The Battle of Jiangling was fought by the allied forces 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 ...

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 H ...

against

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 ...

during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

of China. The battle was an integral part of the Red Cliffs campaign, and was fought immediately after the

Battle of Yiling 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 China ...

in 208, and the preceding engagement at Wulin (烏林; in present-day

Honghu Honghu () is a county-level city in the municipal region of Jingzhou, in the south of Hubei province. The city lies on the northwest (left) bank of the Yangtze River, across from Hunan Province and Xianning, Hubei. It is named after the adjacent ...

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 ...

) on land and the marine

Battle of Red Cliffs The Battle of Red Cliffs, also known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive naval battle in the winter of AD 208–209 at the end of the Han dynasty, about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. T ...

where Cao Cao's navy was destroyed. Note that the battle at Wulin was a byproduct of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and they were not the same battle. While the fighting around

Jiangling County Jiangling () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. History The county name derived from the old name of Jingzhou. Liang dynasty Prince Xiao Yi 蕭繹 ( ...

was vigorous, there were less fierce battles taking place 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 ...

. Unable to isolate Jiangling from its supporting cities (except those in

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, ...

, see

Battle of Yiling (208) The Battle of Yiling was fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Cao Cao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was an integral part in the Red Cliffs campaign, as it was fought immediately after the major engagement at Wulin (� ...

for details), the campaign became a war of attrition, which resulted in enormous casualties for Cao Cao's side. After a year or so, Cao Cao could no longer afford the continuous losses in personnel and

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

, so he ordered Cao Ren to withdraw from Jiangling.

Background

After the great victory in the Battle of Red Cliffs, the allies immediately carried out their next step of their strategy by attempting to take control of

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) from Cao Cao by driving the retreating enemy toward

The battles

Liu Bei fronts

Zhou Yu was worried about Cao Cao's unscathed units totaling over 100,000 strong, which were scattered around strategic locations, so he urged Liu Bei to send

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 ...

to block Cao Ren's supply lines via infiltration. Zhou Yu wanted to have Guan Yu attack the enemy rear while bypassing the strongpoint of Jiangling, in order to isolate Jiangling for a coordinated attack.

Guan Yu's northern blockade

While Zhou Yu and Liu Bei were besieging Jiangling on the frontlines, Liu Bei authorized

Zhang Fei Zhang Fei () (died July or August 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earlies ...

and

to command his troops. He suggested to Zhou Yu to block Jiangling from receiving new supplies as a means of driving Cao Ren out. Thus Guan Yu was sent to intercept enemy reinforcements in the north, setting up blockades along the main passages, cutting off all northern routes leading to Jiangling. Guan Yu, along with Su Fei (苏非), led a special force composed of navy and elite infantry, sailed up the Han River, infiltrating Cao Ren's territory. Cao Cao's general

Li Tong Li Tong may refer to: * Li Tong (Ciyuan) (李通), courtesy name Ciyuan (次元), Han dynasty general *Li Tong (Wenda) (李通), courtesy name Wenda (文達), Han dynasty general * Li Tong (Tang dynasty) (李通), Tang dynasty prince, 18th son of E ...

engaged with Guan Yu's blockade to aid Cao Ren, dismounting and removing the blockades one by one to advance forward, fighting valiantly. However, Li Tong died during the campaign from illness. Xu Huang and Man Chong, who was stationed at Dangyang, also engaged with Guan Yu in Hanjin() to aid against Zhou Yu's advances in Jiangling, but only Xu Huang is recorded to have broke through the blockade to support Cao Ren. Guan Yu's fleet was finally defeated by Yue Jin and

Wen Ping Wen Ping ( third century), courtesy name Zhongye, was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. During his tenure as a general under the warlord Cao Cao, he was credited with defeating ...

at Xiakou and Guan Yu was held off by his rivals. However, none of Cao Cao's forces were able to fully aid Cao Ren and turn the tide decisively to their favor.

Zhou Yu fronts

The allies appeared to be suffering losses but their failures were considered minor as compared to that of Cao Cao's side. A few months earlier, Cao Ren's elite cavalry suffered over 3,000 casualties in a single day in an attempt to retake Yiling; besides, Cao Ren and his aide,

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 ...

, were unable to suppress

Ling Tong Ling Tong () (189–217), courtesy name Gongji, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He started his service under Sun Quan when he was still a teenager and, throughout his ...

, who were defending Zhou Yu's main camp on his own.

Niu Jin's assault

Hence, the soldiers inside Jiangling had low morale, and Cao Ren knew he needed to do something to change the tide of war. To prevent morale from dropping further, Cao Ren recruited 300 volunteers to form an assault force led by general

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 ...

, in the hope that they could score a minor victory or demonstrate bravery on the field to boost morale. When the enemy vanguard reached the outskirts of the city, the small detachment was immediately besieged. Cao Ren ordered several tens of his best men to be ready for the rescue. His Chief Clerk

Chen Jiao Empress Chen of Wu (孝武陳皇后), was empress#China, empress of the Han dynasty and the first wife of Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che). She was also known as Chen Jiao () or as her milk name Chen A'Jiao (陈阿娇). She was born to Chen Wu (Weste ...

advised against it, arguing that "the enemy's morale is too high, and losing several hundred men is not a big deal to us." Cao Ren ignored Chen Jiao's plea and went out, charging directly into the enemy. As Chen Jiao lost sight of Cao Ren, he was certain that Cao Ren was dead. However, to everyone's surprise, not only did Cao Ren rescue Niu Jin on the first attempt, he went back to save the remaining survivors. As Cao Ren and his troops returned to safety behind the city walls, the total fatalities of the combined forces of Cao Ren and Niu Jin were minimal. The surprised Chen Jiao could only mutter one sentence: "General (Cao Ren), you are truly a man from Heaven." When Cao Cao learned of this soon after, he rewarded Cao Ren with the peerage of Marquis of Anping Village (安平亭侯) for his bravery in this battle. Encouraged by this incident, Cao Ren set up camps outside the city walls. Zhou Yu personally led raids on Cao Ren's camps, and during one such raid, he was seriously wounded after he was hit by an arrow that broke one of his right ribs.

Withdrawal of Cao Ren

The siege became prolonged. As Zhou Yu could not command the troops, the battles were left to Ling Tong, Lü Meng and others, who were forced to expediently alter their temporary objective into inflicting damage to the enemy units. After a year of intense fighting, Zhou Yu recovered and insisted on personally leading the army, he purposefully flaunted before Cao Ren and rallied his army to illustrate his determination to keep on the offensive. Being deceived by Zhou Yu, who was actually still in critical condition, Cao Cao unwillingly ordered Cao Ren to retreat under the rationale that his forces could no longer afford the continuous loss of material and labor. Therefore, Sun Quan's forces finally succeeded in their objective of capturing Nan Commandery, which holds the upper stream of the Yangtze River, a strategic stronghold that would never be reclaimed by the state of

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Aftermath

Liu Bei asked for and obtained Zhou Yu's permission to cover the rear and the flank of Zhou Yu's navy by taking the remaining four commanderies to the south 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 ...

from Cao Cao. All of the administrators of Cao Cao's four commanderies, including

Jin Xuan Jin Xuan (died 209), courtesy name Yuanji, was an official and minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Jin Xuan was a descendant of Jin Midi and was from Jingzhao Commandery (京兆郡; around present-day Xi ...

at Wuling Commandery,

Han Xuan Han Xuan ( 200s–210) was a government official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served as the Administrator () of Changsha Commandery (長沙郡; around present-day Changsha, Hunan). After Liu Biao's death in 208, th ...

at Changsha Commandery,

Zhao Fan Zhao Fan ( 200s–210s) was a government official and minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Little is recorded about Zhao Fan in history, except that he was already serving as the Administrator (太守) of G ...

at Guiyang Commandery, and Liu Du at Lingling Commandery surrendered. More importantly, Liu Bei's conquest of these commanderies was an integral portion of the Red Cliffs campaign as part of the goal of the allies. Liu Bei finally had a base of his own and he named

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 ...

as Military Adviser General of the Household (軍師中郎將) to oversee the administrative affairs of Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling. Liu Bei was joined by

Lei Xu Lei Xu, alternatively Lei Pu or Lei Bo, (died 209) was a military officer and rebel who was mainly active in the 200s in China. Initially loyal to warlord Yuan Shu, Lei Xu abandoned his master when the latter's regime collapsed, becoming an in ...

and his troops, which added to the Liu Bei's force substantially. As soon as the news of Cao Cao's defeat at Wulin was heard, Lei Xu at Lujiang (盧江; around present-day

Chaohu City Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Chao ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

) rebelled. Cao Cao's earlier strategy of keeping his veteran force in a separate force in the north to prepare for possible rebellions had paid off as he was able to summon the force to suppress the rebellion quickly by putting

Xiahou Yuan Xiahou Yuan () (died 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of present-day Ga ...

in charge, but the victory was not complete: though defeated and lost his turf, Lei Xu's force was largely unscathed; he led them to Liu Bei, strengthening the latter.After Liu Bei became a powerful warlord of southern

, Sun Quan was a bit apprehensive of him, so he arranged a marriage for Liu Bei and his sister. With the help of Sun Quan's strategist,

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 Z ...

, Liu Bei also successfully "borrowed" Nan Commandery from Sun. Meantime, Liu Bei placed

Xiang Lang Xiang Lang (died 247), courtesy name Juda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Biao and Liu Bei (later the founding emperor of Shu Han) in th ...

in charge of Zigui (秭歸), Yidao (夷道), Wushan (巫山), and Yiling (夷陵) counties,(先主定江南，使朗督秭歸、夷道、巫（山）、夷陵四縣軍民事。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 41. all of them vital to invade

(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 ...

). Thus, Liu Bei had secured everything he needed for the invasion of Yi Province, and he would mobilise his troops towards

in 211. Traditionally, the Battle of Jiangling is regarded as the end of the Red Cliffs campaign because as the confrontations ended and the battle turned into a siege, Cao Cao returned to his forward base in Qiao County in the north in March, 209, and Sun Quan also gave up his attack on

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

in the east, and the remainder of the siege of Jiangling was no longer considered as part of the campaign by most historians. The fall of Jiangling to Sun Quan is generally regarded as the aftermath of the campaign.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and popular culture

For dramatic effect, in many literary works, Liu Bei's conquest of the four commanderies south of the Yangtze River includes a match between

and

Huang Zhong Huang Zhong (, ) (died 220), courtesy name Hansheng, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Mount Dingjun in 219, in which ...

which became the source of other cultural works, such as

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

. In reality; however, none of these were true. Contrary to what was depicted 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 ...

'',

was not killed by

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dy ...

, while there was no record when Wei Yan became a subject of Liu Bei or whether Wei Yan took part in this battle. In ''

Dynasty Warriors 4 is a hack and slash video game and the fourth installment in the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series. ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' was developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game is available on PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Xbox and is based on a ...

'', this battle is called "Race for the Nan Territory".

Notes

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''). * * 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 ...

''. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Jiangling 208 Jiangling 208 200s conflicts