Wu Zhi 呉質

Wu Zhi was a man of Jiyin. Chen Shou appended him to the Biographies of Wang, Wei, the Two Lius and Fu in Records of Wei 21, writing only that thanks to his literary talent he was on good terms with Emperor Wen, that he rose to General Who Spreads Awe, was granted the tally and made Commander of All Military Affairs in Hebei, and that he was enfeoffed as a full marquis. Records, Wei 21 §32–33

After Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ying Chang and Liu Zhen (劉楨) died in the 22nd year of Jian'an (217), Emperor Wen sent a letter to Wu Zhi, Prefect of Yuancheng, saying that in the previous year an epidemic had spread, many relatives and friends had met with calamity, and the four men had all passed away at once. In this letter Emperor Wen said that Xu Gan alone combined literary grace with substance and had written the Zhonglun in more than twenty chapters, worthy of being handed down to later generations, and that it was a grievous pity Ying Chang had not fulfilled his fine aspirations; he also assessed one by one Chen Lin's memorials, Liu Zhen's vigour, Ruan Yu's letters and Wang Can's rhapsodies. Records, Wei 21 §20–21

After Emperor Wen ascended the throne, Wu Zhi, General of the Household of the North, commanded the army of Hebei. At this time Cui Lin, who had become Inspector of You Province, had not been in touch with him from the start, so Wang Xiong, Administrator of Zhuo Commandery, told Cui Lin's Attendant Officer that General Wu was an honoured minister of the state whom the sovereign held close and valued, who held the tally and commanded affairs, so that there was no province or commandery that did not send letters to pay him respect, and asked whether, if Wu Zhi had him beheaded on the ground that the frontier fortifications were not kept in repair, the Inspector could protect him. Cui Lin did not comply, saying that this province bordered the barbarians and should be kept calm by quietness; within a year the raids of the bandits had subsided, but because he had not served his superior he was demoted to Administrator of Hejian. Records, Wei 24 §10–11

After Sun Quan moved down to make Jianye his capital, some of the defectors from Wei said that Wei's Commander of Hebei, Wu Zhi, General Who Spreads Awe, was under considerable suspicion. Thereupon Hu Zong of Wu forged three letters of surrender in Wu Zhi's name. In the letters Wu Zhi says that he had formerly been on close terms with the Cao house, outwardly as lord and subject but inwardly like flesh and blood, but that after the head of the Cao house died and a young heir took charge of the government, slander arose and he was falsely accused of intending to rebel. Records, Wu 17 §19 · 23–24

The letters also offered a plan: if Wu sent its troops in by the Huai and Si rivers and occupied Xiapi, he would sweep south from Hebei like rolling up a mat; and they said that some three thousand horses could be obtained from those the Qiang and Hu drove out in the third and fourth months. By the time this writing circulated, Wu Zhi had already gone to court and become Palace Attendant. Records, Wu 17 §30–31 · 33