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Battle of Fan Castle
Fan Castle in Dynasty Warriors 8
Date July ~ September 219
Location Fancheng, Jing Province (present-day Fancheng, Hubei)
Result Wei Pyrrhic Victory; Guan Yu flees to Mai Castle
Forces
Shu Allied Forces
Commanders
Guan Yu Cao Ren
Lu Meng

The Battle of Fan Castle (樊城の戦い, rōmaji: Hanjō no Tatakai) is a battle in which Guan Yu of his own accord and chance, besieged the location, which was being dutifully defended by Cao Ren. A flood aids Guan Yu's attempts to capture the castle, as it devastates the defenders and Wei reinforcements, leading to the death of Pang De and Yu Jin's capture. To defeat Guan Yu and lift the siege, Cao Cao forms an alliance with Sun Quan. The future Wu Emperor attacks Jing province while Guan Yu is preoccupied with the siege, forcing him to flee in defeat.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms dramatizes the earlier aspects of the siege such as the Shu forces flooding the Wei army and how the famed Hua Tuo scraped poison from Guan Yu's arm.

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

In Dynasty Warriors 3, the battle is confined to the inside of the castle walls, with Shu forces controlling the north and eastern walls and Wei maintaining control of the rest. The Allied perspective starts with Sima Yi ordering the army to move out, and after a set amount of time, a flood attack wipes out most of the Wei army, including Pang De and Cao Ren. Guan Yu and Guan Ping attack the main camp using the roofs of sunken houses, while Lu Meng, Lu Xun, and Gan Ning (as well as Sun Ce) appear as reinforcements and work with Xu Huang to push back the Shu army. If the player takes too long to finish the battle, Zhou Cang will arrive, leading to an assault on Sima Yi directly.

In Dynasty Warriors 4, Guan Yu leads his son and Zhou Cang to assault the castle, which is part of the Xiang Yang series of maps. The battle takes place outside of Fan Castle itself via two other forts. After an enemy officer is defeated Jiang Qin of Wu will appear to the west and heads this way towards Mi Fang and Fu Shi Ren to convince them to defect. Regardless if the player stops Jiang Qin or not, the two former officers will betray Guan Yu and try to convince all of the troops to do the same. Once the traitors have been dealt with, More Wu reinforcements arrive led by Lu Meng, Lu Xun, and Zhou Tai. Xu Huang will also appear with more reinforcements. The battle ends when all Wei officers are defeated.

Dynasty Warriors 4 also gives an alternative scenario that pits the Wei forces against Wu in a siege battle, with Wu using catapults to open the north and south gates of Fan Castle and setting up siege rams in the east and west. In Wei's scenario, the player has to destroy all the ramps and catapults in order to raise morale, and once all siege weapons are destroyed, Lu Meng will charge out personally. In Wu's scenario, raiding parties will continuously attack the siege weapons which the player has to protect in order to get into the castle.

In Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, Xu Huang's legend mode details him defending Fan Castle via aiding Cao Ren, successfully repealing the siege weapons, and defeating Guan Yu later on. This version of the stage interestingly cuts out only one portion of Fan Castle while keeping all other elements in tact.

Dynasty Warriors 5 introduces new elements to the battle, such as flood gates, the playable debut of Pang De, and Shu reinforcements led by Zhang Fei. Wei's side of the battle has Cao Ren and the others confined to the northeast of the map in and around Fan Castle, which is surrounded by a large ditch that forms a flood-lake. Guan Ping prepares for the flood attack, and players can assist him if he is defeated in time. Wu forces, led by Lu Meng and Lu Xun, arrive to help corner Guan Yu at his main camp. Zhang Fei appears when the player gets close to Shu's main camp.

Shu's side of the battle has them positioned to the western part of the map while Wei controls the rest. Pang De needs to be defeated for boats to make a path to the castle, and if the player isn't using Guan Yu, he will perish midway through the battle and be replaced by Zhang Fei as commander.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, the battlefield map centers on the castle and its surroundings to the south and west of the castle. The Allies version of the battle starts with Shu forces attacking the west and southern gates of Fan Castle, with Mi Fang and Fu Shi Ren defecting.

In Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, the final battle in the series begins with Xiahou Dun and Sima Yi advancing against their cousins' orders to Xiangyang Castle. They rescue Cao Tai and discover the castle's gates are closed, leading them to attack from a hilltop. Sima Yi realizes Shu's attack was a diversion for the flood attack and advises the player to move north to save Fan Castle from Guan Yu's sons. Working together with Cao Ren and Xu Huang, they prevail over Guan Ping and Guan Suo to end the first half of the battle.

Wu's perspective starts as Lu Xun and Lu Meng covertly capture Gong'an and Jiangling, while Guan Yu leads the main force of Shu Army near Fan Castle. The Wu men manage to get Mi Fang, Xi Zhen, and Pan Jun to join them, but two enemy messengers flee the castle. A supply convey causes the garrison gates to open, defeating Guan Xing and Guan Suo.

Lu Meng moves to relieve Xiangyang and the outer part of Fan Castle with Gan Ning. Ma Chao appears charging directly for Cao Ren, but is intercepted by Xu Huang of Wei. Guan Xing reappears to retake the Eastern Bank Garrison and closes its doors, while Guan Yu's is spotted north of Jiangling Castle.

Shu's side of the fight starts with Guan Yu leading the charge against Xiangyang Castle with his sons. After securing reinforcements and the Castle, an enemy assault unit targets the Western Bank Garrison, and Guan Yu opens the floodgates around Fan Castle. Lu Meng volunteers to stay behind and distract the enemy, but Guan Suo is killed in the ambush.

In Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, players must rescue trapped officers and get them to higher ground before the flood attack.

In Wei's scenario this battle marks the final stage for the historical path in Dynasty Warriors 8. Pang De immediately leaves the castle with a coffin, despite Cao Ren's objections and makes out to fight Guan Yu. Meanwhile reinforcements led by Cao Pi, Xiahou Dun, and Xu Huang (and possibly Xiahou Yuan, if he survives the battle at Mt. Dingjun) appear to assist Cao Ren. Together they first stop the Shu forces in the center, prevent a mutiny by Yu Jin, Hu Xiu and Fu Fang, and rush to the floodgates to stop Guan Ping from initiating the flood. Wu reinforcements arrive, the chase for Guan Yu begins and he is eventually slain. Depending on events, Pang De may either be killed by Guan Yu or live to participate in the chase. There is a glitch in the game if Pang De is among those chasing Guan Yu; the final quote from the cutscene will always be in Japanese even if the voices are set to English.

Wu's scenario has Lu Meng, Lu Xun, and Lianshi attack Shu's rear flank while fighting they're fighting Wei. Though they make short work of Guan Yinping and force Mi Fang and Fu Shiren defect, Pang De is killed and Guan Ping attempts to attack the floodgates. After Guan Yu is defeated, he escapes the first onslaught. Arbalests are set up near Guan Yu's camp as a defense. If any of the arbalests gets a shot into Lu Meng, he will be injured and die at the battle's end. Wu forces will continue the chase until he is finally slain after the defeat of his sons and the reinforcements from Hanzhong. If Lu Meng doesn't get injured by the arbalests, he will survive his illness and participate at the battle of Yiling.

Shu's path has Guan Yu already take the castle, but besieged by the Wei defenders and their new reinforcements. As Guan Yu first moves out, Pang De immediately launches a flood attack, which not only wipes out many defenders but also keeps Ma Chao's reinforcements at bay allowing a prolonged chase for Guan Yu. Shortly after the flood, Guan Ping volunteers to stay behind and stall for time but dies defending Fan Castle. Wu forces led by both Lu Meng and Lu Xun appear to block Guan Yu's retreat and redirect his path. Mi Fang and Fu Shiren betray Guan Yu and his reinforcements are unable to move thanks to the flood. Xu Huang then ambushes Guan Yu, attacking him with ballistae. Guan Yu manages to defeat Xiahou Dun, Sima Yi and Cao Ren but is finally cornered after Lu Meng and Lu Xun catch up to them.

In the hypothetical path, Xu Shu's intervention and insight sees through many of the enemy's plans. He takes over the flood gates before Pang De can arrive and stops the initial flood, causing the latter's defeat in the battle. After subduing the main frontlines of Wei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, and Pang Tong all arrive. Xu Shu then installs ballistae, effectively stopping any enemy that arrives. Lu Meng defies Lu Su's orders and leads an attack on Shu, only to be blunted by Yellow Turban reinforcements allied with Shu led by Zhang Jiao. Wei reinforcements led by Xiahou Dun and Sima Yi attempt to restart the flood attack but are defeated. Eventually Cao Ren attempts to make one final push towards Fan Castle but is defeated and forced to flee.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, a new scenario is given, this time for the Wei forces holed up in the castle. Yu Jin and Pang De first rally up the defenses of Fan Castle in order to defend against both Wu and Shu armies. Reinforcement led by Ma Dai, coming from Hanzhong arrive to also assist the assault unit. Yu Jin then decides to lure only the Wu assault force into the castle in order to aggravate suspicions between Guan Yu and Wu, and furthers this by severing Guan Yu's messengers. The Wei forces then flood the castle containing the Wu soldiers, causing a retreat from both Lu Xun and Lu Meng. Together with the reinforcements led by Xu Huang, Guan Yu is soon defeated afterwards. If no significant casualties occur to the Wei forces, "Pacification of Jing Province" will be unlocked, otherwise Guan Yu will be slain in this battle. In the coalition's side of the battle, the Wu forces have already been lured into the castle, and must be rescued in order to pursue the flood attack. When the Wu forces successfully evacuate, Guan Ping moves out to take the floodgates back from Pang De. After the Shu forces flood the castle, Yu Jin and Cao Ren order a charge. Defeating Pang De, Yu Jin, and Cao Ren will end the stage in victory.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, Fan Castle serves as a full-fledged castle and city, with numerous shops and treasure chests within the castle walls. Over the course of the game's Story Mode, Fan Castle is held numerous times by the Three Kingdoms at different points in the chapters. Early on, Shu maintains control of the castle while Liu Bei is supporting Liu Biao in defending Jing Province against invasion by Cao Cao. Later, the famed battle for the castle takes place, where Guan Yu, aided by his children and loyal follower and former Yellow Turban Zhou Cang, flood the castle to drive out Cao Ren and his Wei forces stationed there, capturing Pang De, and Yu Jin surrendering as well. However, this was a trap, as Wei reinforcements led by Xu Huang and Wu reinforcements led by Lu Meng attack Guan Yu, forcing him to take his children and Zhou Cang to flee back to Mai Castle. However, with the Wei-Wu joint forces closing in, Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Zhou Cang bravely face them to give Guan Xing, Guan Suo, and Guan Yinping time to flee back to Chengdu in Yi Province and the safety of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, resulting in their deaths, and Fan Castle being reclaimed by Wei, or handed over to Wu as thanks for helping take down Guan Yu as Wu had been wanting to take back Jing Province for some time now, and when Shu continued to stall, Wu was forced to take it back by force by making a secret alliance with Wei, especially after the passing of Lu Su, who had been acting as mediator between Guan Yu and Sun Quan, allowing Lu Meng to succeed him and decide that Guan Yu had to be eliminated by force to take back Jing.

Warriors Orochi[]

In Warriors Orochi, Hideyoshi and Nobunaga attack an exhausted Orochi army after their victory in Nagashino.

In the sequel, Hideyoshi, Nobunaga and Ieyasu share a dream stage where they combine their might to face Sun Quan, Cao Cao and Liu Bei in a friendly competition. There is a glitch in this version which allows players to surpass the boundaries of an exit, and secretly attack the Main Camp by going behind the castle and back through an entrance again. The scene of victorious is the same as Ōsaka Castle for Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Quan finally have a honour to fight alongside Nobunaga armies.

In the third game, the Wei army blocks the coalition's path to Chengdu, intending on eliminating all those who serve Da Ji. Aya, Guan Yu, and Tadakatsu aid Ma Chao in fending off against the Wei forces. After the coalition explains why they need Da Ji because of Kaguya, Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and Nu Wa join them. After pacifying Luo Castle in the past, Sima Yi returns to Fan Castle with Aya, Zhao Yun, and Toshiie to ensure that Guo Jia joins them.

This serves as the second part of the midquel DLC stage, "The Rise of Kiyomori".

In Warriors Orochi 4 after a showdown between Liu Bei and Nobunaga at Honnōji, the Oda army continue to join their cause. The first part is for Guan Yinping, Yukimura, Nu Wa, Nezha and Perseus to find Kenshin and Kanetsugu. When they finish to wipe out of Wei's forces, Nu Wa and Nezha begins to fight Athena, Ares and the diviners Zhao Yun and Cao Pi until Susano'o arrive and assist them. Nu Wa asks for Yukimura, Guan Yinping and Perseus to reach the escape point. With the enemy ambush of Toyotomi's army led by Mitsunari blocking their path to escape point, no fear that Guan Yinping also defeat Toyotomi armies.

The second part begins with Seimei Abe's army, surrounding Ma Chao, Sima Zhao and Hanbei. But Ma Chao asking to defend the castle and ensure Guan Xing and Zhang Bao arrive. When its done, Athena come just in time to assist Ma Chao and allies, as well for Wang Yi. And without any fear, Athena and allies manage to defeat Seimei.

Kessen[]

Historical Information[]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

Guan Yu, stationed in Jing province, aimed to drive Wei out of Jing by laying siege to the Wei stronghold at Fan Castle. Mi Fang and Fu Shiren were flogged as punishment and were relegated to defend the outposts at Gong'an and Nanjun. Guan Yu initially drove out Cao Ren from Xiangyang, but he refused to add extra security or allow Zhao Lei to defend the area over Pan Jun.

After the fall of Xiangyang, Cao Cao scrambled seven armies led by Yu Jin and Pang De to help Cao Ren. Pang De dueld Guan Yu twice, wounding him with an arrow shot. Guan Yu refused to be beaten and used heavy rains to flood the seven armies, leading to Yu Jin's surrender and Pang De's execution.

Guan Yu led the assault, but an arrow filled with poison hit his arm, causing him to risk an amputation. Hua Tuo treated Guan Yu lightly and advised him not to exert himself or get angry. Guan Yu delegated control of the siege to Liao Hua and Guan Ping.

Lu Meng bypassed Jingzhou's defenses, and Cao Cao prepared a second detachment of reinforcements led by Xu Huang. Guan Yu duelled Xu Huang but was forced to retire due to his arm injury. He was informed that Jing had been lost, and he fled for Maicheng, where he met his end at the hands of the Wu forces.

Gallery[]

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