Wubei Zhi (Vol. 11)

As Gui Lan entered and was just beginning his bow, Lady Xu cried out, "You two gentlemen may rise!"

Sun Gao and Fu Ying The loyalist generals who had been hiding in wait both emerged and together slew Gui Lan. Their associates immediately went outside and killed Dai Yuan. Lady Xu then returned to her plain mourning robes and offered the heads of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan as a sacrifice at Sun Yi’s tomb. The entire army was shaken with awe.

Sun Quan The warlord of the Wu region and elder brother of the murdered Sun Yi executed the entire families and remaining partisans of Gui Lan and Dai Yuan. He promoted Sun Gao and Fu Ying to the rank of Garrison General Yamenoriginal: yamen, a military title literally meaning "gate of the camp," often given to trusted commanders of the guard.

Cao Cao attacked Nanpi. Yuan Tan The eldest son of Yuan Shao, who was fighting to maintain his family's crumbling northern empire came out to do battle, and many soldiers were killed. Cao Cao wished to slow the pace of the assault to conserve his forces, but the Counselor Cao Chun said: "Our army has marched deep into enemy territory and is far from home; it will be difficult to sustain this for long. If we advance but fail to conquer, and then retreat, we will surely lose our prestige."

Cao Cao then personally took up the drumsticks and the drum original: fugu; in ancient Chinese warfare, the commander beating the drum was a signal for a total, desperate charge to lead the attackers. They finally conquered the city. Yuan Tan fled, but he was pursued and decapitated. Cao Cao issued a proclamation to the officials and the common people, instructing them to return peacefully to their former livelihoods. He executed Guo Tu and his associates along with their wives and children.

Wang Xiu went to see Cao Cao to beg permission to collect and bury Yuan Tan’s corpse. Cao Cao granted his request and appointed him as an Assistant to the Excellency of Works Sikong YuanA high-ranking administrative post in the central government; Cao Cao held the title of Sikong (Excellency of Works) at this time. Guo Jia advised Cao Cao that many...