Flooding of Yu Jin's seven armies

Flooding of Yu Jin's seven armies is Guan Yu’s major victory at Fancheng, achieved by turning the swollen Xiang River against an opposing force encamped on low ground. Heavy late-autumn rains, the enemy commanders’ conflicting decisions, and Guan Yu’s deliberate use of dams combine to overwhelm the seven armies. The aftermath distinguishes between Yu Jin, who surrenders, and Pang De, who refuses to yield and is executed but receives an honourable burial.

Background and Opposing Commanders

The confrontation begins with a challenge from Pang De, who has been sent against Guan Yu and carries a coffin before his force. He tells his wife that he may die and charges his five hundred men either to bring him home in the coffin or to use it to carry Guan Yu’s head to Cao Cao. When Guan Yu hears that the seven armies are approaching Fancheng and that Pang De is among them, he reacts with anger. His son Guan Ping offers to meet Pang De, describing the contest as too small a task for his father.

Pang De’s force makes its intentions explicit through its display: a black standard bearing his title and the coffins set upright beside it. When Guan Ping challenges him, Pang De says he has a commission from the king of Wei to take Guan Yu’s head and dismisses the younger man as an unworthy opponent. Guan Ping nevertheless rides out, and the two fight for thirty rounds before withdrawing exhausted.

Guan Yu then confronts Pang De himself. Each declares his purpose, and Pang De invokes his commission and coffin as proof of his resolve. Their first engagement lasts more than a hundred rounds without a victor; both return to their own camps acknowledging that they have met an equal. The evenly matched combat establishes a direct personal contest before the larger battle turns on terrain and command decisions.

The Duel and the Rivalry in Command

The next day, Pang De and Guan Yu fight again. After fifty rounds, Pang De turns and appears to flee, dragging his sword along the ground. Guan Yu pursues, with Guan Ping close behind because he suspects a trick. The suspicion is justified: Pang De has hooked his sword into his belt, freeing both hands to ready an arrow, and shoots Guan Yu in the arm while turning in the saddle.

Guan Ping moves to protect his wounded father, but Pang De’s attack is stopped when war gongs from his own side summon him back. Yu Jin has halted him because he fears Pang De’s success would bring the rival commander greater fame. Guan Yu’s wound proves not to be serious, but his anger deepens. His men persuade him to rest until it heals, and he does not answer Pang De’s repeated challenges for more than ten days.

Pang De interprets Guan Yu’s absence as evidence that his wound is severe and urges Yu Jin to attack the camp. Yu Jin again refuses to support him. Instead, he moves farther from the fighting and assigns Pang De the humiliating position of rearguard. The rivalry within the opposing command thus weakens its coordination just as the physical setting creates a growing danger.

The Flood at Fishnet Stream

When Guan Yu surveys the enemy’s new position, he notices that the forces are camped on low ground beside the rushing Xiang River. He learns that the valley is called Fishnet Stream and takes its name as a favourable sign, imagining the enemy as a fish already caught. More practically, the late-autumn rains of AD 219 have swollen the river, and the camp occupies a flood plain. Guan Yu orders boats prepared and the river dammed at several points, intending to release the water against the encamped forces.

The danger is recognized inside the opposing camp. In the rain, dissent grows, and Cheng He warns Yu Jin of the threat posed by the flooding. Yu Jin dismisses the warning. Cheng He confides in Pang De, who agrees with the assessment, and the two make their own plans. Their warning, however, does not change the commander’s decision or the army’s exposure.

The attack comes at night, when the released water rushes into the valley. The flood rises more than ten feet, sweeping many away. Yu Jin and the other leaders escape the immediate inundation but leave their weapons and armour behind as they climb to higher ground. At dawn they see Guan Yu’s fleet moving down the river. Overwhelmed by the situation, Yu Jin surrenders.

Pang De responds differently. Although he has no armour and only about five hundred men, he goes out to fight. Guan Yu’s archers attack his group, and most of the men die in the fighting. Dong Heng and Dong Chao urge Pang De to surrender; he refuses and kills them. He tells Cheng He that he expects to die and calls for them to continue fighting. Cheng He is soon killed by an arrow from Guan Yu, while Pang De is knocked from a raft into the river and captured by Zhou Cang. The seven armies are defeated.

Captives, Fancheng, and the Meaning of Victory

Brought before Guan Yu, Yu Jin explains that he was following orders and asks for mercy, offering to serve Guan Yu. Guan Yu refuses to treat him as a worthy object of execution and orders that he be imprisoned in Jingzhou for later consideration. His response contrasts with the outcome for Pang De, who stands before him without kneeling and refuses to submit even when Guan Yu points out that Pang De’s brother is in Hanzhong and that Ma Chao has been rewarded.

Pang De answers that Guan Yu will have to kill him first and continues to curse and scorn his captor. Guan Yu has him executed, but then orders an honourable burial, moved by the strength of Pang De’s integrity. The scene makes refusal to surrender the defining difference between the two captured commanders: Yu Jin pleads for his life and offers service; Pang De maintains his defiance and is treated with respect after death.

The flood also places Fancheng itself in immediate danger. Its force undermines the city walls, which begin to collapse despite the citizens’ efforts. Most of Cao Ren’s advisers recommend retreat, but Man Chong argues that the flood is temporary and that Fancheng must be held as a bulwark against Guan Yu. Cao Ren accepts his advice, makes his commanders swear to fight, and orders the walls repaired. After ten days, the waters recede. The victory that destroys the seven armies therefore does not itself secure Fancheng: the city’s defense continues, and the flood’s recession changes the immediate conditions of the siege.

The episode’s military reversal grows from the interaction of river, weather, camp location, and command. Guan Yu recognizes the enemy’s exposure and acts on it; Yu Jin disregards a warning, while jealousy has already obstructed Pang De’s efforts. The defeat is overwhelming, but its consequences remain divided: the seven armies are lost, Fancheng survives the receding waters, and the two captured leaders leave sharply different examples of surrender and steadfastness.