The Battle of Xiaoting (Chinese: 猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling (Chinese: 夷陵之戰) and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the Shu Han and Eastern Wu dynasties, in the years 221 and 222 during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle is significant because the Eastern 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 the Shu Han. The Eastern Wu victory halted the Shu Han invasion and preceded the death of Liu Bei, Shu Han'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 of the Han, effectively establishing a new state (today known as Shu Han) in opposition to Cao Pi's Wei. Around the same time, Sun Quan shifted the capital of his territories from Gong'an County to E County, which he renamed "Wuchang" (武昌). 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" (吳王).
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. 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.
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 (范彊) and Zhang Da (張達), 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."
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:
"I have heard that your banners and drums have arrived at Baidicheng. I fear that the ministers will argue that the King of Wu's invasion of this province will harm Guan Yu, causing deep resentment and great calamity, and that it is not advisable to make peace. This shows that you are focusing on the small matter and not paying attention to the big one. Let me discuss with Your Majesty the weight and magnitude of this matter. If Your Majesty restrains your anger and heeds my words, the decision can be made immediately without consulting the other ministers. How does Your Majesty compare Guan Yu's kinship with that of the late Emperor? How does the size of Jingzhou compare to that of the entire realm? Both are enemies, but who should be dealt with first? If you understand these factors, the matter will be as easy as turning your hand."
Liu Bei refused to listen to him.
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 (李異) and Liu E (劉阿). 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). 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.
In response to the Shu invasion, Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun as his Grand Chief Controller (大都督) 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, Xu Sheng, Xianyu Dan (鮮于丹), and Sun Huan.
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 (鎮北將軍), 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.
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. 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.
When Wu generals wanted to attack the Shu army as it approached, Lu Xun objected and said:
"When Liu Bei led his army eastward, his morale was high, and he was able to take advantage of the high ground and strategic terrain, making him difficult to attack quickly. Even if he attacked and then retreated, it would still be difficult to completely conquer him. If there were any setbacks, it would damage our overall situation, which would be no small matter. For now, we should encourage our generals and soldiers, implement various strategies, and observe the situation. If this area were a plain and open field, we would be worried about being displaced and forced to move around. Now, marching along the mountains, our momentum is limited, and we will naturally be forced to retreat among the trees and rocks, and then we can gradually address the problem."
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 (建平), Lianping (連平), and Lianwei (連圍), and arrived at the border of Yiling, where they constructed about 10 fortified garrisons. Liu Bei appointed Feng Xi as the Grand Controller (大督), Zhang Nan as the vanguard commander (前部督), and Fu Kuang, Zhao Rong (趙融), Liao Hua, and Fu Rong as detachment commanders (別督). 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. 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.
Wu counter-attack and the burning of the Shu camps
Several days later, the Wu officers told Lu Xun:
"We should have attacked Liu Bei in the initial stages. Now, he has advanced further in by 500 to 600 li and we have been locked in a stalemate for seven to eight months. He has reinforced all his crucial positions, so even if we attack them it will yield nothing."
Lu Xun replied:
"Liu Bei is cunning and experienced. In the initial stage, his army was very focused and its morale was very high, so we could not defeat them then. Now, however, since it has been quite some time, they are already weary, low on morale, and out of ideas. Now is the time for us to launch a multi-pronged assault on them."
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. Pan Zhang's subordinates killed Feng Xi and inflicted heavy casualties on Feng's unit. Song Qian also destroyed five Shu garrisons and killed its defending officers. Zhang Nan, Shamoke (a tribal king allied with Shu), Ma Liang, and Wang Fu were killed in action, while Du Lu (杜路) and Liu Ning (劉寧) were forced to surrender to Wu. Over 40 Shu camps were destroyed by the Wu forces. Throughout the Shu army, only Xiang Chong's unit managed to retreat without sustaining any losses.
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. 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 (李異) and Liu E (劉阿) led their troops in pursuit of Liu Bei and garrisoned at Nanshan (南山). In late September or early October 222, Liu Bei and his forces retreated further to the Wu Gorge.
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.