Deng Ai (197-264) was a Wei officer. His talent discovered by Sima Yi, he was active in the Shu campaign. He joined with Zhong Hui to destroyed Shu, but later turned against him. Due to Zhong Hui's accusations, he was captured and while being led away, assassinated.
Biography[]
A painting of Deng Ai.
Deng Ai was originally from Yiyang in northern Jing Province, and he was known to be a wise map-maker. One day, Sima Yi recognized his talent and made him a general of the Cao Wei kingdom. Deng Ai fought with merit against Zhuge Liang during Shu's Northern Campaign, and helped to defeat him at Jieting and Wuzhang Plains in the course of the 220s and 230s.
After Cao Rui's death, Cao Shuang seized power, and the unwise general ignored Deng Ai's advice during his invasion of Shu in 244, leading to a massive defeat. Deng Ai felt loyal to Sima Yi when he overthrew Cao Shuang, and he became one of the Sima clan's finest and most loyal generals.
From 249 until 262, Deng Ai carefully resisted Jiang Wei's northern expeditions. Jiang Wei had seemingly mastered the tactics of Zhuge Liang, but found a skilled opponent in Wei's Deng Ai, who bested him on multiple occasions.
After Guo Huai's death in 253, Deng Ai took over his role as General-in-Chief and went on to fight Shu, Wu, and the Qiang tribes of western China. He also took part in the quelling of many rebellions within Wei.
In 263, Deng Ai and rival general, Zhong Hui participated in the conquest of Shu, and he raced him to the capital of Chengdu. Deng Ai took the mountian route and defeated Zhuge Zhan at the Battle of Jiange and the Fall of Luocheng, and proceeded to reach Chengdu first. After Shu's fall, animosities between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai led to Deng Ai's arrest.
Zhong Hui rebelled in the absence of Wei's finest general and was defeated, and both Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui were butchered. Deng Ai was freed, but Wei Guan, his gaoler, had Deng Ai and his son Deng Zhong killed out of fear for his life.