The Three Kingdoms Return to Jin

Sun Hao had made Eastern Wu fearful, divided, and tired.

In the north, Sima Yan had already founded Jin.

The final question was whether the Yangzi could still protect Wu.

Jin Prepares the Upper River

Sima Yan did not attack immediately after founding Jin.

The court had to stabilize, and ministers disagreed about the timing. But the plan gradually formed.

Yang Hu was sent to command in Jingzhou from Xiangyang.

He did not rely only on force.

He treated border people well, accepted defectors, and allowed those who wanted to leave to go. He reduced some garrison burdens and built up grain stores.

Across the frontier, many Wu people began to see Jin as less frightening than their own emperor.

One symbolic defection came from Sun Xiu, a member of the Wu imperial clan. Fearing Sun Hao, he fled to Jin and received high rank.

The message was powerful.

If even a Sun clansman could survive by surrendering to Jin, others might too.

Wang Jun Builds the Fleet

Jin also prepared in Yi Province, the old land of Shu.

Yang Hu urged that Wang Jun remain there to build a river fleet.

This mattered because Wu's great defense was the Yangzi. If Jin could send ships from the upper river, it could move with the current toward the heart of Wu.

Wang Jun built large tower ships.

They were high, heavy, and designed to carry many soldiers. Later accounts describe them almost like floating fortresses.

Wood scraps from the shipyards floated downstream into Wu territory. Wu border officers understood what they meant and warned Sun Hao.

Sun Hao did not respond with enough seriousness.

Local defenders placed iron chains across the river and iron spikes under the water, hoping to block Jin ships.

Yang Hu and Lu Kang

On the Jingzhou frontier, Yang Hu faced Lu Kang, the son of Lu Xun.

Their rivalry became famous because it was restrained.

They fought for opposing states, but both valued trust. Yang Hu compensated Wu people when Jin troops harvested across the line. Lu Kang trusted medicine and wine sent from Yang Hu.

Sun Hao disliked this.

Lu Kang answered that if Jin showed kindness while Wu acted badly, Wu would already be defeated before battle.

He understood that frontier war was not only about weapons.

It was also about people.

Before his death in 274, Lu Kang warned Sun Hao to strengthen the western defenses. If Jin came down from the upper river, Wu would be in danger.

Sun Hao failed to make proper use of the warning.

After Lu Kang died, command in the region was divided among his sons, weakening unified control.

The Six-Pronged Attack

Yang Hu died before he could see the conquest, but he left advice.

He urged Sima Yan to attack while Sun Hao was still ruining Wu. If Wu gained a better ruler, the chance might vanish.

In 279, Jin moved.

Six armies advanced by land and water. Wang Jun's fleet came down from the upper Yangzi. Du Yu pressed through Jingzhou. Other commanders attacked from the north and east.

Wang Jun's ships met Wu's river obstacles.

Against underwater spikes, he sent large rafts ahead so the spikes lodged in the rafts and were carried away.

Against iron chains, he used huge oil-soaked torches to burn and break them.

The river opened.

Jin forces captured key points such as Xiling and Jingmen. Commanderies surrendered one after another.

Wu's upstream defense collapsed.

Zhang Ti Dies for Wu

Sun Hao sent Zhang Ti with an army to resist.

Some advised Zhang Ti to wait and concentrate forces. Zhang Ti believed Wu was already near collapse. If he waited until all Jin armies arrived, the soldiers might lose heart and surrender without a fight.

He chose to cross the river and battle.

The result was defeat.

A surrendered Jin force under Zhang Qiao turned on Wu from behind. Wu troops broke. Zhang Ti refused to flee and died in battle with many soldiers.

Wu lost one of its last serious field armies.

After that, resistance thinned quickly.

Wang Jun Enters Stone City

Sun Hao sent more troops.

They surrendered when they saw Wang Jun's banners.

Jin armies approached Jianye from several directions. The river was filled with warships, drums, and soldiers.

Wang Hun tried to slow Wang Jun, partly because commanders wanted the honor of entering first.

Wang Jun did not stop.

His fleet sailed straight toward the capital and entered Stone City.

Sun Hao understood that the end had come.

Following the old surrender ritual used by Liu Shan, he bound himself, carried a coffin, held a jade piece in his mouth, and surrendered at Wang Jun's camp.

Eastern Wu fell in 280.

The End of the Three Kingdoms

When news reached the Jin court, ministers celebrated.

Sima Yan wept and said the achievement belonged to Yang Hu, who had prepared the strategy but died before victory.

Sun Hao was taken to Luoyang and made Marquis Guiming, a lower title than Liu Shan's Duke Anle.

He survived for several years.

Stories later showed him answering Sima Yan and Jia Chong with sharp words, even after losing his kingdom.

But Eastern Wu was gone.

Shu had fallen in 263. Wei had become Jin in 265. Wu surrendered in 280.

From the Yellow Turban uprising in 184 to Wu's fall, nearly a century of upheaval had passed.

The warlords, emperors, loyalists, usurpers, victors, and survivors of the age were now folded into a new dynasty.

The Three Kingdoms returned to Jin.

The Late Han and Three Kingdoms season ends here.