Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong (子龍), was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the northern warlord Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun later came to serve another warlord, Liu Bei, and had since accompanied him on most of his military exploits, from the Battle of Changban (208) to the Hanzhong Campaign (217–219). He continued serving in the state of Shu Han – founded by Liu Bei in 221 – in the Three Kingdoms period and participated in the first of the Northern Expeditions until his death in 229. While many facts about Zhao Yun's life remain unclear due to limited information in historical sources, some aspects and activities in his life have been dramatised or exaggerated in folklore and fiction. In the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was lauded as a member of the Five Tiger Generals under Liu Bei.
Jiang Wei, courtesy name Boyue, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County, Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer in his native Tianshui Commandery, which was a territory of Wei. In 228, when Wei's rival state Shu launched an invasion led by Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wei was distrusted by Ma Zun, then administrator of Tianshui Commandery. As such, Jiang Wei had to defect to Shu. Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu, highly regarded Jiang Wei and appointed him as a general in Shu. After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wei continued serving as a military commander during the regencies Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, eventually rising to the highest military rank of General-In-Chief (大將軍) after Fei Yi's death in 253. Between 240 and 262, he continued Zhuge Liang's legacy of waging war against Wei by leading another 11 military campaigns. However, Jiang Wei's campaigns were relatively constrained in terms of both scale and duration due to Shu's limited resources and inadequate food supplies, as well as internal political faultlines. In 263, when Wei launched a massive invasion of Shu, Jiang Wei led Shu forces to resist the invaders at Tazhong, Yinping and Jiange, himself defending Jiange which was under Zhong Hui's attack. While Jiang Wei managed to temporarily stall Wei's main force led by Zhong Hui, Deng Ai, another military commander of Wei, took a shortcut via Yinping and showed up at Chengdu unexpectedly. Liu Shan surrendered to Deng Ai without putting up resistance and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to the Wei general Zhong Hui; this event marked the end of Shu's existence. In the following year, Jiang Wei instigated Zhong Hui to launch a rebellion in Chengdu against the Wei regent Sima Zhao and hoped to use the opportunity to gain military power and restore Shu. However, some of Zhong Hui's officers were unwilling to participate in the rebellion and started a mutiny, killing Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui.
Zhuge Liang, also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and engineer who lived through the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the early to mid-Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served as the Imperial Chancellor of the state of Shu Han (221–263) from its founding in 221 and later as regent from 223 until his death in September or October 234.
Xu Huang, courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, before his death at the start of Cao Rui's reign. Xu Huang is best noted for breaking the siege at the Battle of Fancheng in 219 by routing the enemy commander Guan Yu on the field.
Ma Su (190–228), courtesy name Youchang, was a military general and strategist of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang. However, a tactical blunder by Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting resulted in Shu being dealt a huge defeat by Zhang He, a general of the rival state of Wei. He was a younger brother of Ma Liang.
Zhuge Jin, courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Zhuge Jin started his career in the 200s as an official under the warlord Sun Quan, who later became the founding emperor of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. In 215, he served as Sun Quan's representative in a territorial dispute over southern Jing Province between Sun Quan and his ally, Liu Bei. In 219, he joined Sun Quan's general Lü Meng in an invasion of Liu Bei's territories in Jing Province after Sun Quan broke the Sun–Liu alliance. He was subsequently appointed as a general and commandery administrator. Before the Battle of Xiaoting of 221–222, Zhuge Jin attempted to dissuade Liu Bei from going to war with Sun Quan but was unsuccessful. The battle ultimately concluded with victory for Sun Quan's side; both sides made peace later and reestablished an alliance between the Eastern Wu and Shu Han states against their rival state, Cao Wei. From 222 until his death in 241, despite being rather incompetent in military affairs, Zhuge Jin served as one of Eastern Wu's top generals and participated in some battles against Cao Wei forces.
Xu Shu, courtesy name Yuanzhi, originally named Xu Fu, was a Chinese politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and used to be a vigilante swordsman in his early life. However, after running into trouble with the authorities, he renounced his old ways and took up scholarly pursuits. He lived a reclusive life from the 190s to mid-200s in Jing Province, where he met and befriended Zhuge Liang. In late 207, he became an adviser to the warlord Liu Bei and served under Liu for about a year. He also recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei during this period of time. In late 208, Liu Bei was defeated at the Battle of Changban by his rival Cao Cao. Xu Shu's mother was captured by Cao Cao's forces during the battle. Feeling lost and without a sense of direction, Xu Shu eventually left Liu Bei and joined Cao Cao. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei – founded by Cao Cao's son and successor, Cao Pi, who ended the Eastern Han dynasty – and died of illness in office.
The Battle of Jieting was fought between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 228 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. The battle was part of the first Northern Expedition led by Shu's chancellor-regent, Zhuge Liang, to attack Wei. The battle concluded with a decisive victory for Wei.
Huang Chengyan was a reclusive scholar who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was from Miannan (沔南), Jing Province, which is around present-day Honghu, Hubei. He was known for being carefree and open-minded.
Meng Huo was a local leader in the Nanzhong region in the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was popularly depicted as a local leader representing the gentries of the Nanzhong region, but some historians doubt his historical existence.
Pang Tong (179–214), courtesy name Shiyuan, was a Chinese politician who served as the key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his youth, Pang Tong was disregarded because he was plain-looking. Sima Hui, however, held him in high esteem and called him the "Crown of Scholars in Jing Province". Pang Tong studied under Sima Hui along with Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu and Xiang Lang, and he was given the nickname of "Fledgling Phoenix". Because of his friendly attitude, he worked as an appraiser in Nan Commandery. When reviewing someone, he would prioritize their virtue over their abilities and would encourage them to help others.
Ma Liang (187–222), courtesy name Jichang, was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Since he was young, Ma Liang was famous for his exceptional talent, with Chen Shou describing him as one of Shu's best officials. However, he was killed in battle at the age of 35 years during the Battle of Xiaoting. He served in the state of Shu Han as one of the founding emperor Liu Bei's Palace Attendants during the early Three Kingdoms period and was the elder brother of Ma Su.
Huang Quan, courtesy name Gongheng, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Zhang and Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty and in the state of Shu Han during the early Three Kingdoms period before defecting to Cao Wei. Liu Bei relied heavily on Huang Quan for counsel in both domestic and foreign policy. Under the Wei government, however, Huang Quan was restricted to only internal affairs because even though the Wei emperor Cao Pi appreciated him for his talent, he doubted Huang Quan's allegiance and believed he was still secretly loyal to Liu Bei.
The Empty Fort Strategy is the 32nd of the Chinese Thirty-Six Stratagems. The strategy involves using reverse psychology to deceive the enemy into thinking that an empty location is full of traps and ambushes, and therefore induce the enemy to retreat. Some examples are listed in the following sections.
Dong Yun, courtesy name Xiuzhao, was a Chinese general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. His father, Dong He, also served as an official in Shu. Dong Yun was one of four persons who held positions equivalent to a head of government in Shu from 221 to 253; the other three were Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi.
Xiang Lang (160s-247), courtesy name Juda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Biao and Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. In 243, Xiang Lang resigned and spent the remaining years of his life reading, writing, proofreading and editing various classical texts. By the time of his death in 247, he was one of the foremost book collectors of his time and a major source of influence for many later scholars. He was an uncle of the Shu general Xiang Chong.
Xiang Chǒng was a military officer of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In the Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang named Xiang Chong as a capable subject of good character and someone well-versed in military affairs, and urged Liu Shan to put Xiang Chong's talents to good use. He was a nephew of the Shu scholar Xiang Lang.
Zhuge Xuan was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for briefly serving as the Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery in the mid-190s. He was also a cousin-uncle of Zhuge Liang, a prominent statesman of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.
Yang Xi, courtesy name Wenran, was an official of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is best known for writing the Ji Han Fuchen Zan, a collection of praises of notable persons who served in the Shu Han state. Chen Shou, the third-century historian who wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), extensively quoted and annotated Yang Xi's collection.
Li Miao, courtesy name Hannan, was an official of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Liu Zhang and later Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
