Severus again attacks Clodius Albinus to the…

Cao Cao moves the capital to Xu to affirm his control over the central government, and while Yang Feng opposes him, he defeats Yang and is able to effect the move.

Cao Cao now begins to issue imperial edicts in Emperor Xian's name—including a harshly worded edict condemning Yuan Shao for taking over nearby provinces—even though it still bestows Yuan with the highly honorific post of commander of the armed forces as well as a march.

Cao Cao and Emperor Xian maintain a superficially cordial relationship, but this does not prevent two major confrontations involving Cao and other court officials.

Tension between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao starts to build after Cao Cao receives Emperor Xian from the old capital Luoyang, a move that Yuan Shao had considered but not acted upon, much to his regret.

Cavalry commander Yang Feng had wanted to defeat the rebels when Li Jue and Guo Si had held Emperor Xian hostage; however his forces were too weak to hold up against them.

Han Xian, a close friend of Yang Feng, was then recruited by Yang along with two other generals of the White Wave Bandits, Hu Cai and Li Yue.

Together with the forces of Cao Cao, Guo and Li were finally defeated however Yang and Han felt that Cao was overly ambitious and conflicts would arise, so they thought it prudent to leave the capital.

Yang and Han then joined Yuan Shu's army, serving him for some time.

After Lü Bu captures and killed Yuan Shu's agent Han Yin after discovering Yuan was trying to take Lü's daughter hostage, the enraged Yuan Shu leads an army of two hundred thousand men to attack the city of Xiapi in Xu Province.

Han and Yang serve as rear generals, but with help from Chen Gui, Lü Bu's advisor, who is a mole working for Cao Cao, Han Xian is told that Yuan Shu is a rebel trying to take over power from the emperor.

With his Sixth Battalion, he wreaks havoc on Yuan Shu's camp along with Yang and manages to give Lü Bu enough time to intercept Yuan Shu's camp, forcing Yuan to retreat.

After Yuan's defeat, Han and Yang are promoted by Lü.

However, Han’s bandit ways do not change.

He and Yang are caught robbing civilians with their army and are executed by Liu Bei.

Yuan Shu declares himself the unrecognized "Zhongjia" Emperor in 197.

In a letter to Yuan Shu, Sun Ce denounces the move and breaks ties with the former.

In an effort to garner support from Sun Ce, the rising warlord Cao Cao then recommends him to be appointed the Rebellions-Suppressing General and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu.

Virius Lupus, who would have served as consul some time previously, becomes Governor or Legatus of Britannia once Severus is made emperor in 197.

Severus sends him to Britain immediately to recover the province from the rebellions that had swept it following Clodius Albinus' removal of most of the garrison to press his claim for the throne the previous year.

Severus soon purges Albinus' sympathizers and perhaps confiscates large tracts of land in Britain as punishment for their loyalty to his slain rival.

In the north, Lupus is obliged to buy peace from the Maeatae, a tribal confederation that appears to have come together as a result of treaties struck between the Roman Empire and the various frontier tribes in the 180s CE under the governorship of Ulpius Marcellus.

Fearful that they will ally with the Caledonian Confederacy and unable to secure troop reinforcements from Severus, Lupus has no choice but to pay the rebels in return for their withdrawal and the return of a few prisoners.

Lupus slowly restores the forts in the Pennines to Roman control although Hadrian's Wall will not be rebuilt until around 205.

His governorship is assisted by the arrival of Sextus Varius Marcellus as provincial procurator and in who can be seen the germ of the later division of Britain into two provinces.

Severus, having secured his full control over the Empire with his victory over Clodious Albimnus at Lugdunum, in early 197 departs Rome and travels to the east by sea, embarking at Brundisium, to resume the conflict with Parthia.

Septimius Severus, having become Roman emperor in 197, lands at the port of Aegeae in Cilicia.

Traveling to Syria by land, …

…Severus immediately gathers his army and crosses the Euphrates.

Abgar IX, King of Osroene but essentially only the ruler of Edessa since the annexation of his kingdom as a Roman province, hands over his children as hostages and assists Severus' expedition by providing archers.

Tiridates II, King of Armenia (ruled from about 197 to 238), also sends hostages, money and gifts at this tim,

Severus travels onward to break the Parthian siege of the Armenian city of Nisibis, which his general Julius Laetus has prevented from falling into enemy hands.

Afterwards, …

…Severus returns to Syria for a time to plan a much more ambitious campaign.