Zhuge Liang,also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming,was a Chinese statesman,strategist,and inventor who lived through the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the early 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.
Zhang He,courtesy name Junyi,was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers,Cao Pi and Cao Rui,during the Three Kingdoms period until his death.
Sima Yi,courtesy name Zhongda,was a Chinese military general,politician,and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Wei Yan,courtesy name Wenchang,was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty,Wei Yan rose through the ranks and became a general after Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province in 214. His performance in battle helped him to become a prominent figure in the Shu military in a short period of time. He was later appointed as the Administrator of Hanzhong Commandery and as an Area Commander in 219. Between 228 and 234,he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu regent Zhuge Liang against Shu's rival state,Cao Wei. After Zhuge Liang's death in c. September 234,Wei Yan was executed by another Shu general,Ma Dai,for alleged treason.
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 LüMeng 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.
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.
Liu Shan,courtesy name Gongsi,was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16,Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan. His reign of 40 years was the longest of all emperors in the Three Kingdoms era. During Liu Shan's reign,many campaigns were led against the rival state of Cao Wei,primarily by Zhuge Liang and his successor Jiang Wei,but to little avail,due to their drastic mismatch in terms of population and geographic extent. Liu Shan eventually surrendered to Wei in 263 after Deng Ai led a surprise attack on the Shu capital Chengdu. He was quickly relocated to the Wei capital at Luoyang,and enfeoffed as "Duke Anle". There he enjoyed his last years peacefully before dying in 271,most probably of natural causes.
Chen Shou,courtesy name Chengzuo (承祚),was a Chinese historian,politician,and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is best known for his most celebrated work,the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi),which records the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Chen Shou wrote the Sanguozhi primarily in the form of biographies of notable persons of those eras. Today,Chen's Records of the Three Kingdoms is part of the Twenty-Four Histories canon of Chinese history.
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions were a series of five military campaigns launched by the state of Shu Han against the rival state of Cao Wei from 228 to 234 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. All five expeditions were led by Zhuge Liang,the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu. Although they proved unsuccessful and ended up as a stalemate,the expeditions have become some of the best known conflicts of the Three Kingdoms period and one of the few battles during it where each side fought against each other with hundreds of thousands of troops,as opposed to other battles where one side had a huge numerical advantage.
Cao Zhen,courtesy name Zidan,was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was an adopted son of Cao Cao,a warlord who rose to power in the late Eastern Han dynasty and laid the foundation for Wei. After Cao Cao's death and the end of the Eastern Han dynasty,Cao Zhen served under Cao Pi and Cao Rui,the first two emperors of Wei. He is best known for leading a successful defence of Wei from the first two of a series of invasions by Wei's rival state,Shu Han,between 228 and 229.
Li Yan,courtesy name Zhengfang,also known as Li Ping,was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He climbed to the zenith of his career when he was asked by the Shu emperor Liu Bei to be the military paramountcy and co-regent alongside Zhuge Liang for his son and successor,Liu Shan. After the death of Liu Bei,Li Yan was given the rank of General of the Vanguard which was last held by Guan Yu back in 220. Li served most of his career in the mid and late 220s as the area commander for the Eastern Front centered in Yong An with Chen Dao as his deputy;he never faced any major battles in his position. However,during the 230s and the 4th of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions,Li Yan was given a higher rank of General of the Agile Cavalry,below only Zhuge Liang. He was assigned to handle logistics,but he was unable to deliver supplies to Zhuge Liang's army in a timely manner. After his attempt to fraudulently cover his inability to follow commands,Li Yan was stripped from positions and power.
Hao Zhao,courtesy name Bodao,was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is best known for his victory at the siege of Chencang in 229 when he led a successful defence of Chencang against an invasion by a much larger army from Wei's rival state Shu Han. However,he died of illness not long after that.
The Empty Fort 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. It is listed as the 32nd of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Some examples are listed in the following sections.
Fei Yao was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Deng Zhi,courtesy name Bomiao,was a government official,diplomat and military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of Deng Yu,Deng Zhi started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Liu Bei as a low-level officer in Pi County. After Liu Bei discovered his talent,Deng Zhi steadily rose through the ranks to become a county prefect and later a commandery administrator and imperial secretary. In 223,the Shu regent Zhuge Liang sent him as Shu's envoy to meet Sun Quan,the ruler of Shu's ally state Wu,and reestablish the Wu–Shu alliance against their common rival state Wei. Deng Zhi succeeded in his mission and earned praise from Sun Quan for strengthening Wu–Shu ties. In 227,Deng Zhi became a military general and he participated in the first Shu invasion of Wei by leading a decoy force with Zhao Yun to distract the Wei general Cao Zhen. Although they lost the battle,Deng Zhi and Zhao Yun managed to rally their troops to put up a firm defence during their retreat and minimise their losses. Following Zhuge Liang's death in 234,Deng Zhi rose to higher general ranks and was stationed in present-day Chongqing for about 10 years before he was recalled back to the Shu capital Chengdu in his 70s to serve as General of Chariots and Cavalry. In 248,he suppressed a rebellion in Fuling. He died in 251.
Wang Shuang,courtesy name Ziquan,was a military officer of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He initially participated in battles against Wei's rival state Eastern Wu but was defeated and captured. Later,he rejoined Wei and was reassigned to the western front to fight against Wei's other rival state,Shu Han. He was killed in battle against Shu forces.
The Battle of Wuzhang Plains was fought between the contending states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 234 AD during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle was the fifth and last of a series of Northern Expeditions led by Shu's chancellor,Zhuge Liang,to attack Wei. Zhuge Liang fell ill and died during the stalemate and subsequently the Shu forces retreated.
The Battle of Mount Qi was a military conflict which took place around Mount Qi between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 231 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. It was also the most vigorous of the five Shu invasions of Wei,resulting in thousands of deaths on both sides. Although Zhuge Liang was able to make significant achievement in the beginning of the battle,the battle finally concluded with a strategic Wei victory due to the insufficient food supply for the Shu Han army. The insufficient food supply was caused by heavy rain and mistakes made by Li Yan. The Shu regent,Zhuge Liang,spent three years recuperating before launching another invasion on Wei in 234.
The Ziwu Campaign was a military counter offensive launched in 230 by the state of Cao Wei against his rival state Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The campaign was initiated by Wei's Grand Marshal,Cao Zhen following the numerous Northern Expeditions and more recently the battle of Jianwei.
The Book of Wu or Wu shu is a lost history of the state of Eastern Wu (229–280). It was compiled by the official historians of the Wu court under orders from the Wu emperors. Portions of the text survive only as quotations preserved in Pei Songzhi's Annotations to the Records of the Three Kingdoms (429).
