Bamboo Scroll竹簡 Ep. 6 · The City and the Ford
At first light an armoured general with a halberd leads a wedge of riders out of the gate of Hefei against a vast encamped army under banners, 215 CE
Bamboo Scroll · Three Kingdoms · Episode 6

The City and the Ford

Hefei, 215 CE — Sun Quan brought a kingdom's strength against one northern city; a sealed letter, eight hundred picked men at dawn, and one broken bridge decided what the river kept.
16 panels~6 min read free to readevery line sourced
Panel 01: Autumn, 215 CE. The master of the north was far away in the western mountains. At Hefei three generals held seven thousand men — and a sealed letter that said: open when the enemy comes. In the south, Sun Quan was already moving.
Autumn, 215 CE. The master of the north was far away in the western mountains. At Hefei three generals held seven thousand men — and a sealed letter that said: open when the enemy comes. In the south, Sun Quan was already moving.
Panel 02: It began with a letter. Before marching west against Zhang Lu, Cao Cao left orders with the army's protector, Xue Ti, marked on the edge of the envelope: open when the bandits arrive.
It began with a letter. Before marching west against Zhang Lu, Cao Cao left orders with the army's protector, Xue Ti, marked on the edge of the envelope: open when the bandits arrive.
Panel 03: In the eighth month Sun Quan came in person against Hefei. The histories say a hundred thousand men — the number is the shape of a kingdom's strength, not a count.
In the eighth month Sun Quan came in person against Hefei. The histories say a hundred thousand men — the number is the shape of a kingdom's strength, not a count.
Panel 04: What stood between that army and the Huai was one old walled city, some seven thousand men, and three generals: Zhang Liao, Li Dian and Yue Jin. Between two of them there was blood.
What stood between that army and the Huai was one old walled city, some seven thousand men, and three generals: Zhang Liao, Li Dian and Yue Jin. Between two of them there was blood.
Panel 05: When the Wu army closed around the city they broke the seal. If Sun Quan comes, the letter said, Generals Zhang and Li go out and fight; General Yue holds the city; the protector takes no part in the battle. The generals looked at one another and hesitated — the letter asked men who did not trust each other to act as one body.
When the Wu army closed around the city they broke the seal. If Sun Quan comes, the letter said, Generals Zhang and Li go out and fight; General Yue holds the city; the protector takes no part in the battle. The generals looked at one another and hesitated — the letter asked men who did not trust each other to act as one body.
Panel 06: Then Li Dian stood up. There was blood between him and Zhang Liao — an old killing that neither had forgotten. This is the state's business, he said. May I forget the public duty for a private wrong? He went out with him.
Then Li Dian stood up. There was blood between him and Zhang Liao — an old killing that neither had forgotten. This is the state's business, he said. May I forget the public duty for a private wrong? He went out with him.
Panel 07: That night Zhang Liao sent through the ranks for men willing to die. By morning eight hundred stood answered.
That night Zhang Liao sent through the ranks for men willing to die. By morning eight hundred stood answered.
Panel 08: At first light the gates opened. Zhang Liao, in armour, with a halberd, rode at their head, broke into the Wu camp, cut down two of its generals, shouted his own name aloud — and went straight for Sun Quan's standard.
At first light the gates opened. Zhang Liao, in armour, with a halberd, rode at their head, broke into the Wu camp, cut down two of its generals, shouted his own name aloud — and went straight for Sun Quan's standard.
Panel 09: The lord of Wu climbed a high mound and stood there with a long halberd in his own hands. Zhang Liao called up to him to come down and fight. Sun Quan did not dare to move.
The lord of Wu climbed a high mound and stood there with a long halberd in his own hands. Zhang Liao called up to him to come down and fight. Sun Quan did not dare to move.
Panel 10: The Wu army closed around the eight hundred in ring after ring. Zhang Liao broke through and came out with a few dozen riders. From inside the circle the men he left called after him: General, will you abandon us? He turned his horse and went back in.
The Wu army closed around the eight hundred in ring after ring. Zhang Liao broke through and came out with a few dozen riders. From inside the circle the men he left called after him: General, will you abandon us? He turned his horse and went back in.
Panel 11: The fight ran from dawn to noon. The walls still stood, the sortie was home, and the Wu army had lost its stomach for the siege in a single morning.
The fight ran from dawn to noon. The walls still stood, the sortie was home, and the Wu army had lost its stomach for the siege in a single morning.
Panel 12: Sun Quan stayed ten days and more before the walls. They did not come down; the army wore itself against them. The order went out to turn south.
Sun Quan stayed ten days and more before the walls. They did not come down; the army wore itself against them. The order went out to turn south.
Panel 13: The army was already on the road home when the king came last to Xiaoyao Ford, north of the water, with only Gan Ning, Ling Tong and a small escort around him. From the walls Zhang Liao saw how thin the rearguard was, and came out.
The army was already on the road home when the king came last to Xiaoyao Ford, north of the water, with only Gan Ning, Ling Tong and a small escort around him. From the walls Zhang Liao saw how thin the rearguard was, and came out.
Panel 14: At the water the bridge's southern span had been pulled away — a zhang and more of empty air between the horse and the far bank. Sun Quan's servant Gu Li laid on the whip from behind; the horse gathered itself and jumped. The king of Wu landed on the southern bank.
At the water the bridge's southern span had been pulled away — a zhang and more of empty air between the horse and the far bank. Sun Quan's servant Gu Li laid on the whip from behind; the horse gathered itself and jumped. The king of Wu landed on the southern bank.
Panel 15: Behind him Ling Tong stayed with his hundred closest men, and all of them died around him while Sun Quan reached the bridge. When he knew the king was across, Ling Tong went into the water in full armour and swam back alone. Gan Ning had held the road with his bow. Sun Quan wept when Ling Tong came aboard.
Behind him Ling Tong stayed with his hundred closest men, and all of them died around him while Sun Quan reached the bridge. When he knew the king was across, Ling Tong went into the water in full armour and swam back alone. Gan Ning had held the road with his bow. Sun Quan wept when Ling Tong came aboard.
Panel 16: The next year Cao Cao came south again and walked Zhang Liao's battlefield at Hefei in person, and stood sighing a long while. Farther south the name had gone ahead of the man: in Wu, when a child would not stop crying, its mother had only to say — Zhang Liao is coming.
The next year Cao Cao came south again and walked Zhang Liao's battlefield at Hefei in person, and stood sighing a long while. Farther south the name had gone ahead of the man: in Wu, when a child would not stop crying, its mother had only to say — Zhang Liao is coming.

In this episode

The people who carried this year. The sources disagree about almost everything else.

Portrait of Sun Quan
Sun Quan孫權
182–252 CE
Brought a kingdom's army to Hefei in person, was blunted by a dawn sortie, and left the north bank of Xiaoyao Ford at his horse's one leap.
Portrait of Zhang Liao
Zhang Liao張遼
169–222 CE
Defender of Hefei. Read the sealed letter, picked eight hundred men who dared to die, and rode at their head to the king's banner. In Wu, his name quieted crying children.
Portrait of Li Dian
Li Dian李典
c. 180–215 CE
A scholarly general with a blood feud against Zhang Liao. On the morning that mattered he set it aside: public duty first, private wrong second.
Portrait of Yue Jin
Yue Jin樂進
d. 218 CE
Third general of the garrison, small of build and first over every wall. The sealed letter gave him the quieter half of the plan: hold the city.
Portrait of Ling Tong
Ling Tong凌統
189–217 CE
At the ford he spent his last hundred men to buy Sun Quan one leap of a horse, and swam back alone in full armour. Died two years later, aged twenty-nine.

Myth Check

The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a masterpiece — and not a source. Where its famous scenes depart from the histories, we leave them out of the story and put them here.

The story you may know

Eight hundred against a hundred thousand — the whole garrison against the whole army.

What the sources say

Both numbers are the sources' claims, not counts. A hundred thousand is the strength given for Sun Quan's army and repeated in a later Wei edict; eight hundred is only the picked sortie force, the edge of a garrison the Zizhi Tongjian puts at rather more than seven thousand. The arithmetic is a verdict, not a muster roll.

Sanguozhi, Wei shu 17 (with the Wei edict); Zizhi Tongjian, scroll 67
The story you may know

Hefei's three defenders all charged out of the gate together.

What the sources say

Cao Cao's sealed letter divided them: Generals Zhang and Li go out and fight, General Yue holds the city, and the protector takes no part in the battle. The sortie was Zhang Liao's and Li Dian's; Yue Jin's battle was the wall.

Sanguozhi, Wei shu 17, Biography of Zhang Liao
The story you may know

Sun Quan flew the broken bridge on a miracle horse.

What the sources say

The sources make it smaller and more human: the planks of the southern span had been pulled, a zhang and more of bridge still stood, and a servant named Gu Li whipped the horse from behind so it could clear the gap. The leap was paid for by Ling Tong's hundred men, who died on the north bank.

Zizhi Tongjian, scroll 67; Sanguozhi, Wu shu 10, Biography of Ling Tong
The story you may know

The story that Zhang Liao's name quieted crying children is a folk invention of later ages.

What the sources say

It is in the official history itself: Chen Shou closes the account of the battle by noting that in Wu, when children would not stop crying, their parents frightened them with Zhang Liao's name, and they were quiet.

Sanguozhi, Wei shu 17, Biography of Zhang Liao

Sources

Every caption and quotation in this episode traces to one of these. Where scholars disagree, the panel says so.

Next

Before this: Episode 5 · The Pass and the River (Tong Pass, 211 CE). Next: Episode 7 · The Heights Above the River (Hanzhong, 217–219 CE). Or meet the cast, or read the chronology of the age.