English Version
Sun Ce, one of the great heroes of the Three Kingdoms era, is remembered as the “Little Conqueror of Jiangdong.” A fierce young warlord, he laid the foundations for the state of Wu. Yet by the time the three kingdoms of Wei, Wu, and Shu stood in open rivalry, Sun Ce was already gone.
He built the base of Sun-Wu in an age of chaos, but died young before he could see that legacy take its full shape. This is the story of Sun Ce’s cause of death and his final days.
From Sun Jian’s Heir to Rising Warlord
Cao Cao and Liu Bei each built the foundations of their states largely within their own lifetimes. Wu’s story, however, begins earlier, with Sun Jian, the father of Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
When Cao Cao suffered defeat during the coalition against Dong Zhuo, many of the regional lords hesitated to act. Sun Jian was one of the few who actually fought Dong Zhuo’s forces. At the time, the most powerful figures in the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition were Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian originally belonged to Yuan Shu’s camp.
After the fighting against Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang after being caught alone. Sun Ce was only 19 years old when he succeeded his father and entered Yuan Shu’s service.
As one of Yuan Shu’s officers, Sun Ce first inherited part of his father’s army, gaining a force of around 1,000 men. Many of the talented commanders and strategists who had served Sun Jian also returned to serve under the young Sun Ce.
Later, under the pretext of going to aid his uncle Wu Jing, Sun Ce left Yuan Shu’s side. He fought across various regions and gradually came to command more than 5,000 troops. Because of his speed, strength, and growing influence, Sun Ce and his army slowly became a source of fear even to Yuan Shu, his own lord.
The Conquest of Jiangdong
While campaigning through Jiangdong, Sun Ce subdued the region that would later become the foundation of Wu. At the same time, he had to consider his relationship with Yuan Shu.
In 197, Yuan Shu declared himself emperor. Sun Ce advised him against it, but Yuan Shu ignored the warning.
This became the turning point. Sun Ce, who had already brought much of Jiangdong under his control, declared complete independence and became Yuan Shu’s enemy. Because Yuan Shu’s imperial claim caused the Han court to view him as a rebel, Sun Ce also gained a political justification for opposing him.
Sun Ce is said to have received around 1,000 troops from Yuan Shu in 195, and to have pacified the Jiangdong region by 199. In only about four years, he established the base of Wu. It was a rise worthy of the name “Little Conqueror.”
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu
Sun Ce’s famous relationship with Zhou Yu, well known from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, was based in history. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had been friends since their teenage years.
When Sun Ce declared independence, Zhou Yu was still with Yuan Shu. Even so, he quickly went to join Sun Ce.
Sun Ce also had distant family ties with Cao Cao. Yuan Shu died in 199 after being branded a traitor to the Han for declaring himself emperor, and much of his military strength was absorbed by Sun Ce and Cao Cao.
By this time, Sun Ce had already pacified most of Jiangdong and his name was known across the land. Cao Cao married his niece to one of Sun Ce’s younger brothers, creating what was effectively a family connection between the two sides.
Political marriages were common in that period, but the timing is striking. Cao Cao is generally seen as having secured his dominant position after the Battle of Guandu in 200, where he defeated his greatest rival, Yuan Shao. Cao Cao’s political approach toward Sun Ce came before Guandu, suggesting just how solid Sun Ce’s power base had already become.
How Did Sun Ce Die?
So how did such a powerful young warlord die so early?
Around the time of the Battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, some accounts suggest that Sun Ce was considering an attack on Xudu, Cao Cao’s base. There are several theories, and the details remain debated.
Sun Ce was also in conflict with Chen Deng, a general who had gained fame in the campaign against Lü Bu and who had support around the Yangtze River region. During Sun Ce’s pacification of Jiangdong, he had defeated relatives of Chen Deng, making the two men enemies.
Cao Cao was not directly responsible for Sun Ce’s death. However, it is said that Sun Ce was watching Cao Cao’s movements and may have been preparing to attack either Chen Deng or Cao Cao.
In any case, Sun Ce was traveling alone near the Yangtze when he was targeted by at least three attackers. The wounds he suffered in that attack led to his death at the age of only 26.
According to one account in the historical records of the Three Kingdoms, the attackers may have been remnants connected to an earlier Jiangdong campaign encouraged by Chen Deng. As with many events from this turbulent era, the exact background remains uncertain.
The Legacy of the Little Conqueror
Sun Ce’s active career lasted less than ten years. Even so, most of Jiangdong—the region that later became the heartland of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period—had been brought under control by this young warlord.
History does not allow easy “what ifs.” But if Sun Ce had lived longer, he might have risen to become a power comparable to Cao Cao himself.
Japanese Language
三国志における英雄の1人、 江東の小覇王 と呼ばれた 孫策 は呉の国の礎を築いた勇猛な武将であったと言われています。しかし、結論から先に言ってしまうと魏、呉、蜀の三国鼎立の頃、既に 孫策 はこの世を去っていました。孫呉の礎を築きながら、動乱の時代の中で若くして 最後を遂げた英雄が孫策 だったのです。今回は若くしてこの世を去ってしまった 孫策の死因と最後について紹介 していこうと思います。小覇王と呼ばれた孫策 伯符。。画像引用元： 孫策 。
曹操や劉備はほぼ一代でそれぞれの国の土台を築いた人物ですが、呉の歴史は孫策、孫権の父であった孫堅の時代から始まります。曹操が反董卓連合で敗戦した時、中々動かなかった諸侯の中で董卓軍と交戦していたのが孫策の父である孫堅でした。当時、力を持っていたのは反董卓連合の盟主であった袁紹と袁術であり、元々孫堅は袁術の勢力に与していましたが、董卓との戦いの後、襄陽の戦いで孫堅は単独でいたところを殺害されます。この時、まだ19歳であった孫策は父の後を継いで袁術の配下に入ります。
袁術軍の1人として動き始めた孫策でしたが、最初に父であった孫堅の軍を引き継ぎ、約1000人ほどの軍勢を得ます。この時に孫堅に仕えていた後の呉の名将や知将と呼ばれる人物も孫策の元に帰ってきたのです。その後、 叔父の呉景の援軍に向かうという名目で袁術の元を離れた孫策は各 地を転戦して5000人以上の軍を率いるようになっていきます。その勢いと強さから孫策とその軍は、徐々に主君であった袁術に恐れられる存在になっていきました。。江東の転戦において孫策は呉の地盤となる江東地域を平定していくと同時に袁術との関係も考慮していましたが、197年に袁術が皇帝を名乗ったことを孫策が諌めるも、袁術はこれを無視。
この出来事がキッカケとなり、 後の呉の地盤となる江東の多くを平定していた孫策は完全に独立を宣言し、袁術とも敵対関係 になります。また、袁術が皇帝を名乗ったことによって朝廷は袁術を逆賊とみなし、これに対抗する勢力となった孫策は大義名分を得ることも出来ました。孫策が袁術から約1000人の軍勢を得たのは195年、江東一帯を平定したのは199年だと言われており、僅か4年の間で呉の地盤を築いたことから、まさに小覇王の呼び名に相応しい躍進を果たしています。
。また、三国志演義でも有名な周瑜との関係は史実であり、 孫策と周瑜は10代の頃から交友関係 にありました。実際に、孫策が独立を宣言したタイミングで周瑜自身は袁術の元にいましたが、すぐに孫策の元へ駆けつけています。曹操とも遠縁関係にあった孫策。袁術は皇帝を名乗ったことにより漢の逆賊となったことで199年に死亡、強大な軍事力の多くは孫策と曹操にも吸収されていきました。すでに江東の大部分を平定していた孫策は各地にその名が知られていたことから、曹操は自分の姪を孫策の弟に嫁がせており、事実上の親類関係を築いています。
当時の政略結婚は慣習であったことを考えても、曹操が確固たる地位を築いたとされるのは、200年の官渡の戦い以降です（最大のライバルであった袁紹を破った戦い）。この曹操による孫策への政治的方針は官渡の戦い以前のものであったため、如何に孫策の地盤が強固なものになっていたのかを想像させてくれます。孫策の死因とその最後とは？。。さて、ここまで大きな勢力となっていた 孫策はどうして若くして亡くなってしまったのでしょうか。。実は、先に紹介した曹操と袁紹による官渡の戦いの際に、孫策は曹操の本拠地であった許都侵攻を考えていたという説があります（諸説はあり）。
また、呂布討伐で名前を挙げていた 陳登（長江一帯で支持されていた将軍）の親類を江東平定において倒していたことから、陳登とは敵対関係にありました。。曹操が直接的に孫策の死因になった訳ではありませんが、孫策は曹操の動きを見て、陳登、もしくは曹操を攻めようとしていたと言われています。いずれにせよ、 孫策は長江を単騎で出歩いていたところを少なくとも3人によって狙われ、その傷が原因となって26歳の若さで亡くなった のです。三国志に記述されている内容では、陳登が働きかけた江東侵攻の際に残った残党の仕業によって襲われたという説もあります。
10年にも満たない活躍ではあったものの、その後の三国鼎立において呉に地盤となった江東の殆どは、若き孫策によって平定されていたのでした。歴史にもしもは禁句ですが、孫策が長命であれば、曹操と同等の勢力にまで登りつめていたかも知れません
