Biography
Born into a middle-class family in Huainan, Zhang's shop-owning father was able to pay for his education. He studied with several scholars until he joined the local military under Yuan Shu. He started off as a foot soldier but quickly climbed through the ranks because of the prowess and bravery he showed on the battlefield.
When Yuan Shu declared himself emperor and put Huainan and Shouchun under martial law, he named Zhang to be the Grand General of his armies. Zhang was one of the participants of the assault on provinces around Huai River, and he was later assigned the task of attacking Lü Bu.
During the campaign against Lü Bu, Zhang was commanding the main army, while Yuan Shu personally led a separate unit to challenge Lu Bu, however, Yuan was mocked and soundly defeated by Lü Bu and the Taishan bandits. After the battle, Zhang Xun was demoted.
After the death of Yuan Shu, his forces began to disintegrate. Zhang and others, including Yang Hong, are believed to have desired to go south and submit to Sun Ce, a former officer of Yuan Shu whom Zhang had been close friends with. Liu Xun, the prefect of Lujiang, however, desired to maintain an independent force and detained not only Zhang and Yang, but also Yuan Shu's entire orphaned family, including Yuan's son, Yuan Yao. Sun Ce quickly advanced and defeated Liu without bloodshed, and having lost possession of the Yuan family, Liu fled north to serve Cao Cao, taking Zhang Xun with him.
Read more about this topic: Zhang Xun (Yuan Shu General)
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