Hao Zhao
| Hao Zhao | |||
| Traditional Chinese | 郝昭 | ||
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| Simplified Chinese | 郝昭 | ||
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Hao Zhao, courtesy name Bodao (伯道), was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His single most important victory over the much larger Shu Han army led by Zhuge Liang during the Siege of Chencang made him a celebrity overnight, but he soon died of illness before he could further his exploits.
Hao Zhao was born in Taiyuan, and he joined the army at a young age. Described as masculine and strong, the physically adept Hao Zhao was soon assigned an superintendent to a group of militia under the Han Dynasty's chancellor, Cao Cao. He performed a few valorous deeds in battle as a captain, and was awarded the lowest ranking of generalship as a reward.
One record of history also suggests in 214-215 Hao Zhao had participated in the successful defense of Xiaoyao Ford as a subordinate commander under Zhang Liao and in one particular operation he rode straight towards Sun Quan's main force with only 800 soldiers and successfully killed Chen Wu in the melee.
As a general, Hao Zhao was dispatched to Hexi (河西) and stayed there for roughly ten years, earning both the fear and obeisance from the residents and foreign tribes alike. during his tenure in this area he suppressed many uprisings including the rebellions of three tribes
Some years later, when the regent of Shu, Zhuge Liang, deployed for his second campaign against the rival state of Wei, the Wei marshal, Cao Zhen, correctly predicted Zhuge's route of advancement, and recommended Hao Zhao to build fortifications for Chencang, assuring the young emperor, Cao Rui, of the defense. However, Hao Zhao was only assigned 1,000 men for the building project. After the failure on Mount Qi and Jieting, the Shu regent indeed changed his target to Chencang as Cao Zhen foresaw. This time, Zhuge Liang brought with him a selection of siege weapons, and 100,000 troops. He determined to march through Chencang, in order to establish a foothold for further military actions. When the attackers reached the fortress-city, the defences had not been completed as Cao Zhen had not sent additional forces as reinforcements.
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