After the Shu emperor Liu Bei was defeated by Sun Quan's forces at the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun benefited from his submission to the Wei ruler Cao Pi; who would help Sun in the conflict against Liu Bei. However, on both sides of the two forces, this was never a popular concept, especially in the ranks of Sun Quan, who defeated Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs 14 years ago after resisting surrender. To make matters worse, Cao Pi and his officers were uneasy about Sun's titles and ranks (such as King of Wu) because it was quite inappropriate since they were considered a vassal state under Wei. It was even considered within Sun Quan's forces that the alliance with Wei was futile, because the defeat they caused Liu Bei at Xiaoting was so critical that it meant that their alliance with Wei wa