The Heishan bandits or Black Mountain bandits () was a bandit confederacy in the Taihang Mountain range during the later years of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. They played a part in the internecine feuds that followed the Eastern Han dynasty's descent into chaos preceding the Three Kingdoms period, during which they eventually surrendered to the warlord Cao Cao. History Following the loosening of central government control due to the repercussions of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, bandits and rebels sprung up everywhere. One such bandit group under Zhang Niujue (張牛角, aka Oxhorn Zhang), unrelated to the Yellow Turban movement, rose to power in the hill countries of the Taihang Mountains by plundering the western areas of the North China Plain. In 185, Zhang Niujue and fellow bandit Chu Yan (褚燕) joined forces to raid the town of Yingtao (癭陶). Zhang Niujue was killed in the skirmish, and his followers followed his last order to join Chu Yan. Chu Yan changed his surname to Zhang to honour his fallen colleague, so he became known as Zhang Yan. Soon, he became the nominal chief of all bandits east of the Taihang range, forming a confederacy of bandits known as the Heishan bandits. His ranks grew steadily in number until they were said to reach a million. They conducted raids in the commanderies of Changshan (常山), Zhao (趙), Zhongshan (中山), Shangdang (上黨) and Henei (河內). While Zhu Jun was able to push them away from the capital, the Han were unable to control the situation north of the Yellow River, the government accepted a nominal surrender and offered the bandits official positions. However, when the central government fell under Dong Zhuo's chaotic control in 189, the Heishan bandits went back to their former activities. In the civil wars that followed the unsuccessful campaign against Dong Zhuo, Zhang Yan and the Heishan bandits apparently sided with Gongsun Zan and thus attacked commanderies that were in the possession of Gongsun Zan's enemies. In 191 the Heishan bandits raided Dong Commandery (東郡), under the control of Yuan Shao's associate Cao Cao, but were driven back. Early in 193, the bandits and a contingent of the Southern Xiongnu under Yufuluo aided Yuan Shu, who was driven out of his original territory of Nanyang (南陽) by Yuan Shao's ally Liu Biao, in Chenliu (陳留). As Chenliu was also within Cao Cao's territories, he swiftly defeated the allies