Jiang Qin

Jiang Qin (died 219), style name Gongyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He previously served under Sun Quan's elder brother and predecessor, Sun Ce, and participated in various battles throughout his service under the Sun family, including Sun Ce's conquests in Jiangdong, the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford and Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province.

Service under Sun Ce
Jiang Qin was a native of Shouchun (壽春), Jiujiang (九江), which is in present-day Shou County, Lu'an, Anhui. He served as an Attendant (給事) under Sun Ce when the latter gained independence from the warlord Yuan Shu. When Sun Ce crossed the Yangtze River to start his conquests of the territories in the Jiangdong region, Jiang Qin was appointed as a "Major of Separate Command" (別部司馬) and placed in command of some troops. He accompanied Sun Ce on the campaigns and assisted in the conquest of Yuzhang (豫章). He was later reassigned as Commandant of Geyang (葛陽尉) and was placed in charge of three counties. During his tenure, he defeated some bandits and was promoted to Commandant of the West (西部都尉).

When the bandits Lü He (呂合) and Qin Lang (秦狼) stirred up trouble in Kuaiji (會稽; present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), Jiang Qin led his troops to fight them and succeeded in pacifying the five counties in Kuaiji and captured the two bandit chiefs. For his achievement, he was promoted to "General of the Household Who Attacks the Yue" (討越中郎將) and placed in charge of Jingqu (涇拘) and Zhaoyang (昭陽). Jiang Qin later led 10,000 troops to assist He Qi in suppressing a rebellion in You (黝).

Service under Sun Quan
Jiang Qin participated in the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford in 214-215 and he fought bravely to defend Sun Quan when the latter was under attack by the enemy general Zhang Liao at the ford. He was promoted to "General Who Rocks Bandits" (盪寇將軍) and Area Commander (督) of Ruxu (濡須) for his achievements. He was later recalled to the Wu capital and was commissioned as "Right Protector of the Army" (右護軍) and given additional responsibilities in the legal court.

In 219, Sun Quan ordered Lü Meng to lead an army to invade Jing Province when its defender Guan Yu (a general under Liu Bei) was away at the Battle of Fancheng. Jiang Qin participated in the campaign and led a naval force at Mian (沔). However, after the victory, Jiang Qin fell sick and died on the way back to Wu. Sun Quan personally donned mourning attire when he attended Jiang Qin's funeral. He also gave 200 taxable households and 200 acre of land in Wuhu to Jiang Qin's family.

Sun Quan's home visit
Sun Quan once visited Jiang Qin's house and saw that Jiang's mother had only a light bed-curtain and cotton blankets, while Jiang's wife and concubines wore only simple cloth dresses. Sun Quan was so impressed with Jiang Qin's frugality that he ordered his own household to make silk blankets for Jiang's mother and exchange her curtains for better ones. Jiang Qin's wife and concubines also received silk and embroidered garments.

Incident with Xu Sheng
Once, when Jiang Qin was stationed in Xuancheng (宣城) and was out fighting rebels at Yuzhang (豫章), Xu Sheng, who was then the Prefect (令) of Wuhu, arrested an officer under Jiang Qin and requested for permission from Sun Quan to have the officer executed. As Jiang Qin was away at that time, Sun Quan denied the request. Xu Sheng had since estranged himself from Jiang Qin. Later, during the Battle of Ruxu in 217, Jiang Qin and Lü Meng were put in charge of military discipline. Xu Sheng was constantly worried that Jiang Qin would find fault with him, but, much to his surprise, Jiang gave him high praise instead, and Xu was very impressed with Jiang's virtue. Jiang Qin became more highly regarded after this incident. Sun Quan later asked Jiang Qin, "Xu Sheng offended you earlier on, but yet now you praise him. You wish to emulate Qi Xi, don't you?" Jiang Qin replied, "I heard that one should not let his personal feuds affect his official duties. Xu Sheng is loyal and hardworking, possesses both courage and talent, and is capable of leading thousands of troops. Now, we've yet to accomplish our great task, so I should help to scout for and recommend talents to serve the state instead of letting my private problems cloud my judgement." Sun Quan was very pleased.

Descendants
Jiang Qin's son, Jiang Yi (蔣壹), received the title of "Marquis of Xuancheng" (宣城侯) and fought at the Battle of Xiaoting in 221-222 against Liu Bei's forces. He was later despatched to Nan commandery (南郡) to join the Battle of Jiangling but died before participating in the battle. Jiang Yi had no son so his military command was inherited by his younger brother, Jiang Xiu (蔣休). Jiang Xiu was later discharged from service for committing an offence.