29 Facts About Cao Ni

Cao Ni was a Chinese military general of Han-Zhao and warlord during the Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Cao Ni 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.

Cao Ni was finally killed in 323 when Shi Le sent his nephew Shi Hu to subdue him once and for all.

Cao Ni left an important mark in 4th century China with the formation of Guanggu City.

Cao Ni was from Donglai Commandery, the same commandery where his master, Wang Mi, was from.

Cao Ni appeared to have joined Wang Mi some time in 306, during which Wang Mi joined the failed rebellion of Liu Bogen in Donglai.

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.

Cao Ni first contributed to the state by taking Dongping County in 310.

Cao Ni then proceeded to capture Langya Commandery, forcing the regional commander, Gou Chun to hole himself up in his city.

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.

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.

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.

Cao Ni first took Wenyang Pass and Gongqiu after defeating and killing the Jin Administrator of Qi, Xu Fu.

Cao Ni then pressed on into Zhu'e and Pingyin, annexing the areas.

Between 312 and 315, it is said that Cao Ni uncovered the tombs of two Spring and Autumn period figures: the philosopher Guan Zhong and Duke Jing of Qi.

Much later in 317, Cao Ni was mentioned as a threat to Han-Zhao by another of Liu Cong's advisors, Kang Xiang.

Cao Ni was constantly changing allegiance between his stronger neighbours.

In 317, Cao Ni was one of the many warlords to offer his allegiance to Jin and urge Sima Rui to take the throne.

Cao Ni was accepted as a vassal, but his request for Rui to declare himself emperor was met with rejection that year.

However, Cao Ni soon realized that Jiankang was too far away from his base to protect him, so he dropped his loyalty to Jin and offered his vassalage to Shi Le instead in 318.

That same year, Cao Ni sent funds to Shi Le, asking him to make the Yellow River a border between the two, to which he agreed.

Ever since Cao Ni had taken over Qingzhou, he could not secure Donglai commandery, which was controlled by the Jin administrator, Ju Peng.

Cao Ni switched his allegiance to Jin and became their General Who Maintains the East that year.

Shi Hu placed the city under siege but not long after, Cao Ni came out and surrendered.

Cao Ni was sent to Shi Le's capital in Xiangguo, where he was executed while his forces were decimated by Shi Hu as they were buried alive.

Ju Peng believed that Wang Mi and Cao Ni had descendants living in Donglai, so he wrote to his son urging him to end their family feud.