At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the people were not able to make a living, the court was controlled by the Xiliang warlord Dong Zhuo, and the princes of Kwantung rose up to resist, so they formed a coalition army, and there were 18 princes in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". However, this crusade against Dong Zhuo, except for a few people who really have the heart to support the Han family, everyone else has the intention of taking advantage of and gaining fame, and they can't work at all.
Although he finally forced Dong Zhuo to move the capital to Chang'an, he failed to eliminate Dong Zhuo at all, and his alliance was dissolved. So what is the final outcome of these 18 road princes?
First of all, we have to know which 18 princes were at that time. According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they are:
Later generals Nanyang Taishou Yuan Shu, Jizhou Mu Hanfu, Yuzhou Thorn Shi Kong Ling, Yanzhou Thorn Shi Liu Dai, Hanoi County Taishou Wang Kuang, Chen Liutai Shou Zhang Miao, Dongjun Taishou Qiao Mao, Shanyang Taishou Yuan Yi, Jibei Xiang Bao Xin, Beihai Taishou Kong Rong, Guangling Taishou Zhang Chao, Beiping Taishou Gongsun Zhan, Shangdang Taishou Zhang Yang, Wucheng Hou Changsha Taishou Sun Jian, Qixiang Hou Bohai Taishou Yuan Shao, Xiaoqi Captain Cao Cao, Xiliang Taishou Ma Teng, Xuzhou Thorn Shi Taoqian.Let's talk about them one by one.
Yuan Shu returned to Huainan after leaving the coalition army and began to expand continuously, successively using troops in Yuzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou and other places, each with victory and defeat. Because of the fame of the fourth and third dukes of the Yuan family, in the south, Yuan Shu is the strongest prince.
In the second year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu could no longer endure it and was determined to become emperor in Shouchun. This act directly made it the target of public criticism, and was besieged by the surrounding princes, Jiangdong Sun Ce announced his separation from Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao and Lü Bu formed an alliance to crusade against Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu was no match for the two at all.
Because Yuan Shu did not know how to govern in the land of Huainan, he had been reckless, resulting in the local people being miserable and hungry. Suffering such a defeat this time made all his people rebel and leave their relatives, and they could only survive.
In the fourth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu planned to take the jade seal to Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao sent Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to lead the army to intercept it. Yuan Shu couldn't pass and eventually died in the army.
After the dissolution of the alliance, Yuan Shao planned to support Liu Yu as emperor with Han Fu, but Liu Yu refused. Later, Han Fu and Yuan Shao had a bad relationship. Because Han Fu sits on Jizhou, which is the richest state and county in the world, Yuan Shao has long coveted it, and Yuan Shao plans to seize Jizhou and take action.
Gongsun Zhan was lured by Yuan Shao to send troops to Jizhou, Han Fu was very afraid, so under the persuasion of Xun Chen and others, he decided to give Jizhou to Yuan Shao, and this was in Yuan Shao's plan.
Han Fu thought that after giving Jizhou to Yuan Shao, he would be safe, and he would have no worries about food and clothing. As everyone knows, Yuan Shao has always wanted to get rid of Han Fu. Yuan Shao ostensibly appointed Han Fu as the general of Fenwu, and later appointed Han Fu's enemy Zhu Han as the capital official, intending to use his hatred of Han Fu to intimidate Han Fu.
After some intimidation, Han Fu was frightened all day long, so he defected to Zhang Miao. Later, Yuan Shao sent an envoy to meet Zhang Miao, and when he discussed the secret, the envoy whispered in Zhang Miao's ear. Han was there at the time, thinking he was calculating himself. After a while, he got up and went into the toilet and committed suicide with a book knife that had been scraping Jane.
Kong Ling, as the assassin of Yuzhou, actively responded to the anti-Dong. Shortly after the dissolution of the Alliance, he died of illness.
When the alliance was dissolved, Liu Dai, who was the assassin of Yanzhou, killed him because of his discord with Qiao Mao, the Taishou of Dongjun, and then maintained the alliance relationship with Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and others.
Later, the relationship between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao deteriorated, and Liu Dai listened to Cheng Yu's advice and chose Yuan Shao.
In the third year of the first peace, hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban troops from Qingzhou entered Yanzhou in a mighty manner.
During the period when the princes were fighting against Dong, Wang Kuang led his army to garrison Mengjin and fought against Dong Zhuo's army, but because of the heavy losses of his soldiers and soldiers, he returned to Hanoi County to recruit troops.
Dong Zhuo planned to win over Wang Kuang, so he sent the ministers of the DPRK and China, such as Han Rong of Dahonglu and Zhijin Wu Hu Muban, to Hanoi. On Yuan Shao's instructions, Wang Kuang sent the men to prison and beheaded them shortly after.
Although Wang Kuang acted on orders, Hu Muban's relatives were dissatisfied, and in order to take revenge, these people joined forces with Cao Cao to kill Wang Kuang.
During the alliance, because the leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao, was often arrogant, he was often reprimanded and admonished by Zhang Miao, and he was very jealous of him. After the dissolution of the alliance, Yuan Shao instructed Cao Cao to get rid of Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao did not do that, but blamed Yuan Shao for not killing his old friend Zhang Miao. It is precisely because of this incident that Cao Cao and Zhang Miao have a closer relationship.
In the fourth year of the first peace, Cao Cao went to conquer Tao Qian. And his execution of many celebrities in Yanzhou caused Chen Gong and others to be dissatisfied, so Chen Gong persuaded Zhang Miao to betray Cao Cao and greet Lu Bu. Cao Cao's base camp was almost breached, and he became a lost dog.
After Cao Cao returned, he fought with Lü Bu, and after several months, finally defeated Lü Bu. Zhang Miao fled with Lü Bu, and on the way to join Yuan Shu, he was killed by his own subordinates on the way.
After the end of the alliance, Liu Dai, the assassin of Yanzhou, borrowed grain from Qiao Mao, but Qiao Mao refused to give it, so Liu Dai led his army to kill him.
After the dissolution of the alliance, Yuan Shao, in order to have influence in the south, sent Yuan Yi to Yangzhou to pick up the Yangzhou assassin. How could Yuan Shu let Yuan Shao's people near his territory, so he led his army to attack and was finally killed.
In the first year of Chuping, Dong Zhuo was intimidated by the alliance of princes and was forced to move the capital, and Bao Xin followed Cao Cao to pursue and was defeated by Xu Rong in Xingyang. After returning to Jibei, he maintained an alliance with Cao Cao.
In the third year of the first peace, the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army invaded Yanzhou, and Bao Xin dissuaded Yanzhou Mu Liu Dai, but Liu Dai did not listen and was defeated and died. After that, Bao Xin, Chen Gong and others elected Cao Cao as the pastor of Yanzhou.
Cao Cao believed that the Yellow Turban Army was proud of the victory and underestimated the enemy, so he decided to meet the Yellow Turban Army at Shouzhang and sent an army to attack the rear of the Yellow Turban Army. As a result, there was a mistake in coordination, Cao Cao and Bao Xin arrived on the battlefield first, and the surprise soldiers did not arrive. The arrow had to be fired, and Cao Cao led his army to engage the Yellow Turban. Bao Xin desperately rescued Cao Cao, but was killed by the Yellow Turban Army.
After Kong Rong returned to Beihai, he continued to do things to protect the territory and the people. Later, the Yellow Turban Army attacked Beihai County under the leadership of Guan Hai, and Kong Rong begged Liu Bei to come to the rescue.
As the power of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao gradually grew, Kong Rong, who boasted of being a clear stream, was unwilling to join the stream, so he was attacked by Yuan Shao. In the first year of Jian'an, Kong Rong was defeated and had to serve in Xuchang.
As Cao Cao's power became more and more powerful, Kong Rong, who was loyal to the Han family, could not bear it and offended Cao Cao many times. Although Cao Cao had the intention to get rid of Kong Rong, he was afraid of his reputation, so he had to tolerate it.
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Xi was worried about framing Kong Rong, and Cao Cao, who had always been disgusted with Kong Rong, took the opportunity to order him to be executed.
After the alliance ended, Zhang Chao did not go back to Guangling. In the first year of Xingping, Cao Cao went to crusade against Tao Qian. Zhang Chao conspired with Zhang Miao, Chen Gong and others to welcome Lü Bu into Yanzhou, almost causing Cao Cao to lose his base camp.
In the second year of Xingping, Lu Bu gradually lost to Cao Cao. And Zhang Chao was stationed in Yongqiu, and Cao Cao led the army to break through the city and kill Zhang Chao.
Gongsun Chan returned to Youbeiping after the end of the alliance. In the second year of the first peace, the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army that attacked Bohai County was victorious, and its prestige was greatly shaken for a while.
Gongsun Zhan's attitude towards the northern aliens was completely different from that of Youzhou Mu Liu Yu, which caused a conflict between the two. Later, Gongsun Zhan's brother Gongsun Yue died in battle, and he attributed Gongsun Yue's death to Yuan Shao, so he raised troops to attack. At that time, Gongsun Zhan's strength was stronger than Yuan Shao's.
In the third year of Xingping, Yuan Shao completely occupied Jizhou, so he fought with Gongsun Zhan's army at the boundary bridge, and the two sides won and lost each other.
In the fourth year of Xingping, Gongsun Zhan became more and more arrogant, not only recklessly fighting, but also killing Liu Yu on the following crimes. It directly led to beacon fires all over Youzhou.
In the second year of Xingping, Gongsun Zhan was beaten and could only hide in Yijing. The successive defeats made the former White Horse General lose confidence and sharpness, so he alienated all the generals under his command.
It wasn't until the fourth year of Jian'an that Yuan Shao finally broke through Gongsun Zhan's turtle shell, and Gongsun Chan saw that the situation was not good and set him on fire.
In the first year of Chuping, Zhang Yang was taken captive by the Xiongnu Shan Yu, and it was not until Yuan Shao defeated the Xiongnu that he rescued himself. Later, he served as the Taishou of Hanoi.
In 196 AD, Emperor Han Xian escaped from Chang'an, and Zhang Yang went to the rescue, and provided grain and grass for Emperor Han Xian many times. After Emperor Xian of Han was picked up by Cao Cao, Zhang Yang stayed in Yewang.
In the third year of Jian'an, Lu Bu's soldiers were defeated, and Zhang Yang, who was once a friend of Lu Bu, wanted to rescue and led the army to go, but was killed by his subordinate Yang Chou.
During the period when the princes were discussing Dong, Sun Jian once had a duel with Dong Zhuojun, and even killed Huaxiong, a fierce general of Xiliang, and became famous since then, and Dong Zhuo also planned to win over Sun Jian through marriage.
At that time, except for Sun Jian, who was constantly fighting against Dong Zhuo, the rest of the Kwantung heroes had long forgotten about this matter, and they were all pursuing to expand their power base.
In the third year of the first peace, Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Jingzhou. Liu Biao sent Huang Zu to meet the attack. Because Sun Jian is brave and martial, Huang Zu is not an opponent at all. Later, Liu Biao designed to defeat Huang Zu, which led Sun Jian to pursue, and in the middle of the Da Xian Mountain, Sun Jian was shot by the archers who were ambushed here. A generation of stars has fallen.
Yuan Shao earned a lot of prestige in his crusade against Dong Zhuo. After the dissolution of the alliance, Yuan Shao planned to make Liu Yu emperor for a higher status, but Liu Yu refused.
After that, the princes began to scuffle with each other. In order to improve his strength, Yuan Shao took a fancy to the wealthy Jizhou, so he designed to seize Jizhou from Han Fu. After that, he harvested Tian Feng, Fu Zhu, Judge, Zhang He and other good generals.
In the second year of the first peace, Yuan Shao led the army to fight against Gongsun Zhan, and with the courage of Lu Yi, he defeated Gongsun Zhan's white horse Yicong, and from then on, Gongsun Chan could only shrink in Youzhou.
In the following years, Yuan Shao gradually annexed Youzhou, Bingzhou and Qingzhou, becoming the largest prince in the world. In the Central Plains, Cao Cao also gradually completed unification, and the war between Yuan and Cao was about to break out.
In the fourth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao was ready to raise troops to the south, he first attracted Zhang Xiu, Liu Biao and others, hoping that they could give Cao Cao a little threat in the rear, but Zhang Xiu chose to surrender to Cao, and Liu Biao just sat on the mountain and watched the tiger fight.
In the fifth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao, who was well prepared, led the army south, but he relied on his large number of people and did not take Cao Cao seriously at all, so he could not listen to the persuasion of Tian Feng, Fu Zhu and others.
Before the final battle, Yuan Shao had already lost several generals such as Yan Liang and Wen Chou. The two sides faced off at Guandu.
And when Cao Cao was about to hold on, a key figure appeared, Xu You's betrayal, so that Cao Cao learned of Yuan Shao's grain storage. That night, Cao Cao personally led the army to burn the black nest.
Because Yuan's army lost food, had low morale, and suffered a great defeat, Yuan Shao could only lead the remnants of the army back to Jizhou.
In the seventh year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao was depressed and finally died.
Cao Cao doesn't say much, just need to know that after the southern conquest and the northern war, Cao Cao successively defeated Yuan Shu, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao and others, and even coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes.
When he went south to unify the world, he suffered a defeat in Chibi and never had a chance to complete the reunification.
In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao died of illness in Luoyang.
Ma Teng did not participate in the coalition in the canonical history. After Dong Zhuo's death, Ma Teng and Han Sui became the de facto controllers of Xiliang and fought against Li Dao many times.
In the fourth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent Zhong Xiang to serve as a lieutenant, Zhong Xiang stated his interests to Ma Teng, and finally Ma Teng submitted to the imperial court.
In the seventh year of Jian'an, Ma Teng helped Cao Jun defeat Guo Yuan.
As the saying goes, one mountain does not tolerate two tigers, after a long time, the contradiction between Ma Teng and Han Sui gradually deepened, and in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Ma Teng entered the court as an official under the persuasion of Zhang Ji.
In the sixteenth year of Jian'an, Ma Chao, who was far away in Xiliang, ignored his father in the middle of the court, and raised troops with Han Sui to resist Cao's army. And Ma Teng was also killed because of this.
After the dissolution of the alliance, Cao Cao became the pastor of Yanzhou and became one of the living princes, so Cao Cao's father Cao Song traveled from Langya to Yanzhou, carrying a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry along the way. It was these belongings that attracted people's hearts, and Cao Song was attacked by Tao Qian's soldiers on the way, and finally died.
In the third year of the first peace, Cao Cao avenged his father and raised troops to fight against Tao Qian, Tao Qian could only retreat in the city, fortunately rescued by Tian Kai and Liu Bei, Cao Cao also chose to withdraw because the grain and grass were about to run out.
In the fourth year of the first peace, Cao Cao attacked again, and Tao Qian fled all the way. At this time, Cao Cao's rear was almost lost, so he returned to Yanzhou.
Because of Cao Cao's repeated shocks, Tao Qian died of illness soon after.
These eighteen-way princes all gathered together under the banner of "reviving the Han Dynasty", but in fact, those who really dared to fight with Dong Zhuojun were Sun Jian, Cao Cao and a few others, and the rest came to fill the number. At that time, among these people, there were only a few people loyal to the Han family, such as Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Kong Rong, etc., and the others had long harbored dissent, otherwise they would not have just dissolved the alliance and began to conquer each other and expand their territory.