The Battle of Dongkou was a naval battle fought between October 222 and January 223 between forces of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period of China. The battle concluded in a Wu victory.

Background

After the Shu emperor

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 ...

was defeated by Sun Quan's forces at 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 ...

, Sun benefited from his submission to the Wei ruler

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 ...

; who would help Sun in the conflict against Liu Bei. However, on both sides of the two forces, this was never a popular concept, especially in the ranks of Sun Quan, who defeated Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs 14 years earlier, after having resisted surrender. To make matters worse, Cao Pi and his officers were uneasy about Sun's titles and ranks (such as King of Wu) because it was quite inappropriate since they were considered a vassal state under Wei. It was even considered within Sun Quan's forces that the alliance with Wei was pointless, because the defeat they caused Liu Bei at Xiaoting was so critical that it meant that their alliance with Wei was no longer necessary for survival. Sun Quan also appeared as if he was planning to have this alliance go not much longer than it was supposed to. In a matter of time, Cao Pi's plan to keep Sun Quan and Shu's relations sour backfired as Sun Quan and Liu Bei rekindled their alliance. In an attempt to improve his own relations with the Sun clan, he demanded Sun Deng (Sun Quan's eldest son) to be sent to the Wei capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyang ...

as a hostage. However Sun Quan declined this request, and later apologised to Cao Pi, stating his son was still very young and vulnerable in his health to be away from his home and family. Cao Pi did not bring up or press the matter. However Cao Pi demanded Sun Deng as hostage again soon. This was also declined. Diplomatic ties between the two continued to sour until finally, Cao Pi decided to attack Sun Quan. Sun Quan would repetitively send envoys to negotiate peace between the two, but resulted in failure. Soon after, Sun Quan would proceed to declare independence in November 222.

The battle

First moves

In late October 222, Cao Pi ordered

Cao Xiu Cao Xiu (died 29 September 228?), courtesy name Wenlie, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A distant younger relative of the warlord Cao Cao, Cao Xiu started his career in the late Ea ...

Zhang Liao Zhang Liao () (169–222), courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, in the ...

and

Zang Ba Zang Ba ( 162–230s), courtesy name Xuangao, was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He served the warlord Tao Qian initially, followed by Lü Bu and finally Cao Cao and his su ...

to attack Dongkou (洞口);

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 � ...

to attack Ruxu (濡須); and

Cao Zhen Cao Zhen (died April or May 231), courtesy name Zidan, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and l ...

Xiahou Shang Xiahou Shang (died May or June 226),According to the ''Book of Jin'', Xiahou Shang died in the 4th month of the 7th year of the ''Huangchu'' era of Cao Pi's reign. This corresponds to 14 May to 12 June 226 in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. ( ...

Zhang He Zhang He () (died July or August 231), courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and ...

and

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 besiege

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). In response, Sun Quan put

Lü Fan Lü Fan (died 228), courtesy name Ziheng, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Eastern Wu during the early Three King ...

in command of five armies to resist Cao Xiu;

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 ...

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 ...

and

Yang Can Yang may refer to: * Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy * Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902 * YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration pr ...

(楊粲) were dispatched to relieve the siege on Nan Commandery which was being defended by

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 ...

while

Zhu Huan Zhu Huan (177–238), courtesy name Xiumu, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Although he started his career early under the warlord Sun Quan, he did not receive any important responsibil ...

defended the fortress of Ruxu from Cao Ren.

Wei offensive

Initially, the Wei forces easily penetrated the Wu front lines, no doubt because of their strength. In addition,

's forces were hit by a storm, causing serious damage, although

also achieved little out of his initial efforts because of the storm. He was hot-headed, and he had to be advised strongly by his troops. Dong Zhao also assured

that Cao Xiu's troops would do this. Sun Quan was afraid when he heard that

was participating in the campaign, and said to his subordinates, "Zhang Liao may be ill, but he is still a foe to be reckoned with. Be careful!" Zhang Liao and the Wei generals later defeated Lü Fan. When Cao Xiu, Zhang Liao and Zang Ba launched their attack, Lü Fan, along with

Xu Sheng Xu Sheng (died 222–229), courtesy name Wenxiang, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life and career Xu Sheng was from Ju County (), Langya ...

Quan Cong Quan Cong (196–247 or 198–249), courtesy name Zihuang, was a Chinese military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in present-day Hangzhou towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Quan Cong b ...

and Sun Shao, led naval forces to resist the enemy at Dongkou. By this time it was early 223, and Cao Xiu ordered Zang Ba to attack Sun's small stronghold at Xuling. However, Zang Ba achieved nothing and was quickly defeated. Nonetheless, Cao Xiu eventually managed to gain the advantage as Lü Fan's forces were beginning to struggle.

Turn of events and Wei retreat

Miraculously, reinforcements arrived and Lü Fan's generals Sun Shao and

managed to resist the Wei forces, continuously gaining morale due to the Wei struggle at Nan commandery and other locations along the western area of the Yangtze. Eventually, Cao Xiu and the Wei forces at Dongkou were repelled and withdrew to the Wei capital

Aftermath

Following the Wei defeat at Dongkou and failed invasion of the western Yangtze region, Sun Quan took his chance to launch an offensive during the summer of 223, successfully destroying the new

Wei Commandery Wei Commandery ( zh, 魏郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in modern southern Hebei and northern Henan. The commandery was created during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign, with its seat at Ye. In late Western Han, it administered 18 ...

at Qichun. The success of Sun Quan during his resistance against the Wei invasions would soon inspire Sun Quan to declaring himself emperor of Eastern Wu, being the last to establish the three dynasties during the Three Kingdoms period. Sun Lang, also was banished from the Sun clan, and had to change his name to Ding Lang and was expelled from the army.

Order of battle

Wei forces

* Senior General who Conquers the East (征東大將軍)

** Military Adviser (軍師) Zhao Yan * General of the Vanguard (前將軍)

* General Who Guards the East (鎮東將軍)

* Yin Li

Sun Quan's forces

* General of the Vanguard (前將軍)

* General Who Stabilises the East (安東將軍)

He Qi He Qi (died 227), courtesy name Gongmiao, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty, and later in the state of Eastern Wu during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was es ...

* General Who Builds Martial Might (建武將軍)

* General Who Spreads Might (揚威將軍) Sun Shao * Lieutenant-General (偏將軍)

Sun Lang Sun Lang (190 - 220s) was a son of the Chinese warlord Sun Jian, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He was a half-brother of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. Life Little is reco ...

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 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 ...

'', the Wei general

was killed in this battle while defending

from an attack by the Wu general Ding Feng. He was hit in the waist by an arrow fired by Ding Feng and died from his wound not long after the battle. Cao Pi held a grand funeral for Zhang Liao. ;Historicity Zhang Liao's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'' stated that he died of illness. In 222, he participated in the Battle of Dongkou against Wu forces even though he was ill. When Sun Quan heard that Zhang Liao was involved in the battle, he warned his men to be careful. Zhang Liao and other Wei generals defeated the Wu general

in that battle. However, Zhang Liao's condition worsened and he died later that year in Jiangdu (江都; present-day

Jiangdu District Jiangdu (), historically known as Kiangtu is one of three districts of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The district spans an area of , and as of November 1, 2020, has 926,577 inhabitants. Formerly a county, Jiangdu became a district in July 199 ...

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north ...

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 its ca ...

).(遼還屯雍丘，得疾。帝遣侍中劉曄將太醫視疾，虎賁問消息，道路相屬。疾未瘳，帝迎遼就行在所，車駕親臨，執其手，賜以御衣，太官日送御食。疾小差，還屯。孫權復叛，帝遣遼乘舟，與曹休至海陵，臨江。權甚憚焉，敕諸將：「張遼雖病，不可當也，慎之！」是歲，遼與諸將破權將呂范。遼病篤，遂薨於江都。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 17.

In popular culture

The battle is a playable stage in the seventh instalment of Koei'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 franchise. The stage is the final stage of the Wu story mode, and the player uses Sun Quan, and Sun Quan kills

. In the stage, though

surrenders, later the game reveals in a following Wu cinematic clip that Sun Quan was dreaming.

References

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the '' Records of ...

. '' Records of the Three Kingdoms'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Luo Guanzhong. ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

Dongkou Dongkou County () is a county in the Province of Hunan, China, it is under the administration of Shaoyang City. Located in west-central Hunan, the county is bordered to the northeast by Longhui County, to the northwest by Xupu County and Hongjia ...

222 223 220s conflicts