Deng Zhi
Deng Zhi, courtesy name Bomiao, was a government official, diplomat and military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of Deng Yu, Deng Zhi started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Liu Bei as a low-level officer in Pi County. After Liu Bei discovered his talent, Deng Zhi steadily rose through the ranks to become a county prefect and later a commandery administrator and imperial secretary. In 223, the Shu regent Zhuge Liang sent him as Shu's envoy to meet Sun Quan, the ruler of Shu's ally state Wu, and reestablish the Wu–Shu alliance against their common rival state Wei. Deng Zhi succeeded in his mission and earned praise from Sun Quan for strengthening Wu–Shu ties. In 227, Deng Zhi became a military general and he participated in the first Shu invasion of Wei by leading a decoy force with Zhao Yun to distract the Wei general Cao Zhen. Although they lost the battle, Deng Zhi and Zhao Yun managed to rally their troops to put up a firm defence during their retreat and minimise their losses. Following Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Deng Zhi rose to higher general ranks and was stationed in present-day Chongqing for about 10 years before he was recalled back to the Shu capital Chengdu in his 70s to serve as General of Chariots and Cavalry. In 248, he suppressed a rebellion in Fuling. He died in 251.
Early life
Deng Zhi was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty in Xinye County, Yiyang Commandery, which is present-day Xinye County, Henan. He was a descendant of Deng Yu, a general who served under Emperor Guangwu in the early Eastern Han dynasty.Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Deng Zhi migrated to Yi Province, where he did not receive as much recognition from the locals as he expected. He then decided to consult Zhang Yu, a low-ranking official in Yi Province who was also a famous fortune teller. Zhang Yu told him: "Sir, once you are above the age of 70, you will rise to the position of General-in-Chief and will receive a peerage as a marquis."
Deng Zhi later heard that Pang Xi, the Administrator of Baxi Commandery, had a reputation for hosting retainers, so he travelled there and became one of Pang Xi's retainers.
Service under Liu Bei
In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from the provincial governor Liu Zhang, Deng Zhi was appointed as a low-level officer in charge of the granary in Pi County. One day, when Liu Bei visited Pi County, he spoke to Deng Zhi and discovered his talent. He was so impressed with Deng Zhi that he appointed Deng Zhi as the Prefect of Pi County, and later promoted him to the position of Administrator of Guanghan Commandery.After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty in 220, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in May 221 and established the state of Shu to challenge the legitimacy of the state of Wei, which replaced the Eastern Han dynasty. Around this time, due to his good performance in office, Deng Zhi was reassigned from Guanghan Commandery to the Shu capital, Chengdu, to serve as a Master of Writing in the imperial secretariat.
As Shu's envoy to Wu
Between August 221 and October 222, Liu Bei went to war with his former ally Sun Quan, who broke their alliance in 219 by seizing Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province and executing Guan Yu, one of Liu Bei's top generals. However, he ended up suffering a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting against Sun Quan's forces.Before Liu Bei died in June 223, Sun Quan sought to make peace with him after the Battle of Xiaoting. In response, Liu Bei had sent Song Wei and Fei Yi as his representatives to meet Sun Quan and agree on a truce. Following Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, became regent to Liu Bei's son and successor Liu Shan as Liu Shan was still underage at the time.
Just when Zhuge Liang feared that Sun Quan would break the truce and was unsure of what to do, Deng Zhi came to see him and told him: "His Majesty is still young and vulnerable. He has only recently ascended the throne. We should send an emissary to Wu to reestablish friendly ties with them." Zhuge Liang replied: "I have thought about this for a long time but I haven't found a suitable person to do this. Now I have found the right person." When Deng Zhi asked him who he had in mind, Zhuge Liang replied: "You, Sir." He then sent Deng Zhi as Shu's envoy to Wu to meet Sun Quan.
First trip to Wu
When Deng Zhi showed up in Wu, Sun Quan refused to meet him so he wrote a memorial to Sun Quan as follows: "I came here today not just for the sake of Shu, but also for the sake of Wu." Sun Quan then granted Deng Zhi an audience and told him: "I genuinely wish to form an alliance with Shu. However, I am worried that the ruler of Shu is still young and vulnerable, and that Shu is so small and weak that it can't save itself from being conquered by Wei. That's why I am having second thoughts."Deng Zhi replied:
Sun Quan thought for a long time before replying: "Sir, you are right." He then decided to break ties with Wei, form an alliance with Shu, and then appointed Zhang Wen as his envoy to follow Deng Zhi back to Shu. Deng Zhi would also negotiate for the return of Zhang Yi who had been captured in a revolt by the locals in Nanzhong led by Yong Kai and sent to Wu.
Second trip to Wu
In Shu, after Zhang Wen reaffirmed the Wu–Shu alliance against Wei, Deng Zhi accompanied him on his journey home and paid another diplomatic visit to Wu. During this time, Sun Quan told Deng Zhi: "How wonderful it would be if two rulers can rule the Empire together in peacetime!" Deng Zhi replied: Sun Quan laughed and told Deng Zhi: "You are truly an honest person!"Sun Quan later wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang as follows: "Ding Gong does it superficially while Yin Hua does it incompletely. Only Deng Zhi does well in bridging ties between our two states." Sun Quan's treatment of Deng Zhi compared with Fei Yi and was considered superior to another favoured envoy Zong Yu.
First Shu invasion of Wei
In 227, Zhuge Liang ordered troops from throughout Shu to mobilise and assemble in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale military campaign against Shu's rival state, Wei. During this time, he commissioned Deng Zhi as General Who Spreads Martial Might and appointed him as Central Supervisor of the Army.In the spring of 228, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead a detachment of troops to Ji Valley and pretend to attack Mei County via Xie Valley. Their mission was to distract and hold the Wei forces' attention, while Zhuge Liang led the Shu main army to attack Mount Qi. In response to the Shu invasion, the Wei emperor Cao Rui sent Zhang He to attack Zhuge Liang at Mount Qi, and Cao Zhen to attack Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi at Ji Valley.
Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi lost to Cao Zhen at the battle in Ji Valley because Zhuge Liang had given them command of the weaker soldiers while he led the better troops to attack Mount Qi. Nevertheless, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi managed to rally their men into putting up a firm defence as they retreated, thus minimising their losses.
In the meantime, the Shu vanguard led by Ma Su suffered a disastrous defeat at Jieting against Wei forces under Zhang He's command. Zhang He then seized the opportunity to attack and recapture three Wei commanderies which defected to the Shu side. Upon learning of the Shu defeats at Ji Valley and Jieting, Zhuge Liang pulled back the Shu forces and retreated to Hanzhong Commandery by the late spring of 228. As a senior official, he would be listed by Zhuge Liang among the names calling for the sack of Li Yan for the attempted cover-up of his failure with supplies.
Guarding Jiangzhou and pacifying Fuling
After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Deng Zhi rose to the positions of Vanguard Military Adviser and General of the Vanguard. He was also appointed as the nominal Inspector of Yan Province as Yan Province was not Shu territory. In addition, he was enfeoffed as a village marquis under the title "Marquis of Yangwu Village". Shortly after, he was put in charge of guarding Jiangzhou near the eastern border of Shu. His fame was compared to other border commanders Wang Ping and Ma Zhong.When he was at Jiangzhou, Deng Zhi had several exchanges with the Wu emperor Sun Quan, who also sent him expensive gifts on numerous occasions.
In 243, Deng Zhi was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry and granted acting imperial authority.
In 248, the people in Fuling, a small vassal state under Shu, killed their Commandant and started a rebellion. In response, Deng Zhi led troops to attack the rebels, defeated them and executed their leaders. Peace was restored in Fuling.
Death
Deng Zhi died in 251. at the age of 74. He was buried in a location about five li southwest of present-day Zitong County, Sichuan.Encounter with the ape
The Chronicles of Huayang recorded that when Deng Zhi led Shu imperial forces to suppress the rebellion in Fuling in 248, he encountered a black ape in the hills. As he enjoyed firing crossbows, he decided to use the ape for target practice and fired a bolt at it. The ape pulled out the bolt from its wound and used twigs and leaves to nurse the wound. When Deng Zhi saw that, he said: "Alas! I have violated the laws of nature. I will die soon!"Another account says that Deng Zhi saw a female ape carrying its child on a tree. He fired a crossbow bolt at them and hit the female ape. The baby ape pulled out the bolt from its mother's wound and used twigs and leaves to nurse the wound. After seeing that, Deng Zhi sighed, threw his crossbow into the water, and knew that he was going to die soon.
Family
Deng Zhi's mother was Zheng Tiansheng.Deng Zhi's son, Deng Liang, inherited his father's peerage and became the next Marquis of Yangwu Village. He served as an official in the selection bureau of the imperial secretariat during the Jingyao era of Liu Shan's reign and was one of the officers sent to surrender to Deng Ai. After the fall of Shu, he served under the Jin dynasty as the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery.