In the summer of 208 A.D.,
towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the Chancellor, Cao
Cao, leads the imperial army on a campaign to eliminate the southern
warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei, whom he denounces as
"rebels". Emperor Xian reluctantly approves the campaign.
Cao Cao's mighty army swiftly conquers Jing Province. The Battle of
Changban is ignited when Cao Cao's cavalry starts attacking civilians on
an exodus led by Liu Bei. During the battle, Liu Bei's followers, including
his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, give an excellent
display of their combat skills by holding off the enemy while buying time for
the civilians to retreat. The warrior Zhao Yun fights bravely to
rescue Liu Bei's entrapped family but only succeeds in rescuing Liu's infant
son.
Following the battle, Liu Bei's
advisor, Zhuge Liang, goes on a diplomatic mission to Jiangdong to
form an alliance between his lord and Sun Quan against Cao Cao. Sun Quan was
initially in the midst of a dilemma of whether to surrender or fight back, but
his decision to resist Cao Cao hardens after Zhuge Liang's clever persuasion
and a subsequent tiger hunt with his viceroy Zhou Yu and his
sister Sun Shangxiang. Meanwhile, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun,
two naval commanders from Jing Province, pledge allegiance to Cao Cao, who puts
them in command of his navy.
After the hasty formation of the
Sun–Liu alliance, the forces of Liu Bei and Sun Quan call for a meeting to
formulate a plan to counter Cao Cao's army, which is rapidly advancing towards
their base at Red Cliff from both land and water. The battle begins with Sun
Shangxiang leading some riders to lure Cao Cao's vanguard force into the
allies' Bagua Formation. The vanguard force is defeated by the allies but
Cao Cao shows no disappointment and proceeds to lead his main army to the
riverbank directly opposite Red Cliff, where they make camp. While the allies
throw a banquet to celebrate their victory, Zhuge Liang conceives a plan to
send Sun Shangxiang on an espionage mission to Cao Cao's camp. They maintain
contact by sending messages via a pigeon. The film ends with Zhou Yu lighting
his miniaturised battleships on a map based on the battle formation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment