Wang Jun

Wang Jun is a Jin admiral whose river campaign helps bring the conquest of Wu to its decisive end. By turning Wu’s iron-chain and submerged-spike defenses against it, he clears the route to the capital and ultimately accepts Sun Hao’s surrender.

Command in the Jin Invasion

When Sima Yan finally decides to attack Wu, he sends forces against cities in several directions and orders Wang Jun to lead the navy downriver. The naval advance is a distinct part of a coordinated invasion whose land commanders are assigned targets including Jiangling, Wuchang, and Xiakou.

Wu attempts to stop the fleet with a barrier of iron chains stretched across the river and iron spikes placed in the channel to damage ships. Wang Jun’s spies report both obstacles before his fleet reaches them, giving him time to prepare a response rather than blunder into the defenses.

Breaking the River Defenses

Wang Jun has large fire ships prepared and sends them toward the barrier. The sailors ignite them just before they reach the chains and submerged spikes. The resulting heat melts the chains and destroys the spikes, allowing the Jin navy to continue downstream. Wu’s carefully constructed river obstacle, intended to halt the invasion, becomes the setting for Wang Jun’s breakthrough.

The episode presents naval intelligence and adaptation as essential to the campaign: the defenses are discovered in advance, and Wang Jun answers them with a tactic suited to the river route. His advance contributes to a broader collapse in which Jin forces take cities and move toward Jianye, Wu’s capital.

The Fall of Shitou and Sun Hao’s Surrender

As the campaign reaches its final phase, Wang Jun is close to Shitou and determined to be the commander who captures the city. Zhang Xiang surrenders his Wu army, and Wang Jun tests this change of allegiance by ordering him to lead the vanguard. When defenders see Zhang Xiang’s forces approaching under their new allegiance, they open the gates to him and the Jin army.

Sun Hao recognizes that resistance is over. Though he initially considers suicide, he is persuaded to surrender, following the precedent of Liu Shan. Wang Jun accepts him and treats him as an honored guest and a prince. The acceptance completes the arc of Wang Jun’s campaign: the admiral who cleared the river defenses now receives the defeated ruler whose surrender marks Wu’s submission to Jin.