Dynasties of ChinaThree KingdomsSoochow
Yuanxing and others · Reign 264—280
When he came to the throne, he had good governance, but soon he became arrogant, violent and debauched, and killed ministers indiscriminately. Finally, the Jin army surrendered and subjugated the country during the six-pronged attack on Wu.
Sun Hao was named Yuan Zong, the grandson of Sun Quan, the son of Sun He, the deposed Crown Prince, and was granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng. Sun Xiu died in 264, when the Shu Han Dynasty was newly destroyed. Prime Minister Pu Yangxing and Zuo General Zhang Bu listened to Wan Yu's advice and welcomed the 23-year-old Sun Hao as emperor. When he first came to the throne, he subsidized the people and opened warehouses to provide relief to the poor. He was hailed as a wise master for a while, but he soon became rough and arrogant. He killed Pu Yangxing and Zhang Bu, and honored his biological father and grandson He as Emperor Wen.
During his sixteen years in power, he once moved the capital to Wuchang, wasting people and money; he built palaces and selected palace maids; he treated his ministers with tortures such as peeling off their faces and gouging out their eyes, and indiscriminately killed ministers such as Wei Zhao and He Shao. Fortunately, Lu Kang held on to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and delayed the fall of Wu. In the winter of 279, Western Jin divided six routes to attack Wu. In March of the following year, Wang Jun's ship arrived at Jianye, Sun Hao surrendered, and Wu died. He was sent to Luoyang and granted the title of Marquis of Ming. He died in 284.
When Sun Hao came to the throne, he still seemed to be working hard to govern, but he soon fell into arrogance, luxury and tyranny. He built a large palace, abused torture, killed his ministers, and believed in Fu Rui, which caused the people of Wu to be divided. After Lu Kang's death, the defenses in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River were empty. As soon as the Jin army arrived, various places surrendered. However, the fall of Soochow was also related to the Western Jin's unification of the north and the national power far surpassing that of Wu. It was not all caused by one person.
PoliticsFirst administration after taking office
At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he issued an edict to support the scholars and the people, opened warehouses to provide relief to the poor, selected palace maidens to betrothed to those who had no wives, and released the animals in the garden. For a time, he was hailed as the Lord of the Ming Dynasty.
PoliticsKill the ministers who support him
Soon Sun Hao became rude, arrogant and taboo. Pu Yangxing and Zhang Bu secretly regretted it and were reported by Wan Yu. Sun Hao exiled the two men to Guangzhou, killing the Bingyi clan on the way; the following year, he forced Sun Xiu's queen Zhu to death.
PoliticsMoved the capital to Wuchang
The capital was moved to Wuchang upon the advice of those who believed in the hope, and the people of Yangzhou were transported up the river to transport supplies, which was extremely miserable. Prime Minister Zuo Lu Kaishang quoted the folk song "I would rather drink Jianye water than eat Wuchang fish". In December of the following year, the capital was returned to Jianye.
Lasting legacyThe name "Wuchang Fish" was passed down to later generations because of this folk song. Mao Zedong's poem "I only drank Changsha water and ate Wuchang fish" used this allusion.
SocietyBuild Zhaoming Palace
A large-scale construction project was carried out to build the Zhaoming Palace. Officials with a weight of less than two thousand stones were ordered to personally go to the mountains to supervise the felling of timber. They also opened gardens and built earthen towers and temples. They were extremely skilled and spent hundreds of millions.
MilitaryBattle of Xiling
Xiling Governor Bu Chan captured the city and surrendered to Jin, and Jin generals Yang Hu and Yang Zhao led their troops to respond. Lu Kang built a wall, first repulsed Yang Zhao's reinforcements, then broke through Xiling, killed Bu Chan, and stabilized Wu's defense line on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
PeopleLu Kang and Yang Hu
Lu Kang and Jin general Yang Hu faced each other across the border, each maintaining their own boundaries and communicating with each other's envoys. Lu Kang fell ill, and Yang Hu sent medicine. Lu Kang took it without any doubt, and people compared it to Hua Yuan and Zifan during the Spring and Autumn period. Lu Kang died of illness in 274. On his deathbed, he petitioned for additional troops in Xiling, but was not accepted.
PeopleWei Zhao was killed
During the banquet, Sun Hao forced the ministers to drink seven liters each. Wei Zhao only drank two liters of wine, and Sun Hao secretly allowed him to drink tea instead of wine at first. Later, because he refused to include Sun He in the imperial records, he was jailed and executed.
Lasting legacyThe saying of "replacing wine with tea" comes from the record in "Three Kingdoms· Wei Yao Biography" that Sun Hao "secretly gave tea to serve as wine".
CultureGuoshan Fengzen
People from all over the country offered auspicious auspiciousness. Sun Hao successively changed the Yuan Tianzhi and Tianxi, sent people to engrave stones in Yangxian Mountain, and set up the "Tianfa Shen Prophecy Monument" in Jianye to embellish his rule with auspiciousness.
Lasting legacyThe original stone of "Zhan Guo Shan Stele" in Zhangzhu Town, Yixing still exists; the original stone of "Tianfa Shen Prophecy Stele" was destroyed in the Qing Dynasty, and its rubbings are famous works in the history of calligraphy.
MilitaryThe Jin army destroyed Wu
In the winter of 279, the Jin army divided into six groups to attack Wu. Prime Minister Zhang Ti crossed the river to fight, but was defeated and died in battle. Wang Junlou's ship sailed down the river from Bashu and burned the iron locks blocking the river. In March 280, it arrived at Stone City. Sun Haomianfu Yuchun surrendered and Wu died.
PeopleGui Minghou
He was sent to Luoyang and granted the title of Marquis of Ming. According to Shishuoxinyu, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty asked him to compose "Er You Song", which was popular in the south. He raised his glass and sang, "I used to be your neighbor, and now I am your minister." Emperor Wu regretted it. Died in Luoyang in 284.
The son of Lu Xun, he served as the long-term governor of Xiling and guarded the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In 272, he captured Xiling, beheaded Buchan, and defeated Yang Hu. He and Yang Hu respected each other and became a legend. After his death, Wu's western front was left undefended.
A son of the Lu Xun clan, he is an upright official and dares to speak out. Sun Hao was tyrannical, and he repeatedly remonstrated and listed twenty things that caused Sun Hao's rule to disobey the late emperor. Although Sun Hao was displeased, he did not dare to harm him because his clan was strong.
A native of Xiangyang, he predicted in his early years that Wei would destroy Shu. When the Jin army was approaching, the prime minister led his army across the river to fight. Zhuge Liang persuaded him to retreat. He said, "Today is where I will die." He fought hard and died.
The governor of Yizhou in the Western Jin Dynasty built a large number of buildings and ships in Shuzhong. During the expedition against Wu, he led his navy down the east side of the Yangtze River, burned the iron locks blocking the river with torches, and took the lead in arriving at Jianye to accept Sun Hao's surrender.