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Wei Yan
Shu Han general whom Liu Bei made governor of Hanzhong over Zhang Fei's head, and who was killed in a power struggle with Yang Yi after Zhuge Liang's death
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.
Also known as Zi Wenzhang
Wei Yan, courtesy name Wenchang, came from Yiyang and followed Liu Bei into Shu as a retainer, winning rank through repeated success in battle. In 219, when Liu Bei became King of Hanzhong, everyone expected Zhang Fei to be left in command of Hanzhong, but Liu appointed Wei Yan instead, to the army's astonishment; asked how he would hold it, Wei promised to stop Cao Cao himself and to swallow any lesser general's hundred thousand. In 230 he beat the Wei general Guo Huai at Yangxi and became Marquis of Nanzheng, and on every campaign he asked Zhuge Liang for ten thousand men to strike by a separate route, which Zhuge refused. When Zhuge died in 234 he quarrelled with the chief clerk Yang Yi over the retreat, burned the plank roads and saw his men desert; fleeing towards Hanzhong, he was overtaken and killed by Ma Dai. Chen Shou judged that he had meant only to destroy Yang Yi, not to rebel.
Life and times
Dates Birth unknown–234 CE