76 Facts About Deng Ai

Deng Ai, courtesy name Shizai, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.

Deng Ai is best known for his pivotal role in the Wei conquest of its rival state, Shu, in late 263.

Deng Ai was described as a very loyal subject who made great contributions to Wei, but was noted for his arrogance and audacity, which led to his downfall and death.

Deng Ai gained greater prominence in Wei from 249 onwards after he joined the Wei general Guo Huai in stopping a Shu invasion.

Deng Ai advised the regent Sima Shi on some issues.

Deng Ai reached the pinnacle of his career in 263, when he led Wei forces to conquer Shu.

In 264, Deng Ai was arrested by Wei Guan and Zhong Hui, who were acting under order by the Wei regent Sima Zhao.

Deng Ai was placed in a prison cart and escorted to the capital Luoyang, but was killed en route by soldiers sent by Wei Guan.

Deng Ai's surviving family members were exiled but allowed to return in 266 after the Jin dynasty was established.

Deng Ai was from Jiyang County, Yiyang Commandery, which is around present-day Xinye County, Henan.

Deng Ai was born towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and lost his father at a young age.

Deng Ai read two lines engraved on Chen Shi's tombstone: "his writings became examples of excellent prose; his conduct served as a role model for scholar-officials".

Deng Ai was so inspired that he wanted to change his given name to Fan and his courtesy name to Shize.

Deng Ai later became an academician under the Commandant of Xiangcheng.

Deng Ai then switched his job to an agricultural officer in charge of grain and fodder.

Deng Ai initially did not show any form of gratitude towards them.

Deng Ai had an acquaintance, Shi Bao, who was about the same age as him.

Deng Ai was later promoted to the rank of an Agricultural Officer of Merit.

Sima Yi felt that Deng Ai was an extraordinary person so he recruited him and promoted him to the position of a Gentleman of Writing.

Deng Ai was sent to survey the lands from the east of Chen and Xiang commanderies to Shouchun, and assess their suitability for agriculture.

Deng Ai saw that the lands were fertile but lacked moisture, so they were not fully utilised.

Deng Ai suggested digging irrigation channels to irrigate the land, and open up new canals for transporting goods by water.

Deng Ai wrote a proposal, the Ji He Lun, to explain his ideas:.

Deng Ai later became a military adviser to the Wei general Xiahou Xuan and served as the Administrator of Nan'an Commandery.

Deng Ai remained behind and garrisoned at the north of Baishui County.

Deng Ai immediately dispatched troops to travel overnight to Taocheng to defend the fortress.

Deng Ai wrote a memorial to the Wei imperial court:.

Deng Ai appointed Deng Ai as the Administrator of Runan Commandery, where Deng lived in his younger days.

Deng Ai gave many gifts to the man's mother and recruited the man's son to be an accounting officer under him.

Deng Ai mobilised the people of Wu to attack our fortress and failed to conquer it after sustaining heavy losses.

Deng Ai was appointed as the Inspector of Yan Province and promoted to General Who Inspires Might.

Deng Ai wrote a memorial to the Wei imperial court:.

Deng Ai was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Fangcheng Village after Cao Mao became the new Wei emperor in 254.

Deng Ai arrested and executed the messengers, and then led troops to suppress the rebellion.

Deng Ai's force occupied Yuejia and started building pontoon bridges.

Deng Ai pursued the fleeing Wen Qin to Qiutou, but Wen Qin still managed to escape and defect to Wei's rival state, Wu.

The Wei general Zhuge Dan ordered Deng Ai to resist the enemy at Feiyang, but Deng saw that if he was stationed in Feiyang he would be in a disadvantageous position, so he relocated his troops to a neighbouring village.

Deng Ai then sent Zhuge Xu to attack the remaining rebels and Wu forces at Lijiang Village, where they defeated the enemy.

However, Deng Ai held a different opinion and he said:.

Jiang Wei retreated to Dong Village, while Deng Ai stationed his troops at Mount Wucheng.

Jiang Wei tried to seize control of the mountainous terrain from Deng Ai, but was driven back.

Deng Ai intercepted Jiang Wei at Duan Valley and defeated him.

Deng Ai planned his strategies well, and displayed courage and loyalty in battle.

Deng Ai defeated tens of enemy officers and killed thousands of enemy troops.

Deng Ai is hereby appointed as General Who Guards the West and put in charge of overseeing military affairs in Longyou.

Deng Ai shall be enfeoffed as the Marquis of Deng, and given 500 taxable households as his marquisate.

Deng Ai defeated Jiang Wei in battle again along the Great Wall and forced him to retreat back to Shu.

Deng Ai was further promoted to General Who Attacks the West, and had the number of taxable households in his marquisate increased to 6,600.

Deng Ai asked an official, Yuan Shao, who was well-versed in the Yijing, to explain to him what his dream meant.

Deng Ai sent Wang Qi to lead troops attack Jiang Wei's camp directly, with Qian Hong leading another force to clear the path, and Yang Xin to attack the enemy positions at Gansong.

Deng Ai wrapped himself in a large piece of felt and rolled down the mountain.

Deng Ai's men climbed trees and scaled cliffs in single file.

Deng Ai let Tian Zhang lead the vanguard and clear the path.

Deng Ai ordered his son Deng Zhong to flank the enemy from the right, and Shi Zuan to flank the enemy from the left.

Liu Shan, the Shu emperor, sent an emissary to present his imperial seal to Deng Ai and indicate his wish to surrender.

When Deng Ai arrived in Chengdu, Liu Shan tied himself up and led an entourage of over 60 people to officially surrender.

Deng Ai freed Liu Shan from his bonds and treated him kindly.

Deng Ai forbid his soldiers from plundering and pillaging the city, and ordered that daily activities in the city resume as per normal.

Deng Ai used his acting imperial authority granted by the Wei government to appoint Liu Shan as acting General of Chariots of Cavalry and grant titles to many former Shu nobles and officials; some of them became his subordinates.

Deng Ai appointed Shi Zuan as the Inspector of Yi Province and put Qian Hong in charge of overseeing the former Shu commanderies.

Deng Ai became arrogant about his achievements in conquering Shu.

Deng Ai was promoted to the position of Grand Commandant in the imperial court and had the number of taxable households in his marquisate increased by 20,000.

Deng Ai wrote to Sima Zhao, suggesting that they let the weary troops rest and recuperate while concurrently making preparations for a future campaign against Wei's other rival state, Wu.

Deng Ai proposed that Liu Shan be treated generously by making him a prince and showering him with luxuries.

Deng Ai grew impatient and argued that they would be wasting time if they had to wait for further instructions from the imperial court before taking action.

Deng Ai quoted lines from the Spring and Autumn Annals and The Art of War to hint that he was justified in ignoring standard protocol and acting autocratically as long as what he did was to Wei's benefit.

Zhong Hui, Hu Lie, Shi Zuan and others accused Deng Ai of showing disrespect for the Wei imperial court's authority, and claimed that he was likely to start a rebellion.

Deng Ai was arrested and placed in a prison cart for his journey to Luoyang.

Deng Ai's surviving family members were exiled and allowed to return only in 266 after Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty issued an imperial edict pardoning them.

Deng Ai Lang served as the Prefect of Danshui County and then as the Prefect of Dingling County.

Deng Qianqiu, another grandson of Deng Ai, was recruited to serve under Wang Rong, a prominent Jin dynasty official.

Deng Ai died before Deng Lang while his two sons perished in the Xiangyang fire.

Deng Ai achieved many successes, but failed to protect himself from hidden pitfalls and dangers, which resulted in his eventual downfall.

Deng Ai mentioned that Deng Ai had been deeply misunderstood because of his boorish and uncouth behaviour, which made him likely to offend people easily.

When Emperor Wu asked about Deng Ai, Fan Zhen became very emotional and he recalled that Deng Ai was a very loyal subject of Wei.

Deng Ai is first introduced as a playable character in the seventh instalment of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.