Why Tao Qian Entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei

In the previous episode, Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou after his father Cao Song was killed.

Tao Qian was close to collapse. Then Cao Cao's own rear caught fire: Lü Bu, Chen Gong, and Zhang Miao opened Yan Province behind him.

Lü Bu Entered Yan Province

Cao Cao had taken most of his main force east against Xuzhou, leaving Yan Province thinly defended.

Chen Gong was angry over Cao Cao's killing of Bian Rang and other scholars. Zhang Miao feared Cao Cao might one day follow Yuan Shao's wishes and kill him. Together they invited Lü Bu into Yan Province.

Lü Bu, still wandering, gladly accepted the chance to become master of a province.

Zhang Miao sent word to Xun Yu, claiming that General Lü had come to help Cao Cao attack Tao Qian and asking for grain. Xun Yu immediately sensed danger. Why was Lü Bu suddenly in Yan Province, asking for supplies?

He arranged defenses and urgently called Xiahou Dun from Puyang. With Puyang weakened by Xiahou Dun's departure, Lü Bu seized it. Most Yan commanderies responded to Lü Bu. Only a few cities remained loyal to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao had to withdraw from Xuzhou.

Cao Cao and Lü Bu Fought at Puyang

Cao Cao judged that Lü Bu had failed to seize key passes or cut the Taishan road. Lü Bu had gained a province, but perhaps not the ability to manage it.

Cao Cao attacked.

He won a night raid against part of Lü Bu's force west of Puyang, but Lü Bu arrived quickly. The two sides fought from morning until late afternoon. Cao Cao's position became dangerous.

He recruited brave men to break the enemy line. Dian Wei led them forward. Lü Bu's troops fired arrows like rain. Dian Wei did not even look up. He told the men beside him to report when the enemy came close. At ten paces, he still said too far. At five, he rushed with halberds and drove the enemy back.

Cao Cao escaped and promoted Dian Wei.

Later, Cao Cao nearly died inside Puyang when the Tian clan pretended to open the city to him. Ambushes erupted, and Cao Cao fled through fire. Lü Bu's men even captured him without recognizing him. Asked where Cao Cao was, he pointed to a man on a yellow horse and said that was Cao Cao. They let him go.

After more than a hundred days, locusts and famine exhausted both sides. Each withdrew.

Cao Cao Almost Submitted to Yuan Shao

Cao Cao retreated to Dong'e in a severe crisis.

Most of Yan Province had gone over to Lü Bu. Food was nearly gone. Yuan Shao sent envoys asking Cao Cao to send his family to Ye, a polite way of turning him into a dependent and his family into hostages.

Cao Cao considered accepting.

Cheng Yu stopped him. Yuan Shao wanted to swallow the realm, Cheng Yu said, but lacked the wisdom to complete that ambition. Cao Cao had the bearing of a dragon and tiger. How could he become Yuan Shao's Han Xin or Peng Yue? Yan Province was damaged, but three cities and more than ten thousand soldiers remained. If Cao Cao, Xun Yu, and the others held together, great affairs were still possible.

Cao Cao woke from the temptation and refused to hand himself to Yuan Shao.

Tao Qian Turned to Liu Bei

Because Cao Cao withdrew, Xuzhou survived for the moment.

Tao Qian was old and worn down. He had no one around him strong enough to protect the province. He turned to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei had come with Tian Kai to assist Xuzhou. He did not truly defeat Cao Cao, but Cao Cao's withdrawal relieved the siege. Tao Qian was grateful and recommended Liu Bei as Inspector of Yu Province, stationing him at Xiaopei.

The title was mostly nominal. Tao Qian did not control Yu Province, and Liu Bei really held only Xiaopei.

But Liu Bei had a reputation for winning hearts. As Chancellor of Pingyuan, he had sat and eaten with ordinary people. An assassin once came to kill him, but Liu Bei treated him so kindly that the man confessed and left. When Kong Rong of Beihai was surrounded by Yellow Turbans, he asked Liu Bei for help. Liu Bei was delighted that Kong Rong even knew his name and sent troops.

This reputation mattered when Xuzhou needed someone acceptable.

Xuzhou Invited Liu Bei

Before dying, Tao Qian told Mi Zhu that no one but Liu Bei could protect Xuzhou.

After Tao Qian's death, Mi Zhu led Xuzhou officials and people to welcome Liu Bei.

Liu Bei hesitated. He suggested giving the province to Yuan Shu at Shouchun, saying he was unworthy. His caution was practical. He was new to Xuzhou, had few troops, and powerful men such as Cao Cao, Lü Bu, and Yuan Shu watched the region.

Chen Deng urged him to accept. Yuan Shu, Chen Deng said, was arrogant and violent, not a ruler for the age. Xuzhou was willing to gather troops for Liu Bei so he could support the emperor, save the people, or at least hold territory.

Kong Rong also advised him. Yuan Shu was no man who forgot family for the state. If the people and officials chose Liu Bei, Heaven was offering a chance.

Liu Bei accepted and took charge of Xuzhou.

Later fiction turns this into Tao Qian offering Xuzhou three times. Historically, Tao Qian entrusted the idea before death, and Mi Zhu, Chen Deng, Kong Rong, and others pushed Liu Bei after Tao Qian died.

Lü Bu Sought Shelter With Liu Bei

Cao Cao continued fighting Lü Bu in Yan Province.

After several defeats, Lü Bu had nowhere to go and came east to Xuzhou, asking Liu Bei for shelter.

He acted warmly, saying both men came from border regions and that after killing Dong Zhuo, the eastern lords rejected him and tried to kill him. Now Liu Bei had taken him in, and he was grateful.

He even invited Liu Bei into his tent, had Liu Bei sit on his wife's bed, made his wife bow, and drank with him as if they were brothers.

Liu Bei smiled outwardly but felt uncomfortable.

Still, Lü Bu had Bing Province cavalry and commanders such as Zhang Liao and Gao Shun. Keeping him nearby could strengthen Xuzhou. Liu Bei let him station around Xiaopei.

Xiapi Opened Its Gates

Liu Bei was lord of Xuzhou. Lü Bu was the guest.

That relationship did not last.

Tao Qian's old officer Cao Bao, Chancellor of Xiapi and a key figure among Danyang troops, clashed with Zhang Fei and was killed by him. Xiapi fell into disorder.

Yuan Shu wrote to Lü Bu, urging him to strike Xiapi and promising supplies. Lü Bu saw advantage and attacked by land and water.

Xu Dan, a Danyang man under Liu Bei, opened the gates. Lü Bu entered Xiapi. Zhang Fei could not resist. Lü Bu captured Liu Bei's wife, children, officials, and officers' families.

Liu Bei had barely warmed the seat of Xuzhou before losing it.

This was not only Lü Bu's betrayal. Liu Bei had not yet settled Xuzhou's internal structure. Tao Qian's Danyang followers, Mi Zhu and Chen Deng's local support, and Liu Bei's own men had not been fused into one system. Zhang Fei's killing of Cao Bao triggered the old troops' backlash.

Liu Bei tried to recover, failed, attacked Guangling, lost to Yuan Shu, and retreated to Haixi. His men were so hungry they turned on one another.

Mi Zhu used his family wealth to support Liu Bei and married his younger sister to him, helping him stabilize.

Finally Liu Bei asked Lü Bu for terms. Lü Bu, angry that Yuan Shu had not delivered promised grain, accepted. Liu Bei returned as Inspector of Yu Province and stayed at Xiaopei.

Xuzhou had changed hands in a blink. The next episode follows whether Liu Bei and Lü Bu could coexist.