Battle of Hefei ( 208 ) The Battle of Hefei was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan between late 208 and early 209 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . Background . In the 11th lunar month of 208 , Cao Cao was defeated by Sun Quan and Liu Bei at the Battle of Red Cliffs , but he still had a large army garrisoned at the northern part of Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) . The following month , Sun Quan ' s general Zhou Yu led an attack on Jiangling ( 江陵 ; located in present - day Jingjiang 荆江 , not to be confused with Jiangling County , Hubei ) , which was defended by Cao Cao ' s cousin Cao Ren . The battle . At the same time , Sun Quan personally led an assault on Cao Cao ' s fortress at Hefei , which was defended by Liu Fu , in an attempt to open two war fronts in the west and north . Sun Quan also sent Zhang Zhao to attack Dangtu ( 當塗 ) , Jiujiang ( 九江 ) commandery , but was unsuccessful . When Cao Cao heard news of the attack , he sent Zhang Xi ( 張喜 ) to lead an army to reinforce Hefei . The battle dragged on until the following year , but Sun Quan ' s forces were unable to breach Hefei . Sun Quan intended to personally lead a light cavalry contingent on a charge at the enemy , but Zhang Hong advised him against it , " Using the military is an offensive move , battles are dangerous . Now that our army ' s morale is high , if we suddenly launch a fierce attack , the troops will be disappointed . Even though it is possible to slay enemy generals , capture their flags and instil fear in them , this is a mission to be carried out by a subordinate general , and not the commander - in - chief . I hope you can control your zeal and courage , and possess the strategies of a conqueror - king . " Sun Quan heeded Zhang Hong ' s advice and aborted his plan . As Hefei had been constantly under attack for several months , compounded by heavy rain , the fortress ' walls were starting to collapse , so Liu Fu ordered his men to use straw and palm leaves to cover up cracks in the walls . At night , Liu Fu had torches lit to brighten the scene outside Hefei , so he could observe the enemy ' s movements and prepare defences . Zhang Xi ' s relief force had yet to arrive , and Liu Fu was at a loss on how to resist the enemy . Liu Fu ' s deputy Jiang Ji ( 蔣濟 ) suggested using a strategy to deceive the enemy that Hefei ' s reinforcements had arrived : spread false news that Zhang Xi ' s 40 , 000 strong relief army had reached Yulou ( 雩婁 ) ; send an official to pretend to receive Zhang Xi ; send three officers to bring fake letters out of Hefei . Only one of the three officers returned to the fortress as the other two were captured by Sun Quan ' s men , who found the letters on them . Sun Quan read the letters and thought that Zhang Xi ' s reinforcements had indeed arrived , so he ordered his troops to burn down the camp and hastily retreat . Order of battle . Cao Cao forces Sun Quan forces In fiction . In chapter 53 of Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " , Sun Quan ' s general Taishi Ci was killed in the battle . Taishi Ci proposed a strategy involving a man named Ge Ding ( 戈定 ) , who was from the same hometown as him . Ge Ding and a defector from Hefei would assassinate Zhang Liao ( Cao Cao ' s general who was defending Hefei ) and open the city gates for Sun Quan ' s army . That night , Ge Ding and the defector started a fire in the city to create chaos , but they were caught and executed . Zhang Liao recognised the enemy ' s plot and decided to turn it against them , so he set up an ambush and opened the gates to lure the enemy in . Outside Hefei , Taishi Ci saw the fire and thought that it was a signal from Ge Ding , indicating that he had succeeded and opened the gates for him . Taishi Ci charged into the city , but fell into the ambush and was hit by several arrows . At that moment , enemy forces led by Li Dian and Yue Jin attacked Taishi Ci from behind . Taishi Ci narrowly escaped under the protection of Dong Xi , but later died from his wounds in camp at the age of 41 . Historicity . No details on Taishi Ci ' s death were provided in historical records . Taishi Ci ' s biography in " Records of the Three Kingdoms " simply mentioned that he died at the age of 41 ( by East Asian age reckoning ) in the 11th year of Jian ' an ( corresponds to 206 ) , around two years before this battle took place .