Jiang Ji 蔣濟

Jiang Ji
T. Chinese	蔣濟
S. Chinese	蒋济
Pinyin	Jiǎng Jì
Wade-Giles	Chiang Chi
Style Name	Zitong (P: Zǐtōng, WG: Tzŭ-t‘ung) (TC: 子通, SC: 子通 (same))
Personal information
Place of birth	Ping'a county in Jiujiang (a.k.a. Huainan) commandery, Yang province.
Died	19th May 249 A.D.
Cause of death	Illness/Suicide?
Place of death	Luoyang
Literary appearance(s)	• SGZ: Wei 14
Battle information
Affiliation(s)	• Cao Cao • Wei
Title(s)	• Accomplishing Lord of Changling • Grand Commandant • General Who Commands the Army • Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary • Military Protector of the Palace • Master of Writing
Participation(s)	• Cao Pi's Invasion of Wu • Battle of Guangling • Sima Yi's Coup
Notable achievements	• Wrote 'Essay on the Three Provinces' • Wrote 'Myriad Subtleties'

Jiang Ji 蔣濟 was a loyal servant of Wei, he provided good advice to four generations of the Cao family. He shunned profit and only worked for the interest of the people.

Biography

In 208 A.D., Cao Cao 曹操 annexed Jing province and continued south to attack Wu. A great disease afflicted the northern soldiers and their numbers were severely reduced. Following the success, the Wu forces struck back; Sun Quan 孫權 himself besieging Hefei 合肥 for some time. Cao Cao sent Zhang Xi 張喜 to relieve the siege; he gave him a small force of 1,000 cavaliers and permission to levy troops as he marched.

At the time, Jiang Ji was Aide-de-Camp of Yang province. Ji suspected reinforcements would not arrive for some time. He spoke with the Inspector of Yang and deceitfully told him that he had received a letter from Zhang Xi, that 40,000 reinforcement troops were already at Xulü 雩婁. The Inspector believed Jiang Ji's report and sent the Registrar to receive Xi and dispatched three messengers to Hefei to inform the defenders of the good news. One of the messengers managed to enter the city, but the other two were captured. Sun Quan had besieged Hefei for over a month, but believing the reports he burned his camp, and withdrew immediately.

After Cao Cao had been beaten back at Jing province, he retreated back north to the county of Qiao 譙. Jiang Ji had come to Qiao as an envoy when Cao Cao asked him:

"Once before, when Yuan Shao 袁紹 and I faced one another with our armies at Guandu, I shifted the inhabitants of Yan and Boma. This way, they could not defect, and the enemy did not dare attack them. I now intend to transfer people from south of the Huai. What do you think?"

However, Jiang Ji said to him:

"At that time, your soldiers were weak and the enemy were strong: had you not shifted the people you would certainly have lost them. Since the defeat of Yuan Shao, you went north and seized Liucheng, then turned south towards the Yangzi and Han rivers and seized Jing province. Now, your authority makes the empire tremble and no-one would think of opposing you. Yet it is only human nature that men should love their land. They will not be pleased if you move them about, and I am sure they will become restless."

But Cao Cao would not heed his advice. The populace was indeed dissatisfied at being ordered to abandon their homes. More than 100,000 households from Lujiang 廬江, Jiujiang 九江, Qichun 蘄春 and Guangling 廣陵 defected to Wu and fled east across the Yangzi river; south of Hefei 合肥, only Huan 皖城 city remained loyal to Cao Cao.

Later, when Jiang Ji came to Ye 鄴 city as an envoy (Cao Cao made use of Ye as his stronghold). Cao Cao received him warmly with a great laugh and said: "I only wanted to keep the people safe from the enemy, but instead I drove them away!" He then appointed Jiang Ji as Grand Administrator of Danyang 丹陽.

Junior Clerk in the Department of the West

In 219 A.D., Guan Yu 關羽 surrounded Fan Castle and Xiangyang 襄陽. Guan Yu's attack was so fierce that Cao Cao was considering relocating the capital from Xu city. Jiang Ji and Major to the Army of the Chancellor Sima Yi 司馬懿 both said to him:

"Yu Jin and his comrades were destroyed by the floods, they were not lost in war, and there is yet no real harm to the great plans of our state. Liu Bei and Sun Quan may appear to be close allies, but they have private disagreements. Guan Yu has ambitions, and Sun Quan will never allow him to achieve them. Send a man to encourage Sun Quan to close on his rear, and promise in return to enfeoff him with all land south of the Yangzi. Then the siege of Fan will certainly be broken."

Cao Cao accepted their words. As it turned out, Sun Quan was already in the process of attacking Guan Yu's rear and Guan Yu was captured by Wu.

Service Under Cao Pi

When Cao Pi 曹丕 acceded to the throne of Wei, he appointed Jiang Ji to be Chief Clerk to the Chancellor. And when Cao Pi assumed the imperial throne, Jiang Ji was sent out of the capital as General of the Gentlemen of the Household of the East. Jiang Ji then requested he remain in the capital, he then wrote one of his great works, "Myriad Subtleties" (Wànjī lùn 萬機論), which pleased Cao Pi, and so Ji was returned to the capital and appointed Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary.

Around this time, Cao Pi had written an edict to Xiahou Shang 夏侯尚 which read:

"Because you are my trusted and esteemed general, I empower you with special privileges. Your benevolent heart is ample for my service, your affection for me is worth my cherishing. You may display terrors or confer favours, you may kill or let live."

Xiahou Shang showed the edict to Jiang Ji; that such power could be in the hands of anyone other than the Emperor worried Jiang Ji, so when the Emperor asked Ji whether he had heard or seen anything important, Ji said: "Nothing good, certainly. On the contrary, I have heard words that could bring doom to the dynasty." Cao Pi grew angry and demanded an explanation, so Jiang Ji elaborated: "My Lord, 'You may display terrors or confer favours', The Shu expressly warns against such actions. The ancients also cautioned 'The Son of Heaven does not speak playfully.' I beg you Majesty to reflect upon this." Thereupon, Cao Pi thought over his actions and decided to rescind the edict.

Cao Pi's Invasions

In 222 A.D., Cao Pi invaded Wu, Jiang Ji was assigned to assist Grand Marshal Cao Ren 曹仁 seize Ruxu 濡須 Fortress. Cao Ren had decided the best way to succeed was to feign an attack against Xianxi 羨谿, so Jiang Ji led a separate command towards Xianxi making a large show of his movements. The ploy succeeded and forces from Ruxu diverted to help Xianxi and Jiang Ji turned about to reunite with Cao Ren's forces.

Knowing his ploy had depleted the forces at Ruxu had made Cao Ren overconfident, this was exasperated by the enemy defender, Zhu Huan 朱桓, who put up a false show of weakness to make Cao Ren lower his guard. Cao Ren held his main forces back and let his son besiege Ruxu and also dispatched generals Chang Diao 常雕 and Wang Shuang 王雙 to capture a river islet housing the families of the Wu soldiers. This bothered Jiang Ji, he was well versed in naval warfare and saw the situation to be unfavourable. He told Cao Ren: "Wu rebels occupy the west bank and their boats are arrayed upstream of ours. To let our troops enter the islet under such circumstances is like courting death." Cao Ren refused to heed Jiang Ji's warning and the Wei forces on the river were heavily defeated, Diao was killed, Shuang captured and more than 1.000 Wei soldiers drowned.

Cao Ren died in 224 A.D. and Jiang Ji was given command of his forces and also promoted to General of the Gentlemen of the Household of the East. An edict said: "Thy support both civil and military affairs, TODO" Ji then asked to appointed to the office of the Masters of Writing.

The following year, Cao Pi wanted to attack Wu at Guangling 廣陵. He had attempted to seize it the previous year but was scared off by a ruse. But having built an even larger army he wanted to try again. Jiang Ji tried to warn Cao Pi that the weather was too unfavourable and the water route difficult to navigate, Ji also wrote the "Essay on the Three Provinces" (Sānzhōu lùn 三州論) to try and convince Cao Pi, but Cao Pi did not heed his advice. The weather was so cold the Jiang river was partially frozen; and the thousands of Wei warships were on the Huai river 淮 and unable to advance.

It was suggested that the soldiers be left behind to set up agricultural colonies, but Jiang Ji opposed the idea. He told him that with the lake to the east and the Huai river to the north, it would be far too easy for Wu to raid the colonies once the waterways became more accessible. Cao Pi agreed and move the ships to Jing lake 精湖 to wait until they could sail them away. Cao Pi left, and entrusted the ships to Jiang Ji; they lined the lake for hundreds of li. Ji had the soldiers dig four or five canals, for which the boats were to travel down; and the soil moved was used to build dikes to gather the lake water at the rear of the ships. The dikes were broken open so the flooding waters would float the ships back into the Huai river and thus they were able to return north.

On 24th Feb. 226 A.D., Cao Pi returned to Luoyang. Cao Pi praised Jiang Ji's talent, saying:

"One cannot help but learn from experience. Before, I would have thought to burn half the ships in the lake. Here, you had a later start than I and have brought them all, reaching Qiao at practically the same time as I. And whenever you set things forth you virtually enter into my own thought. From now on, in my plans for campaigns against the rebels, give me your best thought and discussion."

Service Under Cao Rui

In 226 A.D., Emperor Cao Rui 曹叡 acceded the throne, Jiang Ji was ennobled as a Secondary Marquis. In 228 A.D., Cao Xiu 曹休 penetrated deeply into Wu territory to attack Wu General Shen De 審德 at Huan city. Jiang Ji memorialised the court, saying:

"Cao Xiu has penetrated deeply into enemy territory and faces Sun Quan's elite troops. And waiting upstream is Zhu Ran 朱然, looking to cut Cao Xiu's rear. I do not see any profit in this."

Jiang Ji's warning went unanswered and Cao Xiu advanced to Huan and beheaded Shen De. Cao Xiu had set up camp in Huan and the Wu forces came to Anlu (安陸). Soon, Grand Administrator of Poyang (鄱陽) Zhou Fang 周魴 feigned defection to lure Cao Xiu into a trap. Jiang Ji tried sending another warning, saying:

"Enemy forces are manoeuvring in the west which means they intend to unite with the forces in the east. You should immediately command the various troops to rush in reinforcements."

However, Cao Xiu's forces had already been badly defeated and forced to abandon all their equipment to escape. The Wu forces had pursued Xiu to Jiashi (夾石), but reinforcements from Jia Kui 賈逵 saved them from total destruction. Jiang Ji was promoted to Military Protector of the Palace.

At some point between 229 and 232 A.D., the Custodian of the Palace Library and Secretariat Director were reputed to be monopolising power, so Jiang Ji sent up a memorial giving Cao Rui advice on how one might govern. His memorial said:

“I have heard that when a Minister of the State is too prized, the State is in danger; when attendants are held in too great intimacy, the Sovereign's own person is obscured. This is a profound warning from antiquity. In former times, when the Ministers of the State held power both inside and outside were in tumult. Since Your Majesty began to direct the myriad affairs of the State, there has been none who is not reverent and orderly.

"It is not that the Ministers of the State are not loyal, but the fact is that when power lies with those who are low, the minds of the masses become lax in their regard towards their superiors. This is only natural. Since Your Majesty has observed this truth with regard to Ministers of the State, I hope you will not forget it with regard to your attendants. In loyalty, rectitude, and far-sighted thinking, the attendants may not necessarily be better than Ministers of the State; as for their practicing flattery to attain their objects, they may be more skillful.

"At present, the outsiders all say of the Ministers of the State that they may be ever so prudent and cautious, not daring to associate with those without; but the mere fact of their having this name is enough to puzzle the common world. How much more so when they wield power and are under your eyes every day; at times you are tied, they may intrude and interfere.

"Observing that they are able to exercise some power, the officials will naturally turn towards them. Should this precedent once be started, they will plot from within; hence the masses say that they beseech their friends' support. This being the case, there will arise flattery and calumny; rewards and punishments will unjustly alter. Those who advance along the straight path will sometimes suffer injustice, while those who attach themselves to the attendants will win success. They will go into the smallest crack and come out when they find suitable opportunities. Since you are intimate with them and trust them, you will not be aware of the abuse at all. This is something your sage wisdom ought to have been informed of at once. If you pay attention, their real shape will appear of itself.

"Possibly your Court Ministers are afraid that if they speak to you and fail to obtain your attention, they will only incur the displeasure of your attendants; hence they have not informed you of the matter.

"I have observed of Your Majesty that you think profoundly and finely, listen fairly and see justly. If matters are not in accord with right principle, or things are not satisfactorily executed, you should change tune and alter the melody; you should emulate Yellow Emperor and Emperor Yao for antiquity of their achievements, and make illustrious the traces of Cao Cao and Cao Pi of recent times. How can you be fettered by workaday habits?

"Yet a Sovereign cannot take sole charge of the affairs of the Empire, he must of necessity entrust them to others. If he entrusts them to a single minister, unless the latter is as loyal as Dan, the Duke of Zhou, and as just as Guan Yiwu, there will be the evil of abusing his power and duty.

"At present, officials who can serve as pillar stones are indeed few. But those whose conduct is praised in their province and whose wisdom is sufficient for the offices they are invested with; those who are loyal and trustworthy, ready to give up their lives, and those who conscientiously execute their duties-- all should be employed in your service, so that the Court of Sage Enlightenment may divest itself of the name of monopolizing officials."

In Emperor responded saying:

"Officials possessing strong will are the ones in whom a Sovereign finds support. Jiang Ji, competent both in civil and military matters, has served me assiduously and righteously; whenever there were matters of importance for the Army or the State, he always sent up memorials and discussions. His loyalty and sincerity, his indefatigable spirit, I commend highly."

Jiang Ji was then promoted to General Who Protects the Army (hùjūn jiāngjūn 護軍將軍) and Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary.

In 232 A.D., it was found that Gongsun Yuan 公孫淵 was secretly meeting with envoys from Wu to trade. And so Emperor Cao Rui elected Grand Administrator of Runan (汝南) Tian Yu 田豫 to go by sea, and Wang Xiong 王雄 to go by land, and attack Liaodong (遼東). Jiang Ji admonished the Emperor's actions, saying:

"The states that would not conquer us, and the subjects that would not invade our territory or rebel against us, in general should not be attacked without serious premeditation. If they are attacked and yet cannot be controlled, we are only driving them to become our enemies. Therefore it is said, 'When tigers and wolves are in the road, do not pay attention to foxes and badgers; first remove the greater menaces, and the minor ones will disappear of themselves."

He continued, saying:

"Now they of the region on the other side of the sea have been serving China most humbly for generations and have annually selected their officials Filially Pious and Incorrupt, who have not been remiss in their duties and offering of tribute. Those who discussed their affairs have commended them. Should we with a single stroke win our victory, the State will not be profited by obtaining their people, nor will it contribute to our wealth by obtaining their resources. But should it turn out to be unsatisfactory, we will only make them resent and lose faith in us."

The Emperor ignored Jiang Ji and sent forces anyway. Tian Yu could achieve nothing and all they succeeded in doing was turning Gongsun Yuan into an enemy.

In the beginning of 233 A.D., Man Chong 滿寵 devised a new strategy that involved tearing down the fortress at Hefei and moving it farther inland. Jiang Ji thought it would further weaken Wei's image (after the loss to Gongsun Yuan), so advised the Emperor against it, saying: "By first demonstrating our weakness to the world, and then destroying the city walls of Hefei at the raising of the rebels' darts, we will be defeating ourselves without the enemy's attacking us. If things reach such a stage, there will be no end of rout. We must by all means defend our positions north of the Huai river." Hearing this, the Emperor did not approve Man Chong's plan. However, Man Chong wanted to give a false show of weakness to entice Wu to invade again. Master of Writing Zhao Zi 趙咨 thought this plan had merit so it was in the end approved.

Wei Zhen 衛臻 was in charge of selecting officials. Jiang Ji sent him a letter saying: "The Progenitor of Han treated the fugitive Han Xin as his First General, and King Wu of Zhou promoted the fisherman Lü Wang as his Grand Preceptor--a mere commoner and servant can climb to the position of a prince or a Duke. What need to follow the letter of the law and give employment only after examination?" But Wei Zhen responded saying that loosening the restrictions on the selection process would open the door to all manner of eccentric elections.

Around 238 A.D., the state of affairs in Wei was going downhill; numerous military campaigns were being launched, unsuccessfully; new decadent palaces were being built; the annual harvest was poor; and people were becoming discontent. Jiang Ji felt the Emperor was disconnected from the people, so he sent a memorial saying:

"Your Majesty ought to restore the former lineage and glorify the work transmitted you; this is certainly no time for you to rule with a sense of security. There are at present, indeed, twelve provinces, but the population does not exceed that of a large-sized commandery in Han times. The two rebels have not yet been crushed, and troops are permanently quartered along the frontiers. We have been tilling land and at the same time fighting battles; deprivation of marital life has gone on for years. Ancestral temples, palaces, our business, all are being built on nothing. Those occupied in farming and silk production are few, while those who have to be clothed and fed are many. The most urgent thing at present is to stop waste, so the people will not reach the limit of exhaustion. In case of flood or drought, a people tired and worn out will be of no use to the state, even if it number a million. In employing the people, spare time from agriculture should be utilized, but the necessary time for it must not be taken from them. A Sovereign bent on accomplishing a great work must first measure the strength of the people, and both exercise and rest it."

It continued:

"Anciently, Goujian nourished the yet unborn in order to draw service from them, and with his worn-out Yue exterminated the strong Wu; King Zhao soothed the sickly to aid him in vengeance, and with his weaker kingdom of Yan subdued the powerful Qi. Now our two enemies are strong and powerful; if you do not eliminate them in your time, the task will fall on the coming hundred generations. If you, with your sage insight and divine martial endowment, will give up what is of remote importance and apply your mind exclusively to the campaign against the rebels, I do not consider the thing difficult."

The Emperor ignored Jiang Ji, and others.

Around the beginning of 238 A.D., hostilities between Wei and Gongsun Yuan escalated as Sima Yi 司馬懿 was sent to attack Liaodong. Wei forces began to march on Liaodong and Gongsun Yuan began to panic. He attempted to reforge an alliance with Sun Quan, which had been terminated the moment Gongsun Yuan murdered Sun Quan's envoys and plundered their valuables. Sun Quan proclaimed that he would accept Gongsun Yuan as his vassal. The Emperor asked Jiang Ji whether Sun Quan would aid Gongsun Yuan. Jiang Ji said:

"He is well aware that you are prepared for him and that there would be no advantage in that for him. It is not in his power to make a deep incursion. A shallow incursion, on the other hand, will not result in any gain in spite of toil. Even when his envoys were in danger, he made no move. How much less so when it has to do with people of a foreign land. And, when, to make it worse, he suffered insult at their hands? The only reason why he announces his aid is that he is deceiving the envoy and trying to make us suspicious; for if we fail to succeed, he hopes Gongsun Yuan may submit to him. On the other hand, although the sea coast of Liaodong is far from where Gongsun Yuan is. If our troops do not advance, and result is not speedily obtained, even the shallow plans of Sun Quan may be capable of a surprise attack from his light troops. It is quite possible."

As it turned out, Sun Quan was just bluffing and had no intention of allying with Gongsun Yuan; Gongsun Zan was soon defeated by Sima Yi.

Service Under Cao Fang

After Emperor Cao Fang 曹芳 acceded the throne in 242 A.D., Jiang Ji was promoted to General Who Commands the Army and enfeoffed as Marquis of Changling (昌陵) Village. On 1st Sept., Jiang Ji also replaced the late Man Chong as Grand Commandant.

Earlier, Palace Attendant Gaotang Long had written the discourse Suburban Sacrifices (郊祀).

When Cao Fang became Emperor, he was only 8 years old. So Sima Yi and Cao Shuang 曹爽 were appointed as his guardians. Cao Shuang gradually monopolised more and more power, and his associates, Ding Mi 丁謐 and Deng Yang 鄧颺 altered laws to suited their desires, and Sima Yi was gradually pushed aside. In the 2nd month of 247 A.D., there was an eclipse of the sun and the Emperor asked his officials of the meaning behind it; Jiang Ji sent up a memorial, it read:

"Long ago when the great Shun assisted Yao in governing, he was wary of ‘ignoble intimacies.’ The Duke of Zhou, in supporting the government as regent of King Cheng attended to ‘the associates.’ When the Marquis of Qi asked about a calamity, Yan Ying replied with the granting of grace. When the Prince of Lu asked about a strange event, Zangsun Chen replied with the dismissal of works. To respond to Heaven and meet accidents of nature is to consolidate human affairs. Now the two rebels, Shu-Han and Wu, are not yet annihilated; for decades soldiers have been exposed to war, men and women murmur against separation, the people as a whole suffer poverty and hardship.

"As for the laws and institutions of a state, only the most gifted men of their age are competent to rectify them and leave models for posterity. Are they things mediocre and inferior officials may alter? This will result in no benefit to peace and order, in fact it will be injurious to the people. It is proper for servants both civil and military to stick to their duties with obedience and composure; then natural harmony and auspicious signs will be induced."

On the 5th Feb. 249 A.D., the Emperor left Luoyang to visit his late father's mausoleum in Gaopingling (高平陵) and pay his respects; Cao Shuang and his cabal accompanied the Emperor. With Cao Shuang and his supporters away from the city, Sima Yi made his move; he shut the city gates, seized the armoury, and led out an army to the pontoon bridge over Luo river (洛水). Jiang Ji was openly opposed to Cao Shuang's actions and a long time friend of Sima Yi, so Jiang Ji cooperated with Sima Yi and headed with him to the pontoon bridge. Huan Fan 桓範 was a senior minister and he chose to flee to Cao Shuang. Sima Yi was worried that Huan Fan would make things more difficult, but Jiang Ji said:

"Huan Fan is indeed wise, but stupid horses are too much attached to the beams in their manger. Cao Shuang is certain not to employ his counsel."

Sima Yi then wrote a memorial detailing Cao Shuang's crimes and implored that he be stripped of his position (but retain his life and fief) as punishment. Jiang Ji sent an additional letter to Cao Shuang, stating that Sima Yi intended nothing than removal from office. Cao Shuang received both correspondences and asked his associates what he should do. Huan Fan knew Sima Yi would not allow Cao Shuang to live and tried to convince him to raise an army in the Emperor's name, but, as Jiang Ji predicted, his advice was ignored. Cao Shuang surrendered himself to Sima Yi only to be executed.

Because he stood with Sima Yi at Luo bridge, he was enfeoffed as a Marquis of a Chief District with fief of 700 households. However, Jiang Ji was dissatisfied at the events concerning Cao Shuang, he sent a memorial to the Emperor which read:

"I was invested with high office, yet Cao Shuang dared to harbour iniquitous intentions; this proves that I was incapable. Sima Yi exerted himself and took the matter in his hands for decision. Your Majesty has shown recognition of his loyal service. That criminals are put to death is a good fortune for the state. On the other hand, enfeoffment and rewards should be given to those who have earned merit. But as far as counsel is concerned, I was not aware beforehand; as far as battle is concerned, I am not one who led it. If right measures are missed above, those below will suffer the evil consequences. I happen to be a State Minister, and in the eyes of all people, I am afraid a precedent of receiving rewards undeservedly might thus begin, and the excellent usage of modest declining fall into desuetude."

Although Jiang Ji refused the reward, but it was forced upon him. Jiang Ji thought that because of Cao Zhen's 曹真 service, his lineage should not be cutoff, so he was chagrined that the words of the edict pardoning Cao Shuang had been reneged on by Sima Yi; that he was rewarded for breaking his word made it worse. Jiang Ji soon fell sick and died on the 19th May 249 A.D. Jiang Ji was posthumously titled "Accomplishing" (jǐng 景) Lord of Changling.

Family

• Son
  • Jiang Xiu 蔣秀
• Grandson
  • Jiang Kai 蔣凱

Notes

Fact vs. Fiction

Historically...

Sources

• Chen Shou 陳壽 (233–297). Sanguo zhi 三國志 “Records of the Three Kingdoms”, with official commentary compiled by Pei Songzhi 裴松之 (372-451).
• de Crespigny, Rafe. To Establish Peace. Vol. 2. Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1996. 2 vols.
• Fang, Achilles. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms. Vol. II. Harvard University Press, 1965. 2 vols.