bashing through the flames and smoke. In the rear, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's men set fire to Xiahou Dun's supplies as Han Hao and Xiahou Lan attempted to save the supplies. Xiahou Lan was slain by Zhang Fei while Han Hao fled, along with Li Dian and Yu Jin. The following morning, Xiahou Dun gathered his surviving soldiers and retreated back to Xuchang. After the victory, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei changed their attitudes towards Zhuge Liang and treated him with full respect. Meanwhile, in Xuchang, Xiahou Dun bound himself and met Cao Cao, requesting death as punishment for his defeat, but Cao Cao forgave him and released him. Cao Cao also rewarded Li Dian and Yu Jin for their foresight. Historicity Liu Bei's biography in the Sanguozhi mentioned that Liu Bei resisted Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin at Bowang. He prepared an ambush and set fire to his own camp and pretended to retreat. Xiahou Dun pursued Liu Bei and fell into the ambush and was defeated. Besides, although both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's biographies did not specify the year in which Zhuge Liang joined Liu Bei's forces, Zhuge Liang was mentioned in Liu Bei's biography only after the Battle of Bowang. There was no mention about Zhuge Liang's involvement in the battle. In popular culture The battle provided a basis for many skits in the different types of Chinese opera. For example, it was featured in Cantonese opera and zaju (variety plays). The battle was also featured in many Three Kingdoms-themed video games such as Capcom's Warriors of Fate, Koei's Sangokushi Koumeiden, Sangokushi Sousouden, and Dynasty Warriors 4. The battle is the first stage in Warriors of Fate and Sangokushi Koumeiden. The ancient battleground of Bowang is now designated a county-level heritage, where a stone monument commemorates the battle. Broken halberds and ashes of grains were discovered there, and were archaeologically determined to be from the late Han dynasty. References Chen, Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi). Luo, Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, ch. 39. Pei, Songzhi. Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu). 202 Bowang 202 Military history of Henan 200s conflicts