Battle of Fancheng
Liao Hua was from Xiangyang, Jing Province. He was a registrar () under Guan Yu, a general who served under the warlord Liu Bei and guarded Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province. In late 219, while Guan Yu was away at the Battle of Fancheng, Liu Bei's ally, Sun Quan, broke the Sun–Liu alliance by launching an invasion of Jing Province and conquering most of Liu Bei's territories in the province. Guan Yu was captured and executed by Sun Quan's forces. Liao Hua became a prisoner-of-war of Sun Quan, but he constantly thought of returning to Liu Bei's side, so he faked his own death and succeeded in deceiving his captors and escaping. He brought his elderly mother with him and headed west towards Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), where Liu Bei's domain was based.