Zhang Miao

Historical Record

Zhang Miao, courtesy name Mengzhuo, was a native of Shouzhang in Dongping, renowned in the world for his chivalrous gallantry. He delighted in giving aid and emptied his family wealth to relieve the poor, and was therefore the resort of many gentlemen ^c:1819. Both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had been on good terms with him. He was summoned into the offices of state, then for high merit appointed Cavalry Commandant, and transferred to Grand Administrator of Chenliu. When Dong Zhuo threw the government into chaos, Zhang Miao and Cao Cao were the first to raise righteous troops ^c:1819. At the Battle of the Bian River, Zhang Miao sent Wei Zi to lead troops following Cao Cao on campaign. After Yuan Shao became leader of the alliance, his manner grew arrogant, and Zhang Miao once spoke out for justice and rebuked Yuan Shao to his face. Yuan Shao thereupon harbored resentment and once urged Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao refused on the grounds that "Mengzhuo is a close friend; whether right or wrong, he should be tolerated. Now that all under Heaven is unsettled, we ought not to imperil one another," and instead rebuked Yuan Shao. When Zhang Miao learned of this, he respected Cao Cao all the more ^c:1819. When Cao Cao campaigned against Tao Qian, he said to his family: "If I do not return, go and rely on Mengzhuo." Such was the depth of their relationship. Later, when Cao Cao returned from Xu Province and met Zhang Miao, they even wept facing each other ^c:1819.

Yet the relationship between Zhang Miao and Cao Cao ultimately came to a breaking point. When Lü Bu left Yuan Shao to take refuge with Zhang Yang, he clasped hands and swore an oath with Zhang Miao, which greatly displeased Yuan Shao. Zhang Miao therefore feared that Cao Cao would in the end attack him for Yuan Shao's sake, and was uneasy at heart ^c:1821. In the first year of Xingping (194 CE), when Cao Cao again campaigned against Tao Qian, Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao plotted with Cao Cao's general Chen Gong, the Attendant Officer of the Household Xu Si, Wang Kai, and others to turn against Cao Cao. Chen Gong urged Zhang Miao: "Now heroes rise together and all under Heaven is split apart. You, with a host commanding a thousand li, occupy a land contested on all sides; sword in hand and gazing about, you are enough to be a hero among men—yet instead you are controlled by another. Is this not contemptible? Now the province's army campaigns east and its base is empty; Lü Bu is a stout warrior, skilled in battle and matchless in advance. If we receive him as the moment allows and jointly govern Yanzhou, watch the shape of the realm, and await the turns of events, this too is a moment of grand maneuvering." Zhang Miao followed Chen Gong's advice ^c:1821.

So Zhang Miao turned against Cao Cao, sending men to welcome Lü Bu into Yanzhou, raising Lü Bu as Governor of Yanzhou, and occupying Puyang. The commanderies and counties of Yanzhou responded one after another; only the three counties of Juancheng, Dong'e, and Fan were held fast for Cao Cao ^c:1821. When Cao Cao learned of this, he at once led his army back to Yanzhou and fought Lü Bu at Puyang. The fighting went against him, and the two sides remained locked for more than a hundred days. At that time there came a great drought and a plague of locusts; the people starved, even to the point of people eating one another. Lü Bu's army ran out of grain too, and he led his troops east to garrison Shanyang ^c:1818. Over the next two years Cao Cao gradually recovered the lost territory and defeated Lü Bu at Juye. Lü Bu finally fled east to take refuge with Liu Bei ^c:1821. Zhang Miao, in this rebellion, ultimately did not succeed; his end is not directly mentioned in the historical sources, but his younger brother Zhang Chao immolated himself after Cao Cao stormed Dingtao ^c:5385.

In the Novel

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Miao's image largely matches the historical record, but the details of his betrayal of Cao Cao and his end differ. In the novel, Zhang Miao held Dingtao together with Lü Bu, Zhang Chao, and others. When Cao Cao attacked Dingtao, Lü Bu once sallied out to fight but was defeated by Cao Cao's ambush troops ^c:1823. After Lü Bu's defeat, Chen Gong urged Lü Bu to abandon the city and flee, and protected Lü Bu's family in leaving. At this time Cao Cao stormed into Dingtao; Zhang Chao immolated himself, while Zhang Miao defected to Yuan Shu ^c:5385. This differs from the historical account of Zhang Miao's end, for the histories do not clearly record that Zhang Miao defected to Yuan Shu.

In the novel, Zhang Miao's betrayal is depicted more as Chen Gong's scheming and incitement, while Zhang Miao himself appears somewhat passive. His deep friendship with Cao Cao is also reflected in the novel, but in the end he still turned to the opposing side out of his suspicion of Cao Cao and Chen Gong's bewitchment. Through the depiction of these details, the novel further highlights the complexity and fragility of human relationships in a chaotic age.

Key Relationships

* Lü Bu (friend_of): Zhang Miao once clasped hands and swore an oath with Lü Bu, and after betraying Cao Cao welcomed Lü Bu into Yanzhou and raised him as Governor of Yanzhou ^c:1821. In the novel, Zhang Miao held Dingtao together with Lü Bu, jointly opposing Cao Cao ^c:1823.
* Cao Cao (friend_of, rival_of): In the early period Zhang Miao and Cao Cao were on excellent terms; Cao Cao once said, "If I do not return, go and rely on Mengzhuo," and refused Yuan Shao's proposal to kill Zhang Miao ^c:1819. In the end, however, Zhang Miao, out of suspicion and Chen Gong's persuasion, betrayed Cao Cao and became his formidable foe in Yanzhou ^c:1821.
* Yuan Shao (rival_of): Zhang Miao once rebuked Yuan Shao to his face for his arrogance, leading Yuan Shao to harbor resentment and even to wish to use Cao Cao's hand to do away with Zhang Miao ^c:1819.
* Yuan Shu's Faction (defected_to): In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Miao defected to Yuan Shu after the fall of Dingtao ^c:5385 (novel only).
* Chen Gong (ally_of): Chen Gong was the key figure who persuaded Zhang Miao to betray Cao Cao and welcome Lü Bu into Yanzhou ^c:1821.

Iconic Scenes

* Speaking out for justice to rebuke Yuan Shao: At the Suanzao assembly, Yuan Shao as leader of the alliance bore himself arrogantly, and Zhang Miao, undaunted by power, rebuked him to his face with upright argument, displaying his chivalrous and righteous character ^c:1819.
* Cao Cao entrusting his family to Zhang Miao: When Cao Cao campaigned against Tao Qian, he said to his family, "If I do not return, go and rely on Mengzhuo." This brief saying profoundly reflects Cao Cao's trust in Zhang Miao and the deep friendship between the two ^c:1819.
* Betraying Cao Cao to welcome Lü Bu: In the first year of Xingping, Zhang Miao, following Chen Gong's advice, betrayed Cao Cao, welcomed Lü Bu into Yanzhou, and raised Lü Bu as Governor of Yanzhou—an act that utterly altered the landscape of Yanzhou and even of the whole Central Plains ^c:1821.
* Defecting to Yuan Shu after the fall of Dingtao: In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Cao Cao stormed Dingtao, Zhang Miao, who had held it together with Zhang Chao and others, defected to Yuan Shu while Zhang Chao immolated himself ^c:5385 (novel only).