The Battle of Longwan was fought in 190 AD between the armies of the warlord Sun Jian and Quan Rou's army of Han imperial troops during the Alliance against Dong Zhuo.
Background[]
In 190 AD, after the Battle of Hulao Gate, the tyrant Dong Zhuo burned the city of Luoyang to the ground and escaped the city with Emperor Xian of Han as his captive; with the Emperor under Dong Zhuo's control, Han governors and generals across the country were forced to bend to his will.
The coalition soon fell apart as the warlords squabbled among each other, with one of them, Yuan Shu, claiming the imperial throne for himself. One of the commanders of the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, Sun Jian, sought to take control of the Southlands as the country descended into civil war and chaos.
However, his army, positioned near the town of Jiangling, was soon approached by Quan Rou's 481-strong Han army, forcing Sun Jian to engage him in battle.
Battle[]
The two armies met in battle on a field halfway between the town of Jiangling and the livestock farm (which was occupied by Liu Biao's officer, Cai Mao).
Sun Jian decided to take command of the main force as Huang Gai took command of the army's cavalry, and Sun Jian ordered him to charge around the enemy flank and attack the rear once the battle began.
At the start of the battle, Sun Jian accepted Quan Rou's challenge for a duel, and Sun Jian proved to be the superior warrior, stabbing Quan Rou through the face with his sword. Sun Jian's infantry then collided with Quan Rou's soldiers, and the cavalry under Huang Gai then charged around the Han army and slaughtered the archers and the infantry from behind.
The Han army was utterly routed, and its survivors were chased down and ridden down. Sun Jian went on to incorporate the 70 prisoners into his army to replace the 39 soldiers of his army who were slain, and he went on to attack Jiangling itself.
Aftermath[]
Sun Jian's army of 962 troops then pressed on to the town of Jiangling, where Zheng Tai and a garrison of 722 men stood to resist him. Sun Jian persuaded Zheng Tai to surrender, and Jiangling fell without a fight. Sun Jian thus established Jiangling as his base from which he sought to conquer the rest of the Southlands.