The Battle of Tong Pass, also known as the Battle of Weinan,[b] was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and a coalition of forces from Guanxi (west of Tong Pass) between April and November 211[a] in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the warlord Ma Teng commanded a sizable army in the northwestern frontiers of China that threatened the North China Plain under the dominion of Cao Cao.
Around April 211, Cao Cao ordered Zhong Yao to lead an army against the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery and sent Xiahou Yuan at the head of another force from Hedong Commandery to support Zhong Yao.
[4] The warlords included Hou Xuan (侯選), Cheng Yin (程銀), Yang Qiu, Li Kan (李堪), Zhang Heng (張橫), Liang Xing (梁興), Cheng Yi (成宜), and Ma Wan (馬玩).
The coalition comprised a mixture of Han Chinese, Qiang, and Hu soldiers.
[citation needed] Some of his subordinates advised him: "The Guanxi soldiers are warlike and they specialise in using long spears.
"[6] Upon reaching Tong Pass, Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang and Zhu Ling to lead their units across the Wei River via Puban Ford (蒲阪津) at night and set up a camp on the west bank.
Ding Fei (丁斐), a colonel under Cao Cao, had released the cattle and horses to distract the enemy, so the Guanxi soldiers immediately gave up on attacking and started to seize whatever livestock they could lay their hands on.
His forces crossed the river that night and built camps on the south bank.
[13] The fifth-century historian Pei Songzhi commented that the Wei Shu stated that Cao Cao's army reached Tong Pass in late August or September 211, and crossed the Wei River to the north bank in late September or October.
[18] In late November or December 211, Cao Cao led an army from Chang'an to attack Yang Qiu and his forces besieged Anding Commandery (安定郡; around present-day Pingliang, Gansu).
Cao Cao pursued him to Anding Commandery but gave up on the pursuit after two months and headed back to Ye (in present-day Handan, Hebei) upon receiving news about unrest in northern China.
[24] Ma Chao fled to Hanzhong, where he borrowed troops from the warlord Zhang Lu, and returned to attack those who drove him out of Guanzhong.
If I went to the east bank, they would definitely increase their defences at the fords and we wouldn't be able to cross over to the west.
Hence, I chose to deploy our forces at Tong Pass so that the rebels would concentrate their defences on the south bank and lower their guard in the west.
The rebels were unable to fight for control of the west bank with us because our two generals had already occupied the area.
When I gave orders for our carts to be linked together, wooden fences to be erected as defensive structures, and for our army to head south along the riverbank, I knew that we couldn't win then so I decided to display our weakness to the enemy.
As such, the rebels didn't attack our walls and instead requested to cede territories in exchange for peace.
When we attacked, it was indeed a case of 'a sudden crash of thunder leaves no time for one to cover his ears'.
If the rebels garrisoned at the various strategic locations and we attack (all those places one by one), it would take a year or two to defeat all of them.
They may have had superiority in numbers, but they were very disunited and they lacked a suitable leader, so they could be defeated in one strike.
Xu Chu removed his upper garments, fighting topless against Ma Chao both on horseback and on foot.
Han Sui lost his left arm during the fight and narrowly escaped under the protection of his subordinates.
Ma Chao fled to join the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong after his defeat.
[29][30] The Dianlue stated that around a year after Ma Chao rebelled, Emperor Xian issued an imperial decree to Cao Cao, ordering him to have Ma Chao's entire family executed.
Besides, the generals Cheng Yi, Li Kan, Yang Qiu, and others were not subordinates of Han Sui, but rather, independent members who joined Ma Chao's alliance.
[35][36][37] The Battle of Tong Pass is one of the playable stages in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors.