The siege of Yong'an was fought between the states of Eastern Wu and Cao Wei from around March to August 264, during the Three Kingdoms period of China. After the fall of Shu Han to Wei in 263, Wu attempted to seize Shu's territory but was resisted by the former Shu general, Luo Xian, who later submitted to Wei. The battle concluded with a Wei victory.
| Siege of Yong'an | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Cao Wei | Eastern Wu | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Luo Xian Hu Lie |
Bu Xie Lu Kang | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
2,000 (Luo Xian) 20,000 (Hu Lie) | 30,000+ | ||||||
| Siege of Yong'an | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 永安之戰 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 永安之战 | ||||||
| |||||||
Background
editBadong Commandery (巴東郡; covering parts of present-day Chongqing) was a territory held by Shu Han that was located near the border of its ally, Eastern Wu. In September or October 263, the state of Cao Wei launched an invasion of Shu. The Shu general, Yan Yu (閻宇), who was in charge of guarding Badong, received orders to lead troops to support the Shu forces at the frontline. Yan Yu's deputy, Luo Xian,[1] remained behind with only 2,000 troops to guard Yong'an (永安; present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing), the capital of Badong.[2][3] In November or December 263, when news that the Shu capital, Chengdu, had fallen reached Yong'an, Luo Xian managed to calm down the people and restore order and stability in Yong'an.[4]
Prior to its fall, Shu had also notified Wu about the invasion. In response, the Wu emperor, Sun Xiu, launched a three-pronged operation to divert Wei's attention from Shu. However, after news of Shu's fall reached Wu, Sun Xiu pulled back his forces. Wu then prepared to take advantage of the situation by invading Shu and seizing control of their former territories under the pretext of sending reinforcements to resist Wei. However, with Shu conquered, Luo Xian did not think that Wu would last for long. Furthermore, he perceived Wu's actions as a betrayal of their alliance,[5][6] and thus he strengthened the defences in Yong'an to resist the Wu takeover.[7][8]
The battle
editAround March 264, the Wu general, Bu Xie, led troops from Xiling (西陵; present-day Yichang, Hubei) to attack Yong'an but encountered strong resistance from Luo Xian and his men. As the Wu forces rained arrows on his position, Luo Xian ordered his subordinate, Yang Zong (楊宗), to break out of the siege and seek help from the Wei general, Chen Qian. He also surrendered his tallies and sent his son as a hostage to convince the Wei regent Sima Zhao of his sincerity. During this time, he led his men to strike back at Bu Xie's forces and defeated them.[9]
Enraged at Bu Xie's defeat, the Wu emperor Sun Xiu ordered his general, Lu Kang, to lead 30,000 troops to support Bu Xie and besiege Yong'an. After a six-month-long siege, more than half of Yong'an's population fell sick from infectious diseases.[10] When someone suggested that he break out of the siege and head south towards Zangke Commandery (牂柯郡; covering parts of present-day Guizhou) or head north to Shangyong Commandery (上庸郡; covering parts of present-day northwestern Hubei), Luo Xian refused, stating he was prepared to die defending the city.[11][12]
After Chen Qian relayed Luo Xian's call for help to Sima Zhao, the Wei regent ordered the general, Hu Lie, to lead 20,000 troops from Jing Province to divert Wu forces from Yong'an by attacking Xiling. In July or August 264, Wu forces retreated after failing to capture Yong'an and due to the Wei attack at Xiling.[13]
Aftermath
editSima Zhao accepted Luo Xian's surrender and ordered him to remain behind and continue guarding Yong'an.[14] Due to his efforts in Yong'an, Wei consolidated their control over Shu's former territories while Wu was unable to make any territorial gain in the wake of Shu's demise.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "時大將軍閻宇都督巴東，拜憲領軍，為宇副貳。".
- ^ Xi: "魏之伐蜀，召[閻]宇西還，留宇二千人，令[羅]憲守永安城。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1008
- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "魏之伐蜀，召宇西還，憲守永安城".
- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "及成都敗，城中擾動，邊江長吏皆棄城走，憲斬亂者一人，百姓乃安。知劉禪降，乃率所統臨於都亭三日。".
- ^ Xi: "憲曰：「本朝傾覆，吳為脣齒，不恤我難而徼其利，背盟違約。且漢已亡，吳何得乆，寧能為吳降虜乎！」。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1008
- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "憲曰：「本朝傾覆，吳為脣齒，不恤我難，而邀其利，吾寧當為降虜乎！」".
- ^ Xi: "保城繕甲，告誓將士，厲以節義，莫不用命。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1008
- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "乃歸順。於是繕甲完聚，厲以節義，士皆用命。".
- ^ Xi: "吳聞鐘[會]、鄧[艾]敗，百城無主，有秉蜀之志，而巴東固守，兵不得過，使步協而西。。憲臨江拒射，不能禦，遣參軍楊宗突圍北出，告急安東將軍陳騫，又送文武印綬、任子詣晉王。協攻城，憲出與戰，大破其軍。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1008–1009
- ^ Xi: "孫休怒，復遣陸抗等帥衆三萬人增憲之圍。被攻凡六月日而救援不到，城中疾病大半。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1009
- ^ Xi: "或說憲奔走之計，憲曰：「夫為人主，百姓所仰，危不能安，急而弃之，君子不為也，畢命於此矣。" Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1009
- ^ Book of Jin, vol. 57: "或勸南出牂柯，北奔上庸，可以保全。憲曰：「夫為人主，百姓所仰，既不能存，急而棄之，君子不為也。畢命於此矣。」".
- ^ Chen and Pei, 48.1162: "魏使將軍胡烈步騎二萬侵西陵，以救羅憲，陸抗等引軍退。".
- ^ Xi: "晉王即委前任，拜憲淩江將軍，封萬年亭侯。 Cited in Chen and Pei, 41.1009
Works cited
edit- Xi Zuochi (300s). Records of Xiangyang 襄陽記.
- Chen Shou (1977) [429]. Pei Songzhi (ed.). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志注. Taipei: Dingwen Printing.
- Fang Xuanling; et al., eds. (1974) [648]. Book of Jin 晉書. Beijing: Zhonghua Publishing.
