Submitting the Chu Shi Biao , Chengdu, Sichuan In 227 Zhuge Liang ordered troops from throughout Shu to mobilise and assemble in Hanzhong Commandery in preparation for a large-scale military campaign against Cao Wei. Before leaving, he wrote a
memorial, called
Chu Shi Biao ("memorial on the case to go to war"), and submitted it to the Liu Shan. Among other things, the memorial contained Zhuge Liang's reasons for the campaign against Wei and his personal advice to Liu Shan on governance issues. After Liu Shan approved, Zhuge Liang ordered the Shu forces to garrison at Mianyang (; present-day
Mian County, Shaanxi).
Tianshui revolts and Battle of Jieting of the
Summer Palace, Beijing , or "Eight (Trigrams) Formation" (八卦阵). In the spring of 228 Zhuge Liang ordered
Zhao Yun and
Deng Zhi to lead a detachment of troops to Ji Valley () and pretend to attack Mei County (; southeast of
Fufeng County, Shaanxi) via Xie Valley (). Their mission was to distract and hold the Wei forces' attention, while Zhuge Liang led the Shu main army to attack Mount Qi (; the mountainous regions around
Li County, Gansu). Upon reaching Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang deployed his troops in orderly formations and directed them with clear and strict commands. Three Wei-controlled commanderies – Nan'an (; around
Longxi County, Gansu),
Tianshui, and
Anding (around
Zhenyuan County, Gansu) – responded to the invasion by defecting to the Shu side. News of the Shu invasion sent shockwaves throughout the
Guanzhong region. The Wei government was stunned when they learnt of the Shu invasion and totally unprepared for it because they had lowered their guard against Shu after Liu Bei's death in 223 and had not heard anything from Shu since then. They were even more fearful and shocked when they heard of the three commanderies' defection. In response to the Shu invasion, Cao Rui moved from his imperial capital at Luoyang to Chang'an to oversee the defences in the Guanzhong region and provide backup. He sent
Zhang He to attack Zhuge Liang at Mount Qi, and
Cao Zhen to attack Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi at Ji Valley. Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi lost to Cao Zhen at the battle in Ji Valley. Zhuge Liang had given them command of the weaker soldiers while he led the better troops to attack Mount Qi. Nevertheless, Zhao Yun managed to rally his men into putting up a firm defence as they retreated, thus minimising their losses. Upon learning of the Shu defeats at Ji Valley and Jieting, Zhuge Liang pulled back the Shu forces and retreated to Hanzhong Commandery, where he resettled the few thousand families they captured in the Wei-controlled Xi County (; present-day
Li County, Gansu) during the campaign. This happened in the late spring of 228. Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su for disobeying orders and to appease public anger. Afterward, he analysed why the campaign failed and told his subordinates: He also wrote a
memorial to Liu Shan, taking full responsibility for the Shu defeats at Jieting and Ji Valley, acknowledging his mistakes and failure in judgment, and requesting to be demoted by three grades as punishment. Liu Shan approved and symbolically demoted him from
Imperial Chancellor to General of the Right (), but allowed him to remain as acting Imperial Chancellor and continue performing the same duties as he did before.
Siege of Chencang Between late spring and early winter of 228, Zhuge Liang directed his efforts towards reorganising the Shu military, strengthening discipline, and training the troops in preparation for another campaign. During this time, he received news that Shu's ally Wu had defeated Wei at the
Battle of Shiting around September 228. From this, he deduced that the Wei defences in the Guanzhong region must be weaker because Wei had mobilised its best troops to the eastern front to fight Wu. In December 228 Zhuge Liang allegedly wrote
a second Chu Shi Biao to Liu Shan to urge war against Wei. However, historians such as
Qian Dazhao (
錢大昭) have cast doubts on the authenticity of the second
Chu Shi Biao and argued that it is falsely attributed to Zhuge Liang. Among other discrepancies, the second
Chu Shi Biao differs sharply from the first
Chu Shi Biao in tone, and already mentions
Zhao Yun's death when the
Sanguozhi recorded that he died in 229. In the winter of 228–229 Zhuge Liang launched the second Northern Expedition and led the Shu forces out of
San Pass (north of the
Qin Mountains to the south of
Baoji, Shaanxi) to attack the Wei fortress at Chencang (; east of Baoji). Before the campaign, Zhuge Liang already knew that Chencang was heavily fortified and difficult to capture, so when he showed up he was surprised to see that the fortress was additionally very well-defended. In fact, after the first Shu invasion, the Wei general
Cao Zhen had predicted that Zhuge Liang would attack Chencang so he put
Hao Zhao, a Wei general with a fierce reputation in the Guanzhong region, in charge of defending Chencang and strengthening its defences. Zhuge Liang first ordered his troops to surround Chencang, then sent Jin Xiang (), an old friend of Hao Zhao, to persuade Hao Zhao to surrender. Hao Zhao refused twice. Although Hao Zhao had only 1,000 men with him to defend Chencang, he successfully held his ground against the Shu invaders. In the subsequent 20 days of siege, Zhuge Liang used an array of tactics to attack Chencang –
siege ladders,
battering rams,
siege towers and underground tunnels – but Hao Zhao successfully countered each of them in turn. After failing to outwit Hao Zhao and take Chencang, and after learning that Wei reinforcements were approaching, Zhuge Liang decided to pull back his troops and return to base.
Wang Shuang, a Wei officer, led his men to attack the retreating Shu forces, but was killed in an ambush laid by Zhuge Liang.
Battle of Jianwei In the spring of 229, Zhuge Liang launched the third Northern Expedition and ordered
Chen Shi to lead Shu forces to attack the Wei-controlled Wudu (; around present-day
Cheng County, Gansu) and Yinping (; present-day
Wen County, Gansu) commanderies. The Wei general
Guo Huai led his troops to resist Chen Shi. He retreated when he heard that Zhuge Liang had led a Shu army to Jianwei (; in present-day
Longnan, Gansu). The Shu forces then conquered Wudu and Yinping commanderies. When Zhuge Liang returned from the campaign, Liu Shan issued an imperial decree to congratulate him on his successes in defeating Wang Shuang during the second Northern Expedition and capturing Wudu and Yinping commanderies during the third Northern Expedition. He also restored Zhuge Liang to the position of Imperial Chancellor.
Congratulating Sun Quan on becoming emperor Around May 229, Sun Quan, the ruler of Shu's ally state Wu, declared himself emperor and put himself on par with Liu Shan of Shu. When the news reached the Shu imperial court, many officials were outraged as they thought that Sun Quan had no right to be emperor, and so they urged the Shu government to break ties with Wu. Although Zhuge Liang agreed that Sun Quan lacked legitimacy, he considered that the Wu–Shu alliance was vital to Shu's survival and long-term interests because they needed Wu to keep Wei occupied in the east while they attacked Wei in the west. After concluding that Shu should maintain the Wu–Shu alliance and refrain from criticising Sun Quan, he sent
Chen Zhen on a diplomatic mission to Wu to recognise Sun Quan's claim to the throne and congratulate him.
Ziwu Campaign In August 230, Cao Zhen led an army from Chang'an to attack Shu via the Ziwu Valley (). At the same time, another Wei army led by
Sima Yi, acting on Cao Rui's order, advanced towards Shu from
Jing Province by sailing along the
Han River. The rendezvous point for Cao Zhen and Sima Yi's armies was at Nanzheng County (; in present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi). Other Wei armies also prepared to attack Shu from the Xie Valley () or
Wuwei Commandery. When he heard of Wei recent movements, Zhuge Liang urged
Li Yan to lead 20,000 troops to Hanzhong Commandery to defend against the Wei invasion which he reluctantly accepted after much persuasion. As
Xiahou Ba led the vanguard of this expedition through the 330 km Ziwu Trail (), he was identified by the local residents who reported his presence to the Shu forces. Xiahou Ba barely managed to retreat after reinforcements from the main army arrived. Zhuge Liang also allowed
Wei Yan to lead troops behind the enemy lines towards Yangxi (; southwest of present-day
Wushan County, Gansu) to encourage the
Qiang people to join Shu Han against Wei. Wei Yan decisively defeated Wei forces led by
Guo Huai and
Fei Yao. Following those events, the conflict became a prolonged stalemate with few skirmishes. After more than a month of slow progress and fearing significant losses and waste of resources, more and more Wei officials sent memorials to end the campaign. The situation was not helped by the difficult topography and constant heavy rainy weather lasting more than 30 days. Cao Rui decided to abort the campaign and recalled the officers by October 230.
Battle of Mount Qi 's diagram of the "
Eight Trigrams (military) formation" () used by Zhuge Liang during military campaigns In 230 Zhuge Liang launched the fourth Northern Expedition and attacked Mount Qi (; the mountainous regions around present-day
Li County, Gansu) again. He used the
wooden ox, a mechanical device he invented, to transport food supplies to the frontline. The Shu forces attacked
Tianshui Commandery and surrounded Mount Qi, which was defended by the Wei officers Jia Si () and Wei Ping (). At Mount Qi, Zhuge Liang managed to convince
Kebineng, a
Xianbei tribal leader, to support Shu in the war against Wei. Kebineng went to
Beidi Commandery (around present-day central Shaanxi) and rallied the locals to support Shu. At the time, as Grand Marshal Cao Zhen was ill, Cao Rui ordered the general Sima Yi to move to Chang'an to supervise the Wei defences in the
Guanzhong region against the Shu invasion. After making preparations for battle, Sima Yi, with
Zhang He,
Fei Yao, Dai Ling () and
Guo Huai serving as his subordinates, led Wei forces to Yumi County (; east of present-day
Qianyang County, Shaanxi) and stationed there. He then left Fei Yao and Dai Ling with 4,000 troops to guard Shanggui County (; in present-day Tianshui, Gansu), while he led the others to Mount Qi to help Jia Si and Wei Ping. When Zhuge Liang learnt of the Wei forces' approach, he split his forces into two groups – one group to remain at Mount Qi while he led the other group to attack Shanggui County. He defeated Guo Huai, Fei Yao and Dai Ling in battle and ordered his troops to collect the harvest in Shanggui County. In response, Sima Yi turned back from Mount Qi, headed to Shanggui County, and arrived within two days. By then, Zhuge Liang and his men had finished harvesting the wheat and were preparing to leave. Zhuge Liang encountered Sima Yi at Hanyang () to the east of Shanggui County, but they did not engage in battle: Zhuge Liang ordered his troops to make use of the terrain and get into defensive positions; Sima Yi ordered his troops to get into formation, while sending
Niu Jin to lead a lightly armed cavalry detachment to Mount Qi. The standoff ended when Zhuge Liang and the Shu forces retreated to Lucheng (), took control of the hills in the north and south, and used the river as a natural barrier. Although his subordinates repeatedly urged him to attack the enemy, Sima Yi was hesitant to do so after seeing the layout of the Shu camps in the hills. However, he eventually relented when Jia Si and Wei Ping mocked him and said he would become a laughing stock if he refused to attack. Sima Yi then sent Zhang He to attack the Shu camp in the south, guarded by
Wang Ping, while he led the others to attack Lucheng head-on. In response, Zhuge Liang ordered
Wei Yan,
Wu Ban and
Gao Xiang to lead troops to engage the enemy outside Lucheng. The Wei army lost the battle, along with 3,000 troops and some equipment. Despite his victory, Zhuge Liang could not make use of the momentum to launch a major offensive on the enemy because his army was running low on supplies. Sima Yi launched another attack on the Shu camps and succeeded in breaking through Zhuge Liang's defences. The
Book of Jin recorded that as Zhuge and the Shu army retreated under the cover of night, Sima Yi led his forces in pursuit and inflicted over 10,000 casualties on the enemy. This account from the
Book of Jin is disputed by historians and is not included in the 11th-century historical text
Zizhi Tongjian. In any case, according to
Records of the Three Kingdoms and
Zizhi Tongjian, Zhuge Liang retreated to the Shu because of lack of supply, not defeat. Zhang He led his troops to attack the retreating Shu forces but fell into an ambush and lost his life.
Battle of Wuzhang Plains edition of the historical novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms showing the
wooden oxen and flowing horses () used by the Shu army to transport supplies In the spring of 234 Zhuge Liang led more than 100,000 Shu troops out of Xie Valley () and camped at the
Wuzhang Plains on the south bank of the
Wei River near Mei County (; southeast of present-day
Fufeng County, Shaanxi). Aside from using the flowing horse to transport food supplies to the frontline, he implemented a
tuntian plan by ordering his troops to grow crops alongside civilians at the south bank of the Wei River. He also forbid his troops from taking the civilians' crops. In response to the Shu invasion, the Wei general
Sima Yi led his forces and another 20,000 reinforcements to the Wuzhang Plains to engage the enemy. After an initial skirmish and a night raid on the Shu camp, Sima Yi received orders from the Wei emperor
Cao Rui to hold his ground and refrain from engaging the Shu forces. The battle became a stalemate. During this time, Zhuge Liang made several attempts to lure Sima Yi to attack him. On one occasion, he sent women's ornaments to Sima Yi to taunt him. An apparently angry Sima Yi sought permission from Cao Rui to attack the enemy, but was denied. Cao Rui even sent
Xin Pi as his special representative to the frontline to ensure that Sima Yi followed orders and remained in camp. Zhuge Liang knew that Sima Yi was pretending to be angry because he wanted to show the Wei soldiers that he would not put up with Zhuge Liang's taunting, and to ensure that his men were ready for battle. During the stalemate, when Zhuge Liang sent a messenger to meet Sima Yi, Sima Yi asked the messenger about Zhuge Liang's daily routine and living conditions. The messenger said that Zhuge Liang consumed three to four
sheng of grain a day and that he micromanaged almost everything, except trivial issues like punishments for minor offences. After hearing this, Sima Yi remarked, "How can Zhuge Kongming expect to last long? He's going to die soon." ==Death and post-mortem events (234)==