Battle of Changban

Also called: Battle of Changbanpo

Cao Cao’s cavalry, come south into Jing Province, caught the fleeing Liu Bei at Changban in Dangyang. Liu Bei abandoned his family and fled while Zhang Fei cut the bridge and held the rear.

When Cao Cao came south into Jing Province in 208, Liu Zong, Liu Biao’s successor, surrendered. Liu Bei withdrew from Fancheng toward Jiangling, but more than a hundred thousand people followed him and he could cover barely ten li a day. Cao Cao rode three hundred li in a day and a night with five thousand elite horsemen and caught him at Changban in Dangyang. Liu Bei abandoned his wife and children and fled with a few dozen riders including Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.

According to Zhang Fei’s biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Fei held the rear with some twenty horsemen; with the river at his back and the bridge cut, he glared and shouted, "I am Zhang Yide. Come and fight me to the death!" and no one dared approach. Zhao Yun’s biography records that he carried Liu Bei’s infant son (the later Liu Shan) and protected Lady Gan, bringing them safely through. Liu Bei met Guan Yu’s fleet at Hanjin and withdrew to Xiakou, then allied with Sun Quan to face Cao Cao at Red Cliffs.