Yan Province

The Battle of Yan Province (兗州の戦い, rōmaji: Enshū no Tatakai) was a battle fought between Cao Cao and the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, now called the Heishan Bandits, in Yan Province. Cao Cao forced most of the enemy soldiers to surrender and used their most talented men to form the Qingzhou Army.

Role in Games

Dynasty Warriors

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Cao Cao attempts to subdue the Yellow Turban remnants at Yan Province. He also uses the battle to test Dian Wei's abilities as a bodyguard. Cao Cao will try to draw the enemy's attention and the player has to protect him during his advance. After entering several garrisons, Cao Cao will be ambushed by several Yellow Turban officers. Once the destination is reached, Cao Cao's forces have to defeat the remaining generals. Upon doing so, a large man arrives, who turns out to be Xu Zhu and tries to protect the farmland. The player has to defeat him in order to finish the stage.

The battle is similar to the previous installment in Dynasty Warriors 8, although Xu Zhu already appears earlier into the battle. Once he is defeated for the first time, Cao Cao announces that he wants the man alive. The player has to face numerous ambushes on the way up to the mountain. After Zhang Yan is defeated, Xu Zhu appears for a final time in an attempt to repel Cao Cao's forces. In Xu Zhu's side of the battle, he will instead move to defeat the Yellow Turbans of the area. Once the bandits are defeated Cao Cao will appear with his men, and must be defeated. Once Cao Cao is defeated victory is obtained.

The map is also reused during Sima Yi's campaign against Gongsun Yuan.

Warriors Orochi

The battle appears in Warriors Orochi 2 as a dream stage for Xu Zhu, Huang Gai, and Hanzō Hattori. Together, the trio assist Gracia in defending Puyang Castle from Yuan Shao. By allowing Gracia to escape, she will later arrive with reinforcements consisting of Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Ieyasu.

Yan Province makes its return in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate as a collaboration stage (Dead or Alive Arena) featuring Kasumi. The recommended team for this battle consists of Ayane, Nemea, and Diaochan. In the area, Musashi Miyamoto and Achilles are deceived into attacking the Wei-Oda coalition for supposedly harming Zhang Jiao. In the Mirror Realm version, the fake Zhang Jiao will be revealed at the end of the battle.

Historical Information

In 192, Yellow Turban remnants marched from Qing Province to attack Yan Province, pillaging the area and occupying some of its cities. Yan's governor Liu Dai wanted to attack them, but his advisor Bao Xin urged against such a move. Liu Dai ignored his advice and led his forces to Dongping, which was held by the Yellow Turbans. Liu Dai was killed in battle and his troops withdrew.

Cao Cao's advisor Chen Gong then urged him to take control over Yan Province and volunteered to persuade Liu Dai's former followers to aid him. Cao Cao agreed and prepared his troops to march. Upon hearing this, Bao Xin visited Cao Cao in Dongjun and invited him to become the new Inspector of Yan Province.

Cao Cao started his attack and laid siege on Shouzhang city with Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren. He was unable to capture the city and, upon Bao Xin's death in battle, he retreated to reform his ranks. He enforced military laws more strictly and encouraged his men. Later, Cao Cao recognized that the rebels did not have any supply lines, as they were forced to pillage the province. Cao Cao started a surprise attack and prevented them from pillaging the province any longer. The rebels were forced to retreat north and Cao Cao pursued them, defeating them at Jibei. 300,000 rebels surrendered to Cao Cao, who chose the best of their soldiers to form the Qingzhou Army. He also started to implement the Tuntian system.