Dynasties of ChinaThree KingdomsSoochow
Huangwu and others · Reign 229—252
The young stepbrother led Jiangdong, defeated Cao Cao in Chibi, attacked Jingzhou, proclaimed himself emperor, established Wu, and developed Jiangnan. However, in his later years, the dispute between the two palaces created hidden dangers.
Sun Quan, courtesy name Zhongmou, was born in Fuchun, Wu County, and was the second son of Sun Jian. In 200, his brother Sun Ce was assassinated. Sun Quan, who was only 19 years old, inherited Jiangdong's foundation. With the assistance of Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, he recruited talents, suppressed Shanyue, and stabilized the situation. In 208, Cao Cao went south. He adopted Zhou Yu and Lu Su's proposal to unite with Liu Bei and defeated Cao Cao's army in Chibi. After that, he fought with Cao Cao repeatedly in Hefei and Ruxu.
In 219, Sun Quan sent Lü Meng to attack Jingzhou and capture Guan Yu. In 222, he ordered Lu Xun to defeat Liu Bei in Yiling. He once proclaimed himself a minister to Wei and was granted the title of King of Wu, but then he changed his name to Huangwu and broke with Wei. In 229, he proclaimed himself emperor in Wuchang and moved the capital to Jianye in the same year. After that, he rebuilt the Wu-Shu Alliance, promoted farming in the south of the Yangtze River, conquered Shanyue, and sent fleets to sail to Yizhou and Liaodong. Soochow became the most active party in maritime management among the Three Kingdoms.
Sun Quan was jealous in his later years and appointed school official Lu Yi to supervise all officials. The issue of heirs also triggered the "Second Palace Controversy" between Crown Prince Sun He and Lu Wang Sun Ba. Prime Minister Lu Xun died after being accused, and a large number of courtiers were executed or exiled. In 250, he deposed Sun He, consecrated Sun Ba to death, and established his young son Sun Liang as Crown Prince. He died of illness in April 252 at the age of seventy-one and was buried in Jiang Ling in Zhongshan, Jianye.
Sun Quan inherited the legacy of his father and brother and has been in Jiangdong for more than 50 years. He is good at employing people. Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lü Meng, and Lu Xun have successively planned decisive victories for him, making Soochow stand firm between Cao and Liu. His development of Jiangnan and Shanyue areas and management of the sea promoted the development of the south. Chen Shou said that he "bends himself to endure humiliation, allows talents to use strategies, and has the extraordinary ability of masters." However, in his later years, he was jealous and harsh, improperly appointed school officials and mishandled heirs, forced Lu Xun to death, and expelled ministers, which caused endless internal strife in Soochow. After his death, powerful ministers came to dictatorship one after another, and the country's power declined.
PoliticsSuccession to Jiangdong
Sun Ce was assassinated. On his deathbed, he said to Sun Quan, "Everyone should do their best to protect Jiangdong. I am not as good as you." He handed the seal and ribbon to him. Sun Quan couldn't stop crying. Zhang Zhao persuaded him to put aside his tears and help him mount his horse to inspect the army, and his heart finally calmed down.
MilitaryDestroy Huang Zu
In order to avenge his father Sun Jian's death in battle, Sun Quan made three westward expeditions to Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia. In the spring of 208, he captured Xiakou and killed Huang Zu, opening the door to the westward march to Jingzhou.
MilitaryDeciding to resist Cao Cao
According to "Jiang Biao Zhuan", Cao Cao wrote in a letter that he would lead "800,000 navy troops" and Sun Quan "to hunt in Wu". Zhang Zhao and others advocated surrender. Sun Quan listened to Zhou Yu and Lu Su's advice and drew his sword to cut off the case to show his determination. He sent Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu to lead 30,000 people to join forces with Liu Bei to defeat Cao's army in Chibi.
PoliticsDingdu Jianye
The administrative office was moved from Jingkou to Moling. The following year, a stone city was built in Qingliang Mountain and Moling was renamed Jianye. After that, Jianye became the political center of Sun Wu.
Lasting legacyThis is the origin of Nanjing's nickname "Stone City". There are still ruins of Stone City in the Qingliang Mountain area. Sun Wu Jianye is regarded as the beginning of Nanjing's "ancient capital of six dynasties".
MilitaryConfrontation
Cao Cao led his army to attack Ruxukou, and Sun Quan personally fought against him. The stalemate lasted for more than a month. According to "Wu Li", when Cao Cao saw the Wu army's boats and ships being cleaned up, he sighed, "Having a son is like Sun Zhongmou", and then retreated.
Lasting legacy"Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou" was recited in Xin Qiji's "Nanxiangzi·Dengjingkou Beiguting Youhuai" and is still widely quoted today.
MilitaryBattle of Hefei
Taking advantage of Cao Cao's westward expedition to Hanzhong, he led an army of 100,000 to besiege Hefei. Zhang Liao used 800 men to break out of the formation to thwart his spirit, and the siege failed for more than ten days. During the retreat, he was attacked by Zhang Liao in Xiaoyaojin. Sun Quan escaped by leaping on his horse and crossing a broken bridge.
MilitaryAttack Jingzhou
Guan Yu attacked Fancheng from the north, and Sun Quan secretly asked Cao Cao to surrender, and sent Lü Meng across the river in white clothes to attack Jiangling and Gong'an. Guan Yu was defeated and fled to Maicheng, and was captured and beheaded by Pan Zhang's general Ma Zhong. Jingzhou returned to Soochow.
PoliticsThe capital city was changed from Hubei to Wuchang
The capital was moved from Gong'an to E County and renamed Wuchang, which means "prosperous due to martial arts". In the same year, in order to fight against Liu Bei, he surrendered to Cao Pi and was granted the title of King of Wu.
Lasting legacyThe place name "Wuchang" began here. It originally referred to present-day Ezhou, Hubei Province, and was later transferred to Wuchang, present-day Wuhan.
MilitaryBattle of Yiling
Lu Xun was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief and defeated Liu Bei in the Huoshao Company Camp in Yiling and Xiaoting. In the same year, Sun Quan changed his Yuan Dynasty to Huang Wu, refused to send the Crown Prince to Wei as a hostage, broke with Wei, and then repelled Cao Pi's three-pronged attack.
PoliticsWuchang proclaimed himself emperor
In April, he ascended the throne as emperor in the southern suburbs of Wuchang. His country name was Wu, and his name was changed to Huanglong. He followed Sun Jian as Emperor Wulie. In September, the capital was moved to Jianye, leaving Crown Prince Sun Deng and General Lu Xun to guard Wuchang.
DiplomacyWu and Shu divided the world
The Shu Han sent Chen Zhen to congratulate them, and the two sides made an alliance, agreeing that after the destruction of Wei, the four prefectures of Yu, Qing, Xu, and You would return to Wu, the four prefectures of Yan, Ji, Bing, and Liang would return to Shu, and Si Prefecture would be divided equally with Hangu Pass as the boundary.
DiplomacyFleet arrives at Yizhou
He sent generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi to lead tens of thousands of soldiers across the sea to search for Yizhou and Danzhou. They arrived at Yizhou (generally considered to be today's Taiwan) and brought back thousands of people. However, nine out of ten of the soldiers died from the disease, and two of them were executed for failure the following year.
Lasting legacyThis voyage and the description of Yizhou in "Linhai Soil and Foreign Objects" by Wu Shen Ying are regarded as the earliest detailed written records about Taiwan.
DiplomacyTonghao Liaodong suffered setbacks
Regardless of the objections of Zhang Zhao and others, Sun Quan sent envoys across the sea to grant Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong the title of King Yan. Gongsun Yuan killed the Wu envoy and presented his head to Wei. Sun Quan was furious and wanted to conquer it himself, but was dissuaded by the officials.
SocietyConquer Shanyue
Zhuge Ke served as the prefect of Danyang, and forced the Shanyue people to come out of the mountains and surrender by blocking the valley and cutting off food routes. In three years, he gained 40,000 soldiers. A large number of Shanyue people were registered and the Jiangnan mountainous area was further developed.
PoliticsKill Lu Yi
Lu Yi, Zhongshu, was appointed as a school official and supervisor of all officials. He took the opportunity to frame the ministers and Prime Minister Gu Yong and others were harmed. In 238, Lu Yi's crimes were exposed and he was executed. Sun Quan sent envoys to apologize to the ministers for taking the blame.
PeopleCrown Prince Sun Deng dies of illness
The wise Crown Prince Sun Deng died of illness at the age of thirty-three. The following year, Sun Quan made Sun He the Crown Prince, and also granted Sun Ba the title of King of Lu. He treated both of them with the same favor, and the courtiers each had their own attachments, laying the groundwork for the dispute between the two palaces.
PeopleLu Xun died of worry and anger
Prime Minister Lu Xun went to Shu to defend Crown Prince Sun He many times, and Sun Quan repeatedly sent envoys to question him. Lu Xun died in anger. His nephews Gu Tan and Gu Cheng were exiled to Jiaozhou because they were closely affiliated with the Crown Prince.
CultureJianchu Temple was completed
Kang Senghui, a descendant of Kang Juguo, came to Jianye from Jiaozhi to preach. Sun Quan built Jianchu Temple for him, which is known as the beginning of Jiangnan Buddhist temples in history. Previously, Zhi Qian, a descendant of the Yuezhi, had translated a large number of Buddhist scriptures in Wudi.
PoliticsThe battle for the second house ends
Sun Quan deposed Crown Prince Sun He and gave King Lu Sun Ba to commit suicide. The ministers of the two factions were either killed or exiled, and he appointed his youngest son Sun Liang as Crown Prince. As a result, the Soochow ruling group was severely divided.
PoliticsJianye died of illness
When he was seriously ill, he was led by General Zhuge Ke and assisted by Sun Hong, Sun Jun, Teng Yin and Lu Zheng. He died of illness in April at the age of seventy-one and was buried in Jiangling Mausoleum at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain.
Lasting legacyChiang's mausoleum is located in the Meihua Mountain area of today's Nanjing. The Ming Xiaoling shrine runs around Meihua Mountain. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang intentionally preserved Sun Quan's tomb.
A native of Pengcheng, Sun Ce asked him to assist Sun Quan before his death. He is an upright person and has repeatedly violated Yan Zhijian. Before the Battle of Chibi, he advocated surrender. After Sun Quan became emperor, he said, "Just like Zhang Gong's plan, he is now begging for food." Therefore, he never became prime minister.
Sun Ce's close friend, Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao took charge of everything together after he succeeded to the throne, and took the lead in treating Sun Quan with courtesy. In 208, he fought against Cao Cao and led the army with Cheng Pu to defeat Cao Cao in Chibi. The following year, he captured Jiangling. He died of illness in 210 when he was planning to take Yizhou westward.
When he first met Sun Quan, he proposed the strategy of "setting a tripod to the east of the Yangtze River to watch the provocations of the world." Before the Battle of Chibi, he advocated an alliance with Liu to fight against Cao. Zhou Yu took over the army after his death and advised Sun Quan to lend Jingzhou to Liu Bei to maintain the Sun-Liu alliance for life.
A native of Fupi, Runan, he joined the army as a young man and made great progress in his studies after being encouraged by Sun Quan. According to "Jiang Biao Zhuan", after discussing with him, Lu Su lamented that he had "not returned to Wu Xia Amen". After succeeding Lu Su, he planned to attack Jingzhou, but died of illness shortly after succeeding.
A native of Wu County, Wu County, Sun Ce's son-in-law. Assisted Lü Meng in attacking Jingzhou, defeated Liu Bei in the Battle of Yiling, and defeated Cao Xiu in the Battle of Shiting. He assisted the Crown Prince in guarding Wuchang for a long time and rose to the rank of prime minister. He was accused by Sun Quan due to the dispute between the two palaces and died of grief and anger.
A native of Yangdu, Langya, Zhuge Liang's brother. He was a generous man and won the trust of Sun Quan. He was sent as an envoy to Shu Han many times. The two brothers could distinguish between public and private affairs and only talked about official matters when they met. He rose to the rank of general and led the herding of Yuzhou.
Sun Quan's eldest son was crowned Crown Prince in 221 and Crown Prince in 229. He was a humble man and studious, courteous to virtuous corporals, and made friends with Zhuge Ke, Zhang Xiu, etc. He was quite popular in politics when he was guarding Wuchang, but it was a pity that he died young.