Chen Gong

Chen Gong () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Gongtai, was an adviser to the warlord Lü Bu in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. However, he had started his career under another warlord, Cao Cao, before defecting to Lü Bu. He was executed along with Lü Bu and Gao Shun after Cao Cao defeated Lü Bu at the Battle of Xiapi. Chen Gong was given a positive makeover in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Chen Gong initially held office as a minor magistrate under the Han government, but he gave up his job after deciding to follow Cao Cao, who was then on the run after attempting to assassinate Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord and regent who was holding the Emperor hostage. However, after witnessing Cao Cao killing Lü Boshe, he secretly left Cao Cao and ultimately joined Lü Bu. His eventual fate in the novel is similar to that in history.