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Meng Ao
Qi-born general in Qin service who took Chenggao and Xingyang to found Sanchuan commandery and later carved Dong commandery out of Wei, grandfather of Meng Tian
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
- Roles
- Commanders
Meng Ao was born in Qi and went to Qin to serve King Zhaoxiang, rising to senior minister. The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) says that in 249 BC, the first year of King Zhuangxiang, he attacked Han and took Chenggao and Xingyang, where Qin set up Sanchuan commandery, and the next year he secured Taiyuan from Zhao. In 247 BC he took Gaodu and Ji from Wei and thirty-seven towns of Zhao, including Yuci and Langmeng, but in the same year Prince Wuji of Wei led the armies of five states to beat him beyond the Yellow River. In 242 BC he seized Suanzao and some twenty other Wei towns, from which Qin formed its new Dong commandery. He died in 240 BC; his son Meng Wu and his grandsons Meng Tian and Meng Yi all served Qin as generals and ministers.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–240 BCE