Sun Quan's Jingzhou strategy also had a great bearing on the generation and development of Eastern Wu. Jingzhou was an important gateway for him to preserve Jiangdong and develop his power, and a barrier to long-term confrontation with Cao Wei in the north. Only by occupying Jingzhou and all the Yangtze River can eastern Wu have a historical position in the three kingdoms.
Sun Quan succeeded his father and brothers Sun Jian and Sun Ce as the lord of Eastern Wu in 200 AD.
At that time, Sun Quan was only 18 years old, and Eastern Wu only had six counties: Wu County, Huiji, Yuzhang, Danyang, Lujiang, and Luling. When Sun Ce was dying, he instructed Sun Quan to "protect Jiangdong" well, pointing out that the Central Plains were in chaos, and with the manpower of Wu and Yue, it was enough to sit back and watch the success or failure of the Three Rivers. For Sun Quan, the most important thing is to protect Jiangdong, and then expand the territory according to the changes in the situation, consolidate Jiangdong, and dominate the industry. Jingzhou was his primary target for preserving Jiangdong and expanding his power. Because Jingzhou is located in the upper reaches of Eastern Wu, it is the barrier of the founding of Eastern Wu, occupying Jingzhou, in order to occupy the Yangtze River, the north to compete with Cao Wei, and the west to form a horn with Shu Han, becoming one of the three worlds.
Sun Quan is young and ambitious. He saw that the Han Dynasty had reached a stage of dying, and after inheriting the business of his father and brother, he wanted to create a hegemonic business like the Duke of Qi Huan and the Duke wen of Jin. He quietly told This idea to Lu Xiao, whom Zhou Yu had recommended to him, and the two of them discussed it secretly alone. Lu Su said: For the sake of the general, we can only guard Jiangdong and observe the changes in the situation. Now we should take advantage of cao Cao's use of troops in the north and the lack of time to look south, ''Eliminate Huang Zu, attack Liu Biao, even the Yangtze River pole, according to it, and then build an emperor to seek the world'', this is to establish a foundation like Han Gaozu.'" Sun Quan replied that he only wanted to govern the region well now, hoping to assist the Han royal family, and I didn't expect what you said. In fact, he was very happy in his heart, and later he said that this conversation with Lu Xiao was the first happy thing in his life.
Before the Battle of Chibi, Gan Ning defected from Jingzhou to Eastern Wu, offering Sun Quan a plan to seize Jingzhou as soon as possible, not to fall behind Cao Cao, and said that to attack Jingzhou should first attack Huang zu. Sun Quan and Huang Zuben had a vendetta against their father. Sun Quan's father, Sun Jian, when he participated in the suppression of Dong Zhuo's rebellion, was told that the state yuxi wanted to be self-sufficient, and Yuan Shao instructed Liu Biao to intercept it on the way, and later Sun Jian attacked Jingzhou for this purpose, and was shot by Huang Zu's subordinate Shi Leng with an arrow. After Sun Quan succeeded Sun Ce to the throne, he had already attacked Huang Zu. After Gan Ning's offer, Sun Quan then sent another army to attack Xiakou in 207 AD, killing Liu Biaojiang's Xia Taishou Huangzu and capturing tens of thousands of men and women. When the news of Cao Cao's southern capture of Jingzhou and Liu Biao's illness reached Eastern Wu, Lu Su again said to Sun Quan: ''Jingchu is adjacent to the country, the water flows smoothly to the north, the Jianghan outside, the mountains and mausoleums inside, the solidity of the golden city, the fertile wilderness, the people are rich, and if there is a basis, this emperor's capital is also there. Sun Quan took Lu Su's suggestion and immediately sent Lu Su to jingzhou to inspect the movements in the name of mourning. All this shows that Sun Quan was concerned about Jingzhou, and his desire to have Jingzhou was very strong. When Cao Cao's army pressed the border and the situation was very urgent, Sun Quan categorically adopted the opinions of Lu Su and Zhou Yu, listened to Zhuge Liang's advice, and made a decisive decision to unite with Liu Bei to resist Cao Cao. This is not only for the sake of the future of Eastern Wu, but also for the sake of the benefits and disadvantages of Jingzhou on Eastern Wu. After this gripping Battle of Chibi, Eastern Wu was saved and captured Jiangxia County and Nan Commandery in Jingzhou; although it once lent Nan Commandery to Liu Bei, Eastern Wu's power was greatly enhanced, and for the first time it dared to attack Hefei, Cao Cao's strategic stronghold, and to the south to capture Jiaozhou in Lingnan. In order to facilitate the confrontation with Cao Cao, after the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan moved to the capital Moling in 211 AD, and the following year changed the Moling to Jianye (present-day Nanjing). When the dispute over Jingzhou was fierce, the capital was moved to Gong'an and Wuchang (present-day Ezhou).
For Sun Quan, Jingzhou was also his lifeblood. In the course of repeated contests for Jingzhou, he even turned his back on the Wushu alliance in order to gain Jingzhou, formed a good alliance with Cao Wei, and submitted to Cao Wei, at the expense of using all means. Because of Jingzhou, he had his Eastern Wu and was able to resist the powerful Cao Wei. Cao Pi, the Emperor wen of Wei after Cao Cao, had launched three successive large armies to attack Wu, but all of them were in vain due to the dangers and obstacles from Jingzhou to the Thousand Mile River in Eastern Wu, and could only look at the river and sigh.