Man Chong, courtesy name Boning, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
35 Facts About Man Chong
1.
2.
Man Chong previously served under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
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Man Chong is best known for defending the city of Hefei from a series of invasions by Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu, between 230 and 235.
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Man Chong was from Changyi County, Shanyang Commandery, which is located northwest of present-day Jinxiang County, Shandong.
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One day, Man Chong led his guards into the guesthouse where Zhang Bao stayed and arrested him on allegations of corruption.
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Man Chong was later appointed as the Prefect of Xu County, the new imperial capital of the Eastern Han dynasty between 196 and 220.
7.
When Man Chong ignored his request, Cao Hong brought up the issue to Cao Cao, who summoned the official in charge to come and see him.
8.
Man Chong thought that Cao Cao wanted to pardon Cao Hong's retainers, so he immediately executed them.
9.
Man Chong, who was in charge of interrogating Yang Biao, received requests from his colleagues Xun Yu and Kong Rong to refrain from flogging the well-regarded scholar Yang Biao during the interrogation.
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However, Man Chong ignored them and did everything by the book.
11.
From his viewpoint, even though Man Chong deserved praise for doing things by the book, it was not enough to make up for his cruelty.
12.
In 208, Man Chong led his troops from Runan Commandery to join Cao Cao on a military campaign to conquer Jing Province and attack the rival warlords Sun Quan and Liu Bei.
13.
Man Chong brought troops to Fancheng to assist Cao Ren in resisting Guan Yu's attack.
14.
Man Chong drowned his horse and pledged to stay with the soldiers in Fancheng to the end.
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When Xu Huang, another of Cao Cao's generals, showed up at Fancheng with reinforcements, Man Chong joined him in attacking Guan Yu and succeeded in breaking the siege on Fancheng.
16.
Sometime between 220 and 222, Man Chong participated in two battles against Wei's rival state, Eastern Wu, founded by Cao Cao's old rival Sun Quan.
17.
Man Chong foresaw that the enemy would attempt to set fire to his camp at night as the winds were strong, so he warned his subordinates and put his troops on high alert.
18.
Man Chong deduced that the Wu forces were deliberately spreading misinformation and that their true target was Xiyang County, so he gave orders to strengthen the defences at Xiyang County.
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However, Cao Rui did not approve and, as a compromise, he allowed Man Chong to bring a following of one thousand personal retainers to Yang Province while the rest had to remain in Runan Commandery.
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Man Chong knew that Sun Quan was only pretending to retreat to put him off guard, and would come back to attack Hefei again once the reinforcements left.
21.
Man Chong was proven right as Sun Quan attacked Hefei after about 10 days.
22.
Man Chong was not on good terms with his colleague, Wang Ling, who spread rumours that Man Chong was addicted to alcohol, physically unfit for his job, and unruly and defiant.
23.
When Man Chong met the emperor, he appeared to be in good health and remained sober after consuming one dan of alcohol.
24.
Man Chong wanted to remain in Luoyang so he repeatedly sought permission from Cao Rui but was denied.
25.
Wang Ling, unable to get any troops from Man Chong's units, had to send his own subordinates and 700 soldiers from his own units to meet Sun Bu.
26.
In 232, when the Wu general Lu Xun led troops to attack Lujiang Commandery, Man Chong's subordinates urged him to send reinforcements there.
27.
In 233, Man Chong wrote a memorial to the Wei imperial court, seeking permission to move the troops out of Hefei and station them in an area some 30 li west of the city, and build a fortress there.
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Man Chong sent in another memorial to argue that his plan would work because it would mislead the Wu forces into thinking that they were giving up on Hefei and lure them deeper into Wei territory, where they would lose their advantage in naval warfare and become more vulnerable.
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Man Chong quoted lines from The Art of War in his memorial to support his point on using deception to lure the enemy into a trap.
30.
Once forces were gathered, Man Chong wanted to abandon Hefei and lure Sun Quan's forces to Shouchun but the Emperor refused, certain Sun Quan would be held up at Hefei and retreat before Cao Rui himself could arrive.
31.
Man Chong then sent his troops to launch a surprise attack on them, destroying their strongholds and burning down their crops.
32.
The total number of taxable households in Man Chong's marquisate increased over the years until it reached 9,600.
33.
Man Chong was honoured with the posthumous title "Marquis Jing" after death.
34.
Man Chong had at least three sons and one daughter.
35.
Man Chong is a playable character in the ninth instalment of the Dynasty Warriors video game series by Koei Tecmo.