Battle of Jiangxia The Battle of Jiangxia was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Biao in 208 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . The battle was the last part of a series of military engagements between Sun Quan and Liu Biao ' s general Huang Zu in the vicinity of Jiangxia Commandery ( present - day Yunmeng County , Hubei ) . Background . In the spring of 208 , Gan Ning , who defected from Huang Zu to Sun Quan ' s side , suggested to his new lord to prepare a full assault on Jiangxia . Gan Ning mentioned that Huang Zu was already old , and his right - hand men only knew how to do business and bully lower - ranked officials , and Huang ' s arsenal had not been replenished for some time . Despite opposition from his chief civil clerk , Zhang Zhao , Sun Quan still appointed Ling Tong to lead the vanguard force , Lü Meng to be the naval commandant , and Zhou Yu as Front Commander to regulate the operation . The campaign had two main objectives : elimination of Huang Zu , who was responsible for the death of Sun Quan ' s father Sun Jian at the Battle of Xiangyang ; conquest of Jiangxia , which stood in Sun Quan ' s path to dominating Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) . The battle . Initial clashes . In response to Sun Quan ' s aggression , Huang Zu assigned his general Zhang Shuo as the vanguard , and Chen Jiu as the admiral , but he would stay behind the high walls of Jiangxia to avoid conflict in the frontline . Before the battle started , Zhang Shuo led his troop on a large vessel to reconnoitre the riverbank , but was located by Ling Tong , who was also scouting the area . At the time , Ling Tong only had tens of his closest warriors on a light vessel , yet he was able to climb Zhang Shuo ' s vessel probably under the cover of nightfall or the disguise as Zhang ' s own men , and surprise attacked his enemy . Zhang Shuo was slain by Ling Tong , and his mariners were captured . Deadlock . Upon hearing the news that Zhang Shuo was killed , Huang Zu immediately ordered Chen Jiu to block the entrance of Miankou River with two of his largest capital ships ( " mengchong " ) covered with ox - hide at the choke point . In addition , Huang had strong men and archers ambushed on top of the cliff next to the river to thrown down rocks and fire on large enemy vessels . To bring down Huang Zu ' s " mengchongs " , Zhou Yu sent out his large vessels , but only to be destroyed by the rocks thrown down from the cliff . After several hours of fighting , Zhou Yu realized Huang Zu ' s arsenals were not that unchecked , and that Sun Quan ' s men were exhausted and dealt with casualties by the heavy cross fire from the elite crossbows on the " mengchongs " . Fall of the great capital ships . To change the tide of battle , Zhou Yu had Ling Tong and Dong Xi , along with 100 " die - hard " soldiers , donned two suits of armour each and charged towards the enemy despite the rain of rocks from the cliff and heavy fire from the " mengchong " s . Through fierce fighting , Ling and Dong finally succeeded in breaking the connections between the two vessels , and the downfall of the " mengchong " s aspired the fighting spirit of Sun Quan ' s forces . Lü Meng even engrossed in melee combat , and had Chen Jiu killed in a duel . With the admiral gone , Huang Zu ' s massive navy was annihilated by Sun Quan ' s smaller forces . Before the time Lü Meng could eliminate Huang ' s navy , Ling Tong had led a separate command to attack Jiangxia , and took over the city . Doom of Huang Zu . Unable to resist Sun Quan ' s forces , Huang Zu fled the city , but was caught up and killed by a horseman named Feng Ze . His head was specifically requested by Sun Quan to be placed inside a container for examination . After receiving Huang Zu ' s head , Sun Quan presented it as a sacrifice at his late father Sun Jian ' s temple . Aftermath . Conflict between Ling Tong and Gan Ning . With Huang Zu killed , Sun Quan had taken his revenge ; however , Ling Tong ' s father , Ling Cao , was killed by an arrow fired by Gan Ning during the previous Battle of Xiakou , and had not be avenged . Thus , Ling Tong would attempt to provoke Gan Ning during a banquet held in Lü Meng ' s house some time later . In the end , Sun Quan settled this conflict through political maneuver , as he " exiled " Gan Ning to station at Half Island , hence Ling Tong would perceive as justice done . Abandonment of Jiangxia . Liu Biao ' s son Liu Qi wanted to succeed Huang Zu ' s position , and went east after Sun Quan took away the captives . However , Liu Qi was not allowed the time to solidify his control over Jiangxia because northern Jing Province had been incorporated into Cao Cao ' s domain without much resistance after his father died of illness . Therefore , Liu Qi stationed his troop at Han Ford , where he met Liu Bei , who was escaping from Cao Cao ' s pursuit , they then joined forces and went to Xiakou to ask help from Sun Quan . As Jiangxia was famous for being the cradle of the Huang clan , Sun Quan gave up the idea to hold the city after he received news that Cao Cao had acquired northern Jing Province . Liu Biao ' s general Wen Ping , who defected to Cao Cao after Liu ' s death , became the new governor of Jiangxia .