In the winter of 208–209, Sun Quan and his ally Liu Bei scored a decisive victory over Cao Cao at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs. After the Battle of Red Cliffs, while Zhou Yu led Sun Quan's forces to attack Cao Cao's garrison at Jiangling, Sun Quan personally led another army to attack Hefei, a heavily fortified city under Cao Cao's control. During the campaign, he ordered Zhang Zhao to lead a separate detachment of troops to assault Kuangqi (), another of Cao Cao's fortresses in Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡; around present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu). Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao did not manage to capture Hefei and Kuangqi, while Zhou Yu successfully conquered Jiangling.