Conflict202–207

Cao Cao Conquers the North

Also called: Battle of White Wolf Mountain

Victorious at Guandu, Cao Cao exploited the quarrels of Yuan Shao’s sons after his death to take Ye in 204, and in 207 defeated the Wuhuan, ending the Yuan clan. Northern China was his.

When Yuan Shao died of illness in 202, two years after Guandu, his sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought over the succession. Cao Cao took the Yuan stronghold of Ye in 204 and made it his own base, while Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to the Wuhuan nomads in the north.

In 207 Cao forced his way through rough country as far as White Wolf Mountain and routed the Wuhuan; the Yuan brothers fled to Liaodong, where Gongsun Kang cut off their heads. Cao now held both Hebei and the Central Plain, and the next year he turned south toward Jing province.

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The map in AD 202

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States at the time: Han
Places: Ye

People

Cao CaoAD 155 – AD 220
key figure · Chancellor and King of Wei in the late Han, who controlled Emperor Xian, defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu and unified the north, laying the foundation of Wei
Yuan ShaoAD 202
related figure · The most powerful northern warlord of the late Han, leader of the coalition against Dong Zhuo, defeated by Cao Cao at Guandu in 200

Before and after

Earlier: AD 200 Battle of Guandu
Later: AD 207 Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage

Themes that include this event

The Three KingdomsAD 184 – AD 280
From the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Jin reunification — a century of Wei, Shu and Wu, the age of Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan