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Zhang Liao
Cao Wei general from Mayi who served Lu Bu before surrendering to Cao Cao, and in 215 led eight hundred men against Sun Quan's army besieging Hefei
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 Wenyuan
- Roles
- Commanders
Zhang Liao, courtesy name Wenyuan, came from Mayi in Yanmen; his family, descended from Nie Yi, had changed its name to escape a feud. He served in turn under Ding Yuan, He Jin, Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, and after Lu Bu fell at Xiapi in 198 he went over to Cao Cao. On the 207 campaign against the Wuhuan, at White Wolf Mountain he urged an attack, received Cao's own banner, and routed the enemy, killing the chief Tadun. In 215 Sun Quan besieged Hefei, held by some seven thousand men; Zhang recruited eight hundred volunteers overnight and at dawn cut his way to Sun's standard, and after ten days Sun withdrew. When Cao Pi took the throne he made Zhang Marquis of Jinyang, and in 222, while facing Wu on the Yangzi with Cao Xiu, Zhang fell ill and died at Jiangdu, receiving the posthumous name Gang. Cao Pi's edict said that eight hundred infantry beating a hundred thousand at Hefei had no precedent in warfare.
Life and times
Dates c. 169 CE–222 CE