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In 263 AD, Shu Han collapsed under the powerful offensive of Wei, and the pattern of the Three Kingdoms was broken. However, Soochow stubbornly continued for 17 years in this seemingly inevitable situation.
This little-known history is like a lonely boat on the Yangtze River, swaying forward in the stormy waves.
The pinnacle of ancient shipbuilding technology on the mainland, as well as the indomitable spirit of the soldiers of Soochow, have jointly written this magnificent historical chapter.
Let's trace the past of this peak and loop, and explore how Soochow held the last pure land in the wind and rain.
1. Undercurrents: Changes in the situation after the fall of Shu Han
The fall of Shu Han was like a thunderbolt from the sky, shaking the entire Three Kingdoms pattern. The general of Wei, Sima Zhaozhi, was complacent and set his sights on Wu south of the Yangtze River. He confidently formulated a grand plan to destroy Wu in three years, and was ready to take advantage of the victory to pursue and level the Eastern Wu in one fell swoop. However, history is always full of dramatic turns.
At this critical moment, a sudden coup d'état disrupted Sima Zhao's deployment. Wei generals Deng Ai and Zhong Hui both died in the internal strife, which dealt a big blow to Wei's military strength. More importantly, this change made Sima Zhao realize that the internal contradictions within Wei were far from being resolved, and that rushing south might cause even greater turmoil.
As a result, Sima Zhao had to temporarily shelve his plan to destroy Wu and instead focus on consolidating his own ruling base. However, fate seems to have played a joke on Sima Zhao. Just when he had just stabilized the situation and was about to restart the plan to exterminate Wu, a sudden illness took his life.
Sima Zhao's son, Sima Yan, inherited his father's legacy and quickly completed the change of Wei and Jin regimes. However, as an emerging regime, the Jin dynasty faced far more challenges than expected. The ministers of the DPRK and China were divided on whether to immediately go south to destroy Wu, with some believing that the interior should be stabilized first, while others advocating an attack while Eastern Wu was still unstable.
In this complicated situation, Soochow has been given a chance to breathe. They made the most of this time to strengthen their defenses, accumulate strength, and make full preparations for the upcoming battle of life and death.
2. Rivers as screens: the water defense line of Soochow
One of the key factors why Soochow has been able to persist in such a difficult situation for 17 years is their unique geographical advantages and superb shipbuilding technology. The Yangtze River became a natural barrier to the southward movement of northern armies, and a well-developed shipbuilding industry created a water force for Soochow to fearful of its enemies.
In strategic locations such as Wuchang, Jianye, and Jingzhou, Soochow has established large-scale shipbuilding bases. These bases are home to a wide variety of warships, from small and nimble clippers to majestic and large warships. The shipbuilders of Soochow constantly improved the design of their boats to make them more suitable for the characteristics of the Yangtze River waters.
The most striking thing is the "Ikarushi" device on the Soochow warship. This is an ingenious stabilization system that effectively reduces the swaying of the boat in waves. With this device, the soldiers were able to walk on the bumpy river, which greatly improved the combat efficiency.
Soochow's naval army is not only huge in number, but also quite good in quality. They are well-versed in the water and are familiar with every undercurrent and shoal on the river. In many encounters, the Soochow naval army, with its exquisite skills and familiarity with the terrain, repeatedly thwarted the invading enemy.
This powerful water force is not only the umbrella of Soochow, but also a sharp weapon for them to counterattack. Soochow, which was at a disadvantage on land, was often able to take advantage of the superiority of the naval army to deal a fatal blow to the enemy.
3. Internal and external troubles: the predicament of the Jin Dynasty and the opportunities of Eastern Wu
Although the Jin Dynasty was overwhelmed on the surface, it actually faced many thorny problems. At the beginning of the new dynasty, Sima Yan needed to invest a lot of energy to stabilize the internal situation. The contradictions and power struggles between the various factions in the DPRK and China were constantly frustrated, and the new monarch was exhausted to deal with.
The contradiction between Cao Wei's former ministers and the Sima clique was particularly prominent. Although Sima Yan had successfully usurped the throne, the remnants of Cao Wei had not completely surrendered. They secretly formed cliques for personal gain, and confronted the new regime at every turn. Sima Yan had to carefully balance the forces of all parties in case there was a major internal turmoil.
At the same time, the military strength of the Jin Dynasty was not as strong as the outside world thought. Years of conquest have greatly depleted the country's strength, and the supply of grain and grass has become a serious problem. Especially in the Jingzhou area, there was even a dilemma of "the army has no food for 100 days". This not only affected the morale of the army, but also seriously restricted the ability of the Jin army to act.
In order to solve the problem of grain and grass shortage, the Jin Dynasty had to impose additional taxes throughout the country. This further increased the burden on the people and triggered civil unrest in many places. Although these rebellions were small in scale and were quickly suppressed, they consumed a lot of manpower and material resources of the Jin dynasty and dispersed their forces southward.
Just as the Jin Dynasty was busy dealing with internal problems, there were waves in the north. In 270, the leader of the Xianbei tribe in Hexi, Bald Tree, led the people to rebel against the Jin. This rebel army was not only outnumbered, but also brave and skillful, which caused great pressure on the Jin Dynasty.
The bald tree function was good at taking advantage of the terrain of the Hexi Corridor, adopting guerrilla tactics and constantly harassing the Jin army. The crusading army sent by the Jin Dynasty failed repeatedly, not only losing a large number of troops, but also severely damaging the morale of the army.
The war lasted for a full decade and cost the Jin Dynasty a great deal of energy and resources. The Jin dynasty had to devote its main forces to quelling the rebellion, and had no time to take care of Eastern Wu in the south. Whenever the Jin Dynasty was preparing to move south, news of the war was tightening in the north, forcing them to abandon their plans to use troops against Eastern Wu.
Other ethnic minorities in the north of the continent are also ready to move. They saw the situation of the Jin Dynasty taking care of one thing and losing the other, and constantly harassed and caused trouble on the border. The Jin dynasty had to disperse its forces and deploy defenses in various border areas to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
This situation of internal and external troubles undoubtedly gave Soochow a rare respite. Soochow made full use of this time to strengthen its defenses and accumulate strength. They built a series of strong fortifications along the Yangtze River, and continued to improve shipbuilding techniques to create more advanced warships.
At the same time, Soochow did not relax its attention to the situation in the north. They sent a large number of meticulous workers to infiltrate the Jin realm and collect intelligence. This information not only allowed Soochow to learn about the movements of the Jin Dynasty in a timely manner, but also helped them find the weak points of the Jin Dynasty.
Soochow even tried to establish ties with ethnic minorities in the north in an attempt to isolate the Jin dynasty diplomatically. Although these efforts did not achieve substantial results, they limited the attention of the Jin Dynasty to a certain extent.
4. Life and Death: The Last Moments of Soochow
As the Jin dynasty gradually quelled the rebellion in the north, the pressure on Eastern Wu increased. In 272, a sudden turn of events shattered the peace of Soochow. The Xiling guard general Bu Xian betrayed and defected to the Jin Dynasty, which sounded the alarm for Eastern Wu.
Xiling is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and is an important part of the defense system of Eastern Wu. Buyan's rebellion not only weakened the defense of Eastern Wu, but also seriously shook the morale of the army.
At the critical moment, Lu Kang, a famous general of Eastern Wu, stepped forward. He quickly mobilized the land and water army and personally led his troops to Xiling. Lu Kang adopted the strategy of attacking the east and attacking the west, first feinting other regions to confuse the Jin army. When the main force of the Jin army was transferred, Lu Kang suddenly launched a fierce attack and recaptured Xiling in one fell swoop. This victory not only reversed the declining momentum, but also greatly boosted the morale of the army and people of Eastern Wu.
However, the good times were short-lived. In 274, Lu Kang died of illness, and Eastern Wu lost its last outstanding commander who could stand up to the Jin Dynasty. Lu Kang's death caused irreparable damage to Soochow. After that, Soochow's military operations became increasingly conservative, and the main focus was on strengthening defenses.
Soochow stepped up the construction of fortifications in important cities such as Wuchang, Jianye, and Jingzhou. Taking advantage of the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, they built a series of forts and watchtowers along the coast, forming a defensive line that stretched for hundreds of miles. At the same time, Soochow also established large shipbuilding bases near these cities and continuously expanded the naval forces.
Soochow also built a large-scale dock in Jianye, which could accommodate hundreds of warships for repair and construction at the same time. Craftsmen worked day and night to continuously improve the design of the boat to make it more suitable for the characteristics of the Yangtze River waters. They also invented a special "Piercing" device, which was able to effectively stabilize the hull and increase combat efficiency.
In 279, the Jin dynasty finally put down the rebellion in the north and began to turn all its attention to the south. Du Pre, the general of the Jin Dynasty, put forward the strategy of "digging mountains and breaking hills, leading rivers and seas", and planned to use the advantages of waterways to attack Eastern Wu. This plan was approved by Emperor Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty, and the Jin Dynasty began large-scale preparations for war.
At the beginning of 280, the Jin dynasty launched a full-scale offensive. They adopted a multi-pronged strategy, the most crucial of which was the naval army led by Wang Jun.
Wang Jun led the army down the river from Shudi, taking advantage of the water potential, all the way like a bamboo. The Eastern Wu navy put up a hard resistance, but in the face of the well-trained and well-equipped Jin army, they gradually fell to the upper hand.
In the vicinity of Gangneung, a fierce water battle was fought between the two sides. With their familiarity with the terrain and flexible tactics, the Eastern Wu naval army once cornered the Jin army. However, follow-up reinforcements from the Jin army arrived in time and eventually overwhelmed the Soochow naval army with numerical superiority. The defeat in this battle marked the breaking of Soochow's advantage on the Yangtze River.
Subsequently, the Jin army flocked to Jianye like a tide. Soochow was defeated and retreated, and its last hope was pinned on the strong defense of Jianye City. However, in the face of the fierce offensive of the Jin army, the defense line of Jianye City was quickly broken through. Sun Hao, the lord of Wu, saw that the general trend had gone, and finally chose to surrender.
In this way, the Soochow regime, which had been maintained for 17 years, came to an end. The Yangtze River was no longer a barrier to the southward movement of the northern army, and the situation of the three kingdoms was completely over.
The curtain and the aftermath
The demise of Soochow marked the official end of the Three Kingdoms era. However, their stubborn resistance for 17 years after the fall of Shu Han left a profound inspiration for future generations.
Soochow's shipbuilding technology and naval tactics have added a strong touch to the ancient military history of the mainland. They have made full use of their geographical advantages to develop combat methods suited to their own characteristics, and this wisdom of adapting measures to local conditions is worth learning from future generations.
The 17-year resistance of Soochow is like a heroic song that reverberates in the long river of history. It is not only a magnificent military history, but also an indomitable hymn to humanity. What do you think differently about this?
Resources:
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[1] Lin Shuo. World Knowledge,2022(14):66-68.)
[1] Yuan Yuan. Journal of Yangtze University(Social Sciences),2014,37(04):172-174.)
[1] Han Kun. The real spy war in the Three Kingdoms period[J].Honest Government Outlook,2022(09):58-59.
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