Battle at Xiaopei

Battle at Xiaopei was an event that occurred in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.

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, predicts Zero's plan of action, that the Black Knights might use to escape with Empress Tianzi, to the High Eunuchs. Impressed by his thinking, they agree to release Xingke and core members of his rebel group if they help rescue the Empress, and Xingke is offered 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 (the 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. Kyoshiro Tohdoh asked whether or not they can deploy the Zangetsu as well, but was unable to because the Glide Pack 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) had fallen into enemy hands. Diethard Reid suggested that the Indian forces may have "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. Just as she tries to attack, Kallen's Guren shuts down as it was not recharged earlier. Wrapping the Guren entirely, Xingke once again demanded that the Empress be returned in exchange for Kallen. Asahina and Chiba attempt to cut Kallen free, but are held off when Xingke aims his machine's sword towards Kallen's cockpit. At that moment, 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' offensive was only an improvised one (their chain of command all focused on Zero), but that their Knightmares were superior to their own, so 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 Tohdoh in the Zangetsu flying to intercept him. Seeing this, Li Xingke deployed his unit of Gun-Rus (also known as the ' Dragon Cavalry' 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 (backed 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, thinking that it would not be enough hold down his forces. However, he was proven wrong, and a vast majority of his forces were bogged down in heavy mud. As Zhou Xianglin stated, their battlefield was held on reclaimed irrigation land. Due to its poor construction, the materials melted into mud thanks to the water. 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 strength to be on the same level as him and Suzaku respectively. The Ikaruga then used its Hadron Cannons, salvaged from the Gawain and modified by Rakshata, to destroy a large number of Gun-Rus, and Tohdoh is ordered to 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 prisoner. 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). Xingke cursed the Eunuchs as fools, knowing that the Avalon was lead by the one who'd conquered half of the EU: Schneizel. Knowing that the situation was grim, Zero told Diethard to get their little plan ready as soon as possible, since time is of the essence, and they braced themselves for the next power struggle.