Biography
Little is known about Yan's life. The only historical records about him could be found in Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms, in the biographies of Yuan Shao, Guan Yu, and Cao Cao. It was implied that Yan was one of the higher-ranking generals under Yuan Shao.
In 200, Yuan mustered an army boasting 100,000 in strength and declared to march on Xuchang, the new capital and base city of Cao Cao. To ensure a safe crossing of the Yellow River, he intended to send Yan to attack Boma (northeast of present day Huaxian, Henan) and set a foothold on the southern bank of the river, but advisor Ju Shou's counsel that Yan was too frivolous to handle the responsibility alone. Thus, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong were sent to oversee Yan's operation. Before Ju was stripped of power, he was responsible for the whole army. Yuan later divided Ju's command into three hands: Ju, Guo Tao, and Chunyu were appointed military commanders.
In a counter-tactic, Cao Cao moved his main force westwards along the Yellow River, diverting Yuan Shao's army in the same direction, but sent Guan Yu and Zhang Liao east to relieve the attack on Boma. During the ensuing battle, Yan's chariot was identified by Guan, and was subsequently killed by the latter, his severed head was also brought as a token.
Read more about this topic: Yan Liang
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