Battle of Bowang The Battle of Bowang , also known as the Battle of Bowang Slope , was a battle fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in 202 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . Background . Liu Bei originally sought refuge under the northern warlord Yuan Shao after being defeated by Cao Cao in 200 at Xu Province . However , he left Yuan Shao after the latter was defeated by Cao Cao at the Battle of Guandu in late 200 , and went to Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) to seek shelter under the governor Liu Biao . Liu Biao initially welcomed Liu Bei and put him in charge of Xinye , but he gradually grew suspicious of Liu Bei as the latter became increasingly influential in Jing Province . As a result , Liu Biao sent Liu Bei to Bowang near Jing Province ' s northern border to defend against an invasion by Cao Cao . At the same time , Cao Cao ' s forces were at war in northern China with Yuan Shao ' s remnants , led by Yuan ' s sons Yuan Tan , Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang . To counter Liu Bei ' s maneuvers , Cao Cao sent his generals Xiahou Dun , Li Dian and Yu Jin to lead an army south to attack Liu Bei . The battle . During the battle , Liu Bei suddenly set fire to his camp and retreated south . Xiahou Dun gave chase but Li Dian cautioned him , " I suspect that there ' s an ambush because the bandits ( referring to Liu Bei ' s forces ) are retreating for no reason . The paths to the south are narrow and the bushes are thick there . Do not pursue . " Xiahou Dun ignored Li Dian ' s warning and left Li behind to guard the camp while he led the rest of his troops to pursue Liu Bei ' s retreating army . As predicted by Li Dian , Liu Bei did indeed set an ambush , and Xiahou Dun fell into the trap and was defeated . Li Dian ' s regiment came to Xiahou Dun ' s rescue and Liu Bei retreated after seeing Li Dian ' s reinforcements . In the battle , Liu Bei ' s general Zhao Yun captured Xiahou Lan , an enemy commander who was from the same hometown as Zhao . Zhao Yun requested for Liu Bei to spare Xiahou Lan ' s life and recommended Xiahou to be a military judge . In fiction . The battle is featured in Chapter 39 of the historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " by Luo Guanzhong . Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun to lead 100 , 000 troops to attack Liu Bei in Xinye . At that time , Zhuge Liang had just joined Liu Bei ' s forces and had not made any contributions yet . Liu Bei ' s sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were reluctant to follow Zhuge Liang ' s orders , so Zhuge borrowed Liu Bei ' s sword and official seal to establish his authority . He described the battle plan to counter Xiahou Dun ' s army : Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would each lead 1 , 000 men to wait in ambush on the left and right sides of Bowang respectively , and burn the enemy ' s supplies when they see fires burning at the south ; Guan Ping and Liu Feng were tasked with setting fire to Bowang Slope when the enemy approached ; Zhao Yun would lead the vanguard to lure the enemy into the ambush ; Liu Bei would lead the backup force . Zhuge Liang also asked Liu Bei to prepare for victory celebrations . When Xiahou Dun arrived at Bowang , he selected half of his troops to be the vanguard while the rest defended the supplies . Zhao Yun and Liu Bei consecutively came to challenge Xiahou Dun , then feigned defeat and retreated to lure Xiahou Dun to chase them . When Xiahou Dun personally led the pursuit , his deputy Han Hao cautioned him against ambushes , but Xiahou replied , " I see that the enemy is so weak . Even if they set ambushes on ten sides , I have nothing to fear . " As Xiahou Dun ventured deeper into the valley , Liu Bei came to engage him again but retreated soon . Xiahou Dun laughed and said to Han Hao , " So this is the ambush you were talking about ! " , and then advanced towards Xinye . During the pursuit , Yu Jin and Li Dian arrived in a narrow position , and a worried Li told Yu , " One who underestimates the enemy would certainly encounter defeat . The terrain here is rough , what if the enemy uses fire here ? " Yu Jin understood Li Dian ' s concern and rode ahead to warn Xiahou Dun while Li tried to stop his men from moving further . Xiahou Dun suddenly realised the danger he was in and tried to retreat but Liu Bei ' s forces lying in ambush had already set fire to his surroundings . Strong winds helped to spread the fire as Xiahou Dun ' s troops panicked and stumbled on each other as they attempted to flee , while Zhao Yun turned around to attack the enemy . Xiahou Dun escaped by bashing through the flames and smoke . In the rear , Guan Yu and Zhang Fei ' s men set fire to Xiahou Dun ' s supplies as Han Hao and Xiahou Lan attempted to save the supplies . Xiahou Lan was slain by Zhang Fei while Han Hao fled , along with Li Dian and Yu Jin . The following morning , Xiahou Dun gathered his surviving soldiers and retreated back to Xuchang . After the victory , Guan Yu and Zhang Fei changed their attitudes towards Zhuge Liang and treated him with full respect . Meanwhile in Xuchang , Xiahou Dun bound himself and met Cao Cao , requesting death as punishment for his defeat , but Cao Cao forgave him and released him . Cao Cao also rewarded Li Dian and Yu Jin for their foresight . Historicity . Liu Bei ' s biography in the " Sanguozhi " mentioned that Liu Bei resisted Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin at Bowang . He prepared an ambush and set fire to his own camp and pretended to retreat . Xiahou Dun pursued Liu Bei and fell into the ambush and was defeated . Besides , although both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang ' s biographies did not specify the year in which Zhuge Liang joined Liu Bei ' s forces , Zhuge Liang was mentioned in Liu Bei ' s biography only after the Battle of Bowang . There was no mention about Zhuge Liang ' s involvement in the battle . Cultural references . The battle provided a basis for many skits in the different types of Chinese opera . For example , it was featured in Cantonese opera and " zaju " ( variety plays ) . The battle was also featured in many Three Kingdoms - themed video games such as Capcom ' s " Warriors of Fate " , Koei ' s " Sangokushi Koumeiden " , " Sangokushi Sousouden " , and " Dynasty Warriors 4 " . The battle is the first stage in " Warriors of Fate " and " Sangokushi Koumeiden " . The ancient battleground of Bowang is now designated a county - level heritage , where a stone monument commemorates the battle . Broken halberds and ashes of grains were discovered there , and were archaeologically determined to be from the late Han Dynasty .