The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant role in the battle.
Background In 218, imperial physician Ji Ben, along with minor treasurer Geng Ji and minister Wei Huang began an insurrection against Cao Cao in his capital of Xuchang, but were quickly quelled and executed.二十三年春正月，汉太医令吉本与少府耿纪、司直韦晃等反，攻许，烧丞相长史王必营Sanguozhi vol. 1. In November 218, Cao Cao sent general Cao Ren to Wan (宛; in present-day Nanyang, Henan) in preparation to launch a strike against Guan Yu. However, due to Cao Ren's wanton policy of conscription and forced labor, Hou Yin (), a military officer under Cao Cao, started a rebellion in with his deputy Wei Kai () and several thousand troops from Wan's citizenry, and requested help from Guan Yu.(冬十月，宛守將侯音等反，執南陽太守，劫略吏民，保宛。) Sanguozhi vol. 1.(曹瞞傳曰：是時南陽間苦繇役，音於是執太守東里襃，與吏民共反，與關羽連和。南陽功曹宗子卿往說音曰：「足下順民心，舉大事，遠近莫不望風；然執郡將，逆而無益，何不遣之。吾與子共戮力，比曹公軍來，關羽兵亦至矣。」音從之，即釋遣太守。子卿因夜踰城亡出，遂與太守收餘民圍音，會曹仁軍至，共滅之。)Cao Man Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 1. By February 219, Cao Ren had crushed the rebellion and killed Hou Yin and Wei Kai, and massacred the citizenry of Wan.(二十四年春正月，仁屠宛，斬音。) Sanguozhi vol. 1.
In the meantime, tired and angered by forced conscription and labour, a peasant revolt also broke out in Luhun-county (陸渾, located southeast of present-day Song County, Henan) led by rebel leader Sun Lang (), who killed the county registrar and defected to Guan Yu, receiving military command to work as raiders for Guan Yu.(建安二十三年，陆浑长张固被书调丁夫，当给汉中。百姓恶惮远役，并怀扰扰。民孙狼等因兴兵杀县主簿，作为叛乱，县邑残破。固率将十馀吏卒，依昭住止，招集遗民，安复社稷。狼等遂南附关羽。羽授印给兵，还为寇贼，到陆浑南长乐亭，自相约誓，言：“胡居士贤者也，一不得犯其部落。) Sanguozhi vol.11《資治通鑑·卷六十八》：陸渾民孫狼等作亂，殺縣主簿，南附關羽。羽授狼印，給兵，還為寇賊，自許以南，往往遙應羽，羽威震華夏。Zizhi Tongjian vol.68
After taking Hanzhong Commandery by defeating Cao Cao in the Hanzhong Campaign in May 219, Liu Bei further expanded his territorial gains in June 219 by sending Meng Da and Liu Feng to take Fangling (房陵; present-day Fang County, Hubei) and Shangyong (上庸; north of present-day Zhushan County, Hubei) commanderies. Cao Cao was temporarily forced to be on the defensive after these continuous setbacks.
Realising the imminent attacks of Liu Bei and possibly Sun Quan, Cao Cao planned to launch a preemptive strike on southern Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), the eastern part of Liu Bei's territory defended by Guan Yu. The plan reasoned that Liu Bei could not continue his offensive in the north due to the need to consolidate his new gains, and so an attack into southern Jing Province would not be hindered by Liu Bei's invasion elsewhere. However, the plan was called off because Cao Cao's troops still needed time to recover, regroup, and re-supply from the campaign to suppress the rebellion of Hou Yin and Wei Kai, as well as from earlier setbacks in the struggles for Hanzhong Commandery. The worn-out troops were not ready for another campaign.
Battle
Initial stages In July, 219, Guan Yu decided to launch an offensive of his own against Cao Cao to build on the conquest of Hanzhong. He ordered Mi Fang and Shi Ren to stay behind to guard Jiangling County and Gong'an County respectively during his absence, while he personally led Liu Bei's forces in southern Jing Province to attack Cao Cao's strongholds in the north.
The campaign's objective was not clearly stated, but Guan Yu led his army along the Han River northward until he laid siege to Fancheng (present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei). From the advance route and the fact that Guan Yu chose to concentrate his main forces on Fancheng, his primary objective was believed to be the conquest of Nanyang Commandery (around present-day Nanyang, Henan). Initially, the cities being attacked were not heavily guarded, as Cao Ren at Fancheng and Lü Chang () at Xiangyang were both surrounded. Therefore, Cao Cao ordered Yu Jin to aid Cao Ren. After pitching camp on a lower ground about 4 km north to Fancheng, Yu Jin started to prepare a counteroffensive. Eager to prove his loyalty as he was suspected by others, Cao Cao's general Pang De volunteered to lead a detachment to engage Guan Yu, successfully forcing the latter to retreat several times. On one occasion, Pang De fired an arrow that became embedded in Guan Yu's helm. Since then Pang De was widely known and feared among the enemy as "General White Horse" because of the white steed he rode into battle.
Although Guan Yu could not defeat Pang De in battle, he nevertheless held firm control over the water routes around the area and maintained the encirclement of Fancheng.
Turning of the tide
In August, heavy rains caused the Han River to flood. Forces under the command of Yu Jin and Pang De were completely annihilated by the natural disaster, suffering at least 40,000 fatalities, and another 30,000 were captured by Guan Yu's navy. Pang De and Yu Jin were both captured; Yu Jin begged for his life and surrendered, while Pang De refused to surrender and was executed. Prior, Wen Hui had warned of the potential radical weather changes in the south and feared Guan Yu would use river-floods to his advantage.(恢谓兖州刺史裴潜曰：“此间虽有贼，不足忧，而畏征南方有变。今水生而子孝县军，无有远备。关羽骁锐，乘利而进，必将为患。)Sanguozhi vol. 15. Cao Ren, with several thousand of his surviving troops, were forced on the defensive by staying behind the safety of the walls. At the time, Xu Huang, who was stationed in Wancheng with his force purely consisting of new recruits, was only able to set up defensive fortifications instead of venturing out to relieve Cao Ren. Meanwhile, Hu Xiu (), the Inspector of Jing Province (the position that had the authority to raise troops from within the entire Jing Provincede Crespigny, Rafe (1996) Later Han Military Organisation. Canberra: Australian National University. Internet Edition.), and Fu Fang (), Cao Cao's Administrator of Nanxiang (Nanxiang was located southeast of present-day Xichuan County, Henan), both defected to Guan Yu.《晉書·宣帝紀》：帝又言荊州刺史胡脩粗暴，南鄉太守傅方驕奢，並不可居邊。魏武不之察。及蜀將關羽圍曹仁於樊，于禁等七軍皆沒，脩、方果降羽。Book of Jin vol.1 Rebels and bandits in the counties of Liang (), Jia (), also officially accepted Guan Yu's command. Guan Yu's fame spread across Huaxia.() Sanguozhi vol. 36.《資治通鑑·卷六十八》：陸渾民孫狼等作亂，殺縣主簿，南附關羽。羽授狼印，給兵，還為寇賊，自許以南，往往遙應羽，羽威震華夏。Zizhi Tongjian vol.68
Due to the immense threat Guan Yu had begun to pose, Cao Cao considered relocating the capital. When Cao Cao asked his advisers for input, Sima Yi and Jiang Ji strongly opposed. They pointed out that the alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan was shaky at best due to the feuding over control of Jing Province, and Sun Quan would definitely be unhappy to see Guan Yu's success. They suggested that Cao Cao send an emissary to Sun Quan to recognize the latter's control over Jiangnan should Sun Quan agree to flank Guan Yu's rear.
Initially, Sun Quan sent an emissary to Guan Yu relating his wish for a marriage to be arranged between his own son and Guan's daughter. However, Guan Yu insulted the emissary and rejected the marriage proposal, infuriating Sun Quan. During the campaign in Xiangyang, Guan Yu's military numbers rose and exhausted his food-supply. Because of this, Guan Yu supposedly sent out troops to confiscate grains stored in Xiang-Guan (located north of present-day Yongzhou, Hunan), within Sun Quan's territory around 600 km from Xiangyang's location.(魏使于禁救樊，羽尽禽禁等，人马数万，托以粮乏，擅取湘关米。) Sanguozhi vol.9 Sun Quan used this incident, coupled with Guan Yu's rejection of Sun Quan's marriage proposal and insult, to justify severing the alliance with Liu Bei.
At the outbreak of the battle, Liu Bei controlled three commanderies in southern Jing Province: Nan, Lingling, and Wuling.
Stalemate Guan Yu further ordered reinforcements from Jiangling and Gong'an to lay siege on Fancheng. With only several thousand troops left, Cao Ren was also plagued by low food supplies, so he considered abandoning Fancheng. Someone also urged him to escape while there was still time, since Guan Yu's forces had not completely surrounded Fancheng yet.(或謂仁曰：「今日之危，非力所支。可及羽圍未合，乘輕船夜走，雖失城，尚可全身。」) Sanguozhi vol. 26. Man Chong, the Administrator of Runan, disagreed and said, "The floodwaters may be flowing very fast, but the flood might not last long. Guan Yu had already sent a detachment of troops from his army to station at Jia County (郟縣). There is already much panic and fear among the people living in the lands south of Xu County. Guan Yu doesn't dare to advance further because he's worried that his base (in southern Jing Province) will come under attack. If we abandon Fancheng and leave, we'll end up losing all the territories south of the river. Sir, you should continue to hold up here." Cao Ren agreed with him. Man Chong drowned his horse and pledged to stay with the soldiers in Fancheng to the end.(寵曰：「山水速疾，兾其不久。聞羽遣別將已在郟下，自許以南，百姓擾擾，羽所以不敢遂進者，恐吾軍掎其後耳。今若遁去，洪河以南，非復國家有也；君宜待之。」仁曰：「善。」寵乃沈白馬，與軍人盟誓。) Sanguozhi vol. 26. Cao Ren also strengthened Fancheng's defences, increasing the number of his troops to over 10,000 by drafting every available man in the city and going around the city rallying his soldiers.
As Xu Huang was ordered to reinforce Cao Ren, Cao Cao sent two officers, Xu Shang () and Lü Jian () to lead additional reinforcements to join Xu Huang, ordering the latter not to attack until all of the reinforcement sent to him had arrived. To wait for further reinforcements, Xu Huang pushed toward Yangling (), located to the north of Fancheng. As the majority of Cao Cao's force under Xu Huang's command consisted of new recruits, Xu faithfully carried out Cao Cao's order to restrain from attacking. Guan Yu was well aware of Xu Huang's situation, but due to confidence from the earlier victory had ignored Xu Huang's threat and divided his forces, sending another army to Xiangyang, believing that Fancheng would fall into his control. However, Guan Yu was unsuccessful in breaking through the city's defence.
Xu Huang afterwards seized the opportunity opened by Guan Yu dividing his forces, as Guan Yu's vanguard situated around three miles to the north of Fancheng, leaving a gap between it and the main army. Xu Huang pretended to dig a long trench, giving the false impression of cutting off Guan Yu's vanguard, which fell for the trick and retreated.Sanguozhi vol. 17. Xu Huang's army therefore took the abandoned stronghold at Yan () and pressed further toward Guan Yu's main army. By this time, 10,000 battle-hardened veterans led by Yin Shu () and Zhu Gai () had joined Xu Huang, emboldening Xu Huang's army enough to pose a threat to Guan Yu.
Strategies