Zhang Zhaoda

Zhang Zhaoda (517–19 January 571), courtesy name Botong, was a military general of the Liang and Chen during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. During the Hou Jing Disturbance, he raised troops in support of the Liang and became a prominent general through his association with the future Emperor Wen of Chen. Following the establishment of the Chen dynasty, he led several successful campaigns to pacify and consolidate the empire's territory in the southeast and far south, defeating the warlords Zhou Di, Chen Baoying and Ouyang He. He also led the first northern expedition of the Taijian era under Emperor Xuan of Chen, though the campaign yielded minimal success and he soon died of illness.

Early life and background Zhang Zhaoda was born into a family of officials from Wukang County (武康縣), Wuxing Commandery (吳興郡; in present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang). His grandfather, Zhang Daogai (章道蓋) was the administrator of Guangping during the Southern Qi dynasty, while his father, Zhang Fashang (章法尚) was an official in Yang province under the Liang. During the Datong era (535–546), Zhang Zhaoda served as a Palace Attendant to the Crown Prince, Xiao Gang. In 549, when the general, Hou Jing rebelled and laid siege to the capital, Jiankang, he rallied his fellow villagers to rescue the city. After the fall of the capital later that year, he returned to his hometown.

Zhang Zhaoda was blind in one eye. According to his biography in the Book of Chen, he once met a fortune teller when he was young who told him, "Your appearance is excellent, but you must go through a minor ordeal before you can attain wealth and status." While serving under Xiao Gang, he fell from his horse while drunk and suffered a minor injury to his temple. Zhang, believing he had fulfilled the prophecy, was delighted at first, but the fortune teller told him no. While fighting against Hou Jing at Jiankang, one of his eyes was shot by a stray arrow. Afterwards, he saw the fortune teller again, who said, "Your appearance is perfect; you will soon achieve high status."

Service under Chen Baxian Back in his hometown, Zhang Zhaoda met and became friends with Chen Qian, the nephew of the Liang general, Chen Baxian. He joined Chen Qian in his travels, and the two's relationship was described to be that of a ruler and subject. After Hou Jing's defeat in 552, Chen Qian was appointed Administrator of Wuxing, so Zhang personally visited him with a whip to pay his respects. Chen was pleased to see Zhang and appointed him as a general in his staff, where he received great favour from Chen that surpassed his other peers.

In 564, Chen Baoying repeatedly attempted to entice Zhang Zhaoda to attack him, but Zhang remained unmoved. Soon enough, a rainstorm arrived and caused the river to rise significantly. Zhang then employed the rafts he built to ram against Chen's water palisades and broke through his defences. He sent his soldiers to attack Chen's infantry, and just as the battle was about to begin, Emperor Wen sent Yu Xiaoqing to lead the forces of Kuaiji, Dongyang, Linhai, and Yongjia by sea to link up with Zhang from the east. Zhang and Yu launched a joint attack, and Chen was defeated. The Fujian region was pacified, and Zhou Di, Liu Yi and Chen Baoying were all captured alive. As a reward, Zhang Zhaoda was appointed General of the Front Garrison and Kaifu Yitong Sansi.

In 570, Zhang Zhaoda captured Ouyang He alive and sent him to the capital, thus pacifying Guang province. He was restored to Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry and transferred to the office of the Minister of Works while concurrently serving his previous positions.

First Northern Expedition of Taijian That same year, Zhang Zhaoda attacked Xiao Kui of the Western Liang at his capital in Jiangling, which was supported by the Northern Zhou. He faced resistance from Xiao Kui and the Zhou general, Lu Teng. The Zhou army had built a fortified city on the south bank of the Xiling gorge called Anshu fort (安蜀城). To transport food supplies into the city, they had stretched a large rope across the river and wove it into a bridge. Zhang Zhaoda ordered his troops to make long halberds and placed them on the deck of his warships. They then used the halberds to cut the bridge from above, thus severing the enemy supply lines. Zhang carried out an assault on Anshu, and the defenders surrendered.

As Zhaoda attacked Jiangling, however, he encountered stiff resistance from the Liang and Zhou forces. He breached the Ningshuo dyke (寧朔堤) at Longchuan (龍川; in present-day Jiangling, Hubei) and flooded the city, but after Lu Teng came out from the west to fight, he suffered a defeat and was forced to withdraw. Along the way, Zhang attacked Qingni (青泥; in present-day Tianmen, Hubei), defeating the Liang general, Xu Shiwu (許世武) who was sent to reinforce the area. At the time, the Liang and Zhou had amassed a large number of ships in Qingni, so Zhang sent his subordinates Qian Daoji and Cheng Wenji on small boats to burn them.

Death and posthumous honours On 19 January 571, Zhang Zhaoda died of illness at the age of 54. He was posthumously appointed Grand General and rewarded with twenty swordsmen as his guards. His fief was also increased by 500 households as his eldest son, Zhang Dabao inherited his titles. In 572, Zhang was enshrined in the ancestral temple of Emperor Wen.

Character The Book of Chen describes Zhang Zhaoda as strict and demanding. Whenever he was assigned to lead a campaign, he would order his troops to march day and night. However, whenever he won a battle, he would always attribute credit to his generals or commanders first. He was also well-respected among his soldiers, as he would share his food and drinks with them. At banquets, he arranged for female performers to play various kinds of music, most prominently the music of the Qiang and Hu people of the north and west. The music and presentation of the performers were said to be the best of the time, and they performed even when Zhang's forces were engaged in battle.