Zhang He 張郃

At the end of the Han he answered a call for recruits to fight the Yellow Turbans, became a Major of the Army (jun sima), and was attached to Han Fu. When Han Fu was defeated he took his troops over to Yuan Shao and, as a Colonel, held off Gongsun Zan; for his many merits when Gongsun Zan was crushed he was transferred to General of the Household Who Pacifies the State (ningguo zhonglang jiang). Records, Wei 17 §42

At Guandu, when Cao Cao personally attacked Chunyu Qiong at Wuchao, Zhang He told Yuan Shao that Lord Cao's troops were elite and Chunyu Qiong had to be relieved at once. When Guo Tu said that attacking Cao Cao's main camp would resolve the matter of itself, Zhang He countered that Lord Cao's camp was strong and would not fall, and that if Chunyu Qiong were captured they would all become prisoners. Yuan Shao sent only light cavalry to the rescue and attacked Cao Cao's camp with his main army, but could not take it, and when Chunyu Qiong was defeated Yuan Shao's army collapsed. Guo Tu, ashamed, slandered Zhang He, claiming he had rejoiced at the defeat and spoken insolently, and Zhang He, afraid, went over to Cao Cao. Records, Wei 17 §42–44

The Annals of Emperor Wu record that Yuan Shao had sent Zhang He and Gao Lan to attack Cao Hong, and that they came and surrendered on hearing that Chunyu Qiong had been defeated; the biography of Xun You records that the two burned their siege towers and surrendered, and that when Cao Hong was suspicious, Xun You persuaded him to accept them, saying, "Zhang He has come in anger because his plan was not used." Cao Cao, overjoyed, likened him to Weizi leaving Yin and Han Xin going over to Han, and made him Lieutenant General (pian jiangjun) and Marquis of a Chief Precinct (duting hou). Records, Wei 1 §70Records, Wei 10 §60Records, Wei 17 §45

He took part in the capture of Ye and the attack on Yuan Tan at Bohai, and in the campaign against Liucheng he served in the vanguard with Zhang Liao, for which he was transferred to General Who Pacifies the Di (pingdi jiangjun). With Zhang Liao he defeated Chen Lan and Mei Cheng, took part in the defeat of Ma Chao and Han Sui at Weinan, and besieged Anding, forcing Yang Qiu to surrender. With Xiahou Yuan he campaigned against Liang Xing and the Di of Wudu, and pacified Song Jian. Records, Wei 17 §45–46

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215), when Cao Cao campaigned against Zhang Lu, Zhang He first attacked Dou Mao, king of the Di of Xinghe, and cleared the way ahead with 5,000 infantry. After Zhang Lu surrendered, he stayed in Hanzhong with Xiahou Yuan and others to hold off Liu Bei. He forced Badong and Baxi to submit and moved their people to Hanzhong, then advanced to Dangqu but was checked by Zhang Fei and fell back to Nanzheng. The biography of Zhang Fei records that after a standoff of more than fifty days Zhang Fei blocked him by another route and fought him, and that because the mountain paths were narrow Zhang He's front and rear could not support each other and he was defeated; Zhang He abandoned his horse, climbed into the mountains, and made his way back to Nanzheng by a byway with some ten men. Records, Wei 1 §145–146Records, Wei 17 §46–47Records, Shu 6 §19

When Liu Bei was stationed at Yangping and Zhang He at Guangshi, Liu Bei divided more than ten thousand picked troops into ten units and launched a sudden night attack, but Zhang He led his personal guard into close combat and held him off. Later, when Xiahou Yuan was killed fighting Liu Bei, the three armies blanched. Xiahou Yuan's major Guo Huai put Zhang He forward as commander of the army, saying, "General Zhang is a famous general of the state and the man Liu Bei fears," and Du Xi, together with Guo Huai, gathered up the various units. When Zhang He put the troops in order, the men's hearts were calmed, and Cao Cao sent an envoy to lend him the tally (jia jie). Records, Wei 17 §47–49Records, Wei 23 §40

When Cao Pi became King of Wei, Zhang He was made General of the Left and Marquis of a Chief District (duxiang hou), and when Cao Pi took the imperial throne he was raised to Marquis of Mao. With Cao Zhen he campaigned against the Lushui Hu and the Eastern Qiang, and with Xiahou Shang he attacked Jiangling, crossing the Yangtze to take the fortified camp on a sandbar. When Cao Rui came to the throne he was stationed in Jing Province, and with Sima Yi he pursued Sun Quan's detached commander Liu A and others as far as Qikou and defeated them. Records, Wei 17 §50

When Zhuge Liang came out to Mount Qi, Zhang He was given the rank of Specially Advanced (tejin) and, commanding the various armies, held off Ma Su at Jieting. Ma Su relied on the steep ground of the Southern Mountain and did not come down to hold the town; Zhang He cut off his route for drawing water, attacked, and crushed him. He also pacified Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding, which had risen in response to Zhuge Liang, and his fief grew to 4,300 households. The biography of Guo Huai dates this to the 2nd year of Taihe (228), and the biography of Wang Ping records that as the army scattered, only Wang Ping's thousand men held firm, beating their drums, so that Zhang He, suspecting an ambush, did not approach. Records, Wei 17 §51–52Records, Wei 26 §68Records, Shu 13 §36

When Zhuge Liang came out again and pressed his attack on Chencang, Cao Rui summoned Zhang He by post-horse, saw him off in person at Henan City, gave him 30,000 troops, and asked whether, if he arrived late, Zhuge Liang would not already have taken Chencang. Knowing that Zhuge Liang's army had no grain, Zhang He replied, "Before your servant arrives, Zhuge Liang will already have fled; his provisions will not last ten days." He pressed on day and night, and when he reached Nanzheng Zhuge Liang withdrew; Zhang He was made General of Chariots and Cavalry Who Conquers the West. Records, Wei 17 §52–53

Zhang He understood the workings of change and was skilled at laying out camps and formations; whenever he assessed the course of battle and the terrain, everything went as he had reckoned, so that all, from Zhuge Liang down, feared him. Though a military man, he cherished Confucian scholars and recommended Bei Zhan of his home district, and Cao Rui, commending his intent, made Bei Zhan an Erudite (boshi). Records, Wei 17 §54

When Zhuge Liang came out to Mount Qi once more, Zhang He, commanding the generals, reached Lueyang, and when Zhuge Liang turned back to hold Mount Qi, Zhang He pursued him as far as Mumen and engaged him, but a stray arrow struck his right knee and he died. He was posthumously titled Marquis Zhuang, and Cao Rui divided his fief to enfeoff four of his sons as full marquises (liehou). The Biography of the Later Sovereign records that in the 6th month of the 9th year of Jianxing (231) Zhang He pursued Zhuge Liang, who was withdrawing because his provisions had run out, as far as Qingfeng and was killed by an arrow, while the biography of Zhuge Liang records that Zhuge Liang shot Zhang He dead. Records, Wei 17 §55Records, Shu 3 §12Records, Shu 5 §37

In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that among Cao Cao's five fine generals, Zhang He was praised for his deft adaptability, but that on examining his deeds they did not match the reputation one heard of; perhaps something had been omitted from the records, so that his were not set out in as full detail as those of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang. Records, Wei 17 §74