Zhang Mi

Historical Record

Zhang Mi was an official of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, he was sent by Sun Quan, together with Xu Yan and others, on a mission to Liaodong to invest Gongsun Yuan as King of Yan. The embassy carried a great quantity of gold, jade, and treasures, intending to win over Gongsun Yuan and bring him into submission to Eastern Wu. Sun Quan's aim was to use Gongsun Yuan to check the Cao Wei regime in the north and so relieve his own pressure. However, Gongsun Yuan harbored doubts about Sun Quan's intentions and coveted the riches; in the end he lured in and seized Zhang Mi, Xu Yan, and the others, beheaded them, and sent their heads to Cao Wei as a token of loyalty ^c:182.

This event occurred in the third month of the second year of the Huanglong era (230 CE). At that time Sun Quan dispatched the commanders Zhang Mi, Xu Yan, He Da, and others, leading ten thousand troops and carrying gold, treasures, and precious goods along with the regalia of the Nine Bestowals, sailing by sea to Liaodong to confer the title King of Yan upon Gongsun Yuan ^c:183. Sun Quan placed great hopes in Gongsun Yuan, believing he could, like Yi Yin and Lü Wang assisting Shang and Zhou, help him achieve a great enterprise; he even went so far as to enfeoff Gongsun Yuan with the seventeen commanderies and seventy counties of You and Qing provinces and to grant him the Nine Bestowals ^c:183. However, the ministers of the court, including the chancellor Gu Yong, all remonstrated with Sun Quan, holding that Gongsun Yuan could not be lightly trusted and that the favor shown was too generous. They advised that it would suffice to send only a few hundred clerks and soldiers to escort the envoys, but Sun Quan did not heed them ^c:183.

Gongsun Yuan did indeed betray Sun Quan: he killed Zhang Mi and the others, sent their heads to Cao Wei, and confiscated Eastern Wu's military supplies. When Sun Quan learned of this he was furious, and at one point wished to lead a campaign against Gongsun Yuan in person, but he desisted only after the vigorous remonstrance of the Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat Xue Zong and others ^c:183. This event not only caused the deaths of Zhang Mi and his companions but also dealt a severe blow to Eastern Wu's strategic deployment in Liaodong. Even so, some among Zhang Mi's retinue still sought to avenge their state. For example, the palace envoys Qin Dan, Zhang Qun, Du De, and Huang Jiang, after being settled in Xuantu commandery, secretly plotted resistance; though they did not succeed, Qin Dan and Huang Jiang ultimately managed to escape and, with the help of the King of Goguryeo, were able to return to Eastern Wu. Sun Quan was deeply gratified by their loyalty and righteousness and appointed them all as colonels ^c:183.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Mi's portrayal is largely consistent with history; he is likewise the envoy sent by Sun Quan to Liaodong to invest Gongsun Yuan as King of Yan. Chapter 106 of the novel mentions that Gongsun Yuan was the grandson of Gongsun Du and the son of Gongsun Kang. When he grew up he was accomplished in both civil and military matters, fierce and combative by nature, and he seized his post from his uncle Gongsun Gong. Sun Quan dispatched Zhang Mi and Xu Yan to carry gold, treasures, and precious jade to Liaodong to invest Gongsun Yuan as King of Yan ^c:5284.

The novel's account of Zhang Mi's death also accords with history: fearing the might of Cao Wei in the Central Plains, Gongsun Yuan beheaded both Zhang Mi and Xu Yan and sent their heads to Cao Rui, thereby ingratiating himself with Cao Wei ^c:5284. The novel further depicts how Gongsun Yuan, even after receiving Cao Rui's enfeoffment, remained unsatisfied and ultimately styled himself King of Yan, changing the era name to the first year of Shaohan. His deputy general Jia Fan once remonstrated with him, pointing out that the rank the Central Plains had bestowed on him was not lowly, that to rebel would be unfaithful, and that Sima Yi was skilled in warfare—one against whom even the Martial Marquis Zhuge Liang had failed to prevail, let alone Gongsun Yuan ^c:5284. These details are not clearly recorded in the historical sources; they are literary creations by the novel to enrich the plot and characterization.

On the whole, the novel's depiction of Zhang Mi presents him chiefly as an executor of Sun Quan's diplomatic strategy and a victim of Gongsun Yuan's treachery; his individual character is not much developed, serving more as an instrumental figure to advance the plot.

Key Relationships

* Sun Quan (serves): Zhang Mi was the envoy dispatched by Sun Quan, commanded to go to Liaodong to invest Gongsun Yuan. His mission embodied Sun Quan's strategic intent to win over Gongsun Yuan and check Cao Wei ^c:183.
* Gongsun Yuan (victim of): Zhang Mi was lured in and beheaded by Gongsun Yuan, becoming a victim of Gongsun Yuan's betrayal of Eastern Wu and defection to Cao Wei ^c:182.
* Xu Yan (colleague): Zhang Mi went on the mission to Liaodong together with Xu Yan, sharing the task of investing Gongsun Yuan, and the two perished together in the end ^c:182.
* Qin Dan, Huang Jiang, and other retinue members (related to): Among Zhang Mi's retinue, Qin Dan, Huang Jiang, and others, though they failed to avenge Zhang Mi, had their loyal and righteous conduct recognized by Sun Quan and were appointed colonels ^c:183.

Iconic Scenes

* Mission to Liaodong by command: Zhang Mi, dispatched by Sun Quan, carried gold, jade, treasures, and the edict of investiture, leading a fleet of ten thousand men in grand procession by sea to Liaodong to invest Gongsun Yuan as King of Yan. This was the most important mission of his life and the beginning of his tragic fate ^c:183.
* Beheaded by Gongsun Yuan: Gongsun Yuan, breaking faith, lured in and seized Zhang Mi and Xu Yan and beheaded them, sending their heads to Cao Wei. This scene directly provoked Sun Quan's great fury against Gongsun Yuan and touched off a fierce debate within Eastern Wu over whether to campaign against Liaodong ^c:182.
* The retinue's attempt at revenge (novel only): Though Zhang Mi was dead, members of his retinue, Qin Dan, Huang Jiang, and others, secretly plotted resistance in Xuantu commandery, seeking to avenge their state. Though they did not succeed, this episode embodies the loyalty and righteousness of Eastern Wu's officers and soldiers and indirectly reflects the impact of the Zhang Mi affair on Eastern Wu's people and army ^c:183.