Jiang Ji
Jiang Ji, courtesy name Zitong, was an official and military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Ji started his career as a low-level official in his native Yang Province before becoming a subordinate of Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the central government towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. After the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, he served in the state of Cao Wei through the reigns of the first three emperors – Cao Pi, Cao Rui and Cao Fang – and held various appointments in the military before rising to Grand Commandant, one of the top positions in the central government. During his service in Wei, he was known for being candid in giving advice to the emperor on various issues, including consolidating power, halting labour-intensive construction projects, and officials' abuses of power. In February 249, he joined the regent Sima Yi in staging a successful coup d'état against his co-regent Cao Shuang, but died from illness a few months later.
Early life and career
Jiang Ji was from Ping'e County, Chu State, Yang Province, which is located north of present-day Huai'an, Anhui. He started his career as an accounting officer in the local commandery office and later became a provincial-level attendant officer.When Jiang Ji was serving in Yang Province, he was known for frequently consuming alcohol. One day, Shi Miao, the magistrate of Shouchun County in Yang Province, came to the provincial office to meet Jiang Ji but the latter was drunk. An angry Shi Miao then left. After he returned to Shouchun, he made a wooden statue, labelled it "Jiang Ji the drunkard", placed it in front of a wall, and fired arrows at it day and night.
Battle of Hefei
In 208, the warlord Sun Quan, who controlled the territories in the Jiangdong region, led his forces to attack Hefei, the administrative centre of Yang Province, which was guarded by the provincial governor Liu Fu. At the time, Cao Cao, the warlord who controlled the Han central government, was at war with Sun Quan's forces in Jing Province and could not come to Liu Fu's aid. He sent a general Zhang Xi to lead 1,000 horsemen to reinforce Hefei. Zhang Xi also received an order to bring along additional troops from the garrison at Runan Commandery along the way to Hefei.In the meantime, Jiang Ji secretly suggested to Liu Fu to spread false news that Zhang Xi was leading 40,000 troops to reinforce Hefei, and that the reinforcements had reached Yulou County. Liu Fu agreed and sent three messengers to bring fake letters out of Hefei. Only one of the three returned; the other two were captured by Sun Quan's forces. Sun Quan saw the letters and mistakenly believed that enemy reinforcements were approaching, so he ordered his troops to burn down their camp and retreat back to Jiangdong. The siege on Hefei was thus lifted.
Service under Cao Cao
Advising Cao Cao against relocating the residents of Huainan
In 209, when Jiang Ji met Cao Cao in Qiao County, the latter asked him: "In the past, when I was at war with Yuan Shao at Guandu, I wanted to relocate the residents in Yan and Boma, but they refused to move. The enemy also did not dare to force them to move. Today, I want to relocate the residents of Huainan. What should I do?"Jiang Ji replied: "At the time, you were weak while your enemy was strong. If you didn't relocate those people, you would lose them to your enemy. However, since you defeated Yuan Shao, conquered Liucheng in the north, and advanced south towards the Yangtze and Han rivers and Jing Province, the Han Empire has trembled before your might and the people no longer think about opposing you. As people are emotionally attached to their homes, they wouldn't want to relocate elsewhere. If you force them to, they will feel fearful and uneasy."
Cao Cao ignored Jiang Ji's advice and tried to force the people of Huainan to relocate. Jiang Ji was proven right as over 100,000 people from Huainan fled south across the Yangtze and settled in Jiangdong.
Some years later, when Jiang Ji visited Cao Cao in Ye, Cao Cao laughed and told him: "I wanted to move those people further away from the enemy but ended up scaring them away instead."
Cao Cao's trust in Jiang Ji
Jiang Ji was subsequently appointed as the Administrator of Danyang Commandery. In late 209, after Cao Cao ordered his forces to retreat from Jing Province following their defeat at the Battle of Jiangling, he appointed Wen Hui as the Inspector of Yang Province. He also reassigned Jiang Ji to serve as an attendant officer under Wen Hui, and sent him a memo as follows: "When Ji Zha was a minister, the state of Wu should have had a ruler. Now that you have returned to your home province, I will have no worries."On one occasion, when Cao Cao heard that some people have formally accused Jiang Ji of being the mastermind behind a treasonous plot, he wrote to Yu Jin and Feng Ren : "How could Jiang Ji be involved in something like this? If this really happened, it means that I am not a good judge of character. I am certain that the people are trying to stir up trouble by making such a false accusation." He also sent them a copy of his memo to Jiang Ji, and pressured them to throw out the case against Jiang Ji.
Jiang Ji was later reassigned to be a clerk in the office of the Imperial Chancellor, the position held by Cao Cao in the Han central government. Cao Cao sent a memo to Jiang Ji as follows: "When Gao Yao served under Emperor Shun, he caused those who were unkind and uncharitable to shun away. I place my hopes in a virtuous subordinate like you to uphold fairness."
Battle of Fancheng
In 219, Guan Yu, a general under a rival warlord Liu Bei, led his troops to attack Fancheng, which was guarded by Cao Cao's general Cao Ren. Cao Cao initially sent his general Yu Jin to lead reinforcements to Fancheng to assist Cao Ren, but a flood destroyed the reinforcements, and Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu. Upon learning of Yu Jin's defeat, Cao Cao felt that the imperial capital, Xu, was too near enemy territory, so he considered moving the imperial capital further north into Hebei.Jiang Ji and Sima Yi advised Cao Cao: "Yu Jin's defeat was not due to flaws in our defences, nor would it significantly affect us. Moving the imperial capital is showing our weakness to the enemy. It will cause panic in the regions around the Huai and Mian rivers. Sun Quan and Liu Bei seem close to each other, but they actually don't trust each other. Sun Quan will feel very uneasy upon seeing Guan Yu's victory, so we should incite him to attack Guan Yu's base in Jing Province. This will lift the siege on Fancheng."
Cao Cao heeded Jiang Ji and Sima Yi's advice and did not relocate the imperial capital. In the winter of 219–220, Sun Quan ordered his general Lü Meng to lead his troops to attack the key bases of Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province: Gong'an and Jiangling counties. Guan Yu, who was totally caught off guard by Lü Meng's invasion, lost all of Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province. He was eventually captured in an ambush and executed by Sun Quan's forces.
Service under Cao Pi
After Cao Cao died in March 220, his son Cao Pi succeeded him as the vassal King of Wei under the Eastern Han dynasty. Cao Pi then reassigned Jiang Ji to be the Chief Clerk under Hua Xin, the Chancellor of State of his vassal kingdom at the time. In December 220, Cao Pi usurped the throne from the figurehead Emperor Xian, ended the Eastern Han dynasty, and established the state of Cao Wei to replace the Eastern Han dynasty with himself as the new emperor.After his coronation as emperor, Cao Pi appointed Jiang Ji as East General of the Household. When Jiang Ji sought permission to remain in the central government, Cao Pi denied him permission and issued an imperial decree to him as follows: "Emperor Gaozu once sang, 'Where will I find brave men to guard the four corners of my land?' The Empire is not peaceful yet. We need capable officials to guard the borders. It is still not too late for you to retire when the borders are peaceful." Jiang Ji later wrote the Wan Ji Lun, a treatise on government, and presented it to Cao Pi, who applauded his work. Jiang Ji was subsequently recalled to the central government to serve as a Mounted Regular Attendant.
Cautioning Cao Pi against issuing an inappropriate edict
On one occasion, Cao Pi sent an edict to his general Xiahou Shang as follows: "You are one of my most trusted generals and you are capable of assuming this responsibility. My kindness towards you is worth dying for, and my favour towards you is worth keeping close to your heart. You can do as you please, and you can decide whether people should live or die." He then showed a copy of the edict to Jiang Ji and asked him, "What do you think of the culture in this Empire?"Jiang Ji replied, "I don't see anything good. I only see words suggesting an empire's downfall." When a shocked Cao Pi asked him to explain, Jiang Ji said, "History has warned us against 'doing as you as please'. The ancients also cautioned us that 'the Son of Heaven should not speak in jest'. I hope that Your Majesty will be more careful with your words!" Cao Pi understood what Jiang Ji meant and immediately rescinded his edict.
Battle of Ruxu
In 222, Jiang Ji accompanied the Wei general Cao Ren on a campaign against Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu, and led a detachment of troops to attack Xianxi. When Cao Ren wanted to attack the Wu-controlled dock at Ruxu, Jiang Ji warned him: "The enemy has occupied the west riverbank and lined up their ships on the upper stream. By leading your troops to attack the island, you are heading straight into hell. This is a path to defeat and destruction." When Cao Ren ignored Jiang Ji's advice and led his troops to attack Ruxu, he ended up being defeated by the Wu defenders.After Cao Ren died in 223, Cao Pi reassigned Jiang Ji to serve as East General of the Household again and put him temporarily in charge of the units which used to be under Cao Ren's command. He sent an edict to Jiang Ji as follows: "You are well-versed in both civil and military affairs, and you are loyal and passionate. As I know that you have the ambition of crossing the river and conquering Wu, I hereby put you in this position of military command." However, not long later, he removed Jiang Ji from his command and reassigned him to serve as a Master of Writing in the imperial secretariat.