Conquest of Wu by Jin

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Conquest of Wu by Jin
Part of the Three Kingdoms period
Date November 279 – March 15, 280 AD
Location Southeastern China
Result Jin victory
Belligerents
Jin Dynasty Eastern Wu
Commanders
Jia Chong, Wang Jun Sun Hao, Zhang Ti
Strength
200,000+ 230,000+
Casualties and losses
15,000  ?
v • d • e
Three Kingdoms

The conquest of Eastern Wu by Jin (晋灭吴之战) was a campaign fought in the end of the Three Kingdoms period in southeastern China, and with the Jin victory in 280, China was once again unified.

Contents

[edit] Background

The conquest of Eastern Wu was planned even before the conquest of Shu Han by the Sima clan, the ruling power of Cao Wei at the time. As early as 262, Sima Zhao had made the first outline for the conquest of Wu by planning to conquer Shu Han first, and then conquer Eastern Wu three years later. However, the conquest of Shu Han in the next year had severely strained the resources, and Cao Wei desperately needed time to recoup. Compounding the problem, Cao Wei lacked the adequate navy needed for the conquest of Eastern Wu. The Sima clan therefore postponed the planned conquest of Eastern Wu and begun a period to consolidate their power and strength first, during which they had successfully terminated Cao Wei by establishing the Jin Dynasty (265–420) when Sima Yan was proclaimed as the Emperor Wu of Jìn, replacing Cáo Huàn.

In comparison to Cao Wei and its subsequent successor Jin, Eastern Wu had much bigger problems of their own: the succession from the last emperor Sun Xiu was much bloodier than that of its northern adversary, which eventually produced a tyrannical emperor Sun Hao, who made absolutely no effort to strengthen the country for the imminent invasion. Furthermore, the harsh rule of Sun Quan in his later years which subsequently worsened during Sun Hao’s rule caused a continuous wave of peasant uprising and rebellion of soldiers, which mostly took place in present day Zhejiang and Guangdong. Not only did Sun Hao refuse the advice to strengthen the defenses of Eastern Wu and reduce the burden on its people, he also executed around four dozen high ranking officials who provided these good advices. As a result, the imperial court lost the popular support of its people, and many local commanders stationed at the border defected to Jin.

[edit] Prelude

In order to stabilize the relatively newly conquered Shu Han, as well as showing benevolence toward the Eastern Wu people so that they would defect or surrender to Jin Dynasty, the former Shu Han emperor Liu Shan was awarded the rank of Duke of Anle (安乐公, literally meaning Joyful and Relaxed Duke), and over fifty former subjects of Shu Han were awarded the rank of marquises. Zhuge Liang’s grandson, Zhuge Jīng (诸葛京) was also given important positions in the imperial court of Jin. At the same time, Jin sent envoys to Eastern Wu to ask for peace by ceasing hostilities in order to buy more time for the preparation. Sun Hao, the emperor of Eastern Wu in turn, viewed such actions as a sign of weakness, and further let down his guard.

[edit] Jin’s preparation

Jin’s preparation for the conquest of Eastern Wu begun in 269, when three places were selected as bases to launch the attack. New assignments were given as follows:

  • Minster Steward (尚书) Yang Hu was named as the viceroy (都督) of Jing province (荆州), stationed at Xiangyang.
  • Senior General Conquering the East (征东大将军) Wei Guan was named as the viceroy of Qing province (青州), stationed at Linzi (临菑, northeast of present day Zibo).
  • Prince of Langya (琅玡王) and Senior General Stabilizing the East (镇东大将军) Sima Zhou was named as the viceroy of Xuzhou, stationed at Xiapi (下邳, northwest of present day Suining County 睢宁).

Under Yang Hu’s recommendation, Emperor Wu of Jin named Wang Jun as the viceroy of Yi province, (益州, present day Sichuan) in 272, and soon after, under Du Yu’s recommendation, the emperor gave Wang Jun another award: the rank of General of the Uplifting Dragon (龙骧将军). Wang Jun was put in charge of building a strong navy for the conquest of Eastern Wu. An ambitious general who was already turned 70, Wang Jun was eager to establish fame by the conquest of Eastern Wu, and while he was only an Administrator (太守) of Yi province, he already begun the process. The new ranks sped up the process tremendously by enabling Wang Jun to draft much more men: in comparison to the 500 to 600 workers previously available, every commandery within his control must provide him with ten thousand men. As a result, the remaining work of the naval construction project was completed in a year.

To make up for their lack of experience of naval warfare in comparison to the navy of Eastern Wu, Wang Jun built many large ships with ram bows. The largest ship was in excess of 170 metres and could carry around two thousand troops on board. The fortifications on these ships were three stories tall and it was claimed to be the largest at the time. It took Wang Jun a total of seven years to build the navy he needed to conquer Eastern Wu and the only thing left to do was to train his soldiers and sailors. In the novel Romance of Three Kingdoms, the task was credited to Zhong Hui before the conquest of Shu by Wei, when Zhong Hui recommended to Sima Zhao that constructing a large navy to attack Eastern Wu was a diversion to trick Shu Han into letting down its guard, and when it was time to truly attack Eastern Wu after the conquest of Shu, the navy would be ready. In reality, however, the idea of constructing a large navy was that of Wang Jun and Emperor Wu of Jìn, which did not begin after the conquest of Shu by Wei.

In October, 276, the preparation was roughly completed and Yang Hu suggested to the emperor to launch the attack. Yang Hu’s suggestion was initially accepted but then delayed due to Grand Commandant (太尉) Jia Chong’s opposition, because Xianbei leaders rebelled in Northwestern China. In July, 277, additional assignments were given in order to prepare for the campaign against Eastern Wu:

  • General who Establishes Might (建威将军) Wang Hun (王浑) was put in charge of military affairs of Yang province (扬州, present day Shouchun)
  • Senior General Stabilizing the South (镇南大将军) Sima Liang was put in charge of military affairs of Yu province (豫州)
  • General of the Left (左将军) Hu Fen (胡奋) was put in charge of military affairs along the northern shore of Yangtze River

After Yang Hu’s death, Du Yu succeeded him and was awarded the rank of Senior General Conquering the South (征南大将军), taking charge of the military affairs of Jing province from November, 278.

[edit] Eastern Wu’s preparation

In comparison to the active preparation of its adversary, what Eastern Wu emperor Sun Hao had done was nearly nothing. During Wang Jun’s naval construction, the leftover wood pieces flowed downstream, and these were picked up by the Administrator of Jianping (建平, present day Zigui), Wu Yan (吾彦) of Eastern Wu, and sent to Sun Hao as evidence of the imminent attack, and asked for reinforcement. The request was ignored, as with similar suggestions from Lu Kang and others.

Eastern Wu suffered another serious blow when its famous general Lu Kang died. After Lu Kang's death, his command was divided into four parts, lead by his five sons: eldest son Lu Yan (陆晏) was named as the commander-in-chief of the land force, third eldest son Lu Xuan (陆玄) was named as the deputy commander-in-chief of the land force, second eldest son Lu Jing (陆景) was named as the commander-in-chief of the navy, and fourth eldest son Lu Ji was named as the deputy commander-in-chief of the navy, and the fifth eldest son Lu Yun (陆云) named as the commander of local garrison respectively. Such division greatly weakened the defense of Wu and three out of these five sons of his were killed in the battles several years after his death, when the Jin Dynasty conquered Eastern Wu.

[edit] Strategies

In 279, Wang Jun recommended that it was time to launch the decisive attack on Eastern Wu, and as with similar petitions submitted previously, it was strongly objected by nearly all subjects in the imperial court, with the exception of two, General Conquering the South (征南大将军) Du Yu and Imperial Secretary (中书) Zhang Hua, both strongly supported Wang Jun’s idea. Furthermore, the two managed to convince Emperor Wu of Jìn to finally agree with them, and the strategy of Jin was basically the one planned by Yang Hu when he was alive. 200,000 troops out of the half a million regular army of Jin were deployed for the campaign, and by this time, the Jin navy was also at least equal if not stronger than its opponent.

[edit] Strategy of Jin

The Jin force did not enjoy numerical superiority because it faced the entire Eastern Wu force of 230,000 and over 5,000 ships strong navy that defended the country, so in fact, Eastern Wu actually enjoyed the numerical superiority instead. However, the morale of Jin was much higher than their opponents. Furthermore, the Eastern Wu forces was scattered along the several thousand miles long border, and the attacking Jin forces could concentrate their forces to attack the isolated pockets of Wu resistance. Based on this principle, Jin would attack Eastern Wu along the Yangtze River in five routes to support the main attack force led by Wang Jun from Sichuan, going downstream along the Yangtze River.

Forces of Wang Hun and Sima Zhou were tasked to tie down the main force of Eastern Wu, preventing it from reinforcing the upstream Yangtze River by threatening the capital of Eastern Wu, Jianye. Forces of Wang Rong, Du Yu and Hu Fen were tasked to take all strongholds of Eastern Wu located to the west of Xiakou (夏口; present day Wuchang, Hubei) to coordinate with the 70,000 strong main force led by Wang Jun. After the attacking forces had joined together, they would push toward east along the Yangtze River and the taking of Jianye would be the responsibility of Wang Hun, Sima Zhou and Wang Jun. To better coordinate the attack, Emperor Wu of Jìn ordered that Wang Jun would be under Du Yu’s command after reaching Jianping, and after reaching Jianye, he would be under Wang Hun’s command.

[edit] Strategy of Eastern Wu

Since Sun Hao, the emperor of Eastern Wu, did not believe that the Jin was capable of taking Eastern Wu and the overconfidence in the Yangtze River as the natural defensive barrier, barely anything was done to prepare for the incoming campaign. However, Eastern Wu did reinforce its defense by deploying iron awls linked together by iron chains in the Three Gorges to prevent ships from passing, but Sun Hao and his followers were so overconfident about this additional measure that not a single soldier was deployed to guard the region, which ultimately led the downfall of Eastern Wu later in the campaign.

[edit] Order of battle

To boost morale, some of the Jin commanders received new ranks, while in contrast, Eastern Wu did almost nothing to reinforce its own defense.

[edit] Order of battle of Jin

  • Grand Commandant Jia Chong was assigned as the Commander-in-chief (大都督).
    • General of Champions (冠军将军) Yang Ji (杨济) was assigned as the deputy Commander-in-chief (副都督)
    • Imperial Secretary Zhang Hua was assigned as the Minster Steward of Budgeting (度支尚书), in charge of supplies and logistics.
      • Prince of Langya and General Stabilizing the Army (镇军将军) Sima Zhou would attack toward Tuzhong (涂中) direction from Xiapi.
        • Chancellor of Langya (琅玡相): Liu Hong (刘弘)
        • Senior Minister (长史): Wang Heng (王恒)
      • General Safeguarding the East (安东将军) Wang Hun (王浑) would attack toward Hezhou (和州) direction from Yang province.
        • General Protecting the Army (护军将军): Zhang Han (张翰)
        • Inspector of Yang province (扬州刺史): Zhou Jun (周浚)
        • General Xue Sheng (薛胜)
        • General Jiang Ban (蔣班)
      • Senior General Conquering the South (征南大将军) Du Yu would attack Jiangling from Xiangyang.
        • Chief-of-staff (参军): Fan Xian (樊显)
        • Chief-of-staff: Yin Lin (尹林)
        • Chief-of-staff: Deng Gui (邓圭)
        • Administor of Xiangyang: Zhou Qi (周奇)
        • General of the Standard (牙門將軍): Zhou Zhi (周旨)
      • General who Establishes Might (建威将军) Wang Rong would attack Wuchang (武昌, present day Ezhou, not to be confused with Wuchang, Hubei, which was called Xiakou 夏口 at the time) from Yu provine (豫州).
        • Chief-of-staff: Luo Shang (罗尚)
        • Chief-of-staff: Liu Qiao (刘乔)
        • Protector-Supervisor of Chengyang (成阳都尉): Zhang Qiao (张乔)
      • General who Conquests the South (平南将军) Hu Fen (胡奋) would attack Xiakou (夏口, present day Wuchang, Hubei) from Jing province
      • General of the Uplifting Dragon (龙骧将军) Wang Jun would attack toward downstream from Sichuan along the Yangtze River.
        • Guangwu General (广武将军) Tang Bin (唐彬) in charge of Badong (巴东, present day Fengjie County, not to be confused with present day Badong)

[edit] Order of battle of Eastern Wu

Prior to February, 280: (frontline commanders)

  • Commander-in-chief : Lu Yan (陆晏)
    • Deputy Commander-in-chief (副督): Lu Xuan (陆玄)
      • General of the Military Might (武威将军): Zhou Xing (周兴)
      • General: Cai Ji (蔡机)
      • Inspector General of Danyang (丹杨监): Sheng Ji (盛纪)
      • General Stabilizing the South (镇南将军): Liu Xian (留宪)
      • General Conquering the South (征南将军): Cheng Ju (成据)
      • Yidu Shire Administrator (宜都太守): Yu Zhong (虞忠)
      • Lexiang Viceroy (乐乡督): Sun Xin (孙歆)
      • Jiangling Viceroy (江陵督): Wu Yan (伍延)
      • General of the Standard (牙門將軍): Meng Tai (孟泰)
      • Administor of Wuchang (武昌太守): Liu Lang (刘朗)
  • Commander-in-chief of the navy: (水军都督): Lu Jing (陆景)
    • Deputy Commander-in-chief of the navy (水军副督): Lu Ji

After February, 280: (frontline commanders)

  • Imperial Chancellor (丞相): Zhang Ti
    • Deputy Military Counselor (副军师): Zhuge Jìng (诸葛靓)
    • Administrator of Danyang (丹阳太守): Shen Ying (沈莹)
    • General Protecting the Army (护军将军): Sun Zhen (孙震)
  • General of Guerrilla (游击将军): Zhang Xiang (张象)
  • Xuling Viceroy (徐陵督): Tao Jun (陶濬)
  • Administrator of Jianping (建平太守): Wu Yan (吾彦)

[edit] Campaigns at the upstream Yangtze River

General of the Uplifting Dragon (龙骧将军) Wang Jun’s navy began its downstream Yangtze River attack in December, 279 after being joined by his deputy, Guangwu General (广武将军) Tang Bin (唐彬) in charge of Badong commandery (巴东, present day Fengjie County, not to be confused with present day Badong). The combined force totaled 70,000 strong. A month later, in January, 280, Senior General Conquering the South (征南大将军) Du Yu begun his attack on Jiangling from Xiangyang, and Du Yu sent three of his Chiefs-of-staff (参军), Fan Xian (樊显), Yin Lin (尹林), Deng Gui (邓圭), along with Administrator of Xiangyang, Zhou Qi (周奇), westward along the Yangtze River to join Wang Jun, attacking the strongholds of Eastern Wu between them from both the east and the west. By February, 280, Wang Jun’s force had taken Danyang (丹杨, east of present day Zigui) from Eastern Wu, and captured Sheng Ji (盛纪), Inspector General of Danyang (丹杨监) of Eastern Wu.

The Jin navy under Wang Jun’s command continued on after taking Danyang and upon reaching Xiling Gorge, they had met obstacles setup by Eastern Wu, the iron awls linked together by iron chains in water. However, Wang Jun had already captured most of Eastern Wu’s agents, as well as many prisoners-of-war, and based the information obtained from the captives, the Jin navy already had a detailed knowledge of the Eastern Wu defenses, knowing exactly where the weakest spots were and where to attack. The Jin navy deployed dozens of rafts ahead of the fleet and when the iron awls struck the rafts, they were stuck. The rafts were full of dummies soaked in oil which were lit, causing the iron chains and awls to melt. After several hours, these man-made obstacles were completely cleared and the Jin navy continued on.

By February 3, 280, Jin forces took Xiling (西陵, northwest of present day Yichang) from Eastern Wu, and two days later, Jingmen and Yidao (夷道, present day Yidu 宜都) also fell into Jin’s hands. All major Eastern Wu commanders, including General Stabilizing the South (镇南将军) Liu Xian (留宪), General Conquering the South (征南将军) Cheng Ju (成据), Administrator of Yidu (宜都太守) Yu Zhong (虞忠), and Commander-in-chief Lu Yan (陆晏) were captured and then executed. The victorious Jin continued its offensive against Lexiang (乐乡, northeast of present day Songzi), defeating the local Eastern Wu forces who ventured out of the protection of city walls in an attempt to stop the Jin assault.

In the mean time, Du Yu had sent his subordinate, General of the Standard (牙門將軍) Zhou Zhi (周旨) to cross the Yangtze River with eight hundred cavalries at night to plant many flags in Bashan (巴山, southwest of present day Songzi), appearing to be a much larger force, while laying ambush just outside Lexiang. As the local Eastern Wu garrison went out earlier to engage Wang Jun’s force retreated back to the city after their defeat, Zhou Zhi and his men were able to sneak into the city gates and capture the city. The Lexiang Viceroy of Eastern Wu, Sun Xin (孙歆) was originally claimed by Wang Jun as being killed in his report to the imperial court of Jin, but in reality, he was captured alive by Zhou Zhi and subsequently sent to Du Yu, it was Lu Jing (陆景), the commander-in-chief of the navy (水军都督) of Eastern Wu who were the one killed in the battle when Lexiang fell into Jin’s hands. Du Yu’s force subsequently took Jiangling, killing Wu Yan (伍延) the Jiangling Viceroy (江陵督) of Eastern Wu in the process.

[edit] Redeployment of Jin forces

On February 28, 280, Emperor Wu of Jìn strengthened the main force under Wang Jun’s command by redeploying troops under other commanders:

  • Du Yu to attack southward to take Lingling, (零陵, present day Yongzhou), Guiyang (桂阳, present day Chenxian 郴县), and Hengyang (衡阳, west of resent day Xiangtan), and ten thousand troops under Du Yu’s command would be reassigned to Wang Jun, and another seven thousand troops under Du Yu’s command would be reassigned to Wang Jun’s deputy Tang Bin (唐彬).
  • Troops under the command of General who Conquests the South (平南将军) Hu Fen (胡奋) would take Xiakou (夏口, present day Wuchang, Hubei) together with Wang Jun’s force, and after the city was taken, seven thousand troops under Hu Fen’s command would be reassigned to Wang Jun.
  • Troops under the command of General Establishing Might (建威将军) Wang Rong would join forces to take Wuchang (present day Ezhou) together with Wang Jun’s force, and after the city was taken, six-thousand troops under Wang Rong’s command would be reassigned to Wang Jun’s deputy Tang Bin.
  • After taking Baqiu (巴丘, present day Yueyang), Wang Jun’s force would join forces with other commanders to take other cities as mentioned above, and then continue on toward Jianye, the capital of Eastern Wu.

Following Emperor Wu of Jìn’s orders, Wang Jun continued his offensive and Meng Tai (孟泰), General of the Standard (牙門將軍) of Eastern Wu surrendered with his forces guarding Qichun and Zhu (邾, present day Huanggang, Hubei). The next target was also captured without much fight: after Wang Rong’s force led by Chiefs-of-staff Luo Shang (罗尚) and Liu Qiao (刘乔) joined Wang Jun and begun their offensive, the Administrator of Wuchang Liu Lang (刘朗) of Eastern Wu lost the will to resist and surrendered without a fight. The fall of Wuchang marked the end of campaigns at the upper Yangtze River. With the exception of Jianping, which was held by the Wu Yan (吾彦), the Administrator of Jianping of Eastern Wu, all other territories of Eastern Wu at the upper Yangtze River had fallen into Jin’s hands.

By this time, Grand Commandant Jia Chong, the Jin Commander-in-chief of the campaign who had opposed the campaign from the start had found the opportunity to suggest a conclusion of the campaign. Jia Chong claimed that it was good to withdraw after the continuous victories because if the war continues, it would exhaust the resources of the nation and troops remain the south would suffer from epidemics. However, the war progressed much faster and better than Jia Chong had predicted and his suggestion was ignored.

[edit] Campaigns at the midstream and downstream Yangtze River

At the midstream and downstream Yangtze River, starting in January, 280, Wang Hun took Xunyang (寻阳, southwest of present day Huangmei County), Gaowang (高望, southwest of present day Puxian 浦县), and Laixiang (赖乡) from Eastern Wu, capturing Zhou Xing (周兴), General of the Military Might (武威将军) of Eastern Wu in the process. Prince of Langya and General Stabilizing the Army (镇军将军) Sima Zhou took Tuzhong (涂中), sending his subordinate, Liu Hong (刘弘), the Chancellor of Langya, to solidify the newly captured territory in the northern shore of Yangtze River. Meanwhile, Sima Zhou sent Wang Heng (王恒), his Senior Minister (长史) to cross the Yangtze River to continue attacking Eastern Wu, which Wang Heng successfully did, capturing Eastern Wu General Cai Ji (蔡机) and killing more than sixty thousand Eastern Wu troops in the process.

Surprised with the news of attack, Sun Hao ordered his Imperial Chancellor Zhang Ti, Deputy Military Counselor Zhuge Jìng (诸葛靓), Danyang Administrator Shen Ying (沈莹) and General Protecting the Army (护军将军) Sun Zhen (孙震) to lead a thirty-thousand men strong army to engage the enemy. Zhang Ti decided the only chance for Eastern Wu was to immediate venture out to stop the enemy before the morale collapse, and if the enemy’s advance could be beaten back or at least checked, his force would join the Eastern Wu forces in the upstream Yangtze River to strengthen their position. In March, 280, Zhang Ti led his force across the Yangtze River and besieged Wang Hun’s subordinate, Protector-Supervisor of Chengyang (成阳都尉) Zhang Qiao (张乔). Zhang Qiao only had seven thousand troops and surrendered. Zhuge Jìng suspected that the surrender was a trick and asked Zhang Ti to behead Zhang Qiao, but Zhang Ti refused, and instead, accepted Zhang Qiao’s surrender. As a precaution measure, Zhang Ti did order Zhang Qiao to remain where he was instead of traveling along with the Eastern Wu force, so that he would not have the chance to defect to Jin during the battle.

As the Eastern Wu force continued on, they met the Jin force led by General Protecting the Army (护军将军) Zhang Han (张翰) and Inspector of Yang province (扬州刺史) Zhou Jun (周浚). Shen Ying personally led the five thousand crack troops from Danyang to charge the formation of the Jin force three times, but was beaten back with heavy loss. The defeat of the elite troop seriously demoralized the rest of Eastern Wu troops, and the result was a disorganized retreat. Seizing on the opportunity, General Xue Sheng (薛胜) and Jiang Ban (蔣班) of Jin launched a surprise counterattack, defeating the Eastern Wu force by killing over 5,800 of them. As the surviving Eastern Wu troops fled the battlefield, Zhang Qiao showed his true color by attacking the fleeing Eastern Wu force from the opposite direction at Banqiao (版桥), inflicting a further 2,000 fatalities on the already defeated Eastern Wu force. Zhang Ti, Shen Ying, and Sun Zhen were all killed in the decisive defeat that shocked Eastern Wu, only Zhuge Jìng had managed to escape with his life back to Jianye. Wang Hun’s subordinate urged him to press on to attack Jianye immediately, but he refused under the excuse of he was ordered by Emperor Wu of Jìn to secure the northern shore of Yangtze River only and waited for Wang Jun. Wang Hun was in fact, taking a more cautious approaching by attempting to join forces with Wang Jun to ensure the final victory, but such prudence cost him the glory of taking the enemy’s capital, the highest honor in the campaign.

Wang Jun’s eighty-thousand strong force, meanwhile, reached Niuzhu (牛渚) on March 14, 280, after leaving Wuchang (武昌, present day Ezhou) and Sun Hao ordered General of Guerrilla (游击将军), Zhang Xiang (张象) to lead a ten-thousand strong navy to engage the Jin navy. However, once both forces had met, the demoralized Eastern Wu sailors surrendered en masse, including Zhang Xiang himself. Wang Hun ordered Wang Jun to see him so that they could discuss their next move, but Wang Jun answered that his fleet had already passed Wang Hun’s camp and could not turn back due to the current, and continued on toward Jianye. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, this was described as the last battle in the campaign and since Eastern Wu had not learnt Zhang Xiang’s surrender, Wang Jun ordered him to go back to Jianye to trick the defenders to open the city gate, which Zhang Xiang did successfully and Jin thus took the city, conquering Eastern Wu.

In reality, however, there was one more battle to be fought. As Wang Jun’s force continued on to Sanshan (三山) on March 14, 280, just southeast of Jianye, Tao Jun (陶濬), Xuling Viceroy (徐陵督) of Eastern Wu organized another twenty-thousand strong force to make a last stand, but nearly all of the troops deserted on the very same night, and Tao Jun (陶濬) and his few die-hard followers were killed subsequently in their futile struggle against the invasion force. Sun Hao adopted a last attempt suggested by his subjects Xue Ying and Hu Chong (胡冲) by sending the letters of surrender to Sima Zhou, Wang Jun and Wang Hun respectively in the hope of starting a fight among the Jin commanders so that he could buy more time, but such measure proved to be no use. On March 15, 280, Sun Hao had himself tied up and his upper body stripped of clothing (a traditional way of presenting prisoners-of-war to the victors), and walked to Wang Jun’s camp to surrender after issuing his last decree, in which he asked his people not to be upset with the end of Eastern Wu, but ready to serve the new dynasty. Sun Hao would be taken to Luoyang with his imperial chariot, but he would not be able to ride in it, instead, he had to walk all the way because he was no longer an emperor, but a prisoner-of-war instead. After learning of Sun Hao’s surrender, the last pocket of resistance in Jianping, held by the Administrator Wu Yan (吾彦), finally surrendered after successfully repelling all attacks from invading Jin forces during the campaign.

[edit] Aftermath

The fall of Jianye marked the end of Eastern Wu and the Three Kingdoms period, and China was unified once again. The Jin commanders who participated in the campaign was handsomely rewarded, and ironically, Jia Chong, the overall commander who had opposed the campaign received the largest reward, the tax income of eight thousand households. Wang Hun was furious upon learning the news of Wang Jun taking Jianye, and angrily proclaimed to his subordinates that he had watched Sun Hao for nearly a hundred days, but Wang Jun took the advantage at last. Wang Hun wrote to the imperial court to complain, claiming that Wang Jun disobeyed orders and embezzled war spoils. Wang Jun also wrote to the imperial court to defend himself, claiming that what Wang Hun had said was slander. However, Wang Hun was much more powerful and influential in the imperial court, thus had gained an upper hand, with his followers suggesting that Wang Jun be jailed. In the end, Emperor Wu of Jìn put an end to the political fight, rewarding Wang Jun handsomely.

[edit] Reference

  • Selected Examples of Battles in Ancient China Writing Team, Selected Examples of Battles in Ancient China, 1st Edition, published by Chinese Publishing House & Distributed by New China Bookstore Publishing House in Beijing, 1981 - 1984.
  • Yuan, Tingdong, War in Ancient China, 1st Edition, published by Sichuan Academy of Social Science Publishing House & Distributed by New China Bookstore in Chengdu, 1988, ISBN 7805240582
  • Zhang, Xiaosheng, General View of War of Ancient China, 1st Edition in Xi'an, published by Long March Publishing House in Beijing & Distributed by New China Bookstore in Beijing, 1988, ISBN 7800150313 (set)
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