At this time Yuan Shao was at Henei. His large army needed more supply than was available locally. So the Governor of Ji Province, Han Bi, sent supplies to Yuan Shao regularly. An advisor, Feng Ji, said to Yuan Shao, "We should not depend on other people supplying us. Ji Province is a very rich place. Why don't you have any plans to take it." Yuan Shao said, "I will listen to your suggestion." Feng Ji said, "We can ask Gongsun Zan to join an invasion of Ji Province with us. We promise to divide it in half with him. Han Bi will be stupid enough to ask you for help when Gongsun Zan invades. That will give us a perfect excuse to take over." Yuan Shao was elated. He immediately sent a letter to Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was glad that Yuan Shao was going to divide Ji Province with him. He marched his army toward Ji Province. Meanwhile, Yuan Shao sent a message to Han Bi and told him that Gongsun Zan was coming. Han Bi asked advices from his two advisors, Xu Chen and Xin Ping. Xu Chen said, "Gongsun Zan has a great army. He also has the help of Liu Bei brothers. It is very difficult to resist their invasion. There is another man who has a bigger army and better generals, and can certainly stop Gongsun Zan. That is Yuan Shao. If you invite Yuan Shao to assist your governorship, we won't be afraid of Gongsun Zan." Han Bi sent for Yuan Shao. His senior deputy Geng Wu wanted to stop him. He said, "Yuan Shao's army has no root. They depend on us like an infant depends on milk. If the milk stops, the infant dies. If we allow Yuan Shao to come here, it will be like letting a tiger into a herd of lambs." Han Bi said, "I formerly worked under Yuan Shao. He is far more capable than I am. There is no need for jealousy." Geng Wu sighed, "This is the end of Ji." More than thirty officers resigned and left. Geng Wu and another officer Guan Chun stayed outside the city and waited for Yuan Shao. A few days later Yuan Shao arrived. Geng Wu and Guan Chun tried to assassinate Yuan Shao, but were killed by Yuan Shao's generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Yuan Shao gave Han Bi a position of General, but ordered his own people, Tian Feng, Zu Shou, Xu You, and Feng Ji, to be in charge of the affairs of the Governorship, thus effectively removing all powers of Han Bi. Han Bi regretted, but couldn't do anything. He left his family, and went alone to Chenliu, to work under Governor of Chenliu, Zhang Miao.
Gongsun Zan heard that Yuan Shao had taken Ji Province. He sent his brother Gongsun Yue to Yuan Shao and asked to divide it. Yuan Shao said, "Let your brother come and talk to me himself." Gongsun Yue had to return. On his way back, he was ambushed by someone claiming to be sent by Dong Zhuo, and was killed. Some of his convoy escaped and returned to report to Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was furious. He brought all of his army and marched toward Ji Province.
Yuan Shao led his army out to meet Gongsun Zan. The two armies met on the banks of River Pan: Yuan Shao was at the east end of the bridge, Gongsun Zan at the west end of the bridge. Gongsun Zan rode his horse onto the bridge, and shouted, "Yuan Shao, how can you betray me?" Yuan Shao rode to the other end of the bridge, and said to Gongsun Zan, "Han Bi has willingly yielded the governorship to me. It is a matter that does not concern you." Gongsun Zan said, "I mistook you as an honest person, and voted for you as the chairman of our alliance. Now you committed this truly shameless act, how can you face all the people who once fought for you?" Yuan Shao angrily ordered, "Someone catch him for me." His general, Wen Chou, charged onto the bridge. Gongsun Zan fought with Wen Chou for a dozen rounds. Gongsun Zan could not withstand and rode back to his troops. Wen Chou chased him. Gongsun Zan's four generals came to rescue. In a single stroke Wen Chou killed one of them with the spear, and the other three turned around and fled. Wen Chou chased Gongsun Zan through the whole formation of the army. Gongsun Zan fled towards a valley. His helmet fell to the ground, and he lost his bow and arrows. Suddenly the horse tripped and threw Gongsun Zan on the ground. Wen Chou pricked his spear toward Gongsun Zan. Just at that moment, a young knight appeared on the hill. He held a spear and rode on a horse, and charged directly to Wen Chou. Gongsun Zan climbed up the hill and watched him fight with Wen Chou. The two fought for over fifty rounds, before Gongsun Zan's people arrived. That forced Wen Chou to leave. The youngster did not chase him. Gongsun Zan asked his name, he said, "I am from Changshan. My name is Zhao Yun. I am an officer under Yuan Shao. Because he has no intention of serving the country, I decided to leave him." Gongsun Zan was very glad. He and Zhao Yun went back to the camp and prepared for battle.
The next day, Gongsun Zan divided his cavaliers into two columns. He had five thousand horses, all of them white. Gongsun Zan once had fought with the Qiang people (western nomads). He chose white horses to spearhead his army, nicknamed "the army of white horses." The Qiang people fled as soon as they saw white horses. Therefore Gongsun Zan kept many white horses in his army. Yuan Shao also divided his army into two, one was led by Yan Liang and the other by Wen Chou. He then ordered Qu Yi to lead twenty thousand infantry in the middle. All of them would prepare bows and arrows. Gongsun Zan did not trust Zhao Yun, who just defected from Yuang Shao, so he let him stay in the back. He ordered a general, Yan Gang, to lead the charge. Gongsun Zan himself stood on the bridge. Qu Yi ordered his men to stay under cover, and wait for the signal to shoot. Yan Gang led the charge and and headed toward Qu Yi. Qu Yi waited until Yan Gang's men were close. Then he gave the signal, and all of the sudden thousands of arrows were shot at Yan Gang's troops. Yan Gang turned and tried to flee, but was killed by Qu Yi. The two flanks of Gongsun Zan's army tried to come to rescue but were stopped by the arrows from Yan Liang and Wen Chou's troops. Yuan Shao's army charged to the bridge. Qu Yi led the charge and was the first on the bridge. He chopped off the general's flag of Gongsun Zan's army. Gongsun Zan ran down the bridge and fled. Qu Yi charged through the bridge, and camed upon Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun killed Qu Yi in one stroke. Zhao Yun then rode up and down through Yuan Shao's army, as if riding in a no man's land. Gongsun Zan took this opportunity and turned his army around to attack. Yuan Shao's army was defeated.
At first Yuan Shao stayed behind. He sent soldiers to the front to report the progress of the battle. He heard that Qu Yi was winning. So he did not prepare for battle. He and his advisor Tian Feng and a few hundred guards rode on horses and watched the battle. He sat on the horse and laughed, "Gongsun Zan is an idiot." Suddenly he saw Zhao Yun came like a storm. Before the guards could shoot the arrows, Zhao Yun already killed several of them. Gongsun Zan's army was following behind. Tian Feng hurriedly said, "You can hide in the wall." Yuan Shao threw his helmet on the ground and said, "A man does not hide. He fights." The guards fought hard and Zhao Yun could not break in. Yuan Shao's reinforcement soon arrived, Yan Liang also came to help and attacked from behind Gongsun Zan's troops. Zhao Yun escorted Gongsun Zan and retreated back to the bridge. Yuan Shao ordered his troops to charge again and they rushed onto the bridge. Many of Gongsun Zan's troops fell to the river and drowned. Yuan Shao was the first to cross the bridge. They pushed Gongsun Zan's army back for several miles. Suddenly another army arrived. It was led by three men, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. They had heard that Gongsun Zan was fighting with Yuan Shao, so they came to help. At once the three of them went after Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was scared to death. He dropped his knife, and fled back across the bridge as quickly as he could. Gongsun Zan collected his army and returned to camp. He thanked the three brothers for help, and then introduced them with Zhao Yun. Liu Bei loved him.
Yuan Shao lost a battle, and refused to fight again. The two armies held each other at the two sides of the river for over a month. Dong Zhuo received the report. Li Ru said, "Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are both very powerful. If we reconcile them in the name of the Emperor they will be very grateful to us. We will win over their support." Dong Zhuo therefore sent two ministers to Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. They both agreed to the mediation. Gongsun Zan returned his army. He recommended Liu Bei to be the Governor of Pingyuan. Liu Bei went to see Zhao Yun before he left Gongsun Zan's army. Zhao Yun said, "I mistook Gongsun Zan for a good man. Now from what I see, he is the same as Yuan Shao." Liu Bei said, "Please endure for awhile. We will meet again."
Yuan Shu heard that Yuan Shao took Ji Province. He asked for a thousand horses. Yuan Shao refused. The two brothers therefore turned into enemies. Yuan Shu then asked Liu Biao of Jing Province for two hundred thousand rations of food. Liu Biao also refused. Yuan Shu then sent a letter to Sun Jian and asked him to attack Liu Biao. The letter said,
Sun Jian said, "This is time to revenge Liu Biao." He held a meeting with generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang. Cheng Pu said, "Yuan Shu is not to be trusted." Sun Jian said, "I want to the revenge regardless Yuan Shu helps or not." He sent Huang Gai to Yangtze River and prepare battleships and supplies. Spies reported back to Liu Biao. He asked for advices from his advisors. Kuai Liang said, "Don't worry. We can let Huang Zu and his army of Jiangxia to try to stop Sun Jian. The army of Jing-Xiang will be behind as support. We are not afraid of Sun Jian."
- Liu Biao blocked you on your way home last time. It was the idea from my brother Yuan Shao. Now Yuan Shao and Liu Biao are discussing a plan to take south China. You can attack Liu Biao while I attack Yuan Shao. Then we divide the Provinces of Jing and Ji between us.
Sun Jian had four sons, all of them by his wife Wu. The eldest son is Sun Ce, second Sun Quan, third Sun Xiang, youngest Sun Kuang. Wu's younger sister is the second wife of Sun Jian, had a son and a daughter: the son is Sun Lang, and the daughter is Sun Ren. Sun Jian also adopted a son, called Sun Shao. He also had a younger brother, called Sun Jing. Before Sun Jian left, Sun Jing led all the children to see him off. Sun Jing said, "The Emperor is under the control of Dong Zhuo. The country is in chaos. China is divided by warlords. Only south China is relatively peaceful. To revenge a small incident and start a war, it is not the right thing. Please brother think about it carefully." Sun Jian said, "I will take the whole China. How can I forgive what Liu Biao did to me?" Sun Ce said, "If father insists to go, I would like to go with you." Sun Jian agreed. They all boarded the ships and headed for Fan City. Huang Zu ordered soldiers waiting at the river bank. When Sun Jian's ships arrived, they shot arrows at the ships. Sun Jian ordered his troops to stay in the ships, and drove back and forth. This continued for three days, Sun Jian's ships approached the bank for dozens of times. Huang Zu's army continued shooting arrows, until they used up all their arrows. Sun Jian on the other hand collected about a hundred thousand arrows from the ships. Next day Sun Jian had the wind behind them. He ordered the soldiers to shoot arrows to the bank. Huang Zu could not hold on and retreated. Sun Jian's army landed easily. Cheng Pu and Huang Gai took the two flanks and Han Dang attacked in the middle. Huang Zu was forced to abandon Fan City, and retreated to Deng City. Sun Jian ordered Huang Gai to look after the boats. He himself led the army on the assault. Huang Zu set up formation in the wilderness. Sun Jian also set up formation. Sun Ce stood beside his father. Huang Zu ordered his general Zhang Hu forward to challenge. Han Dang answered and fought with Zhang Hu. They fought for about thirty rounds. Huang Zu's other general, Cheng Sheng, came to help. Sun Ce saw him coming. He aimed an arrow at him, and shot him off the horse. Zhang Hu was startled by this, and it gave Han Dang a change. Han Dang chopped off half of his head. Cheng Pu rode his horse and charged toward Huang Zu. Huang Zu threw off his armor and left his horse, hid among the soldiers and fled. Sun Jian's army chased the enemy to the bank of Han River. Sun Jian ordered Huang Gai to drive the boats to Han River.
Huang Zu returned to Liu Biao and reported his defeat. Liu Biao asked Kuai Liang for advice. Kuai Liang said, "Our morale is low after a defeat. The best strategy now is to hold our position and avoid battle. At the same time we can secretly send for help from Yuan Shao." Cai Mao said, "This is a bad idea. The enemy is pressing us so close, how can we sit here and not fight? I will lead an attack on the enemy, and finish them." Liu Biao agreed. Cai Mao led ten thousand men out of the city, and set up formation at Mount Jian. Sun Jian was chasing the defeated Huang Zu's army, and met Cai Mao's army. Sun Jian said, "This is Liu Biao's brother in law. Anyone can capture him for me?" Cheng Pu charged forward and fought with Cai Mao. It lasted for only a few rounds, before Cai Mao gave up and fled. Sun Jian ordered the troops to attack. It turned into a slaughter. Cai Mao escaped into Xiangyang. Kuai Liang argued that Cai Mao's recklessness had led to defeat, and therefore he should be executed. Liu Biao just married Cai Mao's sister, so he did not want to punish him.
Sun Jian surrounded Xiangyang, and attacked the city every day. One day, a strong wind snapped the flag pole at the central camp. Han Dang said, "This is bad omen. We ought to go back now." Sun Jian said, "We've won every battle so far. It will be only days to take Xiangyang. We can't go back just because the flag pole broke." He urged the troops to fight on. Kuai Liang told Liu Biao, "Last night I looked at the stars and saw a general's star fell. It corresponds to Sun Jian. You can immediately send for help from Yuan Shao." Liu Biao wrote a letter. He asked who would break out and Luu Gong answered. Kuai Liang said, "I have a plan for you. I'll give you five hundred cavaliers. They will all be good shooters. As soon as you break out, head directly to Mount Jian. If the enemy don't pursue you, you go to Yuan Shao and ask for help. If they go after you, you divide your men: a hundred men go to the top of the mountain and prepare stones; another hundred men hide in the trees and prepare bows and arrows. You lead the rest to meet the pursuers. Don't flee too fast. Lead the pursuers around for awhile, then lead them to the place of ambush. If you can win, signal with continuous crackers, we will come out and attack." In the evening, they quietly opened the east gate and went out. Sun Jian was in his camp when he heard sounds of yelling. He went out with about thirty guards to see what happened. A soldier reported that someone had broken out of the city and gone to Mount Jian. Sun Jian did not notify the rest. He led the guards and headed toward Mount Jian. Luu Gong had set up the ambush site. Sun Jian's horse was faster than the others'. He rode ahead and was alone when he met Luu Gong. Luu Gong fought with Sun Jian for one round and disappeared in the trees. Sun Jian looked around and couldn't find Luu Gong. Just as he was going to go up the mountain, stones and arrows came down on him and killed him.
Luu Gong killed all of the guards that followed, and sent the signal. Huang Zu, Kuai Liang, and Cai Mao came out of the city and attacked. Sun Jian's army was in total disarray. Huang Gai on the river heard the sound of battle. He led his troops to join the battle, and met Huang Zu. Huang Gai captured Huang Zu in two rounds. Cheng Pu escorted Sun Ce, was looking for a way to escape, when Luu Gong came his way. Cheng Pu killed Luu Gong in a few rounds. The battle continued till dawn. In the morning Liu Biao returned to the city. When Sun Ce arrived at Han River, he learned that his father had died, and the body was taken by Liu Biao's army. Sun Ce said, "I will not return home until I get my father's body back." An officer Huan Jia said, "I was a friend of Liu Biao. I will go to him and ask for the body." Sun Ce sent him. Huan Jie went to Xiangyang and asked Liu Biao for Sun Jian's body. Liu Biao said, "I have prepared him a coffin. I'll return the body if you return Huang Zu. We will make peace. Don't ever come back again." Kuai Liang said, "Stop. I can eliminate that entire army of south China. --- Please execute Huan Jie first. Then I'll tell you my plans." Did Huan Jie live to return? Wait for the next chapter.