Ma Chao
Ma Chao , courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma Teng, a prominent warlord in Liang Province. In 211, he formed a coalition with Han Sui and other northwestern warlords and revolted against the Han central government, which was led by the warlord Cao Cao. The coalition broke up after losing the Battle of Tong Pass against Cao Cao's forces. Ma Chao initially retreated, but later returned to attack and seize control of Liang Province by killing the provincial inspector Wei Kang and forcing Wei Kang's subordinates to submit to him. About a year after Ma Chao started his uprising, Emperor Xian issued an imperial decree ordering the execution of Ma Chao's family members, who were in Ye city at the time. In the meantime, Wei Kang's subordinates, led by Zhao Ang, Yang Fu and others, rebelled against Ma Chao and forced him out of Liang Province. Ma Chao retreated to Hanzhong Commandery, where he borrowed troops from the warlord Zhang Lu, and returned to attack Liang Province but was ultimately defeated and driven back. Ma Chao took shelter under Zhang Lu for a while until around 214, when he heard that the warlord Liu Bei was fighting for control over Yi Province with Yi Province's governor, Liu Zhang. He defected to Liu Bei's side and assisted Liu Bei in capturing Yi Province from Liu Zhang. Ma Chao had served as a general under Liu Bei since then and participated in the Hanzhong Campaign in 219. He died in 222.
In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Chao is romanticised as a heroic warrior and one of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei. In the novel, the descriptions of his character and personality, as well as the order of some events involving him, have been significantly modified for dramatic effect. For example, in the novel he started the Battle of Tong Pass to take revenge against Cao Cao for murdering his family, but historically he waged war against Cao Cao first, and then his family members were implicated and executed about one year later. In the novel, he also engaged Xu Chu and Zhang Fei in one-on-one duels at the Battle of Tong Pass and Battle of Jiameng Pass respectively, but historically the duels never took place and the Battle of Jiameng Pass is actually a fictional battle.
Family background
Ma Chao was from Maoling County, Youfufeng Commandery, which is located northeast of present-day Xingping, Shaanxi. He was the eldest son of Ma Teng, who descended from Ma Yuan, a general who lived in the early Eastern Han dynasty. Ma Teng's father, Ma Ping, whose courtesy name was Zishuo, served as a military officer in Tianshui Commandery during the reign of Emperor Huan. After losing his post, Ma Ping went to live among the Qiang tribes in the region, married a Qiang woman and had a son, Ma Teng. Ma Teng, along with Han Sui and others, were warlords who held considerable influence in Liang Province towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and were reluctant to submit to Han rule. In 192, Ma Teng accepted the appointment of General Who Attacks the West from the Han imperial court and garrisoned his army at Mei County. However, he rebelled against the Han dynasty later and attacked the city of Chang'an but failed to conquer it so he retreated back to Liang Province.Early career
During the early Jian'an era, Ma Teng and Han Sui battled against each other. Around age twenty, Ma Chao was famous for his strength and fought on his father's side. During a battle, Yan Xing stabbed him with his spear. As the spear broke, he used it to strike Ma Chao's neck and nearly killed him. Conflict between Ma Teng and Han Sui ended in 200, when Zhong Yao and Wei Duan convinced them to reconcile.In 197, the warlord Cao Cao – who had become the de facto head of the Han central government – placed Zhong Yao, the Colonel-Director of Retainers, in charge of guarding the Guanzhong region. Zhong Yao wrote to Ma Teng and Han Sui, explaining to them the benefits of submitting to the Han court and the negative consequences of not doing so. When Cao Cao became the Imperial Chancellor, he wanted to recruit Ma Chao to serve in the Han government, but Ma refused.
In 202, when Cao Cao was on a series of campaigns to unify northern China after his victory over Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu two years earlier, he ordered Zhong Yao to attack Yuan's allies Gao Gan and Guo Yuan in Pingyang. Ma Teng sent Ma Chao to assist Zhong Yao. Ma Chao served as an Assistant Officer Who Supervises the Army under Zhong Yao. During the battle, he was hit by a stray arrow in the foot, but he wrapped his foot in a pouch and continued fighting. His subordinate Pang De slew Guo Yuan and they defeated the enemy.
Ma Teng got into conflict with Han Sui later, so he requested to leave Liang Province and work in the capital. He was granted permission and appointed as the Minister of the Guards by the Han court. Ma Chao was appointed as a Lieutenant-General, made a Marquis of a Chief Village, and placed in charge of his father's troops in Liang Province. Ma Chao's younger brothers Ma Xiu and Ma Tie were appointed as a Commandant of Equipage and a Commandant of Iron Cavalry respectively, and were ordered to bring all their family members with them to Ye. Only Ma Chao remained behind in Liang Province.
Uprising against the Cao Cao controlled Han Government
Battle of Tong Pass
In 211, Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao and Xiahou Yuan to lead an army to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. They were due to pass through the Guanzhong region along the way. Ma Chao suspected that Cao Cao was planning to attack him, so he contacted Han Sui to form an alliance. He told Han Sui, "Previously, Zhong Yao ordered me to harm you. Now, I know that the people from Guandong cannot be trusted. Now, I abandon my father, and I'm willing to acknowledge you as my father. You should also abandon your son, and treat me like your son." Han Sui's subordinate, Yan Xing, urged his superior not to cooperate with Ma Chao but Han still agreed to the alliance. Ma Chao also contacted Yang Qiu, Li Kan, Cheng Yi, Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Zhang Heng, Liang Xing, Ma Wan and others, and they formed a 100,000 strong coalition army to attack Tong Pass. Liu Zhang, the governor of Yi Province, wanted to marry his daughter to Ma Chao to build ties with Ma, but Wang Shang, a commandery administrator under Liu Zhang, opposed the idea and said that Ma Chao was courageous but inhumane and untrustworthy.Cao Cao led an army to Tong Pass to attack Ma Chao and the coalition, resulting in the Battle of Tong Pass. After both sides clashed in a few engagements, Cao Cao had talks with Ma Chao and Han Sui. Ma Chao relied on his great strength and secretly harboured the intention of dashing forth and capturing Cao Cao when they met. However, he did not dare to make his move when Xu Chu, one of Cao Cao's close aides, glared at him. Cao Cao later followed Jia Xu's strategy to sow discord between Ma Chao and Han Sui and make them become suspicious of each other. Taking advantage of the hostility between Ma Chao and Han Sui, Cao Cao launched an attack on the northwestern warlords and defeated them.
Earlier on, when Cao Cao's forces were at Puban and were planning to cross the Wei River and head west, Ma Chao told Han Sui, "We should resist them at the north of the Wei River. Within 20 days, their supply stores on the east of the river will be depleted, after which they will definitely retreat." However, Han Sui rejected his idea and said, "We should send our forces to engage the enemy on the river. Isn't this more direct?" When Cao Cao heard of Ma Chao's plan, he remarked, "If the young horse doesn't die, I can't have a proper burial place."
Battles in Guanzhong
Ma Chao retreated further west after his defeat at Tong Pass. Cao Cao pursued him to Anding but gave up on the pursuit and headed east after receiving news about unrest in northern China. Yang Fu warned Cao Cao, "Ma Chao has the courage of Han Xin and Ying Bu, and both the Qiang and Rong peoples deeply respect him. If we retreat now and don't station defences here, we'll forfeit all the territories in this area." After Cao Cao left, as Yang Fu predicted, Ma Chao led the various tribes in the region to attack the commanderies and counties in Guanzhong, while the people responded to his call and joined him in the revolt. Ma Chao killed Wei Kang, the Inspector of Liang Province, and seized control of Liang Province's capital Jicheng and forced Wei Kang's subordinates to submit to him. He then appointed himself General Who Attacks the West and Governor of Bing Province, and took charge of military affairs in Liang Province.While Ma Chao besieged Wei Kang, Xiahou Yuan wanted to lead reinforcements to help him but arrived too late as Ji had already fallen to Ma Chao with Xiahou Yuan still more than 200 li away from Ji. Ma Chao led an army out to face Xiahou Yuan who would prove unable to defeat Ma Chao and decided to withdraw his troops when he heard that the Di tribes in Qian County had started a rebellion.
Wei Kang's former subordinates – Yang Fu, Jiang Xu, Liang Kuan, Zhao Qu and others – were unhappy with Ma Chao so they plotted to get rid of him. Yang Fu and Jiang Xu rebelled against Ma Chao in Lucheng, while the others in Jicheng pretended to urge Ma to suppress the revolt. Ma Chao followed their advice and led an army to attack Lucheng but could not conquer the city. When he returned to Jicheng, he saw that Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu had closed the city gates and barred him from entering. Zhao Qu and the others also killed Ma Chao's wife and child in Jicheng.
In the summer of 212, about a year after Ma Chao rebelled against the Cao Cao controlled Han court, Cao Cao forced Emperor Xian to issue a decree ordering the execution of Ma Chao's father Ma Teng and the rest of his family who were with him at the time in Ye.
Ma Chao fled to Hanzhong, where he borrowed troops from the warlord Zhang Lu, and returned to attack those who drove him out of Guanzhong. He besieged Jiang Xu, Zhao Ang and their allies at Mount Qi for about 30 days until reinforcements led by Cao Cao's generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He showed up and lifted the siege.