General serving warlord Yuan Shao ( died 200 )
Wen Chou ( ( help · information ) ) ( died 200 ) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of equal warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of battle .

life [edit ]

historic records pertaining to Wen Chou are scarce. References to him could be found in the Records of the Three Kingdoms in the biographies of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Xun Yu and Xun You, from where it could be gathered that Wen Chou was a ferocious warrior whose art in conflict matched that of his counterpart, Yan Liang. In 200, after Yan Liang was killed in the Battle of Boma, Yuan Shao brought his independent army south of the Yellow River and launched a full-fledged attack on Cao Cao. Wen Chou and Liu Bei were sent forth with a avant-garde force out of more than 5,000 riders to pursue Cao Cao ‘s retreat forces. Making a stand atop a knoll, Cao Cao retained less than 600 cavalry and let loose the remaining horses.

As Wen Chou ‘s troops arrived, many broke ranks to loot the horses and other supplies. Cao Cao then gave order for a counterattack. The small but elite cavalry storm scored a bright victory over the disorganized enemy and killed Wen Chou in battle .

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms [edit ]

In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wen Chou is said to have a front like that of the xiezhi. [ a ] In chapter 5, Yuan Shao praises Wen Chou ‘s art in battle when he laments, while under attack by Hua Xiong, that “ If I had either Yan Liang or Wen Chou here, I would have nothing to fear. ”

This comment foreshadows the appearance of Wen Chou in chapter 26, where he volunteers to avenge his close friend Yan Liang, who is killed in the Battle of Boma by Guan Yu. Given 70,000 troops, Wen Chou crosses the Yellow River and heads straight towards Cao Cao ‘s camp. In an strange move, Cao Cao turns his entire formation around, placing the supplies in front. While Wen Chou ‘s soldiers are busy looting the supplies, Cao Cao directs his men south onto a knoll, from where they allow their horses to graze. Wen Chou ‘s soldiers pounce upon the horses as they approach the knoll and become disorganize. Cao Cao then gives the ordain for a counterattack, forcing the foe to retreat. Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, two of Cao Cao ‘s best generals, give furrow. Wen Chou fires two arrows from atop his cavalry, one of which slices off the feather on Zhang Liao ‘s helmet and the other hits his horse in the grimace. Brandishing his poleax, Xu Huang charges towards Wen Chou but has to retreat when a band of foe soldiers come to their commanding officer ‘s rescue.

Leading a twelve riders, Guan Yu then cuts off Wen Chou ‘s elude and engaged him in a duel. Within three bouts, Wen Chou retreat and attempts to evade. however, Guan Yu ‘s knight, the Red Hare, is of a superior breed and soon catches up with him. Guan Yu then kills Wen Chou from behind .

See besides [edit ]

Notes [edit ]

  1. ^ The xiezhi ( 獬豸 ) is a fabled animal which purportedly looks hideous .

References [edit ]