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Battle of Xiapi
Xiapi in Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends
Date 196
Winter 198
Location Xiapi Castle, Xu Province (modern day Pizhou, Jiangsu)
Result Lu Bu takes Xu Province; Zhang Fei flees to Liu Bei (196)
Allied forces are victorious and Lu Bu is executed. (198)
Forces
Lu Bu's Forces Cao Cao's Forces (198)
Liu Bei's Forces (196, 198)
Commanders
Lu Bu Zhang Fei (196)
Cao Cao (198)
Liu Bei (198)

The Battle of Xiapi or Battle of Xiapi Castle (下邳城の戦い, rōmaji: Kahijō no Tatakai) refers to the series of battles located at Xiapi. It originally was a prosperous and economically sound position during the Han Dynasty. Xiapi became a competitive spot for power during the twilight years of the period.

When Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao at Yan Province, the fleeing general sought refuge under Liu Bei. While Liu Bei left to fight Yuan Shu, Lu Bu took the opportunity to take the castle from Zhang Fei, who was intoxicated, and successfully forced him to flee from Xiapi. Later at the area is the siege between Lu Bu and Cao Cao, after the former had forced Liu Bei away from Xiaopei. Liu Bei fled to Cao Cao and they led a campaign against Lu Bu.

Liu Bei would later betray his alliance with Cao Cao by declaring independence back at Xu Province. His forces were defeated through the conspiring deeds of Chen Dang and Chen Gui, whom both secretly made contact with Cao Cao beforehand. Guan Yu afterwards joined Cao Cao's army; Romance of the Three Kingdoms dramatizes his return to Liu Bei by stating that he left Xuchang and traveled through five passes.

In certain cases, the location is often written as "下ヒ" in Japanese scripts due to the character for 邳 being Chinese-exclusive.

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

In the Dynasty Warriors series, Xia Pi represents the downfall of Lu Bu's forces and serves as the battle in which Zhang Liao transfers over to serve Cao Cao. In Dynasty Warriors 4, Xiahou Dun leads the battle, reinforced by Shu forces, focusing on the siege of Lu Bu's castle. Players can get officers like Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Zhang Liao to switch sides by defeating them. An alternate version of the stage serves as a climatic battle to defeat Liu Bei and end Shu for Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu's respective stories. Xiahou Dun's Legend Mode allows players to seek revenge for an arrow shot to his eye. The battle in Dynasty Warriors 5 is similar to the previous game, with Xiahou Dun leading the attack and supporting Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

Dynasty Warriors 7 features a battle between Wei and Shu's story modes. In Wei's scenario, players control Xiahou Dun and secure the western and southern gates before heading to the floodgates. Gao Shun and Cao Xing attempt to ambush the player, and Zhang Liao attacks the main camp. In Shu's scenario, players battle as Guan Yu, facing multiple enemy officers and a flooded castle. Ballistas play a significant role in the battle. Xiapi is retained in Wei's story mode for Dynasty Warriors 8, where players seize southern garrisons and defeat Zhang Liao to flood the castle. Chen Gong suggests sending a messenger to request reinforcements from Yuan Shu, but killing Diaochan and Chen Gong is optional. In Lu Bu's personal scenario, players must rescue Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu, defeat Jia Xu, and take the floodgates off Wei's control.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Xiapi now has a second map which is akin to the Dynasty Warriors 7 version. The initial version of the map appears in the historical route, where Lu Bu attempts to take the castle from Zhang Fei. Advancing from the southwest, Zhang Liao and Lu Lingqi aim to distract the enemy while Lu Bu and Chen Gong move to meet Cao Bao. If the plot works out, Cao Bao will open the gates for Lu Bu. After Zhang Fei's initial defeat, he will withdraw to rejoin his brothers. The three then attempt to retake the castle, but are defeated.

In the final historical stage, where the new map is used, Lu Bu has refused Chen Gong's advice of luring the enemy into an ambush and sending a messenger to Yuan Shu. Their first order to expel the forces that have already infiltrated the castle, and early into the stage, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu all opt to leave the fighting. Jia Xu soon appears, and brings in siege ramps. When the allied forces break into the castle again, they prepare to set fire to both the supply depot and the armory. If the fire attacks succeed both Zang Ba and Hao Meng will defect. Soon after, Cao Cao's forces begin advancing from multiple fronts of the castle. Once they are all defeated, Guo Jia floods the castle, and Hou Cheng, Wei Xu, and Song Xian all appear and defect.

One of three strategies may occur at this point; In the first strategy, Lu Bu then gives the order to destroy Xiapi's walls, and asks engineers to destroy them, but Yu Jin and Xu Huang spot the suspicious activity, and move to counter. If all the engineers can safely proceed, they will give the signal to complete the demolition. In the second strategy, Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng's defection also cause Zang Ba and Hao Meng to defect, forcing Zhang Liao to rescue the remaining loyalists to rejuvenate allied morale. The third involves Chen Gong convincing the three officers to return to Lu Bu's side. Instead of actually defecting, the three only fake defection, and use it as an excuse to get entry into Cao Cao's camp; there, Chen Gong will instead ambush Cao Cao with the three generals. Soon enough, Liu Bei will give the order to charge with his brothers. After Liu Bei's defeat, Lu Bu begins charging against Cao Cao. Defeating Cao Cao will end the battle.

The stage also appears in Shu's story mode, where Sun Ce is the one who helps Liu Bei rather than Cao Cao against Lu Bu. In this story, Zhou Yu leads as the strategist, and first orders the securing of the outer garrisons to build catapults. When the catapults are ready, Chen Gong will order troops to jump off the ramparts to destroy the siege weapons. Later Lu Bu finally exits the castle, and must be defeated the first time. After his initial defeat, the allied forces begin moving to defeat Chen Gong to stop the flow of ambush troops, but Yuan Shu appears with reinforcements to impede allied movements. Defeating both Lu Bu for the second time and Chen Gong ends the stage in a victory.

A DLC Stage on the new map allows Lu Lingqi to prevent her father's capture and allows the group to escape together. Alternatively, Lu Bu's forces may also stop Guo Jia's attempt to flood the city. Doing so changes the tide of the entire battle and allows Lu Bu's forces to claim victory instead.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, Xiapi is situated in the area of Xu Province, with Xiaopei being located just west of the city. The first battle between Lu Bu and Zhang Fei appears in the former's storyline. The second battle later occurs right before Cao Cao's campaign against Yuan Shu, where he and Liu Bei attempt to eliminate the warlord's ally before he can cause further damage.

After Lu Bu's execution, the devastated city is given back to Liu Bei, whose attempt to rebel against Cao Cao is caught beforehand. Because of this, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei leave the city to Guan Yu and flee to Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao eventually convinces Guan Yu to temporarily surrender, with the city returning back to Cao Cao's forces.

In Xu Shu's personal DLC, the city is jointly invaded by Liu Bei and Sun Quan's forces after it was revealed that Cao Pi had captured Zhuge Liang. When Xu Shu rescues his friend, Zhuge Liang reveals he intentionally got himself captured due to the conflicts the Wu forces had with him. Thanks to this, he successfully pressures Zhou Yu to command his troops back to their domain, leaving the final battle only to Liu Bei's forces.

In Lu Su's DLC scenario, Xu Sheng is tasked with taking the city from the Wei forces as he was originally a native of Xu Province.

Warriors Orochi[]

Xia Pi takes place as the second Samurai Gaiden stage in Warriors Orochi. Lu Xun, alone, is surrounded by the Orochi forces, so Nobunaga dispatches a small force to rescue him. Players who manage to escort him back to the main camp will be able to recruit the young Wu strategist as a playable character.

The sequel has the area serve as the battleground for Sima Yi, Mitsunari, and Masamune's Dream mode stage. The three are still a part of Orochi's army and face Hideyoshi, who is leading a resistance force against them.

Historical Information[]

Lu Bu, a major threat to Yuan Shu, successfully attacked Xiapi, forcing Liu Bei to return and serve him. Yuan Shu sent troops to attack Liu Bei, forcing him to ally with Lu Bu. Lu Bu's generals advised him to kill Liu Bei, but if he missed, they could continue fighting. Lu Bu invited Liu Bei and Ji Ling to a feast, and they both withdrew. Liu Bei requested help from Cao Cao, but Lu Bu discovered the plot and sent Gao Shun and Xiahou Dun to attack Liu Bei. However, Xiahou Dun was shot in the eye, and Liu Bei was defeated. Cao Cao allowed heavy snow to lower enemy morale, and Lu Bu planned to surrender. However, his soldiers rebelled, and Chen Gong was kidnapped and forced to surrender. Lu Bu surrendered and was executed by strangulation.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

In 196 BC, Liu Bei was sent an imperial edict to fight Yuan Shu, who had declared himself emperor. Liu warned Zhang Fei not to drink and held a banquet for his men. Zhang Fei's father-in-law, Cao Bao, was drunk and refused to abstain. Lu Bu led his army to Zhang Fei's office and attacked him, leading to Zhang Fei's betrayal of Liu Bei and Guan Yu. Liu Bei was reassigned to Xiaopei, where he established contact with Cao Cao.

By 198 BC, Xiapi was attacked by allied forces, and Chen Gong wished to have Lu Bu's forces positioned outside the city to keep an eye on enemy forces. However, Lu Bu refused due to his wife's illness and refused to leave the city. Despite Chen Gong's plan, the defenders held the line stubbornly, and Cao Cao's will wavered.

As Xiapi was flooded by water from rivers Yi and Si, Lu Bu issued a ban on alcohol and attempted to execute Hou Cheng. Under Song Xian and Wei Xu's persuasion, the death penalty was exchanged with a flogging, leaving all three men bitter. Hou Cheng stole Red Hare and rode it to Cao Cao's camp, tying Chen Gong and Lu Bu.

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, like Lu and Chen were also captured and presented before Cao Cao. Looking upon the four, Cao first approached Gao Shun, asking him if he had anything left to say. Gao Shun did not utter a word and swiftly executed. Cao then offered to have Chen Gong return to him, if not him then to Liu Bei. Chen Gong refused both offers, reminding Cao Cao of his rule in not letting captured officers, who refused to surrender after the call to do so, live during a siege. When Cao Cao brought up Chen Gong's elderly mother, the strategist was confident that, as a man, Cao would not harm her. When Chen's own children were brought, he believed that they would find a way to work on their own.

Tearfully, Cao finally relented to execute his former friend, promising to take care of Chen's family after his death. Next came Lu Bu; Lu Bu offered to provide his services to Cao Cao, and while Cao Cao considered this, he asked Liu Bei his thoughts on the matter. Liu Bei reminded of what happenned to Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu immediately went into a fury and tried to lunge at Liu Bei, before Zhang Liao called his lord out for his dishonorable conduct. Zhang Liao then shouted that Lu Bu should face death like a man, and Cao then made had Lu Bu executed.

Though he initially wished to give the order to execute Zhang Liao, Guan Yu stepped in and vouched for the man. Cao then laughed that he had always admired Zhang's conduct and would've never actually issued the order, and Guan Yu's own intervention was proof of this. Zhang Liao was pardoned and allowed to join.

During the campaign, Xiahou Dun was hit in the eye with an arrow by Cao Xing, one of Lu Bu's officer. According to legend, he pulled out the arrow and the eye came along. He then ate the eye out of his statement that the said eye was a gift to him from his ancestors and that it should not be wasted. Then he proceeded to kill his suprised shooter, which shocked the troops from both sides.

Gallery[]

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