Battle of Xiangyang ( 191 ) The Battle of Xiangyang was fought between the warlords Sun Jian and Liu Biao in 191 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . Liu Biao emerged victorious against Sun Jian ' s forces . Shortly after their coalition had ousted Dong Zhuo from the capital Luoyang , Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao , two feudal lords vying for power , had formed alliances against one another , with Gongsun Zan supporting Yuan Shu while Liu Biao supported Yuan Shao . Yuan Shu sent his subordinate Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao in order to extinguish Yuan Shao ' s influence in the southern half of China . Although Sun Jian initially outmaneuvered and outfought Liu Biao , he was killed in action and his army forced to retreat . The battle . Sun Jian and his forces encountered the forces of Liu Biao ' s general , Huang Zu , between Fancheng and Deng ( near present - day Xiangyang ) . There , he easily routed Huang ' s forces and surrounded the city of Xiangyang itself . Within the confines of the city , Liu Biao again sent Huang Zu out , this time to make a surprise attack . However , Huang was again defeated , and when he attempted to withdraw to the city once more , Sun Jian cut off his line of retreat , and he fled to Mount Xian . Sun pursued Huang , hoping to follow up on his success . According to Sun Jian ' s official biography in " Records of Three Kingdoms " , he was fatally wounded by an arrow fired by a soldier in Huang Zu ' s unit , who was hiding in a bamboo grove . Sun ' s men carried him away from the battlefield and he died from his injury later . Other theories of Sun Jian ' s death include Sun being killed while fighting in the wilderness , or being crushed to death by boulders rolled down by the enemy from above . Aftermath . Sun Jian ' s death effectively ended the battle , although Liu ' s forces suffered far more casualties . Huan Jie , an official under Sun Jian , successfully negotiated for his lord ' s corpse to be returned , and Sun Jian ' s army temporarily came under the control of Sun Jian ' s nephew , Sun Ben . Sun Ben then went to join Yuan Shu with most of Sun Jian ' s followers . Sun Ce , Sun Jian ' s oldest son , was given Sun Jian ' s marquisate , but chose to pass the position down to his youngest brother , Sun Kuang , who was still young then . Liu Biao ' s success allowed him to expand his influence in Jing Province . Though he would be unable to defeat either Sun Ce or his successor , Sun Quan , he would nonetheless remain an influential figure in the Han Dynasty until his death in 208 . In fiction . The battle and its justifications were altered in Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel , " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " . In this fictionalized account , Sun Jian attacked Liu Biao for revenge because Liu ' s forces routed his army during his withdrawal from the coalition against Dong Zhuo . Sun Jian ' s younger brother , Sun Jing , attempted to dissuade him from this course of action , but Sun Jian refused to listen . Sun Jian ' s oldest son , Sun Ce , was granted a command position and performed well in his first battle . After initially defeating Huang Zu , Sun Jian ' s army surrounded Xiangyang . Two commanders under Liu Biao , Chen Sheng ( 陳生 ) and Zhang Hu ( 張虎 ) , were killed by Sun Jian ( or in some versions , Sun Ce ) and Han Dang , respectively . Sun Jian was killed in a rockslide after being lured into a trap by Lü Gong and Huang Zu , according to a ploy by Liu Biao ' s advisor Kuai Liang . Sun Jian ' s generals Huang Gai and Cheng Pu managed to capture Huang Zu and kill Lü Gong respectively , while Sun Ce was forced to withdraw . Huan Jie ' s involvement in recovering Sun Jian ' s corpse is similar in the novel to the historical account . However , in the novel , Huang Zu was released in exchange for Sun Jian ' s corpse , when there is no mention of Huang Zu ' s capture in historical texts . Modern references . The Battle of Xiangyang is featured in video games such as Koei ' s " Dynasty Warriors " , but the name of the battle changes with almost every release . After Sun Jian is killed , Sun Ce takes command of the army instead of Sun Ben . Sun Jian ' s death also changes with each game release , as a possible reflection of the confusion as to his actual cause of death .