The Battle of Jiangxia was a battle 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 Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

in 208 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 ...

. The battle was the last part of a series of military engagements between Sun Quan and Liu Biao's general

Huang Zu Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty. . He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Gove ...

Jiangxia Commandery Jiangxia Commandery ( zh, 江夏郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Its territories were located in present-day eastern Hubei province. History Jiangxia Commandery was established during the reign of Emper ...

(present-day eastern

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 ...

Background

In the spring of 208, Gan Ning, who defected from Huang Zu to Sun Quan's side, suggested to his new lord to prepare a full assault on Jiangxia. Gan Ning mentioned that Huang Zu was already old, and his right-hand men only knew how to do business and bully lower-ranked officials, and Huang's arsenal had not been replenished for some time. Despite opposition from his chief civil clerk,

Zhang Zhao Zhang Zhao may refer to: *Zhang Zhao (Eastern Wu) Zhang Zhao (156–236), courtesy name Zibu, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician. He served as an official of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms ...

, Sun Quan still appointed

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 ...

to lead the vanguard force,

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 ...

to be the naval commandant, and

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

as Front Commander to regulate the operation. The campaign had two main objectives: elimination of Huang Zu, who was responsible for the death of Sun Quan's father

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed ...

at the

Battle of Xiangyang The Battle of Xiangyang () was a protracted series of battles between the Yuan dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty from 1267 to 1273. The battle was a significant victory for the Yuan dynasty and ended a 30-year defensive campaign waged by th ...

; and conquest of Jiangxia, which stood in Sun Quan's path to dominating Jing Province (covering present-day

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 battle

Initial clashes

In response to Sun Quan's aggression, Huang Zu assigned his general Zhang Shuo as the vanguard, and

Chen Jiu Chen may refer to: People *Chen (surname) (陳 / 陈), a common Chinese surname * Chen (singer) (born 1992), member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO * Chen Chen (born 1989), Chinese-American poet * (), a Hebrew first name or surname: ...

as the admiral, but he would stay behind the high walls of Jiangxia to avoid conflict in the frontline. Before the battle started, Zhang Shuo led his troop on a large vessel to reconnoitre the riverbank, but was located by Ling Tong, who was also scouting the area. At the time, Ling Tong only had tens of his closest warriors on a light vessel, yet he was able to climb Zhang Shuo's vessel probably under the cover of nightfall or the disguise as Zhang's own men, and surprised his enemy. Zhang Shuo was slain by Ling Tong, and his mariners were captured.

Deadlock

Upon hearing the news that Zhang Shuo had been killed, Huang Zu immediately ordered Chen Jiu to block the entrance of Miankou River with two of his largest capital ships (''

mengchong The Mengchong ( Chinese: 蒙衝; pinyin: ''Méngchōng''; lit. "covered assaulter") was a leather-covered assault warship used in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE in China. One of its most famous uses was in the naval battle of Red Cliffs in late 208 ...

'') covered with ox-hide at the choke point. In addition, Huang had strong men and archers positioned on top of the cliff next to the river to throw down rocks and fire on large enemy vessels. To bring down Huang Zu's ''mengchongs'', Zhou Yu sent out his large vessels, but they were blocked by the rocks thrown down from the cliff. After several hours of fighting, Zhou Yu realized that he could not advance against the heavy crossfire from the ''mengchongs''.

Fall of the great capital ships

To change the tide of battle, Zhou Yu had Ling Tong and

Dong Xi Dong Xi (died 217), courtesy name Yuanshi, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Service under Sun Ce Dong Xi was from Yuyao County (餘姚縣), Kuaiji Commandery, ...

, along with 100 "die-hard" soldiers, don two suits of armour each and charge towards the enemy despite the crossfire. Through fierce fighting, Ling and Dong finally succeeded in breaking the connections between the two vessels, and the downfall of the ''mengchong''s inspired the fighting spirit of Sun Quan's forces. Lü Meng even participated in melee combat, and killed Chen Jiu in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

. With the admiral gone, Huang Zu's massive navy was annihilated by Sun Quan's smaller forces. Meanwhile, Ling Tong had led a separate command to capture Jiangxia, achieving this before the naval victory.

Doom of Huang Zu

Unable to resist Sun Quan's forces, Huang Zu fled the city, but was caught up and killed by a horseman named Feng Ze. His head was specifically requested by Sun Quan to be placed inside a container for examination. After receiving Huang Zu's head, Sun Quan presented it as a sacrifice at his late father

's temple.

Aftermath

Conflict between Ling Tong and Gan Ning

With Huang Zu killed, Sun Quan had taken his revenge; however, Ling Tong's father,

Ling Cao Ling Cao (died 203) was a Chinese military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the father of Ling Tong. He was killed by Gan Ning after his ambush at Xiakou. Service under ...

, was killed by an arrow fired by Gan Ning during the previous Battle of Xiakou, and had not been avenged. Thus, Ling Tong would attempt to provoke Gan Ning during a banquet held in Lü Meng's house some time later. In the end, Sun Quan settled this conflict by "exiling" Gan Ning to Half Island, which Ling Tong perceived as fair.

Abandonment of Jiangxia

Liu Biao's son Liu Qi wanted to succeed Huang Zu's position, and went east after Sun Quan took away the captives. However, Liu Qi was not allowed the time to solidify his control over Jiangxia because northern Jing Province had been incorporated into

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 ...

's domain without much resistance after his father died of illness. Therefore, Liu Qi stationed his troop at Han Ford, where he met

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 ...

, who was escaping from Cao Cao's pursuit, they then joined forces and went to Xiakou to ask help from Sun Quan.(先主斜趨漢津，適與羽船會，得濟沔，遇表長子江夏太守琦眾萬馀人，與俱到夏口。) Chen Shou. ''Records of Three Kingdoms'', Volume 32, Biography of Liu Bei. As Jiangxia was famous for being the cradle of the Huang clan, Sun Quan gave up the idea to hold the city after he received news that Cao Cao had acquired northern Jing Province. Liu Biao's general

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 ...

, who defected to Cao Cao after Liu's death, became the new governor of Jiangxia.

Notes

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 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� ...

''. * Fan Ye. ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

''. * Wei Zhao. ''Book of Wu''. *

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

. ''

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 ...

''. * Yuan Hong. ''Records of Later Han''. *Sakaguchi, Wazumi (ed.) (2005) 坂口和澄・著 Seishi Sangokushi Gunyu Meimeiden 『正史三國志群雄銘銘傳』 Kojinsha:Tokyo. *Watanabe, Seiichi (ed.) (2006) 渡辺精一・監修 Moichidomanabitai Sangokushi 『もう一度学びたい　三国志』 Seitosha:Tokyo. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Jiangxia Jiangxia 208 208 Jiangxia 208 200s conflicts