In the allied camp, Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu congratulated each other on having completed their respective missions. They were discussing their plans to launch an attack on Cao Cao's army, saying that Cao Cao would be angered after being fooled and would attack them within the next couple of days. At that moment, Sun Shangxiang returned from Cao Cao's camp after she managed to escape when her identity as a spy was uncovered, with the help of Sun Shucai. She had secretly noted down details of the conditions and formation of Cao Cao's army on a long piece of cloth which she wore on her body. Now that the East Wu forces were updated with information on Cao Cao's army, they planned their next move, which was to attack the enemy using fire. However, Zhou Yu realised that the North-West Wind was blowing at the moment, which was to their disadvantage if they were to attack using fire. Zhuge Liang then mentioned that he knew that it was possible for the wind to change direction and the South-East Wind would blow, but now that Cai Mao had been executed, no one else in Cao Cao's army knew about this special climatic condition.
In the meantime, Cao Cao was also planning to use fire to attack the East Wu army. Cao Cao personally inspected his troops and those who had been infected with plague. He made a speech and rallied the morale of his troops, such that even those who had fallen ill all stood up and cheered 'Victory!'. While in East Wu's camp, Zhou Yu and his generals were busy preparing fire-based weapons which can be ignited and hurled towards the enemy. Huang Gai proposed to Zhou Yu that he feign surrender to Cao Cao, so that their chances of victory would be higher. He wanted Zhou Yu to have him flogged severely with any excuse of breaking military law, but Zhou Yu did not heed his suggestion and said that he would not treat a good general in that manner. Before the battle, the forces of East Wu had a final moment together, feasting on glutinous rice balls to celebrate the Winter Festival. As for Liu Bei's forces, Liu Bei's subordinates were unhappy with him for leaving the alliance and gave him the cold shoulder, before picking up their weapons and leaving.
Zhou Yu learnt that his wife Xiao Qiao had secretly left the camp and travelled alone to Cao Cao's camp. Sun Quan told Zhou Yu that he would order a small army to encircle Cao Cao's camp and break in from behind to rescue Xiao Qiao but Zhou Yu refused, saying that the army must be united as one. Xiao Qiao journeyed to Cao Cao's camp alone and was received by a happy Cao Cao. She attempted to persuade Cao Cao to give up his ambition to conquer East Wu, for the sake of the common people and spare them of further bloodshed, but Cao Cao ignored her. She threatened to commit suicide but Cao Cao stopped her. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang had returned to Liu Bei's camp and it was revealed that Liu Bei's departure from the alliance was in fact a ruse to put Cao Cao off guard. They were still part of the alliance. Xiao Qiao distracted Cao Cao by asking him to taste the tea she had prepared and she had a long chat with him on the art of tea to hold his attention while the allied forces were making plans for the fire attack which would be carried out at night.
The signal arrived when the South-East Wind started to blow and the allied forces launched their full attack on Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao was taken by surprise and he was suddenly seized with a headache. The smaller boats of East Wu burst into flames as they neared Cao Cao's naval forces and crashed into the larger battleships, setting them alight as well and the flames started to spread throughout Cao Cao's navy. On another front of the battleground, Liu Bei's forces started to launch their attacks on Cao Cao's forts. After the battleships had been set aflame, the allied forces launched a full-scale attack on Cao Cao's camp. A bloody battle ensued shortly after in which both sides suffered heavy casualties. Gan Xing of East Wu was wounded during the battle when hit by arrows and he decided to launch a kamikaze-style attack during his final moments by grabbing a bunch of explosives and throwing himself at the gates of the enemy fort, blowing up the gates as well as himself.
By dawn, Cao Cao's navy had been completely destroyed and he was only left with his ground army. The allied forces launched another offensive against Cao Cao's infantry and calvary and managed to break through Cao Cao's forts until they reached his main camp. The allied troops split into groups and enclosed themselves in shields to protect them from the fire and advanced towards Cao Cao's main camp. Another bloody battle started and eventually the allied forces had Cao Cao besieged in his main headquarters. Zhou Yu fought his way into the headquarters and met Cao Cao but both sides were pointing their swords at each other, but Cao Hong was also present there. Zhou Yu was faced with two opponents and retreated carefully until they were outside the headquarters. The allied commanders then reached the headquarters and were facing Cao Cao directly. Sun Quan had an arrow fitted to his bow and he wanted to shoot Cao Cao but when he saw that Cao Cao was holding Zhou Yu hostage he hesitated.
At that moment, Xiao Qiao appeared atop a tower beside the headquarters, being held hostage by Xiahou Jun. Luckily, Zhao Yun fought his way up the tower and knocked Xiahou Jun away from Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao fell off the tower but was rescued by her husband. Sun Quan fired the arrow at Cao Cao and hit Cao's hairband, which came loose and Cao Cao's hair flowed down. Now, the situation had been reversed and Cao Cao was at the mercy of the allied forces but eventually they decided to spare his life and tell him to leave and never to return. Before the film ends, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang are seen having a conversation, with Zhou Yu asking Zhuge Liang to stay and help to govern the world well instead of returning to his farming life. Zhou Yu also commented that he had forged an unforgettable friendship from the battle, which was an important lesson he learnt. Xiao Qiao then presented Zhuge Liang with the newborn foal, named Mengmeng, and told Zhuge Liang that she did not want to see her become a warhorse. The film then ends with Zhuge Liang walking into the far distance with Mengmeng.
In the movie, Viceroy Zhou plays a much better character than in the movie and they portrayed him as almost as smart as the IQ 180 Kong Ming, seeming to be able to anticipate some of the strategies he used, unlike the jealous character trying to kill the Shu strategist. The Kong Ming was without his trade mark cap (or hat?) throughout the whole movie but the high intellect and coolness were definitely there. The witty remarks made by him definitely provided many laughs.Lu Su, like in the book, plays the relatively stupid character in comparison with the two strategist, not able to follow the complicated plans, but willing to follow all of the orders. There are many heartwarming scenes throughout the movie, especially the one on the Winter Solstice, as the soldiers and generals all offer rice balls to the Viceroy.
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