The Battle of Han River was fought between the warlords

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of Chinese history. The battle was the last major engagement in the

Hanzhong Campaign The Hanzhong Campaign was a military campaign launched by the warlord Liu Bei to seize control of Hanzhong Commandery from his rival, Cao Cao. The campaign took place between 217 and 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Althou ...

, in which Liu Bei emerged victorious and subsequently declared himself

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

Background

Cao Cao's general Xiahou Yuan was defeated and killed by Liu Bei at the

Battle of Mount Dingjun The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms stretch of Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marked a major milestone in his Hanzhong Campaign and ...

in 219. In retaliation, Cao Cao led a large army along with millions of grains to supply his troops. Cao Cao wanted to attack Liu Bei's camp at the south of the Han River. Liu Bei sent his generals

Zhao Yun Zhao Yun ( ) (died 229), courtesy name Zilong (), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came ...

and

Huang Zhong Huang Zhong (, ) (died 220), courtesy name Hansheng, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Mount Dingjun in 219, in which ...

to defend. Huang Zhong along with his soldiers went to capture the enemy's supplies while Zhao Yun and his subordinate

Zhang Zhu Zhang Zhu (; 1287–1368), courtesy name Zhongju (仲舉), was a Yuan Dynasty poet. A native of (?), he brought himself into notice by his poetry, and was subsequently employed upon the histories of the Liao, Later Jin, and Song dynasties, rising ...

would remain in the camp with Zhang Yi unless they did not return.

The battle

Huang Zhong's army moved to capture the supplies of grain Cao Cao had at the North Mountain; Zhao Yun along with his soldiers assisted Huang Zhong during his mission. As Huang Zhong had been gone for long, Zhao Yun became worried that something happened and along with tens light cavalry left the main camp to find Huang Zhong's unit. During their search, they met Cao Cao's main army and were forced to fight against Cao Cao's vanguard, more and more of Cao Cao's soldiers joined the battle. Yet Zhao Yun with a handful of soldiers charged among their masses. At the same time, attacking and retreating, Zhao Yun managed to defeat a far larger army. Cao Cao's soldiers soon regrouped but again Zhao Yun along with his riders broke the encirclement and could lead his unit back to the main camp. During the battle, the officer Zhang Zhu was wounded and could not retreat. Zhao Yun turned back, rescued the wounded Zhang Zhu and led him back to the camp. Cao Cao's army followed them until they reached the camp. When Zhang Yi saw that Cao Cao's army was in pursuit of Zhao Yun, and was headed towards the main camp he thought they should close the gates and prepare for their assault. However Zhao Yun ordered to have the gates wide open, lowered the flags and quieted the drums. Seeing this, Cao Cao's army was fearful of some hidden ambush and therefore they withdrew. At this moment, Zhao Yun suddenly ordered to beat the drums with thundering sounds and along with crossbowmen pursuing the retreated army. Cao Cao's soldiers panicked and while fleeing trampled over each other, with many among them drowning into the Han river.

Aftermath

Liu Bei came and inspected the battlefield and exclaimed, "Zhao Yun has valor through and through". He ordered a celebration to late that night honoring Zhao Yun. From then on, Liu Bei's army called Zhao Yun "General of Tiger's Might" ().(先主明旦自來至雲營圍視昨戰處，曰：「子龍一身都是膽也。」作樂飲宴至暝，軍中號雲為虎威將軍。) ''Zhao Yun Biezhuan'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 36.

In popular culture

The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game '' Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends''. The player can choose to play as Zhao Yun or Huang Zhong, with both characters following different paths even though they are on the same battleground.

References

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

. ''

Records of Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

''. * Luo Guanzhong. ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

''. {{coord missing, Shaanxi 219 Han River 219 Military history of Shaanxi Han River