Chen Han

In 1357, the state of Tianwan, one of the states formed during the Red Turban Rebellion, was in serious crisis. Prime minister Ni Wenjun attempted to assassinate Emperor Xu Shouhui, but was himself killed by his subordinate Chen Youliang. Chen then established his own domain in northern Jiangxi.

In early 1360, he declared himself King of Han^[1] with his capital at Jiujiang.^[2] He then attacked the Tianwan capital of Hanyang and killed Xu and most of the Tianwan court. He subsequently declared himself emperor of the Great Han^[3] in June 1360 and occupied most of the Tianwan territories. Only in Sichuan did the local governor Ming Yuzhen retain his independence,^[2] as King of the Longshu state from 1360, and emperor of the Great Xia from 1362.

Chen established a reliable central government, but at the regional and local levels his authority was unstable and often contested. His closest associates included the chief advisor Zhang Bixian (張必先) and the grand marshal Zhang Dingbian (張定邊). He also elevated his brothers by granting them princely titles, the closest of whom was Chen Youren (陳友仁).^[4]

In 1360, Chen Youliang made the decision to attack the eastern Song province of Jiangnan, which was under the rule of Zhu Yuanzhang.^[2]^[a] He reached out to Zhang Shicheng, who controlled territory to the east of Zhu, and proposed a joint attack on Jiangnan. However, Zhang did not take any action.^[3]

The Han army began their attack by marching on Nanjing, but the defenders were well-prepared and successfully repelled the attack. The Han army suffered a loss of approximately twenty thousand soldiers, and the enemy was able to capture over 100 large ships and several hundred smaller ones, giving them an advantage on the rivers in 1361–1362.^[7]

The following year (1361), the Han army was forced to switch to a defensive strategy.^[8] Zhu Yuanzhang successfully captured Jiujiang and blocked the remaining forces of Chen Youliang in Wuchang. Zhu then established himself in Nanchang. During the winter of 1361–62, he solidified his control over the conquered territory.^[9] However, he left Nanchang before fully securing the conquered territories in Jiangxi Province. As a result, he had to rely on troops withdrawn from the Wuchang area to suppress subsequent rebellions. Another rebellion in the east in Zhejiang, along with betrayals from senior commanders, weakened Zhu Yuanzhang's regime, which was forced to focus its main forces on the active Zhang Shicheng in the east.^[9] The Han government took advantage of the situation and launched a counter-offensive, successfully retaking Jiujiang and Anqing in August 1361.^[9] In September of the same year, Zhu sent a fleet to attack the Han, besieging Anqing and then moving on to Hukou, the entrance to Lake Poyang.^[9] Zhu's forces defeated the Han's fleet before Jiujiang, captured the city, and attempted to attack Hanyang but were unsuccessful.^[10] Zhu Yuanzhang then established his main forces in Jiujiang and gained control of Jiangxi. In early 1362, the Han garrison commander of Nanchang, Hu Mei, surrendered to Zhu and joined his army with his troops. This surrender solidified Zhu's control over Jiangxi, giving him the upper hand in the region.^[11]

The assassination of Chaghan Temur on 6 July 1362 caused chaos in northern China and allowed the Chinese rebels on the Yangtze River to gain their freedom.^[12]^[b] From January to September 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang's main forces were occupied in the north in Anhui, where they battled against Zhang Shicheng's troops^[c] and the Yuan forces. This diversion of the enemy's main forces gave Chen Youliang the opportunity to try and recapture Jiangxi. He gathered soldiers from Hubei and Hunan and constructed a new fleet. With an army of 300,000, he outnumbered the main Zhu forces.^[14] Chen Youliang's plan was to capture Nanchang and then persuade the local commanders in Jiangxi to join his side. He would then use their forces to attack Nanjing.^[14]

Although the Nanchang garrison, led by Zhu Wencheng and Deng Yu, had been defending against the siege since early June 1363, Zhu did not become aware of the gravity of the situation until early August 1363. This was a failure of intelligence, in stark contrast to the early warning received in 1360. Zhu was preoccupied with issues in the north and east, which may have contributed to this lack of awareness.^[15]^[d] On 15 August 1363, the Zhu army marched from Nanjing to confront the Han with approximately 100,000 soldiers. This was a similar number to the army in 1360, with additional troops having been dispersed throughout Zhejiang and stationed in garrisons in Nanchang and Nanjing.^[15]

On 30 August, the two fleets engaged in a four-day battle on Lake Poyang.^[16] During the first two days, Zhu's fleet suffered significant losses and retreated,^[17] but on the third day, Zhu utilized suicide attacks with gunpowder-filled "fire ships". These explosions had a devastating impact on the tightly formed Han lines, causing hundreds of ships to sink, along with Chen Youliang's two brothers.^[e]^[18] The attackers also suffered heavy losses, leading to a day of rest and repairs on the following day. The battle resumed on 2 September, with the Han fleet gaining the upper hand and ultimately taking control of the battlefield.^[18] Meanwhile, Zhu's land forces, led by Hu Deji, successfully lifted the siege of Nanchang, the main objective of the campaign.^[18] Zhu then abandoned the battle and swiftly moved to blockade the Han's fleet in the lake. On 3 October, the Han emperor Chen Youliang decided to attempt a breakout. Zhu was ready with fire ships set adrift, scattering Han's ships so that clusters of ships engaged in combat far from each other. Chen was killed when an arrow struck his head. This event greatly demoralized many officers, leading them to surrender.^[19] Zhang Dingbian and the deceased emperor's young son Chen Li managed to escape to Wuchang.^[20]

Founding

War with Zhu Yuanzhang

Fall

Notes

References

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