Chen Tai

Chen Tai (died c.June 260^[b]),^[2]courtesy nameXuanbo, was a military general and official of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Chen Qun and a maternal grandson of Xun Yu.^[c] Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children. When the regent Sima Shi began abusing his power and the emperor Cao Mao died under very suspicious circumstances, Chen Tai expressed his deep loyalty to the Cao Wei state by donning mourning garments at Cao Mao's funeral.

As a scion of two of Wei's most powerful families (the Chen and Xun families), Chen Tai grew up with the sons of other prominent political families such as the Sima family. He was a good friend of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, who later became the regents and de facto rulers of Wei. After he reached adulthood, he was appointed as the Inspector of Bing Province in 244.^[5] There, he fought off raids from the Xianbei tribes and became known as a skilled military leader. At some point during all of this, some officials attempted to bribe him to buy slaves from the tribes, but Chen Tai refused and returned their money. When he was recalled back to the imperial capital Luoyang in 249, Sima Yi had just seized power in a coup against his co-regent, Cao Shuang. Chen Tai was one of several officials who sent letters to Cao Shuang, asking him to give up and surrender to Sima Yi. Cao Shuang did so and was executed along with most of his clan/inner circle later as part of Sima Yi's plan to gain complete control over the Wei government.

With Cao Shuang eliminated, the Sima family become more powerful in Wei and completely monopolised state power. Chen Tai initially favoured the changes in the political environment as he believed that Sima Yi was far more capable as a regent than Cao Shuang. However, he felt uneasy about the growing influence of the Sima family and became torn between his loyalties to the Wei emperor Cao Fang and the regent Sima Yi. To avoid getting caught up in the political rivalries, he requested to be transferred to the western border to guard against invasions by Wei's rival state, Shu Han. The Wei government commissioned him as a general and appointed him as the Inspector of Yong Province, replacing Guo Huai.

In the autumn of 249, the Shu general Jiang Wei led the Shu army to invade Wei's western border. Seeing that Jiang Wei had constructed a fortress at Mount Chu and incited several Qiang tribes to rebel against Wei rule in the neighbouring counties, Chen Tai asked his supervisor, the veteran Wei general Guo Huai, to lead an attack on the fort to cut them off from Jiang Wei's main army. He pointed out that although the fortress at Mount Chu was strong, it was also far from the Shu base and it would be easy to cut off the supply route. Guo Huai, along with Chen Tai and Deng Ai, led the Wei forces to besiege the Shu camp at Mount Chu. They cut off the supply route without difficulty. Acting on Chen Tai's advice, Guo Huai also led his army to occupy Mount Niutou, blocking Jiang Wei's retreat route and cutting him off from his supply routes. Jiang Wei and the Shu forces retreated, abandoning the soldiers at Mount Chu, who quickly surrendered.

Later, in May or June 253, Jiang Wei led the Shu forces to attack Wei territory and besieged the Wei garrison at Didao. At the same time, Zhuge Ke, a general from Wei's other rival state Eastern Wu, also led the Wu forces to attack Wei's eastern border. Jiang Wei hoped that Zhuge Ke would help him divert away the Wei forces' attention to the east and allow him to gain a foothold in the west. However, Guo Huai and Chen Tai led the Wei forces to attack Jiang Wei and managed to lift the siege on Didao, forcing Jiang Wei to withdraw again.

Tras la muerte de Guo Huai en febrero de 255, Chen Tai le sucedió y se hizo cargo de los asuntos militares en la región de Guanzhong . Durante este tiempo, Jiang Wei dirigió a las fuerzas de Shu en un ataque contra Wei con el objetivo de capturar Didao. Chen Tai ordenó a Wang Jing , inspector de la provincia de Yong, que defendiera Didao y custodiara la fortaleza a la espera de refuerzos. Sin embargo, Wang Jing, ansioso por alcanzar la gloria, sacó a las tropas de Didao para atacar al enemigo en el paso de Gu, donde sufrió una derrota y se vio obligado a regresar a Didao con tan solo 10 000 hombres. Wang Jing se centró entonces en la defensa de Didao, siguiendo las instrucciones de Chen Tai. Al enterarse de la derrota de Wang Jing, Chen Tai movilizó rápidamente a sus tropas para acudir en su ayuda. No obstante, también le preocupaba que Jiang Wei aprovechara la oportunidad para atacar el depósito de suministros del ejército de Wei en Liyang, al este, y que reclutara a miembros de la tribu Qiang para unirse al ejército de Shu, lo que supondría una amenaza aún mayor. Para su alivio, Jiang Wei no lo hizo y, en cambio, concentró sus ataques en Didao y sitió la fortaleza. Las fuerzas de Wei, lideradas por Deng Ai, Wang Mi (王秘) y Hu Fen, se unieron al ejército de Chen Tai. Jiang Wei predijo correctamente que llegarían refuerzos de Wei a Didao, por lo que ordenó a algunas unidades que les tendieran una emboscada. Sin embargo, Chen Tai y su ejército tomaron otra ruta a través del terreno montañoso y llegaron a las colinas al sureste de Didao, evitando por completo la otra ruta plagada de emboscadas. Jiang Wei atacó a Chen Tai en las colinas, pero Chen Tai lo hizo retroceder fácilmente gracias a la ventaja del terreno montañoso. A medida que se acercaban más refuerzos de Wei a Didao, Jiang Wei se dio cuenta de que el asedio no podía durar más, así que retiró las fuerzas de Shu y se replegó a Zhongti en octubre o noviembre de 255. ^{[ 6 ]}

En 256, el gobierno de Wei llamó a Chen Tai de regreso a Luoyang , la capital imperial , dejando al general Deng Ai a cargo de la defensa fronteriza. En Luoyang, Chen Tai se desempeñó inicialmente como Supervisor de los Maestros de Escritura (es decir, la Secretaría Imperial) bajo la administración del regente Sima Zhao . En 257, cuando el general de Wei, Zhuge Dan, inició una rebelión en Shouchun (actual condado de Shou , Anhui ), Sima Zhao dejó a Chen Tai al mando del cuartel general mientras dirigía las fuerzas imperiales de Wei para sofocar la rebelión. Chen Tai también ayudó a coordinar los diversos ejércitos de Wei que se habían movilizado desde todo el Imperio Wei para ayudar a Sima Zhao a aplastar la revuelta. La rebelión fue completamente sofocada a principios de 258.

En junio de 260, el emperador Wei Cao Mao lanzó un golpe de estado en un intento por recuperar el poder del regente Sima Zhao, pero fracasó y terminó siendo asesinado por Cheng Ji, un oficial al servicio de Jia Chong , uno de los colaboradores cercanos de Sima Zhao. Chen Tai intentó acudir rápidamente al lugar para calmar los ánimos, pero llegó demasiado tarde. Al ver el cadáver de Cao Mao, lloró y se negó a asistir a las sesiones de la corte imperial en protesta por el asesinato del emperador. Sin embargo, cedió y regresó al trabajo después de que Sima Fu , un funcionario Wei muy respetado y tío de Sima Zhao, lo persuadiera para que lo hiciera. Jia Chong se atribuyó la responsabilidad de la muerte de Cao Mao, pero Sima Zhao lo perdonó y mandó ejecutar a Cheng Ji en su lugar; Chen Tai se opuso firmemente a la decisión de Sima Zhao y lo instó a ejecutar a Jia Chong, pero el regente se negó. ^{[ 7 ] [ d ]} Chen Tai murió angustiado poco después. ^{[ e ]}

• Listas de personas de los Tres Reinos

• Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• Fang, Xuanling (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotated Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).