Battle of Jiangxia | |||||||
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Part of the wars at the end of the Han dynasty | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Sun Quan | Liu Biao | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Zhou Yu Lü Meng Ling Tong Dong Xi | Huang Zu Chen Jiu † Zhang Shuo † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
25,000 | 30,000+ [2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
30,000 |
Battle of Jiangxia | |||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 江夏之戰 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 江夏之战 | ||||||
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The Battle of Jiangxia was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Biao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was the last part of a series of military engagements between Sun Quan and Liu Biao's general Huang Zu in Jiangxia Commandery (present-day eastern Hubei). The battle ended in a decisive victory for Sun Quan and his forces.
In the spring of 208,Gan Ning,who defected from Huang Zu to Sun Quan's side,suggested to his new lord to prepare a full assault on Jiangxia. Gan Ning mentioned that Huang Zu was already old,and his right-hand men only knew how to do business and bully lower-ranked officials,and Huang's arsenal had not been replenished for some time. [3]
Despite opposition from his chief civil clerk,Zhang Zhao, [4] Sun Quan still appointed Ling Tong to lead the vanguard force,LüMeng to be the naval commandant,and Zhou Yu as Front Commander to regulate the operation. The campaign had two main objectives:elimination of Huang Zu,who was responsible for the death of Sun Quan's father Sun Jian at the Battle of Xiangyang;and conquest of Jiangxia,which stood in Sun Quan's path to dominating Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan).
In response to Sun Quan's aggression,Huang Zu assigned his general Zhang Shuo as the vanguard,and Chen Jiu as the admiral,but he would stay behind the high walls of Jiangxia to avoid conflict in the frontline. Before the battle started,Zhang Shuo led his troop on a large vessel to reconnoitre the riverbank,but was located by Ling Tong,who was also scouting the area. At the time,Ling Tong only had tens of his closest warriors on a light vessel, [5] yet he was able to climb Zhang Shuo's vessel probably under the cover of nightfall or the disguise as Zhang's own men,and surprised his enemy. Zhang Shuo was slain by Ling Tong,and his mariners were captured. [6]
Upon hearing the news that Zhang Shuo had been killed,Huang Zu immediately ordered Chen Jiu to block the entrance of Miankou River with two of his largest capital ships ( mengchong ) covered with ox-hide at the choke point. [7] In addition,Huang had strong men and archers positioned on top of the cliff next to the river to throw down rocks and fire on large enemy vessels. To bring down Huang Zu's mengchongs,Zhou Yu sent out his large vessels,but they were blocked by the rocks thrown down from the cliff. After several hours of fighting,Zhou Yu realized that he could not advance against the heavy crossfire from the mengchongs.
To change the tide of battle,Zhou Yu had Ling Tong and Dong Xi,along with 100 "die-hard" soldiers,don two suits of armour each and charge towards the enemy despite the crossfire. [8] Through fierce fighting,Ling and Dong finally succeeded in breaking the connections between the two vessels,and the downfall of the mengchongs inspired the fighting spirit of Sun Quan's forces. LüMeng even participated in melee combat,and killed Chen Jiu in a duel. [9] With the admiral gone,Huang Zu's massive navy was annihilated by Sun Quan's smaller forces. Meanwhile,Ling Tong,Dong Xi and others led a separate command to capture Jiangxia and massacring his population,achieving this before the naval victory. [10] [11]
Unable to resist Sun Quan's forces,Huang Zu fled the city,but was caught up and killed by a horseman named Feng Ze. [12] His head was specifically requested by Sun Quan to be placed inside a container for examination. After receiving Huang Zu's head,Sun Quan presented it as a sacrifice at his late father Sun Jian's temple.
With Huang Zu killed,Sun Quan had taken his revenge;however,Ling Tong's father,Ling Cao,was killed by an arrow fired by Gan Ning during the previous Battle of Xiakou,and had not been avenged. Thus,Ling Tong would attempt to provoke Gan Ning during a banquet held in LüMeng's house some time later. In the end,Sun Quan settled this conflict by "exiling" Gan Ning to Half Island,which Ling Tong perceived as fair.
Liu Biao's son Liu Qi wanted to succeed Huang Zu's position,and went east after Sun Quan took away the captives. [13] However,Liu Qi was not allowed the time to solidify his control over Jiangxia because northern Jing Province had been incorporated into Cao Cao's domain without much resistance after his father died of illness. Therefore,Liu Qi stationed his troop at Han Ford,where he met Liu Bei,who was escaping from Cao Cao's pursuit,they then joined forces and went to Xiakou to ask help from Sun Quan. [14] As Jiangxia was famous for being the cradle of the Huang clan,Sun Quan gave up on holding on to the city after he received news that Cao Cao had acquired northern Jing Province. Liu Biao's general Wen Ping,who defected to Cao Cao after Liu's death,became the new governor of Jiangxia.
Gan Ning, courtesy name Xingba, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Originally a notorious pirate, he gave up the life of a marauder in the late 190s and became a subordinate of Huang Zu, the Administrator of a commandery in present-day east-central Hubei. Disheartened by Huang Zu's indifferent attitude towards him, Gan Ning eventually left Huang and made his way into Wu territory, where he found his calling and became a military officer under the warlord Sun Quan. Throughout his years of service under Sun Quan until his death, Gan Ning fought in numerous battles for his lord, including the battles of Jiangxia (208), Red Cliffs (208–209), Xiaoyao Ford (214–215) and Ruxu (217).
Zhou Tai, courtesy name Youping, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under Sun Ce, Sun Quan's elder brother and predecessor.
Zhou Yu (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin, was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, Sun Ce's younger brother and successor. Zhou Yu is primarily known for his leading role in defeating the numerically superior forces of the northern warlord Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs in late 208, and again at the Battle of Jiangling in 209. Zhou Yu's victories served as the bedrock of Sun Quan's regime, which in 222 became Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms. Zhou Yu did not live to see Sun Quan's enthronement, however, as he died at the age of 35 in 210 while preparing to invade Yi Province. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Zhou Yu was described as tall and handsome. He was also referred to as "Master Zhou". However, his popular moniker "Zhou the Beautiful Youth" does not appear in either the Records or the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Some Japanese writers such as Fumihiko Koide believe that this was a later invention by Japanese storytellers such as Eiji Yoshikawa.
Dong Xi, courtesy name Yuanshi, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Xu Sheng, courtesy name Wenxiang, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China.
Ling Tong (189–217), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He started his service under Sun Quan when he was still a teenager and, throughout his entire life, had been contributing to the foundation and solidification of the state of Eastern Wu, which Sun Quan established in 229. He fought in numerous battles for his lord, including those against Huang Zu, Liu Bei and the Shanyue tribes, but is best known for his performance in the campaigns against Sun Quan's archrival Cao Cao, in which he displayed great skill and tact in extremely adverse situations.
Ling Cao was a Chinese military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the father of Ling Tong. He was killed by Gan Ning after his ambush at Xiakou.
Huang Zu was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province. He is best known for killing the warlord Sun Jian in an ambush during the Battle of Xiangyang (191) and resisting an invasion by the warlord Sun Quan at the Battle of Xiakou (203). He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Jiangxia in 208 against Sun Quan's forces.
The Battle of Yiling was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Cao Cao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was an integral part in the Red Cliffs campaign, as it was fought immediately after the major engagement at Wulin during the Battle of Red Cliffs. The Battle of Yiling was also the prelude to the subsequent Battle of Jiangling.
Pan Zhang, courtesy name Wengui, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period until his death. Pan Zhang was praised by Chen Shou as one of the "twelve tiger minister of Jiangdong" (江東十二虎臣).
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