Niu Fu

Niu Fu (pronunciation^ⓘ) (died c.June 192^[1]) was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty.

Niu Fu
牛輔
General of the Household (中郎將)
In office 189 (189) – 192 (192)
Monarch	Emperor Xian of Han
Chancellor	Dong Zhuo
Personal details
Born	Unknown
Died	192
Spouse	Lady Dong
Occupation	Military general, politician

In this Chinese name, the family name is Niu.

Life

Niu Fu served under the warlord Dong Zhuo when Dong was still serving as a military general in Liang Province during the reign of Emperor Ling (r.  168–189). Dong Zhuo deeply trusted Niu and arranged for him to marry his daughter. Niu Fu thus became a son-in-law of Dong Zhuo.

In 189, after Dong Zhuo occupied the imperial capital Luoyang and seized control of the Han central government, he appointed Niu Fu as a General of the Household (中郎將). Later that year, Dong Zhuo ordered Niu Fu to lead troops to attack the White Wave Bandits, who were causing trouble around Hedong Commandery (河東郡), but Niu Fu failed to defeat them.

Between 190 and 191, when Dong Zhuo was at war with a coalition of warlords from the east of Hangu Pass, Niu Fu deployed troops to defend the strategic mountain passes leading into Luoyang. At the same time, he also sent Dong Zhuo's other subordinates, such as Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji, to lead soldiers to raid and pillage Chenliu (陳留) and Yingchuan (潁川) commanderies, as well as attack the general Zhu Jun at Zhongmu County (中牟縣).

In May 192, Dong Zhuo was assassinated by his subordinate Lü Bu in Chang'an, after which Lü Bu ordered his subordinate Li Su to lead his troops to attack and kill Niu Fu. Niu Fu defeated Li Su and forced him to retreat to Hongnong Commandery (弘農郡). Later, chaos broke out in Niu Fu's camp and many of his soldiers deserted. Niu Fu, left with only five or six men, ordered them to quickly grab all the valuables and flee with him. During the escape, Youhu Chier (友胡赤兒),^[2] one of Niu Fu's subordinates, betrayed him and killed him, and then cut off his head and sent it to Chang'an.

Personality

As Niu was cowardly and superstitious, he always used his tally to assert his authority, and carried weapons for self-protection. He frequently asked diviners to make prophesies about his visitors, to determine their intentions before accepting their visit.

Dong Yue (董越), one of his visitors, was divined as Polarising. The diviners were caned by Dong Yue frequently, so they slandered Dong, claiming that he was plotting a revolt. Dong was then killed by Niu Fu.^[3]

See also

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms