Battle of Wancheng The Battle of Wancheng , also known as the Battle of Wan , was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu in 197 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty . Zhang Xiu emerged victorious in the battle while Cao Cao escaped after his defeat . Background . In 197 , Cao Cao led his army from Xuchang to attack Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) , which was governed by Liu Biao . On the way , Cao Cao arrived at Wancheng , which was controlled by Zhang Xiu . Zhang Xiu ' s strategist Jia Xu suggested to his lord to feign surrender to Cao Cao first , and then draw up a plan to drive Cao away . As Jia Xu predicted , Cao Cao accepted Zhang Xiu ' s surrender and allowed him to remain in control of Wancheng . However , later , Cao Cao was attracted to the widow of Zhang Xiu ' s deceased uncle Zhang Ji ( referred as Lady Zou ( 鄒氏 ) in " Romance of Three Kingdoms " ) , and he took her as a concubine . Zhang Xiu felt humiliated and wanted to take revenge on Cao Cao . When Cao Cao heard of Zhang Xiu ' s displeasure , he plotted to kill Zhang , but the plan was leaked out . Zhang Xiu revolted against Cao Cao and launched a surprise attack on Cao ' s camp at night . The battle . Zhang Xiu gained an advantage over Cao Cao , as the latter was unprepared for the sudden assault . Cao Cao mounted a horse and sped away , while his general Dian Wei remained behind to prevent the enemy from passing through the gate . However , Zhang Xiu ' s troops broke through the other gates and eventually surrounded Dian Wei . By then , Dian Wei had only slightly more than ten men left with him , and they were fighting desperately . Dian Wei used his long crescent halberds to slash left and right , cutting down ten or more enemy soldiers . The surrounding area was littered with many casualties and dead bodies . Dian Wei had sustained over ten wounds but he continued to fight on , crushing two enemies under his arms with brute strength . The remaining enemy soldiers did not dare to advance further , while Dian Wei continued attacking and killing several of them until he reached his threshold , when he let out a loud yell and died . Zhang Xiu ' s men dared not move forward to take his head until they were sure he was dead and finally returned to their camp . Cao Cao ' s son , Cao Ang , offered his steed to his father , and bravely stayed behind to hold off Zhang Xiu ' s soldiers . Although Cao Ang managed to buy time for his father to escape , he was eventually overwhelmed and killed . Cao Cao ' s nephew Cao Anmin also died in the battle . In the meantime , Cao Cao had retreated to Wuyin . He wept upon hearing news of Dian Wei ' s death . Modern references . This battle is featured in Koei ' s video game series " Dynasty Warriors " as a playable stage and the highlight of Dian Wei ' s story mode . If the player is not playing as Dian Wei , Dian Wei makes his last appearance in that stage and does not appear again in the subsequent stages . In " Dynasty Warriors 7 " , after Cao Cao ' s escapes from the castle , he attacks Zhang Xiu with Xiahou Dun and Xu Chu and ends up gaining Jia Xu in his ranks . If Zhang Xiu is defeated by Cao Cao , it is not known if he was killed by Cao or retreated from the battle .