Chapter 18 109 Wang Junlou Ship Breaks Wu

After Sima Zhao destroyed the Shu Han, he died of illness before he could attack Soochow.His son Sima Yan abolished the nominal Wei and Yuan emperor Cao Huan, became emperor himself, and established the Jin Dynasty. This is Emperor Wu of Jin.From 265 AD to 316 AD, the capital of the Jin Dynasty was in Luoyang, and this dynasty was called the Western Jin Dynasty in history. When the Western Jin Dynasty was established, Soochow, the only surviving of the Three Kingdoms, had already declined.Sun Hao, the last emperor of Soochow Wu, was famously cruel.He overhauled the palace, enjoyed himself as much as he could, and suppressed the people with inhumane punishments such as skinning and gouging out his eyes. Everyone hated him from top to bottom.

In 279 AD, some ministers of the Jin Dynasty believed that the time was right and persuaded Emperor Wu of Jin to eliminate Soochow.Emperor Wu of Jin decided to send more than 200,000 troops to attack Jianye (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) in several routes.General Du Yu of Zhennan attacked the middle road and marched towards Jiangling; General Anton Wang Hun attacked the east road and marched towards Hengjiang (in present-day Anhui Province); Follow the big river and attack eastward along the current. Wang Jun is a capable general.He had already made preparations to conquer Wu and supervised the construction of a large number of warships in Yizhou.This kind of warship is very large and can accommodate more than 2,000 people.A city wall and tower were built on the ship, and people standing on it can look around.Therefore, it is also called a building boat.

In order not to let Soochow find out, the shipbuilding was carried out in secret.But as time went by, it was inevitable that many chipped pieces of wood would fall into the river.The wood chips drifted along the water until they reached the border of Soochow.Wu Yan, a prefect of Soochow, found out about this, and quickly reported to Wu Lord Sun Hao, saying: "These wood chips must have been chopped down when the Jin army was building ships. The Jin army is building ships upstream, and it seems that they are going to attack Soochow. Prepare to defend early." But Sun Hao said nonchalantly: "What are you afraid of! If I don't beat him, they dare to invade me!"

Wu Yan has no choice, but I don't feel at ease if I am not on guard.He figured out a way to build a lot of big wooden stakes in the dangerous places of the river, nailed big iron chains to block the river, and put iron cones more than ten feet high under the water surface, like countless hidden reefs, so that The Jin State Navy could not pass through. After the new year, Du Yu, who played the middle road, and Wang Hun, who played the east road, both won steadily.Only Wang Jun's navy, when they arrived in Zigui, could not move forward because the building boats were blocked by iron chains and iron cones.Wang Jun really has a way.He ordered the Jin soldiers to build dozens of large rafts, and on each raft were some straw figures, wearing armor and holding knives and guns.He also sent a few soldiers with good water skills to lead the group of rafts down the river.These rafts hit the iron cones, and the points of the iron cones stuck under the raft and were swept away by the raft.

And what about the iron chains blocking the river?Wang Jun set up big torches on the raft again.These torches are filled with sesame oil, and they light up at one point.He let these rafts with big torches drive in front of the warship, and when they encountered iron chains, they burned a raging fire. After a long time, the chains and locks were all burnt. Wang Jun's navy swept away the iron cones under the water and the iron chains on the river, and the warships of the brigade successfully entered the border of Dongwu, and soon joined forces with the army on Du Yu's middle road. Du Yu's army, which attacked by land, also won a big victory and captured Jiangling.Some people advocate taking a break for a while before fighting.Du Yu said: "Now our army is so powerful that it is like splitting bamboo. After splitting a few knots, the bamboo below can be easily solved. Once you split it to the end." (This is how the idiom "force is like a broken bamboo" comes from. .) He tried his best to support Wang Jun to lead the navy to Jianye, the capital of Eastern Wu.

At this time, the Jin army led by Wang Hun of the East Road also approached Jianye.Sun Hao sent Prime Minister Zhang Ti to lead 30,000 Wu soldiers across the river to fight, but they were all wiped out by the Jin army. Wang Jun's building boat sailed eastward with great momentum.Sun Hao, the Lord of Wu, panicked and sent General Zhang Xiang to lead a navy of 10,000 people to resist.Zhang Xiang's soldiers saw that the river was full of Wang Jun's warships, and countless banners were fluttering in the wind, covering even the sky.The Soochow navy had not trained for a long time, and seeing the Jin army's approach, they were so frightened that they surrendered without fighting.

Tao Jun, a general of Eastern Wu, was looking for Sun Hao at this time.Sun Hao asked him about the navy.This Tao Jun was a fool. He said: "I know the situation of the navy that came down from Yizhou. Their ships are very small. Your Majesty only needs to give me 20,000 sailors and use the large warships, and I will surely be able to send the Jin army to the sea." defeat." Sun Hao immediately named him a general, handed him the scepter, and asked him to command the navy.Tao Jun gave orders to the soldiers and set out to fight the Jin army early the next morning.But the soldiers are not as confused as Tao Jun, and they don't want to die.That night, he escaped completely.

Wang Jun's navy arrived at Jianye almost without resistance.The 100-mile river near Jianye was full of warships of the Jin army. Wang Jun led 80,000 sailors ashore and entered Jianye City amidst thunderous drumming. When Sun Hao arrived at the barren fields, he had no choice but to take off his shirt, had his hands tied behind his back, and led a group of Eastern Wu ministers to surrender in front of Wang Jun's barracks.In this way, the period of the separation of the Three Kingdoms from Cao Pi's proclaiming emperor (220 AD) came to an end, and the Jin Dynasty unified the whole country.

There are many vivid stories in the Three Kingdoms period, and there are many legends circulating among the people.In the early Ming Dynasty, novelist Luo Guanzhong wrote long historical novels based on historical materials and folk tales of this period, artistically shaping historical figures such as Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang, and Guan Yu.It is one of the outstanding literary masterpieces in our country.