Zhang Zhao

Sun Ce temporarily gives up attacking Ze Rong and focuses his forces on Qu'e.

After all the surrounding areas are taken over by Sun Ce, Liu Yao gives up the city and escapes south to Yuzhang (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi), where he will later die.

As Sun Ce implements strict discipline among his troops, he wins the instant support of the local people and gathers many talented men, such as Chen Wu, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Qin Song, and Lü Fan.

He then pushes his force deeper into Yangzhou and conquers Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), whose governor Wang Lang surrenders.

Sun Ce makes Kuaiji his base city and strikes out at the wandering bandit army led by Yan Baihu.

Yan Baihu sends his younger brother Yan Yu to offer Sun Ce a position alongside Yan Baihu, but Sun Ce shows no mercy and personally slays the emissary.

As Yan Yu is known among Yan Baihu's men as a fierce warrior, his death strikes fear into their hearts and they are soon defeated.

Sun Ce now appoints his relatives and a trusted subject to govern Danyang and Yuzhang, from which he divides a new prefecture named Luling.

His campaign, from the occupation of Niuzhu to the conquest of the entire region southeast of the Long River, has taken less than a year.

He then defeats and receives the services of Zu Lang, the Chief of Danyang, and Taishi Ci, the leader of the remnants of Liu Yao's forces; he then urges the surrender of Hua Xin, another one of the remnants of Liu Yao's forces.

Thus, with the exception of the scattered but still numerous army of Yan Baihu, the lands south of the Yangtze are mostly pacified.

The barbarians of the Shanyue tribe, however, are not easily dealt with.

To counter the frequent rebellions of the Shanyue (who will continue to rebel for many years), Sun Ce appoints a certain He Qi to a military rank with orders to subdue the Shanyue.

He Qi will go on to become a highly successful general; his appointment by Sun Ce is the first important step to Wu's eventual subjugation of the Shanyue.

Yuan Shu declares himself the unrecognized "Zhongjia" Emperor in 197.

In a letter to Yuan Shu, Sun Ce denounces the move and breaks ties with the former.

In an effort to garner support from Sun Ce, the rising warlord Cao Cao then recommends him to be appointed the Rebellions-Suppressing General and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wu.

Liu Bei, accompanied by a refugee population of civilians and soldiers, quickly flees south when Jing Province falls.

This disorganized exodus is pursued by Cao Cao's elite cavalry, and is surrounded and decisively beaten at the Battle of Changban (near present-day Dangyang, Hubei).

Liu Bei escapes, however, and flees further east to Xiakou, where he liaises with Sun Quan's emissary Lu Su.

At this point historical accounts are inconsistent; Lu Su may have successfully encouraged Liu Bei to move even further east, to Fankou.

In either case, Liu Bei is later joined by Liu Qi and levies from Jiangxia.

Liu Bei's main advisor, Zhuge Liang, is sent to Chaisang to negotiate forming a mutual front against Cao Cao with the state of Wu.

By the time Zhuge Liang arrives, Cao Cao has already sent Sun Quan a letter boasting of commanding eight hundred thousand men and demanding Sun Quan's surrender.

The faction led by Sun Quan's Chief Clerk, Zhang Zhao, advocates surrender, citing Cao Cao's overwhelming numerical advantage.

However, on separate occasions, Lu Su, Zhuge Liang, and Sun Quan's chief commander, Zhou Yu, all presented arguments to persuade Sun Quan to agree to the alliance against the northerners.

Sun Quan finally decided upon war.

He then assigns Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Lu Su with thruty thousand men to aid Liu Bei against Cao Cao.

Although Cao Cao has boasted a command of eight hundred thousand men, Zhou Yu estimates Cao Cao's actual troop strength to be closer to two hundred and twenty thousand.

Furthermore, this total includes seventy thousand impressed troops from the armies of the recently deceased Liu Biao, so the loyalty and morale of a large number of Cao Cao's force is uncertain.

With the twenty thousand soldiers that Liu Bei has gathered, the alliance consists of approximately fifty thousand marines who are trained and prepared for battle.

The combined Sun-Liu force sails upstream from either Xiakou or Fankou to Red Cliffs, where they encounter Cao Cao's vanguard force.

Ravaged by disease and low morale due to the series of forced marches they had undertaken on the prolonged southern campaign, Cao Cao's men cannot gain an advantage in the small skirmish which ensues, so Cao Cao retreats to Wulin (north of the Yangtze River) and the allies pull back to the south.

Cao Cao has moored his ships from stem to stern, possibly aiming to reduce seasickness in his navy, which comprises mostly northerners who are not used to living on ships.

Observing this, divisional commander Huang Gai sends Cao Cao a letter feigning surrender and prepares a squadron of capital ships described as mengchong doujian (The exact nature of these vessels is unclear; they are most likely warships clad in a protective coating, possibly leather).

The ships have been converted into fire ships by filling them with bundles of kindling, dry reeds, and fatty oil.

As Huang Gai's "defecting" squadron approaches the midpoint of the river, the sailors ignite the ships before taking to small boats.

The unmanned fire ships, carried by the southeastern wind, speed towards Cao Cao's fleet and set it ablaze.

Within a short time smoke and flames stretch across the sky, and a large number of men and horses either burn to death or drown.

Following the initial shock, Zhou Yu and the allies lead a lightly armed force to capitalize on the assault.

The northern army, thrown into confusion, is utterly defeated.

Seeing the situation is hopeless, Cao Cao issues a general order of retreat and destroys a number of his remaining ships before withdrawing.

The allied counterattack might have vanquished Cao Cao and his forces entirely.

However, the crossing of the Yangtze River dissolves into chaos as the allied armies converge on the riverbank and fight over the limited number of ferries.

To restore order, a detachment led by the allied general Gan Ning establishes a bridgehead in Yiling to the north, and only a staunch rearguard action by Cao Ren prevents further catastrophe.

Cao Cao's army attempts a retreat along Huarong Road, including a long stretch passing through marshlands north of Dongting Lake.

Heavy rains have reduced the track to a thick mire, making the road so treacherous that many of the sick soldiers have to carry bundles of grass on their backs and use them to fill the road, to allow the horsemen to cross.

Many of these soldiers drown in the mud or are trampled to death in the effort.

To the misery of Cao Cao's army, the allies, led by Zhou Yu and Liu Bei, give chase over land and water until they reach Nan prefecture; combined with famine and disease, this decimates Cao Cao's remaining forces.

Cao Cao retreats north to his home base of Ye, ...

...leaving Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, ...

...Yue Jin stationed in Xiangyang, and ...