Yuan Tan

Yuan Tan ( Chinese  袁譚  /  袁谭 , Pinyin Yuán Tán , W.-G. Yuan T'an ), majority name Xiansi (顯 思, * 173 ; † 205 ) was the eldest son of the Chinese warlord Yuan Shao and served him during the late Han dynasty as a commander. After his father's death, Yuan Tan fell out with his youngest brother, Yuan Shang, over the succession. With the help of the powerful warlord Cao Cao , he defeated his brother, but soon fell victim to Cao Cao himself.

Life

Yuan Tan made a name for himself at the Battle of Guandu (200), although it ended with devastation for his father. Yuan Shao withdrew to his headquarters in Ye , but soon fell ill and died (202) without determining his successor. Although Yuan Tan was the firstborn, Yuan Shao's youngest son, Yuan Shang, enjoyed the father's favor the most.

Many officials wanted to appoint Yuan Tan as his successor according to custom, but influential counselors Shen Pei and Feng Ji promoted Yuan Shang and forced him to inherit Yuan Shao. When Yuan Tan moved from his base to the capital, there was nothing he could do about the situation. However, he took his father's title General of the Charioteers and Cavalry (車騎 將軍).

In the fall of the same year, Cao Cao launched a campaign against the Yuan family. Yuan Tan stationed his troops in Liyang (northeast of what is now Xunxian District , Henan ), but his brother denied his request for more men. Yuan Shang feared that his brother was trying to gain control of the military. He therefore appointed Shen Pei to be his governor in Ye and personally led the force to Liyang. After half a year of wrestling, the Yuan brothers gave up the city and withdrew to Ye.

Cao Cao was now looking for a strategy to weaken the Yuan brothers before he could advance into the heart of their empire, but they had no outside enemies other than him. His counselor Guo Jia suggested pitting the Yuan brothers against one another and destroying their rule from within. Cao Cao took this advice and withdrew his troops to attack Liu Biao in Jingzhou (荊州, today's Hubei and Henan). Meanwhile, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan actually started to fight each other. After initial defeats, Yuan Tan withdrew to Pingyuan (平原, in what is now Pingyuan District , Shandong ) and sent a messenger to Cao Cao with whom he sought to ally himself. Cao Cao granted him the alliance and even wed one of his daughters to Yuan Tan to seal the alliance.

Yuan Shang soon led his force against Yuan Tan again. However, when he heard that Cao Cao was besieging Ye City, he was forced to retreat. His attempt to unite his troops with the occupation of the city was foiled. Yuan Shang was defeated and fled far north to the Wuhuan tribe area. In the meantime, Yuan Tan had violated the alliance by capturing the command posts of Ganling (甘陵, present-day Qinghe District , Hebei ), Anping (安平), Bohai (勃海, in the vicinity of present-day Cangzhou , Hebei) and Hejian (河 間) and added to his kingdom. He also took over part of his defeated brother's troops. Cao Cao turned his troops against Yuan Tan, who withdrew to Nanpi (南皮). In 205 he was finally defeated and executed by Cao Cao .

Yuan Tan in The Story of the Three Kingdoms

In the historical novella The Story of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong , Yuan Tan's ending is presented in somewhat greater detail. In chapter 33 he sends Xin Ping (辛 評) as a messenger to Cao Cao while he is being besieged in Nanpi. Xin Ping is supposed to negotiate the surrender, but fails and is accused of treason by Yuan Tan on his return because his brother Xin Pi (辛毗) is serving in Cao Cao's camp. Xin Ping became so angry at the allegation that he died soon after, which Yuan Tan regretted.

That night, Yuan Tan had his relatives capable of arms equipped quickly and went with them in the first line of battle against Cao Cao the next morning. He fell in battle fighting Cao Hong .