Battle of Quebei
conflict between Cao Wei and Eastern Wu (241)
The Battle of Quebei was a military offensive launched in 241 by the state of Eastern Wu against its rival state, Cao Wei, during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign was initiated by Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, two years after the death of the second Wei emperor, Cao Rui. The campaign ended with an overall failure. Despite its name, Quebei being the location where most of the fighting took place, the campaign was actually a two-front attack and covered a wide area in Anhui and Hubei.
Prelude
In the spring of 241, Sun Quan prepared to launch a campaign against Wei. Yin Zha (殷札), the administrator of Wu Commandery, advised Sun Quan to attack Wei in coordination with their ally state, Shu Han. According to Yin Zha's suggested plan, the Shu forces would attack Wei from the west of Chang'an, while the Wu forces would attack Wei from three directions: Zhuge Jin and Zhu Ran to attack Xiangyang; Lu Xun to attack Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui); Sun Quan to attack the Huai River region and enter Xu Province. Yin Zha explained that this coordinated campaign would wear down Wei's defences because they were unable to fend off attacks on two fronts. However, Sun Quan did not follow his plan.
The battle
Sometime between 28 April and 27 May, Wu forces attacked Wei at four different locations: Quan Cong attacked the Huai River region and clashed with Wei forces at Quebei (芍陂; south of present-day Shou County, Anhui); Zhuge Ke attacked Lu'an; Zhu Ran and Sun Lun (孫倫) attacked Fancheng (樊城; present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei); Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi attacked Zhazhong (柤中; in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei).
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