Wei Dingguo is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Nicknamed "General of Holy Fire", he ranks 45th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and ninth among the 72 Earthly Fiends. Background A military instructor in his hometown Lingzhou (凌州; in present-day Dezhou, Shandong) alongside Shan Tinggui, Wei Dingguo is a tough warrior who rides a red steed and fights with a long sabre. He dons a suit of red armour and a helmet topped with a red feather when he goes into a battle. He is best known for the use of flaming substances in attacks, aided by five hundred soldiers trained in the technique. For this skill in setting his foes on fire, he is nicknamed "General of Holy Fire". Becoming an outlaw Guan Sheng volunteers to take the fight to Lingzhou when Liangshan learns that Wei Dingguo and Shan Tingguo have been appointed by the Song court to eliminate them following their successful rescue of Lu Junyi in Daming which involved a city-wide rampage. The two instructors are recommended to Emperor Huizong by Grand Tutor Cai Jing. In the first battle outside Lingzhou, Guan Sheng is rattled by the capture of his two lieutenants Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen by Wei Dingguo and Shan Tingguo. Xuan has been lured to ride into the ranks of Wei's soldiers, who quickly encircled and seized him. Meanwhile, Li Kui has sneaked out of Liangshan after being forbidden by Song Jiang to join Guan Sheng in the attack on Lingzhou. He befriends Jiao Ting while on his way, who takes him to Bao Xu, who leads a bandit group at Mount Deadwood. While with Bao, they rescue Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen as the convoy escorting them to Dongjing for punishment passes Mount Deadwood. At Lingzhou, the battle continues with Guan Sheng fighting Shan Tinggui one-on-one on horseback. Then Guan lures Shan to chase after him till they reach a remote spot where he turns and swings his big sabre to whack the latter off his horse. Instead of moving in to kill, Guan gets off his horse and shows Shan kind treatment, winning over the man. Left standing alone, Wei Dingguo injures many of Guan's soldiers when his men unleash on them combustible materials such as sulphur. Just then, Li Kui, assisted by Jiao Ting, Bao Xu, Xuan Zan and Hao