Battle of Xiaoting

The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle is significant because Wu was able to turn the situation from a series of initial losses into a defensive stalemate, before proceeding to win a decisive victory over Shu. The Wu victory halted the Shu invasion and preceded the death of Liu Bei, Shu's founding emperor.

Background

In late 219, Lü Meng, a general serving under Sun Quan, led an army to invade Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province. Guan Yu, Liu Bei's general in charge of guarding Jing Province, was away at the Battle of Fancheng and did not know about the invasion until after he returned from his Pyrrhic victory at Fancheng. He was surrounded by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng (麥城; in Dangyang, Hubei), captured in an ambush while trying to break out of the siege, and eventually executed by Sun Quan's forces in Linju (臨沮; present-day Nanzhang County, Hubei).

On 25 November 220, Emperor Xian, the figurehead monarch of the Eastern Han dynasty, abdicated in favour of Cao Pi and ended the Eastern Han dynasty. On 11 December, Cao Pi established the state of Wei to replace the Eastern Han dynasty and became its first emperor. On 10 May 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established a new state, historically known as Shu, to contest Cao Pi's claim to the Han throne. Around the same time, Sun Quan shifted the capital of his territories from Gong'an County to E County, which he renamed "Wuchang" (). On 23 September 221, Sun Quan pledged allegiance to Cao Pi and became a vassal of the Wei state; in return, Cao Pi awarded Sun Quan the title "King of Wu" ().

Prelude

Liu Bei desired to avenge Guan Yu and take back Jing Province, so he made preparations for war against Sun Quan. When Zhao Yun, a veteran general under Liu Bei, tried to dissuade his lord from going to war with Sun Quan, Liu Bei ignored him. Later, when Liu Bei launched the campaign against Sun Quan, he did not bring Zhao Yun along and instead left him behind to guard Jiangzhou.(孫權襲荊州，先主大怒，欲討權。雲諫曰：「國賊是曹操，非孫權也，且先滅魏，則吳自服。操身雖斃，子丕篡盜，當因衆心，早圖關中，居河、渭上流以討凶逆，關東義士必裹糧策馬以迎王師。不應置魏，先與吳戰；兵勢一交，不得卒解也。」 ... 先主不聽，遂東征，留雲督江州。先主失利於秭歸，雲進兵至永安，吳軍已退。) ''Zhao Yun Biezhuan'' annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 36. Qin Mi, an official under Liu Bei, also advised his lord against going to war with Sun Quan but ended up being thrown into prison.(益州辟宓為從事祭酒。先主旣稱尊號，將東征吳，宓陳天時必無其利，坐下獄幽閉，然後貸出。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 38.

Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to lead 10,000 troops from Langzhong to join him at Jiangzhou. During the mobilisation, Zhang Fei was assassinated by his subordinates Fan Qiang () and Zhang Da (), who cut off his head and brought it along with them as they defected to Sun Quan's side. Zhang Fei's adjutant wrote a report to Liu Bei. When Liu Bei heard that Zhang Fei's adjutant sent him a report, he exclaimed: "Oh! (Zhang) Fei is dead."(先主伐吳，飛當率兵萬人，自閬中會江州。臨發，其帳下將張達、范彊殺飛，持其首，順流而奔孫權。飛營都督表報先主，先主聞飛都督之有表也，曰：「噫！飛死矣。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 36.

In August 221, Liu Bei personally led his army to attack Sun Quan. He also gave higher appointments to some mid-ranking Shu officers from Jing Province, such as Feng Xi and Zhang Nan, to further raise his army's morale for the campaign. Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin as his representative to meet Liu Bei and start peace talks. When Zhuge Jin met Liu Bei, he said: Liu Bei refused to listen to him.

The battle

Opening moves

In August 221, Liu Bei sent his generals Wu Ban and Feng Xi to attack the Wu positions at the Wu Gorge, which were guarded by Li Yi () and Liu E (). After Wu Ban and Feng Xi achieved success, the Shu army, comprising over 40,000 troops, advanced further to Zigui County. Liu Bei also sent messengers to request reinforcements from the local tribes in Wuling Commandery (武陵郡).( ��，七月， ...漢主遣將軍吳班、馮習攻破權將李異、劉阿等於巫，進兵秭歸，兵四萬餘人。武陵蠻夷皆遣使往請兵。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 69. At Zigui, Liu Bei met up with Liao Hua, a former subordinate of Guan Yu. Liao Hua had become a prisoner-of-war in Wu after Guan Yu's death, but managed to escape and make his way back to Shu. Liu Bei appointed him as the Administrator of Yidu.(為前將軍關羽主簿，羽敗，屬吳。思歸先主，乃詐死，時人謂為信然，因携持老母晝夜西行。會先主東征，遇於秭歸。先主大恱，以化為宜都太守。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.

In response to the Shu invasion, Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun as his Grand Chief Controller () and ordered him to lead 50,000 troops to resist the enemy. Lu Xun had under his command several Wu officers such as Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, Song Qian, Han Dang,(... 遷偏將軍，領永昌太守。宜都之役，與陸遜、朱然等共攻蜀軍於涿鄉，大破之，徙威烈將軍，封都亭侯。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55. Xu Sheng,(後遷建武將軍，封都亭侯，領廬江太守，賜臨城縣為奉邑。劉備次西陵，盛攻取諸屯，所向有功。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55. Xianyu Dan (), and Sun Huan.( ��，七月， ...權以鎮西將軍陸遜為大都督、假節，督將軍朱然、潘璋、宋謙、韓當、徐盛、鮮于丹、孫桓等五萬人拒之。) ''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 69.(黃武元年，劉備率大衆來向西界，權命遜為大都督、假節，督朱然、潘璋、宋謙、韓當、徐盛、鮮于丹、孫桓等五萬人拒之。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 58.

The Shu army's approach

In February 222, Liu Bei planned to lead his army from Zigui（秭歸）further into Jing Province to reclaim the province. However, the Shu general Huang Quan noted that the Wu forces were powerful and had used the Yangtze to their advantage, so he volunteered to lead the attack and suggested that Liu Bei remain behind as backup. Liu Bei refused to listen to him, appointed him as General Who Guards the North (), and put him in charge of a separate Shu army to defend the northern flank (the northern bank of the Yangtze) from any possible attack by Wei forces. He then personally led the main Shu army, which travelled along the southern bank of the Yangtze.(及稱尊號，將東伐吳，權諫曰：「吳人悍戰，又水軍順流，進易退難，臣請為先驅以甞寇，陛下宜為後鎮。」先主不從，以權為鎮北將軍，督江北軍以防魏師；先主自在江南。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 43.

Liu Bei also ordered Wu Ban (吳班) and Chen Shi （陳式）to lead the Shu navy to Yiling on the banks of the Yangtze. In the meantime, he also sent Ma Liang as an envoy to meet the tribes in Wuling Commandery and seek to bribe their chiefs with money and official titles to win their support.(先主稱尊號，以良為侍中。及東征吳，遣良入武陵招納五溪蠻夷，蠻夷渠帥皆受印號，咸如意指。會先主敗績於夷陵，良亦遇害。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 39.(二年春正月，先主軍還秭歸，將軍吳班、陳式水軍屯夷陵，夾江東西岸。二月，先主自秭歸率諸將進軍，緣山截嶺，於夷道猇亭駐營，自佷山通武陵，遣侍中馬良安慰五谿蠻夷，咸相率響應。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 32. As the tribes in Wuling grew restless upon the Shu army's approach, Sun Quan sent Bu Zhi to guard Yiyang and deal with any unrest.(隲因承制遣使宣恩撫納，是加拜平戎將軍，封廣信侯。 ... 會劉備東下，武陵蠻夷蠢動，權遂命隲上益陽。備旣敗績，而零、桂諸郡猶相驚擾，處處阻兵；隲周旋征討，皆平之。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 52.

When Wu generals wanted to attack the Shu army as it approached, Lu Xun objected and said: The Wu generals did not understand Lu Xun's reasoning and thought that he feared the enemy so they were very unhappy with him.

Stalemate

The Shu army passed through the Wu Gorge, Jianping (), Lianping (), and Lianwei (), and arrived at the border of Yiling, where they constructed about 10 fortified garrisons. Liu Bei appointed Feng Xi as the Grand Controller (), Zhang Nan as the vanguard commander (), and Fu Kuang, Zhao Rong (), Liao Hua, and Fu Rong as detachment commanders (). The Shu and Wu forces were locked in a stalemate for about six months from February to July 222.

Liu Bei ordered Wu Ban to lead a few thousand soldiers out of the mountainous regions to set up camps on flat terrain and provoke the Wu forces to attack them.(備從巫峽、建平、連平、連圍至夷陵界，立數十屯，以金錦爵賞誘動諸夷，使將軍馮習為大督，張南為前部，輔匡、趙融、廖淳、傅肜等各為別督，先遣吳班將數千人於平地立營，欲以挑戰。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 58. When the Wu officers wanted to respond to the taunts and attack the enemy, Lu Xun said: "This must be a trick. We should observe first."

As Lu Xun suspected, there were actually 8,000 Shu troops waiting in ambush in the nearby valleys. Since the Wu forces did not respond to the taunts, Liu Bei abandoned his plan to lure the enemy into the ambush and ordered the 8,000 soldiers to come out of the valleys. When Lu Xun heard about it, he told the Wu officers: "The reason why I did not follow your suggestions to attack the enemy is because I suspected there was something fishy about it." He then wrote a memorial to Sun Quan to emphasize the strategic importance of Yiling, point out some of Liu Bei's weaknesses, and reassure Sun Quan that he would defeat the enemy.

The Wu counter-attack and the burning of the Shu camps

Several days later, the Wu officers told Lu Xun: Lu Xun replied:

Lu Xun then targeted one enemy camp and attacked it but failed to capture it. The Wu officers complained: "We are sacrificing our soldiers' lives for nothing." Lu Xun replied: "I have devised a strategy for defeating the enemy." He then ordered his men to carry a pile of straw each and launch a fire attack on the enemy. Upon the commencement of the fire attack, Lu Xun led all the Wu units on an all-out assault on the Shu forces. Zhu Ran defeated the Shu vanguard force, cut off its retreat route and forced Liu Bei to retreat.(... 遷昭武將軍，封西安鄉侯。 ... 黃武元年，劉備舉兵攻宜都，然督五千人與陸遜并力拒備。然別攻破備前鋒，斷其後道，備遂破走。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 56. Pan Zhang's subordinates killed Feng Xi and inflicted heavy casualties on Feng's unit.(... 拜璋為太守、振威將軍，封溧陽侯。 ... 劉備出夷陵，璋與陸遜并力拒之，璋部下斬備護軍馮習等，所殺傷甚衆，拜平北將軍、襄陽太守。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55. Song Qian also destroyed five Shu garrisons and killed its defending officers.(黃武元年春正月，陸遜部將軍宋謙等攻蜀五屯，皆破之，斬其將。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 47. Zhang Nan, Shamoke (a tribal king allied with Shu), Ma Liang, and Wang Fu(國山名甫，廣漢郪人也。 ... 隨先主征吳，軍敗於秭歸，遇害。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45. were killed in action, while Du Lu () and Liu Ning () were forced to surrender to Wu. Over 40 Shu camps were destroyed by the Wu forces.(... 斬張南、馮習及胡王沙摩柯等首，破其四十餘營。備將杜路、劉寧等窮逼請降。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 58. Throughout the Shu army, only Xiang Chong's unit managed to retreat without sustaining any losses.(朗兄子寵，先主時為牙門將。秭歸之敗，寵營特完。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41.

The actual location of the battle is at the juncture between the west of Yidu County and east of Changyang County in Yichang, Hubei.

Liu Bei's retreat to Baidicheng

Liu Bei and his remaining troops retreated to the Ma'an Hills (馬鞍山; east of present-day Changyang County, Hubei), where they continued to be fiercely assaulted by the Wu forces from all directions. At the same time, landslides occurred at the Ma'an Hills and caused the Shu forces to sustain thousands of casualties. The Wu general Sun Huan fought with his life and managed to break through enemy lines and capture the key positions in the hills. Liu Bei was forced to retreat through the hazardous mountainous terrain and barely escaped alive at night.(年二十五，拜安東中郎將，與陸遜共拒劉備。備軍衆甚盛，彌山盈谷，桓投刀奮命，與遜勠力，備遂敗走。桓斬上兜道，截其徑要。備踰山越險，僅乃得免，忿恚歎曰：「吾昔初至京城，桓尚小兒，而今迫孤乃至此也！」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 51. During the retreat, he ordered his men to pile up their armour and set them on fire to create barriers for the pursuing Wu forces.

Liu Bei regrouped his scattered forces and ordered them to abandon their boats and travel on foot towards Yufu County, which he renamed "Yong'an" (永安; literally "everlasting peace"). The Wu officers Li Yi () and Liu E () led their troops in pursuit of Liu Bei and garrisoned at Nanshan (). In late September or early October 222, Liu Bei and his forces retreated further to the Wu Gorge.(先主自猇亭還秭歸，收合離散兵，遂棄船舫，由步道還魚復，改魚復縣曰永安。吳遣將軍李異、劉阿等踵躡先主軍，屯駐南山。秋八月，收兵還巫。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 32.

By the time Liu Bei reached the safety of Baidicheng, all his boats, military equipment, and supplies had been captured by Wu forces. The dead bodies of Shu soldiers floated in the river and obstructed its flow. Liu Bei was extremely upset and furious with his defeat. He exclaimed: "Is it not the will of Heaven that I must be humiliated by Lu Xun?" When Zhao Yun showed up at Yong'an with reinforcements from Jiangzhou, the pursuing Wu forces had already retreated on their own.

Incidents during the battle

Lu Xun refusing to help Sun Huan

In the earlier stages of the battle, Sun Huan led a separate force to attack the Shu vanguard force at Yidao but ended up being besieged by the enemy. He requested for reinforcements from Lu Xun but was denied. The other Wu officers told Lu Xun: "General Sun is a relative of our lord. He is currently under siege, so shouldn't we help him?" Lu Xun replied: "He has the support of his men, his base is well defended, and he has sufficient supplies. There is nothing to worry about. When my plans are in motion, even if we don't help him, the siege on him will automatically be lifted." After the Wu victory at Xiaoting, Sun Huan came to see Lu Xun and said: "Earlier on, I was indeed very resentful when you refused to help me. But now, after the victory, I see that you have your own way of doing things."

Wu officers' reluctance to follow Lu Xun's orders

Many of the Wu officers who participated in the battle had either served in Wu since Sun Ce's time or were relatives of Sun Quan's family, so they viewed themselves highly and were unwilling to follow Lu Xun's orders. Lu Xun placed his sword on the desk and said:

The Wu officers began to show greater respect for Lu Xun after the Wu victory, which was largely due to his strategies. Lu Xun did not report this incident to Sun Quan, who found out about it himself after the battle. When Sun Quan asked Lu Xun about it, Lu replied that he valued those officers even though they were insubordinate towards him, and decided to put up with them because he felt it was important to maintain good working relationships with them to fulfil their common goal of resisting the Shu invasion. Sun Quan praised him and rewarded him handsomely.

Heroics of Fu Rong and Cheng Ji

Fu Rong volunteered to cover the rear while the Shu forces were retreating from Yiling and Xiaoting. He continued to hold his ground firmly and vent his fury on the enemy even though all his comrades had already been killed. When the Wu soldiers called for him to surrender, he replied: "Dogs of Wu! Do you think a Han officer will ever surrender?" He was eventually killed in action.(休元名習，南郡人。隨先主入蜀。先主東征吳，習為領軍，統諸軍，大敗於猇亭。 ... 文進名南，亦自荊州隨先主入蜀，領兵從先主征吳，與習俱死。時又有義陽傅肜，先主退軍，斷後拒戰，兵人死盡，吳將語肜令降，肜罵曰：「吳狗！何有漢將軍降者！」遂戰死。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.

Cheng Ji also covered the rear during the Shu retreat. As the enemy approached, someone urged him to abandon his boat and escape, but he replied: "I have never fled from battle throughout my military career. Besides, the Emperor is currently in a dangerous situation." When the Wu forces showed up, Cheng Ji wielded a '' ji'', fought fiercely and managed to sink some enemy boats before he was eventually overwhelmed by the enemy and killed.(季然名畿，巴西閬中人也。 ... 先主領益州牧，辟為從事祭酒。後隨先主征吳，遇大軍敗績，泝江而還，或告之曰：「後追已至，解船輕去，乃可以免。」畿曰：「吾在軍，未曾為敵走，況從天子而見危哉！」追人遂及畿船，畿身執戟戰，敵船有覆者。衆大至，共擊之，乃死。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 45.

Cao Pi foreseeing Liu Bei's defeat

When Cao Pi received news that the Shu forces had set up linked camps over a distance of more than 700 '' li'', he told his subjects: He received a report about the Wu victory seven days later.

Aftermath

Huang Quan and the separate Shu army on the northern bank of the Yangtze were cut off from the main Shu army during the Wu counterattack and could not return to Shu. In desperation, Huang Quan and his subordinate Pang Lin led their troops to defect to Wei.(及吳將軍陸議乘流斷圍，南軍敗績，先主引退。而道隔絕，權不得還，故率將所領降于魏。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 43.(統弟林，以荊州治中從事參鎮北將軍黃權征吳，值軍敗，隨權入魏， ...) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 37.

Small rebellions broke out in Lingling (零陵) and Guiyang (桂陽) commanderies after the Shu forces retreated. Bu Zhi, who was stationed at Yiyang before the battle, led Wu forces to suppress them.

After the battle, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Song Qian and other Wu officers suggested attacking Baidicheng to capture Liu Bei. When Sun Quan asked Lu Xun for his opinion, Lu Xun, Zhu Ran and Luo Tong said that when Cao Pi amassed his forces and seemed like he was going to help Wu attack Shu, he actually had sinister intentions. They cautioned Sun Quan about this and suggested to abandon their pursuit of Liu Bei and return to Wu. Sun Quan heeded their advice. Not long later, Cao Pi led the Wei armies to invade Wu from three directions.

When Liu Bei heard of the Wei invasion of Wu, he wrote to Lu Xun: Lu Xun replied:

Liu Bei became critically ill in April 223. Before he died on 10 June, he named his son Liu Shan as his successor and appointed Zhuge Liang and Li Yan as regents to assist Liu Shan. After taking over the reins of power, Zhuge Liang made peace with Wu and re-established the Wu–Shu alliance against Wei.

Order of battle

Wu forces

* Grand Chief Controller () Lu Xun
* General of Illustrious Martial Might () Zhu Ran
* General Who Inspires Might () Pan Zhang
* Lieutenant General () Han Dang
* General Who Builds Martial Might () Xu Sheng
* General of the Household Who Pacifies the East () Sun Huan
* General of the Household Who Builds Loyalty () Luo Tong
* Song Qian
* Xianyu Dan ()
* Li Yi ()
* Liu E ()
* Jiang Yi

;Non-participants
* King of Wu () Sun Quan
* General Who Pacifies the Rong () Bu Zhi

Shu forces

;Main army
* Emperor of Shu Han () Liu Bei
* Grand Controller () Feng Xi
* Vanguard () Zhang Nan
* Detachment Commander () Fu Kuang
* Detachment Commander () Zhao Rong ()
* Detachment Commander () Liao Hua
* Detachment Commander () Fu Rong
* Palace Attendant () Ma Liang
* General of the Standard () Xiang Chong ()
* Aide-de-camp () Li Chao
* Assistant Officer and Libationer () Cheng Ji
* Wu Ban
* Chen Shi
* Wang Fu
* Du Lu ()
* Liu Ning ()

;North army
* General Who Guards the North () Huang Quan
* Assistant Officer in Headquarters Office () Pang Lin

;Allies
* Shamoke

;Non-participants
* General of the Assisting Army () Zhao Yun

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

The events before, during, and after the Battle of Xiaoting are mentioned in chapters 81–84 of the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi'') by Luo Guanzhong. Some fictitious stories were included and actual events were exaggerated for dramatic effect. The following are some notable events related to the battle, as described in the novel:

Opposition to Liu Bei's decision to go to war

Liu Bei plans to go to war with Sun Quan to avenge Guan Yu and retake Jing Province, but his decision is opposed by many of his subjects. The first person who attempts to dissuade him from going to war is Zhao Yun, who is ignored. After that, other Shu officials such as Ma Liang and Chen Zhen urge Zhuge Liang to stop Liu Bei, so Zhuge Liang brings them along to meet Liu Bei and advise him against his decision, but Liu Bei refuses to accept their advice. Just when Liu Bei is preparing for war, Qin Mi opposes his decision. Liu Bei is so angry that he wants to execute Qin Mi. However, Qin Mi is spared after Zhuge Liang and the rest of the Shu imperial court plead with Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang then writes a memorial to Liu Bei to explain why he should not go to war with Sun Quan, but Liu Bei throws the memorial to the ground after reading it and exclaims, "My decision is final. There is no need to advise me against my decision anymore!"

;Historicity
The historical text ''Sanguozhi'' did not mention anything about Zhuge Liang opposing Liu Bei's decision to go to war with Sun Quan. However, it did mention that Zhao Yun and Qin Mi attempted to dissuade Liu Bei: Zhao Yun advised Liu Bei against attacking Sun Quan, but was ignored. Qin Mi was imprisoned by Liu Bei when he advised him against the campaign, but was released later.

Huang Zhong's death

The Shu general Huang Zhong participates in the campaign even though he is already over 70 years old at the time. He slays Pan Zhang's subordinate, Shi Ji (), and defeats Pan Zhang in an engagement on the first day. On the second day, while pursuing the retreating Pan Zhang, he falls into an ambush and is surrounded by Zhou Tai, Han Dang, Ling Tong and Pan Zhang. He is hit by an arrow fired by Ma Zhong (). Guan Xing and Zhang Bao save him, but he dies from his wound that night. Liu Bei mourns his death. Since the Battle of Xiaoting historically took place between 221–222, going by the novel's account, Huang Zhong's year of death should be around 221–222.

;Historicity
Huang Zhong's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'' stated that Huang Zhong died in 220, a year after the Hanzhong Campaign ended. His cause of death is unknown.

Guan Xing killing Pan Zhang

In one of the early engagements, Guan Xing encounters Pan Zhang, who captured his father Guan Yu in an ambush during the Battle of Maicheng. In his eagerness to avenge his father, Guan Xing pursues Pan Zhang into a valley but loses his way inside. After nightfall, Guan Xing wanders around until he finds a house inhabited by an old man and stays there for the night. He sees his father's portrait on the wall in the house. Later that night, Pan Zhang also finds his way to the house and asks to stay there. Guan Xing sees Pan Zhang and shouts at him. Just as Pan Zhang is about to leave, he encounters Guan Yu's ghost and is petrified. Guan Xing catches up with Pan Zhang, kills him, digs out his heart and places it on the altar as an offering to his father's spirit.

;Historicity
Pan Zhang's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'' stated that he died in 234 – more than 10 years after the Battle of Xiaoting. His cause of death is unknown. Guan Yu's biography mentioned that Guan Xing served as a civil official in Shu after reaching adulthood (around the age of 19) and died a few years later while in office, so Guan Xing was most probably not involved in the battle.

Gan Ning's death

Gan Ning is down with dysentery around the time of the Battle of Xiaoting, but he still participates in the battle regardless of his illness. He is resting when he hears enemy forces approaching, so he quickly mounts his horse and prepares for battle. He encounters a group of tribal warriors led by Shamoke. He sees that the enemy force is too large and decides to withdraw. While retreating on horseback, Gan Ning is hit in the head by an arrow fired by Shamoke. He flees, with the arrow still embedded in his head, reaches Fuchi (富池; in present-day Yangxin County, Hubei), sits down under a tree and dies. Dozens of crows on the tree fly around his body. When Sun Quan learns of Gan Ning's death, he is deeply saddened and gives orders for Gan to be buried with full honours.

;Historicity
No details were provided on Gan Ning's cause and time of death in his biography in the ''Sanguozhi''. Gan Ning's death was briefly stated as follows: When Gan Ning died, Sun Quan deeply lamented his death.

Zhao Yun killing Zhu Ran

Liu Bei retreats under the protection of Guan Xing and Zhang Bao after his camps are set on fire by the Wu forces, who continue to pursue him. At a critical moment, Zhao Yun shows up and blocks the attacks from the enemy. Zhao Yun encounters Zhu Ran during the battle and kills him. He protects Liu Bei while the latter heads towards Baidicheng.

;Historicity
The ''Zhao Yun Biezhuan'' stated that Zhao Yun did not participate in the Battle of Xiaoting. Before the battle, Zhao Yun advised Liu Bei against going to war with Sun Quan but was ignored. Liu Bei ordered him to remain behind and guard Jiangzhou. When Zhao Yun learnt that Liu Bei had been defeated at Zigui, he led troops from Jiangzhou to Yong'an to help his lord.

Zhu Ran's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'' stated that he died in 249 at the age of 68 (by East Asian age reckoning) – about 27 years after the Battle of Xiaoting. Besides, he outlived Zhao Yun, who historically died in 229.

Lady Sun's death

News of Liu Bei's defeat in the battle reach his ex-wife Lady Sun, who had returned to Wu. After hearing rumours that Liu Bei had been killed in battle, Lady Sun ventures out to the bank of the Yangtze, where she faces the west and cries before drowning herself.(時孫夫人在吳，聞猇亭兵敗，訛傳先主死於軍中，遂驅車至江邊，望西遙哭，投江而死。) ''Sanguo Yanyi'' ch. 84.

;Historicity
Nothing was recorded in history about what happened to Lady Sun after she left Liu Bei and returned to Wu territory.

Lu Xun's encounter with Zhuge Liang's Stone Sentinel Maze

In popular culture

The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game series '' Dynasty Warriors'', in which it is known as the "Battle of Yi Ling" or "Battle of Yiling". It has a follow-up, the "Battle of Baidi Castle", which is based on a hypothetical scenario of the Wu forces pressing on to attack Baidicheng, where the Shu forces retreated to after their defeat.

Notes

Citations

References

* Chen, Shou. '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi'').
* Luo, Guanzhong. ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguo Yanyi'').
* Pei, Songzhi. '' Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi zhu'').
* Sima, Guang. ''Zizhi Tongjian''.
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Xiaoting
220s conflicts
Xiaoting 222
221
222
Military history of Hubei
Liu Bei