Cao Ni
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Cao Ni | |
|---|---|
| 曹嶷 | |
.jpg) Cao Ni's territory as of 317 AD | |
| Inspector of Qingzhou (青州刺史) | |
| In office ? – 317[1] | |
| Monarch | Liu Yuan/Liu Cong |
| General Who Maintains the East (安東將軍) | |
| In office 323 – 323 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Ming of Jin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 323 |
| Relations | Cao Yan (Grandson) |
Cao Ni (died September or October 323[2]) was a Chinese military general of Han-Zhao and warlord during the Jin dynasty (266–420) and Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was one of the followers of the bandit Wang Mi and followed him into service with Liu Yuan's state of Han. Wang Mi entrusted him to secure his family in Qingzhou, but after Wang Mi was killed by Shi Le in 311, Cao Ni gradually became an independent warlord, causing much concern in the Han-Zhao court. He was finally killed in 323 when Shi Le sent his nephew Shi Hu to subdue him once and for all. His name can be rendered as Cao Yi.
Cao Ni left an important mark in 4th century China with the formation of Guanggu City (廣固, in modern Qingzhou, Shandong). The city became his capital after he took over the region and would continue to serve as such to the states after his death, Duan Qi and Southern Yan.
Cao Ni was from Donglai Commandery, the same commandery where his master, Wang Mi, was from. He appeared to have joined Wang Mi some time in 306, during which Wang Mi joined the failed rebellion of Liu Bogen (劉柏根) in Donglai. Wang was defeated, became a bandit and terrorized northern China before formally joining Liu Yuan's state, Han-Zhao in 308. At that time, Cao Ni was serving as Wang's Chief Clerk of the Left. In 309, Wang Mi convinced Liu Yuan to make Cao Ni the acting General Who Maintains The East. Wang Mi also asked Liu Yuan to position Cao Ni in Qingzhou, where he would help Wang protect secure his family. In Qingzhou, as per Wang Mi's advice, he recruited the local fugitives in Donglai in order to strengthen his numbers.[3]
Service under Han-Zhao
At the time of Cao Ni's entry into the state, Han-Zhao was in the midst of warring with Jin in the north. Cao Ni first contributed to the state by taking Dongping County in 310. He then proceeded to capture Langya Commandery, forcing the regional commander, Gou Chun (苟纯) to hole himself up in his city.[4] Cao Ni's capture of Langye placed him in control of most of the ancient Qi region, which caught the Jin court's attention. Jin's head commander in the north, Gou Xi, was sent to save Qingzhou, where he continuously routed Cao Ni.[5] However, the tides changed the following year in 311 as Cao Ni dealt him a decisive defeat, causing Gou Xi to abandon his campaign and flee to Gaoping.[6]
After securing the region, Cao Ni built a new city for Qingzhou known as Guanggu City. Guanggu possessed a terrestrial advantage over invaders as it was surrounded by ravines on all sides, serving as natural moats. Cao Ni initially based himself in Linzi, which was the traditional provincial capital at the time, but later in his years as Qingzhou's warlord, he shifted his base to Guanggu due to its impregnable defences. The city of Guanggu played an important role during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. In 350, it was the capital of the state of Duan Qi and in 399 it became the capital of Southern Yan.[7] The city went into obscurity after the Jin general Liu Yu captured it and ended Southern Yan in 410.
The Jin capital of Luoyang fell to Liu Yao, Huyan Yan, and Wang Mi in July 311, while Gou Xi was captured by Shi Le in October. However, cracks were beginning to appear between Wang Mi and his peers Liu Yao and Shi Le. Shi Le in particular made him suspicious, so Wang Mi sent his official Liu Tun to Qingzhou to order Cao Ni to prepare his troops against Shi Le. However, Cao Ni never knew of the plan as Shi Le's scouts captured Liu Tun. Furthermore, Wang's subordinates, Xu Miao (徐邈) and Gao Liang (高梁) left Wang Mi and took their armies over to Cao Ni. Wang Mi's suspicion over Shi Le costed him in c.November 311 after Shi Le lured him to a banquet and assassinated him. After Wang's death, Cao Ni remained in Qingzhou.[8]