After executing Shi Huan, Yuan Shang’s pride swelled. He would not wait for Yuan Tan and the others to arrive; instead, he led several tens of thousands of troops out of Liyang to meet Cao Cao’s vanguard. Zhang Liao rode out to engage him first. Yuan Shang thrust at him with his spear, but within three exchanges Zhang Liao broke through his guard, routed him utterly, and pressed the attack. Yuan Shang could not rally his men and fled in haste back to Jizhou.
Yuan Shao was aghast to hear of Yuan Shang’s defeat. His old illness flared up, blood spurted in great draughts from his mouth, and he collapsed unconscious. Lady Liu rushed him indoors to tend him, but his condition rapidly worsened. She summoned Shen Pei and Feng Ji to stand vigil by Yuan Shao’s bedside and discuss his succession. Shao could only point wordlessly with a trembling finger. “Can Shang succeed me?” Lady Liu asked. He nodded. At her bidding, Shen Pei knelt and composed a deathbed will. Shao suddenly cried out once and vomited more blood—and died. Later poets would lament:
“Through generations, our clans forged great fame, Youthful ardor once led bold exploits in fame. Yet by calling forth a thousand stalwart guests, They squandered legions armed to swell their name. Like a lamb in tiger’s hide, their merit grew faint; Like a feathered heart in a fowl’s breast, their deeds were tainted. How mournful a grief, two brothers doomed to woe, A house in ruin, and kin’s bond left jaded.”
In the wake of his death, Shen Pei and Feng Ji took charge of the funeral rites. Lady Liu—gripped by jealousy—ordered Yuan Shao’s five favorite concubines to be killed. Fearing that their spirits might join Shao in the afterlife, she had their heads shaved, faces mutilated, and bodies desecrated. Yuan Shang, terrified that the concubines’ families might seek vengeance, had them hunted down and executed. Then, on Shen Pei and Feng Ji’s recommendation, he was proclaimed Grand Marshal and Governor of Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou. Envoys were dispatched to announce the mourning and succession.
By this time, Yuan Tan had already marched his forces out of Qingzhou. On learning of his father’s death, he hastily consulted with Guo Tu and Xin Ping. Guo Tu warned: “When we left Jizhou, Shen Pei and Feng Ji surely intended to install Shang. If we hurry there now, we risk their trap.” Xin Ping counseled the same. Yuan Tan fretted, “What should we do?” Guo Tu advised: “Station our troops outside the city and watch their movements closely. I will go in disguise to assess the situation.” Tan followed this plan.
Guo Tu entered Jizhou and greeted Yuan Shang with proper ceremony. Shang asked, “Brother, why do you not come in person?” Guo Tu replied, “I lie ill encamped with the army.” Shang said, “By our father’s will, I am now lord, and you are appointed Chief Cavalry General. The Cao army presses at our borders; Brother, lead the vanguard—I will support you with fresh troops.” Guo Tu urged, “Our chief strategists, Shen Pei and Feng Ji, should assist me.” Shang demurred—they could not be spared—but agreed that one of them go, letting fate decide by drawing lots. Feng Ji’s lot was drawn, and he was dispatched, sealed orders in hand, to join Guo Tu at Yuan Tan’s camp.
When Feng Ji arrived, he found Yuan Tan in good health and presented his credentials—but Tan flew into a rage and threatened to behead him. Guo Tu interceded: “Our enemy is at the gates. Spare Feng Ji to keep Shang’s mind at ease. Once we defeat Cao, then we can compete for Jizhou.” Tan heeded him. Immediately he broke camp and marched to Liyang, where he confronted Cao’s forces. He sent the general Wang Zhao out to fight; Cao Cao countered with Xu Huang (or according to some accounts, Xu Huang’s comrade Xu Huang, though elsewhere named Xu Huang or Xu Chu). In brief combat, Xu Huang cut Wang Zhao down beneath his horse, and Cao’s troops overwhelmed and routed Yuan Tan’s army. Tan fled back into Liyang and sent messengers to Yuan Shang for reinforcements.
Shen Pei and Feng Ji counseled Shang to send only five thousand men. When Cao learned that these relief forces were coming, he dispatched Yue Jin and Li Dian to ambush them. Caught between Cao’s main army and the intercepting force, the Yuan relief troops were annihilated. Tan, furious that Shang had sent so few and betrayed him, summoned Feng Ji to accuse him. Ji said, “I wrote to ask Brother to come himself.” Tan ordered that Ji write the letter, to be carried back to Jizhou. Shen Pei then declared: “Guo Tu is cunning; last time he abandoned you because he feared Cao on your doorstep. If Shang sends reinforcements now, they will again be slaughtered. Better to leave Cao to weaken him further, and then we shall be rid of Yuan Tan.” Yuan Shang followed this advice and refused to send aid. When the messenger returned with this decision, Yuan Tan, enraged, had Feng Ji executed—and decided to submit to Cao.
A spy secretly informed Yuan Shang. He and Shen Pei agreed: “If Tan surrenders to Cao and later attacks us, Jizhou will be imperiled.” So they left Shen Pei and the general Su You to defend Jizhou, while Yuan Shang himself led a great host to relieve Tan. Shang called forward two generals, the brothers Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, who volunteered to lead the vanguard. With thirty thousand men he advanced to Liyang. Upon hearing of Shang’s approach, Tan rejoiced and dropped his plan to surrender. He drew up troops inside the city; Shang’s men encamped outside, forming a pincer.
Soon Yuan Xi and Gao Gan arrived with forces, deploying in three camps around Liyang. Daily skirmishes took place; Shang’s repeated assaults failed, while Cao’s armies won victory after victory. In the spring of Jian’an Year Eight (March 203), Cao divided his forces to attack Jizhou. Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and Gao Gan all suffered crushing defeats and were forced to abandon Liyang. Cao pursued them to Jizhou, where Tan and Shang took refuge within the city walls; Xi and Gan moved to shelter at Yuli, thirty li away.
Cao’s troops besieged Jizhou for days, but could not breach it. Guo Jia urged Cao Cao: “The Yuan brothers, in deposing the elder for the younger, set brother against brother and built rival factions. Whenever pressed, they aid one another; at ease, they turn on each other. Rather than attack here, let us march south to Jingzhou and chastise Liu Biao. If we wait for the Yuan house to finish its infighting, then strike, we may settle them all at once.” Cao accepted this counsel. He left Jia Xu as prefect to hold Liyang, Cao Hong to guard Guandu, and led the main army south toward Jingzhou.
When Yuan Tan and Guo Tu heard that Cao had lifted the siege, they rejoiced. Yuan Xi and Gao Gan each withdrew their troops. Yuan Tan conferred with Guo Tu and Xin Ping: “I, as eldest son, have failed to uphold our father’s legacy; Shang, born of the stepmother, holds greater rank. I cannot bear it.” Guo Tu replied: “Your Highness should camp outside the walls and invite Shang and Shen Pei to a feast, then slay them both in one stroke.” Tan agreed and summoned his subprefect Wang Xiu from Qingzhou, revealing the plot. Wang Xiu rebuked him: “Brothers are like hands; if you sever one, how can you hope to prevail? Do not heed the slanderers who would have you destroy your kin for a moment’s gain.” Tan, enraged, dismissed Wang Xiu and sent to summon Yuan Shang.
Yuan Shang and Shen Pei conferred. Pei said: “This scheme must be Guo Tu’s. If Brother journeys here, he will fall into a trap. Better to seize the initiative and attack him.” Yuan Shang followed this advice, donned his armor, and led fifty thousand men out of Jizhou. Yuan Tan, realizing his scheme was betrayed, donned armor and rode out to meet him. On the field, he cried out: “You slew Father with poison, usurped his title, and now seek to kill your own brother!” Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan clashed swords in person—Tan was routed, and Shang pressed the victory, driving him across the plains.
Yuan Tan rallied a remnant and fled to Pingyuan; Yuan Shang returned to Jizhou. There Tan and Guo Tu met again. Guo Tu urged another offensive, appointing Cen Bi as commander for a fresh attack. Shang left the city at the head of his army. The two forces arrayed on the open plain. As Cen Bi rode forth to taunt Shang, Lü Kuang charged and cleaved him beneath his horse. Tan’s forces broke again and fled to Pingyuan. Shen Pei urged Yuan Shang to pursue, but Tan held fast within the city, refusing to sally forth. Shang’s troops surrounded three sides of the city. Tan and Guo Tu plotted within: Guo Tu said, “Our stores are low and their troops are fresh. Send an envoy to surrender to Cao Cao; he will attack Jizhou to rescue Shang. Then we can strike Shang from both flanks and capture him. If Cao defeats Shang, we can harvest his army’s spoils to oppose Cao, whose supply lines will be overextended and forced to withdraw. We shall hold Jizhou and press our advantage.” Tan agreed and dispatched Xin Pi—Xin Ping’s brother and the prefect of Pingyuan—as his envoy, entrusting him with a letter and three thousand escort troops.
Xin Pi rode through the night to Cao’s camp above Xiping, where Liu Bei commanded the vanguard against Liu Biao. He arrived unannounced; Cao received him with ceremony, and Pi presented Yuan Tan’s letter. Cao pondered it, then detained Pi in camp to confer with his advisors. Cheng Yu warned: “Yuan Tan, pressed by Shang, has no choice but to offer surrender—hardly trustworthy.” Lü Qian and Man Chong agreed: “Having come this far, can we risk aiding Tan over Liu Biao?” Xun You interjected: “We must look to the larger picture. Liu Biao shelters between the Yangtze and Han rivers but has never aspired beyond his region. The Yuan family once held four provinces and hundreds of thousands of troops; if the brothers united, they might still dominate. But now, divided and weakened by famine and natural disasters, their house is collapsing. If we strike Shang first, then see Tan’s true colors, we may end the Yuan line in one stroke. From there we can safely march on Jingzhou. The mandate is ours. Let us not squander this opportunity.” Cao cheered, saying, “How I wish I had met Xin Pi sooner!” That very day he withdrew his forces and seized Jizhou. Alarmed, Liu Bei fell back to Jingzhou.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shang, hearing that Cao’s army had recrossed the river, rushed his forces back to Ye, ordering Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang to cover the rear. Yuan Tan, seeing Shang’s withdrawal, rallied his troops and pursued across the plain. After some miles, a cannon thundered, and the two armies clashed: Lü Kuang on the left, Lü Xiang on the right intercepted Yuan Tan. Tan confronted them: “While Father lived, I never slighted you; why now side with my brother?” The Lü brothers dismounted and surrendered to Tan. Tan said, “Do not surrender to me—surrender to Chancellor Cao.” They accompanied him back to camp. When Cao arrived, Tan presented them to him. Cao rejoiced, gave his daughter in marriage to Tan, and ennobled Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang as marquises to serve in his army. He then said to Tan: “Our supply lines are strained. Let us dam the Qi River to secure grain transport before we move on.” Tan was instructed to hold Pingyuan. Cao withdrew to Liyang to regroup, while Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang remained in his service.
Guo Tu warned Yuan Tan that Cao’s favor was a snare: “By marrying you and ennobling those two generals, he binds the hearts of Hebei’s people to him. We must forge duplicate seals and send them secretly to those two Lü brothers, so they may act as our secret allies. When Cao crushes Yuan Shang, we will have them on our side.” Yuan Tan followed his counsel, but the Lü brothers delivered the extra seals straight to Cao. The Chancellor laughed: “They thought to be our inside men after Shang falls. Let them think so; I have other designs.” From then on, Cao intended to eliminate Yuan Tan as well.
Back at Jizhou, Yuan Shang and Shen Pei conferred on how to respond to Cao’s damming of the river. Pei said, “Issue summons to the Prefect of Wuan, Kai, to garrison Mao City and open the supply route from Shangdang. Order Ju Hu, son of Ju Shou, to defend Handan as distant support. We should march to Pingyuan to crush Yuan Tan first, then turn on Cao.” Yuan Shang was pleased and left Shen Pei and Chen Lin to guard Jizhou, while he advanced with Ma Yan and Zhang Yi as vanguard toward Pingyuan.
Yuan Tan, seeing Shang’s army nearing, sent a plea for help to Cao. “This time, we shall surely hold Jizhou,” Cao declared. Just then Xu You arrived from Xuchang. Hearing Shang attacked Tan again, Xu You entered Cao’s presence and said: “Chancellor, if you remain here idly, will you wait for Heavenly Thunder to slay the Yuan brothers?” Cao smiled: “My plan was already set.” He instructed Cao Hong to seize Ye and led his own force to drive off the Prefect Kai. When Kai sallied forth to meet him, Cao asked, “Where is Xu Zhongkang?” Cao Zhong, Xu You’s son, leapt out and charged Kai. Taken by surprise, Kai was slain beneath his horse. Cao’s army accepted the city’s surrender and pressed on to Handan. Ju Hu arrayed his troops to resist; Zhang Liao rode out to engage and routed Ju Hu’s forces. When Ju Hu turned to flee, Zhang Liao took up his bow, shot him from horseback, and pursued the rout. Cao’s army then marched on Jizhou.
Arriving at the gates, Cao ordered his troops to build earthen mounds around the walls and secretly dig tunnels beneath them. Shen Pei, atop the battlements, saw earth piled shallowly outside and scoffed: “They intend to flood the city; but these trenches are far too shallow to hold water!” That night Cao reinforced his laborers tenfold; by dawn the trenches were two zhang wide and deep. He diverted the waters of the Zhang River into them, flooding the city to a depth of several feet. With supplies cut off, Yuan Shang’s soldiers began to starve.
Outside the walls, Xin Pi planted the Yuan seal and banner on his spear to signal the city’s defenders. Shen Pei, enraged, had Pi’s family of eighty killed on the ramparts, then tossed their severed heads down. Pi wept bitterly. His cousin Shen Rong, who had long been his friend, penned a note, tied it to an arrow, and shot it into the city. Soldiers retrieved it and delivered it to Cao, who decreed that if the city fell, no Yuan kinsmen or civilians were to be harmed. At first light, Shen Rong swung open the western gate, admitting Cao’s army. Xin Pi spurred his horse inside, and the troops poured in, slaughtering the Yuan defenders.
Shen Pei fought on the southeast tower with a handful of men but was soon overwhelmed by Xu Huang, who captured him and bound him for execution. En route he met Xin Pi, who, gnashing his teeth in vengeance, whipped Shen Pei’s head: “You butchered my family—today you die!” Shen Pei spat back: “You Judas! If you had not betrayed me, would I have lost Jizhou?” Brought before Cao, Shen Pei refused to yield. Cao said, “Do you know who opened the gates for me?” Pei answered, “I know not.” Cao replied, “It was your nephew Shen Rong.” Pei cursed, “Had he not been a child, none of this would have happened!” Cao granted him a final audience: “Why so many arrows from the walls last night?” Pei retorted, “Not enough, not enough!” Cao sighed, “Your loyalty to the Yuan was such that Heaven itself condemned your house.” Turning to Shen Pei, he offered him one last mercy—joining his service. Pei refused and requested execution. “To live as a Yuan retainer, to die as a Yuan spirit—that befits me more than your hollow flattery!” With that, he knelt to the north and met his end by the sword. After his death, scholars composed:
“Hebei bred lofty worthies—none like Shen Zhen’nan. His lord, though unwise, called forth his steadfast soul. In life, his truth spoke clear; in death, his honor shone. Facing death to the north, his virtue long lives on.”
Moved by his loyalty, Cao Cao ordered Shen Pei buried north of the city. His generals urged him to enter Jizhou, but just then the executioners herded another prisoner forward—Chen Lin. Cao said, “You wrote the proclamation that called my vengeance—your fault is mine to punish. But why dishonor your grandfather?” Lin replied, “An arrow once loosed will not return. I merely did what fate ordained.” Counselors urged his execution, but Cao, pitying his talents, spared him and appointed him to his court.
Meanwhile, Cao’s eldest son Cao Pi, styled Zihuan and eighteen years old, had been marked by portent since birth. When he was born, a purple-blue cloud shaped like a carriage cover hovered over his chamber all day. An astrologer whispered to Cao Cao, “This is the aura of a Son of Heaven. His destiny is too august to speak!” By eight, Pi was composing essays, versed in antiquity and current affairs; he excelled at horsemanship, archery, and the sword. When Cao Cao first seized Jizhou, Pi led the household guard into Yuan Shao’s ancestral residence at Ye unbidden. A captain barred his way, saying, “The Chancellor’s orders forbid entry.” Pi refused to leave, drawing his sword and pressing into the inner hall. There he found two women embracing and weeping—and tried to slay them. As the Chronicle says:
“Four generations of marquises now lay in dust— A house once noble, by fickle fortune thrust.”
