Battle of Jiangling (223)

Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms period

Date	Autumn 222 - June 223
Location	Western banks and middle region of the Yangtze River, in Jing Province (Jiangling and Nan Commandery)
Result	Wei retreat; overall stalemate

Belligerents

Cao Wei

Kingdom of Wu

Commanders and leaders

Cao Pi (stationed in Wancheng)
Cao Zhen (frontline commander)

Zhu Ran

Strength

5,000+

The Battle of Jiangling took place in 223 CE between the forces of the state of Cao Wei and the kingdom of Wu in the early Three Kingdoms period. The armed conflict occurred at Jiangling commandery (江陵郡; commandery capital in present-day Jiangling County, Jingzhou, Hubei) in Jing Province. This battle was an integral part of the Wei emperor Cao Pi's three-pronged campaign against the Wu leader Sun Quan, and spanned from the autumn of 222 to June 223. Of the three fronts, Wei's most critical attacks were concentrated against the Wu fortress at Jiangling.

When Liu Bei attacked Sun Quan in the Battle of Xiaoting, Sun sent his envoys with gifts to relate his wish to submit to Cao Pi, who in 220 ended the Han dynasty and established the state of Wei. As such, Sun Quan nominally became a vassal under Wei, but actually operated his Wu regime independently like he used to. Cao Pi's adviser Liu Ye suggested to his lord to attack Sun Quan while the latter was fighting Liu Bei, but Cao Pi rejected the proposal because he needed Sun Quan's submissive posture to solidify his authority as the legitimate founder of a new dynasty. After Sun Quan defeated Liu Bei in August, Cao Pi began to make plans on taking advantage on Sun Quan, despite opposition from Liu Ye. Wei troops were mobilised in the ninth lunar month of 222, and Cao Pi repeatedly requested Sun Quan to send his firstborn son to Wei as a hostage, prompting Sun Quan to send a humble letter of apology. However, Sun Quan could not agree on sending his son to Cao Pi, which ended the peace negotiation and started the war.

Cao Xiu was ordered by Cao Pi to attack Dongkou and Cao Ren was entrusted to take Ruxu; Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang were put in charge of taking Jiangling, capital of Nan Commandery and Jing Province. In the late October or early November, Sun Quan adopted his own era name, Huangwu (黃武), and formally declared independence from Wei.

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