苏茂 / Su Mao (Eastern Han)

Overview

苏茂 / Su Mao is currently a source-scoped Guangwu-era opponent whose profile now begins in 更始帝刘玄’s failed response to 赤眉 expansion. Hanji 675 identifies him as a trouble-suppression commander sent against Chimei and defeated; Hanji 676 then gives the Wen defeat layer under 朱鲔; Hanji 686 gives a later rebellion and Liu Yong-alignment layer; Hanji 692 presents him as an opposing commander whose Wuxiao force helps defeat 马武 before 王霸 defeats him by refusing his preferred tempo.

Current Profile

Hanji 675 supplies the earliest current layer. Liu Xuan sends Su Mao as a trouble-suppression commander to resist Chimei, but Su Mao is defeated, and the source uses that defeat to mark Chimei’s growth into a larger organized force. This makes Su Mao’s first current appearance a Gengshi-side failure before his later Zhu Wei, Liu Yong, and Wang Ba-facing roles.

Hanji 676 places Su Mao in Zhu Wei’s Luoyang pressure campaign. When Liu Xiu’s main force is away and Henei seems open, Zhu Wei sends Su Mao and Jia Qiang with a large force across the river against Wen county. 寇恂 treats Wen as Henei’s screen, moves before all county troops have assembled, uses 冯异’s arriving relief as a morale shock, and defeats Su Mao’s force.

Hanji 686 places Su Mao in the unsettled former-Gengshi and Liu Yong field. He rebels, kills the Huaiyang administrator Pan Jian, occupies Gangle/Guangle, and then submits to Liu Yong. Liu Yong’s appointment of Su Mao as Da Sima makes him part of the rival military structure that Liu Xiu’s side still has to clear during early consolidation.

Hanji 692 gives Su Mao a more developed battlefield role. At Chuihui, he comes with Wuxiao troops to rescue 周建. Together they defeat Ma Wu, creating the crisis that sends Ma Wu to Wang Ba’s camp for help. Wang Ba then reads Su Mao’s strength, exhaustion, and supply pressure: he refuses immediate rescue, waits until Su Mao and Zhou Jian have overattacked Ma Wu, strikes their rear, and later refuses to leave a fortified camp when Su Mao needs a quick battle.

Key Characteristics

• Gengshi-side commander whose earliest current appearance is a failed anti-Chimei mission before later Wen and Liu Yong layers.
• Former Gengshi commander who becomes a rebel actor in the Jianwu 2 field.
• Liu Yong-aligned military figure after killing Pan Jian and occupying Gangle/Guangle.
• Opposing commander whose initial strength makes immediate rescue risky.
• Tactical overpresser whose long attack on Ma Wu creates the exhaustion Wang Ba waits for.
• Supply-constrained challenger whose second attempt depends on drawing Wang Ba into quick battle.
• Source-scoped figure whose broader career is not developed in the current wiki.

Evidence

• Failed anti-Chimei mission: Hanji 675 says Liu Xuan sends Su Mao against Chimei and that Su Mao is defeated.
• Chimei escalation context: Hanji 675 uses Su Mao’s defeat as part of the movement’s growth before its thirty-camp organization.
• Wen attack: Hanji 676 says Zhu Wei sends Su Mao and Jia Qiang against Wen county.
• Defeat by Kou Xun: Hanji 676 says Kou Xun attacks after the relief-force shout shakes Su Mao’s troops.
• Rebellion and killing: Hanji 686 says Su Mao rebels, kills Huaiyang administrator Pan Jian, and occupies Gangle/Guangle.
• Liu Yong alignment: Hanji 686 says Su Mao submits to Liu Yong and receives the Da Sima appointment from him.
• Initial pressure: Hanji 692 says Su Mao comes with Wuxiao troops and joins Zhou Jian in defeating Ma Wu.
• Defeat mechanism: Hanji 692 says Wang Ba waits until Su Mao and Zhou Jian have fought long, then attacks their rear.
• Later flight: Hanji 692 says Su Mao withdraws after failing to draw Wang Ba out and later flees to Xiapi to join Dong Xian.

Qualifications

The current page should not infer Su Mao’s full factional biography from compact source notes. Hanji 675 adds his earliest current anti-Chimei defeat but keeps the trouble-suppression title, force size, route, and immediate aftermath source-scoped. Hanji 676 is ASR-sensitive around Jia Qiang, river naming, and the exact command relationship to Zhu Wei. Hanji 686 gives his early rebellion and Liu Yong alignment, while Hanji 692 supplies the Wang Ba-facing battlefield profile. Dong Xian, Xiapi, exact Wuxiao composition, Chuihui’s location, and the campaign sequence after flight remain source-scoped until additional source notes require expansion.

What Changed

• Added Hanji 675 as Su Mao’s earliest current layer: a failed Gengshi-side anti-Chimei mission before the Wen attack.
• Reframed Hanji 676 as the next Wen attack layer under Zhu Wei, ending in defeat by Kou Xun and Feng Yi.
• Preserved Hanji 686 as the later rebellion and Liu Yong-alignment layer.
• Preserved Hanji 692 as the more developed battlefield branch against Ma Wu and Wang Ba.

Relationships

• 朱鲔 - Luoyang defender who sends Su Mao against Wen in Hanji 676.
• 更始帝刘玄 - ruler who sends Su Mao unsuccessfully against Chimei in Hanji 675.
• 赤眉 - adversary whose growth is marked by Su Mao’s defeat.
• 寇恂 - opposing commander who breaks Su Mao’s Wen attack.
• 冯异 - relief and counterstrike commander whose arrival helps defeat Su Mao and pressure Zhu Wei.
• 王霸 - later opposing commander who defeats Su Mao by refusing his preferred timing.
• 马武 - Han commander Su Mao defeats and then overattacks before Wang Ba’s rear strike.
• 周建 - ally who fights alongside Su Mao at Chuihui.
• 光武帝刘秀 - imperial center whose early consolidation faces Su Mao’s opposition.
• 坚壁耗敌式耐心 - concept illustrated by Su Mao’s later forced exhaustion and supply-constrained challenge.
• 战场信息控制 - related mechanism because morale and timing signals affect Su Mao’s battlefield outcomes.