The campaign
Battle of Xiaoyao Ford (Hefei)
合肥之战（逍遥津）
In 215, with Cao Cao away on campaign, Sun Quan brought a much larger army against Hefei, held by Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Li Dian with a garrison of more than seven thousand. Zhang Liao argued that they must strike before the enemy was fully assembled. He recruited eight hundred volunteers for the first counterattack, broke out, and then turned back through the encirclement to rescue the soldiers still trapped. After a siege of more than ten days Sun Quan could not take the city and withdrew, and Cao Cao promoted Zhang Liao to General Who Conquers the East.
See the realm in 219 on the historical atlasThe people
Who fought it
Novel vs history
How the novel retells it
Romance of the Three Kingdoms changes parts of this story. These fact-checks show what the records say instead.
Sources
Historical sources
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
Cao Cao stationed Zhang Liao, Le Jin, Li Dian, and a force of more than seven thousand at Hefei.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
When Sun Quan’s much larger army arrived, Zhang Liao argued they must strike before the enemy fully assembled.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
Zhang Liao recruited eight hundred volunteers for the first counterattack; the garrison itself numbered over seven thousand.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
After breaking out with part of the force, Zhang Liao turned back through the encirclement to rescue the remaining soldiers.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
Sun Quan besieged Hefei for more than ten days but could not capture it, then withdrew.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
After the defense of Hefei, Cao Cao promoted Zhang Liao to General Who Conquers the East.
- Historical record三国志 · 魏书十七·张乐于张徐传
Six years after Zhang Liao’s death, Cao Pi’s edict praised the Hefei victory as eight hundred infantry defeating one hundred thousand; this is a later imperial formulation.