Zhang Fang was the influential general of the Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong during the War of the Eight Princes who helped him in subduing the Prince of Changshan, Sima Ai, and had the imperial family briefly under his control in 304.
29 Facts About Zhang Fang
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Zhang Fang was born in a poor family in Sima Yong's princely fief, Hejian commandery.
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Zhang Fang soon climbed through the ranks and became his General of Inspiring Martial Might by 301.
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That same year, Zhang Fang captured Xiahou Shi, a former Army Advisor who was raising an army in Shiping to join the anti-Sima Lun coalition.
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Zhang Fang was involved in Sima Yong and Sima Ying's coalition against Sima Jiong in 302.
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Zhang Fang led Yong's vanguard towards Luoyang and occupied Xin'an.
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Sima Ying and Zhang Fang jointly attacked Luoyang and placed the capital under siege with Sima Ai and the emperor still inside.
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Zhang Fang's soldiers breached through the walls and carried out mass plunderings and killings.
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Ai personally went out to lead the army against Zhang Fang, bringing along the emperor with him.
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Sighting the imperial carriage, Zhang Fang did not dare to attack and instead retreated.
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Zhang Fang managed to return to his camp, where his men were starting to believe that they should retreat during the night.
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However, Zhang Fang did not think so, and instead ordered them to build a rampart surrounding Luoyang.
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The rampart was built in secrecy and Sima Ai himself thought that Zhang Fang was still recovering from his defeat.
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Meanwhile, Zhang Fang breached the Qianjin Dam and dried up the water mills around the capital.
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Zhang Fang had slave women from noble families to grind up food for his men and implemented forced labour indiscriminately as a punishment for those who he found were not partaking in the campaign hard enough.
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Zhang Fang figured that Luoyang was not ready to fall and decided to retreat.
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Once he received the captured prince, Zhang Fang had him burnt alive in front of Zhang's own army.
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Zhang Fang plundered Luoyang and took in more than ten thousand slave women into his army before departing.
20.
The generals within Luoyang, Shangguan Si and Miao Yuan retaliated against Zhang Fang but were defeated.
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Zhang Fang welcomed him with his cavalries and performed obeisance to the point that the emperor personally approached him to get him to stop.
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Zhang Fang wanted to move the emperor to Chang'an and make the city the new capital seeing that his men were becoming restless staying in Luoyang.
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Zhang Fang justified to the emperor that he only wanted him to inspect the ramparts he had built years ago to ensure that the defenses are proper.
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Meanwhile, while the emperor was at the rampart, Zhang Fang's soldiers raided the palace and looted the place until there was nothing left to steal.
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Zhang Fang then considered burning down the palace and Ancestral Temple to prevent anyone else from entering but forfeited the decision after his contemporary, Lu Zhi, compared his actions to Dong Zhuo.
26.
The emperor remained at the rampart for three days before Zhang Fang forced him and his family to relocate to Chang'an.
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Later on, Sima Yue's official, Liu Qia urged his prince to raise a coalition against Sima Yong, seeing that Zhang Fang had forcibly moved the emperor to Chang'an.
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However, Zhang Fang greatly opposed it, ostensibly pointing out Yong's advantages when in reality, he knew that peace would result in his execution for his crimes.
29.
Sima Yong summoned an old friend of Zhang Fang named Zhi Fu who he sent to assassinate the general.