The Battle of Shishou was fought in 192 AD between the armies of the Jing Province warlord Sun Jian and the Han general Xuan Fan.
History[]
In 192 AD, Sun Jian was embattled on two fronts - he had to fight against the Han armies loyal to Dong Zhuo to the east, south, and west, and he had to battle against Liu Biao and his vassals to the north and northeast. Sun Jian took his main army across the Yangtze River to defend Jiangling, while he had his general Huang Gai and his strategist Lu Su hold Badong Commandery across the river. Taking advantage of Sun Jian's absence, the Han general Xuan Fan, dispatched by the pro-Dong Zhuo Imperial Court, invaded Jing Province, tying down Huang Gai's army from marching to assist in the war with Liu Biao. As a result, Huang Gai and his army decided to attack Xuan Fan's army.
The ensuing battle was mostly one-sided, as a numerically-superior army loyal to Sun Jian faced a smaller Han army composed mostly of militia. While the main armies clashed, Xuan Fan challenged Huang Gai to a duel, and the two generals met in battle next to their armies. While the Han army was routed, pursued, and massacred, Huang Gai and Xuan Fan continued to battle, and Huan Gai ultimately succeeded in killing Xuan Fan by loppnig off his leg and letting him bleed to death. With Xuan Fan dead and his army in ruins, Huang Gai successfully protected Badong and was able to march to assist Sun Jian with his campaign.