平阳守战 / Pingyang Defense (Late Han)

Overview

平阳守战 / Pingyang Defense enters the wiki through Hanji 1057 as Zhong Yao’s 202 CE defense in 河东郡. The episode treats it as the battlefield payoff from earlier alliance management: 马腾 is calmed before 郭元 and the Southern Xiongnu can become a stable western coalition.

Current Profile

The battle begins with Yuan-family pressure expanding west after Guandu. 钟繇 refuses advice to abandon Pingyang because he believes Guo Yuan’s pride will make him careless; when Guo Yuan’s force is only partly across the Fen River, Zhang Ji recommends an immediate strike. The attack defeats Guo Yuan, and 庞德 presents Guo Yuan’s head.

Key Characteristics

• Defensive stand that depends on prior diplomatic disruption rather than only fortification.
• River-crossing timing battle, with the decisive attack launched before the enemy completes the crossing.
• Example of commander temperament assessment being converted into battlefield timing.
• Kinship-duty aftermath because Guo Yuan is Zhong Yao’s nephew.
• Northwesterly stabilization branch in Cao Cao’s post-Guandu strategic field.

Evidence

• Strategic setup: Hanji 1057 links Guo Yuan, the Southern Xiongnu, and a possible Ma Teng connection to Yuan-family western pressure.
• Defensive judgment: Hanji 1057 says Zhong Yao rejects withdrawal from Pingyang because Guo Yuan is proud and insufficiently vigilant.
• Tactical execution: Hanji 1057 records Zhang Ji’s advice to attack before all the enemy troops cross the river and Pang De’s killing of Guo Yuan.

Qualifications

The exact troop numbers, terrain details, and Zhang Ji’s wider profile are not developed in this source note. The battle should not be generalized into a full Guanzhong settlement by itself; it is one stabilizing event in a larger western field.

What Changed

• Created the page from Hanji 1057’s Zhong Yao-Guo Yuan battle branch.

Relationships

• 钟繇 - defending commander whose assessment structures the battle.
• 郭元 - attacking commander defeated during the river-crossing window.
• 庞德 - battlefield actor who kills Guo Yuan.
• 马腾 - western leader whose prior reassurance helps isolate Guo Yuan’s attack.
• 南匈奴 - Guo Yuan’s allied pressure component.
• 半渡击敌 - tactical concept abstracted from the battle.
• 行势情战略评估 - strategic-assessment frame visible in Zhong Yao’s sequencing of persuasion and battle.