Chen Tai

Chen Tai (onyomi: Chin Tai) is a general of Wei and the son of Chen Qun. He served as the commander of Wei's forces against Jiang Wei's invasions after death of Sima Yi and successfully repelled him every time. Although he supported the Sima family during their rise to power, he expressed his loyalty to Wei by mourning the death of Cao Mao and asking for the execution of Jia Chong on the grounds of regicide.

Roles in Games
Chen Tai appears in all of Jiang Wei's campaigns during Jin's story in Dynasty Warriors 7. In the first two campaigns, he has a minor role, attacking one of the eastern bases in the former and serving at the front lines in the latter. The third campaign at Taoshui has him serve as the allied commander and defending the main camp. During the second part of the Battle of Duangu, he assists Deng Ai and guides the player through the stage. In Dynasty Warriors 8, he has a smaller role, appearing as an allied officer at Hefei Castle. He plays a pivotal part defending Guo Huai's isolated force at Mt. Tielong.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives Chen Tai very high leadership and intelligence stats. His politics and charisma are decent as well, with only his war stat being much lower. He can often be used with any unit types, making him a good officer in combat. However, he only appears rather late into the game as a Wei officer.

Quotes

 * "Lord Guo Huai has sworn his eternal allegiance to Wei. Others among us have not done the same. That strikes me as more frightening than the enemy today..."

Historical Information
Chen Tai was the son of Chen Qun. During his youth, he received a very good education and was well versed in scholarly and military affairs. He held a post in the government and when his father died in 236, he inherited his title and became a Duke. He then decided to leave his post and take up a military post instead. He became a general in 241 and promoted to Inspector of Bing Province in 244. He also held Wei's court order, giving him authority to carry out the government's plan and further held complete control over Bing. He adapted a pacifying policy towards the minorities and treated them with great respect. Some nobles from the capital sent him gifts to buy slaves for them, but Chen Tai did not even open them. When he returned to Luoyang to be appointed as Imperial Secretary, he returned all of the gifts to the nobles, which was considered a rarity at that time.

Despite being a childhood friend of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, he refused to directly participate in Sima Yi's power struggle against Cao Shuang. When the former initiated a coup, Chen Tai and Xu Yun persuaded Cao Shuang to surrender. Sima Yi treated Chen Tai very well for his contribution, but Chen Tai asked to be given a post outside of the central government. He was appointed "General Who Displays Firmness" and became Inspector of Yong Province, serving directly at the frontlines against Shu under Guo Huai.

At that time, Jiang Wei constructed two forts at the Qu mountains and forced the Di and Qiang tribes to serve him by taking some of them as hostages. Chen Tai advised Guo Huai to attack the two forts, pointing out the distance between them and the conditions of the two tribes. Guo Huai agreed and sent Deng Ai and Xu Zhi to lay siege on them. In the meantime, Chen Tai led some troops to cut off Jiang Wei's supply line, but he was surrounded by Jiang Wei's troops at Mt. Niutou. Instead of attacking them, Chen Tai advised Guo Huai to cut off Jiang Wei's retreat route instead. Guo Huai agreed and Jiang Wei was forced to withdraw. The two forts surrendered to Wei.

In 252, the Shu forces incited a rebellion of minorities in Wei's western region. Chen Tai petitioned to lead troops from Bing and Yong Provinces to deal with them. Some soldiers of Bing mutinied due to the long distance they had to march, but Chen Tai managed to collect the remaining troops and defeated the rebels. One year later, Jiang Wei laid siege to Nan'an and Chen Tai led the Wei forces to oppose him. After a short stalemate, Jiang Wei was forced to retreat due to food shortage. Guo Huai passed away in 255 and Chen Tai was made his successor, becoming "General Who Subdues the West". At that time, Wang Jing reported that the Shu army would attack Wei from three directions and requested Chen Tai to send troops, but Chen Tai refused and did not believe that Shu would divide their forces. He ordered Wang Jing to defend Didao and only attack when the opportunity presented itself. Wang Jing disobeyed Chen Tai's orders and marched to attack Shu's camp. When Chen Tai heard of it, he immediately led troops to reinforce Wang Jing.

Wang Jing was defeated by the Shu forces and only left around ten thousand men to defend Didao. Chen Tai requested reinforcements from the Wei court and Sima Zhao dispatched Deng Ai to help him. When Deng Ai arrived, he argued that it would be difficult to defend Didao and they should retreat north and defend strategic positions there. Chen Tai countered that the Shu forces, although victorious, did not seize the opportunity to capture Wei's supplies and instead besieged Didao. Due to Shu's problems in supplying their troops, Chen Tai decided to lead some troops to a mountain south of Didao. When he arrived, he ordered his men to lit the torches and beat the drums, causing the morale of the Wei soldiers at Didao to rise. Jiang Wei sent a small detachment to deal with Chen Tai, but the latter defeated them due to his strategic position. Jiang Wei withdrew from Didao and Chen Tai was praised by Sima Zhao for his efforts. Chen Tai was transferred back to the capital and appointed as the Commander of Huainan when Sun Jun threatened to attack the area. He returned to the capital when the Wu forces retreated. In 257, he served as a commanding officer in the central headquarters during Zhuge Dan's rebellion. Afterwards, he was promoted to Minister of Works and became one of the Three Dukes.

In 260, Wei Emperor Cao Mao led a coup against Sima Zhao to reclaim power. Jia Chong ordered his vassal Cheng Ji to kill Cao Mao. When Chen Tai heard of this, he rushed to the scene and cried upon seeing Cao Mao's corpse. Sima Zhao arrived soon afterwards and asked Chen Tai how to deal with the situation. Chen Tai replied that the only way to deal with it was to execute Jia Chong on accounts of regicide. Sima Zhao hesitated and eventually refused, asking for an alternative. Chen Tai was so enraged by this that he collapsed and died.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chen Tai's actions in the novel remain largely the same. During the battle of Mt. Tielong, he was sent by Guo Huai to get help from Qiang chief King Midang. Later, during Jiang Wei's assault on Mt. Qi, he defeated and killed the Shu general Bao Su. Most of his strategies during the campaigns of Jiang Wei were also attributed to Deng Ai.