Sima Yan, emperor of the Jin Dynasty, exerted great efforts to destroy the state of Wu. Source/Sogou Encyclopedia
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When the Wu lord Sun Xiu heard that Sima Yan of the Wei state had usurped the power of Cao Wei and established the Jin Dynasty, he knew that he was bound to raise an army to attack Wu, and he was worried about becoming ill, and he actually died of illness. Before his death, he entrusted the chancellor Puyang Xingli Crown Prince Sun Wan (上雨下單) as emperor.
Sun Xiu died, and the chancellor Pu Yangxing consulted with the Qunchen to follow Sun Xiu's last wishes and establish Sun Wan (shangyu and order) as emperor. Neither The Zuo Dianjun Wan Yu nor the Zuo general Zhang Bu agreed, believing that Sun Wan was too young to govern, and they elected Sun Hao as emperor.
Puyang Xing could not make a decision and went to ask Empress Zhu, who did not comment and ordered her to dispose of it herself. As a result, Puyang Xing and his courtiers welcomed Sun Hao as emperor. Thus, the road to the decline of Eastern Wu was opened.
Sun Hao was the grandson of Emperor Sun Quan and the cousin of Sun Wan, who was twelve years older than Sun Wan (Shangyu Xiadan) and had reached the age of twenty-two when he ascended the throne.
After he ascended the throne, he was tyrannical, indulged in wine, and spoiled eunuchs. The courtiers advised one after another, but he did not listen. The chancellor PuYang Xing and the zuo general Zhang Bu were originally the heroes who welcomed him to the throne, and they came to advise, but they were beheaded by Sun Hao and destroyed the three tribes. After that, no one dared to advise anymore.
Sun Hao often summoned his courtiers to drink, forced them to get drunk, and then ordered them to expose each other's faults, and then "cut off their eyes or peel their skin." His brutality was incomprehensible, causing the whole country of Eastern Wu to deviate from Germany and the government deteriorated.
Sun Hao, the last emperor of Eastern Wu. Source/Sogou Encyclopedia
Although Sun Hao fainted, fortunately there was a strategic general Lu Kang who guarded the frontier for him. Lu Kang was the son of Lu Xun, and after being worthy of being a famous man, he was both literate and martial, proficient in the art of war, and continued the national fortunes of Eastern Wu for more than ten years.
On the side of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan ordered the governor Yang Huzhen to guard Xiangyang and confront Eastern Wu lu to prevent Eastern Wu from invading the jin state's land.
Lu Kang and Yang Hu felt sorry for each other, they knew each other's strength very well, and neither of them dared to take the initiative to attack and held on to each other for several years. In this way, although Sun Hao was helpless and the country was declining day by day, there was no invasion by foreign enemies, but it was also able to sustain itself.
Lu Kang - The last famous general of Eastern Wu. Source/Sogou Encyclopedia
In 269 (the first year of Wu Jianheng), the Wu lord Sun Hao issued an edict ordering Lu Kang to attack the Jin state. Lu Kangjin advised Sun Hao to cultivate virtue, reduce the frequency of punishing ministers, focus on stabilizing the country, and not rush to provoke war. Sun Hao was furious when he saw this, and cut off The right to resist the army, and ordered the left general Sun Ji to replace him.
This was a good opportunity for the Jin state to cut down Wu, but unfortunately the Jin state did not seize it.
Originally, the governor of the Jin dynasty, Yang Hu, wanted to take this opportunity to cut down Wu, and he entered the table to Sima Yan, and Sima Yan also had this intention, but there were too many voices of opposition in the DPRK, and Sima Yan did not take action.
The capital of the Jin Dynasty was Yang Hu. Source/Sogou Encyclopedia
Although Sima Yan did not cut down Wu this time, he never relaxed the preparations for cutting Down Wu.
Nine years later, in 278 AD (the fourth year of Jin Xianning), the governor Yang Hu presented a chapter, resigned and returned to his hometown to recuperate, and was critically ill in November of that year. Before his death, he recommended to Sima Yan the right general Du Pre to take over as his governor.
In 279 AD, after years of strategic preparation, Sima Yan began to raise an army to attack Wu. He made Du the governor of Dadu, and led 100,000 troops out of Jiangling, Sima Ling, Wang Hun, Wang Rong, and Hu Fen each led 50,000 troops, tuzhong, Hengjiang, Wuchang, and Xiakou respectively, and Wang Mao and Tang Bin led the army from Bashu, down the east of the river, and headed straight for Jianye. The Six Roads Army, advancing on land and water, launched an all-out attack on Eastern Wu.
Due to the brutality and fainting of Sun Hao of Eastern Wu, many soldiers in his army fell without a fight, and the few soldiers who were willing to resist the attack of the Jin army were also on the verge of collapse.
The Jin army's offensive was like breaking bamboo, and the water army led by Wang Mao and Tang Binbu first went down to Jiangling, then wuchang, and finally a large army approached Jianye City.
Schematic diagram of the Western Jin Dynasty's campaign against Wu. Source/Sogou Encyclopedia
Sun Hao, the lord of Wu, saw that the general situation had gone, and led the Wenwu group of ministers to surrender to Wang Mao's troops, Wang Hao was surrendered, and Eastern Wu was destroyed. At this time, it was March 280 AD.
Sima Yan treated Sun Hao kindly and made him the Marquis of Gui, and Sun Hao was able to die well.
Wei, Shu, and Wu all died, the Jin dynasty unified China, the vigorous Three Kingdoms era ended, and history turned a new page.
Resources:
Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuelu Book Club, 2004
Sogou Encyclopedia