Zhang Miao 張邈

Zhang Miao, courtesy name Mengzhuo, was a native of Shouzhang in Dongping. From his youth he was known for his chivalry; he helped the destitute and rescued those in distress, not begrudging it even when he emptied his family's fortune, and many men of quality flocked to him. Taizu (Cao Cao) and Yuan Shao were both his friends. Summoned to the office of a Duke, he was appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry with high marks and then transferred to Administrator of Chenliu. The biography of Dong Zhuo records that Dong Zhuo sent Han Fu, Liu Dai, Kong Zhou, Zhang Zi, Zhang Miao and others, recommended by Zhou Bi, Wu Qiong and others, out as heads of provinces and commanderies, and that once they took up their posts they all combined their troops intending to attack Dong Zhuo. Records, Wei 7 §10Records, Wei 6 §10

At the time of Dong Zhuo's disorder, Taizu and Zhang Miao were the first to raise righteous troops. According to the Annals of Emperor Wu, in the 1st month of the 1st year of Chuping (190), Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Kong Zhou, Liu Dai, Wang Kuang, Yuan Shao, Zhang Miao, Qiao Mao, Yuan Yi, Bao Xin and others raised troops at the same time and acclaimed Yuan Shao as leader of the alliance, and Zhang Miao camped at Suanzao with Liu Dai, Qiao Mao and Yuan Yi. At this time Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao, Administrator of Guangling, came to Chenliu with Zang Hong to discuss matters, and Zhang Miao, after meeting and talking with Zang Hong, found him most remarkable and introduced him to Liu Dai and Kong Zhou. Dian Wei, too, became a soldier when Zhang Miao raised righteous troops in the Chuping era and was attached to the Major Zhao Chong. Records, Wei 7 §10 · 37–38Records, Wei 1 §7–8Records, Wei 18 §60

When Taizu went west to attack Chenggao, Zhang Miao had his general Wei Zi lead troops to follow him, and Wei Zi took part in the battle of the Bian River. Back at Suanzao, Taizu rebuked the armies, which did nothing but hold drinking parties every day, and put forward a plan, but Zhang Miao and the others could not adopt it. Records, Wei 7 §10Records, Wei 1 §9 · 11–12

When Yuan Shao, after becoming leader of the alliance, showed signs of arrogance and haughtiness, Zhang Miao reproached him with upright arguments. When Yuan Shao told Taizu to kill Zhang Miao, Taizu refused, saying, 'Mengzhuo is a close friend; whether he is right or wrong, we should bear with him,' and Zhang Miao, learning of this, felt all the more grateful to Taizu. When Taizu went to attack Tao Qian, he told his family that if he did not return they should go to Mengzhuo and rely on him, and when he came back and met Zhang Miao, the two faced each other in tears. Records, Wei 7 §10–11

After Yuan Shao obtained Ji Province, Han Fu grew afraid, left Yuan Shao and went to rely on Zhang Miao. Later, when an envoy of Yuan Shao came to Zhang Miao to discuss matters and whispered in his ear, Han Fu, who was present, thought they were plotting against him, went to the privy and killed himself. Dong Zhao's younger brother Dong Fang was in Zhang Miao's army, and when a rift opened between Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao listened to slander and was about to punish Dong Zhao. Records, Wei 6 §47Records, Wei 14 §48

When Lü Bu abandoned Yuan Shao and went to Zhang Yang, he stopped by Zhang Miao, and as they parted the two clasped hands and swore an oath together. Yuan Shao heard of this and was deeply resentful, and Zhang Miao, fearing that Taizu would in the end attack him for Yuan Shao's sake, was uneasy at heart. According to the biography of Gao Rou, Gao Rou once said that Chenliu was a land open to war on all four sides and that, since Lord Zhang had first realized his ambitions in Chenliu, he feared a change would come when the chance arose, but people did not think his words right, saying that Zhang Miao was on good terms with Taizu. Records, Wei 7 §12Records, Wei 24 §24

In the 1st year of Xingping (194), when Taizu again went to attack Tao Qian, Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao plotted to revolt together with Taizu's general Chen Gong and the Attendant Officials of the Household Xu Si and Wang Kai. Chen Gong persuaded Zhang Miao, saying, 'You command the multitudes of a thousand li and yet are controlled by another; is that not base?', and urged that, since the provincial army had gone east and the province was empty, they welcome Lü Bu and govern Yan Province together, and Zhang Miao followed his advice. Chen Gong led the troops of Dong Commandery to welcome Lü Bu, made him Governor of Yan Province, and took Puyang; the commanderies and counties all responded, and only Juancheng, Dong'e and Fan held out for Taizu. Records, Wei 7 §12–13Records, Wei 1 §28–29

Xun Yu, learning that Zhang Miao had risen in revolt, at once put his troops in order to stand on guard and summoned Xiahou Dun. That night Xiahou Dun beheaded dozens of men who had plotted to rebel and settled the troops. The Attendant Officer Bi Chen had his mother, younger brother, wife and children seized by Zhang Miao when Zhang Miao rebelled. When Taizu gave him leave to go, Bi Chen kowtowed and said he had no divided loyalty, but once he left he fled and went back. Records, Wei 10 §6Records, Wei 1 §50

Taizu returned and held out against Lü Bu at Puyang for more than a hundred days, and within two years he recovered all the cities and crushed Lü Bu at Juye. When Lü Bu fled east to Liu Bei, Zhang Miao followed Lü Bu and had his younger brother Zhang Chao take his family and garrison Yongqiu. Taizu surrounded Yongqiu in the 8th month of the 2nd year of Xingping (195). The biography of Zhang Miao records that after several months he put Yongqiu to the sword and beheaded Zhang Chao and his family, while the Annals of Emperor Wu record that when Yongqiu fell in the 12th month Zhang Chao killed himself, and that Zhang Miao's three sets of kin were exterminated. Zhang Miao went to ask Yuan Shu for help but was killed by his own troops before he arrived. Records, Wei 7 §14–15Records, Wei 1 §33–34

In his assessment in the biography of Lü Bu, Chen Shou said that just as Emperor Guangwu of Han had once misjudged Pang Meng, so more recently Taizu of Wei had been deceived by Zhang Miao, and that the saying that even Emperor Yao found it hard to know men was truly right. Records, Wei 7 §62