Cao Cao’s campaign to seize Xuzhou is the campaign against Xuande that follows the exposure of the imperial conspiracy and the failure of Xuande’s night attack on Cao Cao’s forces. A force of two hundred thousand is dispatched to capture Xuzhou and Xuande. Xuande escapes north with only a small remnant, while Cao Cao takes Xiaopei and compels the surrender of Xuzhou; the advance then turns toward Xiapi, where Guan Yu is responsible for the city and Xuande’s family. The campaign’s decisive consequence is not simply the loss of territory: it places Guan Yu in a position where he must choose between resistance and submission without abandoning his obligations to his sworn brothers, the Han, or Xuande’s household.

Causes and Strategic Stakes

The campaign is ordered after Cao Cao’s forces uncover the blood-written edict and move against those associated with the conspiracy. With Xuande’s army posing a greater immediate threat than Ma Teng, Cao Cao’s side decides to attack him without delay. Sun Qian carries news of the approaching force to Guan Yu at Xiapi and then to Xuande at Xiaopei. The two seek assistance from Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao refuses to leave because his favored son is gravely ill. The refusal leaves Xuande without the outside support he had hoped to obtain.

Zhang Fei proposes striking Cao Cao’s army at night, reasoning that troops at the end of a long march would be tired and less alert. Cao Cao, however, is warned by an omen: a standard pole breaks in the wind. He consults Xun Yu, who interprets the sign as foretelling a night attack. Forewarned, Cao Cao prepares a trap rather than allowing his encamped army to be surprised. The episode turns on competing expectations about readiness: Zhang Fei plans to exploit the enemy’s fatigue, while Cao Cao’s warning gives his force the advantage of preparation.

The Failed Raid and Xuande’s Flight

Sun Qian remains at Xiaopei while Xuande and Zhang Fei lead the night attack. Zhang Fei charges into what appears to be Cao Cao’s camp, only to discover that it is nearly empty. Fires then break out around him, and Cao Cao’s commanders close in. Men who had recently been captured from Cao Cao’s own forces desert Zhang Fei, leaving him to fight his way out with little support. Unable to return to Xiaopei, and fearing that the routes to Xiapi and Xuzhou will also be closed, he escapes toward the Mang Dang hills.

Xuande is ambushed separately and loses contact with half his men when an attack from the rear cuts them off. Xiahou Dun confronts him; after heavy losses, Xuande escapes with around thirty men. Xiaopei is burning, and the roads to both Xiapi and Xuzhou are blocked. He therefore rides north toward Qingzhou, seeking Yuan Shao. The campaign has broken up Xuande’s forces and separated him from his men, but he reaches Qingzhou and is received by Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao’s eldest son. Yuan Shao later greets Xuande at Pingyuan and apologizes for not having come to his aid. Xuande bears no grudge and offers to join Yuan Shao’s forces, an offer Yuan Shao accepts.

Fall of Xiaopei and Xuzhou

While Xuande is escaping north, Cao Cao takes Xiaopei and attacks Xuzhou. With no alternative, Chen Deng surrenders the city. The capture gives Cao Cao a route to the next objective, Xiapi, but the campaign’s political and personal stakes now center on Guan Yu. Xun Yu points out that Guan Yu commands Xiapi and is protecting Xuande’s family; he expects Guan Yu to resist to the death. He also warns that Cao Cao must act before Yuan Shao does.

Cao Cao admires Guan Yu and hopes to bring him into his service. Zhang Liao, who is Guan Yu’s friend, offers to approach him. Cheng Yu doubts that friendship alone will be enough, and proposes first placing Guan Yu in an impossible position, then letting Zhang Liao try to persuade him. The plan makes the capture of Xiapi more than a military operation: Cao Cao aims to turn the defenders’ circumstances into an opportunity to gain a celebrated warrior.

Xiapi and Guan Yu’s Conditions

Cheng Yu’s deception uses former soldiers of Guan Yu, who pretend to have escaped and ask to return. Once admitted to Xiapi, they are to betray the city by opening its gates. Guan Yu welcomes them back, and the stratagem helps bring about the city’s fall. Xiahou Dun leads the attack and repeatedly tries to draw Guan Yu out. Guan Yu finally responds when a low-ranking soldier insults him, charging out with three thousand men to challenge Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun feigns retreat and draws him away from the city. Guan Yu realizes that his decision has put Xiapi at risk, but the routes back are closed and the enemy surrounds him. He and his remaining troops take refuge on a defensible hill.

From the hill, Guan Yu sees that Xiapi has fallen. As dawn approaches, he prepares to attack downhill rather than surrender. Zhang Liao rides up alone and reminds him of the time Guan Yu saved his life. He argues that dying there would fail Xuande if Xuande survived, leave Xuande’s family unprotected, and abandon the oath to defend the Han. Zhang Liao urges him to submit, presenting survival and the protection of Xuande’s household as compatible with loyalty rather than its opposite.

Guan Yu agrees only on three conditions. He will surrender to the emperor, not to Cao Cao; he will retain full control over the protection of Xuande’s family; and he must be free to leave for Xuande whenever he learns where Xuande is. Cao Cao initially resists the last condition, but Zhang Liao argues that honoring it may demonstrate Cao Cao’s integrity and win Guan Yu’s loyalty. Cao Cao accepts the terms. The campaign therefore secures Xuzhou and Xiapi while producing a qualified, conditional submission rather than an uncomplicated transfer of allegiance.

Narrative Significance

The episode presents military advantage as a contest shaped by intelligence, deception, morale, and access to routes. Xuande’s plan depends on catching a tired enemy, but Cao Cao’s forewarning reverses the trap; Zhang Fei’s force becomes isolated, Xuande’s retreat roads close, and Xuzhou loses its ability to resist. At Xiapi, concealed soldiers and a feigned retreat exploit Guan Yu’s trust and anger, turning the city’s defenses against him.

The campaign also makes the limits of victory visible. Cao Cao gains control of the cities, but Guan Yu’s conditions preserve his obligations to the emperor, Xuande’s family, and Xuande himself. The military outcome is decisive, yet the political result remains unsettled: Guan Yu lives and enters Cao Cao’s service on terms that explicitly preserve his freedom to return to Xuande. In the novel’s wider portrait of the Han’s collapse, the campaign’s territorial gains coexist with divided loyalties and competing claims of duty.