Red Ox

Red ox (chìmáo niú 赤毛牛) is a fictional animal which appears in chapter 89 of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The Nanman leader Meng Huo rides it during his battle with the Shu-Han forces.

Biography
In chapter 89 the Nanman King, Meng Huo, comes out to fight Zhuge Liang a fourth time. Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes Meng Huo's equippings as follows:


 * “The King of the Nanman was clad in mail of rhinoceros hide and wore a bright red casque. In his left hand he bore a shield, and his right gripped a sword. He rode a red ox. As soon as he saw his enemies, he opened his mouth and poured forth abuse and insults, while his warriors, huge and bold, darted to and fro brandishing their weapons.”

Seeing this, Zhuge Liang at once ordered his men to retire within the stockades near the battlelines and bar the gates. When the Nanman came close, they pranced about naked, shouting in derision. Days passed, but Zhuge Liang and his men stayed within the stockades. As Zhuge Liang predicted, the Nanman became less vigorous as time passed. Days later, at night, Zhuge Liang and his men left the stockades. The next day when the Nanman came to inspect the stockades, they found out that none of Zhuge Liang's men had remained there, and it looked as if they had left in a hurry. They figured Zhuge Liang must've received bad news from the throne, so they took pursuit, only to ultimately fall for another of Zhuge Liang's ploys.

It is not exactly clear if Meng Huo was riding the red ox the entire time until his defeat, or just the moment the forces met for the fourth time.