Battle of Changban - in Fiction

In Fiction

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the battle was romanticized into a showcase of the power and bravery of Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.

Liu Bei was leading thousands of civilians with him when Cao Cao's 5,000 cavalry caught up with them at Changban, Dangyang, where Liu was defeated and he escaped under Zhang Fei's cover. He was separated from his wife Lady Mi and infant son A'dou during the chaos. Zhao Yun charged through enemy lines in search of Liu Bei's family and eventually found Lady Mi and A'dou beside a well. Lady Mi was happy to see Zhao Yun and she entrusted A'dou to him, after which she committed suicide by throwing herself into a well, not wanting to be a burden to them. Zhao Yun attempted to stop her but was too late, so he knocked down a nearby wall to conceal the well and prevent enemy soldiers from finding her body. He then strapped A'dou to his chest and covered him with a piece of armour.

During the escape, Zhao Yun encountered the enemy general Xiahou En, who was bearing Cao Cao's prized Qinggang Sword (青釭劍), and swiftly slew him and gained the sword. Cao Cao was impressed by Zhao Yun's bravery and gave orders to only capture Zhao alive, in hope of turning Zhao to his side. As Zhao Yun was fighting his way out, he encountered many enemy generals who attempted to capture him. After escaping from an encirclement by four generals, another unit led by Zhang He blocked his path, so Zhao Yun engaged Zhang in a duel. After fighting for more than ten rounds, Zhao Yun feared that prolonging the battle might hurt Liu Bei's son, so he broke off the contest and fled, but his horse fell into a ditch. Just as Zhang He was approaching for the kill, a beam of red light formed an arc over the ditch, causing Zhang He to fall back. Zhao Yun's steed leapt out and sped off. In the process of rescuing A'dou, Zhao Yun was wounded three times by various sword cuts, spear thrusts and halberd slashes.

Cao Cao's troops pursued Zhao Yun all the way to Changban Bridge, where they encountered Zhang Fei standing guard alone on the bridge. Zhang Fei yelled, "I'm Zhang Yide of Yan. Who dares to fight with me?" Cao Cao's men saw that Zhang Fei was so fierce and resolute so they were afraid to advance. They also noticed clouds of dust in the woods behind Zhang Fei and thought there was an ambush. Zhang Fei then shouted, "What mean you? You neither fight nor run away!" It was then Xiahou Jie (夏侯傑), a general under Cao Cao, was so frightened of Zhang Fei that he died of shock. Cao Cao recalled Guan Yu's comment on Zhang Fei's bravado and ordered his men to retreat and take a detour. After the enemy left, Zhang Fei destroyed the bridge and regrouped with Liu Bei and his surviving men.

Zhao Yun had slain 54 of Cao Cao's generals and charged in and out of enemy lines a total of seven times. However, many argued that the "generals" slain by Zhao Yun were mostly insignificant, and were probably minor mounted officers. By then, Zhao Yun had returned to Liu Bei's side safely, bringing along with him A'dou. When Zhao Yun presented A'dou to Liu Bei, Zhao Yun collapsed, and presented A'dou to Lui Bei. Promptly thereafter, Lui took his son, and then threw his son to the ground, saying that his son had almost cost him one of his best generals. Zhao Yun caught A'dou in time and reaffirmed his allegiance to his lord, pledging to serve Liu Bei with his life. In the context of that era, Liu Bei's action was not considered in a negative light, since a brave and mighty warrior like Zhao Yun was more useful to Liu Bei than an infant son. Modern detractors of Liu Bei suggest that this incident caused A'dou to suffer from brain damage and grow up to become an incompetent heir to the state of Shu Han established by his father. However, there is little truth that can be attributed to these claims, since the account of Liu Bei throwing his son to the ground is fictional.