Battle of Xiapi

Battle of Xiapi
Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms
Date Winter 198 Location Xiapi, Xuzhou (Present-day Pizhou, Jiangsu) Result Cao Cao and Liu Bei victors
Belligerents
Cao Cao, Liu Bei	Lü Bu
Commanders and leaders
Cao Cao, Liu Bei	Lü Bu†

The Battle of Xiapi (下邳之戰) occurred in the winter of 198 between the forces of Lü Bu against the forces of Liu Bei and Cao Cao in the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of China. The Battle of Yan Province led to this battle. After Lü Bu seized Xiapi Castle, Liu Bei went to Cao Cao for help.

Battle

At Xiaopei, Lü Bu attacked Liu Bei for his betrayal. Xiahou Dun was sent by Cao Cao to assist Liu Bei. After being shot in the eye with an arrow Xiahou Dun had to retreat, and Liu Bei was defeated. When Cao Cao arrived, he surrounded the city, letting the heavy snows lower enemy morale. But the plan didn't work, in doing so, Lü Bu, sends both Hou Cheng and Wang Kai to ask for assistance from Yuan Shu in Nanyang.

But the greedy Yuan Shu used this opportunity to take advantages from Lü Bu, asking for Red Hare as the prize. During night times sometimes between the day of the attack, Lü Bu marched on to Nanyang, but his way was halted by both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Forcing Lü Bu to retreat and the hope of reinforcements from Yuan Shu was dashed.

Later on, with Xun Yu's advice, Cao Cao built a floodgate to overcome his reach to capture the city. He let the city flood and Lü Bu's troop morales drastically lowered. With it, many officers and soldiers started to defect. As a result of the flood, Lü Bu's behavior became erratic, and he started drinking, but swore off it. A servant offer Lu Bu a drink, and was severely punished, thus the relationship with his men was tense. Lü Bu's men rebelled against him by giving Lü Bu's steed Red Hare to Cao Cao, in addition to opening the gates and leading Cao Cao to Lü Bu, the drunken Lü Bu was caught off guard and was captured. Brought before Cao Cao, he was executed.

The capture of a drunken Lü Bu by his own men was a fictional part from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Historically, Lü Bu surrendered himself, due to the three month siege and many consecutive losses. But nonetheless, Cao Cao still had him executed in February, 199 AD.

Notes

• This is the second time Lü Bu fights at Xiapi, in the first Battle of Xiapi in 197 A.D. Lü Bu defeats Yuan Shu.

Modern References

Despite the inclusion of Lü Bu from the very beginning of the Dynasty Warriors series for the Playstation 2, the Battle of Xiapi has not been one of the many playable stages until Dynasty Warriors 4. Players can follow history by making various generals defect and easily win the battle.

References

• Luo, Guanzhong Romance of the Three Kingdoms