Battle
Battle of Xiakou 夏口之戰
About this event
The Battle of Xiakou was the campaign in the 8th year of Jian'an (203) in which Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu, Liu Biao's Administrator of Jiangxia, in the west. Sun Quan broke Huang Zu's fleet but could not take the city, and when the mountain bandits rose again, on his way back he sent Lü Fan, Cheng Pu and others out separately to pacify the region of Yuzhang. The biography of Ling Tong in Chen Shou's text records that Ling Cao, who was following Sun Quan in the attack on Jiangxia, entered Xiakou, fought at the head of the army and was killed by a stray arrow, but it does not give the year. Records, Wu 2 §7Records, Wu 10 §70
Chen Shou recorded this battle in a single line in the Biography of the Lord of Wu (Records of Wu 2), and Ling Cao's death is in the Biographies of Cheng, Huang, Han, Jiang, Zhou, Chen, Dong, Gan, Ling, Xu, Pan and Ding (Records of Wu 10). The Romance depicts it briefly at the start of "The Sun Family Takes Revenge on the Yangtze" in Chapter 38, as Sun Quan's attack on Huang Zu in the 11th month of the 8th year of Jian'an, in which he lost Ling Cao and withdrew. Records, Wu 2 §7Records, Wu 10 §70Romance, Ch. 38 §30
Course of events in the Records
In the 8th year of Jian'an (203) Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu in the west and broke his fleet, but the city alone he could not take. Meanwhile the mountain bandits rose again, and on his way back, passing through Yuzhang, Sun Quan had Lü Fan pacify Poyang and Cheng Pu attack Le'an, put Taishi Ci in charge of Haihun, and made Han Dang, Zhou Tai, Lü Meng and others magistrates and chiefs of counties that were hard to govern. Records, Wu 2 §7
According to the biography of Ling Tong, Ling Tong's father Ling Cao had been a general who led the way in every campaign from the time Sun Ce first rose, and had become Colonel Who Destroys Bandits. When Sun Quan took command of the army, Ling Cao went with him to attack Jiangxia; he entered Xiakou, was the first to scale the walls, broke the enemy's vanguard, and was advancing alone in a light boat when he was struck by a stray arrow and died. Chen Shou does not record in what year this happened or whose arrow it was. Records, Wu 10 §70
Because Ling Cao had died in the service of the state, Sun Quan made the fifteen-year-old Ling Tong Major of a Separate Command and acting Commandant Who Destroys Bandits, and had him command his father's soldiers. In the 12th year of Jian'an (207) Sun Quan again attacked Huang Zu in the west and returned with his people as captives, and in the spring of the 13th year of Jian'an (208), at the Battle of Jiangxia, he finally put Huang Zu's city to the sword and took his head. Records, Wu 10 §71Records, Wu 2 §10–11
In the Romance
In Chapter 38 of the Romance, when Cao Cao demanded that Sun Quan send a son to court as a hostage, Sun Quan followed Zhou Yu's advice and did not send one, and Cao Cao began to harbor the intention of coming south to Jiangnan. In the 11th month of the 8th year of Jian'an, Sun Quan led his troops against Huang Zu and won a battle in the middle of the Yangtze, but his subordinate general Ling Cao, who charged into Xiakou ahead of the rest in a light boat, was shot dead by an arrow from Gan Ning, a subordinate general of Huang Zu. Ling Cao's fifteen-year-old son Ling Tong fought with all his strength to recover his father's body and brought it back, and Sun Quan, seeing that the situation was unfavorable, withdrew his troops. Romance, Ch. 38 §28–30
The Romance later relates, through the mouth of Lü Meng, that in this battle Huang Zu made it back alive to Xiakou thanks to Gan Ning's strength, but would not employ Gan Ning, calling him a river pirate. In Chapter 39, when Gan Ning submitted to Sun Quan and a banquet was held, Ling Tong drew his sword and rushed at Gan Ning as his father's enemy. Romance, Ch. 38 §43–44Romance, Ch. 39 §6–7
Where the Romance differs
Who shot Ling Cao: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Ling Cao was killed by an arrow from Gan Ning, a subordinate general of Huang Zu. The biography of Ling Tong in the Records says only that Ling Cao was killed by a stray arrow at Xiakou, and the biography of Gan Ning likewise says only that Gan Ning attached himself to Huang Zu but was treated as an ordinary man. Romance, Ch. 38 §30Records, Wu 10 §70 · 54
Outcome of the battle: In Chapter 38 of the Romance, Sun Quan defeated Huang Zu's troops on the Yangtze but lost Ling Cao and withdrew because the situation was unfavorable. In the Biography of the Lord of Wu in the Records, Sun Quan broke Huang Zu's fleet but could not take the city, and because the mountain bandits rose again, he withdrew, sending out his generals separately. Romance, Ch. 38 §30Records, Wu 2 §7
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 | Wu | Liu Biao faction |
| Commanders | Sun Quan, Ling Cao | Huang Zu, Gan Ning |
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 §7