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Ma Zhong
?? - 222
Ma Zhong was a commander serving the kingdom of Wu.
After the Southland had successfully defeated Guan Yu at Jingzhou in AD 219, Ma Zhong was placed under the command of Pan Zhang with orders to pursue the now fleeing general. Yu retreated to the small town of Mai, which the southern army surrounded immediately. After offers of surrender were refused, Lu Meng ordered Zhong to wait in ambush on the main road to Chengdu. Ma Zhong did so and, true enough to Lu Meng’s prediction, Guan Yu and his son Ping attempted to flee the road shortly after. Zhong attacked the retinue immediately, but because Guan Yu’s forces were few, most of them were overcome and killed, forcing Yu into flight once again. Seeing this, Ma Zhong led his own men onto a place called Breach in the Rocks in preparation for another attack on Guan Yu and Guan Ping. Once the two came into view, Zhong had his men grapple Yu from his horse with hooks and loops and then captured the general himself. Guan Ping suffered a similar fate at the hands of commanders Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran. (1)
Following his capture of Guan Yu, Ma Zhong hustled the general into Sun Quan’s command tent who, upon consulting with his advisers, had executed along with his son, Guan Ping. For his accomplishments in the attack, Ma Zhong was presented with Guan Yu’s great steed, Red Hare. However, the horse refused any food offered to it by Zhong and died several days later.
In AD 222, Liu Bei, ruler of the kingdom of Shu, led an army onto the Southland. Their forces were originally met by General Sun Huan, but after Huan suffered defeat, Sun Quan sent another army forward to oppose the westerners with Ma Zhong serving as one of their commanders. As the southerners approached the Shu army’s position, they were met by General Huang Zhong. Pan Zhang went out to meet him but, after several bouts, wheeled about and fled.
“Stand your ground, traitor!” Huang Zhong cried. “Today I will avenge Lord Guan.”
As Huang Zhong pursued Pan Zhang, Ma Zhong and the rest of the southern army attacked the veteran general from his rear. Ma Zhong raced down one of the surrounding hillsides, bow in hand, and let fly a single arrow that hit Huang Zhong in his armpit, almost killing him. Many Riverlands troops were killed in the ensuing melee, but when commanders Guan Xing and Zhang Bao came to the westerners aid, Ma Zhong and the rest of the southern army retired. Due to the injury inflicted upon him by Ma Zhong, Huang Zhong died in camp soon after. (2)
One night, Ma Zhong noticed that his commander, Pan Zhang, was not present in the camps. Worried that something had happened to him, Zhong mounted his horse and organised a retinue of three hundred to search for the general. After searching for some time, Ma Zhong came upon Guan Xing; the son of Guan Yu – from his horse hung the head of Pan Zhang. Overcome with anger and grief, Zhong attacked Xing, but before the winner of the fight could be recognised, a troop of soldiers led by enemy commander Zhang Bao arrived on the scene. Unable to hold up against their forces, Ma Zhong raced back to camp and reported what had happened to commanders Han Dang and Zhou Tai.
Following these events, Ma Zhong gathered his soldiers and posted them at various positions surrounding the Wu encampment. Zhong then ordered commanders Mi Fang and Fu Shiren – who had both surrendered to Wu after Guan Yu’s defeat at Jingzhou – to occupy a split of land in the river. His forces consolidated, Ma Zhong headed for his tent to rest for the night. However, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren entered Zhong’s tent during the third watch of the night and murdered the newly distinguished general in his sleep. (3)
Author’s notes
(1): SGZ (San Guo Zhi) records that Ma Zhong captured both Guan Yu and Guan Ping, rather than him only capturing the former.
(2): Historically, Huang Zhong died before Liu Bei's campaign against the Southland.
(3): Mi Fang and Fu Shiren had hoped to offer Ma Zhong’s head to Liu Bei as an appeal of forgiveness for their betrayal. However, Liu Bei had the two executed for their treachery. There is no historical record of this occurring in SGZ - both Mi Fang and Fu Shiren died whilst in service to Wu, suggesting that Ma Zhong did not die during Liu Bei’s attack on the Southland
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Xie Jing
?? - 222
Xie Jing, styled Shufa, was a commander serving the kingdom of Wu, often thought of as a man of great bravery by those in the Southland.
In AD 222, Liu Bei launched a massive campaign against the Southland. Initially, Sun Huan boasted he could undertake the defence and repel the invasion, and when asked how he intended to do so by the south’s ruler, Sun Quan, he replied: “I have two commanders under me, Li Yi and Xie Jing – both men of unconquerable courage. I ask for thirty to fifty thousand troops to take Liu Bei alive.”
Sun Quan agreed to Huan’s proposal and after placing under his command fifty thousand troops, Xie Jing set off with the army to confront Liu Bei’s forces at Yidu. After a string of camps had been established by the southerners, Xie Jing mounted and rode out to the entrance of the formation along with Sun Huan and Li Yi. From his vantage point, Jing could see Riverlands commanders Guan Xing and Zhang Bao riding out from the Shu encampment; the latter of which had begun charging directly for Sun Huan. Seeing this, Xie Jing urged his own mount forward and attacked Bao, exchanging more than thirty bouts with the commander before returning to his own line. Wild fighting ensued between each force, resulting in heavy casualties for both, but when Li Yi fell to an attack made by Guan Xing, Xie Jing and the rest of the southerners retired the field.
The next day, Xie Jing and the Wu army appeared in force once again, but when Sun Huan was defeated in a clash with Guan Xing, they were forced to defend their encampments against a frenzied assault. The southerners were further attacked by commanders Zhang Bao, Wu Ban, Zhang Nan and Feng Xi, and Xie Jing began organising a defence against them. Whilst doing so, he came upon Zhang Bao and attacked him immediately, but this time he was speared through and killed. (1)
Author's notes:
(1): Historically, Xie Jing did not die during Liu Bei's campaign against the Southland, though it is uncertain exactly how he did.
