Yuan Shao (袁紹, pronunciationⓘ; died 28 June 202),[1][2] courtesy name Benchu (本初),[3] was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty.

His eventual failure despite his illustrious family background and geographical advantages was commonly blamed on his indecisiveness and inability to heed the advice of his advisors.

His family had for over four generations been a prominent force in the Han civil service, having produced numerous members in high positions since the first century CE.

After the death of Emperor Ling in May 189, He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to eliminate the eunuch faction,[5] but Empress Dowager He was against their idea.

The resulting power vacuum provided Dong Zhuo, who found and rescued the emperor and prince, with an opportunity to seize control of the imperial capital when he arrived.

Relations between the two deteriorated and Yuan Shao fled from Luoyang to Ji Province (present day southern Hebei).

Yuan Shao declared himself General of Chariots and Cavalry (車騎將軍) and camped at Henei (河內), near a fort on the Yellow River just north of Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo then sent Hu Zhen, Lü Bu and Hua Xiong to deter the coalition vanguard led by Sun Jian.

After that loss, Dong Zhuo decided to move the imperial capital to Chang'an, where his home base of Liang Province was nearby.

In response, Yuan Shu allied with Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian, and ordered Sun Jian to fight his half-brother.

The Battle of Yangcheng, being the first move in the struggle between the two Yuans, marked the beginning of a new stage in the confusion of wars which brought about the end of the Han dynasty.

In the winter of that year, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan's elite cavalry at the Battle of Jieqiao with the use of massed crossbowmen.

The Han imperial court issued an edict ordering Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan to cease fire.

Yuan Shao then returned to Ye and started targeting the Heishan bandits, who had been causing trouble in Ji Province.

With temporary aid from Lü Bu, Yuan Shao managed to defeat the Heishan bandits despite suffering heavy casualties.

At the same time, Yuan Tan also achieved exceptional success on expanding his territories in Qing Province,[7] driving out Gongsun Zan's general Tian Kai in 193[14] and defeating Beihai chancellor Kong Rong in 196.

However, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong opposed this move under the faulty logic that if Yuan Shao were to do so, he would have to yield to Emperor Xian on key decisions.

In 198, Yuan Shao advanced against Gongsun Zan and encircled his remaining force at Yijing (present-day Xiong County, Hebei).

By early 199, Yuan Shao had completely defeated Gongsun Zan at the Battle of Yijing and held absolute power over the four provinces north of the Yellow River.

Towards the end of 199, both sides had already engaged in skirmishes at Liyang (northwest of present-day Xun County, Henan), a major crossing point of the Yellow River.

At the time, Yuan Shao's main veteran army boasted of numbers over 100,000, supplemented with hundreds of thousands of less skilled militia units.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shao was able to reorganise his defeated armies to settle the rebellions in his own domain, soon reestablishing order and restored the status quo ante bellum.

He wept bitterly for his old friend in front of his followers and gave Yuan Shao's family consolatory gifts and a government pension.