Cao Zhen
Cao Zhen ( Chinese 曹真 , Pinyin Cáo Zhēn ; * 185 ; † 231 ), majority name Zidan ( Chinese 子丹 , Pinyin Zǐdān ) was a general under Cao Cao and his successors, the emperors of the Wei during the Eastern Han Dynasty and the time the three realms .
Life
According to the Three Kingdoms story , Cao Zhen was a distant nephew of Cao Cao. When he set up an army for the coalition against Dong Zhuo in 190 , his father Cao Shao followed the call, but was killed.
The Short History of Wei by Yu Huan said that Cao Zhen's original family name was Qin and that his father Qin Bonan had been Cao Cao's friend for a long time. When he was pursued by the Yellow Turban rebels in 195 , he fled to the Qin. When the rebels got there and asked for Cao Cao (whose face they did not know), Qin Bonan pretended to be Cao Cao and was slain.
In any case, Cao Cao took young Cao Zhen into his home and raised him like his own son. He also let him live with his successor Cao Pi and Cao Xiu , another distant nephew. Impressed by Cao Zhen's bravery, Cao Cao gave him a command post in the Elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry .
From then on, Cao Zhen took part in the campaigns against the rebels and Liu Bei . After the veteran general Xiahou Yuan was killed in the battle of Mount Dingjun , Cao Zhen was entrusted with the task of retaking Yangping Pass with the troops of Xu Huang .
After Cao Pi succeeded his father in 220, Cao Zhen was appointed general guarding the west and defending Yongzhou and Liangzhou. In 222 he was ordered back to the capital Luoyang and appointed commander in chief, so that he now had power over all internal and external military matters. In the same year, he and Xiahou Shang personally led the force against Sun Quan in Jiangling . After initial successes, the army had to withdraw because of an epidemic.
When Cao Rui ascended the throne of Wei, Cao Zhen retained his posts. In the coming years, the prime minister who led Shu Han , Zhuge Liang , five campaigns against Wei, the Cao Zhen to 230 successfully managed to ward.
That year, in an audience in Luoyang, he was appointed Minister of Defense by the emperor. Cao Zhen switched from defensive to offensive strategy and planned an attack on the border town of Han Zhong , Zhuge Liang's main fortress. In the same year he led his armed force across the southern Ziwu Strait, while Sima Yi and his army moved west along the Han River . Your troops should unite at Nanzheng, southwest of Han Zhong.
But months of heavy rains thwarted this plan, which made the mountain passes impassable. Cao Zhen fell ill and returned to Luoyang, where he died in 231.
Cao Zhen had three sons: Cao Shuang , Cao Xi and Cao Xun.
Web links
- Family Trees Cao and Xiahou (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cao Zhen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zidan |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | General under Cao Cao and his successors |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 185 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 231 |