![]() |
![]() |
Home | Novel &
History | Sanguo Zhi Translation | Submissions
| Webmaster | Links Font Styles (upgrade browser to use): Small Sans (default) | Large Serif (alternate) |
Zhou Yu (SGZ Biography)translated by Battleroyale ZhouYu alias GongJing, was from the Xu prefecture in Lu Jiang. Two of ZhouYus ancestors, ZhouJing and ZhouZhong held the position of Tai Wei in the Han dynasty and ZhouYus father was once the prefect of Luo Yang. During the time when SunJian prepared his army to attack DongZhuo, he moved his family to the Xu prefecture where ZhouYu resided. ZhouYu and SunCe were on very amicable terms. He invited SunCe to stay in his mansion and paid his respects to SunCes mother. ZhouYus uncle, ZhouShang, was the governor of Dan Yang. Soon after, when ZhouYu was visiting his uncle, SunCe was coincidentally leading his armies eastward crossing the Yang Tze river and reached Li Yang. SunCe sent a letter to ZhouYu who on receiving it led some troops to meet SunCe. SunCe was overjoyed to have ZhouYu joining his forces. Subsequently, both of them managed to capture Heng Jiang and Dang Li and they crossed the river to attack Mo Ling. There, they defeated the defenders, ZeRong, XueLi and proceeded to capture Jiang Cheng, Qu Ah, forcing LiuYao to retreat. At this time, SunCes army numbered several tens of thousands soldiers. With this army, Sun Ce felt that he could conquer the prefectures of Wu and Hui Ji, and subdued the Shan Yue tribes. As such, he told ZhouYu to return and defend Dan Yang. Not long after, YuanShu ordered his cousin, YuanYin, to replace ZhouShang as the governor of Dan Yang and ZhouShang, together with ZhouYu, moved to Shou Chun. YuanShu contemplated on employing ZhouYu but ZhouYu felt that he could not achieve much by working under YuanShu. As such, ZhouYu requested YuanShu to allow him to be the prefect of Ju Jiao when in actual fact, he wanted to take this opportunity to return to Jiang Dong. Unknowingly, YuanShu approved the request and in Jian An 3rd year, ZhouYu was received by SunCe at Wu prefecture. SunCe conferred ZhouYu the rank of Jian Wei Jiang Jun. In addition, he dispatched 2000 troops and 50 horses to be placed under the command of ZhouYu. ZhouYu was also ordered to defend Niu Zhu and subsequently holding the appointment of the prefect of Chun Gu. Soon, SunCe decided to attack Jing Zhou and ZhouYu was given the appointment of Zhong Fu Jun and governor of Jiang Xia. Both launched an attack and capture the Wan prefecture. During then, SunCe and ZhouYu married the famous daughters (DaQiao and XiaoQiao) of Qiao Gong. Following which, they attacked Xun Yang, defeated LiuXun, attacked the Jiang Xia prefecture and diverted their armies back to subjugate Yu Zhang and Lu Ling. ZhouYu was then tasked to defend Ba Qiu. In Jian An 5th year, SunCe passed away and SunQuan took over his place as the commander of Jiang Dong. ZhouYu returned to the prefecture of Wu and together with ZhangZhao, they headed the military and internal affairs of the kingdom. In Jian An 11th year, ZhouYu and SunYu attacked Ma Tun and Bao Tun, beheaded their chieftains and took approximately 10000 people in captivity. Soon after, the governor of Jiang Xia, HuangZhu, dispatched DengLong with several thousands soldiers to attack Chai Sang. ZhouYu retaliated and captured DengLong. In the spring of Jian An 13th year, SunQuan attacked Jiang Xia and appointed ZhouYu as the commander of the front army. During this year, CaoCaos army invaded Jing Zhou and LiuZong, together with his officials and soldiers, surrendered to CaoCao. As such, CaoCaos army was boosted by several tens of thousands infantry soldiers and the naval forces of Jing Zhou. This event frightened many of the generals in Jiang Dong and SunQuan gathered them to look for their opinions. The majority of the generals present thought that since CaoCao had captured Jing Zhou, the kingdom of Wu could no longer rely on its geographical advantage in the form of the river Yang Tze. Coupled with CaoCaos infamous reputation and his previous exploits, most of the Wu generals were in favour of surrendering to CaoCao. However, ZhouYu disagreed with them and argued that CaoCaos southern expedition had several weaknesses. Firstly, CaoCaos northern provinces were not completely stable and he had to worry about MaChao and HanXiu at his rear (in Guan Xi). Secondly, CaoCaos northern army was not familiar with naval combat unlike the southerners. Thirdly, the season at that moment was winter and the army of CaoCao would likely be tired due to the long matches from the north. Finally, if they were not accustomed to the climate in the south, it was likely that they would be plagued with illnesses. As such, ZhouYu felt that this was the best opportunity to capture CaoCao alive and he proposed to SunQuan for 30000 troops to be placed under his command at Xia Kou in order to defeat CaoCao. SunQuan agreed with ZhouYus proposal. At that moment, LiuBei was defeated by CaoCao and he met LuSu at Dang Yang. LiuBei accepted LuSus suggestion for alliance against CaoCao and be positioned at Xia Kou. As such, he sent ZhugeLiang as an envoy to SunQuan. Following that, SunQuan dispatched ZhouYu, ChengPu and other Wu generals to meet LiuBei in order to consolidate their forces against CaoCaos army. The army of the Sun-Liu alliance engaged CaoCaos army at Chi Bi. During then, CaoCaos army was already having problems with many soldiers falling sick. As such, during the initial engagement, CaoCaos army was promptly defeated and retreated back to the northern shore of the river Yang Tze. Seeing that CaoCaos ships were chained together, HuangGai suggested to ZhouYu the use of fire tactic against CaoCaos navy. The suggestion was accepted and preparation were made for the fireboats (boats stuffed with inflammable materials). Subsequently, a letter was sent to CaoCao falsely claiming that HuangGai intended to surrender. The ruse was successful and the soldiers of Wei were anticipating the arrival of HuangGai. At that moment, HuangGai arrived and set his fireboats on fire. Aided by the strong winds and the fact that CaoCaos ships were chained together, the fire quickly spread throughout CaoCaos navy and even to the camps on the shore. Within moments, the inferno resulted in heavy casualties in CaoCaos army and CaoCao was forced to retreat and defend the southern prefectures of Jing Zhou. LiuBei and ZhouYu led their troops in pursuit. Nevertheless, CaoCao himself managed to return to the north, leaving CaoRen to guard the city of Jiang Ling. Before long, ZhouYu and ChengPu launched an attack on the southern provinces of Jing Zhou or termed Nan Jun, which was defended by CaoRen. At the same time, ZhouYu dispatched GanNing to capture Yi Ling. Seeing that, CaoRen divided his forces and sent troops to attack GanNing. Faced with CaoRens forces, GanNing sent a letter to ZhouYu requesting for help. On the advice of LuMeng, ZhouYu left LingTong to guard the rear and proceeded with LuMeng to save GanNing. Having relived GanNing, ZhouYu led his troops crossed the river and prepared for a decisive battle with CaoRen at a specified date. On the day of battle, ZhouYu personally led his troops into the foray but was hit by an arrow on the right side of his chest, forcing him to retreat. CaoRen got news of ZhouYus injury and decided to take the opportunity to attack ZhouYus army. However, despite his injury, ZhouYu inspected his troops and gave them words of encouragement. As a result, the morale of ZhouYus army were greatly boosted and they managed to defeat CaoRen forcing him to retreat. Subsequently, SunQuan appointed ZhouYu as Pian Jiang Jun and the governor of Nan prefecture in Jing Zhou. ZhouYu was also ordered to position his troops at Jiang Ling for defensive purposes. LiuBei, in the capacity of Zuo Jiang Jun and governor of Jing Zhou, set up his office at Gong An. When LiuBei visited SunQuan at Jing Kou, ZhouYu suggested to SunQuan to be wary of LiuBei due to his potential and the support he got from GuanYu and ZhangFei. In addition, ZhouYu wanted to have LiuBei separated from his brothers and be positioned at Wu prefecture, giving him a life of luxury. In that way, ZhouYu felt that he would be able to lead ZhangFei and GuanYu into battle thus assuring victories for future campaigns. However, SunQuan was worried about CaoCao at the north and he was not sure that LiuBei could be controlled that easily. As a result, ZhouYus advice was not heeded. During that time, LiuZhang was the governor of Yi Zhou (the Xi Chuan region) and he was facing the threat of ZhangLu. ZhouYu visited SunQuan at Jing Kou and asked for permission to lead an army, together with SunYu to capture the Shu territories. If successful, ZhouYu planned to ally with MaChao and launched attacks at CaoCao from several fronts. SunQuan accepted his proposal. However, ZhouYu died of sickness on his way to Jiang Ling at Ba Qiu and he was only thirty-six years old then. © Copyright Battleroyale
2002 |