Name.

The term derives from the Anglo-Norman word "communes," referring to the geographic and collective "communities" of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality.

History.

The House of Commons came into existence in 1867, when the British Parliament passed the "British North America Act", uniting the Province of Canada (which was divided into Quebec and Ontario), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single federation called the Dominion of Canada. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Queen (represented by the Governor General, who also represented the Colonial Office), the Senate and the House of Commons. The Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model (that is, the model of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). Unlike the UK Parliament, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in

Members and electoral districts.

The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a single electoral district (also called a "riding"). The constitution specifies a basic minimum of 295 electoral districts, but additional seats are allocated according to various clauses. Seats are distributed among the provinces in proportion to population, as determined by each decennial census, subject to the following exceptions made by the constitution. Firstly, the "senatorial clause" guarantees that each province will have at least as many MPs as Senators. Secondly, the "grandfather clause" guarantees each province has at least as many Members of Parliament now as it had in 1985.  As a result of these clauses, smaller provinces and territories that have experienced a relative decline in population have become over-represented in the House. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are under-represented in proportion to their populations, while the other seven

Elections.

General elections occur whenever parliament is dissolved by the governor general on the monarch's behalf. The timing of the dissolution has historically been chosen by the prime minister. The "Constitution Act, 1867", provides that a parliament last no longer than five years. Canadian election law requires that elections must be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth year after the last election, subject to the discretion of the Crown. Campaigns must be at least 36 days long. Candidates are usually nominated by political parties. A candidate can run independently, although it is rare for such a candidate to win. Most successful independent candidates have been incumbents who were expelled from their political parties (for example, John Nunziata in 1997 or Jody Wilson-Raybould in 2019) or who failed to win their parties' nomination (for example, Chuck Cadman in 2004). The most recent exception to this was the election of André Arthur

Prerequisites.

The term "member of Parliament" is usually used only to refer to members of the House of Commons, even though the Senate is also a part of Parliament. Members of the House

Qualifications.

Under the "Constitution Act, 1867", Parliament is empowered to determine the qualifications of members of the House of Commons. The present qualifications are outlined in the "Canada Elections Act", which was passed in 2000. Under the Act, an individual must be an eligible voter, as of the day on which he or she is nominated, to stand as a candidate. Thus, minors and individuals who are not citizens of Canada are not allowed to become candidates. The "Canada Elections Act" also bars prisoners from standing for election (although

Officers and symbols.

The House of Commons elects a presiding officer, known as the speaker, at the beginning of each new parliamentary term, and also whenever a vacancy arises. Formerly, the prime minister determined who would serve as speaker. Although the House voted on the matter, the voting constituted a mere formality. Since 1986, however, the House has elected speakers by secret ballot. The speaker is assisted by a deputy speaker, who also holds the title of chair of Committees of the Whole. Two other deputies—the deputy chair of Committees of the Whole and the assistant deputy chair of Committees of the Whole—also preside. The duties of presiding over the House are divided between the four officers aforementioned; however, the speaker usually presides over Question Period and over the most important debates.  The speaker controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or standing order) has been breached, they may raise a "point of order", on which the speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The speaker may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. When presiding, the speaker must remain impartial. The speaker also oversees the administration of the House and is chair of the Board of Internal Economy, the governing body for the House of Commons. The current speaker of the House of Commons is Anthony Rota.  The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the House is leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The government house leader (as he or she is more commonly known) is a member of Parliament selected by the prime minister and holds cabinet rank. The leader manages the schedule of the House of Commons and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda.  Officers of the House who are not members include the clerk of the House of Commons, the deputy clerk, the law clerk and parliamentary counsel, and several other clerks. These officers advise the speaker and members on the rules and procedure of the House in addition to exercising senior management functions within the

Procedure.

Like the Senate, the House of Commons meets on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Commons Chamber is modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the more lavishly furnished red Senate Chamber. The arrangement is similar to the design of the Chamber of the British House of Commons. The seats are evenly divided between both sides of the Chamber, three sword-lengths apart (about three metres). The Speaker's chair (which can be adjusted for height) is at the north end of the Chamber. In front of it is the Table of the House, on which rests the ceremonial mace. Various "Table Officers"—clerks and other officials—sit at the table, ready to advise the Speaker on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, while members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left. Government ministers sit around the Prime Minister, who is traditionally assigned the 11th seat in the front row on the Speaker's right-hand side. The leader of the Official Opposition sits directly across from the Prime Minister and is surrounded by a Shadow Cabinet or critics for the government portfolios. The remaining party leaders sit in the front rows. Other Members of Parliament who do not hold any kind of special responsibilities are known as "backbenchers".  The House usually sits Monday to Friday from late January to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-December according to an established calendar, though it can modify the calendar if additional or fewer sittings are required. During these periods, the House generally rises for one week per month to allow members to work in their constituencies. Sittings of the House are open to the public. Proceedings are broadcast over cable and satellite television and over live streaming video on the Internet by CPAC owned by a consortium of Canadian cable companies. They are also recorded in text form in print and online in Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates.  The "Constitution Act, 1867" establishes a quorum of twenty members (including the member presiding) for the House of Commons. Any member may request a count of the members to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if however, the Speaker feels that at least twenty members are clearly in the Chamber, he or she may deny the request. If a count does occur, and reveals that fewer than twenty members are present, the Speaker orders bells to be rung, so that other members on the parliamentary precincts may come to the Chamber. If, after a second count, a quorum is still not present, the Speaker must adjourn the House until the next sitting day.  During debates, members may only speak if called upon by the Speaker (or, as is most often the case, the deputy presiding). The Speaker is responsible for

Committees.

The Parliament of Canada uses committees for a variety of purposes. Committees consider bills in detail and may make amendments. Other committees scrutinize various Government agencies and ministries.  Potentially, the largest of the Commons committees are the Committees of the Whole, which, as the name suggests, consist of all the members of the House. A Committee of the Whole meets in the Chamber of the House but proceeds under slightly modified rules of debate. (For example, a member may make more than one speech on a motion in a Committee of the Whole, but not during a normal session of the House.) Instead of the Speaker, the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, or Assistant Deputy Chairman presides. The House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole to discuss appropriation bills, and sometimes for other legislation.  The House of Commons also has several standing committees,

Legislative functions.

Although legislation may be introduced in either House, most bills originate in the House of Commons.  In conformity with the British model, the Lower House alone is authorized to originate bills imposing taxes or appropriating public funds. This restriction on the power of the Senate is not merely a matter of convention, but is explicitly stated in the "Constitution Act, 1867". Otherwise, the power of the two Houses of Parliament is theoretically equal; the approval of each is necessary for a bill's passage.

Relationship with Her Majesty's Government.

Though it does not formally elect the prime minister, the House of Commons indirectly controls the premiership. By convention, the prime minister is answerable to and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the governor-general has the duty of appointing the person most likely to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the lower house, although the system allows a coalition of two or more parties. This has not happened in the Canadian federal parliament but has occurred in Canadian provinces. The leader of the second-largest party (or in the case of a coalition, the largest party out of government) usually becomes the Leader of the Official Opposition. Moreover, the prime minister is, by unwritten convention, a member of the House of Commons, rather than of the Senate. Only two prime ministers governed from the Senate: Sir John Abbott (1891–1892) and Sir Mackenzie Bowell (1894–1896). Both men got the job following the death of a Prime Minister and did not contest elections.  The prime minister may only stay in office as long as he or she retains the confidence of the House of Commons. The lower house may indicate its lack of support for the government by rejecting a motion of confidence, or by passing a motion of no confidence. Important bills that form a part of the government's agenda are generally considered matters of confidence, as is any taxation or spending bill and the annual budget. When a government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is obliged to either resign or request the governor-general to dissolve parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. The governor-general may theoretically refuse to dissolve parliament, thereby forcing the prime minister to resign. The last instance of a governor-general refusing to grant a dissolution was in 1926.  Except when compelled to request a dissolution by an adverse vote on a confidence issue, the prime minister is allowed to choose the

Chamber design.

The current and original Canadian House of Commons chamber was influenced by the British House of Commons rectangular layout and that of the original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster. The difference from the British layout is with the use of individual chairs and tables for members, absent in the British Commons' design.  With the exception of the legislatures in Nunavut (circular seating), the Northwest Territories (circular seating), and Manitoba (U-shaped seating), all other Canadian provincial legislatures share the common design of the Canadian House of Commons.  Public Works and Government Services Canada undertook

Offices.

Off Parliament Hill MPs have some offices at Justice Building or Confederation Building down Wellington Street near the Supreme Court of Canada.

The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general) and the Senate of Canada. The House of Commons currently meets in a temporary Commons chamber in the West Block of the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, while the Centre Block, which houses the traditional Commons chamber, undergoes a ten-year renovation.

加拿大下议院(英语:Canadian House of Commons;),也译作加拿大众议院,是加拿大国会的一部分,并与上议院及君主组成整个立法机关。下议院是整个立法机关唯一由民主产生的部分,现有338个议席。


Early life.

Fumimaro Konoe was born in Tokyo on 12 October 1891 to the prominent Konoe family, one of the main branches of the ancient Fujiwara clan. The Konoe were the ""head of the most prestigious, and highest ranking noble house in the realm"". They became independent of the Fujiwara in the 12th century, when Minamoto no Yoritomo divided the Fujiwara into five separate houses (go-sekke). ""First among the go-sekke was the Konoe"", and Fumimaro was its 29th leader. His younger brother Hidemaro Konoye was a symphony conductor. Konoe's father, Atsumaro, had been politically active, having organized the Anti-Russia Society in 1903.  Fumimaro's real mother died shortly after his birth; his father then married her younger sister. Fumimaro was misled into thinking she was his real mother, and found out the truth when he was 12 years old after his father's death.  Fumimaro inherited family debt when his father died. Thanks to the financial support of the zaibatsu Sumitomo, which he received throughout his career, and the auction of Fujiwara heirlooms the family was able to become solvent.  He studied socialism at Kyoto Imperial University and translated Oscar Wilde's "The Soul of Man Under Socialism" into Japanese, where he met Saionji Kinmochi. Konoe became Saionji's protege, after graduation he went to Saionji for

House of Peers.

In 1916, while at university, Fumimaro took his father's seat in the house of peers. After his return from Europe he was aggressively recruited by the most powerful political faction of Japan's budding Taisho democracy of the 1920s, the "kenkyukai", led by Yamagata Aritomo, which he joined in September 1922. The "kenkyukai" was a conservative, militaristic faction, generally opposed to democratic reform.  The opposing faction was the "seiyukai", led by Hara Kei, which drew its strength from the lower house. Eventually the "seiyukai" was able to gain the support of Aritomo, and Kei became premier in 1918. Konoe believed the house of peers should stay neutral in factional party politics due to fear that the peerage would have their privileges restricted if seen as too partisan. He therefore supported Hara Kei's "seiyukai" government, as did most of the "kenkyukai".  However, by 1923 the

Alliance with Home Ministry.

The Japanese home ministry was extremely powerful, was in charge of the police, elections, public works, Shinto shrines, and land development. The home ministry was also abused to influence elections in favour the ruling party. Konoe entered into an alliance with important home ministry officials despite having once believed it to be beneath the dignity of a nobleman, the most important among these officials being Yoshiharu Tazawa, who he met after he became the managing director of the Japan Youth Hall ("Nippon Seinenkan") in 1921. Konoe and these officials saw the influence of local "meiboka" political bosses as a threat to Japan's political stability, universal suffrage having opened the vote to the peasantry, which was undereducated, and controlled by these local bosses, who utilized pork barrel politics. These officials also shared

Road to First Premiership.

In the 1920s Japanese foreign policy was largely in line with Anglo-American policy, the treaty of Versailles, the Washington Naval Conference treaty, and there was agreement between the great powers over the establishment of an independent Chinese State. A flourishing party system controlled the cabinet in alliance with industry. The great depression of 1930's, the rise Soviet military power in the east, further insistence on limitations to Japanese naval power, and increased Chinese resistance to Japanese aggression in Asia, marked the abandonment of Japanese cooperation with the Anglo-American powers. The Japanese government began to seek autonomy in foreign policy, and as the sense of crisis deepened, unity and mobilization became overreaching imperatives.  Konoe assumed the vice presidency of the house of peers in 1931. In 1932 political parties lost control of the cabinet, henceforth cabinets were formed by alliances of representatives from political elites and military factions, the government increased suppression of political parties and

Prime Minister and war with China.

Despite his tutelage with the liberal leaning Saionji Kinmochi, his study of socialism at university, and his support of universal suffrage, he seemed to have had a contradictory attraction to fascism, which angered and alarmed the ageing "genro", for instance he was reported to have dressed as Hitler at a costume party before Saionji's daughter was married in 1937. Despite these misgivings Saionji nominated Konoe to the emperor, and in June 1937 Konoe became Prime Minister. Konoe spent the short time between then and war with China attempting to secure pardons for the ultra-nationalist leaders of the 26 February incident, leaders who had attempted to assassinate his mentor Saionji. Konoe retained the military, and legal ministers from the previous cabinet upon assumption of the premiership, and refused to take ministers from the political parties, he was not interesting in resurrecting party government. One month later, Japanese troops clashed with Chinese troops near Peking in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a consensus emerged among Japanese military leadership that the nation was not ready for war with China, and a truce was made on 11 July. The ceasefire was broken by 20 July after Konoe's government sent more divisions to China, causing full-scale war to erupt.  In November 1937 Konoe instituted a new system of joint conference between the civil government and the military called liaison conferences. In attendance at these liaison meetings were the prime minister, the foreign minister, the ministers of the army and navy and their chiefs of general staff. This arrangement resulted in an imbalance in favor of the military since each member in attendance had an equal say in policymaking.  Prior to the capture on Nanjing, Chang Kai Shek through the German ambassador in China attempted to negotiate, however Konoe rejected the overture. Shortly after the Nanjing massacre, Konoe issued a statement in January 1938 where he declared

Konoe's second term, the Matsuoka foreign policy.

Due to dissatisfaction with the policies of Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai, the Japanese Army demanded Konoe's recall as Prime Minister. On 23 June, Konoe resigned his position as Chairman of the Privy Council, and on 16 July 1940, the Yonai cabinet resigned and Konoe was appointed Prime Minister. One of his first moves was to launch the League of Diet Members Supporting the Prosecution of the Holy War to counter opposition from politicians such as deputy Saitō Takao who had spoken against the Second Sino-Japanese War in the Diet on 2 February.  Yonai had refused to align Japan with the Nazis, in response the army minister Shunroku Hata resigned and the army refused to nominate a replacement. Konoe was recalled after Saionij for the last time before his death later that year endorsed Konoe one last time, upon his return Konoe set out to end the war in with China, and by way of the New Order Movement remove the political parties from control of government. Konoe successfully ended the political parties that year, thereby aiding the pro war factions in the military, he deemed the parties as too liberal, and divisive. The Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRAA) was created in 1940 under Konoe as a wartime mobilization organization, ironically in alliance with local "meiboka", since their cooperation was required to mobilize the rural population. Konoe's government pressured political parties to dissolve into the IRAA, he resisted calls to form a political party akin to Nazi party, believing it would revive the political strife of the 1920s, instead he worked to promote the IRAA as the sole political order, additionally believing that becoming the head of a political party would be beneath the dignity of a nobleman.  The Japanese invasion of French Indochina was planned by the army before Konoe was recalled as prime minister. The invasion would secure needed resources to wage war with China, cut off western supply of Kuomintang armies, put the Japanese military in a strategic location to threaten more territory, and would hopefully intimidate the Dutch East Indies into supplying Japan with oil. The US responded with the Export Control Act, and increased aid to Chang, despite this response foreign minister Yosuke Matsuoka signed the Tripartite Pact on 27 September 1940 over the objection of some of Konoe's advisors including former Japanese ambassador to the US Kikujiro Ishii. In an 4 October press conference Konoe said that the US should not misunderstand the intentions of the tripartite powers, and should help them to build a new world order, additionally he said that if the US did not end its provocative actions, and deliberately chose to misunderstand the actions of the tripartite powers, there would be no option left but war. In November 1940 Japan signed the Sino-Japanese treaty with Wang Jinwei who had been a disciple of Sun Yat-sen, and was the head of a rival Kuomintang government in Nanjing, Konoe's Government did not relinquish all held territory to Jinwei's government,

Third government and attempt to avoid war with the United States.

Konoe's third government was formally created on 18 July, with admiral Teijiro Toyoda as foreign minister. The Roosevelt administration hoped that Matsuoka's dismissal would mean Japan was standing down from continued aggressive action, these hopes were dashed when the French government, after being threatened with military action, allowed the Japanese army to occupy all of French Indochina on 22 July, two days later the US cut off negotiations and froze Japanese assets, the British, Dutch, and Canadian governments following suit shortly thereafter. The same day Roosevelt cut off negotiations, he met with Nomura where he told the ambassador that if Japan would agree to pull out of Indochina, and agree to its being granted a status of neutrality, Japanese assets could be unfrozen. Roosevelt implied that Japanese expansion in China would be tolerated, but that Indochina was a red line, he also expressed how he was disturbed that Japan could not see that Hitler was bent on world domination. Konoe did not take aggressive action in implementing Roosevelt's offer, his was not able to restrain militarists led by Hideki Tojo who as minister of war regarded the seizure as irreversible due to its approval by the emperor.  On 28 July the Japanese began to formally occupy southern Indochina. In response on 1 August the US embargoed oil exports to Japan. Finding a replacement source of petroleum was paramount, as the US supplied 93% of Japan's oil in 1940. Navy chief of staff Osami Nagano informed the Emperor that Japan's oil stockpiles would be completely depleted in two years. Konoe's cabinet failed to foresee the US embargo oil as a result of their occupation of southern French Indochina. On 1 August Hachiro Arita wrote Konoe a letter which told him that he should not have let the military occupy southern Indochina while negotiations with the US were still ongoing, Konoe responded that the ships were already dispatched and could not turn back in time, and that all he could do was pray for "divine intervention".  On 6 August Konoe's government announced that it would only pull out of Indochina when the war in China was concluded, rejected Roosevelt's neutralization proposal, but promised not to expand further and asked for US mediation in ending the war in China. On 8 August Konoe requested through Nomura, a meeting with Roosevelt, the suggestion came from Kinkazu Saionji the grandson of his deceased mentor Saionji Kinmochi who advised Konoe through a monthly informal breakfast club, where Konoe consulted with civilian elites about policy. Hotsumi Ozaki, who was a friend and advisor to Konoe, was a member of this same breakfast club, he was also a member of Richard Sorge's soviet spy ring.  Nomura met with Roosevelt and told him about Konoe's summit proposal, after condemning Japanese aggression in Indochina Roosevelt said he was open to the meeting, and suggested they could meet in Juneau, Alaska. On 3 September a liaison conference was held where it was decided that Konoe would continue to seek peace with Roosevelt, but at the same time Japan would commit to war if a peace agreement did not materialize by mid October, also that Japan would not abandon the tripartite pact. Konoe, Saionji, and his supporters had drafted a proposal which emphasized a willingness to withdraw troops from China, however Konoe did not introduce this proposal, but instead acceded to a proposal from the foreign ministry, the difference in the proposals being that the foreign ministry's was conditioned on an agreement being reached between China and Japan before troops would be withdrawn.  On 5 September Konoe met the emperor with chiefs of staff General Hajime Sugiyama and Admiral Osami Nagano to inform him of the cabinet's decision to commit to war in the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough, alarmed the emperor asked what happened to the negotiations with Roosevelt, he asked Konoe to change the emphasis from war to negotiation, Konoe replied that would be politically impossible, the emperor then asked why he had been kept in the dark about these military preparations. The emperor then questioned Sugiyama about the chances of success of an open war with the Occident. After Sugiyama answered positively, Hirohito scolded him, remembering that the Army had predicted that the invasion of China would be completed in only three months.  On 6 September the emperor approved the cabinet's decision at an imperial conference after being given assurance by the two chiefs of staff that diplomacy was the primary emphasis, with war only as a fall back option in the event of diplomatic failure. That same evening, Konoe arranged a dinner in secrecy with US ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew (on 15 August, Hiranuma Kiichiro who was a member of his cabinet, and a previous prime minister, had been shot six times by an ultra-nationalist because he was seen as too close to Grew) Konoe told Grew that he was prepared to travel to meet Roosevelt on a moment's notice, Grew then urged his superiors to advise Roosevelt to accept the summit proposal.  The day after the imperial conference Konoe arranged a meeting between Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni and army minister Tojo, which was an attempt to bring the war hawk in line with Konoe. Higashikuni told Tojo that since

Post premiership, final years of the war and suicide.

On 29 November 1941, at a luncheon with the emperor with all living former prime ministers in attendance, Konoe voiced his objection to war. Upon hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor Konoe said "What on earth? I really feel a miserable defeat coming, this will only last 2 or 3 months." Referring to Japan's military success.  Konoe played a role in the fall of the Tōjō government in 1944. In February 1945, during the first private audience he had been allowed in three years, he advised

Prince was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister who presided over Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and the deterioration in relations with the United States and its allies. He also played a central role in Japan's transformation into a totalitarian state by passing the National Mobilization Law and founding the Imperial Rule Assistance Association.

近衞文麿(1891年-10月12日-1945年-12月16日),又译近衞文麻吕,日本昭和时代前期的政治人物。上世纪初时曾三度出任日本内阁总理大臣。日本大政翼赞会的创始人之一,该会被广泛被认为是与同时代之德国纳粹党、意大利法西斯党相似的独裁政治社团,是首位公开支持和纳粹德国、意大利王国结成轴心国,发动第二次世界大战亚洲战场战争的日本政治家。


Games.

The "Suikoden" franchise has been developing games since 1995 and has developed various video game titles bearing the same name. The development team of the Suikoden series started developing games using 2D or two-dimensional graphics primarily used in the first and second games, while they only incorporated 3D graphics on environments and visual effects. Suikoden III however, marked the series' complete shift from 2D to 3D as the game jumps platforms; from PlayStation to PlayStation 2.  The series has the following titles including prequels, sequels and spin-offs from the main series (the main series are in bold). They are arranged chronologically with their release dates:

Timeline.

Main series While the main series is numbered, each individual game takes place either before or after a consequent installment. The second and third Suikoden games were each direct sequels of their respective predecessors but with "Suikoden IV", the series began to delve into prequels in which events take place earlier than any of the other games. The sequence according to in-universe chronology is as follows:  "Suikoden IV" (143 years before Suikoden V and 150 years before Suikoden) → "Suikoden V (6 years before "Suikoden") → "Suikoden" (3 years before "Suikoden II") → "Suikoden II" (15 years before "Suikoden III") → "Suikoden III" (168 years after "Suikoden IV")  Prequels and sequels The games "Genso Suikogaiden Volumes 1 and 2", though not part of the main series takes place before, during, and after "Suikoden II" as well as "Suikoden Tactics" which takes place before and after "Suikoden IV".

Elements.

Gameplay.

In the Suikoden series, the player takes control of a battle party having a maximum of six people (consisting of the protagonist and 5 other characters), "Suikoden IV", however, reduces the party to four fighters and one support. The goal of the game is for the protagonist to defeat the opponents who are trying to oppose his/her team. This becomes possible as every game in the series revolves around the recruitment of the "108 Stars of Destiny"; wherein the fighter characters recruited from the bunch can be used as members for the battle party; each game in the series have its respective "Stars of Destiny". The series practically makes use of running around towns on different islands and into dungeons filled with monsters or enemies. A base or headquarters will also be obtained by the player which is usually abandoned, monster-infested castles which turns into bustling communities when captured.

Battle Modes.

The most typical form of battle in the series is the turn-based battle wherein the 6-man team faces the opponents. However, it is not the sole form of battle featured in the games. There are 3 different types of battle present which recurs and have been accustomed to every game. They are: 'Basic Battle', 'One-on-one Duel' and 'Strategic War Battle'.

Development.

The "Suikoden" series was created, written, produced, and overseen by Yoshitaka Murayama, who left Konami near the end of "Suikoden III"'s development. Noritada Matsukawa took over as Senior Director of "Suikoden III" following Murayama's departure. "Suikoden IV" was directed by Matsukawa as well but was produced by Junko Kawano, who was the chief designer in "Suikoden I". "Suikoden V" was directed by Takahiro Sakiyama, a relative newcomer to RPGs.

Future.

In an interview conducted by Japanese website 4gamers.net regarding the RPG Frontier Gate, Konami developers revealed that the "Suikoden" development team has been disbanded with members scattered about teams within Konami and elsewhere. This led to speculation that the franchise had indeed been abandoned following disappointing sales of the latest entries in the series.  Despite these rumours, Konami presented a trailer for a new Suikoden game on Tokyo Game Show 2011: Genso Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century ("Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki"). It came out in Japan for PSP on 12 February 2012 to generally lackluster reviews.  According to an article published by "The Nikkei" in 2015, development on the series has been halted.

World, setting, and concepts.

Essentially, each game follows the plot formula of a coup d'état by corrupt power holder(s) and the protagonist is an exile from his/her home. The plot also follows the disastrous misuse of the "True Runes" while the hero struggles, despite overwhelming odds, to bring peace to the land alongside his/her friends, and the climactic showdown with the corrupted True Rune incarnation.

The 27 True Runes.

The "27 True Runes" are powerful sources of all magic and primal forces in the world of Suikoden. Wholly sentient and possessing their own will, the True Runes hold immeasurable power, and are the equivalents of gods in the Suikoden world. Many wars have been fought over them in the past, some instigated by the will of the runes themselves. True Runes are often sought by the powerful and influential due to their shared property of granting immortality to those who will bear them. All bearers of True Runes stop aging and become immune to disease and all other natural causes of death, though they can still die from physical trauma such as accidents or murder.  The True Runes often attach themselves to living beings. Doing so gives the True Rune holder great power over the force the rune represents as well as immortality so long as they wield the rune. Wielding the runes can also have negative consequences, as in the case of one wielder being transformed into a vampire. A True Rune has also taken the shape of a sword, as is the case with the Star Dragon Sword. They can also manifest themselves unattached from a host, as the Beast Rune did during the Highland-Jowston conflict, self-activating and then feeding of its own will.  Known True Runes

The 108 Stars of Destiny.

A concept borrowed from the Chinese novel "Shui Hu Zhuan", each "Suikoden" game has featured 108 characters who band together to ward off a threat. In each main "Suikoden game" (excluding the "Suikogaiden" games and "Suikoden Tactics"), there are 108 notable characters, all of which are recruitable except for in Suikoden III, where several of the stars of destiny were the antagonist characters. While recruiting all of the Stars of Destiny is not a requirement to finishing the game, recruiting all of them gives certain bonuses that affect the story of the game.

Geography.

The "Suikoden" series is set in a world with many countries. The political geography has changed over the series chronology; while the most recent game in the setting is "Suikoden V", chronologically, "Suikoden IV" is the earliest game while "Suikoden III" occurs latest within the time span of the series.  "Suikoden", "Suikoden II" and "Suikoden III" are set on the Northern Continent, a land mass composed of several regions. "Suikoden" takes place in the Scarlet Moon Empire, which is located on southeastern coast of the Northern Continent, and is composed primarily of the Toran region, with Lake Toran at its centre. Notable locations in this area include Gregminister, the empire's capital situated in Arlus, the Warrior's Village in the Lorimar region, and the Great Forest. At the end of "Suikoden", the empire is replaced by the Toran Republic.  "Suikoden II" is set in the Dunan region, north-west of the Toran Republic, and initially comprises the Highland Kingdom in the east and the Jowston City-States, a confederation of politically autonomous states, in the west. Significant locations in Jowston include the cities-states of South Window, Greenhill, Muse, and Two River, and the Knightdom of Matilda. Following the Dunan Unification War, the Highland Kingdom falls and it, along with the Jowston City-States unite to form the Dunan Republic. The Tinto region lying in the west, separated from Dunan by mountains, chooses to remain politically independent and becomes the Tinto Republic.  Sharing Dunan's western border and north of Tinto are the Grasslands, which stretch from the centre of the Northern Continent to a small portion of the continent's west coast. The area is composed of the six clans: the Lizard, Duck, Karaya, Chisha, Safir, and the Alma Kinan. Directly west of the Grasslands and bordered in the east by Tinto is the Zexen Confederacy, located on the west coast of the Northern Continent and historically an offshoot of the Grasslands. Important locations include the Zexen capital Vinay del Zexay and Budehuc Castle, which lies close to the Grasslands border in northwest Zexen. The primary conflict of "Suikoden III" occurs in these areas. The northwestern portion of the continent, due north of the Grasslands and Zexen, is the Knightdom of Camaro and the surrounding Nameless Lands.  The largest country in the north is the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia, located in the northeastern portion of the continent. Since its establishment, it has assimilated various neighbouring countries, such as Sanadia, as well as a portion of the Grasslands – the Kanaa clan of the Grasslands became Le Buque under Harmonian rule after the First Fire Bringer War. Notably, the Scarlet Moon Empire originally formed after obtaining political autonomy from Harmonia and taking Harmonia's old capital as its own, renaming it Gregminister, resulting in Harmonia establishing a new capital at the Crystal Valley. Harmonia is also home to the Tower, a location reserved for training and housing members of the Howling Voice Guild.  Other major areas on the Northern Continent include the Kooluk region and Kanakan. The Kooluk region was originally the Kooluk Empire during the course of "Suikoden IV" and eventually dissolved in "Suikoden Tactics" to be left as a group of independent settlements. It takes up most of the southern edge of the Northern continent and directly borders the Toran Republic in the east and the Dunan Republic in the north. Off the eastern coast of Toran is the island of Kanakan.  Lying directly south of the Northern Continent is the ocean and several islands, including Obel, Middleport, and Razril. At the end of "Suikoden IV", most of these islands are unified to become the Island Nations Federation. The largest island in the area, the Dukedom of Gaien, remains independent. West of Gaien is the island nation of the Kingdom of Zelant.  Due south of the Island Nations is the Southern Continent, a landmass composed primarily of three countries: the Queendom of Falena, and its neighbours, the theocracy of Nagarea in the southwest and the New Armes Kingdom in the southeast. As the setting for "Suikoden V", Falena has a large network of rivers and lakes throughout the country and the Ashtwal Mountains in its northern region. Key locations include the cities of Stormfist and Doraat in the west; Rainwall, Estrise, and Sable, located on the Armes border, in the east; Lelcar, Lordlake, and Sauronix in the south; and the Falenan capital, Sol-Falena, and the holy land of Lunas, governed by the Oracle, in the north. Falena has been protected from the militant theocracy Nagarea since the mountain pass between the nations was destroyed, though Armes continues to remain a threat throughout "Suikoden V".  Northeast of Falena also appears portion of a landmass of considerable size. West of the Northern and Southern Continents and the Island Nations is a landmass referred to as the Western Continent, of which few details are known. Scattered across the world are mysterious ruins attributed to the lost Sindar race, which is a recurring theme throughout the Suikoden series.

Music collections.

The "Suikoden" games have generally been considered to have soundtracks very well liked by the gaming community, though they have only been released in Japan as of 2007.  A series of arranged soundtracks were released from late 2001–2004. Despite the first being released slightly before "Suikoden III" and the last at around the same time as "Suikoden IV", the music was always taken from music in "Suikoden", "Suikoden II", "Suikoden III", and (rarely) the "Suikogaiden" side-stories.

Publications, adaptations, and other material.

Many publications, such as the "Suikoden World Guide" and "Suikoden Encyclopedia", exist for the "Suikoden" series, though the majority are only in Japanese. "Suikoden" and "Suikoden II" have light novel adaptations written by Shinjiro Hori released only in Japan. "Suikoden III" was adapted into a manga by Aki Shimizu, which was released in English markets by Tokyopop.  The protagonist of "Suikoden I" is one of the characters in this game.  The protagonist of "Suikoden I" is one of the selectable characters in this game.

Though the "Suikoden" games follow an irregular chronological sequence of events, the entire series (except for "Tierkreis" and "Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki") takes place within the same world among continuing and overlapping histories. In some cases, several characters appear in multiple installments.

是日本游戏软件公司科乐美发售的角色扮演游戏系列。以中国四大奇书之一的「水浒传」作为题材蓝本。


曼努埃尔一世 (特拉比松帝国)

Manuel and the Mongols.

In 1243, a Trapezuntine army is recorded as assisting the Seljuk Turks, along with a detachment from the Nicaean Empire, against the Mongols of Persia at the Battle of Köse Dağ. Despite this, the Seljuk forces were shattered, and both the Seljuks and their allies had to settle their own submission to the victorious Mongols. Manuel visited in person the court of the Great Khan Güyük as early as 1246; this was an important act, as Rustam Shukurov notes, for the personal visit of a vassal ruler to the Khan’s camp was regarded as an indispensable ceremony; it brought these persons into the "family" of the Great Khan. "Seljuk Anatolia was under tight Mongol control," Shukurov writes. "Any serious change in social and political life (including appointments to key offices) required Mongol approval and sanction, which was embodied, in particular, in "yarlighs"."  On 24 June 1254, Manuel recaptured Sinope, and made Ghadras "archon" of the Black Sea port. Kurškanskis suggests that Manuel had obtained a "yarligh" prior to this attack, although he admits doing so would have been inconsistent with the practices of the Grand Komnenes. For the years Manuel held this port, the Seljuk Turks were landlocked, making Trebizond once again the major naval power in the Black Sea.  Shukurov argues with Kurškanskis that Manuel had been given a "yarligh" by the Ilkhanite Mongols to recover Sinope, and argues further that it was done to embarrass the Golden Horde, who were the masters of the Seljuk Turks; the governor of Sinope at the time Manuel captured the port was "ra’is al-bahr" Shuja al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman, the Seljuk naval commander-in-chief, who had taken part in the Seljuk embassy to Batu Khan, ruler of the Golden Horde in 1253, where he received Batu's "yarligh" investing him with the office of "na'ib". A few years later, in October 1256, one of the three brothers who inherited the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, Kaykaus II, was defeated by Baiju and fled to sanctuary in the Nicaean Empire, moving Anatolia from the sphere the Golden Horde controlled firmly into the Ilkhanite.  Manuel Megas Komnenos died in March 1263, having "recommended and chosen"—to use Panaretos' words—his oldest son Andronikos as his successor.

Embassy to Louis IX of France.

In 1253, Manuel sent envoys to King Louis IX of France, who was then at Sidon after his defeat at the Battle of Fariskur, seeking to marry a daughter of his house. "The King had no French princesses with him on the crusade," writes William Miller, "but recommended Manuel to make a matrimonial alliance with the Latin Empire of Constantinople, to which the aid of'so great and rich a man' would be useful against Vatatzes, the Greek Emperor of Nicaea." Jean de Joinville testifies to Manuel's wealth, stating he sent Louis "a present of various jewels, and also, among other things, some bows made of cornel-wood. The notches for the shafts were screwed into the bows, and when these shafts were loosed, you could see they were very sharp and well-made."  Although Miller fails to offer a reason for Manuel's overtures to King Louis, two more recent writers have, and these are not exclusive. Kuršanskis has pointed out that the timing of the embassy would make sense if his first wife, a Trapezuntine noblewoman Anna Xylaloe, had died before that year and thought a matrimonial alliance with the French king was desirable; and after Louis sent his regrets, Manuel wed Irene Syrikaina. If this is correct, it provides a badly-needed anchor point in the chronology of Manuel's Life. The other possible reason was suggested by Rustam Shukurov: it is well known that Manuel's Mongol overlords were favorable towards Christianity, and perhaps Manuel was encouraged by this favor to seek a connection with the "undisputed head of the crusader movement and indefatigable warrior against Islam."

Manuel's coinage.

Manuel's reign is notable for being the first Emperor of Trebizond to issue large numbers of coins. This is important for two reasons: the first is that issuing coins in a precious metal, such as silver or gold, is commonly considered a demonstration of sovereignty by a ruler; the second is that the volume of coins issued by a ruler is frequently used as an indicator of economic activity. Although some copper scyphates have been identified as coming from Andronikos I Gidos' mint, according to Otto Retowski over 200 types of silver aspers—the characteristic coin of the Empire—were struck then, more than any other ruler of Trebizond, in addition to other silver and bronze currency. (John II is a distant second, having struck around 138 types of aspers during his reign.) Trapezuntine coins circulated widely outside the empire, especially in Georgia. His coins became so common there that his name became the generic word in Georgian for money; "kirmaneoul" is derived from "kuros' Manuel" or "Caesar Manuel".  The cause of this sudden explosion in the volume of currency is not clearly known. Certainly not all of them came from Manuel's silversmiths. Both Wroth and Retowski identified a number of coins minted as imitations in Georgia to meet demand there. Michel Kuršanskis has suggested some of these types were struck during the reigns of Manuel's successors—Andronikos and George—because their Mongol overlords forbade them from minting silver coins in their own names. Nevertheless, this leaves the vast majority of the coins with his name on them as being struck during his reign.  Some writers attribute this large number of aspers to a change in the route of the Silk Road during Manuel's reign. The destruction of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan in 1258 revived the trade route running north from Armenia and the upper Euphrates valley to Erzerum and then through the Zigana Pass to Trebizond, instead of to the Mediterranean. However, Anthony Bryer has pointed out the volume of trade carried on this route was minuscule, and taxes and duties extracted from the goods passing through Trebizond (known as the "kommerkion") would at most have been 30% of the Empire's total revenues in a busy year, and more often 6%. Another author has pointed out that the silver mines in the region of Gümüşhane were within the borders of the Empire of Trebizond during the 13th century, and could provide the raw material for these coins; but further investigation has shown that these silver mines were not heavily exploited before the 18th century. Kuršanskis has suggested that these coins represent the tribute extracted by the dominant Mongols of Persia, although this does not explain the care taken in minting all of these coins: most of this tribute would, following its delivery to the Mongol overlords, have been melted down and either used to produce other coins or jewelry.

Legacy.

Manuel rebuilt the Hagia Sophia monastery in Trebizond between 1250 and 1260. Eastmond describes Manuel's church as "the finest surviving Byzantine imperial monument of its period." When Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 he unsuccessfully demanded that Manuel abandon his claim to the title of "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans", the one commonly used by the Byzantine Emperors.

Family and succession.

Manuel was the second son of Alexios I, the first emperor of Trebizond; his older brother, John I Axouchos, was his predecessor as Emperor. During the Siege of Sinope, one of the sources states that Alexios has "grown sons in Trebizond who are capable of governing", so it is likely that Manuel was born before 1214.  Manuel had children by three different women; four of his children reigned after him. Older scholars, like Miller and Finlay, assumed all three women were his wives, but more recently Michel Kuršanskis has argued that only two were his wives, and that Rusudan of Georgia was simply his mistress.  By his first wife, Anna Xylaloe, a Trapezuntine noblewoman he had: By Rusudan of Georgia, he had: By his Irene Syrikaina, his last wife and another Trapezuntine noblewoman, he had four known children:

Manuel I Megas Komnenos (Greek: Μανουήλ Α ́ Μέγας Κομνηνός, "Manouēl I Megas Komnēnos") (died March 1263) was an Emperor of Trebizond, from 1238 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Alexios I and his wife, Theodora. At the time Manuel reigned, the Empire of Trebizond comprised a band of territory stretching along the southern coast of the Black Sea. Although Michael Panaretos, a 14th-century Trapezuntine chronicler, calls Manuel "the greatest general and the most fortunate" and states he ruled "virtuously in the eyes of God", the only event he documents for Manuel's reign is a catastrophic fire striking the city of Trebizond in January 1253. The major events of his reign are known from external sources, most important of which is the recovery of Sinope in 1254, which had been lost to the Sultanate of Rum forty years before.

曼努埃尔一世·梅加斯·科穆宁(,拉丁化:Manouēl I Megas Komnēnos,约1218年-1263年3月),是特拉比松帝国的君主(1238-1263年3月在位)。他是国王阿历克塞一世的次子。


Family background.

Fa Zheng's ancestral home was in Mei County (), Youfufeng Commandery (), which is in present-day Mei County, Shaanxi. His ancestor was Tian Fazhang, who is historically known as King Xiang of the Qi state in the Warring States period. Tian Fazhang's descendants changed their family name from "Tian" to "Fa" after the fall of Qi in 221 BCE.  Fa Zheng's great-grandfather, Fa Xiong, served as the Administrator () of Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) during the reign of Emperor An in the Eastern Han dynasty. Fa Zheng's grandfather, Fa Zhen, was a reclusive scholar known for his lofty character; despite being a learned scholar, he led a humble life and repeatedly rejected offers to serve in the government. Fa Zheng's father, Fa Yan (), whose courtesy name was Jimou (), also served as a government official and held the positions of an assistant to the Excellency over the Masses () and the Minister of Justice ().

Service under Liu Zhang.

In the early Jian'an era (196–220) of the reign of Emperor Xian, when famines broke out, Fa Zheng and his friend Meng Da travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) to join the provincial governor, Liu Zhang. Although Fa Zheng served as the Prefect () of Xindu County () and later as a Colonel Who Advises the Army () under Liu Zhang, he felt alienated because he neither held any important appointments nor made any significant achievements in his career under Liu Zhang. Besides, some of his fellows from Youfufeng, who had also moved to Yi Province, spoke ill of him in front of Liu Zhang. He maintained a close friendship with his colleague Zhang Song, who shared the same views as him about Liu Zhang being an incompetent and incapable governor.  In 208, Zhang Song travelled to Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to meet the warlord Cao Cao, who controlled the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian. After returning to Yi Province, Zhang Song advised Liu Zhang to break ties with Cao Cao and build friendly relations with another warlord, Liu Bei. When Zhang Song recommended Fa Zheng to be Liu Zhang's representative to meet Liu Bei, Fa initially refused to accept the task but eventually relented. When Fa Zheng returned from his mission, he told Zhang Song that Liu Bei had grand ambitions and persuaded Zhang to follow him to serve Liu Bei.  Their opportunity came in 211, when Liu Zhang became fearful upon receiving news that Cao Cao was planning to attack the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. As Hanzhong Commandery was located strategically at the northern route leading into Yi Province, Liu Zhang would be in great peril if Hanzhong fell into Cao Cao's hands. Zhang Song proposed to Liu Zhang to invite Liu Bei to Yi Province to assist them in countering the threat posed by Cao Cao. Liu Zhang agreed and sent Fa Zheng as his envoy to contact Liu Bei. When Fa Zheng met Liu Bei, he secretly told him, "General, with your brilliance, you can overcome our incompetent and weak Governor Liu. Zhang Song, as a trusted adviser (of Liu Zhang), will serve as your spy. Upon acquiring Yi Province's wealth and resources, and having its natural barriers as protection, you can easily realise your grand ambitions." Liu Bei accepted Fa Zheng's advice and led his forces into Yi Province, where he met Liu Zhang at Fu County (涪縣; present-day Fucheng District, Mianyang, Sichuan). Liu Bei then led his troops north to Jiameng (葭萌; located about 20 km northeast of present-day Jiange County, Sichuan) before turning south to attack Liu Zhang later.

Helping Liu Bei seize Yi Province from Liu Zhang.

Upon receiving news of Liu Bei's attack, Zheng Du (), an assistant officer from Guanghan Commandery (廣漢郡; around present-day Guanghan, Sichuan) serving under Liu Zhang, pointed out to his lord that Liu Bei's army lacked supplies and was composed of newly recruited soldiers who might not be loyal to him. He suggested that Liu Zhang adopt a scorched earth policy against Liu Bei by forcing the residents of Baxi () and Zitong () commanderies to relocate elsewhere and destroy all the granaries and supply depots in the commanderies, and then fortify their defences while avoiding direct conflict with Liu Bei. He claimed that if this strategy was implemented, Liu Bei would run out of supplies within 100 days and retreat, and then Liu Zhang could attack him while he was retreating. Liu Bei felt frustrated when he heard about Zheng Du's plan and consulted Fa Zheng about it. Fa Zheng predicted that Liu Zhang would not heed Zheng Du's suggestion and was proven right: In response to Zheng Du's plan, Liu Zhang not only rejected it on the grounds that it would cause disturbance to the people, but also dismissed Zheng from office.  In 214, when Liu Bei's army surrounded Luocheng (), one of Liu Zhang's strongholds, Fa Zheng wrote a long letter to his former lord, pointing out that Liu Zhang was already in a highly disadvantageous position and urging him to give up resistance and surrender to Liu Bei.  Later that year, when Liu Bei's forces was besieging Yi Province's capital Chengdu, Xu Jing, a commandery Administrator serving under Liu Zhang, planned to surrender and defect to Liu Bei, but his plan was leaked out and hence aborted. Liu Zhang felt that he was already at the brink of destruction so he did not punish Xu Jing. He eventually surrendered and relinquished his control of Yi Province to Liu Bei. After taking over Yi Province, Liu Bei treated Xu Jing coldly because he felt that Xu was a disloyal person. Fa Zheng advised him, "Xu Jing is someone with an exaggerated reputation. However, my lord, you've recently built your foundation and you can't possibly explain the facts to everyone. Xu Jing's name is already well known throughout the Empire. If you don't treat him respectfully, others might think that you're belittling talented and virtuous people. You should honour and respect him, and make this known to everyone, just like how the King of Yan treated Guo Wei (郭隗)." Liu Bei followed Fa Zheng's advice and treated Xu Jing generously.

Service under Liu Bei.

Abuse of power.

Liu Bei appointed Fa Zheng as the Administrator () of Shu Commandery () and General Who Spreads Martial Might (). Fa Zheng oversaw administrative affairs in the vicinity of Yi Province's capital Chengdu and served as Liu Bei's chief adviser.  During this period of time, he abused his power by taking revenge against those who offended him before, and by killing them without reason. Some officials approached Zhuge Liang, another of Liu Bei's key advisers, and urged him to report Fa Zheng's lawless behaviour to their lord and take action against him. However, Zhuge Liang replied, "When our lord was in Gong'an, he was wary of Cao Cao's influence in the north and fearful of Sun Quan's presence in the east. Even in home territory he was afraid that Lady Sun might stir up trouble. He was in such a difficult situation at the time that he could neither advance nor retreat. Fa Xiaozhi supported and helped him so much, such that he is now able to fly high and no longer remain under others' influence. How can we stop Fa Zheng from behaving as he wishes?" Zhuge Liang was aware that Liu Bei favoured and trusted Fa Zheng, which was why he refused to intervene in this matter.  The historian Sun Sheng criticised Zhuge Liang's attitude towards Fa Zheng's abuse of power and called it a "lapse in justice". He felt that no subject should be above the law, regardless of how great his past contributions were.

Role in the Hanzhong Campaign.

In 217, Fa Zheng urged Liu Bei to attack Hanzhong Commandery, which was originally under Zhang Lu's control but was conquered by Cao Cao in 215. He pointed out Hanzhong's strategic importance and said that it was an opportune moment for Liu Bei to seize Hanzhong from Cao Cao's generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. Liu Bei accepted his plan and started the Hanzhong Campaign.  In 219, during the Battle of Mount Dingjun, when Xiahou Yuan led troops to attack Liu Bei's camps at Dingjun and Xingshi mountains, Fa Zheng suggested Liu Bei to strike the enemy. Liu Bei ordered his general Huang Zhong to lead his men on a charge down the mountain towards Xiahou Yuan's forces, with war drums beating in the background. Huang Zhong defeated and killed Xiahou Yuan in the midst of battle.  Later, when Cao Cao was leading his forces from Chang'an to reinforce Hanzhong, he received news about the strategy proposed by Fa Zheng to Liu Bei to attack Hanzhong. He remarked, "I know Xuande (Liu Bei) is not capable of doing this. He must be following somebody's advice." The historian Pei Songzhi commented that Cao Cao made that remark – which suggests that Liu Bei was not wise enough to notice Hanzhong's strategic importance – because of his personal disdain for Liu, and that it should not be taken seriously. He felt that a lord acting on his adviser's suggestion should not be interpreted as a sign that the lord was not wise enough to make his own judgment. He pointed out that Cao Cao himself also followed the advice of his adviser Guo Jia.

Death and postmortem events.

In 219, after Liu Bei emerged victorious in the Hanzhong Campaign, he declared himself "King of Hanzhong" () and appointed Fa Zheng as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing () and General Who Protects the Army (). Fa Zheng died in the following year at the age of 45 (by East Asian age reckoning). Liu Bei cried for days when Fa Zheng died and awarded Fa the posthumous title "Marquis Yi" (), which literally means "marquis of the flank". Fa Zheng's son, Fa Miao (), received the title of a Secondary Marquis () and served as a Commandant of Equipage () and the Administrator of Hanyang Commandery () in the state of Shu Han, which Liu Bei established in 221.  Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang did not share the same moral beliefs but they had a good working relationship because of their common goal, which was to serve Liu Bei well. Zhuge Liang was very impressed with Fa Zheng's brilliance. In 221, before the Battle of Xiaoting, many of Liu Bei's subjects advised their lord against going to war with his former ally, Sun Quan, who seized Jing Province from Liu in 219 and executed Liu's general Guan Yu. Liu Bei ignored them and proceeded with his campaign against Sun Quan. In the following year, he lost to Sun Quan's forces at the Battle of Xiaoting and had to retreat to Baidicheng, where he died in 223. Zhuge Liang sighed, "If Fa Xiaozhi was still alive, he could have prevented our lord from going on this eastern campaign; even if our lord did go on this campaign, he wouldn't have ended up in this disastrous situation (if Fa Xiaozhi was with him)."  Zhuge Liang might be right about Fa Zheng, as inferred from an incident during the Hanzhong Campaign. During one battle, when the odds turned against Liu Bei, Liu's subjects urged their lord to retreat but he stubbornly refused. They did not dare to advise him again for fear of incurring his wrath. Fa Zheng rushed forth and stood in front of Liu Bei when Cao Cao's forces rained arrows on their camp. Liu Bei told Fa Zheng to stay under cover to avoid the arrows, but Fa insisted on braving the arrows with his lord. Liu Bei then decided to retreat together with Fa Zheng.

Appraisal.

Chen Shou, who wrote Fa Zheng's biography in the "Sanguozhi", appraised Fa as follows: "Fa Zheng clearly foresaw success and failure, and conceived brilliant strategies and plans, but was not known to be of good moral character. In comparison with officials from (Cao) Wei, if Pang Tong was second to Xun Yu, Fa Zheng should be comparable to Cheng (Yu) and Guo (Jia)."

In popular culture.

Fa Zheng became a playable character in Koei's "".

Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in the late 190s and became a subordinate of Liu Zhang, the provincial governor. However, his feelings of alienation and perception of Liu Zhang as an incompetent governor eventually led him to betray Liu Zhang and defect to Liu Bei in 211. Between 211 and 214, Fa Zheng assisted Liu Bei in overcoming Liu Zhang and seizing control of Yi Province, and became one of Liu Bei's most trusted advisers. In 217, he urged Liu Bei to launch the Hanzhong Campaign to capture the strategic Hanzhong Commandery from a rival warlord, Cao Cao, but died a year after Liu emerged victorious in the campaign.

法正(176年-220年),字孝直。东汉司隶右扶风郿(今陕西眉县)人,三国时蜀汉重臣;代表作为定军山之战策划袭杀夏侯渊。刘备在世时,惟独法正有谥号,死后追谥为翼侯。与曹魏谋士程昱和郭嘉一样有性格缺陷(程昱太刚直易得罪人、郭嘉行为不检、法正则是<unk>眦必报),但同样善策奇谋,故陈寿誉其可比二人。


Life.

Little is known about Chunyu's background other than that in 188, he was the Right Colonel (右校尉) in the newly created Army of the Western Garden along with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. He may have left the capital at around the same time as Yuan Shao and joined the coalition against Dong Zhuo in 190. It is clear that by the end of the decade, Chunyu Qiong had become one of Yuan Shao's leading and most trusted military officers. In a later memorial submitted by Cao Cao, he is referred to as "a great officer under Yuan Shao".  In 195, Yuan Shao's strategist Ju Shou suggested that he welcome Emperor Xian to his province so that he could effectively be in control of the imperial government, but Chunyu Qiong opposed — under the faulty logic that if he did, he would have to yield to Emperor Xian on key decisions. Yuan Shao listened to Chunyu Qiong and gave up the chance to Cao Cao.  In 200, Cao Cao had become Yuan Shao's main rival for domination of northern China. In the preparations for the clash, Chunyu Qiong sided with Guo Tu against Ju Shou, calling for a more aggressive strategy against Cao Cao. As a result, he was given command of a third of Yuan Shao's army along with Guo. In the spring of 200, he joined Guo Tu and Yan Liang in an attack on Boma, held by Cao Cao's general Liu Yan.  In the latter stages of the Battle of Guandu, Chunyu Qiong led more than 10,000 troops to Wuchao (烏巢), about 40 "li" north of Yuan Shao's main camp, to receive a new shipment of grain supplies. In early dawn, he was surprised by a raid led by Cao Cao himself. Yuan Shao's cavalry were routed, Wuchao was captured, and Chunyu Qiong was beheaded after the battle.  According to the "Cao Man Zhuan", during the battle, his nose was cut off, and he was brought to Cao Cao, who asked him, "What do you have to say for yourself?" Chunyu Qiong replied: "Heaven decides the victor, what need have you to ask?" Impressed by the answer, Cao Cao wanted to spare his life, but Xu You urged Cao Cao to kill Chunyu Qiong, saying that Chunyu Qiong would take revenge later on him for cutting off his nose. Cao Cao then ordered Chunyu Qiong to be executed.  With the fall of Wuchao, Yuan Shao's positions collapsed and a number of his commanders, such as Gao Lan (高覽) and Zhang He, defected to Cao Cao. Chunyu Qiong's defeat at Wuchao has earned him a reputation in Chinese folklore as a commander without any real ability.

In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

In the 14th-century historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Chunyu Qiong was described as a heavy drinker and often seen with a bottle of wine. During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao left Chunyu Qiong as the overseer of the important supply depot in Wuchao. When Cao Cao, who listened to Xu You's advice, found the depot, Chunyu Qiong was drunk at the time and failed to put up any significant defence. This resulted in Cao Cao succeeding in burning down the supply depot. Afterwards, Cao Cao mutilated Chunyu Qiong's face and sent him back to Yuan Shao. The furious Yuan Shao ordered Chunyu Qiong's execution.

Chunyu Qiong (died 200), courtesy name Zhongjian, was a military officer serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He played a significant part in the Battle of Guandu in 200.

淳-{于}-琼(146年-200年),字仲简,颍川人。汉朝末期政治人物。为袁绍大将,与张郃、高览齐名。在官渡之战时镇守乌巢,遭到曹操的偷袭而惨败,自己也被曹操处斩。


Family background.

Dong Yun's ancestors were originally from Jiangzhou (江州; in present-day Chongqing), but they migrated to Zhijiang County () in Nan Commandery (), which is present-day Zhijiang, Hubei, and designated Zhijiang as their ancestral home.  Dong Yun's father, Dong He, previously served as an official under Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), during the late Eastern Han dynasty before switching allegiance to Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period.

As an attendant to the crown prince.

In 221, after Liu Bei named his son Liu Shan as his crown prince, he appointed Dong Yun as an attendant to the newly anointed heir apparent.

Earning praise from Zhuge Liang.

After Liu Shan became emperor of Shu in 223 following his father's death, he appointed Dong Yun as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate ().  In 227, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, mobilised military forces from throughout Shu in preparation for a large-scale campaign against Shu's rival state Wei in the following year. As the troops gathered at the staging area in Hanzhong Commandery, Zhuge Liang was worried that Liu Shan was still young and not mature enough to make good judgments. He thus decided to put Dong Yun in charge of internal affairs in the Shu capital Chengdu because he believed that Dong Yun would perform his duties in a professional and impartial manner.  In his "Chu Shi Biao" (literally "memorial on the case to go to war"), Zhuge Liang named Dong Yun, Fei Yi and Guo Youzhi as examples of trustworthy, loyal and competent officials who could provide good advice and assist Liu Shan in governing Shu more effectively.

As a Palace Attendant.

Not long later, Zhuge Liang nominated Dong Yun to serve as a Palace Attendant (), commissioned him as a General of the Household () and put him in command of the "huben" division of the imperial guards. As his colleague Guo Youzhi, who also held the position of a Palace Attendant, tended to be mild-tempered and non-confrontational when dealing with people, the burden of advising the emperor Liu Shan and speaking up on difficult issues largely rested on Dong Yun's shoulders. Dong Yun performed his duties well and did his best to plan ahead and preempt problems that could possibly arise.

Objecting to Liu Shan's plan to expand his harem.

When Liu Shan wanted to have more concubines, Dong Yun pointed out that his imperial harem was already full and reminded him that according to historical precedent a ruler should have no more than 12 women in his harem. He also firmly refused to carry out the emperor's order to search for more women to join the harem. Liu Shan, unable to get what he wanted, resented and feared Dong Yun.

Rejecting a peerage.

Jiang Wan, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing () and Inspector of Yi Province (), once wrote a memorial to Liu Shan to express his wish to step down and let Fei Yi and Dong Yun succeed him. He also wrote: "(Dong) Yun has served in the palace for many years and done his best to support and uphold the dynasty. He should be awarded a peerage to honour him for his contributions." However, Dong Yun declined to accept a peerage.

Keeping Huang Hao in check.

As Liu Shan grew older, he started to favour the palace eunuch Huang Hao, who actively fawned on the emperor in a concerted attempt to rise to higher positions and gain greater power in the Shu government. When Dong Yun learnt about this, he openly criticised the emperor for showing favouritism towards Huang Hao and, at the same time, severely reprimanded the eunuch for his behaviour. Huang Hao feared Dong Yun so he did not dare to cause any trouble; he also never made it to any position higher than that of an Assistant of the Yellow Gate () while Dong Yun was still alive.

Treating his colleagues with respect.

On one occasion, when Dong Yun was about to leave his residence for a casual hang-out with his friends Fei Yi, Hu Ji and others, he heard that a junior colleague, Dong Hui (), had come to visit and consult him. After seeing that Dong Yun already had an appointment and was about to board the carriage, Dong Hui said he would come back again another time and prepared to leave.  Dong Yun stopped him and said: "I am just hanging out with my friends. I think you made a trip here to share some brilliant ideas with me. It would be rude of me to ignore you just so that i can go out with my friends." He then got off the carriage. Fei Yi and the others also cancelled their hang-out. Dong Yun earned praise for his courteous and respectful attitude towards his colleagues and people of talent.

As Prefect of the Masters of Writing.

Dong Yun was given the additional appointment of General Who Assists the State () in 243. In the following year, he was promoted to the position of Prefect of the Masters of Writing () while concurrently holding the appointment of a Palace Attendant (). He also served as a deputy to Fei Yi, who held the position of General-in-Chief ().

Death and legacy.

Dong Yun died in 246. At the time, the people of Shu named Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Dong Yun as the four heroic chancellors of their state.  After Dong Yun's death, Chen Zhi, whom the Shu emperor Liu Shan favoured, replaced him as a Palace Attendant (). Chen Zhi then formed an alliance with the eunuch Huang Hao to dominate the political scene in Shu. Both of them shared power until Chen Zhi died in 258, leaving Huang Hao solely in control. Since Chen Zhi became one of his most favoured officials, Liu Shan gradually began to resent Dong Yun and see him as "arrogant and disrespectful". Chen Zhi and Huang Hao also often spoke ill of Dong Yun in front of Liu Shan and make the emperor hate Dong Yun even more. Dong Yun's death marked the beginning of Huang Hao's rise to power and a trend of increasing corruption in the Shu government. The people of Shu longed to return to the times when Dong Yun was in power.

Descendants.

Dong Yun's grandson, Dong Hong (), served as the Administrator of Baxi Commandery during the Jin dynasty.

Dong Yun (died 246), courtesy name Xiuzhao, was a Chinese general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. His father, Dong He, also served as an official in Shu. Dong Yun was one of four persons who held positions equivalent to a head of government in Shu from 221 to 253; the other three were Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi.

董允(?-246年),字休昭,三国时期蜀汉的大臣,与蒋琬、费祎在诸葛亮逝世后同掌蜀汉军政。董允在世时,黄皓畏惧董允而不敢作歹。


弗拉基米尔·格奥尔基耶维奇·季托夫

Education.

Graduated from secondary school in 1965, from the Higher Air Force College in Chernihiv in Ukraine in 1970, and the Gagarin Air Force Academy in 1987.

Career.

In 1966, Titov enrolled at the Higher Air Force College in Chernihiv in Ukraine, graduating in 1970. Until 1974, he served at the College as a pilot-instructor and was responsible for the graduation of twelve student pilots. He later served as a flight commander with the air regiment where the cosmonauts carry out flying practice. He has flown 10 different types of aircraft, has logged more than 1,400 hours flying time, and holds the qualifications of Military Pilot, 1st Class, and Test Pilot, 3rd Class.  Titov was selected as a cosmonaut in 1976, and in September 1981 was paired with Gennady Strekalov. The two men served as the back-up crew for Soyuz T-5 in 1982 and Soyuz T-9 in 1983. A veteran of five missions, Titov served as commander on Soyuz T-8 and Soyuz T-10-1 in 1983 and Soyuz TM-4 in 1987, and flew on the crew of STS-63 in 1995 and STS-86 in 1997. He has logged a total of 18 hours, 48 minutes of EVA, and has spent a total of 387 days, 52 minutes, 18 seconds in space (including the Soyuz T-10-1 launch abort).  Titov made his first space flight on April 20, 1983, as commander of Soyuz T-8. He and Strekalov had been specifically trained to repair the faulty Salyut 7 solar array. He was supposed to dock with Salyut 7, but once in orbit the Soyuz rendezvous radar antenna failed to deploy properly. Several attitude control maneuvers at high rates were made but failed to swing the boom out. (The postflight inquiry later discovered that the antenna had been torn off when the Soyuz payload shroud separated.) With FCC permission, the crew attempted a rendezvous using only an optical sight and ground radar inputs for guidance. During the final approach, which was made in darkness, Titov believed that the closing speed was too great. He therefore attempted a braking maneuver, but felt that the two spacecraft were still closing too fast. He aborted the rendezvous to avoid a crash, and no further attempts were made before the three men returned to Earth after a flight lasting just 2 days, 17 minutes, 48 seconds  Titov and Strekalov were then scheduled for launch on board what should have been Soyuz T-10 on September 27, 1983. However, a valve in the propellant line failed to close at T−90 seconds, causing a large fire to start at the base of the launch vehicle only one minute before launch. The fire quickly engulfed the rocket, and the automatic abort sequence failed as the wires involved burned through. Two launch controllers manually aborted the mission by sending radio commands from the launch blockhouse. This was accomplished 12 seconds after the fire began. The Soyuz descent module was pulled clear by the launch escape system, and after being subjected to 15–17 G's, the crew landed safely some 2.5 miles (4 km) from the launch vehicle, which apparently exploded seconds after the Soyuz separated. The two men were given a medical check-up, but had sustained no injuries during their brief flight which lasted 5 minutes, 30 seconds.  Titov was next assigned to command Soyuz TM-2. He and his flight engineer, Alexander Serebrov, were scheduled for a long-duration flight on board Mir 1. Six days prior to launch, due to doubts about Serebrov's health, they were replaced by the back-up crew. Titov continued training for a long-duration mission, and in April 1987 was paired with Musa Manarov. Later that year, he graduated from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy while continuing his work at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.  His next assignment came as the commander of Soyuz TM-4, which launched on December 21, 1987. Together with Musa Manarov and Anatoli Levchenko, he linked up with the orbiting Mir 1 space station and her crew. After a short period of joint work, Romanenko, Alexandrov, and Levchenko returned to Earth handing over the space station to Titov and Manarov. The two men settled down to a long program of scientific experiments and observations, and played host to the visiting Soyuz TM-5 and TM-6 missions. At the end of the Soyuz TM-6 visit, one of its crew, Dr. Valeri Polyakov, remained on board with Titov and Manarov.  On February 26, 1988, the two cosmonauts carried out an EVA lasting 4 hours and 25 minutes, during which they removed one of the sections of the solar panel and installed a new one. They also installed some new scientific experiments and removed samples of material that had been left exposed to open space, and inspected the Progress 34 spacecraft.  On June 30, 1988, they attempted a repair on the Roentgen X-ray telescope. The telescope had not been designed for repair or replacement so the EVA was a difficult one. As they sliced through the 20-layer thick thermal blanket to expose the telescope's faulty X-ray detector unit, the two men had to stop and rest several times, as they had nowhere to anchor themselves, and had to take turns holding each other steady. Their bulky gloves made removing the small bolts very difficult, and it took 90 minutes instead of the 20 allocated. When a special wrench they were using suddenly snapped, the EVA had to be aborted, and the two men returned inside the Mir, having spent 5 hours, 10 minutes in open space.  On October 20, 1988, repairs were successfully completed, and the X-ray telescope recommenced operations. The cosmonauts also installed some anchor points for the EVA scheduled for the joint Soviet-French mission, installed a new shortwave aerial, and took samples of a film which had formed over one of the portholes, before returning inside the Mir after 4 hours and 12 minutes. They then settled down to their program of experiments and observations. In November 1988, they played host to the joint Soviet-French mission. After three weeks of joint work, Titov and Manarov returned to Earth together, along with the French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chrétien aboard Soyuz TM-6. Titov and Manarov returned to Earth after a mission lasting 365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes, setting a new record, and exceeding one year in space for the first time.  On October 28, 1992, NASA announced that an experienced cosmonaut would fly aboard the STS-60 Space Shuttle mission. Titov was one of two candidates named by the Russian Space Agency for mission specialist training at the Johnson Space Center. In April 1993, he was assigned as back-up mission specialist for Sergei Krikalev, who flew on STS-60, the first joint U.S./Russian Space Shuttle Mission (February 3 to 11, 1994). In September 1993, Titov was selected to fly on STS-63 with Krikalev training as his back-up.  From February 2 to 11, 1995, Titov was a mission specialist aboard the Orbiter Discovery, on STS-63, the first flight of the new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian Space Station Mir, operation of Spacehab, and the deployment and retrieval of Spartan 204. In completing this mission, he logged an additional 8 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes in space.  Titov served on the crew of STS-86 Atlantis (September 25 to October 6, 1997) NASA's seventh mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. Highlights included the exchange of U.S. crew members Mike Foale and David Wolf, the transfer to Mir of 10,400 pounds of science and logistics, and the return of experiment hardware and results to Earth. Vladimir Titov and Scott Parazynski performed a 5-hour, 1-minute spacewalk during which they retrieved four experiments first deployed on Mir during the STS-86 docking mission, tethered the Solar Array Cap for use in a future Mir spacewalk to seal any hole found in the hull of the damaged Spektr module, and evaluated common EVA tools which may be used by astronauts wearing either Russian or American-made spacesuits. Mission accomplished in 169 orbits in 10 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes.  Titov retired from the Air Force and the Russian Space Agency in 1998. In 1998 he became Director of Space and Communications for the Boeing Company in Moscow, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. He is currently serving as General Director, Russian Operations of Excalibur Almaz.  Foreign awards:

Awards and honors.

In 1990, Titov and Musa Manarov were awarded the U.S. Harmon Prize — the first Soviet citizens to win the award — in recognition of their world endurance record.

Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov (; born 1 January 1947 in Sretensk, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia) is a retired Russian Air Force Colonel and former cosmonaut. He has participated in four spaceflight missions. The catastrophic explosion of a Soyuz rocket in 1983 led to him being one of only four people to use a launch escape system. He is married to Alexandra Kozlova, they have two children.

弗拉基米尔·格奥尔基耶维奇·季托夫(,1947年-1月1日)是前苏联时代的宇航员。


Background.

In November 218, Hou Yin (), a military officer under Cao Cao, started a rebellion in Wan (宛; in present-day Nanyang, Henan) with his deputy Wei Kai () and several thousand troops, and they requested help from Guan Yu. By February 219, Cao Ren, a general under Cao Cao, had crushed the rebellion and killed Hou Yin and Wei Kai. Guan Yu did not respond to the rebels' call for assistance. After taking Hanzhong Commandery by defeating Cao Cao in the Hanzhong Campaign in May 219, Liu Bei further expanded his territorial gains in June 219 by sending Meng Da and Liu Feng to take Fangling (房陵; present-day Fang County, Hubei) and Shangyong (上庸; north of present-day Zhushan County, Hubei) commanderies. Cao Cao was temporarily forced to be on the defensive after these continuous setbacks.  Realising the imminent attacks of Liu Bei and possibly Sun Quan, Cao Cao planned to launch a preemptive strike on southern Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), the eastern part of Liu Bei's territory defended by Guan Yu. The plan reasoned that Liu Bei could not continue his offensive in the north due to the need to consolidate his new gains, and so an attack into southern Jing Province would not be hindered by Liu Bei's invasion elsewhere. However, the plan was called off because Cao Cao's troops still needed time to recover, regroup, and re-supply from the campaign to suppress the rebellion of Hou Yin and Wei Kai, as well as from earlier setbacks in the struggles for Hanzhong Commandery. The worn-out troops were not ready for another campaign.

Battle.

Initial stages.

In July, 219, Guan Yu decided to launch an offensive of his own against Cao Cao to build on the conquest of Hanzhong. He ordered Mi Fang and Shi Ren to stay behind to guard Jiangling County and Gong'an County respectively during his absence, while he personally led Liu Bei's forces in southern Jing Province to attack Cao Cao's strongholds in the north.  The campaign's objective was not clearly stated, but Guan Yu led his army along the Han River northward until he laid siege to Fancheng (present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei). From the advance route and the fact that Guan Yu chose to concentrate his main forces on Fancheng, his primary objective was believed to be the conquest of Nanyang Commandery (around present-day Nanyang, Henan). Initially, the cities being attacked were not heavily guarded, as Cao Ren at Fancheng and Lü Chang () at Xiangyang were both surrounded. Therefore, Cao Cao ordered Yu Jin to aid Cao Ren. After pitching camp on a lower ground about 4 km north to Fancheng, Yu Jin started to prepare a counteroffensive. Eager to prove his loyalty as he was suspected by others, Cao Cao's general Pang De volunteered to lead a detachment to engage Guan Yu, successfully forcing the latter to retreat several times. On one occasion, Pang De fired an arrow that became embedded in Guan Yu's helm. Since then Pang De was widely known and feared among the enemy as "General White Horse" because of the white steed he rode into battle.  Although Guan Yu could not defeat Pang De in battle, he nevertheless held firm control over the water routes around the area and maintained the encirclement of Fancheng. A few setbacks were far from enough to discourage Guan Yu.

Turning of the tide.

In August, heavy rains caused the Han River to flood. Forces under the command of Yu Jin and Pang De were completely annihilated by the natural disaster, suffering at least 40,000 fatalities, and another 30,000 were captured by Guan Yu's navy. Pang De and Yu Jin were both captured; Yu Jin begged for his life and surrendered, while Pang De refused to surrender and was executed. Cao Ren, with several thousand of his surviving troops were forced on the defensive by staying behind the safety of the walls. At the time, Xu Huang, who was stationed in Wancheng with his force purely consisting of new recruits, was only able to set up defensive fortifications instead of venturing out to relieve Cao Ren. Sensing the tides changing, the Inspector of Jing Province (the position that had the authority to raise troops from within the entire Jing Province), Hu Xiu (), and Cao Cao's Administrator of Nan Town (Nan Town was located southeast of present-day Xichuan County, Henan), Fu Fang (), both defected to Guan Yu. The rebel leaders of Liang (), Jia (), and Luhun (陸渾, located southeast of present-day Song County, Henan) counties also officially accepted Guan Yu's command.  Guan Yu's threat to Cao Cao after his initial success was so immense that Cao Cao once considered relocating the capital. When Cao Cao asked his advisers for input, Sima Yi and Jiang Ji strongly opposed. They pointed out that the alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan was shaky at best due to the feuding over control of Jing Province, and Sun Quan would definitely be unhappy to see Guan Yu's success. They suggested that Cao Cao send an emissary to Sun Quan to recognise the latter's control over Jiangnan should Sun Quan agree to flank Guan Yu's rear.  Initially, Sun Quan sent an emissary to Guan Yu relating his wish for a marriage be arranged between his own son and Guan's daughter. However, Guan Yu insulted the emissary and rejected the marriage proposal, infuriating Sun Quan, an ally Liu Bei could not afford to lose. The initial victory also proved to be the prelude to catastrophe for Guan Yu because it had made him overconfident. Guan Yu lacked the experience to handle a huge army, especially one with the size under his command at the time, when his force nearly doubled as 30,000 troops captured in his earlier victory joined his army. In order to feed his army, Guan Yu sent out troops to confiscate, by force, grains stored by Sun Quan in the local border region. This further irritated Sun Quan, and coupled with Guan Yu's rejection of Sun Quan's marriage proposal and insult, Sun Quan made up his mind to sever the alliance with Liu Bei.  At the outbreak of the battle, Liu Bei controlled three commanderies in southern Jing Province: Nan, Lingling, and Wuling.

Stalemate.

After the taking of Sun Quan's food supply, Guan Yu further ordered reinforcements from Jiangling and Gong'an to lay siege to the now flooded Fancheng. With only several thousand troops left, Cao Ren was also plagued by low food supplies, so he considered abandoning Fancheng. Someone also urged him to escape while there was still time, since Guan Yu's forces had not completely surrounded Fancheng yet. Man Chong, the Administrator of Runan, disagreed and said, "The floodwaters may be flowing very fast, but the flood might not last long. Guan Yu had already sent a detachment of troops from his army to station at Jia County (<unk>縣). There is already much panic and fear among the people living in the lands south of Xu County. Guan Yu doesn't dare to advance further because he's worried that his base (in southern Jing Province) will come under attack. If we abandon Fancheng and leave, we'll end up losing all the territories south of the river. Sir, you should continue to hold up here." Cao Ren agreed with him. Man Chong drowned his horse and pledged to stay with the soldiers in Fancheng to the end. Cao Ren also strengthened Fancheng's defences, increasing the number of his troops to over 10,000 by drafting every available man in the city and going around the city rallying his soldiers.  As Xu Huang was ordered to reinforce Cao Ren, Cao Cao sent two officers, Xu Shang () and Lü Jian () to lead additional reinforcements to join Xu Huang, ordering the latter not to attack until all of the reinforcement sent to him had arrived. To wait for further reinforcements, Xu Huang pushed toward Yangling (), located to the north of Fancheng. As the majority of Cao Cao's force under Xu Huang's command consisted of new recruits, Xu faithfully carried out Cao Cao's order to restrain from attacking. Guan Yu was well aware of Xu Huang's situation, and coupled overconfidence from the earlier victory, he completely ignored Xu Huang's threat and committed a serious blunder by dividing his force and sending another army to Xiangyang, mistakenly believing that Fancheng would easily fall into his control. However, due to the defenders' strong and resolute defence, the city remained defiant.  Guan Yu made further strategic blunders by allowing his vanguard to advance too far ahead of his main force and not linking up with the vanguard promptly at a time when he could not afford to split his force. As a result, when the vanguard was around three miles to the north of Fancheng, there was a huge gap between it and the main army. Seizing the opportunity, Xu Huang faked the digging of a long trench, giving the false impression of cutting off Guan Yu's vanguard, which fell for the trick and retreated. Xu Huang's army therefore took the abandoned stronghold at Yan () and pressed further toward Guan Yu's main army. By this time, Xu Huang's force was large enough to pose a threat to Guan Yu, because 10,000 battle hardened veterans led by Yin Shu () and Zhu Gai () had joined Xu Huang.

Strategies.

During the stalemate, Cao Cao's emissary returned to Luoyang with a letter from Sun Quan, which informed Cao that Sun planned to attack Guan Yu from the rear in Jing Province. Sun Quan asked Cao Cao to keep this secret so that Guan Yu would not be prepared, and most of Cao Cao's advisers agreed with the plan. However, Dong Zhao objected, pointing out that Liu Bei and Sun Quan are both adversaries of Cao Cao despite the temporary submission of Sun Quan to Cao Cao. For the long term, it would be in the best interest of Cao Cao to weaken both adversaries, instead of letting one adversary become too strong. In the short term, if Guan Yu knew about Sun Quan's attack in his rear, he would certainly withdraw his army to reinforce his home base in Jing Province, and the siege of Fancheng would be lifted. In addition, Fancheng had been under siege for some period of time, and the morale of Cao Cao's forces was low. If this critical information was not passed along to the defenders, some people inside Fancheng might turn their back on Cao Cao, because food supplies were running out. Furthermore, Dong Zhao pointed out that even if Guan Yu knew Sun Quan's intention, he would not retreat swiftly because of his stubbornness and his confidence in the defence of Jiangling and Gong'an counties.  Cao Cao and others were convinced by Dong Zhao and did exactly what he had proposed: copies of Sun Quan's letter was tied to arrows, which were then shot into Fancheng and Guan Yu's camp by Xu Huang's archers. The defenders' morale increased, while Guan Yu was put in a dilemma: he did not want to abandon the attack on Cao Cao, because he believed that Jiangling and Gong'an counties, his rear bases, would not easily fall. Furthermore, if he (Guan Yu) succeeded in defeating the enemy defenders, Sun Quan would certainly exploit the opportunity to attack Cao Cao's weakened defences instead of attacking the three commanderies under Liu Bei, because it seemed to Guan Yu that Sun Quan had much more to gain in taking the vast region in the eastern region downstream the Yangtze River from Cao Cao than in taking Liu Bei's three commanderies. As Guan Yu was hesitating, Cao Cao personally led another reinforcement army to the battlefield, and had already reached Mobei (摩陂; southeast of present-day Jia County, Henan).

Conclusion.

The bulk of the forces under Guan Yu's command was camped in Weitou (), while the remaining camped in Sizhong (). Xu Huang spread word of an imminent attack on Weitou, but instead, he led his forces to strike Sizhong unexpectedly. Fearing the Sizhong camp would be lost, Guan Yu led 5,000 troops to the rescue, but the attack of Sizhong was only a decoy, as Guan Yu became ambushed by Xu Huang's men when he was on his way for the rescue mission. The defeated Guan Yu withdrew to his main camp, but Xu Huang's force followed closely behind and charged into Guan's main camp, successfully killing the defectors Hu Xiu and Fu Fang. With his camp overrun by the enemy, Guan Yu was forced to concede defeat by lifting the siege of Fancheng and retreating southward.  All of Cao Cao's commanders at the frontline believed that they should take advantage of the situation and pursue Guan Yu, except Zhao Yan (), who pointed out that they should not pursue Guan Yu because Guan's force should be left alone so that they could fight Sun Quan, thus weakening both Cao Cao's adversaries. Cao Ren agreed with Zhao Yan and did not pursue Guan Yu, and sure enough, when news of Guan Yu's retreat reached Cao Cao, he sent an emissary to Cao Ren, prohibiting him from giving a chase for exactly that reason.

Aftermath.

When Guan Yu returned south, he discovered that his rear bases in Jiangling and Gong'an counties had both surrendered to Lü Meng, the commander of Sun Quan's westward army. Lü Meng held hostage the wives and children of Guan Yu's men, but treated them and the citizenry of Jing Province with utmost care. Guan Yu's soldiers, hearing that Jing Province had fallen to Sun Quan and that their families were in good hands, lost their will to fight and deserted.  Guan Yu, with only a handful of men left, became isolated in Maicheng (麥城; southeast of present-day Dangyang, Hubei) with Sun Quan's forces on three sides and Cao Cao's in the north. As Guan Yu attempted to escape, he and his surviving followers, including his son Guan Ping and subordinate Zhao Lei (), were captured in an ambush near Zhang District () by Sun Quan's generals Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang. Guan Yu was later executed by Sun Quan at Linju (), along with Guan Ping and Zhao Lei.

In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

In the 14th-century historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the flooding of the Han River was not a natural occurrence, but instead, was planned by Guan Yu. Guan had the rivers dammed and the dam opened when it was full, thus drowning Cao Cao's armies in the lower plains. This event was known as the "Drowning of the Seven Armies" (). Pang De put up firm resistance and attempted to escape by swimming, but was captured by Guan Yu's subordinate Zhou Cang. In contrast, Yu Jin was depicted pleading for his life and surrendering to Guan Yu.  Several weeks later, Sun Quan, who had secretly allied with Cao Cao, attacked Guan Yu's army at Jiangling. Sun Quan surprised and defeated Guan Yu's forces there, forcing Guan to lift the siege on Fancheng and retreat. Guan Yu and his son, Guan Ping, while fleeing to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), were caught and executed by Sun Quan's soldiers.

In popular culture.

In Koei's video games "Dynasty Warriors 4" and "Dynasty Warriors 5", Guan Yu is depicted as simultaneously defending the lands of Jing Province and besieging Fan Castle (Fancheng). The second location is the focus of the stage. Cao Ren is the defending commander, and Sun Quan's forces later appear as reinforcements for Cao Ren. Notably, Pang De takes a prominent role, and proves to be a dangerous opponent for Guan Yu and his allies in this stage. In "Dynasty Warriors 7", the defence of Fancheng is focused on Wei's side, the invasion of Jing Province is focused on Wu's side, and retreating to Maicheng is focused on Shu's side.

The Battle of Fancheng or the Battle of Fan Castle was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It is named after Fancheng in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei, a fortress that played a significant role in the battle.

樊城之战,亦可称为关羽北伐,是汉末三国时期的一场重要战役。此役中蜀汉大将关羽父子被东吴俘杀,蜀汉失荆州三郡,与东吴关系破裂,此后发生夷陵之战。