Escape from Chibi

Escape from Chibi (赤壁逃亡戦, rōmaji: Sekiheki Tōbōsen), literally "Red Wall/Cliffs Flight Battle", is the chase for Cao Cao's head after the Battle of Chibi. Suffering heavy losses from the Allied Forces' fire attack, Cao Cao listens to his vassals' advice to flee. He is pursued by the future emperors of the Three Kingdoms. In the games, the events during the stage somewhat mimic the Romance of the Three Kingdoms adaption via his escape through the Huarong Path (華容道, Kayōdō, lit. Luster Form Path).

Role in Games

Dynasty Warriors

The stage is Cao Cao's Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends. He starts from the east-southern corner and needs to work his way upward. While his path is simple to navigate, he only has Xu Zhu, Zhang Liao, and two other generals to guard him. However, since they learn that Guan Yu is guarding the exit ahead, Cheng Yu advises his lord to take advantage of the debt of kindness the general may want to properly fulfill. Ambushes from the Allied Forces' generals also await the Wei army, lead by Gan Ning, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and others. As time passes Cao Cao may be reinforced by his other generals and the army's progress will quicken. When Guan Yu meets Cao Cao, the dignified warlord will remind the general about his present, Red Hare, and asks if the same gift will be used against him. To sever their ties for good, Guan Yu urges his steed aside and grants the Wei army passage.

Dynasty Warriors 5 revamps the map and allows players to fight with either side of the conflict. Wei's version of the stage remains relatively the same with a few minor additions. Cao Cao begins the stage with no generals present on the map and has a group of guards to protect him. As he runs through the curvy roads, he will be ambushed by a Shu general. If he routes his adversaries or reaches certain points of the map, his generals will gradually arrive for support. Some distance after Guan Ping's ambush, a ragged Cao Cao and his guards will encounter Guan Yu. Again, the two men do not fight and Guan Yu retreats after their meeting. Blocking his escape are Liu Bei and Sun Quan and they sometimes must be defeated to end the stage.

The Allied Forces version begins after Cao Cao and Guan Yu part ways. With the pursuing army beginning near the bottom left corner of the map, Cao Cao has a significant lead ahead in the hills. Wei generals will ambush the pursuing army as their lord progresses forward though he will occasionally pause if his forces continue to falter. Xiahou Dun appears by the western bridge and will blow it apart after his cousin passes.

If the fire attack at Chi Bi succeeds during the Allied Forces version in Dynasty Warriors 6, Cao Cao does retreat from his headquarters to re-assemble his men. However, he and his remaining generals only reappear on dry land to charge Sun Quan a final time.

The online adaption retains a similar map and objectives as the second version of its appearance. Xu Huang will join Zhang Liao in reminding Guan Yu of his debt to Cao Cao. The escapee also escapes to the north-western corner of the map as well.

Cao Cao's escape begins in the historical route of Dynasty Warriors 8. Once Huang Gai's ship collides with the allied fleet's central ship, Cao Cao will begin moving back to the main camp from the fiery ships because Cai Mao defects and prevents a southern escape through the boats. During his travels, Taishi Ci will impede the Wei forces as they reach the camp while Gan Ning will leap on-board Cao Cao's ship. Cao Cao, Zhang Liao, and Xu Zhu respond by escaping through a small raft. Upon reaching the mainland, Sun Shangxiang and Liu Bei will ambush Cao Cao's forces, followed by Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun's forces. As Cao Cao continues to move, Mi Zhu's forces will launch a barrage of boulders and arrows and must be defeated to proceed. Finally, Guan Yu will impede Cao Cao's forces, but chooses to allow the warlord to escape. Depending on previous decisions, Dian Wei may also join Cao Cao's escape party.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, the escape begins shortly after Huang Gai's fire attack. If Huang Gai was defeated beforehand, his defeat will weaken the fire attack's impact. While the goal is either Cao Cao's successful escape or the defeats of Ling Tong, Gan Ning, Xu Sheng and Lu Meng near Xiangyang in Wei's side and defeating Cao Cao or seizing Xiangyang for the Allied forces, there are several small skirmishes between both sides.

Near the port of Xiakou, Lu Su will be engaged with Xun Yu's forces.
Zhu Ran is busy holding Zhang He's forces at bay in Changsha.
Zhao Yun and Cao Ren will be fighting at Wulin while Zhang Fei is fighting Xu Zhu at Hulukou, and Cheng Yu and Guan Yu and Zhou Cang at Huarong Trail .
A small group of Wei soldiers, including those under Zhenji, will be fleeing to a garrison just south east of Xiangyang. Cheng Pu will also have his own camp positioned just east of Xiangyang.
In Wei's side, several injured Wei soldiers will take position at Jiangling and will request for help in procuring the medicine needed to continue their march.
In Wei's side, Cao Xiu is unable to march forward due to his cavalry's horses falling to starvation.
In Wei's side and if the player isn't using him, several of Cao Cao's subordinates will report their lord missing within Wulin after Zhao Yun is defeated and Cao Cao must be rescued from lingering troops of the Allied Forces.

During Guo Jia's personal DLC scenario, he and Xun Yu will depart to eliminate Zhuge Liang's ambush troops and Zhou Yu's reserve forces before the actual escape begins. Due to their efforts, Wei casualties and losses are reduced to an absolute minimum, allowing them to still have a proper chance at remaining within Jing Province.

Warriors Orochi

In Warriors Orochi, Wei Yan spots Goemon stealing treasures he received from Liu Bei and chases the thief. While Goemon looks for an escape route, he leaves his treasure boxes scattered around the map. If players so desire, they may smash them open to slow Goemon's flight. As he flees, he asks for anyone to help him and uses any lie that he can to save him from Wei Yan. The people who help the bandit are Kotarō and Musashi, though Okuni will arrive to slow him down.

If Wei Yan's party quickly retrieves all of the treasure Goemon stole, he will join Shu as an ally.

Dynasty Tactics

A reenactment of this stage appears in a cinematic with Cao Cao and Guan Yu in Dynasty Tactics. After his defeat from Chi Bi, Cao Cao and a handful of his tired men meet the Shu general while marching through a rainstorm. Lightning illuminates Guan Yu's visage and, despite his men's protests, Cao Cao bids the general to finish him. Instead Guan Yu turns away, saying he has no other reason to be kind to his former lord and allows the entourage to pass. The fleeing liege expresses his thanks to Guan Yu's back and slowly passes by. In Wei's version of the scene, Cao Cao marvels at his good fortune some distance away and revives his ambitions for conquest. Shu's version of the scene ends with Guan Yu on his knees after Cao Cao passes, apologizing to his brother for giving into his honor.

Historical Information

The fire attack at Chibi devastated Cao Cao's fleet, crushing his hopes to invade and conquer the southlands. As his army was already dealing with high levels of illness and plague, he made the executive decision to withdraw back to the north and recuperate his forces. The only way back was along the Huarong road, as the massive loss of ships and the natural flow of the Yangtze River worked against returning the way his army had come. The Huarong road was an open, flat, swamp route and consequently very hard to travel. Cao Cao's army continued to suffer illness and loss along the way, as they had to hurry up the route to avoid the perusing forces.

The Sun/Liu alliance had a major victory at Chibi, but was still much smaller then the forces that Cao Cao had at his command. The massive burning of the northern fleet gave the allied forces an opening to press the advantage, which they could only seize by crossing the river and striking into Jing Province. The alliance was help up temporarily as Cao Cao's countermeasure of buring his remaining ships left few able to cross the river. Gan Ning eventually established a safe travel lane that Liu Bei and Zhou Yu used to lead their armies in pursuit of Cao Cao's forces.

This pressure to the rear of the army forced Cao Cao to withdraw quickly or try to fight with an army which had no more fight left in them. The future Duke of Wei had his men chop down, bundle, and place clumps of grass on the marshy road to help the cavalry forces pass safely. However, the pace he set for the army was too quick for safety and he lost numerous men on his return north to illness or accident.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

As soon as Cao Cao's fleet was decimated by Huang Gai's fire attack, he joins Xu Chu and Zhang Liao on a small boat and began moving to shore. Huang Gai personally captained another boat to try and give chase, but was hit by Zhang Liao's arrow and fell off-board, needing to be rescued.

Once the Cao forces made it to shore, they regrouped with Zhang He and met against Gan Ning's forces. With Zhang Liao and Xu Chu forces stalling Gan, Cao Cao makes it to his first stop at Yidu. Laughing at how the enemy did not place any ambush troops in the area, Cao is soon silenced by Zhao Yun's arrival. Zhao Yun begins dueling with Zhang He, giving Cao Cao the opportunity to begin moving once more.

Upon regrouping with Li Dian and Xu Chu, Cao Cao began making a break for southern Yiling. Once again, Cao Cao began laughing at the incompetence of their enemies in failing to prepare an ambush, and he is forced to eat his words once more when Zhang Fei emerges. As Zhang Fei is forced to face both Li Dian and Xu Chu, Cao Cao heads further north to the central plains.

Hitting a fork in the path, Cao Cao's forces deliberate over their next route back to Xuchang. Scouts soon report that smoke has begun appearing on the shorter, but more dangerous, Huarong trail. Deducing this to be something to offput them from an ambush, Cao Cao orders his troops to cross through Huarong.

The valley's narrow space prevented supplies from being transported efficiently, and the rugged terrain compressed the Cao forces heavily. Many of the soldiers would fall to both illness, starvation and overexertion until they reached the valley's exit. Laughing a third time, Cao Cao became confident that he would finally make it back to Xuchang, but he was soon terrified by the imposing presence of Guan Yu's arrival.

Unable to rally his exhausted troops for a last ditch attempt to fight, Cao Cao is advised to use Guan Yu's debt of honor as a way to escape. Heavily beaten, and having no fight left, Cao Cao complied with the plan.

Riding out alone, Cao Cao greets Guan, and the two reminisce of the latter's service under him. Guan, however, insists that his debt had been paid when he slew Yan Liang and Wen Chou during the battles at Baima and Yanjin. The disheveled appearances of Cao and his men, however, reminded Guan of how he had made his own daring escape through the five passes, and how Cao pardoned the general, even after slaying the guards of the five passes. This is followed up with how Cao Cao offered the general some silver and a brocaded robe before his leave as well as the acceptance of all three of Guan's conditions at Xuzhou.

Wishing to uphold his debt, Guan allows Cao Cao's forces safe passage. Before the troops can fully cross, Guan Yu remembers his duties and attempts to bar them, with all of the remaining Cao forces dismounting and kowtowing for mercy. Soon after, a wounded Zhang Liao arrives to assist his lord. Seeing his friend's injuries, Guan Yu only takes a deep sigh before allowing Cao Cao and his men to return back to Xuchang.

Placing himself under military law, Guan Yu returns to Liu Bei's camp to submit himself. Zhuge Liang proceeds to attempt to execute Guan, but Liu Bei intervenes and Zhuge annuls the punishment, making it clear to everyone that he understood the debt and foreseen Guan Yu letting Cao Cao go as a part of going on with the formation of the Three Kingdoms plan.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao begins sending his generals to guard the borders before he returns back to Xuchang. Cao Ren being left to Nanjun, Xiahou Dun at Xiangyang, and Zhang Liao, Yue Jin and Li Dian at Hefei.