Breaking the Siege of Fancheng, Beating Guan Yu
With Guan Yu’s drowning of the seven armies shaking the realm and Fancheng in peril, Cao Cao sent Xu Huang to the rescue. Xu Huang feigned an attack on the outer ring of Guan Yu’s camp while secretly digging trenches to cut off his retreat, then struck hard; Guan Yu’s army, caught off guard, fell into disorder and was forced to lift the siege of Fancheng and withdraw. Cao Cao praised the battle: "this is my Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai," ranking him with the founding Han generals — a battle that directly turned the balance of Guan Yu’s northern campaign.