Xiapi

The Battle of Xiapi (下邳の戦い, rōmaji: Kahi no Tatakai) refers to the series of battles located at Xiapi. It originally was a prosperous and economically sound position during the Han Dynasty. Xiapi became a competitive spot for power during the twilight years of the period.

When Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao at Yan province, the fleeing general sought refuge under Liu Bei. While Liu Bei left to fight Yuan Shu, Lu Bu took the opportunity to take the castle from Zhang Fei, who was intoxicated, and successfully forced him to flee from Xiapi. Later at the area is the siege between Lu Bu and Cao Cao, after the former had forced Liu Bei away from Xiaopei. Liu Bei fled to Cao Cao and they led a campaign against Lu Bu.

Liu Bei would later betray his alliance with Cao Cao by declaring independence back at Xuzhou. His forces were defeated and Guan Yu joined Cao Cao's army. Romance of the Three Kingdoms dramatizes his return to Liu Bei by stating that he left Xuchang and traveled through five passes.

In certain cases, due to the character for 邳 being a Chinese-exclusive character, the location is often romainzed as "下ヒ" in the Japanese scripts.

Dynasty Warriors
In the Dynasty Warriors series, Xia Pi represents as the downfall of Lu Bu's forces as well as serving as the battle in which Zhang Liao transfers over to serve Cao Cao. In some games, a cutscene shows Xiahou Dun being shot with an arrow in the eye, serving the explanation as to why he wears an eye patch.

In Dynasty Warriors 4, the battle is led by Xiahou Dun who is reinforced by the forces of Shu. The battle revolves around the siege of the massive castle in which Lu Bu waits. When defeating officers such as Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Zhang Liao, they will switch sides. In the battle, players also have the opportunity to prevent Yuan Shu from reinforcing Lu Bu by blocking his entrance point. If Diao Chan is defeated during the battle, Lu Bu becomes enraged and is harder to defeat.

An alternate version of the stage serves as one of the climatic battles to defeat Liu Bei and end Shu for Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu's respective stories. Players need to defeat Mi Fang three times in order to force his defection to their forces and stem enemy reinforcements.

Xiahou Dun's Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion allows players to let him personally seek revenge for the arrow shot to his eye. Starting the stage with decreased health, he hunts for Cao Xing throughout the castle. Guan Yu's Legend Mode in the same game details the general's defense of Xia Pi after his brothers retreat from Cao Cao's forces. Wanting to protect Liu Bei's wives, he orders an iron defense while he places the ladies in a carriage. He has to simultaneously defend against invaders while he guides the carriage to safety.

The battle in Dynasty Warriors 5 is much similar to that in the previous game. Xiahou Dun again leads the attack and is supported by Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. The main plot for the forces opposing Lu Bu is to destroy a flood gate protected by Gao Shun, flooding Lu Bu's castle, and forcing his forces out. However, if playing as Lu Bu's forces the flood starts prior to the battle, setting him at a great disadvantage.

In Dynasty Warriors 6 the battle slightly differs from that of previous games. Lu Bu invades Xia Pi during the time in which Liu Bei ruled, in an attempt to create a home for himself. Yuan Shu arrives with reinforcements for Lu Bu once again, but if defeated he immediately flees and lowers Lu Bu's morale.

Dynasty Warriors 7 shows the battle in Wei and Shu's story modes. In Wei's scenario, the player controls Xiahou Dun and has to secure the western and southern gates before heading to the floodgates. Gao Shun and Cao Xing will attempt to ambush the player upon reaching the designated area. Once the castle is flooded, Zhang Liao will launch an attack on the main camp.

In Shu's scenario, the player goes to battle as Guan Yu. In his case, the castle is already flooded and players have to fight their way through multiple enemy officers guarding key positions. Yuan Shu appears and rushes the Allied main camp. Ballistas play a major role in the battle as they line the castle wall. Regardless of whether the Allied Forces have the advantage or not, Lu Bu and his followers will make a last stand in the castle's interior.

Xiapi is removed from Shu's story mode but is retained in Wei's story mode for Dynasty Warriors 8. It serves as Jia Xu's first battle for Wei in which not many officers trust him except for Guo Jia. With Cao Cao reinforcing Liu Bei, the players are asked to seize the southern garrisons in order to gain a foothold in the battle. A messenger in the east will soon detect the Wei's forces movement and then run through the eastern part of the map, reporting to each garrison about the floodgate attack. Players are asked to pursue and defeat him. For every garrison the messenger actually reaches, the defenses will be reinforced and Zhang Liao will be more difficult to beat. Once the players reach the floodgate, they are asked to defeat Zhang Liao in order to flood the castle. If it succeeds,Zhang Liao will be captured and then Lu Bu's morale takes a huge drop and the player can then advance into the castle. Chen Gong then suggests to send a messenger to ask for reinforcements from Yuan Shu. It is optional to stop the messenger, because at this point, by killing Diaochan and Chen Gong, the battle is virtually won.

It is also shown as Lu Bu's personal scenario in which case the castle is already flooded and Lu Bu's army is surrounded. Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu all consider to defect. This can be prevented by rescuing each one of them. By defeating every officer and preserving the allied forces, Chen Gong will then send a messenger to the northwestern stronghold, requesting reinforcements from Yuan Shu. The player is then asked to defeat Jia Xu and take the floodgates off Wei's control. Once this is achieved. Cao Cao's main camp will open and the elite troops of both Shu and Wei will advance, allowing you to defeat Cao Cao and win the battle.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Xiapi now has a second map which is akin to the Dynasty Warriors 7 version. The initial version of the map appears in the historical route, where Lu Bu attempts to take the castle from Zhang Fei. Advancing from the southwest, Zhang Liao and Lu Lingqi aim to distract the enemy while Lu Bu and Chen Gong move to meet Cao Bao. If the plot works out, Cao Bao will open the gates for Lu Bu. After Zhang Fei's initial defeat, he will withdraw to rejoin his brothers. The three then attempt to retake the castle, but are defeated.

In the final historical stage, where the new map is used, Lu Bu has refused Chen Gong's advices of luring the enemy into an ambush and sending a messenger to Yuan Shu. Their first order to expel the forces that have already infiltrated the castle, and early into the stage, Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu all opt to leave the fighting. Jia Xu soon appears, and brings in siege ramps. When the allied forces break into the castle again, they prepare to set fire to both the supply depot and the armory. If the fire attacks succeed both Zang Ba and Hao Meng will defect. Soon after, Cao Cao's forces begin advancing from multiple fronts of the castle. Once they are all defeated, Guo Jia floods the castle, and Hou Cheng, Wei Xu and Song Xian all appear and defect.

One of three strategies may occur at this point; In the first strategy, Lu Bu then gives the order to destroy Xiapi's walls, and asks engineers to destroy them, but Yu Jin and Xu Huang spot the suspicious activity, and move to counter. If all the engineers can safely proceed, they will give the signal to complete the demolition. In the second strategy, Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng's defection also cause Zang Ba and Hao Meng to defect, forcing Zhang Liao to rescue the remaining loyalists to rejuvenate allied morale. The third involves Chen Gong convincing the three officers to return to Lu Bu's side. Instead of actually defecting, the three only fake defection, and use it as an excuse to get entry into Cao Cao's camp; there, Chen Gong will instead ambush Cao Cao with the three generals. Soon enough, Liu Bei will give the order to charge with his brothers. After Liu Bei's defeat, Lu Bu begins charging against Cao Cao. Defeating Cao Cao will end the battle.

The stage also appears in Shu's story mode, where Sun Ce is the one who helps Liu Bei rather than Cao Cao against Lu Bu. In this story, Zhou Yu leads as the strategist, and first orders the securing of the outer garrisons to build catapults. When the catapults are ready, Chen Gong will order troops to jump off the ramparts to destroy the siege weapons. Later Lu Bu finally exits the castle, and must be defeated the first time. After his initial defeat, the allied forces begin moving to defeat Chen Gong to stop the flow of ambush troops, but Yuan Shu appears with reinforcements to impede allied movements. Defeating both Lu Bu for the second time and Chen Gong ends the stage in a victory.

Warriors Orochi
Xia Pi takes place as the Samurai Warriors second Gaiden stage in Warriors Orochi. Lu Xun, alone, is surrounded by the Orochi forces, so Nobunaga dispatches a small force to rescue him. Players who manage to escort him back to the main camp will be able to recruit the young Wu strategist as a playable character.

The sequel has the area serve as the battleground for Sima Yi, Mitsunari, and Masamune's Dream mode stage. The three are still a part of Orochi's army and face Hideyoshi, who is leading a resistance force against them.

Historical Information
While Liu Bei was on a campaign to defeat Yuan Shu, Lu Bu had attacked the city of Xiapi, successfully taking it. Liu Bei was forced to return and serve Lu Bu. After, Yuan Shu dispatched Ji Ling and 30,000 troops to attack Liu Bei. This gave Yuan Shu no choice but to ally with Lu Bu in order to resist Liu Bei. Lu Bu's generals advised him to work with Yuan Shu to kill Liu Bei, but if Liu Bei was actually killed, a mass call would be made from governors around northern China, and Lu Bu would be surrounded. Lu Bu went with his own legion of troops to meet Liu Bei, and hearing that Lu Bu came personally, Ji Ling halted and attempted no offensive.

Lu Bu invited both Liu Bei and Ji Ling to a feast, to which both came. Lu Bu made a bet - if he could shoot an arrow through the branch of a halberd head, both generals would withdraw their armies. However, if he missed, then they could continue and fight. The shot was successful, and the two armies withdrew.

After Lu Bu had attacked and seized Xiapi castle, Liu Bei requested help from Cao Cao. As Lu Bu was a major threat on Cao Cao, he sent an envoy to Liu Bei to suggest a joint attack. However, Lu Bu found out of the plot and sent Gao Shun to attack Liu Bei. Xiahou Dun was also sent with an army to help Liu Bei. However, after Xiahou Dun was shot in the eye, he and his army had to retreat and Liu Bei was defeated.

Cao Cao allowed the heavy winter snow to lower the enemy's morale. Lu Bu sent a messenger to Yuan Shu to request for assistance, but Guan Yu and Zhang Fei opposed them in their path so reinforcements from Yuan Shu was not possible. Lu Bu planned to surrender to Cao Cao, but Chen Gong stopped him. Though Lu Bu trusted his generals, his solders started to rebel. Wei Xu, Song Xian, and Hou Cheng tied up and kidnapped Chen Gong and forced his troops to surrender to Cao Cao. Lu Bu surrendered after the attack from his enemies intensified. He was executed by being strangled.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the summer of 196, Lu Bu had taken Xiapi from Liu Bei. Around the year 198, Xiapi is attacked by the allied forces. During the siege, flooding, disease and various other calamities befall the defenders and Lu Bu's army begin to lose faith in their leader. Three months into the assault, Lu Bu is captured while sleeping and the castle is raided.

Lu Bu offered to provide his services to Cao Cao but the bid is denied and Lu Bu is executed. The city is later burned to the ground and destroyed.

During the invasion Xiahou Dun was hit in the eye with an arrow. According to legend, he pulled out the arrow and the eye came along. He then ate the eye.