The military history of the Sui dynasty encompasses the period of Chinese military activity from 581 to 618. Although the Sui dynasty was relatively short lived, it set the precedent for the Tang dynasty that followed.
The military history of the Sui dynasty encompasses the period of Chinese military activity from 581 to 618. Although the Sui dynasty was relatively short lived, it set the precedent for the Tang dynasty that followed.
The Sui dynasty inherited the Twenty-four Armies from the Northern Zhou. The system of recruitment that created these armies would come to be known as fubing , or "territorial soldiery". Fubing soldiers were originally recruits drawn from the old military households of previous dynasties. Unlike the mass conscription of the Han dynasty, these soldiers were promised tangible rewards such as exemption from taxes and labor for their families. Later on, these soldiers were formed into units presiding over a plot of land on which they would farm privately to support themselves. Unlike the following Tang dynasty which implemented a centralized Ministry of the Army to which fubing units were answerable, the fubing answered only to local administration during the Sui dynasty.
The Sui dynasty made prodigious use of heavy cavalry and both men and horses were often heavily armoured. [1]
The Book of Sui provides an account of the "first cavalry battalions" of the dynasty's Twenty-four armies. They wore "bright-brilliant" (mingguang) armour made of decarburized steel connected by dark green cords, their horses wore iron armour with dark green tassels, and they were distinguished by lion banners. Other battalions were also distinguished by their own colors, patterns, and flags, but neither the bright-brilliant armour or iron armour are mentioned. [2] [3]
On 4 March 581, Yang Jian deposed Yuwen Chan, and declared himself Emperor of the Sui dynasty. [4]
In 582, Ishbara Qaghan raided the Wei River valley and made off with large amounts of livestock. [5]
In 585, Ishbara Qaghan was defeated by Sui forces at the Baidao Pass, near modern Hohhot. In the summer the Türks returned and killed the Sui commander in Youzhou. [5]
In 587, the Sui dynasty annexed Western Liang and began preparations for an invasion of the Chen dynasty. [4]
War vessels were built in Donghai Commandery, Qichun, and Yong'an. The largest ships were the Five-Banner ships that had five decks and were capable of accommodating 800 men. They were armed with six 50-foot-long, spike-bearing booms, that could be dropped vertically onto enemy vessels to pin them down for missile fire. The second largest class were known as Yellow Dragons and could carry 100 men each. Other smaller crafts also existed. [6]
By the late fall of 588, the Sui dynasty had marshaled three fleets and five armies along the Changjiang, in total some 518,000 men. The Chen dynasty had perhaps 100,000 men. In the winter, Yang Su led his fleet downstream from Yong'an. They encountered at Wolf Tail's rapids a Chen fleet of 100 Green Dragon ships with support from several thousand men in palisade forts on north and south banks. Yang Su waited until night time before launching a three pronged attack on the Chen position. He himself took a large portion of the fleet past the palisades while two land columns attacked the palisades. The attack was a success and all the Chen troops were taken prisoner. Further downstream at Qiting, the Chen general Lü Zhongsu had stretched three iron chains across the river. The initial Sui offensives were met with failure and suffered some 5,000 casualties. Finally a night attack succeeded in overcoming the Chen defenses and the chains were removed. Lü Zhongsu fled with his fleet to Yan Island beneath Mount Jingmen, but the Sui sent four Five-Banner ships and chased them down. Using the spiked booms, the Sui ships were able to destroy a dozen Chen vessels, leading to the surrender of the Chen fleet. [7]
Chen commander Chen Huiji tried to bring 30,000 men down the Changjiang but was blocked by Yang Jun at the confluence of the Han River. [7]
On 22 January 589, Sui commander Heruo Bi crossed the Changjiang from Guangling with 8,000 men. The move came as a complete surprise to Chen forces on the southern bank due to a series of deceptions by Heruo Bi involving pretending to rotate soldiers and conducting practice hunts. The Chen forces could not stop the crossing since the majority of their fleet was concentrated at Jiankang. Heruo took Jingkou on 27 January. Meanwhile, a crack force of 500 men under Han Qinhu slipped across the Changjiang upstream of Jiankang and captured Caishi. They were then reinforced with 20,000 men. On 10 February 589, a Chen army met with Heruo's forces east of Jiankang, but of the five contingents, only one under Lu Guangda was willing to attack Heruo. Heruo was pushed back and his army suffered 273 casualties. Seeing that the situation was turning against him, Heruo set fire to the grass and escaped under cover of smoke. He then attacked another Chen division and routed it. The defeat reverberated throughout the entire Chen army, causing a general rout. While the battle was taking place, Han Qinhu approached Jiankang, which surrendered without a fight. General Yang Guang had the Chen ruler write letters of submission for his generals to follow, which most of them did. Wang Shiji's fleet moved south from Qichun to receive their surrender. [8]
I met the armies that opposed me on the way to Jiankang and not only did I defeat them but I made prisoner one of the very distinguished and brave Chen commanders. It was really through me that the victory over Jiankang was gained, because of the courage of my men, the enemy was so terror struck that resistance was abandoned. And so your greatness rules the whole of the Great Realm. [9]
— Heruo Bi to Emperor Wen of Sui
The only commander to offer any significant resistance was the governor of Wu Commandery. He was defeated by a two pronged attack from overland by Yang Guang and oversea by Yan Rong. [8]
In late 590, a large rebellion occurred at Lake Tai in response to rumors that the Sui government was planning on relocating hundreds of thousands of northerners to the north. The rebellion spread south all the way to present-day Vietnam. However the rebel forces suffered several defeats to Yang Su and his commander Shi Wansui. The rebellion was eventually ended when Yang Su persuaded one of the two primary rebel leaders to turn on his colleague and hand him over to the Sui in return for his own life. [10]
On 16 June, 590, it was decreed that the Twenty-four Armies would be demobilized and registered under the Equal-field system. [11]
On 12 April 595, it was decreed that all weapons in the empire and any southern boat longer than 30 feet would be confiscated. [11]
In 593, the Cuanman rebelled in Yunnan. A punitive expedition was launched in 597 and the Cuanman were defeated in 602. [12]
In early 598, Goguryeo and the Mohe people raided Sui territory. The Sui retaliated with a 300,000 strong army on 4 August. Due to torrential rains, food shortage, and sickness, the army withdrew in October. A waterborne invasion from Shandong encountered storms and lost many of its vessels. [13]
In 599, Tardu attacked the Sui dynasty but was defeated by Yang Su. [14]
In 602, Sui forces under Liu Fang annexed the Kingdom of Vạn Xuân ruled by the Early Lý dynasty. [13]
In 605, Sui forces under Liu Fang invaded Champa. The Cham army fielded elephants against the Sui army. Liu Fang had his soldiers dug pits and covered them with grass. When the elephants blundered into them while chasing a feigned flight, the Sui forces turned around and shot the elephants with crossbows. The elephants stampeded into the Chams and routed their own army. Liu Fang went on to sack the Cham capital but died from disease on the way back. [13]
In 608, Sui forces defeat the Tuyuhun, a people of mixed Xianbei and Qiang descent in modern Qinghai Province. [15]
Emperor Yang of Sui began preparations for a campaign against Goguryeo in 610 when he imposed a new tax on wealthy families to purchase horses for his army. He officially announced the expedition on 14 April 611. Three hundred seagoing vessels were constructed in Donglai and 10,000 marines were transferred from the southern river systems to crew them. In addition to the regular forces, 30,000 javelin-men were recruited from Lingnan and 30,000 crossbowmen as well. On 1 June, the emperor arrived in Zhuo Commandery, south of modern Beijing. Connecting this location to the Huai River was the Yongji canal, which allowed the buildup of military materiel. Craftsmen in were ordered to construct 50,000 carts to transport clothing, armour, and tents. Some 600,000 men were mobilized to move wheelbarrows of grain northeast of Zhuo Commandery. According to the History of Sui, the combined 30 armies gathered for the expedition numbered 1,133,800 combat troops, and another two million serving in logistical capacity. David Graff gives a reduced estimate of 600,000 for the land forces and another 70,000 for the fleet. [16]
On 8 February 612, the vanguard began their march for Goguryeo. They reached the Liao River on 19 April. The Sui army made two attempts to cross the river before succeeding and defeated the Goguryeo army arrayed before them. Emperor Yang besieged Ryotongseong (near modern Liaoyang). Meanwhile, the Sui fleet under Lai Huer set sail from Donglai and entered the Taedong River, arriving near Pyeongyang by the middle of July. They defeated a Goguryeo force and laid siege to Pyeongyang with 40,000 men. The defenders feigned flight, luring the invaders past the outer walls into an ambush, and drove them back to their ships with heavy losses. Lai remained on the coast for the rest of the campaign. [17]
The fortress of Ryotongseong had not fallen and the siege was taking too long, so Emperor Yang sent nine of the thirty armies ahead with 100 days' supply of grain. However, by the time they had reached the Yalu River, most of the provisions had been spent. Some of the soldiers stored the grain underground because they could not bare the burden. One of the army commanders, Yuwen Shu, suggested that they retreat, but Yu Zhongsheng, who was in overall command refused. Eventually they were forced to retreat due to lack of provisions, but as the nine armies were crossing the Sa River, a strong attack by Goguryeo inflicted immense casualties on the units remaining on the southern bank. [18]
Your brilliant plans expose reality.
Your subtle understandings encompass the world
You win all the battles; you are invincible.
Why not accept victory and end this war? [19]— Eulji Mundeok to Yu Zhongsheng
On 27 August, Emperor Yang received news of the defeat and called off the campaign. [18]
On 28 January 613, Emperor Yang of Sui ordered a new army to be gathered at Zhuo Commandery. The new army crossed the Liao River on 21 May and laid siege to Ryotonseong while another column attacked Sinseong (near modern Fushun). Yuwen Shu and Yang Yichen attacked Pyeongyang. On 20 July, news of a rebellion by Yang Xuanguan at Liyang reached Emperor Yang, forcing him to withdraw. [20]
On 25 June 613, Yang Xuangan rebelled in Liyang. He laid siege to Luoyang for several weeks before giving up and fleeing further west where he was killed by Sui forces. [21]
On 4 April 614, Emperor Yang of Sui ordered a new campaign against Goguryeo. The new army arrived on the Liao River on 27 August but failed to make any headway against the border fortresses. Lai Huer crossed the Bohai Sea and defeated a Goguryeo army. Yeongyang of Goguryeo sued for peace and Emperor Yang declared victory, withdrawing across the Liao. [21]
In the summer of 615, Emperor Yang of Sui was surrounded at Yanmen Commandery by Shibi Khan, but managed to escape after machinations at the Göktürk court caused them to retreat. [22]
After failing to defeat Goguryeo several times over, the Sui dynasty erupted into war among several competing factions. By the summer of 618, there emerged nine major contenders for power. Among them Li Yuan became the winner who founded the Tang dynasty (618–907).
The Sui dynasty was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged period of political division since the War of the Eight Princes. The Sui endeavoured to rebuild the country, re-establishing and reforming many imperial institutions; in so doing, the Sui laid much of the foundation for the subsequent Tang dynasty, who after toppling the Sui would ultimately preside over a new golden age in Chinese history.
The Chen dynasty, alternatively known as the Southern Chen in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. Following the Liang dynasty, the Chen dynasty was founded by Chen Baxian. The Chen dynasty further strengthened and revitalized the economy and culture of southern China, and made territorial expansions northward, laying the foundation for future dynasties. It was conquered by the Sui dynasty in 589, marking an end to the Northern and Southern dynasties period in Chinese history. The descendants of the Chen imperial family continued to hold powerful high-ranking positions in the imperial courts of both the Sui and Tang dynasties.
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Emperor Wen of Sui, personal name Yang Jian (楊堅), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (普六茹堅), alias Narayana deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state. He is regarded as one of the most important emperors in Chinese history, reunifying China proper in 589 after centuries of division since the independence of the Cheng-Han and Han-Zhao dynasties from the Western Jin dynasty in 304. During his reign, the construction of the Grand Canal began.
Emperor Yang of Sui, personal name Yang Guang (楊廣), alternative name Ying (英), Xianbei name Amo (阿摩), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui (隋明帝) during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor of the Sui dynasty of China.
Emperor Wen of Chen (陳文帝) (522–566), personal name Chen Qian (陳蒨), also called Chen Tanqian (陳曇蒨), courtesy name Zihua (子華), was the second emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty. He was a nephew of the founding monarch, Emperor Wu, and after Emperor Wu's death in 559, the officials supported him to be emperor since Emperor Wu's only surviving son, Chen Chang, was detained by the Northern Zhou dynasty. At the time he took the throne, Chen had been devastated by war during the preceding Liang dynasty, and many provinces nominally loyal to him were under control of relatively independent warlords. During his reign, he consolidated the state against warlords, and he also seized territory belonging to claimants to the Liang throne, Xiao Zhuang and the Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, greatly expanding Chen's territory and strength.
The Goguryeo–Sui War were a series of invasions launched by the Sui dynasty of China against Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, between AD 598 and AD 614. It resulted in the defeat of the Sui and was one of the pivotal factors in the collapse of the dynasty, which led to its overthrow by the Tang dynasty in AD 618.
Xiao Mohe, courtesy name Yuanyin (元胤), was a general of the Chinese Chen dynasty and Sui dynasties. He initially served in the military in the late Liang dynasty, and gradually grew in stature and fame during the reigns of each of the emperors of Chen. When Sui forces attacked Chen in 589, Xiao resisted, and his defeat and capture sealed Chen's fate, allowing Sui to destroy Chen and unify China. He later served under Emperor Wen of Sui's son Yang Liang the Prince of Han and became a major proponent of Yang Liang's rebellion against his brother Emperor Yang of Sui after Emperor Wen's death in 604. He was unable to stand against the attack of Emperor Yang's general Yang Su, however, and was captured and executed.
Yuwen Shu, courtesy name Botong (伯通), formally Duke Gong of Xu (許恭公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Sui dynasty. He was a confidant of Emperor Yang and was instrumental in Yang Guang's displacement of his brother Yang Yong as crown prince; therefore, after Yang Guang became emperor, Yuwen Shu became exceedingly powerful and was one of two generals who spearheaded Yangdi's efforts in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars. His son Yuwen Huaji later led a coup against Emperor Yang in 618 and, after killing Emperor Yang, briefly claimed imperial title in 619 and founded the state of Xu, but was soon captured and killed. Another son of Yuwen Shu, Yuwen Shiji, however, was a friend of the Tang dynasty's founder Li Yuan, and after Li Yuan established Tang remained an influential official.
Yu Shiji, courtesy name Maoshi, was a Chinese politician, poet, and calligrapher who served Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty as a de facto chief minister from 607 to 618. Acclaimed for his skill in the literary arts of rhapsody and calligraphy, Yu began his career as an official of the Chen dynasty and held prestigious positions in the imperial administration before Sui forces conquered Chen in 589. He subsequently entered Sui service as a low-ranking official, supporting himself financially by working as a calligrapher-for-hire. After Emperor Yang acceded to the throne, Yu rose to become deputy director of the palace secretariat and, in this role, served as one of the emperor's principal counsellors and de facto chief ministers. An astute politician and erudite intellectual, Yu was nevertheless faulted by traditional historians for personal corruption, indulging Emperor Yang's autocratic tendencies, and mismanaging the imperial response to agrarian rebellions. Amid the gradual collapse of imperial authority, Yu and his family accompanied Emperor Yang in his retreat to Jiangdu. After Emperor Yang was killed in a coup d'état led by the general Yuwen Huaji in 618, Yu and his sons were executed.
Shen Faxing was an official of the Chinese Sui dynasty who, after Emperor Yang was killed in a coup led by the general Yuwen Huaji in 618, seized the area of present-day Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu and declared himself the King of Liang (梁王). He was defeated by Li Zitong in 620 and, believing that he was doomed, committed suicide by jumping into a river.
The transition from Sui to Tang (613–628) was the period of Chinese history between the end of the Sui dynasty and the start of the Tang dynasty. The Sui dynasty's territories were carved into a handful of short-lived states by its officials, generals, and agrarian rebel leaders. A process of elimination and annexation followed that ultimately culminated in the consolidation of the Tang dynasty by the former Sui general Li Yuan. Near the end of the Sui, Li Yuan installed the puppet child emperor Yang You. Li later executed Yang and proclaimed himself emperor of the new Tang dynasty.
The first conflict of the Goguryeo–Tang War started when Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty led a military campaign against Goguryeo in 645 to protect Silla and punish Generalissimo Yeon Gaesomun for the killing of King Yeongnyu. The Tang forces were commanded by Emperor Taizong himself, and generals Li Shiji, Li Daozong, and Zhangsun Wuji.
The Battle of Huoyi was fought in China on 8 September 617, between the forces of the rebel Duke of Tang, Li Yuan, and the army of the ruling Sui dynasty. Li Yuan, with an army of around 25,000, was advancing south along the Fen River towards the imperial capital, Daxingcheng. His advance was stalled for two weeks due to heavy rainfall and he was met at the town of Huoyi by an elite Sui army of 20,000 men. Li Yuan's cavalry, under the command of his two eldest sons, lured the Sui out of the protection of the city walls, but in the first clash between the two main armies, Li Yuan's forces were initially driven back. At that point, possibly due to a stratagem on Li Yuan's behalf, the arrival of the rest of the rebel army, or to the flanking maneuver of Li Yuan's cavalry, which had gotten behind the Sui army, the Sui troops collapsed and routed, fleeing back towards Huoyi. Li Yuan's cavalry, however, cut off their retreat. The battle was followed by the capture of weakly-defended Huoyi, and the advance on Daxingcheng, which fell to the rebels in November. In the next year, Li Yuan deposed the Sui and proclaimed himself emperor, beginning the Tang dynasty.
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The military history of the Jin dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms encompasses the period of Chinese military activities from 266 AD to 420 AD. The Jin dynasty is usually divided into the Western Jin and Eastern Jin in Chinese historiography. Western Jin lasted from its usurpation of Cao Wei in 266 to 316 when the Uprising of the Five Barbarians split the empire and created a number of barbarian states in the north. The Jin court relocated to Jiankang, starting the era of Eastern Jin, which ended in 420 when it was usurped by Liu Yu, who founded the Liu Song dynasty.
The military history of the Northern and Southern dynasties encompasses the period of Chinese military activity from 420 to 589. Officially starting with Liu Yu's usurpation of the Jin throne and creation of his Liu Song dynasty in 420, it ended in 589 with the Sui dynasty's conquest of Chen dynasty and reunification of China proper. The first of the Northern dynasties did not however begin in 420, but in 386 with the creation of Northern Wei. Thus there is some unofficial overlap with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms.
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