Meng Huo
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Meng Huo (孟獲), King of Nanman, was the chieftain and leader of the tribes in the Nanzhong region south of the Kingdom of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was involved in several small skirmishes with Shu earlier, but when Wu and Wei were concentrating on fighting one another, Shu's Zhuge Liang launched a full invasion on the tribes. After being captured by Zhuge Liang seven times, he surrendered to him and swore his allegiance to Shu.
Meng Huo was married to Zhu Rong, who claimed descent from the god of fire.
In the official histories, Meng Huo was in fact Chinese. The above description is based on the partly-fictitious Luo Guanzhong novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where he is portrayed as a Nanman (literally "southern barbarian"), which was the name the Chinese gave to the tribesmen of the Nanzhong region.
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[edit] In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- In the third year of Jian Xing a bulletin came to Yizhou announcing, "Meng Huo has led one hundred thousand Man tribesmen across our borders to plunder the villages." (Chapter 87 - Paragraph 2)
- Despite protest from Court Conselor Wang Lian (Wenyi), Zhuge Liang (Kongming) leaves to lead five hundred thousand soldiers against the southern forces.
- The Shu forces were led by Zhuge Liang. Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan were his generals, their lieutenants being Wang Ping and Zhang Yi.
- Meng Huo speaks to Zhuge Liang: "The whole of the Riverlands once belonged to another. Your lord seized it by force and proclaimed himself emperor. My ancestors held these lands, which you have encroached upon so barbarically." (87-36)
- Zhuge Liang captures and frees Meng Huo: "I can catch him again with ease whenever I choose to. But pacification of the south requires that we subdue the hearts of the Man people." (88-1)
- During the conquest, Meng Huo was captured on seven different occasions, by Zhuge Liang. In addition, many Nanman generals and lieutenants were captured and treated with kindess. This caused many withdrawals and eventually the pacification of the south.
- Zhuge Liang: "I guessed the enemy would be looking for an ambush in the woods, so I set up decoy banners there to confuse them. There were never any troops. Next, I had Wei Yan lose a series of battles to strengthen their confidence... I ordered Ma Dai to deploy the black wagons in the valley - they had been loaded earlier with fire launchers called 'earth thunder', each containing nine missiles... We cut off the road and burned out the enemy..." (90-41)
- Finally, Meng Huo admits defeat: "Seven times captured, seven times freed! Such a thing has never happened! Though I stand beyond the range of imperial grace, I am not utterly ignorant of ritual, of what propriety and honor require. No, I am not so shameless!" (90-44)
[edit] Modern references
Meng Huo has been a playable character in the Koei video game, Dynasty Warriors, since the third installment in the series. His story generally involves a group of battles revolving around protecting Nan Zhong from the various invading northern warlords. This occurs in various orders and locations throughout each game, but usually culminates in a final face-off with Zhuge Liang and the Shu Han. Meng Huo is portrayed as a sweet but short tempered man who frustratedly attempts to outwit Zhuge Liang at every turn, but fails dismally each time. He has a very strong relationship with his troops and officers, and all consider themselves a close family with an unbreakable spirit. Although Meng is "Great King," and technically the leader of the Nan Zhong people, he is shown to be completely submissive to his wife, Zhu Rong, who is far more intelligent and aggressive than Meng. Extremely ambitious, Zhu often attempts to coerce her husband into making aggressive invasions of neighbouring territories and provinces, scolding him for being contented with his present kingdom and lands, in an attempt to insult him and cause him to lose face amongst his men. Meng usually falls for these ploys hook, line and sinker, and winds up worked into an aggressive frenzy with Zhu pleased by his furious change-of-heart. He is depicted as a large, dark-skinned man, with a bushy beard and animal skin clothing. He has extremely powerful attacks, but at the same time, he is extremely slow and his attacks are easily blocked or intercepted by faster characters. He is often seen leading the charge with his troops, usually with smaller units that carry out hit-and-run attacks on vulnerable officers and rearguard forces, but will retreat to his main camp if the enemy presses deep into his territory. His weapons of choice are a pair of large, gauntlets called the "King of Beasts," which are shaped like wolves heads.
[edit] Reference
- Luo Guanzhong, translated by Moss Roberts (2004). Romance of the Three Kingdoms, University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22503-1.
