Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign occurred in 238 CE during 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 of

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

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 ...

, a general of the state of

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the kingdom of Yan led by warlord

Gongsun Yuan Gongsun Yuan () (died September 238Cao Rui's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' indicated that Sima Yi laid siege to Xiangping on the ''bingyin'' day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of the ''Jing'chu'' era. However, there is no ''bingyin'' day in that ...

, whose clan had ruled independently from the central government for three generations in the northeastern territory of

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

(present-day eastern

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

). After a siege that lasted three months, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters fell to Sima Yi with assistance from

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

(one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

), and many who served the Yan Kingdom were massacred. In addition to eliminating Wei's rival in the northeast, the acquisition of Liaodong as a result of the successful campaign allowed Wei contact with the non-Han peoples of

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, and the

Japanese archipelago The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to t ...

. On the other hand, the war and the subsequent centralisation policies lessened the Chinese grip on the territory, which permitted a number of non-Han states to form in the area in later centuries.

Background

Liaodong Commandery Liaodong Commandery ( zh, 遼東郡) was a commandery in imperial China that existed from the Warring States period to the Northern dynasties. It was located in modern Liaoning, to the east of the Liao River. The commandery was created by the stat ...

You Province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'') in North China, northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient so ...

, part of present-day

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

, was situated at the northeastern fringe of Eastern Han Empire, surrounded by the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, <

Eastern Han Chinese

: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

and

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 ...

nomads in the north and

and

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ ( Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korea ...

peoples in the east. Its capital was the city of

Xiangping Xiangping ( zh, 襄平) is a historical name of Liaoyang, Liaoning province. Xiangping was first mentioned in history as the capital of the Liaodong Commandery in the state of Yan, and the eastern terminus of the Great Wall of Yan established in 2 ...

. In the autumn of 189,

Gongsun Du Gongsun Du () (150? – 2049th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per vol. 08 of ''Sanguozhi''), courtesy name Shengji, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was not able ...

, a native of Liaodong, was appointed as the Administrator of Liaodong (), and thus began the Gongsun family's rule in the region. Taking advantage of his distance from central China, Gongsun Du stayed away from the chaos which accompanied the effective end of Han rule, expanded his territories to include the commanderies of

Lelang The Lelang Commandery was a commandery of the Han dynasty established after it had conquered Wiman Joseon in 108 BC and lasted until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. The Lelang Commandery extended the rule of the Four Commanderies of Han as far so ...

and

Xuantu Xuantu Commandery (; ko, 현도군) was a commandery of the Chinese Han dynasty. It was one of Four Commanderies of Han, established in 107 BCE in the northern Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula, after the Han dynasty conquered ...

, and eventually proclaimed himself as Marquis of Liaodong (). His son

Gongsun Kang Gongsun Kang () ( 200s to 210s) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He became a vassal of the state of Cao Wei in the early Three Kingdoms periodMore specifically, as mentioned ...

, who succeeded him in 204, created the

Daifang Commandery The Daifang Commandery was an administrative division established by the Chinese Han dynasty on the Korea, Korean Peninsula between 204 and 314. History Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery ...

and maintained the autonomy of Liaodong by aligning himself with the warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

. Gongsun Kang died some time around the abdication of

Emperor Xian of Han Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last Emperor of China, emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. ...

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...

, son of Cao Cao, and Gongsun Kang's brother

Gongsun Gong Gongsun Gong () ( 200s–230s) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms. He was a son of Gongsun Du and a younger brother of Gongsun Kang, who both consecutiv ...

became the new ruler of Liaodong. Gongsun Gong was described as incompetent and inept, and he was soon overthrown and imprisoned by Gongsun Kang's second son

in 228.Gardiner (1972B), p. 147 Soon after Gongsun Yuan came to power in Liaodong, China was, for the most part, split into three:

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

in the north,

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

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

in the southeast. Of these, Liaodong's chief concern was its immediate neighbour Cao Wei, who had once contemplated an invasion of Liaodong in response to Gongsun Yuan's coup. In this situation, the Eastern Wu lord

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 ...

attempted to win Gongsun Yuan's allegiance in order to establish two fronts of attack against Cao Wei, and several embassies made their way from Wu to Liaodong by taking the difficult journey across the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

. Cao Wei eventually got wind of the embassies and made one successful interception in Chengshan (), at the tip of the

Shandong peninsula The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou. G ...

, but Gongsun Yuan had already sided with Sun Quan. Upon the confirmation of Gongsun Yuan's goodwill, an elated Sun Quan sent another embassy in 233 to bestow Gongsun Yuan the title of King of Yan () and various insignia to trade for warhorses. By then, however, Gongsun Yuan had changed his mind about allying himself with a distant state over the sea and making himself an enemy of a powerful neighbour. When the Wu embassy arrived, Gongsun Yuan seized the treasures, killed the leading ambassadors, and sent their heads and a portion of their goods to the Wei court to buy himself back to favour. Some of the envoys from Wu somehow escaped the carnage and found a potential ally to the east of Liaodong — the state of Goguryeo. Goguryeo had been an enemy of the Gongsun clan since the time of Gongsun Du, especially after Gongsun Kang meddled with the succession after King Gogukcheon died. Thus when the Wu ambassadors came to Goguryeo for refuge, the reigning King Dongcheon was happy to assist these new enemies of Liaodong. The king sent 25 men to escort the envoys back to Wu along with a tribute of

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaza ...

and

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

skins, which encouraged Sun Quan to send an official mission to Goguryeo to further the two states' relations. Cao Wei did not want to see Wu regain a diplomatic foothold in the north, and established its own connections with Goguryeo through the Inspector of You Province () Wang Xiong (). King Dongcheon presumably arrived at the same conclusion as Gongsun Yuan and switched his alignment from Wu to Wei — the Wu envoys to Goguryeo in 236 were executed and their heads sent to the new Inspector of You Province,

Guanqiu Jian Guanqiu Jian (died 16 March 255), courtesy name Zhonggong, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Guanqiu Jian was from Wenxi County (), Hedong Commandery, which i ...

. For the moment, both Liaodong and Goguryeo were aligned with Wei while Wu's influence diminished.

Prelude

Although Gongsun Yuan was nominally a vassal of Cao Wei, his brief flirtation with Wu and brazen derogatory comments about Wei earned him a reputation as unreliable. From Wei's point of view, although the Xianbei insurrection by

Kebineng Kebineng (died 235) was a Xianbei chieftain who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He rose to power during the late Eastern Han dynasty after the warlord Cao Cao defeated the Wuhuan tribes in northern C ...

had been put down recently, Liaodong's position as a buffer zone against barbarian invasions needed to be clarified. Therefore, it was clearly unacceptable that its leader, Gongsun Yuan, was of questionable loyalty. In 237, Guanqiu Jian presented a plan to invade Liaodong to the Wei imperial court and put his plan into action. With troops of You Province as well as Wuhuan and Xianbei auxiliaries, Guanqiu Jian crossed the

Liao River The Liao River () is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong P ...

east into Gongsun Yuan's territory and clashed with his enemy in Liaosui (遼隧; near present-day Haicheng,

). There the Wei forces suffered a defeat, and were forced to retreat due to the floods caused by the summer monsoon season. Having inflicted a disgrace on the imperial armies, Gongsun Yuan had gone too far to turn back. In a series of contradictory actions, Gongsun Yuan memorialised the Wei court in hope of getting a pardon on one hand, while formally declaring independence on the other by assuming the title King of Yan. He also assigned an

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

for his reign, Shaohan (), meaning "Succeeding Han". This was problematic for his peace efforts for two reasons: first, proclaiming era names was a practice usually reserved for emperors, showing his intention to claim the imperial position; secondly, the era name itself implied that Wei's succession of the Han dynasty was somehow illegitimate. As king, he tried to entice the Xianbei into attacking Cao Wei by conferring the rank of

chanyu Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

to one of its chiefs, but the Xianbei had not recovered from the death of Kebineng: the chieftains were too preoccupied with internal disputes to launch a large-scale attack on Wei. In 238, the Wei court summoned the Grand Commandant ()

for another campaign against Gongsun Yuan. Previously, Sima Yi had been tasked with defending Wei's western borders from Shu Han's Northern Expeditions led by the Shu

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

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 r ...

, so when the latter died in 234, the government of Wei became able to afford sending Sima Yi to another frontier. In a court debate prior to the campaign, the Wei

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

decided that Sima Yi should lead 40,000 men for the invasion of Liaodong. Some counsellors thought the number was too many, but Cao Rui overruled them, saying: "In this expedition of 4,000 '' li'', mobile troops must be employed, and we must exert our utmost. We should not mind the expense at all." The emperor then asked Sima Yi for his assessment on Gongsun Yuan's possible reactions and how long the campaign should take, Sima Yi responded as thus: When Sima Yi set out from the Wei 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 ...

, Cao Rui personally saw him off at Luoyang's Ximing Gate (), where he ordered Sima Yi's brother

Sima Fu Sima Fu () (180– 3 April 272), courtesy name Shuda, was an imperial prince and statesman of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period before his grandnephew, Sima Y ...

and son

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, all ...

, as well as other officials to attend the ceremony. Sima Yi, leading 40,000 infantry and cavalry, was accompanied by sub-commanders such as

Niu Jin Niu Jin () ( 208–238) was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, during the Three Kingdoms period ...

and Hu Zun (). He would later be joined by Guanqiu Jian's forces in You Province, which included the Xianbei auxiliary led by Mohuba (), ancestor of the

Murong Murong (; LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the MongolsТаск� ...

clan.Gardiner (1972B), p. 169 Having heard of the new preparations made against him, Gongsun Yuan desperately dispatched an envoy to the Wu court to apologise for his betrayal in 233 and begged for help from Sun Quan. At first, Sun Quan was ready to kill the messenger, but he was persuaded by Yang Dao () to make a display of force and possibly gain advantages if Sima Yi and Gongsun Yuan became deadlocked in war. Cao Rui became concerned about the Wu reinforcements, but the adviser

Jiang Ji Jiang Ji (died 18 May 249), courtesy name Zitong, was an official and military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Ji started his career as a low-level official i ...

read through Sun Quan's intentions and cautioned Cao Rui that while Sun Quan would not risk a deep invasion, the Wu fleet would make a shallow incursion into Liaodong if Sima Yi did not defeat Gongsun Yuan quickly enough.

The campaign

The Wei army led by Sima Yi reached the banks of the Liao River by June 238. Gongsun Yuan responded by sending Bei Yan () and Yang Zuo () with the main Liaodong force to set camp at Liaosui, the site of Guanqiu Jian's defeat. There, the Liaodong encampment stretched some 20 '' li'' walled from north to south. The Wei generals wanted to attack Liaosui, but Sima Yi reasoned that attacking the encampment would only wear out the troops; on the other hand, since the bulk of the Liaodong army was at Liaosui, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters at

would be comparatively empty and the Wei armies could take it with ease. Thus Sima Yi sent Hu Zun to make a sortie to the southeast, planting flags and banners as if the main thrust of the Wei army was in that direction. Bei Yan and his men hastened to the south, where Hu Zun, having lured his enemy out, crossed the river and broke through Bei Yan's line. Meanwhile, Sima Yi secretly led the main Wei army across the Liao River to the north. After he made the crossing, he burned the bridges and boats, made a long barricade along the river, then headed toward Xiangping. Realising the feint, Bei Yan and his men hastily withdrew their troops during the night and headed north to intercept Sima Yi's army. Bei Yan caught up with Sima Yi in Mount Shou (), a mountain west of Xiangping, where he was ordered to fight to the death by Gongsun Yuan. Sima Yi achieved a great victory there, and proceeded to lay siege to Xiangping. Along with the month of July came the summer monsoons, which impeded Guanqiu Jian's campaign a year ago. Rain poured constantly for more than a month so that ships could sail the length of the flooded Liao River from its mouth at the

Liaodong Bay Liaodong Bay () is largest and longest of the three main bays (along with Laizhou Bay to the south and the Bohai Bay to the southwest) of the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Although named after the Liaodong Peninsula (which ...

up to the walls of Xiangping. With the water several feet high on level ground, Sima Yi was determined to maintain the siege despite the clamours of his officers who proposed changing camps. Sima Yi executed Zhang Jing (), an officer who kept bringing up the issue, and the rest of the officers became silent. Because of the floods, the encirclement of Xiangping was by no means complete, and the defenders used the flood to their advantage to sail out to forage and pasture their animals. Sima Yi forbade his generals from pursuing the foragers and herders from Xiangping, saying: The officials back in the Wei imperial court in Luoyang were also concerned about the floods and proposed recalling Sima Yi. The Wei emperor Cao Rui, being completely certain in Sima Yi's abilities, turned the proposal down. Around this time, the Goguryeo king sent a noble (大加, ''taeka'') and the Keeper of Records (主簿, ''jubu'') of the Goguryeo court with several thousand men to aid Sima Yi. When the rain stopped and the floodwater drained away, Sima Yi hastened to complete the encirclement of Xiangping. The siege of Xiangping carried on night and day, which utilised

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

, hooked ladders,

battering ram A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient history, ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, hea ...

s, and artificial mounds for

siege tower A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...

s and

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

s to get higher vantage points. The speed at which the siege was tightened caught the defenders off guard. Since the defenders had been obtaining supplies with such ease during the flood, there apparently was not any real attempt to stockpile the goods inside Xiangping, and as a result

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

and

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

broke out in the city. Many Liaodong generals, such as Yang Zuo, surrendered to Sima Yi during the siege. On 3 September, a comet was seen in the skies of Xiangping and was interpreted as an omen of destruction by those in the Liaodong camp. A frightened Gongsun Yuan sent his Chancellor of State Wang Jian () and Imperial Counsellor Liu Fu () to negotiate the terms of surrender, where he promised to present himself bound to Sima Yi once the siege was lifted. Sima Yi, wary of Gongsun Yuan's double-crossing past, executed the two, explaining his actions in a message to Gongsun Yuan that he desired nothing less than an

unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...

and "these two men were dotards who must have failed to convey your intentions; I have already put them to death on your behalf. If you still have anything to say, then send a younger man of intelligence and precision." When Gongsun Yuan sent Wei Yan () for another round of talks, this time requesting he be allowed to send a hostage to the Wei court, Sima Yi dismissed the final messenger as a waste of time: "Now that you are not willing to come bound, you are determined to have death; there is no need of sending any hostage." Apparently, Sima Yi's previous suggestion of further negotiations was nothing more than an act of malice that gave false hope to Gongsun Yuan while prolonging the siege and placing further strain on the supplies within the city. On 29 September, the famished Xiangping fell to the Wei army. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu (), leading a few hundred horsemen, broke out of the encirclement and fled to the southeast. The main Wei army gave pursuit and killed both father and son on the Liang River (梁水; present-day

Taizi River The Taizi River () is a major river in the Liaoning province of Northeastern China. The river was historically also known as Yan River (衍水) or Liang River (梁水). It was originally the third largest tributary of the Liao River, southern ...

). Gongsun Yuan's head was cut off and sent to Luoyang for public display. A separate fleet, led by future Grand Administrators Liu Xin () and Xianyu Si (), had been sent to attack the Korean commanderies of

and

Daifang The Daifang Commandery was an administrative division established by the Chinese Han dynasty on the Korean Peninsula between 204 and 314. History Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and es ...

by sea, and in time, all of Gongsun Yuan's state of Liaodong was subjugated.

Aftermath

Entering the city, Sima Yi assembled all of those who had served in Gongsun Yuan's military and government under two banners. Everyone who had held office in Gongsun Yuan's rebel regime, 1,000 to 2,000 in number, were executed in a systematic purge. In addition, 7,000 people of age 14 and above who had served in Liaodong's army were put to death, their corpses heaped up to form a great mound meant to terrorise those who survived. After the massacre, he pardoned the survivors, posthumously rehabilitated Lun Zhi () and Jia Fan () — two of Gongsun Yuan's subordinates who opposed going to war with Wei — and freed the overthrown Gongsun Gong from jail. Finally, he dismissed the soldiers over 59 years of age from the Wei army on grounds of compassion, numbering over a thousand men, and marched back with the army. As it was winter, many soldiers were suffering from the cold and wanted extra clothing to keep themselves warm. When someone pointed out that they had a surplus of ''ru'' () and suggested giving them out to the soldiers, Sima Yi refused and said that the ''ru''s were the property of the Wei government and should not be distributed without permission. Although he had gained 40,000 households and some 300,000 people for the state of Wei from this expedition, Sima Yi did not encourage these frontier settlers to continue their livelihoods in the Chinese northeast and instead ordered that those families who wished to return to central China be allowed to do so. In April or May 239, a Wu fleet commanded by Sun Yi () and Yang Dao defeated the Wei defenders in southern Liaodong, prompting the Wei imperial court to evacuate the coastal population to

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 ...

, further accelerating the trend of depopulation in Liaodong. This happened around the same time as the Xianbei chieftain Mohuba was awarded merit for his participation in the campaign against Gongsun Yuan, and his people were allowed to settle in northern Liaodong. By the beginning of 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 ...

(265-316), the number of Chinese households fell to just 5,400. After the fall of Western Jin, control over Liaodong passed onto

Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...

(337-370), which was founded by Mohuba's descendants, and then to Goguryeo. For several centuries Liaodong would be out of Chinese hands, partly due to the lack of Chinese presence there as a result of the policies that Sima Yi and the Wei court adopted for Liaodong after the fall of the Gongsun. In the meantime, the removal of the Yan kingdom cleared a barrier between central China and the peoples of the farther east. As early as 239, a mission from the

Wa people The Wa people ( Wa: Vāx; my, ဝလူမျိုး, ; ; th, ว้า) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in Northern Myanmar, in the northern part of Shan State and the eastern part of Kachin State, near and along Myanm ...

of Japan under Queen

Himiko , also known as , was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265) and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler fol ...

reached the Wei court for the first time.Gardiner (1972B), p. 175-176 Goguryeo soon found itself rid of a nuisance that was only to be replaced by a stronger neighbour, and provoked Wei's wrath when it raided Chinese settlements in Liaodong and

commanderies. The Goguryeo–Wei Wars of 244 followed, devastating Goguryeo, and from it the Chinese re-established friendly contact with the

.Gardiner (1972B), p. 175 These developments could only have happened after Sima Yi's conquest of Liaodong, which, in some sense, represented the first step in recovering Chinese influence in the farther east at the time.

In popular culture

The Liaodong campaign is featured as a playable stage in the seventh installment 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 ''

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 of ...

'' video game series in the newly introduced Jin Dynasty story line.

Notes

{{reflist, 2

References

* Chen, Shou. ''

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, Achilles. ''The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (220-265): chapters 69-78 from the Tzǔ chih t'ung chien of Ssǔ-ma Kuang (1019-1086)''. Vol. I. edited by Glen W Baxter. Harvard-Yenching Institute 1952. * Fang, Xuanling. ''

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''). * Gardiner, K.H.J.
The Kung-sun Warlords of Liao-tung (189-238)
. ''Papers on Far Eastern History'' 5 (Canberra, March 1972). 59-107. * Gardiner, K.H.J.
The Kung-sun Warlords of Liao-tung (189-238) - Continued
. ''Papers on Far Eastern History'' 6 (Canberra, September 1972). 141–201. * Ikeuchi, Hiroshi. "A Study on Lo-lang and Tai-fang, Ancient Chinese prefectures in Korean Peninsula". ''Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko'' 5 (1930). 79–95. * Pei, Songzhi. ''

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. ''

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 ...

''. 238 Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms Wars involving Goguryeo Military history of Liaoning