Yang Hu (221–278), courtesy name Shuzi, was a native of Nancheng County, Taishan County (present-day Xintai, Shandong). Famous strategist, politician and writer of the Wei and Jin dynasties.
Yang Hu was born into a family of famous disciples of the Han and Wei dynasties. His ancestors had always been high officials, and up to him, a total of nine generations were known for their integrity and virtue. His grandfather Ren Nanyang Taishou, his father Ren Shangdang Taishou, Yang Hu was Cai Yong's grandson and Sima Shi's brother-in-law, and his status was very noble. He was erudite and literate, honest and upright, and during the Cao Wei period, he accepted the imperial court bus to worship. Since then, the career has been quite smooth, and I have been promoted all the way. During the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty (reigned 265-290), wanted to annex the state of Wu and appointed Yang Hu to sit in Xiangyang and take charge of the military power of Jingzhou.
At this time, the Shu state had become history (it was destroyed in 263), and the three kingdoms were broken, leaving only the jin and Wu states, the wu state was not as strong as the Jin state, but with the danger of the Yangtze River, it confronted the Western Jin Dynasty. As long as the State of Wu is taken, the whole country can be unified. In 269, Sima Yan sent Zhongshu to order Yang Hu to oversee the military of Jingzhou. Yang Hu had served as the leader of the Central Army, commanding the Yulin Army, which was a force responsible for the security of the imperial palace, which showed that the emperor trusted him a lot, so he would entrust him with this important task.
After Yang Hu arrived in Renjingzhou, he found that the garrison of Wu Guoshicheng, although more than 700 miles away from Xiangyang, often came to harass. Therefore, Yang Hu first used a trick to order the State of Wu to remove the garrison of Shicheng, and the defensive pressure of Xiangyang City was greatly reduced. Yang Hu withdrew half of the defensive soldiers on the border line of more than 700 miles, greatly increasing the strength of Tuntian, and in only three years, he turned more than 800 hectares of wasteland into fertile land. "Divide more than 800 acres of land and reap great benefits"; reduce the expenditure of the government, reduce the taxes of the people, vigorously promote education, and appease the people.
When Yang Hu first arrived in Jingzhou, there was no food left in the army for 100 days. After several years of painstaking management, in the later period of his town of Jingzhou, the grain and grass savings were enough to be used for ten years.
In 270, the Wu emperor Sun Hao (Emperor Wu, 242-284), who was very suspicious and did not trust anyone, decided to dismiss Bu Xian from his post as the governor of Xiling (present-day Yichang, Hubei) and send the general Lu Kangdu to oversee the Jingzhou military.
Lu Kang (226–274), courtesy name Youjie, was a native of Wu County, Wu County (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu). During the Three Kingdoms period, a famous general of the State of Wu, a man of particularly military talent, came from a famous family, and he was the second son of Lu Xun, the famous governor of Eastern Wu, who burned the camp for 800 miles. Lu Kang inherited his father as the Marquis of Jiangling and was a lieutenant of Jianwu, leading his father to 5,000 people. Later moved to the town of the general of the army.
Yang Hu was very vigilant about the arrival of Lu Kang and treated it carefully. After all, Lu Kang was a famous general at that time, and his reputation was outstanding, and he could not pay attention to it. Needless to say, the ability of the land resistance to lead the troops has always been known for its rigorous management of the army. In the past, the land resistance and Zhuge Ke exchanged defensive areas, and the military camps of the land resistance were orderly, and Zhuge Ke's military camps had many damaged places.
It should be said that in terms of the ability to lead soldiers to fight, Yang Hu is inferior to Lu Kang. Lu Kang has always been the main general of the army, and leading soldiers to fight is a profession for him. Although Yang Hu also held a military position, he basically had no experience in front-line combat. It was not until he came to Jingzhou at the age of 48 that he really led troops to fight in the front line for the first time.
In 272, when King Wu relieved Bu Chan of his post as governor of Xiling and summoned him back to Jianye, Bu Chan thought of Sun Hao's moodiness and tyranny, and was afraid to go back to the fierce and auspicious. Therefore, he did not stop doing two things, and led his men to create a rebellion against Sun Hao and surrendered to the Jin state. Sun Hao was angry and anxious, eager to crush Bu Chan's corpse into ten thousand pieces, and immediately ordered Lu Kang's leading troops to surround and suppress Bu Chan.
The Jin state obviously could not let the general be killed, so Emperor Wu of Jin immediately divided his troops into three ways to rescue Bu Chan. Yang Hu and Xu Yin, the Brazilian overseer, led their armies to attack Jiangling and Jianping respectively, blocking the land resistance from the east and west, while Shi Yangzhao, the assassin of Jingzhou, went directly to Xiling to rescue Bu Yan.
In terms of troop strength, Yang Hu occupies a great advantage, and the Yang Hu soldiers will total 80,000 people, while the land resistance is only 30,000. But Lu Kang had a favorable geographical position, and he was particularly good at building fortifications. After arriving at Xiling, Lu Kang immediately began to build fortifications, consolidate the city defenses, so that the Jin army's many attacks were fruitless, as an excellent general, Lu Kang's basic defense was still very in place and solid, and did not give the Jin army any opportunity to take advantage of.
At the same time, Lu Kang saw through Yang Qi's intention to transport grain and grass by waterway, and ordered the destruction of the weir to drain the water, so that the water level of the river north of Jiangling was lowered and it was impossible to ship, thus destroying the material transportation plan of Yang Hu's army, forcing Yang Hu to change from water to land transport supplies, and the land route was difficult, resulting in extremely difficult logistics supply for Yang Hu. "When he went to Dangyang, wen Wei was defeated, but the ship was changed to a vehicle, and the effort was greatly damaged" The situation became favorable to the land resistance.
Just during the most critical period of the war between the two sides, Yu Zan, the general of the Lu Resistance Department, suddenly surrendered to Yang Zhao, and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and it became very unfavorable to the Lu Resistance.
However, Lu Kang was not in danger, and calmly speculated that Yu Zan might provide information to the Jin army, and Yang Zhao, knowing the possible direction of attack after knowing the weak links of his own defense, made a plan, and withdrew the Yi troops overnight and replaced them with elite troops. Yang Hu was sure of the plan, and led his men to sneak attack from the defensive place of the original Yi soldiers, but they were attacked head-on by the elite soldiers of the Wu army. The Jin army suffered heavy losses and had no choice but to retreat. In the end, Lu Resist attacked xiling city and wiped out the three tribes of Bu Yan and others.
The Battle of Xiling ended with the victory of Lu Kang, and Yang Hu was demoted to the rank of general of Pingnan because of his defeat.
But the war was not completely over, and for the next 6 years, the two sides turned into a long-term confrontation. In the battlefield battle, Yang Hu was in the inferior position, and now this state of confrontation was Yang Hu's favorite and the most conducive time to playing his strengths. Yang Hu learned from the experience of Meng Xianzi's management of the Tiger Prison during the Spring and Autumn Period, which made the Zheng people fear; Yan Bao built a city in Dongyang and caizi guo surrendered. In the dangerous land, 5 cities were built, occupying a large amount of fertile land west of Shicheng.
The Jingxiang region where Sheep and Lu confronted each other, since the Three Kingdoms period, has been a place where soldiers and families must fight, and after Sima Yan deposed Wei and established himself, the Shu state has been destroyed, leaving only the state of Wu, and Jingzhou has become the focus of contention between Jin and Wu. The people of Jingxiang have suffered from war and chaos for many years, and the people have been displaced and their lives are difficult. Seeing this, Yang Hu could not bear the people of Wu in the Jingxiang area and continued to suffer from war. So he governed with benevolent and good governance.
Yang Hu marched to the territory of the State of Wu, in order to solve the supply of military food, it was necessary to harvest the crops of the people, and after each harvest, he would leave an equivalent amount of silk in the field in exchange, and strictly ordered his subordinates not to take a needle and a thread from the people of Wudi. When hunting, Yang Hu forbade his subordinates to cross the border, and if the prey was first injured by the Wu people and then obtained by the Jin soldiers, he took the initiative to return it to the other side. Since then, the people who have surrendered to the Wu kingdom have been endless.
Later, the Wu generals Chen Shang and Pan Jing led troops to attack, And Yang Hu's men killed them, in order to publicize their discipline, Yang Huhou buried them, and the families of the two came to greet them, and Yang Hu politely returned the remains of the two to their families. The children of the captured Wu generals were sent to send them home.
He adhered to the good faith and morality of Wu Jun, and every time the two armies fought, Yang Hu agreed in advance with the other side on the time of engagement and never engaged in sneak attacks. For the generals who advocated sneak attacks, Yang Hu drunk them with wine, so that they could not sneak attacks, and later the generals no longer mentioned the sneak attack.
Once Yang Husheng captured the Wu general Deng Xiang, did not kill or dishonor, and after being courteous, he released him back to the State of Wu. Deng Xiang was grateful to Yang Hu Ende, and later led his men to surrender.
These benevolent and benevolent deeds of Yang Hu and the gentle policy made the military and people of the Wu state also feel grateful and convinced. Since the Three Kingdoms, the people here have lived in deep water, and where dare they expect that there will be such a good qing official and grand master. Therefore, they do not directly call YangHu by his name, but call him "Yang Gong" to express their reverence, gratitude and love for YangHu.
From the perspective of the military and people of the State of Wu, Yang Hu did not look like a general who came to fight at all, but a great Confucian who practiced benevolent government and influenced the world. Even Lu Kang praised Yang Hu's virtue and measure. He said: "Even Le Yi and Zhuge Liang cannot be compared with Yang Hu. ”
Once Lu Resisted illness, Yang Hu sent someone to send medicine to him, and said: "This is the medicine I recently formulated myself, I have not yet taken it, I heard that you are sick, I will give it to you to eat first." The general was afraid of deception and persuaded Lu Kang not to take it, but Lu Kang did not care and swallowed it without hesitation. He said to the general, "Yang Hu is not such a villain. ”
Lu Kang knew better than anyone what the purpose of these practices was and what the result would be. Therefore, he often admonished his soldiers: "He is for virtue, and I am for violence, and I am obedient without fighting." Each keeps its boundaries, and there is no seeking profit. This means that the two sides are bounded by each other, do not invade each other, and do not take advantage of them, otherwise it is easy to lose the hearts and minds of the people.
Yang Hu and Lu Kang confronted each other at the border, which represented a contest between the two countries. Compared with Yang Hu's strong state support, Lu Kang was faced with Sun Hao, who was incompetent and eager to make quick gains.
After Sun Hao learned of the "very friendly" situation on the front line, he immediately sent someone to rebuke Lu Kang's passive and sluggish war. Lu Kang helplessly returned: "A small village cannot fail to pay attention to faith, let alone such a big country?" If I don't do this, it will only cause Yang Hu's prestige to grow higher and higher, and he has nothing to lose. After Sun Hao knew Lu Kang's thoughts, he didn't say anything on the surface. Only as soon as Lu Kang died, Sun Hao immediately divided his soldiers and horses into five and handed them over to Lu Kang's five sons to command separately, which not only showed Sun Hao's suspicion and suspicion of having too much military power and self-respect for Lu Kang; at the same time, it also fully embodied Sun Hao's incompetence and narrow-mindedness. The most basic employment can not be done, it is really not a qualified leader.
Yang Hu and Lu Kang confronted each other in such a friendly and peaceful atmosphere for 3 years, after the Battle of Xiling, they never fought on the battlefield again, in 274 AD, Lu Kang died of illness; 4 years later, Yang Hu also died of illness, the confrontation between the two ended, but the competition between the two countries is far from over.
When Yanghu town was defending Jingzhou, he had already recommended to Sima Yan the talented but controversial Wang Mao to serve in Yizhou, responsible for training the water army, Wang Mao lived up to expectations, and ran Yizhou as an important stronghold along the Yangtze River against the State of Wu, and the water army was well trained, and played an important role in Wang Mao's water army in the later War of Wu. Before Yang Hu died, he recommended Du Pre to take his place, and Du Pre later became the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces of Wu Wu, playing a great role in the Battle of Wu Wu. It can be seen that Yang Hu has made painstaking plans to unify the Wu kingdom.
In addition to recommending talents, training water troops, and accumulating materials, Yang Hu also wrote all the plans of the Jin state to cut down Wu in the "Ping Wu Shu" before his death. When he was seriously ill, he should also insist on visiting Sima Yan and personally expound sima Yan's suggestions and views on eliminating Wu. Emperor Wu of Jin was so moved that he could sit on a small cart and go to the temple without having to perform a ritual.
The key point of cutting down Wu is to take advantage of the weakness of the long defensive front along the Yangtze River of the State of Wu and send more troops to bluff the troops, so as to disperse the troops of the State of Wu, and then Wang Mao's water division can take advantage of the emptiness of its internal troops to go down the river from Xiling and take Jianye directly.
The offensive strategy that Lu Kang might adopt against the Jin State had long ago made a correct prediction, and before his death, he repeatedly advised Sun Hao to pay attention to the defense of Xiling. "The west gate of the Xiling Kingdom, although the clouds are easy to keep, they are also easy to lose. If there is no defense, not only a county is lost, then Jingzhou is not Wu Youye. If it is in danger, it should be fought over by the country. ”
It was just that Sun Hao was faint and incompetent, and did not pay any attention to Lu Kang's warning before his death. He firmly believed that no matter how lax the garrison was, with the natural danger of the Yangtze River, he would certainly be able to block the army of the Western Jin Dynasty. He continued to live a life of absurdity and drunkenness. The high-pressure and brutality of the intensification of internal rule has led to the people's lack of livelihood, complaints, and rebellions in various places have often occurred. The day of death was coming soon, but Sun Hao himself knew nothing.
In 280 AD, the Jin army marched on land and water, killing Jianye in just over 40 days. The irony is that when the water army led by Wang Mao entered the Wu defense line, it encountered only the iron locks set up by the Wu army and the iron cone hidden in the river, and there was no interception by the Wu water army. The existence of these iron cables and iron cones, Yang Hu had long understood clearly through the captured Wu spy.
Sun Hao, who had already been frightened, followed the advice of the chancellor Hu Chong, imitated the practice of Liu Chan of the Shu Han Dynasty, tied his hands back, and led the crown prince Sun Jin and others to surrender to the Western Jin general Wang Mao. The State of Wu thus perished.
The success of the entire Western Jin Dynasty can be said to be a reward for Yang Hu's hard work. Without his various preliminary preparations, the Battle of Wu wu could not have ended so smoothly and so quickly. The benevolent and good governance he implemented in Jingzhou not only won the support and affirmation of the military and people of the State of Wu, but also reflected the brilliance of human nature. The "friendship between sheep and land" that appeared in the "friendly" confrontation between him and Lu Kang was also praised by future generations and became a famous story in history.
After Yang Hu's death, Sima Yan was very sad, put on his mourning clothes and personally wept for Yang Hu, it is said that the weather was very cold at that time, and Sima Yan's tears fell on his beard and froze. The place where Yang Hu had been stationed, after learning the news of his death, also went out of the city to mourn for him, and even the people of Eastern Wu wept for him. In order to commemorate him, people erected a monument on the top of Yan Mountain, thinking that future generations would come to this monument to commemorate the sheep. This is the famous Yanggong Monument in history, also known as the "Monument to Fallen Tears", located on Yanshan Mountain in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province. If the sheep have knowledge underground, they can also smile at the Nine Springs. The Tang Dynasty poet Meng Haoran has a poetic cloud: "Personnel affairs have metabolism, and exchanges have become ancient and modern." The country and mountains have left a trace of victory, and my generation has returned to the landing. The water is shallow, and the cold dream is deep. The sheep monument is still there, and the reading is stained with tears. ”