Sun Jian and the Alliance against Dong Zhuo

[Shogun 2.0.]

Hi everybody,


If everybody doesn't mind I would like to post a little something that I wrote about Sun Jian and how he got to Luo Yang. Further down I'll cover the part he played in the Alliance

Now about the time that the alliance was formed Sun Jian was Prefect of Changsha. He had been appointed to that position by the Han Court for the purpose of taking down the rebel Ou Xing. Sun Jian had already proven himself a talented rebel fighter while fighting against Han Sui and Bian Zhang in Liangzhou. And earlier against the Yellow Turbans.

After Ou Xing was crushed the Han Court decided to post Sun Jian in the region more or less permanently as the Marquis of Wucheng. This didn't work well as Marquis Sun often clashed with his superior, Governor Wang Rui of Jingzhou. Wang Rui despised Sun Jian because he was a military man, which resulted in no love lost between them. When the call went out to oppose Dong Zhuo the Governor decided to join the Alliance and march to Luoyang, hoping to hook up with Yuan Shu along the way.

But Marquis Sun had no intention of serving under Wang anymore. When a dispute broke out between Governor Wang and the Prefect of Wuling, Cao Yin (no relation to Cao Cao), he saw his chance. Cao feared for his life and decided to falsify an Imperial order for the execution of Wang Rui. This order was sent to Sun Jian. Sun knew the order was false, but since he hated Governor Wang he decided to 'follow orders' anyway. Sun's army marched on the provincial capital soon after, stating that they had not received enough booty to supply themselves. Wang Rui, confused, opened the gates to demonstrate that he was not withholding supplies from them. Sun Jian entered soon after and confronted the Governor with the forged order. Wang, shocked, asked what he had done wrong. Sun Jian replied that he was guilty of not knowing anything and made Governor Wang drink wine with poisoned gold flakes in it.

Sun Jian began his march to Luo Yang. Soon after the suicide of Wang Rui Marquis Sun left Jingzhou and began his march north. Along the way he attracted many thousands of men, who joined his army as they passed through. By the time the Sun army arrived at Nanyang it was already quite huge. The Prefect of that city was Zhang Zi, who promptly shut his gates and refused Sun Jian entry into his city. Sun Jian sent many messengers to Zhang asking him to meet and discuss supplies, as the army was beginning to run low on food. But Zhang Zi refused to even acknowledge the arrival of the messengers, and ignored Sun Jian completely. Marquis Sun was losing patience, so he decided to trick Zhang Zi. Sun Jian pretended to fall ill suddenly, playing the part so well that even his own army was fooled. A messenger was sent to Zhang saying that the Marquis wanted to hand over his army to him. Zhang Zi took the bait and rode to the Sun camp. Once he was inside Sun's tent the supposedly sick man sprang up and berated Zhang Zi for not helping him. Sun Jian then slew the Prefect. The people of Nanyang then gave Marquis Sun everything he asked for, and the Sun army went on its way.

Soon afterwards they arrived in Luyang. Sun Jian's intention had been to link up with Yuan Shu as Governor Wang planned. This he did arriving in Luyang in Yuan Shu's territory not long after the Nanyang episode. Yuan Shu did not ask what happened to Wang Rui, or why he arrived alone with out any of his fellow Prefects from Jingzhou, but just decided to offer him office anyway. Sun Jian accepted the offer and became Yuan Shu's General Destroying the Enemy and Governor of Yuzhou.

Under Yuan Shu would he gain much fame. The Alliance against Dong Zhuo attacked Luo Yang from several directions at once. The majority of the fighting occurred on the eastern side of Luo Yang, were the Allied lords were defeated time and again by Li Jue and Guo Si. Yuan Shu choose to attack from the south, against Hua Xiong, using Sun Jian as his vanguard. The battle went poorly at first but soon Sun's forces counterattacked and defeated Hua Xiong, forcing him to fall back and he is eventually slain. At this point Yuan Shu, fearing Sun Jian's success, withheld supplies from him. When Marquis Sun heard this he raced to the main camp and swore his undying loyalty. Yuan Shu accepted this new vow and resumed sending supplies. The fall of Dong Zhuo's southern front completely changed the course of the war, as the Allied lords had previously made little progress. Dong Zhuo, fearing Marquis Sun, attempted to bribe him with a marriage proposal. The proposal was rejected furiously. Sun Jian's forces surged ahead and defeated Lu Bu, forcing him to retreat, and leaving the way to Luo Yang wide open. Dong Zhuo then began to fall back to Chang'An, but was caught in the move by Sun Jian's advance guard, resulting in a battle in the Imperial Tombs. Lu Bu returned to the fighting and managed to hold off Marquis Sun long enough for Dong to loot Luo Yang and burn the city. What happened next is actually unknown, according to some sources, such as a certain 'Master Shangyang', Sun Jian found the Great Seal of State, and handed it to Yuan Shu, not knowing that Yuan already was harboring dreams of Imperial grandeur. Or alternately he found the Great Seal and hid it with his wife Lady Wu, Yuan Shu later found out and took it from her, this view is supported by Wei Zhao. According to other sources, among them Pei Songzhi, Sun Jian did not find the Great Seal, but Yuan Shu in fact made a copy and after Sun Jian died claimed that the general found it in Luo Yang.

In closing I would like to make some notes about Sun Jian's later life. Following the dissolution of the Alliance the various lords went home. Unlike his trip to Luo Yang his trip back to Luyang was actually uneventful and he prospered under Yuan Shu. Sun Jian met his end only a few years later while fighting Huang Zu on Yuan Shu's behalf, either dying from several arrow wounds or crushed by rocks. His eldest son, Sun Ce, then inherited the legacy of Sun Jian (Sun Ben, his nephew, inherited the titles) and went on to lay the foundation of Eastern Wu, the longest lasting of the Three Kingdoms.

[Foif]

Is this specifically a debate or something? This seems more suited for the Artistic Expression and Illustration section of this site...

Other than that, it was pretty good.

[Ricky]

Yeah pretty good, I agree with foif it should be at Artistic Expression and Illustration. Unless it wasn't a poem?

[Shogun 2.0.]

What? No this is not a poem, this is an article I wrote on Sun Jian and events that surrounded his part in the Alliance against Dong Zhuo.

Why do you think its' a poem?

[Ricky]

What? No this is not a poem, this is an article I wrote on Sun Jian and events that surrounded his part in the Alliance against Dong Zhuo.

Why do you think its' a poem?

Sorry It sorta sounded like one. Im not that great when it comes to Sun Jian stuff. I thought it was one because, theres no debating here, unless you want us to talk about Sun Jian's life?

[Shogun 2.0.]

Oh no I didn't want any debate, I just wanted to post this because I thought it could be helpful to those who don't know a lot about Sun Jian, or the real events of the War against Dong Zhuo.

[Ricky]

Okay, Well at least I understand Sun Jian a bit more!
Thank you, Shogun 2.0.

[Sun Fin]

Yeh this is really helpful as I know very little of what was written there. However I've got a question since you seem to know lots about him. You didn't mention his victory Xu Chang in this. Is there a specific reason for this or is it simply it was to early for you to mention it?