Sun Quan’s submission to Wei is a tactical maneuver that turns Wu’s vulnerability into a formal relationship with Cao Pi’s regime, without securing the military assistance Sun Quan needs. By accepting Cao Pi’s title of king, Sun Quan seeks to divert a looming Shu invasion; Cao Pi accepts the submission while preserving his own aim of letting Wu and Shu weaken each other. The episode makes the title’s limits plain: Sun Quan becomes a vassal king, but the Shu army still approaches and help from Wei does not arrive.

Causes and Political Calculations

The immediate danger is the prospect of a Shu invasion. After Zhuge Jin returns from his unsuccessful mission to Xuande, Sun Quan is disturbed by the likelihood that Shu will attack. Zhao Zi proposes an alternative to relying on negotiation with Xuande: submit to Cao Pi and encourage Wei to attack Hanzhong, thereby diverting the Shu forces.

The proposal is welcomed, and Zhao Zi travels to Xuchang to offer Sun Quan’s submission. Cao Pi questions why Sun Quan wants to submit, recognizing that the move is intended to deflect Shu’s attack. He nevertheless agrees to the arrangement, sends formal papers, and bestows on Sun Quan the title of king of the south.

Cao Pi’s decision does not mean that Wei will protect Wu. His senior adviser Liu Ye argues that Wei would benefit more from allowing Shu and Wu to fight one another, and objects to raising Sun Quan to royal rank. Cao Pi dismisses the objection to the title while reassuring Liu Ye that he, too, expects the two rival states to destroy each other. Submission is therefore useful to Cao Pi precisely because it need not create a dependable alliance.

The Appointment and Its Ceremony

Cao Pi sends his master of ceremonies, Xing Zhen, to deliver the appointment documents, accompanied by Zhao Zi. Xing Zhen’s haughty manner as he rides into Wu’s capital nearly derails the occasion. Wu’s officials protest; recognizing his misstep, he dismounts and pays his respects to Sun Quan.

The ceremony reveals how precarious the new status is. A voice among the Wu officials denounces acceptance of the title when Wu ought instead to destroy Shu and Wei. The speaker is identified as the military commander Xu Sheng. Xing Zhen understands from this protest that the submission is unlikely to endure. The formal exchange grants Sun Quan rank, but it cannot settle the resentment or strategic disagreement within Wu over accepting Wei’s authority.

Limits and Consequences

Sun Quan accepts the title of king, yet the submission does not stop Shu’s invasion. A large Shu army soon reaches Wu’s borders, while there is little sign of assistance from Cao Pi at Xuchang. The immediate purpose of the diplomatic maneuver—to redirect the danger through Wei—has not been achieved.

Facing the threat, Sun Quan laments the absence of trusted advisers such as Lu Su or Lü Meng. Sun Huan, his adopted nephew, then offers to lead thirty to fifty thousand troops against Xuande, with Li Yi and Xie Jing assisting him. Zhu Ran also volunteers, and Sun Quan authorizes a force of fifty thousand. The episode thus turns from the promise of external help to Wu’s own preparations for defense: the title has been conferred, but the military danger remains.

Political Significance

The submission dramatizes the difference between recognition and security. Cao Pi can confer a title and receive an act of submission, while keeping his strategic freedom and declining to make Wu’s survival his concern. Sun Quan’s acceptance is a practical response to danger, not evidence that Wu has become a protected ally in any effective military sense.

Within the larger conflict among Wei, Shu, and Wu, the arrangement is a temporary expedient shaped by competing calculations. Sun Quan seeks to redirect Shu’s strength; Cao Pi sees value in the continued struggle between the southern states. Xu Sheng’s protest and the absence of Wei assistance expose the weakness beneath the formal ceremony: the submission creates a hierarchy on paper, but leaves the balance of power—and the threat to Wu—unchanged.