Chen Lan was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the imperial court in 189. He was said to be a younger cousin of the warlord Yuan Shao, but was actually Yuan Shao's younger half-brother...

 during the late Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. Chen was the deputy commander in the attack on Xu Province. After Yuan groundlessly declared himself emperor

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

 after obtaining the Imperial Seal from Sun Ce

Sun Ce

Sun Ce was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the oldest of the children of Sun Jian who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to...

, Chen abandoned his lord with Lei Bo

Lei Bo

Lei Bo was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shu during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. When Yuan Shu declared himself emperor after obtaining the Imperial Seal, Lei Bo left him. Lei Bo then secluded himself at Chen near Songshan, where he became a bandit....

. Lei and Chen then became brigands. Following the defeat of Yuan Shu, Chen and Lei both came back to pillage the remains of Yuan Shu's valuables.