Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign
Encyclopedia
Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign occurred in 238 during the Three Kingdoms
period of Chinese history
. Sima Yi
, a general of the state of Cao Wei
, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan
, whose clan had ruled independently from the central government for three generations in the northeastern territory of Liaodong (遼東; present-day eastern Liaoning
). After a siege that lasted three months, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters fell to Sima Yi with assistance from Goguryeo
(one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
), and many who served the Gongsun clan were massacred. In addition to eliminating Wei's rival in the northeast, the acquisition of Liaodong as a result of the successful campaign allowed Wei contact with the non-Chinese peoples of Manchuria
, the Korean Peninsula
, and the Japanese archipelago
. On the other hand, the war and the subsequent centralization policies lessened the Chinese grip on the territory, which permitted a number of non-Chinese states to form in the area in later centuries.
, was situated at the northeastern fringe of Later Han
China, surrounded by the Wuhuan
and Xianbei
nomads in the north and Goguryeo
and Buyeo
peoples in the east. In the autumn of 189, Gongsun Du
, a native of Liaodong, was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Liaodong (遼東太守), and thus began the Gongsun family's rule in the region. Taking advantage of his distance from central China, Gongsun Du stayed away from the chaos which accompanied the effective end of Han Dynasty rule
, expanded his territories to include the commanderies of Lelang
and Xuantu
, and eventually proclaimed himself as Marquis of Liaodong (遼東侯). His son Gongsun Kang
, who succeeded him in 204, created the Daifang Commandery
and maintained the autonomy of Liaodong by aligning himself with the warlord Cao Cao
. Gongsun Kang died some time around the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han
to Cao Pi
, son of Cao Cao, and Gongsun Kang's brother Gongsun Gong
became the new ruler of Liaodong. Gongsun Gong was described as incompetent and inept, and he was soon overthrown and imprisoned by Gongsun Kang's second son Gongsun Yuan
in 228.
Soon after Gongsun Yuan came to power in Liaodong, China was, for the most part, split into three: Cao Wei
in the north, Shu Han
in the southwest, and Eastern Wu
in the southeast. Of these, Liaodong's chief concern was its immediate neighbour Cao Wei, who had once contemplated an invasion of Liaodong in response to Gongsun Yuan's coup. In this situation, the Eastern Wu lord Sun Quan
attempted to win Gongsun Yuan's allegiance in order to establish two fronts of attack against Cao Wei, and several embassies made their way from Wu to Liaodong by taking the difficult journey across the Yellow Sea
. Cao Wei eventually got wind of the embassies and made one successful interception in Chengshan (成山), at the tip of the Shandong peninsula, but Gongsun Yuan had already sided with Sun Quan. Upon the confirmation of Gongsun Yuan's goodwill, an elated Sun Quan sent another embassy in 233 to bestow Gongsun Yuan the title of King of Yan (燕王) and various insignia to trade for warhorses. By then, however, Gongsun Yuan had changed his mind about allying himself with a distant state over the sea and making himself an enemy of a powerful neighbour. When the Wu embassy arrived, Gongsun Yuan seized the treasures, killed the leading ambassadors, and sent their heads and a portion of their goods to the Wei court to buy himself back to favour. Some of the envoys from Wu somehow escaped the carnage and found a potential ally to the east of Liaodong — the state of Goguryeo.
Goguryeo had been an enemy of the Gongsun since the time of Gongsun Du, especially after Gongsun Kang meddled with the succession feud after King Gogukcheon
died. Thus when the Wu ambassadors came to Goguryeo for refuge, the reigning King Dongcheon
was happy to assist these new enemies of Liaodong. The king sent 25 men to escort the envoys back to Wu along with a tribute of sable
and falcon
skins, which encouraged Sun Quan to send an official mission to Goguryeo to further the two states' relations. Cao Wei did not want to see Wu regain a diplomatic foothold in the north, and established its own connections with Goguryeo through the Inspector of You Province (幽州刺史) Wang Xiong (王雄). King Dongcheon presumably arrived at the same conclusion as Gongsun Yuan and switched his alignment from Wu to Wei — the Wu envoys to Goguryeo in 236 were executed and their heads sent to the new Inspector of You Province, Guanqiu Jian
. For the moment, both Liaodong and Goguryeo were aligned with Wei while Wu's influence diminished.
east into Gongsun Yuan's territory and clashed with his enemy in Liaosui (遼隧; near present-day Haicheng, Liaoning
). There the Wei forces suffered a defeat, and were forced to retreat due to the floods caused by the summer monsoon season.
Having inflicted a disgrace on the imperial armies, Gongsun Yuan had gone too far to turn back. In a series of contradictory actions that bear the hallmark of panic, Gongsun Yuan memorialised the Wei court in hope of getting a pardon on one hand, while formally declaring independence on the other by assuming the title King of Yan. He also assigned an era name
for his reign, "Succeeding Han" (紹漢). This was problematic for his peace efforts for two reasons: first, proclaiming era names was a practice usually reserved for emperors, showing his intention to claim the imperial position; secondly, the era name itself implied that Wei's succession of the Han Dynasty was somehow illegitimate. As king, he tried to entice the Xianbei into attacking Cao Wei by conferring the rank of chanyu
to one of its chiefs, but the Xianbei had not recovered from the death of Kebineng: the chieftains were too preoccupied with internal disputes to launch a large-scale attack on Wei.
In 238, the Wei court summoned the Grand Commandant (太尉) Sima Yi
for another campaign against Gongsun Yuan. Previously, Sima Yi had been tasked with defending Wei's western borders from Shu Han's Northern Expeditions led by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang
, so when the latter died in 234, the government of Wei became able to afford sending Sima Yi elsewhere. In a court debate prior to the campaign, the Wei emperor
Cao Rui
decided that Sima Yi should lead 40,000 men for the invasion of Liaodong. Some counsellors thought the number was too many, but Cao Rui overruled them, saying: "In this expedition of 4,000 li
, mobile troops must be employed, and we must exert our utmost. We should not mind the expense at all." The emperor then asked Sima Yi for his assessment on Gongsun Yuan's possible reactions and how long the campaign should take, Sima Yi responded as thus:
When Sima Yi set out from the Wei capital Luoyang
, Cao Rui went to the city gates in person to bid him farewell. Sima Yi, leading 40,000 infantry and cavalry, was accompanied by sub-commanders such as Niu Jin
and Hu Zun (胡遵). He would later be joined by Guanqiu Jian's forces in You Province, which included the Xianbei auxiliary led by Mohuba (莫護跋), ancestor of the Murong
clan.
Having heard of the new preparations made against him, Gongsun Yuan desperately dispatched an envoy to the Wu court to apologize for his betrayal in 233 and begged for help from Sun Quan. At first, Sun Quan was ready to kill the messenger, but he was persuaded by Yang Dao (羊衜) to make a display of force and possibly gain advantages if Sima Yi and Gongsun Yuan became deadlocked in war. Cao Rui became concerned about the Wu reinforcements, but his general Jiang Ji (蔣濟) read through Sun Quan's intentions and cautioned Cao Rui that while Sun Quan would not risk a deep invasion, the Wu fleet would make a shallow incursion into Liaodong if Sima Yi does not defeat Gongsun Yuan quickly enough.
and Yang Zuo
with the main Liaodong force to set camp at Liaosui, the site of Guanqiu Jian's defeat. There, the Liaodong encampment stretched some 20 li
walled from north to south. The Wei generals wanted to attack Liaosui, but Sima Yi reasoned that attacking the encampment would only wear themselves out; on the other hand, since the bulk of the Liaodong army was at Liaosui, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters at Xiangping would be comparatively empty and the Wei armies could take it with ease. Thus Sima Yi sent Hu Zun to make a sortie to the southeast, planting flags and banners as if the main thrust of the Wei army was in that direction. Bei Yan and his men hastened to the south, where Hu Zun, having lured his enemy out, crossed the river and broke through Bei Yan's line. Meanwhile, Sima Yi secretly led the main Wei army across the Liao River to the north. After he made the crossing, he burned the bridges and boats, made a long barricade along the river, then headed toward Xiangping. Realizing the feint, Bei Yan and his men hastily withdrew their troops during the night and headed north to intercept Sima Yi's army. Bei Yan caught up with Sima Yi in Mount Shou (首山), a mountain west of Xiangping, where he was ordered to fight to the death by Gongsun Yuan. Sima Yi achieved a great victory there, and proceeded to lay siege to Xiangping.
Along with the month of July came the summer monsoons, which impeded Guanqiu Jian's campaign a year ago. Rain poured constantly for more than a month so that ships could sail the length of the flooded Liao River from its mouth at the Liaodong Bay
up to the walls of Xiangping. With the water several feet high on level ground, Sima Yi was determined to maintain the siege despite the clamours of his officers who proposed to change camp. Sima Yi executed Zhang Jing (張靜), an officer who kept bringing up the issue, and the rest of the officers became silent. Because of the floods, the encirclement of Xiangping was by no means complete, and the defenders used the flood to their advantage to sail out to forage and pasture their animals. Sima Yi forbade his generals from pursuing the foragers and herders from Xiangping, saying:
The officials back in the Wei court in Luoyang were also concerned about the floods and proposed to recall Sima Yi. The Wei emperor Cao Rui, being completely certain in Sima Yi's abilities, turned the proposal down. About this time, the Goguryeo king sent a noble (大加, taeka) and the Keeper of Records (主簿, jubu) of the Goguryeo court with several thousand men to aid Sima Yi.
When the rain stopped and the floodwater got drained away, Sima Yi hastened to complete the encirclement of Xiangping. The siege of Xiangping carried on night and day, which utilized mining, hooked ladders, battering ram
s, and artificial mounds for siege tower
s and catapult
s to get higher vantage points. The speed at which the siege was tightened caught the defenders off guard: since they had been obtaining supplies with such ease during the flood there apparently was not any real attempt to stockpile the goods inside Xiangping, and as a result famine
and cannibalism
broke out in the city. Many Liaodong generals, such as Yang Zuo, surrendered to Sima Yi during the siege.
On September 3, a comet was seen in the skies of Xiangping and was interpreted as an omen of destruction by those in the Liaodong camp. A frightened Gongsun Yuan sent his high ministers Wang Jian (王建) and Liu Fu (柳甫) to negotiate the terms of surrender, where he promised to present himself bound to Sima Yi once the siege was lifted. Sima Yi, wary of Gongsun Yuan's double-crossing past, executed the two, explaining his actions in a message to Gongsun Yuan that he desired nothing less than an unconditional surrender
and "these two men were dotards who must have failed to convey your intentions; I have already put them to death on your behalf. If you still have anything to say, then send a younger man of intelligence and precision." When Gongsun Yuan sent Wei Yan (衛演) for another round of talks, this time requesting he be allowed to send a hostage to the Wei court, Sima Yi dismissed the final messenger as a waste of time: "Now that you are not willing to come bound, you are determined to have death; there is no need of sending any hostage." Apparently, Sima Yi's previous suggestion of further negotiations was nothing more than an act of malice that gave false hope to Gongsun Yuan while prolonging the siege and placing further strain on the supplies within the city.
On September 29, the famished Xiangping fell to the Wei army. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu (公孫脩), leading a few hundred horsemen, broke out of the encirclement and fled to the southeast. The main Wei army gave pursuit and killed both father and son on the Liang River (梁水; present-day Taizi River 太子河). Gongsun Yuan's head was cut off and sent to Luoyang for public exposure. A separate fleet, led by future Grand Administrators Liu Xin (劉昕) and Xianyu Si (鮮于嗣), had been sent to attack the Korean commanderies of Lelang
and Daifang
by sea, and in time, all of Gongsun Yuan's state of Liaodong were subjugated.
Lun Zhi
and Jia Fan
— two Liaodong ministers against making war with Wei — and freed the overthrown Gongsun Gong from jail. Finally, he dismissed the soldiers over sixty years of age from the Wei army on grounds of compassion, numbering over a thousand men, and marched back with the army.
Although he had gained 40,000 households and some 300,000 people for the state of Wei from this expedition, Sima Yi did not encourage these frontier settlers to continue their livelihoods in the Chinese northeast and instead ordered that those families who wished to return to central China be allowed to do so. In April or May 239, a Wu fleet commanded by Sun Yi (孫怡) and Yang Dao defeated the Wei defenders in southern Liaodong, prompting the Wei court to evacuate the coastal population to Shandong
, further accelerating the trend of depopulation in Liaodong. This happened around the same time as the Xianbei chieftain Mohuba was awarded merit for his participation in the campaign against Gongsun Yuan, and his people were allowed to settle and thrive in northern Liaodong. By the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), the number of Chinese households fell to just 5,400. After the fall of Western Jin, control over Liaodong was passed onto Former Yan
(337-370), which was founded by Mohuba's descendents, and then to Goguryeo. For several centuries Liaodong would be out of Chinese hands, partly due to the lack of Chinese presence there as a result of the policies that Sima Yi and the Wei court adopted for Liaodong after the fall of the Gongsun.
In the meantime, the removal of the Gongsun regime cleared a barrier between central China and the peoples of the further east. As early as 239, a mission from the Wa people
of Japan under Queen Himiko
reached the Wei court for the first time. Goguryeo soon found itself rid of a nuisance that was only to be replaced by a stronger neighbour, and provoked Wei's wrath when it raided Chinese settlements in Liaodong and Xuantu
commanderies. The Goguryeo–Wei Wars
of 244 followed, devastating Goguryeo, and from it the Chinese re-established friendly contact with the Buyeo. These developments could only have happened after Sima Yi's conquest of Liaodong, which, in some sense, represented the first step in recovering Chinese influence in the further east at the time.
of Koei's Dynasty Warriors
video game series in the newly introduced Jin Dynasty story line.
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. Sima Yi
Sima Yi
Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
, a general of the state of Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
, led a force of 40,000 troops to attack the warlord Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan , style name Wenyi , was a warlord and vassal of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
, whose clan had ruled independently from the central government for three generations in the northeastern territory of Liaodong (遼東; present-day eastern Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
). After a siege that lasted three months, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters fell to Sima Yi with assistance from Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
(one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
), and many who served the Gongsun clan were massacred. In addition to eliminating Wei's rival in the northeast, the acquisition of Liaodong as a result of the successful campaign allowed Wei contact with the non-Chinese peoples of Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, and the Japanese archipelago
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
. On the other hand, the war and the subsequent centralization policies lessened the Chinese grip on the territory, which permitted a number of non-Chinese states to form in the area in later centuries.
Background
Liaodong commandery of You Province (幽州), part of present-day ManchuriaManchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, was situated at the northeastern fringe of Later Han
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
China, surrounded by the Wuhuan
Wuhuan
The Wuhuan were a proto-Mongolic nomadic people who inhabited northern China, in what is now the provinces of Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi, the municipality of Beijing and the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia....
and Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
nomads in the north and Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
and Buyeo
Buyeo kingdom
Buyeo or Puyŏ , Fuyu in Chinese, was an ancient Korean kingdom located from today's Manchuria to northern North Korea, from around the 2nd century BC to 494. Its remnants were absorbed by the neighboring and brotherhood kingdom of Goguryeo in 494...
peoples in the east. In the autumn of 189, Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du
Gongsun Du was a military general and warlord of the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He did not get the opportunity to really get into battle until Dong Zhuo seized power from Emperor Shao. Dong Zhuo, hoping to expand the empire, gave Gongsun Du the command to attack present-day Korea...
, a native of Liaodong, was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Liaodong (遼東太守), and thus began the Gongsun family's rule in the region. Taking advantage of his distance from central China, Gongsun Du stayed away from the chaos which accompanied the effective end of Han Dynasty rule
End of Han Dynasty
The End of the Han Dynasty refers to the period from 189 to 220, which roughly coincides with the reign of the Han Dynasty's last ruler, Emperor Xian. During this period, the Han empire's institutions were destroyed by the warlord Dong Zhuo, and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various...
, expanded his territories to include the commanderies of Lelang
Lelang Commandery
Lelang was one of the Chinese commanderies which was established after the fall of Gojoseon in 108 BC until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. Lelang Commandery was located in the northern Korean peninsula with the administrative center near modern P'yongyang....
and Xuantu
Xuantu Commandery
Xuantu Commandery was a commandery established beyond the far eastern pale of Han China. It was one of Four Commanderies of Han, established in 107 BCE, after the Han Dynasty invaded Wiman Joseon of Korea. Goguryeo rose in this area in competition with the Chinese over the region...
, and eventually proclaimed himself as Marquis of Liaodong (遼東侯). His son Gongsun Kang
Gongsun Kang
Gongsun Kang was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He became a vassal of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
, who succeeded him in 204, created the Daifang Commandery
Daifang Commandery
Daifang Commandery was one of the remnants of the Four Commanderies of Han in the Korean peninsula.-History:Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and established the Daifang commandery in 204 to make administration more efficient...
and maintained the autonomy of Liaodong by aligning himself with the warlord Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
. Gongsun Kang died some time around the abdication of Emperor Xian of Han
Emperor Xian of Han
Emperor Xian of Han , personal name Liu Xie, style name Bohe, was the last emperor of the Han Dynasty period of Chinese history...
to Cao Pi
Cao Pi
Cao Pi , formally known as Emperor Wen of Wei, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Born in Qiao County, Pei Commandery , he was the second son of the late Han Dynasty warlord Cao Cao.Cao Pi, like his father, was a poet...
, son of Cao Cao, and Gongsun Kang's brother Gongsun Gong
Gongsun Gong
Gongsun Gong was a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the younger brother of Gongsun Kang and son of Gongsun Du. Gongsun Gong advised his brother to kill Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang and deliver their heads to Cao Cao. After the death of Gongsun...
became the new ruler of Liaodong. Gongsun Gong was described as incompetent and inept, and he was soon overthrown and imprisoned by Gongsun Kang's second son Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan , style name Wenyi , was a warlord and vassal of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
in 228.
Soon after Gongsun Yuan came to power in Liaodong, China was, for the most part, split into three: Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
in the north, Shu Han
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
in the southwest, and Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
in the southeast. Of these, Liaodong's chief concern was its immediate neighbour Cao Wei, who had once contemplated an invasion of Liaodong in response to Gongsun Yuan's coup. In this situation, the Eastern Wu lord Sun Quan
Sun Quan
Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, formally Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He ruled from 222 to 229 as King of Wu and from 229 to 252 as Emperor of Wu....
attempted to win Gongsun Yuan's allegiance in order to establish two fronts of attack against Cao Wei, and several embassies made their way from Wu to Liaodong by taking the difficult journey across the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
. Cao Wei eventually got wind of the embassies and made one successful interception in Chengshan (成山), at the tip of the Shandong peninsula, but Gongsun Yuan had already sided with Sun Quan. Upon the confirmation of Gongsun Yuan's goodwill, an elated Sun Quan sent another embassy in 233 to bestow Gongsun Yuan the title of King of Yan (燕王) and various insignia to trade for warhorses. By then, however, Gongsun Yuan had changed his mind about allying himself with a distant state over the sea and making himself an enemy of a powerful neighbour. When the Wu embassy arrived, Gongsun Yuan seized the treasures, killed the leading ambassadors, and sent their heads and a portion of their goods to the Wei court to buy himself back to favour. Some of the envoys from Wu somehow escaped the carnage and found a potential ally to the east of Liaodong — the state of Goguryeo.
Goguryeo had been an enemy of the Gongsun since the time of Gongsun Du, especially after Gongsun Kang meddled with the succession feud after King Gogukcheon
Gogukcheon of Goguryeo
King Gogukcheon of Goguryeo was the ninth monarch of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.- Background and reign:Gogukcheon was the second son of Goguryeo's eighth king, Sindae...
died. Thus when the Wu ambassadors came to Goguryeo for refuge, the reigning King Dongcheon
Dongcheon of Goguryeo
King Dongcheon of Goguryeo was the 11th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.-Background:...
was happy to assist these new enemies of Liaodong. The king sent 25 men to escort the envoys back to Wu along with a tribute of sable
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
and falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
skins, which encouraged Sun Quan to send an official mission to Goguryeo to further the two states' relations. Cao Wei did not want to see Wu regain a diplomatic foothold in the north, and established its own connections with Goguryeo through the Inspector of You Province (幽州刺史) Wang Xiong (王雄). King Dongcheon presumably arrived at the same conclusion as Gongsun Yuan and switched his alignment from Wu to Wei — the Wu envoys to Goguryeo in 236 were executed and their heads sent to the new Inspector of You Province, Guanqiu Jian
Guanqiu Jian
Guanqiu Jian , style name Zhonggong , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
. For the moment, both Liaodong and Goguryeo were aligned with Wei while Wu's influence diminished.
Prelude
Although Gongsun Yuan was nominally a vassal of Cao Wei, his brief flirtation with Wu and brazen derogatory comments about Wei earned him a reputation as unreliable. From Wei's point of view, although the Xianbei insurrection by Kebineng had been put down recently, Liaodong's position as a buffer zone against barbarian invasions needed to be clarified. Therefore, it was clearly unacceptable that its leader, Gongsun Yuan, was of questionable loyalty. In 237, Guanqiu Jian presented a plan to invade Liaodong to the Wei court and put his plan into action. With troops of You Province as well as Wuhuan and Xianbei auxiliaries, Guanqiu Jian crossed the Liao RiverLiao River
The Liao River is the principal river in northeast China . The province of Liaoning and the Liaodong Peninsula derive their names from the river....
east into Gongsun Yuan's territory and clashed with his enemy in Liaosui (遼隧; near present-day Haicheng, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
). There the Wei forces suffered a defeat, and were forced to retreat due to the floods caused by the summer monsoon season.
Having inflicted a disgrace on the imperial armies, Gongsun Yuan had gone too far to turn back. In a series of contradictory actions that bear the hallmark of panic, Gongsun Yuan memorialised the Wei court in hope of getting a pardon on one hand, while formally declaring independence on the other by assuming the title King of Yan. He also assigned an era name
Chinese era name
A Chinese era name is the regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Chinese rulers . Some emperors have several era names, one after another, where each beginning of a new era resets the numbering of the year back...
for his reign, "Succeeding Han" (紹漢). This was problematic for his peace efforts for two reasons: first, proclaiming era names was a practice usually reserved for emperors, showing his intention to claim the imperial position; secondly, the era name itself implied that Wei's succession of the Han Dynasty was somehow illegitimate. As king, he tried to entice the Xianbei into attacking Cao Wei by conferring the rank of chanyu
Chanyu
Chanyu , was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Middle and Central Asia for 8 centuries, starting...
to one of its chiefs, but the Xianbei had not recovered from the death of Kebineng: the chieftains were too preoccupied with internal disputes to launch a large-scale attack on Wei.
In 238, the Wei court summoned the Grand Commandant (太尉) Sima Yi
Sima Yi
Sima Yi was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions...
for another campaign against Gongsun Yuan. Previously, Sima Yi had been tasked with defending Wei's western borders from Shu Han's Northern Expeditions led by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
, so when the latter died in 234, the government of Wei became able to afford sending Sima Yi elsewhere. In a court debate prior to the campaign, the Wei emperor
Emperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
Cao Rui
Cao Rui
Cao Rui , formally known as Emperor Ming of Wei, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was a son of Cao Wei's first emperor Cao Pi according to Liu Song dynasty historian, Pei Songzhi, but was a son of Yuan Xi according to modern...
decided that Sima Yi should lead 40,000 men for the invasion of Liaodong. Some counsellors thought the number was too many, but Cao Rui overruled them, saying: "In this expedition of 4,000 li
Li (unit)
The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
, mobile troops must be employed, and we must exert our utmost. We should not mind the expense at all." The emperor then asked Sima Yi for his assessment on Gongsun Yuan's possible reactions and how long the campaign should take, Sima Yi responded as thus:
When Sima Yi set out from the Wei capital Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, Cao Rui went to the city gates in person to bid him farewell. Sima Yi, leading 40,000 infantry and cavalry, was accompanied by sub-commanders such as Niu Jin
Niu Jin
Niu Jin was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He continued serving the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
and Hu Zun (胡遵). He would later be joined by Guanqiu Jian's forces in You Province, which included the Xianbei auxiliary led by Mohuba (莫護跋), ancestor of the Murong
Murong
Murong refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are a Mongolic people attested from the time of Tanshihuai . Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the language family of Mongols. Murong is also a Chinese surname...
clan.
Having heard of the new preparations made against him, Gongsun Yuan desperately dispatched an envoy to the Wu court to apologize for his betrayal in 233 and begged for help from Sun Quan. At first, Sun Quan was ready to kill the messenger, but he was persuaded by Yang Dao (羊衜) to make a display of force and possibly gain advantages if Sima Yi and Gongsun Yuan became deadlocked in war. Cao Rui became concerned about the Wu reinforcements, but his general Jiang Ji (蔣濟) read through Sun Quan's intentions and cautioned Cao Rui that while Sun Quan would not risk a deep invasion, the Wu fleet would make a shallow incursion into Liaodong if Sima Yi does not defeat Gongsun Yuan quickly enough.
The campaign
The Wei army led by Sima Yi reached the banks of the Liao River by June 238. and Gongsun Yuan responded by sending Bei YanBei Yan
Bei Yan was a military general serving under the warlord Gongsun Yuan during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.During the Liaodong campaign against Gongsun Yuan by the state of Cao Wei, Bei led Gongsun's troops against Sima Yi but ultimately lost...
and Yang Zuo
Yang Zuo
Yang Zuo was a military general serving under the warlord Gongsun Yuan during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In 238, he led a front of troops along with Bei Yan during Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign against Gongsun. Yang then engaged Sima during a protracted battle, but ended up being...
with the main Liaodong force to set camp at Liaosui, the site of Guanqiu Jian's defeat. There, the Liaodong encampment stretched some 20 li
Li (unit)
The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
walled from north to south. The Wei generals wanted to attack Liaosui, but Sima Yi reasoned that attacking the encampment would only wear themselves out; on the other hand, since the bulk of the Liaodong army was at Liaosui, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters at Xiangping would be comparatively empty and the Wei armies could take it with ease. Thus Sima Yi sent Hu Zun to make a sortie to the southeast, planting flags and banners as if the main thrust of the Wei army was in that direction. Bei Yan and his men hastened to the south, where Hu Zun, having lured his enemy out, crossed the river and broke through Bei Yan's line. Meanwhile, Sima Yi secretly led the main Wei army across the Liao River to the north. After he made the crossing, he burned the bridges and boats, made a long barricade along the river, then headed toward Xiangping. Realizing the feint, Bei Yan and his men hastily withdrew their troops during the night and headed north to intercept Sima Yi's army. Bei Yan caught up with Sima Yi in Mount Shou (首山), a mountain west of Xiangping, where he was ordered to fight to the death by Gongsun Yuan. Sima Yi achieved a great victory there, and proceeded to lay siege to Xiangping.
Along with the month of July came the summer monsoons, which impeded Guanqiu Jian's campaign a year ago. Rain poured constantly for more than a month so that ships could sail the length of the flooded Liao River from its mouth at the Liaodong Bay
Liaodong Bay
Liaodong Bay is one of the three bays forming the Bohai Gulf, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea, in northeast China. It borders Liaoning province.The three bays are Laizhou Bay to the south, Liaodong Bay to the north, and Bohai Bay to the west....
up to the walls of Xiangping. With the water several feet high on level ground, Sima Yi was determined to maintain the siege despite the clamours of his officers who proposed to change camp. Sima Yi executed Zhang Jing (張靜), an officer who kept bringing up the issue, and the rest of the officers became silent. Because of the floods, the encirclement of Xiangping was by no means complete, and the defenders used the flood to their advantage to sail out to forage and pasture their animals. Sima Yi forbade his generals from pursuing the foragers and herders from Xiangping, saying:
The officials back in the Wei court in Luoyang were also concerned about the floods and proposed to recall Sima Yi. The Wei emperor Cao Rui, being completely certain in Sima Yi's abilities, turned the proposal down. About this time, the Goguryeo king sent a noble (大加, taeka) and the Keeper of Records (主簿, jubu) of the Goguryeo court with several thousand men to aid Sima Yi.
When the rain stopped and the floodwater got drained away, Sima Yi hastened to complete the encirclement of Xiangping. The siege of Xiangping carried on night and day, which utilized mining, hooked ladders, battering ram
Battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...
s, and artificial mounds for siege tower
Siege tower
A siege tower is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels with its height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on...
s and catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
s to get higher vantage points. The speed at which the siege was tightened caught the defenders off guard: since they had been obtaining supplies with such ease during the flood there apparently was not any real attempt to stockpile the goods inside Xiangping, and as a result famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
broke out in the city. Many Liaodong generals, such as Yang Zuo, surrendered to Sima Yi during the siege.
On September 3, a comet was seen in the skies of Xiangping and was interpreted as an omen of destruction by those in the Liaodong camp. A frightened Gongsun Yuan sent his high ministers Wang Jian (王建) and Liu Fu (柳甫) to negotiate the terms of surrender, where he promised to present himself bound to Sima Yi once the siege was lifted. Sima Yi, wary of Gongsun Yuan's double-crossing past, executed the two, explaining his actions in a message to Gongsun Yuan that he desired nothing less than an unconditional surrender
Unconditional surrender
Unconditional surrender is a surrender without conditions, in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. In modern times unconditional surrenders most often include guarantees provided by international law. Announcing that only unconditional surrender is acceptable puts psychological...
and "these two men were dotards who must have failed to convey your intentions; I have already put them to death on your behalf. If you still have anything to say, then send a younger man of intelligence and precision." When Gongsun Yuan sent Wei Yan (衛演) for another round of talks, this time requesting he be allowed to send a hostage to the Wei court, Sima Yi dismissed the final messenger as a waste of time: "Now that you are not willing to come bound, you are determined to have death; there is no need of sending any hostage." Apparently, Sima Yi's previous suggestion of further negotiations was nothing more than an act of malice that gave false hope to Gongsun Yuan while prolonging the siege and placing further strain on the supplies within the city.
On September 29, the famished Xiangping fell to the Wei army. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu (公孫脩), leading a few hundred horsemen, broke out of the encirclement and fled to the southeast. The main Wei army gave pursuit and killed both father and son on the Liang River (梁水; present-day Taizi River 太子河). Gongsun Yuan's head was cut off and sent to Luoyang for public exposure. A separate fleet, led by future Grand Administrators Liu Xin (劉昕) and Xianyu Si (鮮于嗣), had been sent to attack the Korean commanderies of Lelang
Lelang Commandery
Lelang was one of the Chinese commanderies which was established after the fall of Gojoseon in 108 BC until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. Lelang Commandery was located in the northern Korean peninsula with the administrative center near modern P'yongyang....
and Daifang
Daifang Commandery
Daifang Commandery was one of the remnants of the Four Commanderies of Han in the Korean peninsula.-History:Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and established the Daifang commandery in 204 to make administration more efficient...
by sea, and in time, all of Gongsun Yuan's state of Liaodong were subjugated.
Aftermath
Entering the city, Sima Yi assembled all who had served in Gongsun Yuan's military and government under two banners. Everyone who had held office in Gongsun Yuan's rebel regime, over 1,000 to 2,000 in number, were executed in a systematic purge. In addition, 7,000 people of age 15 and above who had served in Liaodong's army were put to death, their corpses heaped up to form a great mound meant to terrorize. After the massacre, he pardoned the survivors, posthumously rehabilitatedPolitical rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
Lun Zhi
Lun Zhi
Lun Zhi was an advisor to the warlord Gongsun Yuan during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Lun ended up being executed for criticizing Gongsun Yuan's plan to rebel against the state of Cao Wei. Lun's descendants were granted titles of nobility by the Cao Wei general Sima Yi after he...
and Jia Fan
Jia Fan
Jia Fan was a military general serving under the Liaodong warlord Gongsun Yuan during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Jia Fan at one time incurred the wrath of his lord, and ended up being executed after his advice against Gongsun Yuan pretending to be the King of Yan...
— two Liaodong ministers against making war with Wei — and freed the overthrown Gongsun Gong from jail. Finally, he dismissed the soldiers over sixty years of age from the Wei army on grounds of compassion, numbering over a thousand men, and marched back with the army.
Although he had gained 40,000 households and some 300,000 people for the state of Wei from this expedition, Sima Yi did not encourage these frontier settlers to continue their livelihoods in the Chinese northeast and instead ordered that those families who wished to return to central China be allowed to do so. In April or May 239, a Wu fleet commanded by Sun Yi (孫怡) and Yang Dao defeated the Wei defenders in southern Liaodong, prompting the Wei court to evacuate the coastal population to Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, further accelerating the trend of depopulation in Liaodong. This happened around the same time as the Xianbei chieftain Mohuba was awarded merit for his participation in the campaign against Gongsun Yuan, and his people were allowed to settle and thrive in northern Liaodong. By the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), the number of Chinese households fell to just 5,400. After the fall of Western Jin, control over Liaodong was passed onto Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
(337-370), which was founded by Mohuba's descendents, and then to Goguryeo. For several centuries Liaodong would be out of Chinese hands, partly due to the lack of Chinese presence there as a result of the policies that Sima Yi and the Wei court adopted for Liaodong after the fall of the Gongsun.
In the meantime, the removal of the Gongsun regime cleared a barrier between central China and the peoples of the further east. As early as 239, a mission from the Wa people
Wa (Japan)
Japanese is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it, replacing it with 和 "harmony, peace, balance".- Historical references :The earliest...
of Japan under Queen Himiko
Himiko
Himiko or Pimiko was an obscure shaman queen of Yamataikoku in ancient Wa . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom , and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler following decades of warfare among the kings of Wa...
reached the Wei court for the first time. Goguryeo soon found itself rid of a nuisance that was only to be replaced by a stronger neighbour, and provoked Wei's wrath when it raided Chinese settlements in Liaodong and Xuantu
Xuantu Commandery
Xuantu Commandery was a commandery established beyond the far eastern pale of Han China. It was one of Four Commanderies of Han, established in 107 BCE, after the Han Dynasty invaded Wiman Joseon of Korea. Goguryeo rose in this area in competition with the Chinese over the region...
commanderies. The Goguryeo–Wei Wars
Goguryeo–Wei Wars
The Goguryeo–Wei Wars were a series of invasions of the Chinese state of Cao Wei against the proto-Korean kingdom of Goguryeo from 244 to 245. The invasions, a retaliation of a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary...
of 244 followed, devastating Goguryeo, and from it the Chinese re-established friendly contact with the Buyeo. These developments could only have happened after Sima Yi's conquest of Liaodong, which, in some sense, represented the first step in recovering Chinese influence in the further east at the time.
Modern references
The Liaodong campaign is featured as a playable stage in the seventh installmentDynasty Warriors 7
is a hack and slash video game and the seventh official installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game has been confirmed to be PS3 exclusive in Japan. The story is based on Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms....
of Koei's Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
video game series in the newly introduced Jin Dynasty story line.