The conquest of Wu by Jin was a military campaign launched by the

Western Jin dynasty Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

against the Eastern Wu dynasty in 280 at the end of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period (220–280) of China. The campaign concluded with the fall of Eastern Wu and the reunification of

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...

under the Western Jin dynasty.

Background

As early as 262, Sima Zhao, a regent of the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

state in the

period, had already planned the first outline for the conquest of Wei's rival states, Eastern Wu and

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

conquest of Shu in the following year severely strained Wei's resources and Wei desperately needed time to recover. Compounding the problem, Wei lacked an adequate naval force required for the campaign on Wu. Sima Zhao therefore postponed the planned conquest of Wu and started to consolidate power in Wei first. In 265, Sima Zhao died and was succeeded by his son, Sima Yan (Emperor Wu). Sima Yan usurped the throne from the last Wei emperor Cao Huan and established the

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

with himself as the emperor. After this event, only Eastern Wu was left of the three major powers in the Three Kingdoms period. In comparison with Wei and the subsequent Jin dynasty, Eastern Wu experienced greater problems of its own: the succession from the third Wu emperor,

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

, was marred with bloodshed and internal conflict. Sun Xiu's successor,

Sun Hao Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...

, was a tyrant who made little effort to prepare for the imminent invasion by the Jin dynasty. Sun Hao's rule was more harsh as compared to the later part of the reign of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

, Wu's founding emperor. This caused a continuous wave of peasant uprisings and military mutinies, which mainly took place in present-day

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

. Not only did Sun Hao refuse to accept advice to strengthen Wu's defences and reduce the burden on its people, he also executed around four dozen high-ranking officials who provided good counsel on governance. As a result, the Wu government had already lost the popular support of the people, and many regional commanders stationed at the border defected to the Jin dynasty.

Prelude

To stabilise the newly conquered state of Shu, as well as showing benevolence towards the people of Wu so that they would defect or surrender to the Jin dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin enfeoffed the former Shu emperor

Liu Shan Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...

as a duke and awarded marquis titles to over 50 former Shu officials.

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

's grandson, Zhuge Jing (諸葛京), also received important appointments in the Jin government. At the same time, Emperor Wu sent envoys to Eastern Wu to cease hostilities between the two states, in order to buy time for making preparations. Eastern Wu's emperor Sun Hao, in turn, viewed such actions as a sign of weakness of the Jin dynasty, and further let down his guard.

Jin preparations

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

Yang Hu Yang Hu (羊祜, 221 – 27 December 278), courtesy name Shuzi, was Chinese military general and politician who lived during the Jin dynasty of China. His advocacy for plans to conquer the rival state of Eastern Wu finally persuaded Emperor Wu ...

was appointed as the viceroy of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

and stationed at

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

. *

Wei Guan Wei Guan (220 – 25 July 291Although the exact day of Wei Guan's death was not recorded, Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'' recorded that he was killed together with Sima Liang, who died on 25 July 291. 永平元年)六月，贾后矫 ...

was appointed as the viceroy of

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the '' Tribut ...

and stationed at Linzi (臨菑; northeast of present-day

Zibo Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

). *

Sima Zhou Sima Zhou (227 – 12 June 283), courtesy name Zijiang, was an imperial prince and military general of the Jin dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. Life in Cao ...

was appointed as the viceroy of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

and stationed at Xiapi (下邳; northwest of present-day Suining County,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

). On Yang Hu's recommendation, Emperor Wu appointed Wang Jun as the viceroy of

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

(covering present-day

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

) in 272, and soon after, on Du Yu's advice, Emperor Wu promoted Wang Jun to Prancing Dragon General (龍驤將軍). Wang Jun was put in charge of building a strong navy for the conquest of Wu. An ambitious general who was already turning 70, Wang Jun was eager to establish fame by the conquest of Wu, and while he was still the Inspector 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 In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

within Yi Province must provide him with 10,000 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 Eastern Wu's navy, Wang Jun built many large ships with

ram bow A ram was a weapon fitted to varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon comprised an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between 2 and 4 meters (6–12 ft) in length. This would be dri ...

s. The largest ship was in excess of 170 metres and could carry around 2,000 troops on board. The fortifications on these ships were three stories tall and 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 October 276, the preparation was roughly completed and Yang Hu suggested to Emperor Wu to launch the attack. Yang Hu's suggestion was initially accepted but then delayed due to Jia Chong's objection, because the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

tribes in northwestern China had started a

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. In July 277, additional assignments were given in order to prepare for the campaign against Eastern Wu: * Wang Hun was put in charge of military affairs of

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of t ...

Sima Liang Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227- 25 July 291), courtesy name Ziyi (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during Jin Dynasty (266–420). He was the first of the ei ...

was put in charge of military affairs of Yu Province *

Hu Fen HU or Hu may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hu Sanniang, a fictional character in the ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature * Tian Hu, one of the antagonists in the ''Water Margin'' * Hollywood Unde ...

(胡奮) was put in charge of military affairs along the northern shore of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

After Yang Hu's death, Du Yu succeeded him and was appointed Senior General Who Conquers the South (征南大將軍) to take charge of military affairs in

from November 278.

Wu preparations

In comparison to the active preparation of its adversary, the Wu emperor

did nearly nothing to defend against an invasion. Some leftover wooden pieces from Wang Jun's naval construction project flowed downstream and were picked up by the Eastern Wu general Wu Yan (吾彥). Wu Yan sent the wooden pieces to Sun Hao as evidence of the imminent attack and asked for reinforcements, but Sun Hao ignored the request as he did to similar suggestions from Lu Kang and others. After Lu Kang's death, his military command was split among his five sons as follows: * Lu Yan (陸晏) was appointed as the commander of the land force *

Lu Jing Lu Jing (250–280), courtesy name Shiren, was a Chinese military general and writer of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Lu Kang and a grandson of Lu Xun. Life Lu Jing's mother was ...

was appointed as the commander of the navy * Lu Xuan (陸玄) was appointed as the deputy commander of the land force * Lu Ji was appointed as the deputy commander of the navy * Lu Yun (陸雲) was appointed as the commander of the local garrison This division of power greatly weakened Wu's defences and three of Lu Kang's sons were killed in battle during the Jin invasion.

Strategic planning

In 279, Wang Jun thought that it was time to launch the decisive attack on Wu. However, the majority of officials in the imperial court strongly objected to launching an invasion, except Du Yu and

Zhang Hua Zhang Hua (232–7 May 300According to Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Zhang Hua was killed on the ''guisi'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yongkang'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 7 May 300 永康元年夏四 ...

, who strongly supported Wang Jun's idea. The two of them managed to convince Emperor Wu to agree with them, and the strategy of Jin was basically the one planned by

when he was still alive. 200,000 troops out of the 500,000 strong regular army were deployed for the campaign, and by this time, the Jin navy was also at least on par with the Eastern Wu navy.

Jin strategy

The Jin army did not enjoy numerical superiority because it faced the entire Wu force of 230,000 and over 5,000 ships that defended the state. However, the morale of Jin was much higher than Wu. Furthermore, the Wu forces was scattered along the several thousand miles long border, and the attacking Jin armies could concentrate their forces to attack the isolated pockets of Wu resistance. Based on this principle, Jin would attack Wu along the

in five routes to support the main attack force led by Wang Jun from

, going downstream along the Yangtze. Wang Hun and

were tasked to tie down the main force of Wu, preventing it from reinforcing the upstream Yangtze River by threatening Wu's capital, Jianye (present-day

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

). Wang Rong, Du Yu and Hu Fen (胡奮) were tasked to take all strongholds of Wu located to the west of Xiakou (夏口; present-day

Wuchang District Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the rig ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

) 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 capture of Jianye would be the responsibility of Wang Hun, Sima Zhou and Wang Jun. To better coordinate the attack, Emperor Wu 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.

Wu strategy

Since the Wu emperor Sun Hao did not believe that the Jin dynasty was capable of taking Wu and the overconfidence in the Yangtze River as the natural defensive barrier, barely anything was done to prepare for the incoming campaign. However, Wu did reinforce its defences by deploying iron awls linked together by iron chains in the

Three Gorges The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...

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.

The campaign

Battles at the upstream of the Yangtze River

Wang Jun's navy began its downstream

attack in December 279 after being joined by his deputy, Tang Bin (唐彬) in charge of Badong Commandery (巴東郡; present-day

Fengjie County Fengjie County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is on the Yangtze River; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges Dam, it is within the dam's affected area. The county's most famous geograp ...

). The combined force totalled 70,000. A month later, Du Yu begun his attack on Jiangling County from Xiangyang and sent three of his advisers – Fan Xian (樊顯), Yin Lin (尹林) Deng Gui (鄧圭) – along with Zhou Qi (周奇), the Administrator of Xiangyang, westward along the Yangtze River to join Wang Jun in attacking the strongholds of Wu between them from both the east and the west. By early March 280, Wang Jun's army had taken Danyang (丹楊; east of present-day

Zigui County Zigui County () is a county of western Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang and encompasses the easternmost portion of the Yangtze River Gorges, including the Xiling ...

) from Wu, and captured its defending officer, Sheng Ji (盛紀). The Jin fleet under Wang Jun's command continued on after taking Danyang and upon reaching

Xiling Gorge Xiling Gorge () is a gorge on the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) in Hubei province, China. It is the easternmost and largest of the Three Gorges. Geography Xiling Gorge is located in Zigui County and Yiling District, in the west of Hubei province, ...

, they had met obstacles set up by Wu, the iron awls linked together by iron chains in water. However, Wang Jun had already captured most of Wu's agents, as well as many prisoners-of-war, and based on the information obtained from the captives, the Jin forces already had a detailed knowledge of Wu's defences, 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, those man-made obstacles were completely cleared and the Jin fleet continued advancing. By 20 March 280, Jin forces had taken Xiling (西陵; northwest of present-day

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

, Hubei), and two days later,

Jingmen Jingmen () is a prefecture-level city in central Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Jingmen is within an area where cotton and oil crops are planted. The population of the prefecture is 2,873,687 (2010 population census). The urban area ...

and Yidao (夷道; present-day

Yidu Yidu () is a county-level city in western Hubei Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang. It has a population of 395,000 residents, and covers an area of , divided into 1 subdistrict, 8 towns, and 1 t ...

, Hubei) also fell under Jin control. All major Wu commanders, including Liu Xian (留憲), Cheng Ju (成據),

Yu Zhong Yu Zhong (于忠) (452–518), né Wuniuyu Qiannian (勿忸于千年), courtesy name Sixian (思賢), formally Duke Wujing of Lingshou (靈壽武敬公), was an official of the Northern Wei dynasty. He briefly served as a regent during the reign ...

and

Lu Yan Lu Yan (路巖) (829–874), courtesy name Luzhan (魯瞻), was an official of the Tang dynasty of China, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Yizong. Background and early career Lu Yan was born in 829, during the reign of Emp ...

were captured and then executed. The victorious Jin fleet continued its offensive against Lexiang (樂鄉; northeast of present-day

Songzi Songzi () is a city in the southwest of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located in the middle reach and southern bank of the Yangtze River. It is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jingzho ...

, Hubei), defeating the local Wu forces who ventured out of the protection of city walls in an attempt to stop the Jin assault. In the meantime, Du Yu had sent his subordinate Zhou Zhi (周旨) to cross the Yangtze River with 800 horsemen at night to plant many flags in Mount Ba (巴山; southwest of present-day Songzi, Hubei), appearing to be a much larger force, while laying ambush just outside Lexiang. As the local 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 and capture it. The defending officer of Lexiang, Sun Xin (孫歆), was captured by Zhou Zhi and sent to Du Yu. Wang Jun, in his report to the Jin imperial court, claimed that Sun Xin was killed in action. In fact, it was Wu's naval commander-in-chief,

, who was killed when Lexiang fell to the Jin forces. Du Yu's army subsequently conquered Jiangling and killed the Wu general Wu Yan (伍延).

Redeployment of Jin forces

On 4 April 280, Emperor Wu 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 Yongzhou, formerly known as Lingling, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Hunan province, People's Republic of China, located on the southern bank of the Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, and b ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

), Guiyang (桂陽; present-day

Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...

, Hunan), and Hengyang (衡陽; west of present-day

Xiangtan Xiangtan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, a ...

, Hunan), and 10,000 troops under Du Yu's command would be reassigned to Wang Jun, and another 7,000 troops under Du Yu's command would be reassigned to Wang Jun's deputy, Tang Bin (唐彬). * Hu Fen (胡奮) would take Xiakou (夏口; present-day

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers whe ...

) together with Wang Jun's force, and after the city was taken, 7,000 troops under Hu Fen's command would be reassigned to Wang Jun. * Wang Rong would join forces with Wang Jun to take Wuchang (武昌; present-day

Ezhou Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home ...

, Hubei), and after the city was taken, 6,000 troops under Wang Rong's command would be reassigned to Wang Jun's deputy, Tang Bin. * After taking Baqiu (巴丘; present-day

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...

, Hunan), 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's orders, Wang Jun continued his offensive and Wu general Meng Tai (孟泰) surrendered with his forces guarding

Qichun Qichun County () is a county of eastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Huanggang City. Qichun is the birthplace of famous herbalist Li Shizhen, who was born and lived in Qizhou town, on the southern ...

and Zhu (邾; present day

Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It border ...

, Hubei) counties. The next target was also captured without much fight: after Wang Rong's force led by

Luo Shang Luo Shang (died 310), courtesy name Jingzhi, also called Luo Zhong, courtesy name Jingzhen, was a military general of the Jin dynasty (266–420). In 300, the Jin court appointed him the Inspector of Yizhou and sent him to quell the rebellion ...

and Liu Qiao (劉喬) joined Wang Jun and begun their offensive, Liu Lang (劉朗), the Administrator of Wuchang, lost his will to resist and surrendered without a fight. With the exception of Jianping, which was defended by Wu Yan (吾彦), the Administrator of Jianping, all other territories of Wu on the upper Yangtze River had fallen under the Jin dynasty's control. By this time, 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 state 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.

Battles midstream and downstream of the Yangtze River

At the midstream and downstream of the Yangtze River, starting in mid February 280, Wang Hun conquered Wu's territories of Xunyang (尋陽; southwest of present-day

Huangmei County Huangmei County () falls under the administration of Huanggang City in eastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and borders Anhui to the east and Jiangxi to the south across the Yangtze. It also administers Shanjia Islet () in the Yang ...

, Hubei), Gaowang (高望; southwest of present-day Pu County 浦縣), and Laixiang (賴鄉), capturing the Wu general Zhou Xing (周興).

took Tuzhong (涂中) and sent his subordinate Liu Hong (劉弘) to solidify the newly captured territory on the northern shore of the Yangtze River. Meanwhile, Sima Zhou sent Wang Heng (王恆) to cross the Yangtze River and continue attacking Wu. Wang Heng's army captured the Wu general Cai Ji (蔡機) and killed more than 60,000 Wu troops in the battle. Surprised with the news of attack, Sun Hao ordered

Zhang Ti Zhang Ti (?–280), courtesy name Juxian, was an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He was the last Imperial Chancellor of Wu. In 280, when the Jin dynasty invaded Wu as part of it ...

Zhuge Jing Zhuge Jing (fl. 257-284), courtesy name Zhongsi, was a Chinese military general and politician of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Though originally from Cao Wei, he was sent to Wu as a hostage during the rebellion of his ...

, Shen Ying (沈瑩) and Sun Zhen (孫震) to lead a 30,000-strong army to engage the enemy. Zhang Ti decided the only chance for Wu was to immediately venture out to stop the enemy before their morale collapsed, and if the enemy's advance could be beaten back or at least checked, his force would join the Wu forces in the upstream Yangtze River to strengthen their position. In mid April 280, Zhang Ti led his force across the Yangtze River and besieged Wang Hun's subordinate Zhang Qiao (張喬). Zhang Qiao only had 7,000 troops and surrendered. Zhuge Jing suspected that the surrender was a trick and asked Zhang Ti to execute 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 by his side so that Zhang Qiao would not have the chance to escape back to Jin. As the Wu army continued on, they encountered Jin forces led by Zhang Han (張翰) and Zhou Jun (周濬). Shen Ying personally led 5,000 crack troops from Danyang to charge into the Jin army's formation thrice, but was beaten back with heavy losses. The defeat of the elite force seriously demoralised the rest of the Wu soldiers, and the result was a disorganised retreat. Seizing on the opportunity, the Jin generals Xue Sheng (薛勝) and Jiang Ban (蔣班) launched a surprise counterattack, defeating the Wu forces and killing over 5,800 enemy troops. As the surviving Wu forces fled from the battlefield, the surrendered Zhang Qiao attacked the fleeing Wu soldiers from the opposite direction at Banqiao (版橋), inflicting a further 2,000 fatalities on the already defeated Wu army. Zhang Ti, Shen Ying, and Sun Zhen were all killed in the decisive battle that shocked Wu. Only Zhuge Jing managed to escape alive back to Jianye. Wang Hun's subordinate urged him to press on to attack Jianye immediately, but he refused under the excuse that he was ordered by Emperor Wu to secure the northern shore of Yangtze River only and wait 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 capturing the Wu capital, the highest honour in the campaign. Wang Jun's 80,000 strong army, meanwhile, reached Niuzhu (牛渚) on 30 April 280, after leaving Wuchang (武昌; present-day

, Hubei) and the Wu emperor

ordered Zhang Xiang (張象) to lead a 10,000 strong navy to engage the enemy. However, when both fleets met, the demoralised Wu navy 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. As Wang Jun's forces advanced on to Sanshan (三山) on 30 April 280, just southeast of Jianye, the Wu general Tao Jun (陶濬) organised a 20,000 strong army to make a last stand, but nearly all the Wu troops deserted on the very same night, and Tao Jun and his few remaining followers were killed subsequently in their futile struggle against the Jin invaders. Sun Hao adopted a last attempt suggested by his subjects

Xue Ying Xue Ying (died 282), courtesy name Daoyan, was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. After the fall of Wu, he continued serving under the Jin dynasty (266– ...

and Hu Chong (胡沖) by sending letters of surrender to Sima Zhou, Wang Jun and Wang Hun, in a move to stir up internal conflict among the Jin commanders in order to buy time, but such a tactic proved useless. On 1 May 280, Sun Hao stripped all clothing on his upper body and tied himself up (a traditional way of presenting prisoners-of-war to the victors) and walked to Wang Jun's camp to surrender. Prior to that, Sun Hao issued his last imperial decree, asking his people not to be upset with the end of Wu, but prepare themselves to serve the Jin dynasty. Sun Hao was then taken to the Jin capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

with his imperial chariot, but was not allowed to ride on it. Instead, he travelled on foot as he was now a prisoner-of-war. After hearing of Sun Hao's surrender, the last pocket of Wu resistance in Jianping, led by Wu Yan (吾彥), followed suit even after having successfully defended against all Jin attacks throughout the campaign.

Aftermath

The fall of Jianye marked the end of Wu and the

period, and China was unified again under the Jin dynasty. The Jin commanders who participated in the campaign were handsomely rewarded, and ironically, Jia Chong, the overall commander who had opposed the campaign received the largest reward, the tax income of 8,000 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 the spoils of war. 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 Jin court, thus had gained an upper hand, with his followers suggesting that Wang Jun be jailed. In the end, Emperor Wu put an end to the conflict by rewarding Wang Jun handsomely.

Order of battle

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

Jin forces

*Grand Chief Controller (大都督) Jia Chong **Champion General (冠軍將軍) Yang Ji (楊濟), served as Jia Chong's deputy **Secretary of Fiscal Revenue (度支尚書)

was in charge of supplies and logistics ***General Who Guards the Army (鎮軍將軍)

would attack Tuzhong (涂中) from Xiapi (下邳) ****Chancellor of Langya (瑯琊相) Liu Hong (劉弘) ****Chief Clerk (長史) Wang Heng (王恆) ***General Who Stabilises the East (安東將軍) Wang Hun (王渾), would attack Hezhou (和州) from

****General Who Protects the Army (護軍將軍) Zhang Han (張翰) ****Inspector of

(揚州刺史) Zhou Jun (周濬) ****Xue Sheng (薛勝) ****Jiang Ban (蔣班) ***Senior General Who Attacks the South (征南大將軍) Du Yu would attack Jiangling (江陵) from

****Army Adviser (參軍) Fan Xian (樊顯) ****Army Adviser Yin Lin (尹林) ****Army Adviser Deng Gui (鄧圭) ****Administrator of Xiangyang (襄陽太守) Zhou Qi (周奇) ****General of the Standard (牙門將軍) Zhou Zhi (周旨) ***General Who Establishes Martial Might (建威將軍) Wang Rong would attack Wuchang (武昌; present-day

) from Yu Province ****Army Adviser (參軍)

(羅尚) ****Army Adviser Liu Qiao (劉喬) ****Commandant of Chengyang (成陽都尉) Zhang Qiao (張喬) ***General Who Pacifies the South (平南將軍) Hu Fen (胡奮) would attack Xiakou (夏口; present-day

, Hubei) from

***Prancing Dragon General (龍驤將軍) Wang Jun would attack downstream from

along the

****General Who Spreads Martial Might (廣武將軍) Tang Bin (唐彬), defended Badong (巴東; present-day

)

Wu forces

Before 17 April 280

* Grand Chief Controller (大都督)

(陸晏) **Lu Xuan (陸玄), served as Lu Yan's deputy *** General of Martial Might (武威將軍) Zhou Xing (周興) *** Cai Ji (蔡機) *** Supervisor of Danyang (丹楊監) Sheng Ji (盛紀) *** General Who Guards the South (鎮南將軍) Liu Xian (留憲) *** General Who Attacks the South (征南將軍) Cheng Ju (成據) *** Administrator of Yidu (宜都太守)

(虞忠) ***Commander of Lexiang (樂鄉督) Sun Xin (孫歆) *** Commander of Jiangling (江陵督) Wu Yan (伍延) *** General of the Standard (牙門將軍) Meng Tai (孟泰) *** Administrator of Wuchang (武昌太守) Liu Lang (劉朗) *

served as commander of the naval force ** Lu Ji served as deputy commander of the naval force

After 17 April 280

* Imperial Chancellor (丞相)

**Deputy Military Adviser (副軍師)

** Administrator of Danyang (丹陽太守) Shen Ying (沈瑩) ** General Who Protects the Army (護軍將軍) Sun Zhen (孫震) * Guerrilla General (游擊將軍) Zhang Xiang (張象) * Commander of Xuling (徐陵督) Tao Jun (陶濬) * Administrator of Jianping (建平太守) Wu Yan (吾彥)

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'', the task of building a navy for the Jin dynasty was credited to

Zhong Hui Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...

before the fall of Shu, when Zhong Hui recommended to Sima Zhao that constructing a large navy to attack Wu was a diversion to trick Shu into letting down its guard, and when it was time to truly attack Wu after the conquest of Shu, the navy would be ready. In reality, however, the idea of constructing a large navy originated from Wang Jun and Emperor Wu, and the plan was set into motion only after the fall of Shu. In the novel, the last event before the campaign ended was described to be Zhang Xiang's surrender when he led a 10,000 strong navy to engage Jin forces. Since the Wu imperial court had not received news of Zhang Xiang's surrender yet, Wang Jun ordered Zhang Xiang to return to the Wu capital Jianye to trick the Wu defenders into opening the city gates. Zhang Xiang followed as instructed and Jin forces swiftly conquered Jianye. The Wu emperor Sun Hao surrendered and that marked the end of Wu. In history, however, before Sun Hao's surrender, there was one last battle at Sanshan (三山), just southeast of Jianye, between Wang Jun's army and a smaller force led by Wu general Tao Jun (陶濬).

References

* * Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fang, Xuanling (648). ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

''. * * {{Jin dynasty (265–420) topics 279 280 Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms Jin dynasty (266–420)