Battle
Battle of Changshe 長社之戰
About this event
The Battle of Changshe is the fight in Chapter 1 of the Romance, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, in which Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun attacked with fire the Yellow Turban band of Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, who had fallen back to Changshe. When the bandits, faring badly against the government troops in Yingchuan, fell back to Changshe and camped against the grass, the two generals set fires all at once after the second watch on a night when a great wind rose and struck the camp. After fighting until daybreak, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, in flight, were blocked by Cao Cao, Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and lost more than ten thousand heads. Romance, Ch. 1 §34–36 · 40
Chen Shou's text has no fight at Changshe. The Biography of Sun Jian records that the Han court sent Huangfu Song, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Zhu Jun, General of the Household, against the Yellow Turbans, and the Annals of Emperor Wu say only that Cao Cao became Chief Commandant of Cavalry and attacked the bandits of Yingchuan. In the Romance this fight appears in Chapter 1, "Feasting in the peach garden, three heroes swear brotherhood; slaying the Yellow Turbans, the heroes win their first glory." Records, Wu 1 §6Records, Wei 1 §3Romance, Ch. 1 §35
In the Romance
In Chapter 1 of the Romance, Lu Zhi, facing Zhang Jue at Guangzong, says that Zhang Jue's younger brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao are facing Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun in Yingchuan, and sends Liu Bei to Yingchuan to see how things stand. At that time Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were leading troops to hold off the bandits, and the bandits, faring badly in the fighting, fall back to Changshe and camp against the grass. Romance, Ch. 1 §34–35
Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun reason that since the bandits have camped in the grass they should attack with fire, and have each soldier tie up a bundle of grass and lie hidden. That night a great wind rises, and after the second watch they set fires all at once, the two generals each leading troops to strike the camp. As the flames reach the sky, the bandits scatter and flee in all directions, without time to saddle their horses or put on their armor. Romance, Ch. 1 §35
After fighting until daybreak, as Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao lead their beaten remnants and force their way out, a band of horsemen with red banners blocks their path. It is Cao Cao, who had been appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry when the Yellow Turbans rose and had come to Yingchuan with five thousand horse and foot to help in the fighting. Cao Cao routs them in a great slaughter, taking more than ten thousand heads and seizing countless banners, drums and horses, and Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao barely escape by fighting to the death. After meeting Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, Cao Cao at once sets off in pursuit of the two. Romance, Ch. 1 §36 · 40–41
Liu Bei, who hurried there on seeing the firelight, arrives after the bandits have already scattered and conveys Lu Zhi's intentions, and Huangfu Song sends Liu Bei back to Guangzong, saying that Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, their strength spent, are sure to go to Zhang Jue at Guangzong for refuge. In Chapter 2, Zhang Liang is beheaded at Quyang by Huangfu Song, and Zhang Bao, who has gone into Yangcheng, is stabbed to death by his subordinate Yan Zheng. Romance, Ch. 1 §42Romance, Ch. 2 §8–9
Where the Romance differs
The suppressing army and the battlefield: In Chapter 1 of the Romance, it was Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun who attacked the bandits at Changshe with fire. The Biography of Sun Jian in the Records also records that the Han court sent Huangfu Song, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Zhu Jun, General of the Household, to suppress them, but as the place of fighting it names only Wan City, where the bandits of Runan and Yingchuan fled to hold out, and neither the fire attack at Changshe nor Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao appear. Romance, Ch. 1 §35Records, Wu 1 §6–7
Cao Cao's merit: In Chapter 1 of the Romance, Cao Cao, Chief Commandant of Cavalry, blocked the fleeing Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao with five thousand horse and foot and took more than ten thousand heads. The Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records say only that when the Yellow Turbans rose at the end of Guanghe, Cao Cao was appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry and attacked the bandits of Yingchuan, giving neither the names of enemy leaders nor the number of heads taken. Romance, Ch. 1 §40Records, Wei 1 §3
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Belligerents
| Item | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| Factions | Eastern Han | Yellow Turbans |
| Commanders | Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Cao Cao | Zhang Liang(張梁), Zhang Bao(張寶) |
| Strength | 引馬步軍五千 | |
| Casualties | 斬首萬餘級 |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Ch. 1 §35