Sun Quan's forces attempted to conquer Jiangxia Commandery (present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei), which was defended by Liu Biao's general, Huang Zu.
By 203, Sun Quan had achieved a stable control over his territories in Jiangdong, so he set into motion a strategy proposed by his advisor, Lu Su.
According to the plan, Sun Quan would take Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), governed by Liu Biao, and take control of all the lands in southern China, then use the Yangtze River as a natural barrier to defend against invading forces from the north.
[5] When Huang Zu's soldiers saw their commander fleeing towards their home base, they started to desert their posts and scrambled to retreat, resulting in a total collapse of the naval formation.
Unable to breach Jiangxia's walls, Sun Quan soon withdrew his troops to Jiangdong to deal with the Shanyue tribes who constantly raided his lands.
[8] Gan Ning then heeded the advice of his comrade, Su Fei (蘇飛), to defect to Sun Quan's side, bringing along with him confidential intelligence on Huang Zu's forces.