Today's Henan Province, since ancient times, famous generals and wizards have emerged in an endless stream. During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were many talents in this area. According to incomplete statistics, there are as many as 100 Henan nationals belonging to Shu Han, Cao Wei, and Eastern Wu, including both a generation of famous generals who galloped on the battlefield and outstanding strategists who strategized. According to historical records, this article makes a brief introduction to the six famous generals of Henan in the early days of the Cao Wei Group.
First place: Dianwei. Dianwei was a native of Jiwu County, Chenliu County, that is, a native of Jiwucheng Village, Huanggang Township, Ningling County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. Dianwei joined the army in his early years, and was a subordinate of Chen Liutaishou Zhang Mi, and later switched to Cao Cao's clique and became a subordinate of Xiahou Huan. Later, he was promoted to Sima for his military exploits.
During the Battle of Yanzhou, Cao Cao and Lü Bu fought fiercely in the Puyang area. Dianwei performed well, not only blocking Lü Bu's onslaught, but also killing countless enemies with short halberds. After the war, Cao Cao promoted Dianwei to the rank of Lieutenant commander and arranged for him to serve as an escort at his side.
In the second year of Emperor Jian'an (197 AD), Cao Cao personally conquered Wancheng, and Zhang Xiu surrendered. Cao Cao privately accepted Zhang Xiu's aunt, which caused Zhang Xiu to be angry and raised troops to sneak into Cao Cao's camp. In order to cover Cao Cao's breakthrough, Dianwei did not retreat from the battle, and eventually died of his wounds.
Second place: Lejin. Le Jin (樂進), courtesy name Wenqian, was a native of Weiguo County, Yangping County, in present-day Qingfeng County, Puyang City, Henan Province. Le Jin was one of the elders of the Cao Wei clique, who joined the Cao Cao clique during the Battle of Qiudong, and fought in the Battle of Yanzhou, the Battle of Wancheng, and the Battle of Xuzhou, and his position was also promoted from the military false Sima (司馬), the lieutenant of the Trap Commandery ( ) , and the lieutenant of the Qiao Kou School to the rank of General of Folding Chong.
Lejin xiao is brave and good at fighting, has a tenacious style, and often leads the way in battle, and is deeply respected by the soldiers. After the Battle of Chibi, Lejin was ordered to Xiangyang, where he had several encounters with Guan Yu, and he was the only general in the Cao Wei clique who had defeated Guan Yu three times.
In the nineteenth year of Emperor Jian'an (214 AD), LeJin was transferred to Hefei and together with Zhang Liao and Li Dian guarded this important town of Cao Wei and Huainan. The following year, Sun Quan personally led 100,000 soldiers and horses to attack Hefei. Together with Zhang Liao and Li Dian, Le Jin severely injured Sun Quan with a crowd of 7,000. After that, Lejin was promoted to right general. In addition, Lejin was also one of Cao Wei's famous "Five Sons and Good Generals".
Third place: civilian employment. Wen Ping, also spelled Zhongye, was a native of Wanxian County, Nanyang County, in present-day Nanyang, Henan Province. Wen Ping joined Liu Biao's clique in his early years and was a major general in Liu Biao's army. After Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, Wen Ping switched to Cao Cao and, together with Cao Chun, severely wounded Liu Bei at the Battle of Dangyang, giving birth to the mother of the strategist Xu Shu and Liu Bei's two daughters.
After the Battle of Chibi, Wen Ping was appointed as the Taishou of Jiangxia, and together with the famous general Lejin, he broke out several fierce battles with Guan Yu, and defeated Guan Yu in the battles of Xunkou and Hanjin. After Cao Pi established the state of Wei, he launched the Battle of Wu. Wen Ping was ordered to besiege Jiangling with Xiahou Shang and defeat the Eastern Wu army around Chukou. After this battle, Wen Ping was promoted to rear admiral.
The most brilliant record of Wen Ping appeared in the seventh year of the Huang Dynasty (226 AD). At that time, Sun Quan surrounded Shiyang, which was guarded by Wenping, with a crowd of 50,000 people. Wen Ping was calm and calm, not afraid of strong enemies, and stubbornly insisted on holding out for more than twenty days. Sun Quan could not attack for a long time, so he had to order the withdrawal of his troops, but on the way to withdraw his troops, he was attacked by Wen Ping, and suffered heavy casualties.
Fourth place: Li Tong. Li Tong (李通), courtesy name Wenda, was a native of Pingchun County, Jiangxia County, in present-day Xinyang, Henan Province. Li Tong was a good ranger in his early years and was famous in the local area. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Li Tong and Chen Gong of the same county formed a team and defeated wu ba, the remnant of the Yellow Turban. In the first year of Jian'an (196 AD), Li Tong led his people to cao cao, and was appointed as the general of Zhenwei Zhonglang, stationed in Runan.
During Cao Cao's personal conquest of Wancheng, Li Tong led his troops to take over and participated in the Battle of Wancheng, defeating Zhang Xiu, and Li Tong was also promoted to general of Qi and lieutenant of Yang'an for his military merits. During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao and Liu Biao repeatedly sent people to lure Li Tong, but Li Tong flatly refused. During the Battle of Gangneung, Sun Liu's combined forces besieged Cao Ren, and Li Tong was ordered to block Guan Yu. In the course of this battle, Li Tong performed well and successfully defeated Guan Yu. However, after the end of this war, Li Tong died of illness at the age of forty-two.
Fifth place: Han Hao. Han Hao (韩浩), courtesy name Yuansi, was a native of Hanoi County, in present-day Wuzhi County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. In his early years, Han Hao served as a subordinate of Wang Kuang of Hanoi Taishou, and together with Wang Kuang participated in the Battle of the Kwantung Princes. After that, Han Hao joined Cao Cao's clique and was subordinate to Cao Cao's concubine Xiahou Huan.
During the Battle of Yanzhou, Xiahou Huan was kidnapped by Lü Bu's men. Han Hao immediately made a decision, ignoring Xiahou Huan's life and death, and ordered the hijackers to be killed, a move that was highly appreciated by Cao Cao. Cao Cao therefore issued a military order: Whenever there is a hostage-taking, there is no need to worry about the safety of the hostages, and the hijackers must be resolutely eliminated. Since then, there have been no more hostage-taking incidents in the Cao army. After Cao Cao took control of Yanzhou and Yuzhou, Han Hao made a timely proposal for Tuntian, which not only solved the problem of military food supply that had been seriously affecting Cao Cao's clique for a long time, but also stabilized the situation in the Central Plains. As a result, Han Hao was promoted by Cao Cao to the position of protector.
After the Battle of Guandu, Han Hao's position in Cao Cao's clique grew, becoming Cao Cao's confidant, and together with Shi Zhuo, he took charge of Cao Wei's forbidden army and was promoted to the post of protector of the army. After the Battle of Hanzhong, most of Wenwu suggested that Han Hao be in charge of the military and political affairs of the Hanzhong region, but Cao Cao believed that it would be more important to keep Han Hao by his side, so he assigned Xiahou Yuanzhen to guard Hanzhong, a wrong decision that eventually led to Xiahou Yuan's defeat and murder and the fall of Hanzhong.
Sixth place: Niu Jin. Niu Jin (牛金), a native of Nanyang County, is a native of present-day Nanyang City, Henan Province. Niu Jin was originally a subordinate general of Cao Ren, a famous general of Cao Wei, and participated with Cao Ren in the Battle of Jiangling after the Battle of Chibi. In this battle, Niu Jin was under siege, and it turned out that Cao Ren was not afraid of life and death to enter the enemy line to rescue him. After that, Niu Jin was transferred to the northwest battlefield and became a subordinate of Sima Yi, where he fought many battles with Zhuge Liang.
After Zhuge Liang's death, Ma Dai led his troops to invade the northwest. Niu Jin was ordered by Sima Yi to engage Ma Dai and behead more than a thousand of Ma Dai's men. In the second year of the Jing Dynasty (238 AD), Niu Jin followed Sima Yi to participate in the Battle of Liaodong and pacify the four counties of Liaodong, and Niu Jin was also appointed to the post of general for his military achievements.
However, Niu Jin's ending was very tragic. At that time, there was a widely circulated book, "Xuanshi Tu", which had the phrase "cattle follow horses". Sima Yi believed that this phrase meant that people with the surname Niu would endanger the Sima family, so he regarded Niu Jin, who was in a high position, as a thorn in his eye. After that, Sima Yi took advantage of a banquet to secretly poison Niu Jin to death.
Reference Books: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin