Hou Cheng

Hou Cheng (onyomi: Kō Sei) is a cavalry commander who served under Lu Bu and eventually defected to rival warlord Cao Cao during the Battle of Xiapi.

Role in Games
Dynasty Warriors 4 gives Hou Cheng his battle debut at Xia Pi. When the player wounds Hou Cheng, the retainer will have second thoughts about serving Lu Bu and may consider defecting.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, Hou Cheng appears at Xia Pi again. He and Song Xian lead the first wave of the counter attack from the western side of the castle. Should he be alive when the floodgates are destroyed, he will defect to Cao Cao's forces with Song Xian and Wei Xu.

Additionally to his appearance at Xia Pi, Hou Cheng appears at Hu Lao Gate and other battles during the stories of Lu Bu and Diao Chan in Dynasty Warriors 6. Contrary to the previous installments, Hou Cheng does not defect at Xia Pi this time.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Hou Cheng appears at Hulao Gate and Xiapi as an enemy again. In Wei's version of Xu Province, he further helps Lu Bu in his attack on the main camp.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has Hou Cheng appear at Hulao Gate, Puyang and Xiapi as an enemy officer. In Lu Bu's version of Xiapi, Hou Cheng's defection can be prevented by rescuing him and the other two generals in time, causing Lu Bu's morale to rise.

In the expansion, Hou Cheng's defection at Xiapi is unavoidable. If Chen Gong's strategy is being followed, he will return back to Lu Bu's forces along with other defectors.

During Chen Gong's personal DLC scenario in Dynasty Warriors 9, Hou Cheng and other defectors will be under scrutiny when Chen Gong launches his rebellion against Cao Cao. It is possible for the strategist to take advantage of these doubts to convince Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu to oppose Cao Cao.

Hou Cheng is a mediocore officer in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His stats range mostly in the 50's to low 70's and he is usually best used in cavalry units. He serves Ding Yuan, Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu in the early scenarios. Some games have an event revolving around the battle of Xiapi, in which Hou Cheng usually defects to Cao Cao with Song Xian and Wei Xu to capture Lu Bu.

Quotes

 * "I can no longer serve an animal who only thinks of war."
 * "The enemy outnumbers us and our own people can't get their thoughts straight. I've got a bad feeling about this. It looks like I'll be better of figuring things out on my own."

Historical Information
According to the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Nine Provinces by Sima Biao, Hou Cheng once sent a man to graze a band of fifteen horses outside the city. But the man drove the horse towards Xiaopei, intending to defect to Liu Bei. Hou Cheng personally led a pursuit and reclaimed the horses. His colleagues then gathered to celebrate. Before the feast ensued, Hou Cheng brought some wine to pay respect to Lu Bu, but the latter was enraged as he had enforced a ban on liquor. The fearful Hou Cheng then discarded all his wine and called off the celebration.

When Cao Cao laid siege on Lu Bu in Xiapi in 198, Hou Cheng, together with Song Xian and Wei Xu, captured Lu Bu's chief adviser Chen Gong and Hou Cheng stole Lu Bu's horse Red Hare and surrendered. Lu Bu was defeated and executed shortly afterwards. However, Hou Cheng's fate after the defection was not known.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Hou Cheng served as one of Lu Bu's top eight generals during the latter's initial invasion of Cao Cao's territory and homeland of Yanzhou. During Cao Cao's invasion of the Xiapi region, Hou Cheng was sent with fellow officers Gao Shun and Wei Xu to defend the western camp. Later, after Xiapi had been flooded by Cao Cao, Hou Cheng lost fifteen horses stolen by a subordinate, who had been meaning to deliver them to Liu Bei. Hou Cheng killed the thief and brought back the stolen horses, and in celebration, he brewed around six vats of wine, and brought five to Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu had recently set up a law outlawing any drinking of wine lest the criminal be killed. Hou Cheng said, "It was thanks to your awesome prestige that we recovered our horses. All the commanders are celebrating, and we have brewed this wine, which we offer first to you for your permission to drink." Lu Bu, however, took this as treason, and ordered Hou Cheng to be executed.

Fellow generals Song Xian and Wei Xu pleaded for the order to be called off, and Lu Bu then only ordered fifty lashes to Hou Cheng, disheartening the commanders. They later came together and conspired against Lu Bu, who they claimed only listened to his women and cared not for his generals. Hou Cheng later took his master's horse, Red Hare, and surrendered to Cao Cao. Wei Xu and Song Xian later tied up Lu Bu in his sleep and also surrendered. Xiapi and the surrounding counties were later pacified and Lu Bu was executed.