Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province was fought between the warlords

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 ...

and

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

in the winter of 219–220 in the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. Sun Quan's forces, led by

Lü Meng Lü Meng () (178 – January or February 220), courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Early in his career, he fought in several batt ...

, invaded Liu Bei's territories in southern

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 ...

, which covered present-day

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 p ...

and

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, Jiangx ...

. The campaign occurred after the

Battle of Fancheng The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant ro ...

and concluded with victory for Sun Quan's forces, who completely captured all of Liu Bei's territories.

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

, Liu Bei's general guarding those territories, was captured and executed by Sun Quan's forces. The fall of Jing Province and Guan Yu's death provided the trigger for the

Battle of Xiaoting The Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭之戰), also known as the Battle of Yiling and the Battle of Yiling and Xiaoting, was fought between the state of Shu and the state of Wu, between the years 221 and 222 in the early Three Kingdoms period of Chin ...

between Liu Bei and Sun Quan between 221 and 222.

Background

Sun Quan "lending" Jing Province to Liu Bei

In 210, Liu Bei travelled to Jing (京; present-day

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) a ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

) to meet Sun Quan and request for the governorship of

Lu Su Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Zh ...

advised Sun Quan to "lend"

Nan Commandery Nan Commandery ( zh, 南郡, "Southern Commandery") was a Chinese commandery that existed from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing. The seat ...

(南郡; around present-day

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

), the administrative centre of southern Jing Province, to Liu Bei so as to strengthen the Sun–Liu alliance against their common rival,

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

. He argued that since Sun Quan's forces had just recently occupied Nan Commandery after the Battle of Jiangling, they would not be able to defend Nan Commandery well if Cao Cao's forces attacked, so it would be better to "lend" it to Liu Bei and let him serve as a "buffer" against Cao Cao. Sun Quan then agreed to "lend" Nan Commandery to Liu Bei. In the meantime, Liu Bei had also conquered the four commanderies of Wuling (武陵; around present-day

Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongt ...

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and ...

(長沙), Guiyang (桂陽; around 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 Lingling (零陵; around present-day Yongzhou, Hunan) so he effectively controlled all the territories in southern Jing Province by 211.

Sun–Liu territorial dispute

Between 212 and 214, Liu Bei embarked on a campaign to seize control 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 t ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...

) from its governor, Liu Zhang. He left

behind to guard his territories in Jing Province during his absence. At the time, tensions were rising at the Sun–Liu border in Jing Province as both sides became more suspicious and wary of each other. Around July 215, Sun Quan asked Liu Bei to "return" three commanderies in southern Jing Province – Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang – since the latter already had a new base in Yi Province. When Liu Bei refused, Sun Quan decided to seize the three commanderies by force. He stationed himself at Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day

Chibi Chibi most often refers to: * Chibi (style), a super-deformed style of Japanese-influenced caricature *Chibi, Hubei (赤壁 lit. Red Cliff), a county-level city in southeastern Hubei, China. Chibi may also refer to: Places * Chibi Subdistrict, ...

) while ordering

to lead troops to attack the three commanderies and Lu Su to lead 10,000 troops to

Yiyang Yiyang () is a prefecture-level city on the Zi River in Hunan province, China, straddling Lake Dongting and bordering Hubei to the north. According to the 2010 Census, Yiyang has a population of 4,313,084 inhabitants residing in an area of . Th ...

to block Guan Yu. After Lü Meng succeeded in capturing Lingling by trickery and persuading the administrators of Changsha and Guiyang to surrender to Sun Quan's side, he then led his troops to Yiyang to reinforce Lu Su. When Liu Bei heard about it, he returned to Gong'an County and ordered Guan Yu to lead an army to stop Lü Meng. During this time, Guan Yu had a standoff with Lu Su at Yiyang, where he planned to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to cross the upstream shallows at night. In response, Lu Su ordered Gan Ning to lead 1,000 troops to guard their side of the shallows. Guan Yu did not dare to cross the shallows and instead ordered his men to make camp on their side. The shallows were thus named 'Guan Yu's Shallows' (關羽瀨). Lu Su and Guan Yu then held talks to discuss the territorial dispute. During the negotiations, both sides stationed their soldiers more than 100 paces away from the meeting area and the officers present at the talks were each armed with only a blade weapon. Although the talks were inconclusive, the territorial dispute eventually ended by the end of August 215 when Liu Bei decided to give in upon learning that Cao Cao was attacking Hanzhong Commandery. As Hanzhong was the "northern gateway" into Yi Province, Cao Cao would pose a greater threat to Liu Bei's base in Yi Province if he succeeded in conquering Hanzhong, so Liu Bei had to switch to countering Cao Cao in Hanzhong. Liu Bei and Sun Quan then withdrew their forces after agreeing to divide southern Jing Province between them along the

Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River) in terms of surface runoff, the 5th largest tribut ...

Battle of Fancheng

In August 219, following Liu Bei's victory over Cao Cao in the

Hanzhong Campaign The Hanzhong Campaign was a military campaign launched by the warlord Liu Bei to seize control of Hanzhong Commandery from his rival, Cao Cao. The campaign took place between 217 and 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period. Althou ...

in June that year, Guan Yu decided to follow up by attacking Cao Cao's stronghold at Fancheng (樊城; present-day

Fancheng District Fancheng is a district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China. History Fancheng, or Fan City, was an ancient city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River, opposite Xiangyang on the southern side of the r ...

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 ...

), which was guarded by

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei – ...

. Cao Cao ordered Yu Jin to lead reinforcements to help Cao Ren. It was in autumn and there were heavy showers so the Han River flooded and destroyed Yu Jin's reinforcements. Yu Jin himself surrendered to Guan Yu while his subordinate

Pang De Pang De () (died 219), courtesy name Lingming, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He started his career under the warlord Ma Teng, who was based in Liang Province. In 211, Ma Teng's son Ma Chao, along ...

refused and was executed. After Yu Jin's defeat, Cao Cao considered relocating the imperial capital from Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the southeast, and Pi ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

) further north into

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

because Xu was too near enemy territory. However,

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

and Jiang Ji reminded him that Sun Quan would feel restless if Guan Yu managed to capture Fancheng since he already felt uneasy about Liu Bei's growing influence. They suggested to Cao Cao to ally with Sun Quan and get him to help them hinder Guan Yu's advances. In return, Cao Cao would make peace with Sun Quan and recognise the legitimacy of Sun Quan's claim over the territories in the Jiangdong region. Cao Cao heeded their advice and later ordered

Xu Huang Xu Huang () (died 227), courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first ...

to lead reinforcements to help Cao Ren. Xu Huang broke through Guan Yu's encirclement and routed his forces on the battlefield, thus lifting the siege on Fancheng. Guan Yu withdrew his forces after seeing that he could not capture Fancheng.

Guan Yu scorning Sun Quan

Earlier on, Sun Quan had sent a messenger to meet Guan Yu and propose a marriage between his son and Guan Yu's daughter. However, Guan Yu not only rejected the proposal, but also scolded and humiliated the messenger. Sun Quan was enraged. After Yu Jin's surrender during the Battle of Fancheng, Guan Yu saw that his army lacked food supplies so he seized grain from one of Sun Quan's granaries at Xiang Pass (湘關).

Lü Meng and Lu Xun putting Guan Yu off guard

When Lü Meng first heard that Guan Yu had led his troops to attack Fancheng, he wrote to Sun Quan: Sun Quan agreed to Lü Meng's plan and played along by openly approving Lü Meng's request to return to Jianye for medical treatment. After Lü Meng returned to Jianye, he recommended

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

to replace him as the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces in Jing Province. He explained that although Lu Xun was talented and capable of assuming great responsibilities, he was still a relative nobody at the time so Guan Yu would not be wary of him. Sun Quan then commissioned Lu Xun as a Lieutenant-General and ordered him to go to Jing Province to take up Lü Meng's post at Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day

). When Lu Xun first assumed his new appointment at Lukou, he wrote to Guan Yu to flatter him: Later, after Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu during the Battle of Fancheng, Lu Xun wrote again to Guan Yu: Guan Yu fell for the ruse and lowered his guard against Lu Xun.

Invasion of Jing Province

By November 219, Sun Quan had already secretly agreed to ally with Cao Cao against Liu Bei. He ordered Lü Meng and others to lead troops to invade Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province while he followed behind with reinforcements. At Xunyang (尋陽; present-day Huangmei County,

), Lü Meng ordered his men to hide in vessels disguised as civilian and merchant ships and sail towards Jiangling, the capital of Nan Commandery. Along the way, Lü Meng employed infiltration tactics to disable the surveillance towers set up along the river so that Guan Yu would be unaware of the invasion. This event is called "crossing the river in civilian clothing" (白衣渡江) 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 ...

''.

Surrenders of Mi Fang and Shi Ren

When Guan Yu embarked on the Fancheng campaign, he left his subordinates Mi Fang and

Shi Ren Shi Ren ( 200s–220), courtesy name Junyi, was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Shi Ren was from Guangyang Commandery (廣陽郡), which is located southwest of present-day Daxing District, ...

behind to defend his key bases in Jing Province – Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day

) and Gong'an County. Guan Yu had all along treated Mi Fang and Shi Ren with contempt. During the Battle of Fancheng, when Mi Fang and Shi Ren failed to ensure that sufficient supplies were delivered to Guan Yu's army at the frontline, an annoyed Guan Yu remarked, "I will deal with them when I return." Mi Fang and Shi Ren felt very uneasy after that. During the invasion of Jing Province, Lü Meng showed understanding towards Mi Fang and successfully induced him into surrendering Nan Commandery. Yu Fan, one of Sun Quan's advisers, also managed to persuade Shi Ren to give up resistance and surrender Gong'an County. Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province largely fell under Sun Quan's control after the surrenders of Mi Fang and Shi Ren.

Guan Yu's capture and execution

By the time Guan Yu retreated from Fancheng, Sun Quan's forces had occupied Nan Commandery and Gong'an County, and captured the families of Guan Yu's soldiers. Lü Meng ordered his troops to treat the civilians well and ensure that they were not harmed. Most of Guan Yu's soldiers lost their fighting spirit and deserted and went back to Jing Province to reunite with their families. Guan Yu knew that he had been isolated so he withdrew to Maicheng (麥城; present-day Maicheng Village, Lianghe Town, Dangyang, Hubei) and later headed west towards Zhang District (漳鄉). At Zhang District, his remaining men deserted him and surrendered to Sun Quan's forces. Sun Quan sent

Zhu Ran Zhu Ran (182 – March or April 249), born Shi Ran, courtesy name Yifeng, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Despite being a childhood friend of Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan, h ...

and

Pan Zhang Pan Zhang (died 234), 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 (founded by Sun Quan) during the Three Kingdoms ...

to block Guan Yu from retreating further west to

. Guan Yu, along with his son

Guan Ping Guan Ping () (died January or February 220) was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guan Ping was the eldest son of Guan Yu. Little about him is documented in historical recor ...

and subordinate Zhao Lei (趙累), were captured alive by Pan Zhang's deputy, Ma Zhong (馬忠), in an ambush. Guan Yu and Guan Ping were later executed by Sun Quan's forces in Linju (臨沮; present-day Nanzhang County, Hubei).

Aftermath

Lu Xun's follow-up pacification of southern Jing Province

Although Sun Quan's forces successfully captured Guan Yu's key bases in southern Jing Province during the invasion, there were still some areas controlled by Liu Bei's forces or other forces hostile towards Sun Quan.

followed up by sending his subordinates Li Yi (李異) and Xie Jing (謝旌) to lead 3,000 men to attack Liu Bei's forces led by Zhan Yan (詹晏) and Chen Feng (陳鳳). After Li Yi and Xie Jing defeated Zhan Yan and Chen Feng, they also attacked Fangling Commandery (房陵郡) and Nanxiang County (南鄉縣) respectively and captured these territories. Wen Bu (文布) and Deng Kai (鄧凱), two influential men in Zigui County, rallied thousands of locals to form an army to attack Lu Xun in the west of southern Jing Province. In response, Lu Xun ordered Xie Jing to lead troops to attack them. After their defeat, Wen Bu and Deng Kai fled further west in

, where Liu Bei received them and appointed them as military officers. Lu Xun later managed to induce Wen Bu to lead his men to defect to Sun Quan's side.(秭歸大姓文布、鄧凱等合夷兵數千人，首尾西方。遜復部旌討破布、凱。布、凱脫走，蜀以為將。遜令人誘之，布帥衆還降。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 58.

Battle of Xiaoting

Two years later in 221, Liu Bei personally led his forces to attack Sun Quan retake Jing Province and avenge Guan Yu. This led to the

of 221–222 which ended with a decisive victory by Sun Quan's forces, under Lu Xun's command, over Liu Bei's forces.

Order of battle

;Sun Quan forces * General of Tiger's Might (虎威將軍)

** Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)

*** Li Yi (李異) *** Xie Jing (謝旌) ** Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)

** Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)

*** Major (司馬) Ma Zhong (馬忠) ** Colonel of Loyalty and Righteousness (忠義校尉) Shi Yi ** Central Major (中司馬)

Zhuge Jin Zhuge Jin (174 – July or August 241), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Zhuge Jin started his career in ...

;Liu Bei forces * General of the Vanguard (前將軍)

** Area Commander (都督) Zhao Lei (趙累) ** Assistant Officer in Headquarters Office (治中從事) Pan Jun ** Liao Hua * Administrator of Nan Commandery (南郡太守) Mi Fang *

* Assistant Officer in Wuling Commandery Office (武陵部從事) Fan Zhou (樊伷) * Administrator of Yidu (宜都郡守) Fan You (樊友) * Zhan Yan (詹晏) * Chen Feng (陳鳳) * Administrator of Fangling (房陵太守) Deng Fu (鄧輔) * Administrator of Nanxiang (南鄉太守) Guo Mu (郭睦) * Wen Bu (文布) * Deng Kai (鄧凱)

In popular culture

The campaign is featured as a playable stage in some installments of

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

's video game series ''

dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel o ...

'', in which it is known as the "Battle of Mai Castle". In some installments this battle is merged with the

Battle of Fan Castle The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant r ...

into one single stage. Some of Sun Quan's generals, such as Cheng Pu and Gan Ning, who did not participate in the battle in history, appeared in this stage.

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''). * * 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''). * {{cite book , author-link=Sima Guang, last=Sima , first= Guang , year=1084 , title=

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 ...

Campaigns of the Han dynasty Rebellions during the end of the Han dynasty 219 210s conflicts 220