Battle
Battle of Qichun 蘄春之戰
About this event
The Battle of Qichun was the fight in the 6th month of the 2nd year of Huangwu (223) in which Wu's He Qi and others made a surprise attack on Qichun, held by Jin Zong, who had surrendered to Wei, and captured him. Jin Zong, the garrison commander of Xikou, had killed the general Wang Zhi and fled to Wei with his followers, and Wei made him Administrator of Qichun. When Jin Zong repeatedly raided the border, Sun Quan, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Wei armies, had him attacked unexpectedly at the height of summer, and the Wu army took Jin Zong alive. Records, Wu 2 §50Records, Wu 15 §19
Chen Shou recorded this battle in the Biography of the Lord of Wu (Records of Wu 2), the Biographies of He Qi, Quan Cong, Lü Dai, Zhou Fang and Zhongli Mu (Records of Wu 15) and the Biographies of Shi Yi and Hu Zong (Records of Wu 17). This battle does not appear in the Romance. Records, Wu 2 §50Records, Wu 15 §19Records, Wu 17 §13
Course of events in the Records
The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that earlier Jin Zong, the garrison commander of Xikou, had killed the general Wang Zhi and fled to Wei with his followers, and that after Wei made him Administrator of Qichun he repeatedly raided the border. The Biography of He Qi says that Jin Zong plotted to raid Anle and seize the hostages there, and the Biography of Hu Zong records that Qichun lay several hundred li from the river and that Jin Zong often plundered. Records, Wu 2 §50Records, Wu 15 §19Records, Wu 17 §13
In the 6th month of the 2nd year of Huangwu (223), Sun Quan had the generals He Qi, Mi Fang, Liu Shao (劉邵) and others raid Qichun. The Biography of He Qi records that Sun Quan, feeling disgraced and indignant, decided to take advantage of the moment just after military operations had ended to strike unexpectedly at the height of summer in the 6th month, and had He Qi lead Mi Fang, Xianyu Dan and others. Records, Wu 2 §50Records, Wu 15 §19
Who captured Jin Zong is recorded differently in each biography. The Biography of the Lord of Wu says that Liu Shao and others took Jin Zong alive, the Biography of He Qi says that He Qi, leading Mi Fang and others, raided Qichun and finally captured Jin Zong, and the Biography of Hu Zong records that Sun Quan had Hu Zong and He Qi march light and take him by surprise, capturing Jin Zong. The Biography of Hu Zong says that for this Hu Zong was additionally given the title of General of the Household Who Establishes Martial Might, yet in the same passage it places this event before Wei made Sun Quan King of Wu. Records, Wu 2 §50Records, Wu 15 §19Records, Wu 17 §13
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 | Wei | Wu |
| Commanders | He Qi, Mi Fang, Hu Zong |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Wu 2 §50