He Da

Biography & Historical Record

He Da was a Cao Wei military officer who served as a subordinate general under Commander-in-Chief Hu Jun during the late Three Kingdoms period. Operating on the eastern borderlands during the winter campaign of 252 AD, He Da served within the main expeditionary force dispatched by the Cao Wei regent Sima Shi to invade Eastern Wu. Documented in Luo Guanzhong’s classic historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and literary chronicles of the Three Kingdoms era, He Da is remembered as an arrogant northern commander whose overconfidence and sudden demise served as a crucial turning point at the Battle of Dongxing, triggering a total panic that shattered the Cao Wei army.

In December 252 AD, following the passing of Eastern Wu Emperor Sun Quan, Regent Sima Shi launched a massive three-pronged invasion of Eastern Wu comprising 150,000 troops. Hu Jun commanded the central main column of 70,000 troops, advancing directly upon the strategic reservoir dams at Dongxing. He Da served as a frontline brigade commander within Hu Jun’s vanguard, tasked with establishing fortified encampments and securing the pontoon bridges across the river. Heavy snowstorms and dense fog engulfed the region, lulling the northern Cao Wei troops into a false sense of security. Believing that Eastern Wu forces would not dare to maneuver in such severe winter weather, Hu Jun, Han Zong, and He Da neglected basic garrison watchfulness, ordering their troops to strip off their heavy armor and organize lavish banquets with warm wine inside their tents.

Anticipating the northern army’s negligence, Eastern Wu veteran general Ding Feng executed a brilliant surprise counter-offensive. Leading 3,000 elite vanguard warriors, Ding Feng ordered his men to strip off their heavy armor, wielding only short swords and helmets as they leaped ashore from light assault vessels. Hearing the thunderous roars outside the camp, He Da rushed out of his command tent brandishing his sabre. Seeing Ding Feng’s lightly armored, bare-chested warriors approaching through the swirling blizzard, He Da laughed in contempt, shouting to his men that the Wu soldiers had come merely to surrender their heads. Mounting his warhorse, He Da charged directly at Ding Feng to engage him in single combat. However, Ding Feng’s short-sword technique proved blindingly fast. On the very first pass of combat, Ding Feng ducked beneath He Da’s heavy blade and delivered a devastating, fatal slash. He Da was struck dead on the spot, his corpse collapsing into the deep snow. The instantaneous death of He Da terrified the surrounding thousands of unarmored Wei troops, causing an immediate, uncontrollable stampede toward the pontoon bridges that led to the total destruction of Hu Jun’s vanguard.

Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In Luo Guanzhong’s novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, He Da appears in Chapter 108 during the famous snowstorm engagement at the Battle of Dongxing in 252 AD. Serving under Hu Jun, He Da encamps at the frontlines when severe blizzards hit the Yangtze region. Crying out in arrogant complacency, He Da and his fellow officers feast on warm wine inside their tents, convinced that Eastern Wu forces cannot retaliate. When veteran Wu general Ding Feng leads 3,000 bare-chested warriors in a surprise assault with short swords, He Da emerges in a rage, mocking Ding Feng and charging forward on horseback to slay him. In a dramatic single bout, Ding Feng parries He Da’s strike and cuts him down instantly with a swift slash. He Da’s death in Chapter 108 shatters the morale of Hu Jun’s 70,000-man army, setting off a catastrophic rout across the pontoon bridges.

He Da (何達) — Historical & Literary Timeline

Key Relationships

Family

• No information

Friends

• Hu Jun (胡遵, Hồ Tuân): Cao Wei general and supreme commander of the central expeditionary force during the 252 AD invasion of Eastern Wu, under whose vanguard command He Da served at the Battle of Dongxing.
• Han Zong (韩综, Hàn Tông): Fellow Cao Wei vanguard commander and former Wu defector who encamped and banqueted alongside He Da before both were killed during the surprise assault at Dongxing (252 AD).

Enemies

• Ding Feng (丁奉, Đinh Phụng): Eastern Wu veteran general who led three thousand lightly armed vanguard warriors in a surprise snowstorm raid at the Battle of Dongxing (252 AD), striking down and slaying He Da in single combat on the first clash.
• Zhuge Ke (诸葛恪, Gia Cát Khác): Imperial Regent of Eastern Wu who planned and directed the overarching counter-offensive at the Battle of Dongxing (252 AD) that repelled the Cao Wei invasion force.

Other

• Sima Shi (司马师, Tư Mã Sư): Regent of Cao Wei who initiated and oversaw the grand three-pronged invasion against Eastern Wu in 252 AD, assigning He Da’s division to the central assault route.