The Battle of Hanzhong was a battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao for Hanzhong during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty. This war was initiated by Liu Bei in the 22nd year of Jian 'an (2 17) and ended in May in the 24th year of Jian 'an (2 19). The war lasted nearly two years.

The commanders of the warring sides are Liu Bei and Cao Cao respectively. Liu Beifang's war generals mainly include Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Fa Zheng and Huang Quan, while Cao's war generals mainly include Xia, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Cao Hong, Zhang He, Huang Xu and Guo Huai. In this campaign, Liu Bei occupied Hanzhong, expanded his territory and became king.

Historical background: In the 13th year of Jian 'an (2008), Liu Bei formed an alliance with Sun Quan, and Battle of Red Cliffs recovered Jingzhou counties after defeating Cao Cao. Based on Jingzhou, Liu Bei captured Sichuan. At the same time, Cao Cao defeated the Guanzhong allied forces headed by Ma Chao and Han Sui, and then captured Hanzhong occupied by Zhang Lu. Hanzhong is connected with Zhongshu, and Cao Cao's March into Hanzhong has brought quite a shock to Zhongshu who just changed hands, and the spread of Zhongshu is dozens of surprises every day.

Sima Yi advised Cao Cao to take the opportunity to capture Shu, but there was a rebellion behind Cao Cao. Cao Cao left Xia, Guo Huai, Zhang He to guard Hanzhong and let Zhang He invade Brazil. In the twentieth year of Jian 'an (2 15), Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, clashed with Sun Quan, who sent men to attack Jingzhou, and Liu Bei led the army to support Guan Yu. At this time, Zhang He went deep into Brazil and had already attacked the Dangqu area. Liu Bei is busy making peace with Sun Quan. After the demarcation of Xiangjiang River, Zhang Fei broke Zhang He at Wakouguan. After Zhang He retreated, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong with a great army at the suggestion of Fazheng, Huang Quan and others.

War course: Liu Jun lost. In the 22nd year of Jian 'an (2 17), Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Tong Lei and Ulan to attack Bian Xia, while Cao Cao sent Cao Hong, Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen to resist. In the 23rd year of Jian 'an (2 18), Zhang Fei stationed troops in Gushan, pretending to cut off the rear of Cao Hong, and was caught by Cao Xiu.

At Cao Xiu's suggestion, Cao Hong attacked Ulan before the Shu army assembled. Tong Lei and Ulan were killed, while Ma Chao and Zhang Fei were defeated. Liu Bei sent Chen Shi, a general, to attack A?vagho?a Pavilion Road, trying to cut off the connection between Hanzhong and Du Xu, but was defeated by Xu Huang, causing heavy casualties. In July, Liu Bei personally led the troops to stick to Yangpingguan and refused to meet Xia and Zhang He. Cao Cao led troops in Xudu, ready to rescue Hanzhong. In September, Cao Cao led an army to Chang 'an.

Cao Jun suffered a crushing defeat: In the 24th year of Jian 'an (2 19), Liu Bei crossed Mianshui from Yangpingguan south and camped in Dingjun Mountain. Xia led his troops to rob Dingjun Mountain. Liu Bei sent troops to burn antlers outside the army in summer at night. Xia sent Zhang He to guard the antlers in the east and led the troops to guard the antlers in the south. Liu Bei mobilized more than ten thousand soldiers and horses and divided them into ten troops. He stormed Zhang He, and Zhang He went into battle himself, which was difficult for Liu Bei to conquer for a while.

Xia split his troops to save Zhang He. Liu Bei sent Huang Zhong to attack the antlers in the south. At this time, Xia Zheng led 400 Cao soldiers to repair antlers in the southern Wei Dynasty. Huang Zhong rode on the highland and shouted. The first world war in Xia was defeated by Nanwei's antlers, and Huang Zhong took the opportunity to attack Xia Barracks fifteen miles away. Xia's army quickly collapsed because of the loss of its commander in chief. Yizhou secretariat Zhao Qing and others were also killed by Huang. After Xia's death, Hanzhong County was in a state of panic, and Guo Huai, Du and others recommended Zhang He to temporarily control Hanzhong armies to stabilize the people's hearts. Zhang He led an army stationed in Yangpingguan.

Confrontation between Cao and Liu: Liu Bei defeated Xia Hou and planned to cross the Han River to attack Guo Huai. Guo Huai's men saw that their troops were too small to match, so they suggested that Guo Huai could deploy along the Hanshui River. But Guo Huai thinks this is a sign of weakness. He should stay away from the Hanshui River and attack while Liu Beijun is halfway. But Liu Bei saw Guo Huai's formation and never crossed the water. In March, Cao Cao led a great army to Hanzhong and entered Yangpingguan. Liu Bei was full of ambition, saying that even if Cao Cao came in person, it would not change anything, and he would definitely own Hanzhong. Liu Bei camped on the mountain, occupied the danger, held on and fought against Cao Cao.

Deadlock broken: Cao Cao came to contend for Hanzhong and transported tens of millions of bags of grain and grass to Beishan for hoarding. Liu Bei sent someone to Chengdu to ask Zhuge Liang to send troops for support. Yang Hong regarded Hanzhong as the throat of Yizhou, the curse of the family and the opportunity of survival. At this time, he advised Zhuge Liang that "men should fight and women should be lucky". Huang Zhong is in Zhao Yunying. Seeing that Cao Cao had sent so much hay, Huang Zhong suggested Zhao Yun to rob it. However, Cao Cao's grain storage area should be heavily guarded. In order to be prudent, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong agreed on a deadline, and then Huang Zhongling led the troops to rob the grain.

Huang Zhong didn't return after the deadline, and Zhao Yun led a light ride to meet the enemy. He met Jun, and Jun pursued him. Until the front of Zhao Yunying, Zhao Yun opened the gate and stopped all this. You suspected that Zhao Yun had an ambush and led the army to retreat. Zhao Yun took the opportunity to fight back. You are terrified, and you step on it, causing countless casualties. Later, Liu Bei began to take the initiative and sent Liu Feng to fight in front of Yangpingguan. Cao Cao cursed Liu Bei and often sent his adopted son to fight, saying that he could beat Liu Feng with his yellow beard Cao Zhang. Cao Cao sent for Cao Zhang to help Hanzhong.

In May, Cao Zhang traveled day and night to Chang 'an. But Cao Cao has withdrawn from Hanzhong. The battle of Hanzhong ended with Liu Bei's victory. In autumn and July, Liu Bei was called the King of Hanzhong.