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Battle of Hulao Gate
Hulao Gate in Dynasty Warriors 9
Date 190
Location Hulao Pass, Si Province (near modern day Xingyang, Henan)
Result Dong Zhuo retreats from Luoyang and the Allied Forces disband.
Forces
Allied Forces Dong Zhuo's Forces
Commanders
Yuan Shao Dong Zhuo

The Battle of Hulao Gate (虎牢関の戦い, rōmaji: Korōkan no Tatakai), or literally the "Battle of Tiger Gaol Gate" was an important defense point on the path to Luoyang that was attacked by the Allied Forces, headed by Yuan Shao, in their attempt to overthrow Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu was defeated here by the three sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. The gate is also known as Sishui Gate.

Historically, while there were conflicts fought at this place, the major battle depicted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was never fought here. The gate itself wasn't made until years after the said conflict took place.

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

In the series of Dynasty Warriors, Dong Zhuo usurps control of the imperial court and is declared a traitor by Yuan Shao. The allied forces are split into three pronged attacks led by Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei, while Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, and others remain behind and charge when the forces gain an advantage. Lu Bu remains the last challenge before entering the gate, but can often be avoided by taking another path or simply running past him.

The series has several stages, including the first installment, which is usually Lu Bu's home stage. The second installment involves opening four gates named after the Four Gods to advance to the main area Lu Bu is guarding. The third installment uses a less-intricate map, with Liu Bei's forces on the east side and Sun Jian and Cao Cao converging on Si Shui Gate, guarded by Hua Xiong.

The fourth installment makes it part of the Luo Yang series of stages, with some portion leading out to Tong Gate's area as Dong Zhuo's escape point. Both Hu Lao Gate and Si Shui Gate become separate stages, and the player must escort a battering ram to break down Hu Lao Gate. If Dong Zhuo is reached before killing Lu Bu, he will only retreat if his health is low. If Si Shui Gate is skipped during this battle, Hua Xiong will ambush the player's main camp.

In the fifth installment of Dynasty Warriors, the initial minor gates are removed and Hu Lao Gate is marked on one corner of the map. The player can use an alternate path to travel through in the north, where Zhang Liao will be waiting. Lu Bu's story ends at Hu Lao Gate in Dynasty Warriors 6, where warlords like Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Zhang Jiao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Cao Cao band together to defeat their common foe.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, the Hulao and Sishui Gates are merged into a two-part battle featuring both seperately. The key difference is how Lu Bu shows up. Wei's version has the allied troop secure catapults guarded by Zhang Ba to destroy the gates, while Wu and Shu's version has Lu Bu appear once the players reach the gate.

Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends recycles the sixth installment's battle as a Legend Battle and adds a part where players can fight for Dong Zhuo. In Dynasty Warriors 8's expansion, another scenario is given for Dong Zhuo, who forms his own coalition against Yuan Shao. Despite obstacles, Dong Zhuo seizes the emperor.

In Lu Bu's story, he must escort Dong Zhuo to safety. He faces multiple ambush attempts, including Hulao Gate, Sishui Gate, and a barrage of arrows. Defeating Chen Gong will open Sishui Gate, and reinforcements for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao attack Dong Zhuo's men.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, Hulao Gate appears as the second defensive gate protecting Luoyang from the east after Sishui Gate, and can be visited at any time due to the game's open world design. In Chapter Two of Shu, Wei, and Wu's Story Modes, once Dong Zhuo comes to power and takes over Luoyang, mission objectives to take Sishui and Hulao Gates are secondary to the primary of taking out Dong Zhuo, with Hua Xiong guarding Sishui Gate with Zhang Xiu, Zhang Ji, Cheng Lian, and Xu Rong, and Lu Bu guarding Hulao Gate with the support of Diaochan, Li Ru, Gao Shun, Huche'er, and Zhang Liao. Huche'er guards the gate's supply depot, Gao Shun commands the catapults from the nearby base next to the gate, while Diaochan, Zhang Liao, and Li Ru wait for enemies on top of the gate while Lu Bu stands firm in front of the main gate that needs to be opened by the Allied Forces' rams. Upon attacking the gate, while Liu Bei and his oath brothers take out Huche'er and set fire to the supply depot to lower enemy morale, Yuan Shao suggests avoiding Lu Bu and taking out Zhang Liao to gain control of the gate and the door controls for it. Once successful, Lu Bu decides not to waste his time any further on the Allied Forces and retreats with Diaochan, leaving Hulao Gate wide open to capture and clear the way to Luoyang. However, if Diaochan is attacked and defeated first, the gate opens similar to if Zhang Liao was defeated, but Lu Bu goes ballistic seeking revenge, forcing the player to defeat him before the Allied Forces can advance beyond the gate to Luoyang, though defeating him at all costs as the primary objective opens the gate as, even if the rams make it through Lu Bu, all his men, and his defenses and reach the gate, the gate is impenetrable as no matter how many times the ram is thrusted into it, its health will not decrease, forcing the gate to be opened manually by defeating Zhang Liao, Diaochan, or Lu Bu. Diaochan withdraws with Zhang Liao after Lu Bu is routed, seeing no other option to remain to guard the gate if Lu Bu has been defeated. It later plays a part in several battles that follow during Cao Cao's attempt to evacuate Emperor Xian to Xuchang and beyond as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Lu Bu all make attempts to claim possession of the Emperor themselves.

Warriors Orochi[]

In the first title, the Shu army, led by Zhao Yun, attempts to rescue the cornered forces of Sun Ce from the Orochi forces led by Sima Yi. While Zhao Yun leads a charge on the eastern route up to Sun Ce, Wang Ping moves to the center of the battlefield posing as Lu Xun, Sun Ce's adviser, in order to distract the enemy. Once the rescue mission is complete, Zhou Yu orders the armies to lure the enemy into the battlefield's center, and for Zhu Ran to set the area on fire once the enemy is drawn in.

The Samurai alliance battles Kiyomori at Hu Lao Gate in Warriors Orochi 2. Sakon takes the eastern route in order to liaise with Nobunaga for reinforcements.

In Warriors Orochi 3, Cao Pi's forces along with Shuten Dōji, Sima Zhao, and Keiji battle the demon army using the Yashio'ori to subdue two Hydra heads at Hulao Gate. Should any of the weapons be destroyed, the player will automatically lose. After eliminating the remaining heads, Cao Pi and his entourage will advance towards Kiyomori's main camp which is filled with various traps including poisonous gas. Shuten Dōji must also survive in order to open the gates leading to the enemy commander. After the Hydra recreation of Orochi is defeated by the Coalition, Cao Pi, Zhenji, and Sima Yi join them.

The DLC Stage, Path to Paradise takes place here, with Dong Zhuo leader a number of demons to battle against a coalition bent on reclaiming women being help by the tyrant. If Dong Zhuo or Kiyomori fall here, the battle is a loss.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

In chapters 4 and 5, Dong Zhuo led an army of 150,000 men, including Lu Bu, Li Ru, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji, to Hulao Pass. The coalition sent half of their forces to engage Dong Zhuo's forces, with eight warlords leading their forces. Lu Bu, a renowned warrior, attacked Wang Kuang's forces, killing the general Fang Yue and scattering Wang Kuang's troops. The remaining five coalition warlords agreed that Lu Bu could not be defeated.

Lu Bu taunted the coalition, causing them to attack again. Mu Shun was killed and Wu Anguo's wrist was broken. The coalition forces retreated to their own camps, and Cao Cao suggested that all warlords should be collected to discuss a plan to defeat Lu Bu. Lu Bu then taunted the coalition again, with Gongsun Zan going on the attack. Lu Bu forced him to withdraw, but Zhang Fei interceded, battling Lu Bu for 50 rounds. Guan Yu and Liu Bei joined the battle, and while Lu Bu was able to fight them for a while, fighting three opponents at once was wearying.

Lu Bu made a feint at Liu Bei and retreated through the gap to the pass gate. The trio chased after Lu Bu but were repelled by the rain of arrows from the pass. Dong Zhuo looted, burned, and vacated Luoyang. The eight coalition warlords declared the battle won, but Dong Zhuo managed to escape to Chang'an, and internal bickering led to the coalition falling apart.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • There is a typo in Dynasty Warriors 6 where the base of Dong Zhuo's forces is labeled as "Dong Zhou's Main Camp".
  • There are two glitches/bypasses possible on the Dynasty Warriors 4 version of Hulao Gate on the allied forces scenario, where with the proper requirements, it is possible to bypass the gate before Lu Bu can even appear. The first involves a trick where the player can exploit the terrain via a high jump stat to rapidly jump over the gate, while another involves doing an interm save while climbing onto the gate the same way so that the player can end up on the top and walk/jump down normally (which is akin to the invisible boundary bypassing glitch).
    • The former is due to the fact that the gate's surface itself counts as a piece of land a unit can stand on but will slide off of; by having a high enough jump stat, the player can keep scaling up the wall just enough to avoid slipping off during their landing animation.
  • The battering ram in Dynasty Warriors 4 via playing on the Allied Forces Scenario is often rarely destroyed due to it being able to destroy the gate fast enough no matter the difficulty; if the ram is destroyed however, unused dialogue of Yuan Shao being shocked at Hulao Gate opening up on its own will occur.
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