How The Battle Of Changban Arose

The Three Kingdoms Era in China’s history is a highly covered period, with many individual sub stories emerging. In essence, it saw the disintegration of a unified Han empire, leading to a period of mass conflict within the country. This eventually led to the formation of 3 main fractions who competed for total power. Yet, none would succeed, with the country being unified after this period.

The crumpling of the Han empire

In 189 when Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han empire passed away, a young emperor – Emperor Shao was put on the throne. Feeling bitter the administration of eunuchs, 2 generals Yuan Shao and He Jin plotted to kill them. 

Dong Zhuo’s tracheary 

Throughout the disorder triggered by the battling between the eunuchs and generals, Dong Zhuo, a treacherous court administrator of the Eastern Han drove his army into Luoyang. With full political power in his hand, Dong Zhuo uncrowned Emperor Shao and placed Emperor Xi’an on the throne. 

All Dong’s acts attracted furious objection from the courtiers and lots of local officials. As the political scenario ended up being severe, a large-scale civil war eventually burst out.

Cao Cao’s rise to the forefront

Towards the ending of the great Han empire, as civil insurrection expanded, a new leader emerged in China’s north, and it appeared that a fresh dynasty was about to begin. That leader, Cao Cao, had been a minor soldier in the Han army but rose to notability when he successfully subdued the Yellow Turban Rebellion. 

Cao Cao successfully unified the north under his command however encountered opposition when he attempted to march south. 2 other leaders, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, had combined powers to block Cao Cao’s southern infringement. The resulting Battle of Red Cliff saw some of the most advanced military strategy China had yet seen, thanks to the inventiveness of Liu Bei’s chancellor, Zhuge Liang.

Fight of Changban (Red Cliff)

During this battle, Cao Cao sent 5,000 riders to chase Liu Bei and they caught up with him at Changban, Dangyang, sparking the Battle of Changban. Liu Bei abandoned his family members and took off. Zhao Yun with his signature weapon, the Zhao Yun spear, brought Liu Bei’s young child Liu Shan and safeguarded Liu Bei’s spouse Lady Gan (Liu Shan’s mother) throughout the battle, ultimately delivering them to safety. He was promoted to “General of the Requirement” for his efforts.

Earlier on, after his defeat at Changban, Liu Bei was told that Zhao Yun had betrayed him and was heading north to sign up with Cao Cao. He refused to think, as he tossed a brief ji to the ground and stated, “Zilong will never desert me.” He was right as Zhao Yun showed up a short while later on.