| Battle of Jiameng Pass | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 葭萌關之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 葭萌关之战 | ||||||
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The Battle of Jiameng Pass is a fictional battle described in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The battle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Zhang Lu in 214 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The highlight of the battle is the duel between the generals Zhang Fei and Ma Chao, who respectively served Liu Bei and Zhang Lu.
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In 211, Ma Chao attacked the warlord Cao Cao after the latter lured his father (Ma Teng) and brothers (Ma Xiu and Ma Tie) into a trap and killed them. This led to the Battle of Tong Pass between Ma Chao and Cao Cao. However, Ma Chao was defeated and forced to take refuge under the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.
In 212, Liu Zhang invited Liu Bei into Yi Province (covering the Sichuan Basin) to help him defend against Zhang Lu's forces in Hanzhong. LIu Bei proceeded to Jiameng Pass (located about 20 km northeast of Jianmen Pass in present-day Jiange County, Sichuan) and stationed there. However, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang eventually turned hostile towards each other when Liu Zhang discovered that his follower Zhang Song had been plotting with Liu Bei to seize Yi Province from him.
Liu Zhang formed an alliance with Zhang Lu against Liu Bei. Zhang Lu sent Ma Chao to lead an army to attack Liu Bei at Jiameng Pass. There, Ma Chao encountered Liu Bei's sworn brother Zhang Fei and dueled with him. After engaging each other in two long separate fights, neither Zhang Fei nor Ma Chao was able to gain an advantage over his opponent, and they retreated back to their respective camps. Liu Bei did not want either his sworn brother or Ma Chao to get hurt, so he consulted his advisor Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang suggested that a mighty general like Ma Chao would be of great help to them if he was willing to serve Liu Bei. Hence, Liu Bei sent Li Hui to persuade Ma Chao to switch allegiance to him. Concurrently, Liu Bei also sent people to spread negative rumours about Ma Chao in Hanzhong, causing Zhang Lu to become suspicious of Ma Chao. Ma Chao heard that Zhang Lu was starting to doubt his loyalty and planned to defect to Liu Bei, especially since Liu Bei was a rival of his sworn enemy, Cao Cao.
At that time, Liu Bei was besieging Liu Zhang in his capital city of Chengdu, when he received Ma Chao's request to serve him. Liu Bei was pleased and eagerly accepted Ma Chao's assistance, and sent troops and supplies to Ma's camp. Following that, Ma Chao led his army to attack Chengdu from the north. Liu Zhang was shocked because he did not expect Ma Chao to make such a move. Shortly later, Liu Bei's advisor Jian Yong managed to convince Liu Zhang to surrender, and Yi Province came under Liu Bei's control. Liu Bei later granted Ma Chao the rank of General Who Subdues the West for his contributions.
In Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, Ma Chao's legend, Battle of Jia Meng Gate (Jiameng Pass) is much different from the novelization. The backstory of this battle is that Ma Chao has defected from Liu Zhang and joined Liu Bei. However, the other four Tiger Generals (Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Huang Zhong) are not pleased with all the attention Ma Chao has been getting. In an effort to prove their worth, a challenge is issued where each general is to defeat as many enemy soldiers as possible. The player must defeat more soldiers than the other four generals to win.
The Battle of Jiameng Pass is reenacted in Koei's video game Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends. If the player meets the necessary requirements, then Zhuge Liang forces Ma Chao to defect to Shu.