Wei Dingguo
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Wei Dingguo (魏定国) is character in the epic Chinese novel the Water Margin.
Wei Dingguo donned a red helmet, with a red feather at the tip, and wore a set of red-coloured armour. He carried a bow and arrows with him, and rode on a red horse, wielding a broad sword into battle. He excelled in using fire to attack his enemies, often injuring them severely with his fire-based weapons. Thus, he was nicknamed the 'General of holy fire' (神火将).
Wei Dingguo served as a military instructor in Lingzhou along with Shan Ting-gui and the Imperial Court once ordered them to attack Liangshan. Guan Sheng, along with his vanguards Xuan Zan and Hao Si-wen, came to challenge the two generals. Shan and Wei lured Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen into their military formation and successfully captured them. Guan Sheng lost the first battle, but managed to capture Shan Tinggui in a duel during the second battle. Shan then agreed to surrender and join Liangshan.
Wei was furious and rode out of Lingzhou to fight Guan Sheng, and feigned defeat, while at the same time he tried to attack Guan on the sly with his fire weapons. Shan managed to stop Guan Sheng from pursuing Wei, while the Liangshan heroes seized the opportunity to occupy Lingzhou. With nowhere else to turn to, Wei Dingguo could only retreat to Zhongling Prefecture. Shan Tinggui rode alone to meet Wei Dingguo, and after that Shan managed to persuade Wei to surrender and join Liangshan.
Wei Dingguo became one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry and one of the 72 Earthly Fiends. After Song Jiang had obtained amnesty from the emperor, Wei followed the heroes on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels. During the Fang La campaign, Wei followed Lu Junyi into battle and successfully conquered Xuanzhou and Huzhou. Then Wei Dingguo and Shan Tinggui led an army to attack Wengzhou. They saw the gates of the city wide open without any guards, so they charged inside, hoping to gain the top credit. Not knowing it was a trap, both of the heroes fell into a pit and were killed by enemy troops.
