Battle at Xiaopei

Prelude to Battle
After the Black Knights success at the Skirmish at Zhengzhou, they set up a resting place near the ancient city of Xiaopei where they can refuel their Knightmares and hope to join up with the Indian forces at Horai Island. Meanwhile, Li Xingke, leader of the Chinese rebellion, stated the course of plan, that the Black Knights might use to escape with Empress Tianzi, to the High Eunuchs. Impressed by his thinking, they were willing to let Xingke and core members of his rebel group go if they help rescue the Empress, and offered Xingke a new weapon (the Shen Hu) to chase after them. At the same time, Suzaku Kururugi asked whether or not he could go after the Black Knights once his Lancelot Conquista's float unit has been fixed, but was told that they (Britannian Armed Forces) could only go after them if requested by the High Eunuchs themselves.

Intense battle
Xingke and the Shen Hu struck first, taking out 11 Akatsuki units with little to no effort and repelled Chiba Nagisa's Akatsuki Command Model Zikisan. He then demanded that in return for the Empress, he would spare their lives. Kallen Kozuki and her Guren Flight-Enabled Version quickly engaged the Shen Hu with equal results. Kyoshiro Tohdoh asked whether or not they can deploy the Zangetsu as well, but was unable to because the float system has been taken off (and that it would take a while to put it back on). Rakshata Chawla and her team of scientists were stunned that their Shen Hu (which was the "brother counterpart" to the Guren) fell into enemy and Diethard Reid suggested that the Indian forces may "split against them." Meanwhile, the Shen Hu caught the Guren and tried to electrify it, but it was blocked as the Guren attempts to incinerate the opposing Knightmare. Short of doing so, Kallen found out that the Guren was not fully recharged and that the Radiation Wave Surger ran out of ammo. Wrapping the Guren entirely, Xingke once again demanded that the Empress be returned in exchange for Kallen. Asahina Shogo (this name is said backward) and Chiba Nagisa attempts to cut Kallen free (which could have been possible since Xingke is held tight with holding the Guren and don't have much of a weapon to stop his enemies), but was stopped when the huge Chinese Federation forces arrived and started firing, forcing the Black Knights to be bogged down in trenches while fighting back against uneven odds.

Diethard suggested that Kallen Kozuki (who is the Black Knights' Ace pilot) is merely a single casualty (as a prisoner) and that they shouldn't risk further casualties to bring her back, and that Zero should move on with the plan that they had beforehand. However, Zero postponed his original plan and set a "crane-wing" (see ) battle formation to rescue Kallen. As the second phase of the battle was about to begin, Xingke stated to his forces that the Black Knights' forces was only an improvised one (that their chain of command all focused on Zero), but that their Knightmares were superior to their own (he suggested that his Shen Hu should be sent to the front line and break through). WIth this, the Shen Hu flew into battle with the Zangetsu flying towards it and engages it in battle. Seeing this, Li XIngke deployed his unit of Gun-Rus (also known as the 'Dragon Calvalry' unit) and had them charge in, using their strength in numbers and longer firing range, to attack the forward formation of bazooka-wielding Akatsukis. They succeeded in breaking through the formation. Zero then ordered that the formation (back up by units lead by Chiba and Asahina) should surround and destroy Xingke's unit from all sides, as the Ikaruga provides covering fire. Zero deployed more Akatsuki units to assist in Xingke's unit's destruction.

It worked at first, however, but Xingke had the levels of a nearby dam lowered to flood parts of the battlefield. Zero was confidant because he initially lowered the amount of water pouring into the field before the battle started and that it would not be enough hold down his forces. However, he was proven wrong (as Zhou Xianglin stated) and a vast majority of his forces were bogged down in heavy mud. As the Chinese forces were prepared to finish the Black Knights off, Tohdoh along with a few others temporarily held them back. This is when Xingke had the High Eunuchs deploy the vast majority of their Gun-Rus into battle and to concentrate all fire on the Ikaruga's engine rooms, knowing well that the ship's shields wouldn't hold out forever. Knowing that they wouldn't survive for much longer, Zero orders a retreat, acknowledging Xingke's strategic mind and heroism to be on the same level as him and Suzaku respectively, as the Ikaruga use the Gawain's Hadron Cannons to destroy a large number of Gun-Rus, and that Tohdoh and the others should help the rest of their forces back on solid ground as the Ikaruga would lead the enemies away. The Black Knights would then hide within the 'Mausoleum of Eighty-Eight Emperors' (located near the coast of the East China Sea) until the time is right to strike back.

Conclusion
Assuming that the Chinese Federation wouldn't attack them while inside a sacred mausoleum, the Black Knights felt safe for now. However, the High Eunuchs turned against the Chinese rebels (the Longdan actually fired on Xingke and his followers to get their attention) and took Lady Zhou Xianglin and the rest of XIngke's followers within the Longdan prisoners. The High Eunuchs stated they don't need their help anymore and that they have more powerful assistance now (the screen afterwards showed the Britannian floating battleship/carrier Avalon, as well as the Tristan and the Mordred entering the next battle). Knowing that the situation looks grim, Zero told Diethard to get their little plan ready as soon as possible, since time is of the essence, as they braced themselves for the next power struggle.

Reference

 * When Shen Hu Wins Glory