Tang Zi

Historical Record

Tang Zi was originally a native of Licheng. During the Huangchu era, a rebellion broke out in Licheng Commandery, the Grand Administrator Xu Ji was killed, and Tang Zi was raised up as leader. Emperor Wen of Wei sent troops to put down the rebellion; after his defeat, Tang Zi fled into the sea and finally went over to the state of Wu. In Wu, he rose to the rank of General of the Left and was enfeoffed as a marquis and granted the use of the staff of authority^[1].

In the year 252, the Eastern Wu general Zhuge Ke built a dike at Dongxing and constructed a fortress on each of the two hills to its left and right, leaving a thousand men to guard them. To wipe out the disgrace of Wu's incursion, Wei ordered Hu Zun, Zhuge Dan, and others to lead an army of seventy thousand to attack the two fortresses at Dongxing. Zhuge Ke led forty thousand Wu troops to the rescue. The Wei army drew up its lines on the pontoon bridge and divided its forces to attack the fortresses, but the fortresses were high and steep and hard to take. Zhuge Ke sent the generals Liu Zan, Lü Ju, Tang Zi, and Ding Feng as the vanguard^[2]. At the time, heavy snow was falling, and the Wei generals were drinking; seeing that Liu Zan and the others had few troops, and that they had taken off their armor, carried no long spears, wore only helmets, and held swords and shields, they greatly mocked them and did not immediately make ready. Once the Wu troops climbed the dike, they at once raised a din and hacked wildly; the Wei army was thrown into panic and fled in all directions, scrambling to cross the pontoon bridge. The bridge broke, and the Wei soldiers trampled one another; the Grand Administrator of Le'an, Huan Jia, and others drowned as a result, with tens of thousands dead. The renegade general Han Zong, who served as commander of the Wei vanguard, was also beheaded. The Wu army captured several thousand carts, along with oxen, horses, donkeys, and mules, and supplies piled up like mountains, and returned in triumph. After this battle, Zhuge Ke was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yangdu and additionally appointed Governor of Jing and Yang Provinces, with command over all military affairs within and without^[2].

In the year 257, the Wei General Who Guards the East, Zhuge Dan, raised troops in Huainan in revolt against Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao personally led a great army to suppress the rebellion and besieged Shouchun. Wu sent the generals Quan Yi, Quan Duan, Wen Qin, Tang Zi, and others to lead troops to support Zhuge Dan. However, as the campaign progressed, divisions emerged within the Wu army, and Quan Yi, Quan Duan, and others ultimately surrendered to Wei. After Zhuge Dan was defeated and killed, Tang Zi too was captured alive^[1]. Sima Zhao did not put Tang Zi to death, but appointed him General Who Pacifies the Distant, and also conferred offices on the other Wu subordinate generals. This made the officers and men of Wu wholeheartedly content. The people of the Southland, moved by Sima Zhao's magnanimity, also did not execute Tang Zi's family members. As for the officers, soldiers, and common folk of the Huainan region who had been coerced by Zhuge Dan, Sima Zhao executed only the chief instigators and pardoned the rest^[1].

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tang Zi's image centers mainly on the period of Zhuge Dan's Rebellion. As an Eastern Wu general, during the time when Sun Chen was regent, he was dispatched to support Zhuge Dan. In the novel, Sun Chen sent the great generals Quan Yi and Quan Duan as chief commanders, Yu Quan as rearguard, Zhu Yi and Tang Zi as vanguard, and Wen Qin as guide, raising an army of seventy thousand to advance in three contingents to Shouchun to support Zhuge Dan^[3]. This differs from the historical record of Tang Zi's participation in the Battle of Dongxing; the novel places him in the vanguard position of Zhuge Dan's Rebellion.

In the later phase of Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, as the Wei army's siege tightened and the Wu army split internally, the greater part of the Wu troops surrendered to Wei. In the novel, Sima Zhao adopted Zhong Hui's advice and released all the surrendered Wu troops back to the Southland, to display the magnanimity of the Central Kingdom. Tang Zi, out of fear of Sun Chen, dared not return to Wu and likewise chose to surrender to Wei^[4]. Sima Zhao gave Tang Zi an important position and ordered him to garrison the region of the Three Rivers with his troops. This is essentially consistent with the historical record of Tang Zi being captured alive and appointed General Who Pacifies the Distant, but the novel emphasizes Tang Zi's motive of surrendering out of fear of Sun Chen, which the histories do not clearly mention.

Key Relationships

* Cao Wei (serves): Tang Zi first fought against Cao Wei because of the Licheng rebellion, then went over to Eastern Wu. But after Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, he was captured alive by the Wei army, ultimately submitted to Cao Wei, and was appointed General Who Pacifies the Distant^[1].
* Eastern Wu (defected_to): After the failure of the Licheng rebellion, Tang Zi fled into the sea and finally went over to Eastern Wu, rising to the rank of General of the Left in Wu, enfeoffed as a marquis and granted the staff of authority^[1]. He took part in the Battle of Dongxing as one of the vanguard generals^[2]. During Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, he was ordered to support Zhuge Dan, but surrendered to Cao Wei after the defeat.
* Zhuge Ke (colleague): In the Battle of Dongxing, Tang Zi and Zhuge Ke were both Wu generals, jointly resisting the Wei army's attack^[2].
* Zhuge Dan (ally / the one supported): In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tang Zi, as a Wu vanguard, was ordered to support Zhuge Dan, who had risen in revolt against Wei^[3]. In history, Tang Zi was indeed one of the Wu generals who supported Zhuge Dan^[1].
* Sun Chen (the one feared): In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tang Zi, fearing Sun Chen's power and tyranny, dared not return to Wu after the failure of Zhuge Dan's Rebellion and instead surrendered to Wei^[4] (novel only).
* Sima Zhao (lord): After Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Tang Zi was captured alive and won over by Sima Zhao, who appointed him General Who Pacifies the Distant and gave him an important position^[1],^[4].

Signature Scenes

* The Licheng rebellion and going over to Wu: Tang Zi first, as leader of the Licheng rebellion, opposed the Cao Wei army; after his defeat he fled and finally went over to Eastern Wu. This was the starting point of his political career and determined his early antagonism with Cao Wei^[1].
* The Battle of Dongxing: As an Eastern Wu general, Tang Zi took part in the famous Battle of Dongxing. He, together with Liu Zan, Lü Ju, Ding Feng, and others, served as the vanguard, and under Zhuge Ke's command exploited the Wei army's complacency and the advantages of weather and terrain to crush the Wei army and win a brilliant victory^[2]. This battle displayed Tang Zi's ability as a Wu general.
* The siege of Shouchun and surrender to Wei: During Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Tang Zi was ordered to support the besieged Zhuge Dan. However, as the situation deteriorated and the Wu army split internally, Tang Zi was ultimately captured alive by the Wei army. Sima Zhao adopted a magnanimous policy toward him, appointing him General Who Pacifies the Distant, and Tang Zi thereby submitted to Cao Wei^[1]. This event marked the complete reversal of Tang Zi's political allegiance.
* Surrendering to Wei out of fear of Sun Chen: In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after the failure of Zhuge Dan's Rebellion, Tang Zi, fearing the cruelty of the Eastern Wu Chancellor Sun Chen, dared not return to Wu and instead surrendered to Wei^[4] (novel only). This episode adds a coloring of personal motive to Tang Zi's surrender.