Battle of Hulao Pass - The Battle

The Battle

Heeding the death of Hua Xiong, Dong Zhuo personally brought an army of 150,000 men with Lü Bu, Li Ru, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji east to Hulao Pass, while sending 50,000 men under Li Jue and Guo Si to reinforce Sishui Pass. Once at Hulao Pass, Dong Zhuo ordered Lü Bu to lead the vanguard with 30,000 men and set camp in front of the fortified pass.

The coalition decided to send half of their forces to engage Dong Zhuo's forces. Eight coalition warlords, namely, Wang Kuang, Qiao Mao, Bao Xin, Yuan Yi, Kong Rong, Zhang Yang, Tao Qian, and Gongsun Zan, each led their forces towards Hulao Pass under Yuan Shao's command. The first to arrive in Hulao Pass was Wang Kuang, where one of his generals, Fang Yue, volunteered to duel Lü Bu. In less than five rounds, Fang Yue was killed, and Lü Bu charged through Wang Kuang's force, killing the routing soldiers left and right. Fortunately for Wang Kuang, the forces of Qiao Mao and Yuan Yi came to his rescue. They decided to withdraw 30 li from the pass and set camp there.

Soon, the remaining five coalition warlords arrived at the camp, where they discussed and concluded that Lü Bu cannot be defeated by anyone. Just then, Lü Bu's men arrayed outside the coalition camp, and the eight coalition warlords went to meet the enemy. Mu Shun, a general under Zhang Yang, galloped towards Lü Bu with his horse, but was immediately killed. Wu Anguo, a general under Kong Rong, then charged out with his metal club. They fought for ten rounds, but then Lü Bu slit off Wu Anguo's wrist with his halberd. The coalition forces charged out and rescued Wu Anguo, and each side retreated to their own camps. Cao Cao commented that all eighteen warlords should be collected to discuss a plan to defeat Lü Bu, and that if Lü Bu is defeated, Dong Zhuo would be easy to kill.

Just then, Lü Bu again came out to taunt the coalition. This time Gongsun Zan himself went to challenge Lü Bu, but had to withdraw after a few rounds. Lü Bu gave chase, but he was distracted by Zhang Fei, who called him "a slave with three surnames" (referring to Lü Bu's own surname and those of his two adopted fathers). Lü Bu then battled Zhang Fei for 50 rounds, with neither gaining an advantage over the other. Then Guan Yu, brandishing his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, dashed out to assist his oath brother. The three fighters were engaged in another 30 bouts or so when Liu Bei, holding up his Dual Swords, also joined the battle.

Like a merry-go-round, the three oath brothers galloped in a circle caging Lü Bu inside. Unable to face the combined efforts of his three opponents, Lü Bu then made a feign at Liu Bei and retreated through the resulting gap back to the pass gate. The trio chased after Lü Bu but due to the speed of his steed, the Red Hare, they could not keep up with him. However they abandoned the chase after they spotted Dong Zhuo. Zhang Fei attempted to charge onto the fortification to kill Dong Zhuo, but he was driven back by the rain of arrows from the pass.

The eight coalition warlords declared the battle won, and received Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for a celebration of their victory.