Battle of Fancheng 樊城之戰

In the winter of the 23rd year of Jian'an (218), Cao Ren, who had been garrisoned at Fancheng to attack Guan Yu, surrounded Hou Yin, who had rebelled at Wan, and in the 1st month of the 24th year he massacred Wan. Pang De too attacked Wan together with Cao Ren and then garrisoned Fan to the south. In the autumn of the 24th year Liu Bei, King of Hanzhong, made Guan Yu General of the Front, and that year Guan Yu led his host to attack Cao Ren at Fan. The Biographies of Man Chong, Tian Yu, Qian Zhao and Guo Huai say that when Guan Yu surrounded Xiangyang, Man Chong helped Cao Ren hold Fancheng against him, and the Biography of Xu Huang records that Guan Yu also surrounded General Lü Chang at Xiangyang. Records, Wei 1 §164–165Records, Wei 18 §71Records, Shu 2 §40Records, Shu 6 §10Records, Wei 26 §6Records, Wei 17 §65

In the 7th month Cao Cao sent Yu Jin to help Cao Ren. In the 8th month heavy rains made the Han River overflow until even the flat land stood under several zhang of water, and the seven armies under Yu Jin were all submerged. Yu Jin climbed to high ground with his generals but had nowhere to escape, and when Guan Yu attacked in large boats he surrendered. Cao Cao, who was at Chang'an, lamented that he had known Yu Jin for thirty years yet never imagined that in a crisis he would fall short of Pang De. The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that Guan Yu with his naval forces captured 30,000 foot and horse, including Yu Jin, and sent them to Jiangling. Records, Wei 1 §168Records, Wei 17 §38Records, Wu 2 §26

When the generals below Fancheng suspected Pang De because his elder brother was in Hanzhong, Pang De said that if he did not kill Guan Yu this year, Guan Yu would kill him, and in combat he shot Guan Yu in the forehead. Pang De, who had been garrisoned 10 li north of Fancheng, climbed onto the dike to escape the water and fought from dawn until past midday, beheading Dong Heng and Dong Chao, who wanted to surrender. He tried to return to Cao Ren's camp in a small boat, but the boat capsized and he was captured by Guan Yu; he stood without kneeling and berated Guan Yu until he was killed. Records, Wei 18 §71–74

Cao Ren held the city with several thousand men and horses, but only a few boards' height of the walls remained above water; Guan Yu surrounded the city several layers deep with boats, cutting it off inside and out, and the food was running out. As the walls collapsed here and there, some proposed fleeing by boat at night, but Man Chong stopped them, saying that water coming down from the mountains would not last long and that if they fled now, the land south of the great river would no longer belong to the state. Guan Yu's might was such that the bandits of Liang, Jia and Luhun accepted his seals and titles, and Cao Cao discussed moving the capital from Xu to avoid his spearhead. Records, Wei 9 §40Records, Wei 26 §6–8Records, Shu 6 §10–11

Sima Yi and Jiang Ji said that Sun Quan would not want Guan Yu to achieve his ambitions, so they should promise to cede the lands south of the Yangtze to Sun Quan and have him follow on Guan Yu's heels. When Sun Quan sent a letter offering to prove himself by attacking Guan Yu, Cao Cao, wishing to have the two hold each other at bay, had Cao Ren shoot the letter with a crossbow to show it to Guan Yu. The Biography of Dong Zhao records that Sun Quan asked for the matter to be kept secret but Dong Zhao proposed leaking it, and that when Xu Huang shot the letter into the besieged city and into Guan Yu's camp, the morale inside the city rose a hundredfold and Guan Yu hesitated. Records, Shu 6 §11Records, Wu 2 §26–27Records, Wei 14 §67–69

Xu Huang, sent by Cao Cao, had mostly new recruits under him, so he stayed at Yangling Embankment and waited for the troops of Xu Shang, Lü Jian and others. Zhao Yan kept in touch with Cao Ren by letters tied to arrows and urged waiting for the relief army. At Yancheng Xu Huang pretended to dig a great trench, making Guan Yu's troops withdraw, and when the twelve camps sent by Cao Cao had joined him, he spread word that he would attack the camp at the head of the siege lines and secretly attacked Sizhong. Xu Huang defeated Guan Yu, who came out with 5,000 foot and horse, crossed ten layers of trenches and abatis into the siege lines, and some of the enemy threw themselves into the Mian River and died. Records, Wei 17 §65–67Records, Wei 23 §58–59

In the 10th month Cao Cao, who had returned to Luoyang, was about to set out in person against Guan Yu, but on Huan Jie's advice he stopped at Mobei. When Xu Huang defeated Guan Yu, the siege of Cao Ren was lifted, and Cao Cao went out 7 li to welcome Xu Huang, saying that keeping Fan and Xiangyang whole was the general's achievement. The Biography of Zhao Yan records that Guan Yu's boats, though he had withdrawn, still held the Mian River, but on hearing that Sun Quan had raided his baggage train he fled south, and that Zhao Yan stopped the pursuit, saying they should leave Guan Yu alive to be a bane to Sun Quan. Records, Wei 1 §170Records, Wei 22 §6–7Records, Wei 17 §67–68Records, Wei 23 §59–60