Introduction, course, historical significance and impact of the Battle of Shouchun

The Battle of Shouchun was the largest war in the Three Kingdoms period, an overview of the final struggle of Cao Wei's anti-Sima forces: In 257 AD, Cao Wei's general Zhuge Dan launched an army against Sima Zhao and defended Shouchun with 150,000 troops. , and reached an alliance with Soochow. Generals Quan Yi and Quan Duan of Soochow sent 80,000 troops to reinforce Shouchun.

Sima Zhao led an army of 260,000 troops eastward to besiege Zhuge Dan. It took him nine months to break through Shouchun, which Zhuge Dan and the Wu army were holding together, and annihilated the anti-Sima forces in Cao Wei. The military armament laid a solid foundation for the Sima family to later destroy the Shu Dynasty, Wei Dynasty and devour Wu. The three parties involved in the Battle of Shouchun invested 490,000 troops, making it the largest war in the Three Kingdoms period.

General Stars: King Sima Zhao, Zhuge Dan, Zhu Yi, Wonderful Stars: Political Influence Stars: ★ Comprehensive Stars: 3.5☆ Type of War: Siege. In addition to letting the world know what it means to besiege a division, Sima Zhao Que, also let the people of Wu know what it means to besiege a city and fight for reinforcements.

In-depth analysis of the war: Boil the beans to make soup, and drain the black beans to make juice. The beetles are burning under the cauldron, and the beans are weeping in the cauldron. They originate from the same root, so there is no need to rush into conflict with each other.

Cao Zhi's seven-step poem was half drunk after three rounds of wine.

Cao Pi had murderous intent in his eyes.

Cao Pi said, Zijian, aren’t you the best poet in the world? Come out and show your poem in seven steps for everyone to see. If you can't make it, don't keep the head of your great poet. Cut it off and use it as a chamber pot for everyone.

A drunken joke was made, but the officials could not laugh, and murderous intent suddenly emerged at the banquet.

Cao Zhi glanced at his elder brother, with no fear in his eyes. He smiled. He walked straight to the case and wrote a poem.

Cao Pi looked at his brother's seven-step poem, sober and blushing, and did not dare to look directly at Cao Zijian in the hall.

Fathers and sons break up, siblings kill each other, how fragile family ties are in the field of political power. Does an emperor have to disown all his relatives? Suddenly, many question marks arose in Cao Pi's heart. Zijian, Zijian, if we get rid of you, can our Wei Empire remain stable? Cao Pi didn't have the answer.

Two forces played a key role in the rise of Cao Cao. One was Cao Cao's own direct family force. The descendants of the Xiahou family of the Cao family who joined him to conquer the world, including Xiahou Jing, Xia Houyuan, Cao Zhen, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, etc. are usually called the Qiao Pei military generals group; the other group is the group of scholars who came to seek refuge after Cao Cao established his own base in Yanzhou, such as Zhong Yao, Xun You, Du Xi, Zhao Yan, Chen Qun, etc.

The two major groups, one civil and one military, are the political cornerstone of Cao Wei's power.

Brothers fighting tigers, father and son go into battle. In Cao Cao's era, the interests of the former were closely related to his own interests, and there was little suspicion and precaution; while for the latter, utilization and prevention were combined. At that time, the Cao family was not a famous and prosperous family like the Yuan family. They were usually regarded as a low-level turmoil by the wealthy families at the time. They were unwilling to defect to Cao Cao and cooperate with him. Regarding the latter, Cao Cao had to use, defend, and attack.

In the Cao Pi era, the balance of power between the two major groups has undergone significant changes. Xiahou, Cao Ren and other key clan generals of the Cao Cao dynasty have passed away one after another, but the new representatives of the Cao clan's clan power have changed due to their influence on Cao Pi. The threat to the royal power was suppressed before it surfaced, and Cao Pi relied more heavily on the scholar group.

In 220 AD, before usurping the Han Dynasty and proclaiming himself emperor, Cao Pi introduced the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, which influenced the history of China for hundreds of years, and institutionally affirmed the special political rights of the family clans.

Sima Yi stood out in this political situation.

Sima Yi was a native of Wenxian County, Hanoi. The Hanoi Sima family he represented behind him was a famous wealthy family in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. His ancestors were important officials in the Eastern Han Dynasty for several generations. Like many scholars at that time, he did not want to be loyal to Cao Cao at first. In the sixth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao heard about Sima's reputation and wanted to invite him to serve in his palace. Sima Yi pretended to be ill and refused to go. Later, when he saw that the north was unified by Cao Cao, it became indispensable. After the reversal of facts, he reluctantly took office as literary governor at Cao Cao's urging again.

Cao Cao was very afraid of Sima Yi and told Cao Pi many times that Sima Yi could not be used and was not a minister who could be easily controlled. But Sima Yi's skill of hiding one's strength and biding one's time is really powerful. He is very honest under Cao Cao's eyes. He is not like other aristocratic scholars who stubbornly fight on Cao Cao's replacement of the Han Dynasty. This eliminates a lot of Cao Cao's wariness, and he is gradually reused.

After Wei Wendi Cao Pi came to power, relying on his good relationship with Cao Pi, Sima Yi began to move towards the central stage of Wei's political field. Not only that, in the military, after the death of Cao Ren and other generals, Sima Yi also became the most talented general in Cao Wei, playing the most crucial role in the military operations against Sun Wu and the Shu Han regime.

Cao Pi only served as emperor for six years before passing away in 226 AD. Si Shiyi became one of the four ministers who Gu Ming, and the other three ministers Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, and Chen Qun were in charge of the Ming Dynasty. After passing away one after another within ten years, the Sima family began to take sole control of the military and political power of Cao Wei.

Of course, the Cao family is not willing to lose power to the Sima family. After the death of Emperor Wei Ming, his adopted son Cao Fang became the third emperor of Cao Wei. General Cao Shuang, who was appointed as an auxiliary minister together with Sima Yi, began to attempt to take back the power that Sima Yi had monopolized for a long time.

The Sima clan has deep roots in the Cao Wei Empire, and Sima Yi himself is already a seasoned veteran in the political arena. He adopted the strategy of retreating first and then advancing, resigning first and staying at home, and then launching a mutiny when Cao Shuang was not prepared. It was easy to get rid of the largest force in the court, the Cao family.

Of course, not all problems are solved. The Cao clan is dominated by a group of military generals, and its influence in the army is still considerable. Especially in the Huainan area, the army generals are basically pro-Cao faction. The falling out between the Sima family and the Cao family will inevitably cause turmoil in the region.

After Cao Shuang was executed, Wang Ling, the general who oversaw the military affairs in Yangzhou, conspired with his nephew Ling Guyu, the governor of Yanzhou, to support Cao Cao's son Cao Biao as emperor to confront Sima Yi. Sima Yi acted first and led his army to secretly approach Baichi, forcing Wang Ling to surrender and then commit suicide. Sima Yi would kill everyone who was involved in this matter.

The brutal suppression did not extinguish the fire of Huainan's rebellion against the Sima family, but Sima Yi himself could no longer control it so much. He died in 251 AD at the age of seventy-two.

After Sima Yi died, his successor Sima Shi continued to clean up the dissidents in the court. He killed Zhongshu Ling Li Feng and Taichang Xia Houxuan, and deposed the young emperor Cao Fang. This move aroused the dissatisfaction of the Huainan military. General Zhendong Governor Yangzhou Qiu Jian joined forces with Yangzhou Governor Wenqin to lead a joint attack of 60,000 soldiers to attack Sima Division. Sima Division led a 100,000-horse army to attack Qiu and the Ministry of Culture. Within a month, the rebellion of _Qiu and Wenbu were quelled. _Qiu Jian was shot and killed, and Wen Qin surrendered to Soochow.

Zhuge Dan was a native of Langxieyangdu and a younger brother of Zhuge Liang. He was the general of Zhennan when Qiu and Wen rebelled. Zhuge Dan was close relatives with Xia Houxuan, Deng Li and other important figures in the Cao clan sect. Strictly speaking, he was a pro-Cao sect. Therefore, when the two Qiu men revolted, they approached him to contact him, hoping that they would join the rebellion against Sima. However, Zhuge Dan abnormally became a staunch supporter of the Sima family. Not only did he kill the envoys sent by the two men, but also led his troops. One of them captured Shouchun and became the greatest contributor to Sima Shi's efforts to pacify the Qiu and Wen tribes.

Zhuge Dan’s deception deceived both friends and enemies, but Sima Shi did not take precautions against him and promoted him to the general of the East Conquest, Yi Tong Sangong, and military commander of Yangzhou.

After Sima Shi’s army left, Zhuge Dan discovered that he, Xia Houxuan, Deng Qiu Jian and others were actually grasshoppers on the same rope. to him.

So he wanted to rebel. He spent all the money in Shouchun's house, calmed the morale of the army, and began to prepare for the uprising.

Sima Shi died of illness on his way back after pacifying the rebellion of Qiu and Wen. His younger brother Sima Zhao took over the position of Sima's spokesperson. Sima Zhao was wary of Zhuge Dan and wanted to transfer him back to the capital to serve as an empty commander and relieve him of military power.

Of course Zhuge Dan refused. In May 257 AD, he summoned Cao Wei's 150,000 troops in Huainan and Huaibei, mobilized enough military rations to support 150,000 horses for more than a year, and killed Lehou, the governor of Yangzhou. , according to Shouchun openly rebelled against Sima Zhao.

The first thing Zhuge Dan did after the rebellion was to seek assistance from Soochow. He sent the chief official Wu Gang and his youngest son Zhuge Liang to the state of Wu to proclaim themselves a minister and seek help. Wu and Wei have been fighting in the Huainan area for many years. The Wu State did not have time to respond to the rebellion between Qiu and Wen last time. This time Zhuge Dan rebelled again, which was a rare opportunity. The State of Wu did not hesitate and immediately sent 30,000 troops including generals Quan Yi, Quan Duan, and Tang Zi to reinforce Shouchun, together with the former surrendered general Wen Qin.

Sima Zhao attaches great importance to it. If the rebels are allowed to unite with the Wu State and occupy the Huainan area, the consequences will be disastrous. He quickly summoned 260,000 soldiers and horses from the four states of Qing, Xu, Jing, and Henan. He appointed Wang Ji as the general in Zhendong, took the Emperor Wei and the Queen Mother, and went to Shouchun to suppress it.

At the same time, Jiang Wei of the Shu Han Dynasty heard that Zhuge Dan was revolting in Shouchun and knew that Sima Zhao would definitely send heavy troops to suppress it. This main combatant who pursued Zhuge Liang's strategy of actively heading north once again led tens of thousands of troops out of Luoqiu, Qinchuan, into Mangshui, and launched an attack on the Wei troops stationed at the Great Wall, Sima Wang and Deng Ai.

Whether Shouchun's rebellion can be quelled is crucial to the political structure and direction of Wei, Shu and Wu.

When Sima's army arrived in Shouchun, Wu's 30,000 reinforcements had already arrived in Shouchun. Wang Ji and other generals suggested attacking the city immediately, but Sima Zhao believed that the opponent had 180,000 troops and the city was well-fortified, so the siege would be difficult and the losses would be great.

He ordered the siege of Shouchun, but did not attack, waiting for the reinforcements to attack Wu.

Besiege the city and call for reinforcements.

Sure enough, in July of that year, Sun Qin, the general who controlled the power of Wu State, led the army and led Zhu Yi, Ding Feng, Li Fei and other Wu generals to the Shouchun battlefield.

Sun appointed Zhu Yi, Ding Feng, and Li Fei as the vanguard and led an army of 50,000 to break the siege of Shouchun. When they entered Lijiang, south of Shouchun City, they encountered the Wei army Shi Bao and Zhou Tai, and were defeated by the Wei army. Defeated, Wei general Hu Lie led 5,000 troops to attack Dulu, the grain-tuning base.

Zhu Yi tried to lead his remaining troops to move closer to Sun, but Sun ordered Zhu Yi to continue fighting to the death. Zhu Yi refused because the soldiers had no food. Sun was furious and killed Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi was the son of Zhu Heng. Both father and son were generals of Soochow. After Sun killed Zhu Yi, the morale of the entire army was in turmoil. No one was willing to fight. Sun had no choice but to lead his troops back to Jian in September of that year. Industry.

After dealing with the Soochow reinforcements, Sima Zhao can focus all his energy on dealing with Shouchun's rebels.

At this time, there were different opinions in Shouchun City. Wen Qin and others believed that they should stick to it for another year to observe changes. However, Jiang Ban, Jiao Yi and others believed that they should concentrate their forces to break out, and internal strife broke out between the two sides. Zhuge Dan attempted to kill Jiang Ban and others, but Jiang Ban and Jiao Yi led their troops to surrender to Sima Zhao in November.

Sima Zhao continued his plan and spread the news to Shouchun City that Wu Guosun wanted to kill the first batch of Wu generals who reinforced Shouchun, Quan Yi and other generals' families. Quan Yi and other generals panicked and surrendered to Sima Zhao in December.

Subsequently, Zhuge Dan and Wen Qin had another disagreement. Wen Qin believed that when Jiang, Quan and others surrendered, Sima Zhao would definitely relax his vigilance and should go out of the city to attack the Wei army. Wen Qin sent troops to attack Sima's tribe. Sima Zhao was well prepared, and Wen Qin was defeated. After returning to Shouchun, the conflicts between the two sides intensified. Wen Qin believed that all the northerners should be expelled from the city to save food, but Zhuge Dan refused, and the conflict between the two sides escalated. Zhuge Dan killed Wen Qin. Wen Qin's two sons Wen Yang and Wen Hu surrendered to Sima Zhao.

Sima Zhao didn’t put in much effort to dismember the rebels. Only then did he exert his strength and besiege Shouchun with all his strength.

In February 258 AD, Sima Zhao captured Shouchun and quelled the rebellion.

On the other side of the battlefield, after Jiang Wei learned that Zhuge Dan was defeated and killed, he had no choice but to lead his troops back west.

After that, there was no military force in Wei that rebelled against the Sima clan. For the Sima family, it is only a matter of time before the Wei Dynasty becomes independent.

The fate of the war figures went to Sima Zhao: In the Battle of Shouchun, Sima Zhao basically pacified the armed forces opposed to the Sima family within Wei. In May 260 AD, Wei Emperor Cao Mao, who was supported by Sima Shi, saw that he was alone. He was furious and said that Sima Zhao's intentions were known to everyone. He led hundreds of palace people to attack Sima Zhao's Prime Minister's Mansion and was killed by Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao supported fifteen-year-old Cao Huan as emperor. Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to order the princes, and his descendants soon suffered retribution.

Sima Zhao turned his attention to the two countries of Shu and Wu, and launched a large-scale attack on Shu in 263 AD. Adou, the Queen of Shu, surrendered and the Shu Kingdom was destroyed, thus ending the Three Kingdoms.

Sima Zhao died of a stroke in 265 AD. This year, his son Sima Yan forced Emperor Wei to abdicate and established the Western Jin Dynasty.

War conjecture: The Battle of Shouchun was not only a battle for power within the Wei State, but also a bellwether for the Three Kingdoms' struggle for hegemony. In this battle, both Shu and Wu countries were waiting for the long-awaited change in the world. Wu State invested 80,000 troops, and Shu State Jiang Wei also made another northern expedition. But the failure of the two countries in the end clearly reflected the changes in the strength of the Three Kingdoms in the later period: the strength of Wei and the decline of Shu and Wu.

The State of Wu actively participated in and cooperated with Zhuge Dan's rebellion in the Battle of Shouchun, which was strategically correct. However, it was a pity that the State of Wu had no famous generals at this time, and the general Sun was cruel and unintelligent. , made mistakes in the timing and method of reinforcements, and missed the best opportunity to compete with Wei.

In fact, there were 150,000 people in Shouchun at that time, and Sima Zhao was unable to conquer them at that time. If the Wu State could attack other states and counties with weak military strength when Sima Zhao gathered his troops in Shouchun, what would be the outcome of the confrontation between the two sides?