Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on most of his early exploits. Guan Yu played a significant role in the events leading up to the end of the Han dynasty and the establishment of Liu Bei's state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. While he is remembered for his loyalty towards Liu Bei, he is also known for repaying Cao Cao's kindness by slaying Yan Liang, a general under Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao, at the Battle of Boma. After Liu Bei gained control of Yi Province in 214, Guan Yu remained in Jing Province to govern and defend the area for about seven years. In 219, while he was away fighting Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Fancheng, Liu Bei's ally Sun Quan broke the Sun–Liu alliance and sent his general Lü Meng to conquer Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province. By the time Guan Yu found out about the loss of Jing Province after his defeat at Fancheng, it was too late. He was subsequently captured in an ambush by Sun Quan's forces and executed.
Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande (玄德), was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.
Lü Meng, courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early in his career, he fought in several battles under the banner of Sun Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother and predecessor. Although he had been noted for his bravery, he was still deemed as nothing more than a "mere warrior" for his lack of literacy skills. Later, with encouragement from Sun Quan, Lü Meng took up scholarly pursuits to improve himself, gradually becoming a learned and competent military leader. In 217, he succeeded Lu Su as the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces in Jing Province. Two years later, in a carefully calculated military operation, Lü Meng led an invasion of Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province, swiftly and stealthily capturing all the lands from Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who was captured and executed after his defeat. Lü Meng enjoyed his finest hour after the victory but died a few months later because he was already seriously ill before the campaign.
Zhou Yu (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin, was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, Sun Ce's younger brother and successor. Zhou Yu is primarily known for his leading role in defeating the numerically superior forces of the northern warlord Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs in late 208, and again at the Battle of Jiangling in 209. Zhou Yu's victories served as the bedrock of Sun Quan's regime, which in 222 became Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms. Zhou Yu did not live to see Sun Quan's enthronement, however, as he died at the age of 35 in 210 while preparing to invade Yi Province. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu was described as tall and handsome. He was also referred to as "Master Zhou". However, his popular moniker "Zhou the Beautiful Youth" does not appear in either the Records or the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Some Japanese writers such as Fumihiko Koide believe that this was a later invention by Japanese storytellers such as Eiji Yoshikawa.
Xu Huang, courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, before his death at the start of Cao Rui's reign. Xu Huang is best noted for breaking the siege at the Battle of Fancheng in 219 by routing the enemy commander Guan Yu on the field.
Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide (益德), was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earliest to join Liu Bei, shared a brotherly relationship with their lord and accompanied him on most of his early exploits. Zhang Fei fought in various battles on Liu Bei's side, including the Red Cliffs campaign (208–209), takeover of Yi Province (212–214), and Hanzhong Campaign (217–218). He was assassinated by his subordinates in 221 after serving for only a few months in the state of Shu Han, which was founded by Liu Bei earlier that year.
Cao Ren, courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei – founded by Cao Cao's son and successor, Cao Pi – during the Three Kingdoms period. He played a significant part in assisting Cao Cao in the civil wars leading to the end of the Han dynasty. He was appointed as the Grand Marshal (大司馬) when Cao Pi ascended the throne, and was also credited by the latter for the establishment of Wei. However, Cao Ren was also once derided as a mediocre commander by Zhu Huan, a general from Wei's rival state Eastern Wu.
Pang De, courtesy name Lingming, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He started his career under the warlord Ma Teng, who was based in Liang Province. In 211, Ma Teng's son Ma Chao, along with a coalition of warlords from Liang Province, started a rebellion against the Han central government, which was controlled by the warlord Cao Cao. After Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao and the coalition at the Battle of Tong Pass, Ma Chao fled to Hanzhong Commandery and took shelter under the warlord Zhang Lu. Pang De accompanied him to Hanzhong. When Ma Chao defected from Zhang Lu's side in order to join the warlord Liu Bei, Pang De remained in Hanzhong and eventually came to serve Cao Cao after Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu at the Battle of Yangping and took over Hanzhong. In 219, Pang De fought at the Battle of Fancheng under Cao Ren's command against Liu Bei's forces led by Guan Yu. Pang De was captured in battle and eventually executed by Guan Yu when he refused to surrender.
Yu Jin, courtesy name Wenze, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He joined Cao Cao in 192 around the start of the civil wars leading to the collapse of the dynasty, and fought in many of the campaigns which established the warlord's position as a central figure in that period. In 219, Yu Jin was tasked with leading forces to relief Cao Cao's general Cao Ren, who was being besieged in Fancheng by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, but his armies were destroyed in a flood due to heavy rains. Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu and became a prisoner-of-war, but was transferred to the custody of another warlord, Sun Quan, after Sun Quan's forces captured Guan Yu's bases in late 219. Sun Quan treated Yu Jin like a guest and in 221 sent him back to the state of Cao Wei, which was founded in late 220 by Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi pardoned Yu Jin and restored him to the position of a general. However, Yu Jin died later that year in regret after visiting Cao Cao's tomb, where he saw illustrations of the Battle of Fancheng depicting his surrender to Guan Yu.
Man Chong, courtesy name Boning, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He is best known for defending the city of Hefei from a series of invasions by Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu, between 230 and 235.
Huan Jie, courtesy name Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.
Pan Zhang, courtesy name Wengui, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period until his death. Pan Zhang was praised by Chen Shou as one of the "twelve tiger minister of Jiangdong" (江東十二虎臣).
Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the winter of 219–220 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Sun Quan's forces, led by Lü Meng, invaded Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province, which covered present-day Hubei and Hunan. The campaign occurred after the Battle of Fancheng and concluded with victory for Sun Quan's forces, who completely captured all of Liu Bei's territories. Guan Yu, Liu Bei's general guarding those territories, was captured and executed by Sun Quan's forces. The fall of Jing Province and Guan Yu's death provided the trigger for the Battle of Xiaoting between Liu Bei and Sun Quan between 221 and 222.
The Battle of Jiangling was fought by the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei against Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was an integral part of the Red Cliffs campaign, and was fought immediately after the Battle of Yiling in 208, and the preceding engagement at Wulin on land and the marine Battle of Red Cliffs where Cao Cao's navy was destroyed. Note that the battle at Wulin was a byproduct of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and they were not the same battle.
The following is the order of battle for the Battle of Red Cliffs.
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 December 217 and August 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Although Cao Cao's forces had settled in Hanzhong Commandery two years prior after the Battle of Yangping, they were worn out by an overall Fabian strategy employed by Liu Bei's forces, who used targeted attacks to capture strategic locations from the enemy. One of these attacks resulted in the death of Xiahou Yuan, one of Cao Cao's top generals, delivering a huge blow to the morale of Cao Cao's forces. Due to logistical and other issues, Cao Cao was eventually forced to abandon Hanzhong Commandery and order a retreat in June 219. Liu Bei emerged victorious in the campaign and occupied Hanzhong Commandery, after which he declared himself "King of Hanzhong" in August of that year.
The Battle of Jiangling was fought between the forces of the Cao Wei and Eastern Wu dynasties in the early Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle, which took place around present-day Jiangling County, Hubei, was an integral part of the Wei emperor Cao Pi's three-pronged campaign against the Wu leader Sun Quan. It spanned a period of about six months from October 222 to April 223. Of the three fronts, the most critical Wei attacks were concentrated against the Wu fortress at Jiangling.
Zhao Yan, courtesy name Boran, was a government official and military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
The Sun–Liu territorial dispute was a military conflict between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei in 215 during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. While Sun Quan and Liu Bei had initially formed an alliance in 208 against their common rival Cao Cao, both sides got into a territorial dispute over the territories in southern Jing Province in the early 210s. The dispute ended when both sides agreed to divide the territories along the Xiang River between their respective domains: Sun Quan took the lands east of the river while Liu Bei kept those west of the river. Despite a peaceful settlement to the territorial dispute, Sun Quan ultimately sent his forces to attack Liu Bei's territories in an invasion in 219 and succeeded in capturing all of them.
