Xu Province

The Battle of Xu Province (徐州坡の戦い, rōmaji: Joshōha no Tatakai) was an attack Cao Cao launched against Tao Qian in retaliation to avenge his father's death. Historically while Cao Cao did bring his army, he retreated before any real confrontation could take place to suppress an internal rebellion raised by Zhang Miao. The games and novel exaggerate this to become a full scale battle.

After Tao Qian's death, the area was held in contention between Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, and Liu Bei. Cao Cao led his troops in vengeance for his father's death to slaughter those living near Tao Qian's subordinates. Lu Bu and his followers fled from Cao Cao's attacks to take refuge with Liu Bei, only to steal the territory away from his benefactor. He then staged an alliance with Yuan Shu while Cao Cao and Liu Bei united to overthrow him at Pizhou. The games fuse events from the following Battle of Pizhou at Xiapi.

Dynasty Warriors
The stage takes place during Shu's story in Dynasty Warriors 7. Zhang Fei commands the allied armies of Liu Bei's forces and Xu to fight Cao Cao for control of the province. Tao Qian is besieged and players need to escort him south to Xuzhou castle. Arriving at the castle triggers a mission to take down Cao Cao’s main camp. Players need to defeat Xu Zhu and Xiahou Yuan to take the central garrison. Taking the garrison unlocks an option to open another path to attack Cao Cao’s camp. Players should be mindful of enemy forces trying to retake the garrison. Lu Bu will arrive as reinforcements to take Xu for himself.

In Wei's story, Xu Zhu has to fight Tao Qian's officers and protect Cao Cao from Lu Bu's advance on the main camp. When Lu Bu retreats, Liu Bei will attempt to assist Tao Qian.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has players begin the battle by pursuing Tao Qian's officers. Doing so triggers the dragon boulder trap which must be eliminated by capturing the enemy catapults and using them to destroy the dragon statues. Players may also avert Tao Qian's surprise ambush by using one of two hidden paths within the forest. Once Liu Bei arrives, Tao Qian will make a hasty retreat to the escape point. Defeating him is necessary in order to unlock Wei's hypothetical route.

Players on Liu Bei's side have to eliminate the Wei officers inside the castle before activating the boulder trap defenses. Li Dian will attempt to smash the statues with catapults while the player must deal with reinforcements from the north and west. A while later, Guo Jia will arrive and give a retreat order to the frontline. The player may choose whether or not to go after the withdrawing officers, but if they manage to catch up to and defeat them, it will open the hypothetical story branch. The player must then defeat Guo Jia's fire attack units before they set either the castle or boulder traps on fire. Guo Jia is defeated in a counterattack but Wei reinforcements arrive and Liu Bei and his men are forced to flee.

In Lu Bu's hypothetical route, Lu Bu's forces arrive to assist Liu Bei in the defense of Xu Province as payment for Liu Bei's reinforcements during the battle of Dingtao. After Lu Bu's forces rescue Liu Bei's stranded officers, Lu Bu clears the castle of Cao Cao's forces and rescues Liu Bei from an ambush. The subsequent counterattack on the Wei main camp by Lu Bu and Liu Bei's forces results in victory and Cao Cao retreats.

Warriors Orochi
Xu Province makes its appearance in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate as a collaboration stage featuring Sterkenburg Cranach. The stage also contains a labyrinth-like area with its own separate background music.

Kessen
Xu Province acts as the first battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao in Kessen II. If one were to follow the subtle hints given from the prologue, this battle takes place after they have joined forces at Xia Pi. First time players are entreated to a tutorial sequence by Mei Sanniang for learning the battle system. The automated sequence forces the player to lose Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. Second playthroughs allow a harder difficulty setting and a chance to salvage their losses.

During Liu Bei's scenario, Liu Bei and his army march from the south once Liu Bei finally gains the will to oppose Cao Cao and reclaim Diao Chan. Zhang Fei and his daughters takes position in the west while Guan Yu stands in the east. Liu Bei begins in the lower center section of the map and has the option of reinforcing his brothers. Players may also choose to have Liu Bei destroy the enemy storehouse, which may or may not be guarded by Himiko. After Li Dian and Yue Jin are defeated, Xiahou Yuan enters the fray. He is a powerful unit so it might be in the player's best interest to avoid confrontation with a single unit. Guan Yu will also struggle if he fights Himiko by himself due to her magic. The battle can dramatically shift towards the player's favor once Zhao Yun appears, so timing ally movements is everything on harder difficulties.

Cao Cao's scenario has Policy and War Council take effect for this battle, which has an option to recruit Guo Jia. Xiahou Yuan offers to act as a decoy to topple Zhang Fei and Guan Yu simultaneously while Xun Yu suggests staging an ambush near the ally storehouse. The first strategy might work well on Cao Cao's first playthrough, but it may be hazardous to support Xiahou Yuan when Zhao Yun quickly appears on harder difficulty levels. Xun Yu's strategy is a safer bet for success on all difficulties, but the small corner of land available to the ally forces severely restricts movement. If ally armies falter, it may be difficult to have them retreat and be replaced with another healthy unit.

The story result in either scenario has Liu Bei eventually flee from Xu due to Cao Cao's overwhelming numbers. This happens either due to this battle or due to the Battle of Ru Nan.

Historical Information
Cao Cao had conquered Yan Province in 192 and established his base there. One year later, Cao Cao's father Cao Song decided to resign from office and return to his home in Qiao. On the way back, he was murdered by Tao Qian's men in Hua county, probably because of the wealth he had brought with him. Cao Cao made Tao Qian responsible for Cao Song's death and later that year, he launched a campaign against him.

Cao Cao's forces conquered ten of Tao Qian's cities in western Xu Province and eventually captured Tao Qian's capital at Pengcheng, where they slaughtered about 10,000 defenders. Tao Qian fled to Tancheng and successfully repelled Cao Cao's assault on the city. Being low on supplies, Cao Cao turned his army around and sacked numerous cities, killing 100,000 civilians in the process. In spring 194, Cao Cao's army returned to Xu and plundered some counties at the border. Tao Qian requested aid from Gongsun Zan's general Tian Kai in Qing Province, who sent Liu Bei south with a few thousand men. Tao Qian appointed him Inspector of Yu Province and gave him 4,000 troops to repel Cao Cao's forces. Near the city of Xiangben, Cao Cao's forces defeated Liu Bei. Shortly afterwards, Cao Cao was informed that Zhang Miao had rebelled in Yan Province and turned most of the cities over to Lu Bu, forcing him to retreat and deal with the threat.

Tao Qian died shortly afterwards and was succeeded by Liu Bei. After having lost Xu to Lu Bu and retaking it with the help of Cao Cao, Liu Bei rebelled against Cao Cao in 200 after killing Cao Cao's inspector Che Zhou and sided with Yuan Shao. Cao Cao immediately left the northern front and led an invasion of Xu Province. He engaged Liu Bei in the west and defeated his army, forcing him to flee north to Yuan Shao. Cao Cao then besieged Guan Yu at Xiapi and conquered the city, capturing the general in the process. Cao Cao treated him with great respect and employed him for a short time. Yuan Shao's attempts to gain an advantage through Cao Cao's absence were thwarted by Yu Jin at Yanjin.