| Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the wars at the end of the Han dynasty | |||||||
 A Ming dynasty illustration of Cao Cao (right, on horseback) departing to attack Xu Province. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Cao Cao |
Tao Qian Tian Kai | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Cao Cao Cao Ren |
Tao Qian Liu Bei Cao Bao | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| More than 5,000 | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Over 100,000 civilians | |||||||
Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province was a punitive invasion launched by the warlord Cao Cao against Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The casus belli for the invasion was the murder of Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, in Xu Province. Although Tao Qian's culpability was questionable, Cao Cao nonetheless held him responsible. The invasion took place in two separate waves in 193 and 194, during each of which Cao Cao captured a number of towns and engaged in collective punishment of the civilian populace.