The Chessboard of Power in Late Han China

The early 3rd century CE was an era of fractured authority in China, where the once-mighty Han Dynasty teetered on collapse. Warlords carved out personal fiefdoms, and none proved more formidable than Cao Cao, the Chancellor who controlled the puppet Emperor Xian. His campaign to subdue the northwestern warlord Ma Teng and the subsequent bloodless conquest of Jing Province reveal the ruthless pragmatism that defined this turbulent period.

When Cao Cao turned his attention to Ma Teng in Liangzhou, he employed psychological warfare rather than immediate military confrontation. His carefully worded letter—offering Ma Teng a prestigious central government position while thinly veiling threats—demonstrated his mastery of coercive diplomacy. The tense standoff with Ma Teng’s hotheaded son Ma Chao, who nearly executed Cao’s envoy, underscored the volatility of these negotiations.

The Forced “Invitation” of Ma Teng

Cao Cao’s ultimatum to Ma Teng was a masterpiece of political theater. By publicly announcing Ma Teng’s supposed voluntary departure for the capital—complete with orchestrated farewell ceremonies from local peasants—Cao manufactured an illusion of consent. Ma Teng’s reluctant compliance and his whispered warning to Ma Chao (“You need not be loyal to Cao Cao as I must be”) laid the groundwork for future rebellion.

Historians note the irony: Cao Cao’s “soft” approach to neutralizing Ma Teng through hostage diplomacy proved more effective than outright warfare. By imprisoning Ma Teng in Ye City, he gained leverage over the volatile northwest frontier while avoiding a costly military campaign.

The Silencing of Kong Rong: When Satire Became Sedition

The parallel story of Kong Rong, the brilliant but caustic scholar, reveals Cao Cao’s intolerance for intellectual dissent. As a descendant of Confucius, Kong Rong wielded cultural authority, but his relentless mockery of Cao’s policies—from alcohol prohibition to military campaigns—crossed a fatal line. His suggestion that Cao Cao relinquish power and return to his fief was interpreted as treason.

Cao Cao’s liquidation of Kong Rong and his entire family sent a chilling message to the scholar class: even the most pedigreed critics were expendable. The speed of Kong Rong’s execution, based on fabricated charges about funeral etiquette, demonstrated Cao’s preference for administrative murder over public debate.

The Surrender of Jing Province: Opportunism and Miscalculation

With his northern flank secured, Cao Cao turned southward toward Jing Province, where the young Liu Cong had inherited governance from his father Liu Biao. The sudden surrender of Jing Province without resistance shocked even Cao Cao. Liu Cong’s advisor Kuai Yue framed submission as loyalty to the Han throne rather than capitulation—a clever rhetorical maneuver that preserved some dignity.

This bloodless victory proved a double-edged sword. While it gave Cao Cao control of the Yangtze heartland, it also created logistical nightmares. The rapid acquisition of new territories strained his administration, and the fleeing Liu Bei became a persistent thorn in his side.

The Great Refugee March: Liu Bei’s Calculated Compassion

Liu Bei’s decision to evacuate 100,000 civilians from Fancheng—ostensibly to protect them from Cao Cao’s wrath—was a masterclass in propaganda warfare. Contemporary accounts suggest coercion played as much a role as voluntary following, with Liu’s forces preventing villagers from returning home. The tragic aftermath at Changban Slope, where Liu abandoned these very refugees to slow Cao’s cavalry, exposed the grim realities beneath his “benevolent” facade.

Cao Cao’s lightning cavalry pursuit (covering 120 km in 24 hours) demonstrated his understanding of population as the true currency of power. The capture of these displaced farmers became as strategically vital as any battlefield victory.

The Road to Red Cliffs

These events set the stage for the legendary Battle of Red Cliffs. Cao Cao’s northern veterans, unfamiliar with southern waterways, would soon face the combined forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. The very speed of his Jing Province conquest created overconfidence—a fatal flaw that would lead to one of history’s most consequential defeats.

The political theater with Ma Teng, the silencing of Kong Rong, and the manipulation of refugee populations all reveal the complex interplay of hard power and perception management that defined the Three Kingdoms period. These maneuvers demonstrate how control of narratives often proved as decisive as control of territories in China’s age of fragmentation.