Wang Fu

The unheeded conscience of Jingzhou: his beacon-tower chain along the river — flame by night, smoke by day, fifty men a station — is accepted, but his warning that the 'jealous and selfish' Pan Jun should be replaced by Zhao Lei is waved off. He leaves disappointed.

Present only in the closing poem — 'Jingzhou's defenders failed when tried, so Wang Fu's words were justified.'

Present only as the cry of the man who ignored him — 'Wang Fu, you were right. How I regret that I did not heed what you said!'

Warns against the north paths and is ignored one last time — stays to hold Maicheng with a hundred men, dreams of his lord dripping gore, and when the two heads rise below the wall, throws himself from it with a despairing cry.