Xiahou Mao

Xiahou Mao (onyomi: Kakō Bō) is Xiahou Dun's second son. He is historically married to Princess Qinghe, Cao Cao's eldest daughter. A playboy in his years of service, he had an infamous squabble with his wife.

Role in Games
Xiahou Mao appears as an officer of Wei in their later battles in the Dynasty Warriors series. While he may appear as a subofficer in some battles, he mainly appears in the Battle of Tianshui. When playing for the Shu forces, Xiahou Mao is part of Zhuge Liang's plan to take over the area. He is captured upon his defeat and released in order to trick the Wei forces in Dynasty Warriors 5. In Dynasty Warriors 7, he defends Nan'an fort. When he opens the gates for Cui Liang, he ambushes Zhuge Liang and Cui Liang defects to the Wei forces again, but they are still defeated by the Shu forces.

He also appears in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games during the later years. He is always among the worst officers in the game, with most of his stats being at the bottom, save for his leadership and politics, which are usually in the low 20's. He is quickly defeated in battle and does not have domestic abilities either, rendering him quite useless.

Quotes

 * "The time has come! All forces, forward! Claim Zhuge Liang's head!" - Dynasty Warriors 7
 * "Unless I capture this Zhuge Liang, I pledge myself never again to see the Emperor's face."

Historical Information
Xiahou Mao was the second son of Xiahou Dun. Cao Cao had married him to his oldest daughter Princess Cao Qinghe. Since his youth he had been good friends with Cao Pi. When Cao Pi ascended the Wei throne, he made Xiahou Mao "General who Pacifies the West", gave him the tiger tally and sent him to the west to serve as a Chief Army Supervisor. Although he was not suited to take military command and was not good with strategy either, he was good in conducting business. In 228, someone spread rumours about Xiahou Mao. Cao Rui led an army to the west to counter Shu's offensive and recalled Xiahou Mao to the capital where he should serve as Imperial Secretariat.

During his stay in the west, Xiahou Mao gathered many concubines and singing girls around him, which greatly angered his wife. Additionally, he often admonished his younger brothers because of their bad behaviour. They feared that Xiahou Mao would take action against them, so they accused him of libel and asked Cao Qinghe to take the case up to Cao Rui. Cao Rui had Xiahou Mao arrested and planned to execute him, but before that he asked the Colonel of Changshui, Duan Mo, about his opinion. Duan Mo told Cao Rui that Cao Qinghe beared a grudge against Xiahou Mao and wished to put him in trouble. He also said that his father Xiahou Dun had made many contributions to the formation of the empire, so Cao Rui should reconsider. Cao Rui agreed and ordered and investigation of Cao Qinghe's memorial and it was discovered that the authors were Xiahou Mao's younger brothers. Xiahou Mao was therefore pardoned and released.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, he is Xiahou Yuan's son and Xiahou Dun's adopted son. When the Shu forces attack Wei, Xiahou Mao volunteers to take command of the western armies. Despite Wang Lang's objection, Xiahou Mao is given command of the western armies and he marches to the west after promising that he would not return to Cao Rui if he didn't capture Zhuge Liang. After his first encounter with Zhao Yun, in which general Han De and his sons are killed, Xiahou Mao retreats and consults Cheng Wu. They successfully ambush Zhao Yun, but Zhao Yun is able to escape. The two armies clash again, with Xiahou Mao suffering heavy losses. He then retreats to Nan'an and is besieged by the Shu forces. Although he plans a ruse with Cui Liang and Yang Ling, the city is eventually captured by the Shu forces and Xiahou Mao is captured as well. He is brought to Zhuge Liang and begs for his life. After telling Xiahou Mao that Jiang Wei is willing to surrender to Shu, Zhuge Liang promises to let him go if he induces Jiang Wei to surrender. Xiahou Mao agrees and after hearing rumours about Jiang Wei's surrender at Jicheng, he goes to Tianshui and meets with Ma Zun, whom he tells about Jiang Wei's surrender. Soon, Zhuge Liang sends a double of Jiang Wei to the walls who says that he surrenders to Shu. After causing much confusion, Xiahou Mao orders the execution of Yin Shang and Liang Xu, who in turn surrender Tianshui to the Shu forces. Xiahou Mao flees with Ma Zun to the Qiang tribes in the west and keeps the promise he made to Cao Rui.