Wei Kang | |
---|---|
韋康 | |
Inspector of Liang Province (涼州刺史) | |
In office ? –213 | |
Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
Chancellor | Cao Cao |
Personal details | |
Born | Unknown Xi'an,Shaanxi |
Died | 213 Gangu County,Gansu |
Relations | Wei Dan (brother) |
Parent |
|
Occupation | Politician |
Courtesy name | Yuanjiang (元將) |
Wei Kang (died 213), courtesy name Yuanjiang, [1] was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Wei Kang was from Jingzhao Commandery (京兆郡), which is around present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi. His father, Wei Duan (韋端), initially served as the Governor (牧) of Liang Province (涼州), but was later recalled to the imperial capital to serve as Minister Coachman (太僕). Kong Rong once told Wei Duan, "Two days ago, Yuanjiang visited me. He is knowledgeable, talented, bright, elegant and resilient. He will become a great man." Wei Kang also had a younger brother, Wei Dan (韋誕), who served as a Household Counsellor (光祿大夫) in the Han imperial court. [2] [3] The Sanfu Juelu recorded that Wei Kang was already eight chi and five cun tall (approximately 1.96 metres) when he was just 14 years old.
Wei Kang was recommended by Xun Yu to join the Han civil service. [4] He initially served as a Registrar (主簿) in Jingzhao Commandery. After Wei Duan was recalled to the imperial capital, Wei Kang took over his father's duties and served as the Inspector (刺史) of Liang Province. The people in Liang Province regarded him highly. [5]
In 211, a coalition of warlords from northwestern China, under the leadership of Ma Chao and Han Sui, started a rebellion in Liang Province against the Han central government, which was headed by Cao Cao. Cao Cao's forces defeated Ma Chao and the coalition at the Battle of Tong Pass. [6]
In the subsequent years, Ma Chao, with support from the Qiang tribes and the warlord Zhang Lu, constantly raided and attacked the lands in Liang Province. At the time, Wei Kang was stationed in Liang Province's capital, Ji (兾; also called Jicheng, in present-day Gangu County, Gansu), which came under siege by Ma Chao. When reinforcements did not show up, Wei Kang sent his subordinate Yan Wen (閻溫) to report the situation to the general Xiahou Yuan and seek help, but Yan Wen was caught and executed by Ma Chao after refusing to surrender. Wei Kang and the defenders continued to put up a firm defence. [7]
However, over time, the city gradually ran out of supplies and its defenders and civilian population began to suffer. Wei Kang took pity on the plight of the people and wanted to start peace talks with Ma Chao. Zhao Ang attempted to dissuade him from doing so but was ignored. Yang Fu also tearfully pleaded with Wei Kang to defend the city to the death. However, Wei Kang managed to conclude peace negotiations with Ma Chao, with both sides agreeing to end the conflict. Wei Kang then opened the city gates and surrendered. Ma Chao broke his promise later, killed Wei Kang, seized control of Liang Province, and forced Wei Kang's subordinates to submit to him. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Ma Chao (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma Teng, a prominent warlord in Liang Province. In 211, he formed a coalition with Han Sui and other northwestern warlords and revolted against the Han central government, which was led by the warlord Cao Cao. The coalition broke up after losing the Battle of Tong Pass against Cao Cao's forces. Ma Chao initially retreated, but later returned to attack and seize control of Liang Province by killing the provincial inspector Wei Kang and forcing Wei Kang's subordinates to submit to him. About a year after Ma Chao started his uprising, Emperor Xian issued an imperial decree ordering the execution of Ma Chao's family members, who were in Ye city at the time. In the meantime, Wei Kang's subordinates, led by Zhao Ang, Yang Fu and others, rebelled against Ma Chao and forced him out of Liang Province. Ma Chao retreated to Hanzhong Commandery, where he borrowed troops from the warlord Zhang Lu, and returned to attack Liang Province but was ultimately defeated and driven back. Ma Chao took shelter under Zhang Lu for a while until around 214, when he heard that the warlord Liu Bei was fighting for control over Yi Province with Yi Province's governor, Liu Zhang. He defected to Liu Bei's side and assisted Liu Bei in capturing Yi Province from Liu Zhang. Ma Chao had served as a general under Liu Bei since then and participated in the Hanzhong Campaign in 219. He died in 222.
Jiang Wei, courtesy name Boyue, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County, Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer in his native Tianshui Commandery, which was a territory of Wei. In 228, when Wei's rival state Shu launched an invasion led by Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wei was distrusted by Ma Zun, then administrator of Tianshui Commandery. As such, Jiang Wei had to defect to Shu. Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu, highly regarded Jiang Wei and appointed him as a general in Shu. After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wei continued serving as a military commander during the regencies Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, eventually rising to the highest military rank of General-In-Chief (大將軍) after Fei Yi's death in 253. Between 240 and 262, he continued Zhuge Liang's legacy of waging war against Wei by leading another 11 military campaigns. However, Jiang Wei's campaigns were relatively constrained in terms of both scale and duration due to Shu's limited resources and inadequate food supplies, as well as internal political faultlines. In 263, when Wei launched a massive invasion of Shu, Jiang Wei led Shu forces to resist the invaders at Tazhong, Yinping and Jiange, himself defending Jiange which was under Zhong Hui's attack. While Jiang Wei managed to temporarily stall Wei's main force led by Zhong Hui, Deng Ai, another military commander of Wei, took a shortcut via Yinping and showed up at Chengdu unexpectedly. Liu Shan surrendered to Deng Ai without putting up resistance and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to the Wei general Zhong Hui; this event marked the end of Shu's existence. In the following year, Jiang Wei instigated Zhong Hui to launch a rebellion in Chengdu against the Wei regent Sima Zhao and hoped to use the opportunity to gain military power and restore Shu. However, some of Zhong Hui's officers were unwilling to participate in the rebellion and started a mutiny, killing Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui.
Xiahou Yuan, courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China in the 210s, during which he defeated Cao Cao's rivals Ma Chao and Han Sui in Liang Province and the surrounding areas, and forced several Di and Qiang tribal peoples into submission. He was killed in action at the Battle of Mount Dingjun while defending Hanzhong Commandery from attacks by a rival warlord Liu Bei. Xiahou Yuan's death was highly dramatised in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which he was slain by Liu Bei's general Huang Zhong during a surprise raid.
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions were a series of five military campaigns launched by the state of Shu Han against the rival state of Cao Wei from 228 to 234 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. All five expeditions were led by Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu. Although they proved unsuccessful and ended up as a stalemate, the expeditions have become some of the best known conflicts of the Three Kingdoms period and one of the few battles during it where each side fought against each other with hundreds of thousands of troops, as opposed to other battles where one side had a huge numerical advantage.
Zhuge Dan, courtesy name Gongxiu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. When he held key military appointments throughout his middle to late career, he was involved in all of the three rebellions which broke out in Shouchun between 251 and 258. During the second rebellion, he actively assisted the Wei regent Sima Shi in suppressing the revolt. After the rebellion, the Wei government put him in charge of Shouchun. As the Sima clan became more powerful and established themselves as the de facto rulers of Wei, Zhuge Dan feared that he would end up slain like Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian – the leaders of the first two rebellions – so he started the third rebellion against Sima Zhao, who succeeded Sima Shi as regent of Wei in 255. Although he received some support from Wei's rival state Eastern Wu, his rebellion was eventually suppressed by Wei imperial forces and he met his end at the hands of Hu Fen, a military officer under Sima Zhao.
Cao Hong, courtesy name Zilian, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao, who was his older second cousin.
Guo Huai, courtesy name Boji, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao as a subordinate of Cao Cao's generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served in Wei, the state established by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, and lived through the reigns of four Wei emperors. From the 220s until his death in 255, he governed and defended Wei's western borders in Yong and Liang provinces. During this time, he resisted multiple invasions by Wei's rival state, Shu Han, and quelled some rebellions by local Qiang, Di and other non-Han Chinese tribes.
Hao Zhao, courtesy name Bodao, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is best known for his victory at the siege of Chencang in 229 when he led a successful defence of Chencang against an invasion by a much larger army from Wei's rival state Shu Han. However, he died of illness not long after that.
Yan Xiang, courtesy name Wenze, was an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. A similarly named Yan Xiang (閻象) also served under the warlord Yuan Shu as a registrar. Although it is not clear whether they were the same person, the historian Rafe de Crespigny mentioned that it could be assumed that Yan Xiang left Yuan Shu and defected to the Han central government, which was then under the leadership of the warlord Cao Cao.
Huo Yi, courtesy name Shaoxian, was a military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. His father, Huo Jun, served under Liu Bei, the founding emperor of Shu. During his service under the Shu emperor Liu Shan, Huo Yi suppressed tribal rebellions in the restive Nanzhong region and maintained peace in the area. After Shu was conquered by its rival state Cao Wei in 263, Huo Yi surrendered to the Wei regime and was permitted to remain in charge of keeping the peace in Nanzhong. In return, Huo Yi became a Wei subject and continued serving under the Jin dynasty, which replaced the Wei regime in 266.
Bi Gui, courtesy name Zhaoxian, was an official serving in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province was a military campaign by the warlord Liu Bei in taking control of Yi Province from the provincial governor, Liu Zhang. The campaign took place between the years 211 and 214 in the late Eastern Han dynasty; although the conflict between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang started in January or February 213 when the latter discovered the former secret communications and subsequently executed Zhang Song. It concluded with victory for Liu Bei and his successful takeover of the province from Liu Zhang in July 214. Yi Province would serve as the foundation of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.
Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions refer to a series of eleven military campaigns launched by the state of Shu Han against its rival state, Cao Wei, between 240 and 262 CE during the Three Kingdoms period in China. The campaigns were led by Jiang Wei, a prominent Shu general. Unlike the previous Northern campaigns led by Zhuge Liang, which added Wudu and Yinping commanderies to Shu Han state territories, Jiang Wei's campaigns ended up being unpopular in both the military and civil circles in Shu. Also unlike Zhuge Liang's campaigns which often featured 60,000 to sometimes even 100,000 Shu Troops, Jiang Wei's were often much smaller rarely exceeding 30,000 even after the death of Fei Yi, where Jiang Wei assumed control of the military. The Zhuge Liang campaigns did suffer from logistical and supply issues for their large army. Zhuge's successor Jiang Wan, believed that it was the Hanzhong's mountainous terrain itself that were to blame for the campaigns failures and attempted to switch the route thru the Han river. Fei Yi, who succeeded Jiang Wan, agreed, and never allowed any large campaigns to be launched by Hanzhong. Jiang Wei however overlooked these concerns and used Hanzhong as his home base as Zhuge Liang did.
The Battle of Tong Pass, also known as the Battle of Weinan, was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and a coalition of forces from Guanxi between April and November 211 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle was initiated by Cao Cao's western expansion, which triggered uprisings in Guanxi. Cao Cao scored a decisive victory over the Guanxi coalition and established a hold of the Guanzhong region.
Wang Yi was a Chinese military general and warrior from the Three Kingdoms period. She was the wife of Zhao Ang, an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and was aligned with the faction that would later become the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. She is known as the heroic woman for her morally upright character and for fighting alongside her family and the Wei Kingdom in various conflicts with the warlord Ma Chao in the 210s.
The Battle of Mount Qi was a military conflict which took place around Mount Qi between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 231 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. It was also the most vigorous of the five Shu invasions of Wei, resulting in thousands of deaths on both sides. Although Zhuge Liang was able to make significant achievement in the beginning of the battle, the battle finally concluded with a strategic Wei victory due to the insufficient food supply for the Shu Han army. The insufficient food supply was caused by heavy rain and mistakes made by Li Yan. The Shu regent, Zhuge Liang, spent three years recuperating before launching another invasion on Wei in 234.
Zhao Ang, courtesy name Weizhang, was a Chinese politician who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and was aligned with the faction that would later become the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. He is best known for resisting the warlord Ma Chao in Liang Province in the 210s. His wife, Wang Yi, is famous for supporting her husband throughout their conflict with Ma Chao.
Jiang Xu, courtesy name Boyi, was a military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for his involvement in the conflict between the warlord Ma Chao and the Han central government in the 210s CE.
Zhou Tai was a military general who served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Lu Yin, courtesy name Jingzong, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger brother of Lu Kai and a relative of Lu Xun, who respectively served as the eighth and third Imperial Chancellors of Eastern Wu.