The Battle of Baxi was fought between the warlords Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

 and Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

 in 215 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

 period of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. Liu Bei's forces, led by Zhang Fei, scored a victory over Cao Cao's army, which was led by Zhang He

Zhang He

Zhang He was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He continued serving the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period until his death....

.

The battle

Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu at the Battle of Yangping

Battle of Yangping

The Battle of Yangping, also known as the Battle of Yangping Pass, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Lu in 215 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle concluded with victory for Cao Cao....

 and conquered Hanzhong

Hanzhong

Hanzhong is a municipality in southwest Shaanxi Province, China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin...

. He stationed Xiahou Yuan

Xiahou Yuan

Xiahou Yuan was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was killed in the Battle of Mount Dingjun against Liu Bei's general Huang Zhong in 219, and was given the posthumous title of Marquis Min , literally meaning "sympathetic...

and Zhang He to defend the Han valley. Zhang He led several battalions from the main army separately south to Baxi, intending to evacuate and relocate civilians to Hanzhong. He advanced to Dangqu, Mengtou, Dangshi and opposed Zhang Fei's army for some 50 days. Zhang Fei directed more than 10,000 elite soldiers through an alternate route to intercept and ambush Zhang He from another direction. In the narrow and treacherous mountain paths, Zhang He's army was unable to assist each other at both ends, Zhang Fei subsequently defeated Zhang He. Zhang He was forced to abandon his horse and escape through the mountainous regions with only dozens of men through a minor path, leading the retreating troops back to Nanzheng. The people of Ba reclaimed their peace.