family still held on to the provinces of Ji , Qing ( 青 ) , Bing , and You . The Yuan brothers were not on good terms , however - Yuan Tan , the oldest , contested the succession of his younger brother Yuan Shang , who was preemptively made heir by his supporters Shen Pei and Pang Ji , while the second son Yuan Xi was content with controlling the northernmost You Province and stayed out of his brothers ' conflict . In the winter of 202 , Cao Cao attacked Yuan Tan ' s position in Liyang , and Yuan Shang brought his troops to help his older brother . The two brothers held out for six months , before eventually driven back to Ye , where they successfully struck back and caused Cao Cao to withdraw for the time being . As soon as Cao Cao started to retreat in mid - 203 , the brothers ' feud took a turn to the worse . Yuan Tan requested more troops and equipment so he could lead an army to pursue Cao Cao ' s men , but Yuan Shang refused , not wanting his brother to gain control of a bigger army . This act of distrust proved to be the last straw for Yuan Tan , as he rebelled from his younger brother and attacked the city of Ye in anger . Yuan Shang successfully defended Ye again and chased Yuan Tan 300 kilometers away to Nanpi , the seat of Bohai Commandery ( 渤海郡 ) . Bohai was on the edge of the border with Qing Province , where Yuan Tan still held the title Inspector of that province ; but while he could expect some aid from the base of his power , some of his own men rebelled against him , and the position was very insecure . So when Yuan Shang came to attack Nanpi , Yuan Tan fled south to Pingyuan , where he was again besieged . Here he was close to Cao Cao ' s Yan province , and his advisor Guo Tu suggested seeking help from Cao Cao . Guo Tu reasoned that Cao Cao ' s army would attack Ye , and while Yuan Shang was to return to save his capital , Yuan Tan could expect to take the lands to the north of Ye ; and if Cao Cao was to be successful , Yuan Shang ' s power would be removed and the outstretched Cao Cao would retreat soon after , leaving Yuan Tan to gain control of the north and capable enough to make a stand against Cao Cao . Yuan Tan would not agree at first , but later sent Xin Pi as an ambassador to seek an alliance with Cao Cao . Since his withdrawal from Ye , Cao Cao ' s policy on the Yuan brothers was to let them wear each other out while he dealt with their ally Liu Biao in Jing Province ( 荊州 ; covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) , and thus he was unsure what to make of the envoy . Cao Cao ' s advisor Xun Yu , who long advocated settling the north before turning elsewhere , reasoned that Liu Biao was not ambitious enough to be a threat , and it was high time to reap the benefits of the Yuan family feud before the brothers reunite . Cao Cao agreed , but he continued to put Jing Province first . Observing that Cao Cao was doubtful of Yuan Tan ' s sincerity in an alliance , Xin Pi spoke his mind : Cao Cao accepted this advice , and Xin Pi thus transferred his allegiance . By the end of the year 203 , Cao Cao again led his army across the Yellow River to Liyang and cemented the alliance by marrying his son Cao Zheng ( 曹整 ) with Yuan Tan ' s daughter . Yuan Shang indeed lifted the siege on Pingyuan and returned to guard Ye . With Yuan Tan ' s position safe , Cao Cao returned for the time being . The battle . Laying siege to Ye . In the spring of 204 Cao Cao crossed the Yellow River again and , mindful of the logistical problems for him to operate north of the Yellow River , started several waterworks projects to ease the transportation of supplies . While these works were under way , Yuan Shang apparently thought it safe to renew his attack on Yuan Tan in Pingyuan again , and left his loyal supporter Shen Pei to defend Ye . Some within Yuan Shang ' s camp found his priorities questionable , so when Cao Cao indeed advanced on Ye some time around the second or third month , the city ' s defenders under Su You intended to rebel and capitulate Ye to Cao Cao . The scheme was discovered , its plotters suppressed by Shen Pei within the city , and Su You fled to Cao Cao . Now Cao Cao ' s army was at the gates of Ye . He had mounds erected and tunnels dug to lay siege to the city . Having done this , Cao Cao left the general Cao Hong to maintain the siege while he turned west in the fourth month to attack Yin Kai ( 尹楷 ) , a county magistrate under Yuan Shang who guarded the supply route from Bing Province . After storming Yin Kai ' s fortress Maocheng ( 毛城 ) at the foot of the Taihang Mountains , Cao Cao ' s army bypassed the defenses at Ye and defeated Ju Hu in Handan , north of Ye . This development brought about more defections from Yuan Shang ' s county magistrates , and the local Heishan bandit lord Zhang Yan offered his assistance to Cao Cao . By this time Ye was cut off from the south , west , and north , while Yuan Shang was at its east facing Yuan Tan . Cao Cao ' s army returned to the siege - lines of Ye in the fifth month . Shen Pei vigorously defended the city throughout the siege ; he had dug trenches within the city of Ye to counter Cao Cao ' s tunnels , and dealt with dissension among his ranks . One of his officers , Feng Li ( 馮禮 ) opened a sally port to let the enemy in . Shen Pei found out and had boulders dropped into the opening , blocking the gates and killed the roughly 300 soldiers who entered . Only a few weeks after the siege mounds and tunnels were constructed , Cao Cao changed tactics and ordered them destroyed . In their place , a shallow moat 40 " li " long was dug surrounding the city . At first the moat was shallow enough to be crossed , so Shen Pei laughed when he saw it and paid it no heed . Then , in a single night , Cao Cao dug the trench further , 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep , drawing water from the nearby Zhang River to the west and encompassing the Yanpi Marsh ( 晏陂澤 ) to the south and the Huan River to the east and north . The city became isolated , and by the beginning of autumn it was said that more than half in the city died of starvation . The arrival and repulsion of Yuan Shang . Some time in the summer Yuan Shang decided to abort his campaign against Yuan Tan and turned back to help defend his headquarters . Yuan Shang sent his Registrar ( 主簿 ) Li Fu ( 李孚 ) ahead to notify the defenders that relief was coming . To avoid detection by the besiegers , Li Fu brought only three horsemen , broke his staff of authority , and traveled by night . When he reached Cao Cao ' s camps surrounding the city from the north , he styled himself as a disciplinary officer and went through the camps finding fault with the sentries and punishing them . In this fashion he passed through the eastern camps from the northern camps into the camps on the southern side , where Cao Cao ' s personal camp was . Turning west from here , he arrested the officers on picket duty , tied them up , then made a dash to the city walls . He called to the defenders above , and they drew him in by rope . The ecstatic defenders sounded the drums in celebration of Li Fu ' s arrival , and Cao Cao laughed when he was made known of Li Fu ' s exploits . Li Fu was to return to relay Ye ' s situation to Yuan Shang . He realized that he could not use the same trick to get past the siege - lines and so conjured another ploy . He had Shen Pei arrange to have the old and weak sent out in the night to save food . During the night , several thousand people selected were sent away through three different gates , carrying white flag s to surrender . Li Fu and his followers blended into the crowd and exited Ye by the northern gate , then escaped the surrounding camps from the northwest . Yuan Shang was glad to see Li Fu back , while Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed again when he knew Li Fu escaped . Through the ruckus surrounding Li Fu ' s infiltration , Cao Cao ' s men knew that Yuan Shang was leading troops to relief Ye . Some of Cao Cao ' s officers were concerned that since Yuan Shang was coming home with Yuan Tan at his heels , Yuan Shang ' s soldiers would theoretically be on " death ground " ( 死地 ) , where they would fight more fiercely to save themselves according to Sun Tzu ' s " The Art of War " . Cao Cao pointed out that he should indeed avoid battle with the reinforcements if Yuan Shang came on the main road from the east ; but if Yuan Shang moved across to the northwestern hills , he would have friendly territory ( Gao Gan ' s Bing province ) behind him and his army would be easier to deal with . Yuan Shang approached obliquely from the north , to the delight of Cao Cao . When his scouts told him Yuan Shang ' s army reached Handan , Cao Cao candidly announced to his generals " I already have Ji Province , did you know ? You shall see soon . " From the western hills , Yuan Shang turned east to Yangping village ( 陽平亭 ) , 17 " li " from Ye . On the bank of the Fu River ( 滏水 ) flowing north of the city , the relief army set camp and lit torches to signal the defenders for a coordinated attack , who lit another fire in acknowledgement . Shen Pei made a sortie to the north to rendezvous with Yuan Shang , but Cao Cao defeated both armies , driving Shen Pei back within the walls and Yuan Shang to Quzhang ( 曲漳 ) , a bend on the Zhang River . Cao Cao then moved to surround Yuan Shang ' s position , but before the encirclement was completed , an afraid Yuan Shang sent Yin Kui ( 陰夔 ) and Chen Lin to negotiate for surrender . Cao Cao refused , and pressed Quzhang harder . One night , Yuan Shang abandoned Quzhang for Lankou ( 濫口 ) in the western Qi Hills ( 祁山 ) , where Cao Cao followed and defeated Yuan Shang once more . Yuan Shang ' s army was completely scattered , his generals Ma Yan ( 馬延 ) and Zhang Yi ( 張顗 ) surrendered , and Yuan Shang himself fled far north to Zhongshan Commandery ( 中山 ) . Cao Cao ' s men captured his baggages , seals , and other insignia . End of the siege . Cao Cao had the trophies of his victory against Yuan Shang shown to the defenders of Ye , which greatly lowered their morale , but Shen Pei was adamant . He rallied the troops based on the hope that Yuan Shang ' s second brother Yuan Xi would soon come to the rescue from You Province , thus they have no reason to worry about Yuan Shang ' s rout . When Cao Cao rode out to inspect the siege - works , Shen Pei had crossbowmen fire at him ; the shots missed narrowly . A few nights later , on September 13 of the Julian calendar , Shen Pei ' s nephew Shen Rong ( 審榮 ) betrayed the city and opened the east gate at night to let in the enemy . As Cao Cao ' s men breached the city , Shen Pei executed the families of Xin Pi ' s brother Xin Ping , whom he considered traitorous and responsible for the downfall of the Yuan clan , then personally joined the defense at the gates . Shen Pei and the remaining defenders were pushed into the city proper , where fighting continued in the streets for a while . Two sources , the " Parallel Annals of the Duke of Shanyang " ( 山陽公載記 ) and the " Chronicle of Emperor Xian " ( 獻帝春秋 ) , claim that Shen Pei hid in a well when all seemed lost , but the compiler Pei Songzhi rejects this account . Whatever the circumstance , Shen Pei was captured alive , and the siege finally ended after dragging on for more than half a year . Aftermath . Shen Pei remained defiant until the very end . He rebuked those who surrendered to Cao Cao and cursed the fact that the crossbow bolts did not hit Cao Cao . Cao Cao became impressed by his fierce loyalty and wanted to spare him , but Xin Pi and the others begged for his execution , so Shen Pei was to be beheaded . On the execution grounds , Shen Pei demanded to be allowed to face north as he died , since his lord Yuan Shang was in that direction . Cao Cao paid his respects at the tomb of Yuan Shao , where he wept for his friend - turned - enemy . He also offered condolences and pensions for members of Yuan Shao ' s family at Ye , though Cao Cao ' s son Cao Pi took Yuan Xi ' s wife Lady Zhen as his own wife in a serious breach of propriety . Politically , Cao Cao employed many of Yuan Shao ' s former officials , relieved all newly conquered territories of taxes for one year , and devoted his policies to rebuild country devastated by the three - way war among Cao Cao and the Yuan brothers . All these gained him wide popularity , which , along with the contingents of Bing Province troops sent to settle at Ye , prevented the outbreak of rebellion in favour of the former rulers . Gao Gan , the Inspector of Bing Province , offered his nominal surrender to Cao Cao for the time being . For Cao Cao ' s successes , an imperial decree named him the Governor of Ji Province , but Cao Cao excused himself from the honour and continued with his old post as Governor of Yan Province . For the most part , the fall of Ye removed the Yuan clan ' s power from Ji province . Yuan Tan , who had been taking advantage of the siege of Ye to take territories that belonged to Yuan Shang , defeated Yuan Shang in Zhongshan and drove him further north to You Province . Since Yuan Tan was at least expected to help during the siege , Cao Cao now accused Yuan Tan of acting in bad faith , and cancelled the marriage between their families . Months later , Yuan Tan returned to Nanpi and Cao Cao moved to attack him , killing him in battle in the first month of 205 . Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were unable to reorganize their men in You province after their setbacks and rebellions under their rule , and were decisively defeated along with their allies the Wuhuan in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain in 207 . Ye proved to be a useful acquisition for Cao Cao , who took the city as his chief residence soon after its capture . Over the years the city and its surrounding Wei Commandery ( 魏郡 ) became the heart of Cao Cao ' s power , as he initiated several works in and around the city , including the much - celebrated Bronze Bird Terrace ( 銅雀臺 ) and the Xuanwu Pond ( 玄武池 ) , where he trained his navy . In 213 Cao Cao was enfeoffed as the Duke of Wei , named after Ye ' s commandery , and the name stuck throughout the rise of the Cao family ' s fortunes , culminating in the state of Cao Wei that succeeded the Han Dynasty in 220 . According to " Shui Jing Zhu " , Ye was regarded as the Northern Capital during the Wei Dynasty .