Battle of Jinyang The Battle of Jinyang ( 晉陽之戰 ) was fought between the elite families of the State of Jin , the house of Zhao and the house of Zhi ( 智 ) , in the Spring and Autumn period of China . The other houses of Wei and Han first participated in the battle in alliance with the Zhi , but later defected to ally with Zhao to annihilate the Zhi house . This event was a catalyst to the Tripartition of Jin in 434 BC , the forming of the three states of Zhao , Wei , and Han , and the start to the Warring States period . It is the first battle described in the Song Dynasty history compendium " Zizhi Tongjian " . Background . By 490 BC , after the destruction of the houses of Fan ( 范 ) and Zhonghang ( 中行 ) , control of the State of Jin , then the largest state in China , was contested by four elite families : Zhi , Wei , Zhao , and Han . With multiple military victories under his belt , Zhi Bo Yao ( 智伯瑤 ) of the house of Zhi exerted the most influence in the Jin court – all decisions of the state had to pass through him . He also controlled the most territory within the state . The reigning duke of Jin , Duke Ai , was powerless to restrain him . So Zhi Bo , in his pride , began to demand lands from the other three houses . The houses of Wei and Han reluctantly complied to evade Zhi Bo ' s wrath , but Viscount Xiang of Zhao ( 趙襄子 ) refused to cede the territories of Lin ( 藺 ) and Gaolang ( 皋狼 ) , both in modern - day Lishi , to Zhi . Zhi Bo , in retribution , formed a secret alliance with the houses of Wei and Han to attack Zhao . Viscount Xiang suspected an attack from Zhi Bo , since he has heard that Zhi Bo sent envoys to Han and Wei three times , but never to Zhao . After rejecting suggestions to move to Zhangzi or Handan out of concern for the people there , the viscount asked his minister Zhang Mengtan ( 張孟談 ) where he could prepare his defence , and Zhang Mengtan suggested Jinyang because Jinyang had been well - governed for generations . Viscount Xiang agreed , and summoned Yanling Sheng ( 延陵生 ) to lead the army carriages and cavalry ahead to Jinyang , the viscount himself to follow later . Once in Jinyang , the viscount , following the suggestions of Zhang Mengtan , issued orders to refill the granaries and the treasuries , repair walls , make arrows , and melt copper pillars for metal . By virtue of past governance , the treasuries , granaries , and arsenals were filled within three days , and the walls repaired within five . Thus all of Jinyang was prepared for war . Battle . When the three armies of Zhi , Wei , and Han reached Jinyang in 455 BC , they laid siege to the city , but for three months they could not take the city . They then fanned out and surrounded the city , and a year later diverted the flow of the Fen River to inundate the city . All buildings under three storeys high were submerged , and the people of Jinyang were obliged to live in nest - like perches above the water and hang their kettles from scaffoldings in order to cook . By the third year , supplies had run out for the Zhao , diseases broke out , and the populace were reduced to eating each other ' s children . Although the common people remained firm in the defence , the court ministers ' loyalties began to waver . Viscount Xiang asked Zhang Mengtan , " Our provisions are gone , our strength and resources are exhausted , the officials are starving and ill , and I fear we can hold out no longer . I am going to surrender the city , but to which of the three states should I surrender ? " Zhang Mengtan , much alarmed , persuaded Viscount Xiang not to surrender but instead send him out to negotiate with the houses of Wei and Han . The houses of Wei and Han were promised an even split of Zhao ' s territories when the battle was won , but both the Wei and Han leaders were uneasy , since they understood that they would be soon to follow if Zhao fell to Zhi . Zhi Bo ' s minister , Yu Chi ( 郤疵 ) , warned Zhi Bo that the two houses were going to revolt , since " the men and horses [ of Jinyang ] are eating each other and the city is soon to fall , yet the lords of Han and Wei show no signs of joy but instead are worried . If those are not rebellious signs , then what are they ? " Zhi Bo paid Yu Chi no heed , and instead told the lords of Han and Wei of Yu Chi ' s suspicion . Yu Chi , knowing that his warning fell to deaf ears , excused himself from the battlefield by going to the State of Qi as an envoy . Indeed , when Zhang Mengtan secretly met with Viscount Huan of Wei and Viscount Kang of Han ( 韓康子 ) , the viscounts confessed that they were secretly planning to mutiny against Zhi . The three discussed their plans and settled on a date to execute the plans . Zhang Mengtan returned to Jinyang to report back to Viscount Xiang , and the viscount , in joy and apprehension , bowed to Zhang several times as a sign of great reverence . One of Zhi Bo ' s clansmen , Zhi Guo ( 智過 ) , chanced to see the viscounts of Wei and Han after the secret meeting , and warned Zhi Bo of the possibility that they might rebel , judging by their lack of restraints like before . Zhi Bo again chose to put his trust in the two viscounts , saying : " Since I have been this good to them , they would surely not attack or deceive me . Our troops have invested Jinyang for three years . Now when the city is ready to fall at any moment and we are about to enjoy the spoils , what reason would they have for changing their minds ? " Zhi Bo told the two viscounts what Zhi Guo said , and the two viscount learnt to be cautious when they saw Zhi Guo the next day . Zhi Guo , seeing the change in their looks , insisted to Zhi Bo that the two ought to be executed . Zhi Bo would not hear of it , and Zhi Guo suggested another plan to buy their friendship : to bribe the influential ministers Zhao Jia ( 趙葭 ) of Wei and Duan Gui ( 段規 ) of Han with enfeoffement of the Zhao lands . Zhi Bo rejected the proposal because the Zhao lands were going to split in three already , and he did not want to receive less than one third of the eventual spoils . Seeing that Zhi Bo would not listen , Zhi Guo left Zhi Bo and changed his surname to Fu ( 輔 ) as a precaution . Hearing this , Zhang Mengtan urged Viscount Xiang to take action immediately , lest Zhi Bo changes his mind . The viscount then dispatched Zhang Mengtan to the camps of Wei and Han , alerting them of the time of the final attack . On the night of May 8 , 453 BC , Zhao troops killed the men guarding the dams of the Fen River and let the river flood the Zhi armies . As the Zhi armies fell into chaos trying to stop the water , the Wei and Han armies attacked Zhi from the sides and the Viscount of Zhao led his soldiers in a frontal attack . Together they inflicted a severe defeat on Zhi Bo ' s army and took him prisoner . Viscount Xiang had a grudge on Zhi Bo because Zhi Bo had often humiliated him in the past , thus Viscount Xiang executed Zhi Bo and made his skull into a winecup . No one in the house of Zhi was spared save for Zhi Guo ' s family , who had already changed their surnames and fled . The territories of Zhi were evenly distributed among the three victors . Aftermath . With the elimination of the Zhi house , control of the State of Jin fell to the remaining three families , their powers unchecked by anyone in the state . In 434 BC , following the death of Duke Ai , the three families annexed all of Jin ' s lands , leaving only the capital estates of Jiang and Quwo for the next duke of Jin . In 403 BC , the Wei , Zhao and Han lords all went to King Weilie of Zhou in Luoyang and were made marquises in their own right , establishing the three states of Zhao , Wei , and Han , ushering in the beginning of the Warring States period by Sima Guang ' s definition . Most historians , when referring to those three states , call them the " Three Jins " ( 三晉 ) . The State of Jin continued to exist with a tiny piece of territory until 376 BC when the rest of the territory was partitioned by the Three Jins . The Legalist thinker Han Feizi of the late Warring States period used this battle as an example of failure via greed and perversity , one of the " Ten Faults " that a ruler should not have . He reasoned that because Zhi Bo was too fond for profit , he opened himself to the destruction of the state and his own demise . The Song Dynasty statesman Sima Guang , in his " Zizhi Tongjian " , attribute Zhi Bo ' s failure to his lacking virtue compared to his talents , and thus invited disaster .