Battle of Yangcheng
Battle of Yangcheng | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the wars at the end of the Han dynasty | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Yuan Shao | Yuan Shu | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Zhou Yu (Renming)[1] Zhou Ang |
Sun Jian Gongsun Yue † |
Battle of Yangcheng | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Yángchéng Zhī Zhàn |
The Battle of Yangcheng was fought between the warlords
Background
In 190, regional warlords and officials from across China formed a coalition against
Yuan Shu, apparently dissatisfied that his cousin Yuan Shao was elected coalition leader and received all the prestige that came with his appointment, insulted his cousin as "a family slave" and "not a true son of the Yuan clan".[2] Yuan Shao was predictably angry at this. In 191, he named Zhou Yu as Inspector of Yu Province, a title to which Sun Jian was entitled, and sent him to attack Sun's territories in Yu Province while Sun was away.
Zhou Yu decided to attack Yangcheng of Yingchuan Commandery (潁川; southeast of present-day Dengfeng, Henan). Originally, an outpost was set up here by Sun Jian during his march north against Dong Zhuo, and the outpost remained to watch for possible attacks from Dong Zhuo from the west after Sun Jian left Luoyang. Although the city of Yangcheng belonged under Sun Jian's government in Yu Province, it was also within Yuan Shao's sphere of influence in Ji Province (冀州), and thus it was a sensible target for Yuan's aggression.[3]
The battle
Not expecting an attack from a nominal ally, Yangcheng was taken by surprise. When Sun Jian heard of the attack, he sighed and commented:[3]
Together we rallied troops of righteousness, with a purpose of saving the nation. The rebels and bandits are on the point of destruction, and yet people can act like this. Whom can I work with?
The northern warlord
).Aftermath
The first battles between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu ended in the latter's favour: he had engaged and defeated Yuan Shao's forces in both Yangcheng and Jiujiang, restored the position in Yingchuan under Sun Jian, and eliminated Zhou Yu as a threat once and for all although Jiujiang was not yet conquered. For Yuan Shao, on the other hand, the situation was extremely difficult: besides the failure in the south, he was also under threat from Gongsun Zan, who held Yuan Shao responsible for the death of Gongsun Yue and declared war against him, rejecting all of Yuan Shao's protestations of goodwill.[4] This led to the clash between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in the Battle of Jieqiao.
The battle of Yangcheng, being the first moves in the struggle between the two Yuans, marked the beginning of a new stage in the confusion of wars which brought the end of the Han dynasty. The battle was notable as a confirmation of the death of the alliance against Dong Zhuo as the warlords of the North China Plain start to battle each other for the ultimate dominion of China.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b Historical sources disagree on whether it was Zhou Yu, Zhou Ang, or Zhou Xin that was involved in this battle. Historian Rafe de Crespigny accepted the version which described Zhou Yu as the one in the attack on Yangcheng. See de Crespigny (1990), p. 121 note 70. This is not the same Zhou Yu who served Sun Jian's sons Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
- ^ de Crespigny (1990), p. 119
- ^ a b c de Crespigny (1990), p. 121
- ^ de Crespigny (1990), p. 123
References
- de Crespigny, Rafe (1990), Generals of the South: The foundation and early history of the Three Kingdoms state of Wu, Canberra: Australian National University, archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Internet Edition.