Chibi

The Battle of Chibi (赤壁の戦い, rōmaji: Sekiheki no Tatakai) or literally "Battle of the Red Wall" is a defining battle near the end of the Han Dynasty. On royal orders, Cao Cao led an expedition to the south and conquered a majority of Jing Province. He had Liu Bei on the run at Changban, yet Liu Bei escaped from his foe to the east and arranged a formal alliance with Sun Quan. After some debate, Sun Quan accepted the decision to fight back with Liu Bei. Led by the talented strategist, Zhou Yu, the combined navies clashed with Cao Cao's imposing fleet.

Two famous events for the battle include Huang Gai's ruse to Cao Cao and the damaging fire attack on the invading fleet. Romance of the Three Kingdoms particularly adds it own drama for the conflict, including a one-sided rivalry between Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao vying for the Two Qiaos, and the act of calling forth the southeastern winds for the fire attack's success.

The allied army scored victory against Cao Cao, who retreated back north with his forces. Again, Romance of the Three Kingdoms imparts a fictional chase for his head as he escaped from Chibi. His weakened grasp on Jing Province sparked Sun Quan's plans for expanding north at Nanjun. When his forces were repulsed by Cao Ren and other capable officers under Cao Cao, Liu Bei took this chance to claim four sections of Jing Province for himself. With each of the three powers continuing to build their forces, the foundations for the Three Kingdoms period began to take shape.

Dynasty Warriors
Every iteration of the battle so far in the Dynasty Warriors series stresses the importance of the fire attack over most tactics for the battle. Even the first title presents Chi Bi as a background for Wu characters, one version including a flaming fleet of ships at nightfall. During the majority of the series, Sun Quan is present as the allied leader (Sun Jian acts as the leader in Dynasty Warriors 4 or if the player plays as Sun Jian.), but Zhou Yu is the one in charge of the allied forces for the campaign. As the key strategist for the battle, Zhou Yu often has cinematics dedicated to him signaling the fire attack in earlier titles. In Dynasty Warriors 5, the battle of Chi Bi is sometimes followed or replaced by Cao Cao's escape instead. While no game has a scene in which Zhuge Liang persuades Zhou Yu into forming an alliance, the same title hints that the battle is fought over the Two Qiaos during Xiao Qiao's Musou Mode, in which Zhou Yu expresses his hatred for Cao Cao's greed before the battle. The sixth title added ships that could be moved by hitting a gong to transport units across the river, but this feature was removed in the Special version.

For most incarnations of the allied forces version of the battle, Zhuge Liang asks the allied forces to bide him time while he prays for the southern winds to blow. Dynasty Warriors 2 encourages players to have 100 KOs to have the prayers take effect, but every following title has this occur at a set time. While Zhuge Liang prepares the winds, players are often asked to assist Huang Gai with his own plot for the boats. He directs these explosive filled boats to set sail towards Cao Cao's fleet. Both individuals are imperative for the fire attack to succeed, testing the player's patience and endurance against the overwhelming numbers. Dynasty Warriors 4 and each title after it adds Pang Tong as a valuable yet optional element for the fire attack. The strategist infiltrates Cao Cao's ranks to chain the enemy boats together. He destroys the bridge connecting the two armies together in the fifth title and acts as Zhuge Liang's backup for the winds in the sixth title.

The strategy for Wei's forces in each title is purely directed to stopping any element of the fire attack. Players can often achieve this by targeting either Zhou Yu, Huang Gai, and Zhuge Liang in most titles. Zhuge Liang will usually have extra protection at the altar -depending on the game- so these generals may need to be neutralized before heading towards the strategist himself. Once the allied forces fail to carry out their plans, the remaining army will charge in desperation to foil Cao Cao. Dynasty Warriors 6 creates a twist to their version of the battle; even if the player defeats all of the key players for the fire attack, Huang Gai will still bombard Cao Cao's ships. However, the fires will be considerably weaker and may be extinguished shortly within the span of the battle.

Liu Bei's forces in the field varies with each title, but they usually play second fiddle to Wu's strategies. If the ally fire attack succeeds in Dynasty Warriors 3, a small regiment of his officers will reinforce Wu's charge. They can take part in the battle itself in the fourth title. Liu Bei's forces also appear during Cao Cao's escape from Chi Bi in both the Xtreme Legends expansion and Dynasty Warriors 5. Zhuge Liang frequently flees from combat after performing his task on the field, but he and his wife stay to fight during her story in Dynasty Warriors 6: Special.

Extra scenarios surrounding the time frame of the battle have been made throughout the series. Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends included a fictional confrontation with Dong Zhuo against his rogue adoptive son Lu Bu as well as a challenge from the latter's Dynasty Tactics counterpart.

Zhou Yu and Huang Gai's Legend Modes in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends surrounds events involving the battle with influences from the novel. Zhou Yu's story has him chasing his hated rival as he escapes from Chi Bi, wanting to prevent the latter's return to Liu Bei. Huang Gai's version involves the deceptive plot to infiltrate Cao Cao's fleet, pretending to be discontent with Zhou Yu's beatings moments prior. He needs to stealthily escape from his own comrades to avoid raising alarm, making the scheme seem like a natural defection.

In Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2, Chibi appears in four different versions. The first two versions show the battle between Wei and the allied forces in Wei and Wu's respective stories. In Wei's version, Cao Cao will initially order a charge, but Huang Gai's fire attack, and Gan Ning's sudden appearance near the camp force the Wei forces into the defensive. Once reinforcements arrive, Cao Cao orders an attack. Defeating either Zhuge Liang or Sun Quan will end the battle. The treasure trove in Wei's version of the stage is guarded by the Western Han Dynasty's Han Xin. In Wu's version, Huang Gai must be escorted to the task area to set the ships ablaze. Once the ships are on fire, Cao Cao will destroy the central gangway to stall for reinforcements. Defeating Cao Cao or capturing all the altars will end the stage. Wu's version of the stage has a treasure trove guarded by Yu Ji.

The stage appears in Shu's story mode as "Showdown in Chibi" where Shu forces fight the Wu forces instead. Seeing that the river's strong current, Zhuge Liang will request allied troops to take altars scattered around the map. Once an altar is taken, Zhuge Liang will appear in the altar to pray. When his prayer is done, the river's current will die down, giving new access to the Shu army. Once two out of the three altars are taken, Lu Xun will order an ambush near the Shu main camp, but Zhuge Liang replies with his own ambush troops. Defeating Sun Quan ends the battle. The treasure trove of this area is guarded by Water Margin's Qiong Ying.

The last version of the stage is one of Wei's final stages, known as "Retaliation at Chibi". Here, Cao Pi must face both Sun Quan and Liu Bei, and the first defeat in the area is mentioned. Proving his own superiority, Cao Pi orders that three task areas through the map be seized for the engineers. If an engineer reaches a task area, he will set fire to one portion of the map. As the Wei forces begin moving, Liu Bei and Sun Quan order a surprise charge, and the Wei troops need to defeat the enemy officers to proceed. Defeating both Sun Quan and Liu Bei will end with Wei's undisputed rule over the land. The treasure trove for this version of the map is guarded by the Western Han Dynasty's Xiao He.

Lu Bu and his independent army interrupt the battle entirely during his story in Dynasty Warriors 6. Since he sides with neither army for the conflict, he can choose to interrupt the fire attack or allow it to take place to make it easier for his forces. If he targets and defeats the leaders for each army, Zhou Yu and Dian Wei will become enraged with Lu Bu. The Wu and Wei armies will then temporarily ally with one another to bring an end to Lu Bu.

In Dynasty Warriors 8, the battle initiates in Wei's side with Cao Cao joining his naval troops, however infiltrators from Wu led by Lu Su suddenly appear and wreak havoc among the Wei ranks. As Cao Cao moves to deal with the spies, Huang Gai suddenly appears and rams into one of Cao Cao's ships, thus initiating the fire attack. Immediately afterwards Cai Mao betrays Wei, blocking their escape path to the south. Taishi Ci, Han Dang, Gan Ning, and Lu Su then appear and block the Wei troop's way as they continue to escape from the fire. As they escape from the ships, the Wei forces are soon ambushed by both Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang. Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun later join their lord's ambush, but Cao Cao and his generals manage to defeat them. Guan Yu arrives as well, but he decides to let the Cao Cao and his generals leave unscathed.

In the alternate path, Guo Jia, Dian Wei, and Xu Shu all help Cao Cao, and help him overcome what would have resulted in a defeat. Guo Jia and Dian Wei first liquidate the diversionary attack force led by Lu Su before it causes chaos. Soon after Xu Shu alerts the Wei forces to Pang Tong's presence, and this allows the Wei forces to pinpoint which ship would be targeted by the Wu forces for the fire attack. After Pang Tong's defeat, as expected, Huang Gai and Han Dang appear and attack the ship Pang Tong was on, but the Wei forces are prepared for the fire attack, and quickly stop the fire before it can spread. Shortly after defeating the two Wu generals, Cai Mao defects to the Wu forces after being tricked, but due to the failure of the fire attack Guo Jia is able to help Cai Mao realize he was deceived. Cai Mao enables the Wei forces to board the enemy ships and attack the allied encampment, where the Liu Bei-Wu forces are quick to greet Cao Cao and his men. Despite their efforts, Sun Quan is defeated and Wei is given it's final foothold against the Sun family.

The battle also serves as the final battle in Jin's what-if route and involves Sima Shi fighting the remnants of Shu and Wu in a decisive battle.

Warriors Orochi
In the final Wu Gaiden, Sun Jian and his children defy Orochi. Before the final battle at Koshi Castle, their allies, Ieyasu and Sakon, assemble a navy to cripple their foe at Chi Bi. Sakon suggests using a fire attack and orders the foes on the western boats to be dispatched for their path. Meanwhile, he blows up the bridge connecting the armies on the eastern side to isolate the Orochi forces. As the battle progresses, Lu Xun rides in on the western shore to assist. Masamune will bluntly insult the plot and charge straight in the east, endangering Sakon and Ieyasu. The call for the engineer unit commences when the southwestern side of the map is clear of competition. If the engineer succeeds, the western bridge will also be broken and proceed along the western shore. His goal is to reach the central boat and set the enemy boats ablaze, which requires the players' help.

Succeeding in the fire attack inspires all allies to charge and is also needed to spurn Lu Bu's lone rush for the ally main camp. If the player goes back to defeat him, he will acknowledge the players' strength.

Chi Bi becomes the stage for Wu's final battle with the resurrected Orochi and his forces in the sequel. As Sun Jian heads there, a rogue Lu Bu unexpectedly attacks Orochi at the same time. Taking advantage of Lu Bu's momentum, Sun Jian has his navy attack. Unlike other scenarios, however, the tables are turned and the Wu army has their boats on fire at the start of the battle. Cut off from their enemy, the Orochi forces additionally use an altar on the western shore to resurrect their fallen comrades on Wu's side. Motochika reads the enemy movements and sets up boats to counter the altar and reconnect the two armies together. Da Ji casts another fire spell on the Orochi boats to only harm ally forces and Keiji barges in to protect Orochi. Defeating the demon kills the flames and the main obstacle to peace that remains after Keiji's defeat is Orochi.

Musou OROCHI Z presents a dream stage setting the supernatural characters against the mortal heroes of both time periods lead by Nobunaga and Cao Cao. Players are given the default team of mystics -Fu Xi, Nu Wa, and Taigong Wang- to use as they momentarily join forces with Da Ji, Orochi, and San Zang for the dream match. At the start of the battle, Taigong Wang orders the central boat connecting the armies to be blown apart, ordering Wu Ji to perform the task. If he reaches the point quickly enough, he will succeed. Da Ji, who doesn't like the boy mystic, loses her drive near the beginning of the stage and pulls back from the front lines. After the enemies in the central boats are defeated, she makes a petty excuse that she is wounded and needs to retreat. If the player's team intercepts her, her wounds will be healed and she'll reluctantly return to fight.

Meanwhile, Taigong Wang instructs Orochi to cause havoc along the boats in the southeast. As Orochi scares away the soldiers in his path, Zuo Ci appears as an ally for humanity and casts a petrification spell on the serpent king. The elder needs to be beaten in order to release Orochi. Once ally morale increases, Nu Wa orders Nanto to move out. To retaliate, Zhao Yun and Yukimura charge for the ally main camp. With the two youths down, Zhou Yu orders Zhu Ran to carry out a fire attack with Mitsunari's assistance. When the mystic army reaches the enemy commanders position, Hideyoshi and Dian Wei lead forces to reinforce their lords' final defense.

Warriors Orochi 3 does not feature Chibi as a battlefield in the main story. However, it becomes the backdrop of several DLC stages which include Lu Bu's revenge against Nezha, Aya lecturing two mystics on human love, and Keiji challenging several heroes for their theme song.

In the original timeline, Cao Ren and Xiahou Ba went into the area in the hopes of freeing some of Kiyomori's puppets, but they failed in their mission and became puppets themselves. In Ultimate, the two reimagine the previous battle except with their current selves and Katsuie Shibata's aid. Although they are stronger, they are still unable to break the puppets from their trance, and the objective instead changes to escape the area to keep themselves from being turned into puppets.

Kessen
Similar to the Dynasty Warriors series, the battle takes place after the escape from Chang Ban and Liu Bei will form an alliance with Sun Quan in Kessen II. Zhuge Liang purposes to call forth the winds, but Wu is skeptical, as for decades no high winds have ever blown during this time of year. Despite their doubts, they agree to the strategist's plan. Cao Cao confidently presses on with his overwhelming numbers and Heaven's favor.

In Shu's version of the battle, the player will be given only one strategy to choose: wait for Zhuge Liang to summon the wind. The player must carefully maneuver their troops to stall for time while avoiding being surrounded and overwhelmed. While Zhuge Liang summons the wind, the Mandate of Heaven will try to prevent him from succeeding. Liu Bei will protect him and defeat the avatar sent by the Mandate. His victory allows the winds to start blowing. Once the winds are summoned, Zhuge Liang will use a fire spell and set Cao Cao's fleets aflame. Wei's army experiences a massive morale drop and it is easier to route them at this point.

Wei's version of the encounter offers three strategies; Zhang Liao advocates for an all-out offensive, Xun Yu will suggest to chain the boats together to gain army stability while Himiko will advocate attacking Zhuge Liang. Should the player use the third strategy, they will be able to prevent the fire attack. The second will allow armies to fight in a larger field, making it an excellent set up for fire magic. In both versions of the stage, Lady Sun Li will appear as reinforcements for Shu.

Historical Information
Cao Cao had defeated Yuan Shao and took Hebei. In 208, Liu Bei fled to Jiangling, prompting suspicion that he would attack the city. Cao Cao went and defeated him at Changban, then sent a message to Sun Quan. In the message, he boasted a command of 800,000 men and threatened to take military action if Wu did not surrender. Sun Quan's domain was divided between the side that wanted a surrender and the side that wanted a fight to the death.

Zhou Yu, however, figured that Cao Cao actually had about 220,000 men, and convinced Sun Quan to ally with Liu Bei, and in the winter of 208, a battle was to be fought at Red Cliffs.

Cao Cao chained up his ships, probably to make a solid ground for his army, which was mostly northerners who were inexperienced on naval battles. Noting this, Huang Gai offered to defect to Cao Cao, then set off on fire ships. With an unusual SE wind, the Wei fleet caught fire.

Cao Cao retreated to Xuchang to prepare for another campaign against Sun Quan.