The Battle of Xingshi was fought between the states of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period in China. The location was at Mount Xingshi (), which is situated north of present-day Yang County,

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

, and is now part of the

Changqing National Nature Reserve Changqing National Nature Reserve () is located near Huayang Village in the Qin Mountains of Shaanxi province of China. * Location: south of Xi'an * Area: * Highest point: * Year established: 1995 Flora and fauna *Crested ibis, ''Nipponia nip ...

. The battle was an attempt by

Cao Shuang Cao Shuang (died 9 February 249), courtesy name Zhaobo, was a Chinese military general and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Cao Zhen, a prominent general of Wei. He initially hel ...

, the regent of Wei, to conquer Wei's rival state, Shu. It ended in complete failure.

Background

Despite facing strong opposition in the Wei court,

believed that the campaign was viable, especially when the Shu commander,

Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (180s - November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a regent and military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially served as a scribe, ...

, withdrew his main force from

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as ...

to Fu County () in October 243. Cao Shuang and his protégés concluded that with numerical superiority, their army could easily conquer Hanzhong before Shu reinforcements arrive. Even if they failed to eliminate Shu, the fall of Hanzhong would be sufficient to increase Cao Shuang's fame and influence in the Wei court.

Geography

The three traditional passages from

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

were all valleys in the

Qin Mountains The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...

. Meridian Trail in the east is the longest, totalling more than 330 km, with its northern end located to the south of

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. The southern half of the valley was called Zi Valley () and the northern half was called Wu Valley (). The rugged local terrain provided numerous spots that were perfect for ambushes, and whoever sets up ambushes could easily and completely annihilate the opposing side travelling in the valley, and thus this longest route was also the most dangerous. However, if Shu was on the offensive, it could easily threaten Chang'an by taking this route, and that was the exact suggestion

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), 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 in the late Eastern Han dyna ...

proposed to

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

before the first Northern Expedition. The 235 km long Baoxie Trail () located in the west had the best road condition among all three traditional passages, with the northern half called Xie Valley () and the south half Bao Valley (). The southern end of the Baoxie Trail was located around 25 km north of Hanzhong, while its northern end was located 15 km to the south of present-day Mei County,

. In the center of Baoxie Trail, another valley called Ji Valley () branched out westward, and then turned northward, eventually ending near Chencang (), a strategic stronghold that would be threatened if Shu was on the offensive. If Wei was on the offensive and took the initiative, the good road condition would mean that Shu could deploy their defensive force quicker and stop the attack before Wei force could get out of the valley. The 210 km long Tangluo Trail () in the centre was the shortest among all three, and it got its name from the geographical locations at its ends. The southern end was located next to the Tangshui River () in present-day Yang County, Shaanxi, and the northern end was located in the Luo Ravine () to the west of present-day

Zhouzhi County Zhouzhi County () is a county under the administration of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, China. It is the most spacious but least densely populated county-level division of Xi'an, and also contains the city's southernmost and westernmost ...

, Shaanxi. Hence, the southern half was called Tang Valley () and the northern half was called Luo Valley (). Cao Shuang chose this central route to attack Shu, which proved to be a grave strategic blunder. Although it was the shortest, the road condition was the poorest among all three routes. More importantly, it also had the longest section among the three routes with no water source. As a result, logistical problems crippled the invasion force, with many if not most of the packing animals of the Wei army dying of thirst before even getting out of the valley. Cao Shuang was forced to mobilise tens of thousands of draftees as coolies to carry supplies, and many of them met the same fate as the packing animals. Consequently, morale plummeted and resentment of Cao Shuang not only drastically increased among the troops he commanded, but also back home in Wei.

The battle

In April 244, Cao Shuang promoted

Xiahou Xuan Xiahou Xuan (209 – March 254), courtesy name Taichu, was a Chinese essayist, historian, military general, philosopher, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Family background Xiahou Xuan was the so ...

to General Who Subdues the West, and the Inspector of Yong Province,

Guo Huai Guo Huai (died 23 February 255), courtesy name Boji, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei (or Wei) during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao ...

, was appointed as the vanguard commander. Together, they began the march toward Hanzhong via Tangluo Trail. Cao Shuang's protégés, Deng Yang and Li Sheng, participated in the invasion as his staff officers. The primary target of the Wei invasion force was Yangping Pass (陽平關; located west of present-day Wuhou Town (),

Mian County Mian County or Mianxian () is a county of Hanzhong, in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Gansu province to the northwest. Its area measures , and its total population as of 2020 was 429,000 people. During the Qin and Han dynast ...

). Shu's Senior General Who Guards the North, Wang Ping, was in charge of defending Hanzhong, but his force totalled less than 30,000. Facing absolute numerical inferiority, some Shu commanders suggested concentrating on defending Hancheng (漢城; east of present-day Mian County, Shaanxi) and Yuecheng (樂城; east of present-day

Chenggu County Chenggu County () is a county of Hanzhong, in the southwest of Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi ( ...

, Shaanxi). Wang Ping rejected the idea because reinforcements were too far away, and it would be a disaster for Shu if the enemy was allowed to pass through Yangping Pass unopposed. Therefore, the enemy could only be stopped by taking advantage of the rugged local terrain. Wang Ping ordered the General Who Protects the Army, Liu Min, to take up a position in Mount Xingshi () and plant an array of flags over a hundred miles long to create the illusion that the Shu defense force was larger than it actually was. Wang Ping then personally led an army behind Liu Min to prevent possible separate assaults by Wei forces from Huangjin Valley (黃金谷; located east of Mount Xingshi). As Wang Ping had correctly predicted, by May 244, the enemy advance had been successfully checked at Mount Xingshi. And their supplies were depleting as their supply lines were overextended and nearly all their transport animals were dead. Shu's General-in-Chief, Fei Yi, was on his way to Hanzhong with reinforcements from

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

. The counter-offensive of Shu Han was about to be launched against the overstretched Wei invasion army. Cao Shuang's staff officer Yang Wei () realised the danger and begged Cao to abandon the campaign and retreat immediately, but Deng Yang objected and argued with Yang despite his lack of military knowledge. Yang Wei could not convince either and furiously claimed that Deng Yang and Li Sheng were disregarding the lives of hundreds of thousands, as well as the fate of their state, and they should be executed. Both of them fought in front of Cao Shuang who was unhappy with such situation. Grand Tutor

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

, who opposed the campaign from the very beginning, could no longer ignore the dangerous situation and wrote to

to inform him about the impending disaster, and warned him that he was personally aware that years ago,

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

almost suffered a total defeat in the struggle against

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...

for Hanzhong. The Shu army was in firm control of Mount Xingshi, which prevented Wei forces from pushing forward, and if another Shu force cut off the Wei retreat route, Cao Shuang and Xiahou Xuan would not even be able to live to regret their decisions. Xiahou Xuan finally realised the dangerous situation they were in after reading Sima Yi's letter, and finally managed to convince Cao Shuang to give the order to retreat, albeit the latter did so reluctantly. Guo Huai at this time was the commander of the vanguard forces and had also realised the danger of their situation, and preventively withdrew his troops to avoid the presumable rout. Therefore, Guo Huai was not severely defeated and for this was awarded imperial authority by the Wei government following the army return. Fei Yi, however, would not let Cao Shuang retreat so easily, and led his army to flank the Wei troops and block their retreat. Shu forces set up defensive positions in the places where they enjoyed absolute geographical advantage over the Wei army: the three ridges in the Luo Valley: Shen Ridge (), Ya Ridge (), and Fenshui Ridge (). Cao Shuang's forces fought a desperate battle. In the end, Cao Shuang and his officers were barely able to escape back to

. Almost all the cattle and horses Cao Shuang had levied for transport either died or were lost. The ethnic tribes of the North greatly resented him for this and the

region became a wasteland. Following this failure, people would ridicule Cao Shuang and Xiahou Xuan.(與曹爽共興駱谷之役，時人譏之。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 9.

Aftermath

For his victory, Fei Yi was awarded the title of "Marquis of Chengxiang" (), and stayed in Hanzhong until his return to the capital

in September 244. In contrast, the prestige and popularity of Cao Shuang dropped sharply, which helped lead to his eventual downfall in the power struggle against Sima Yi. After this defeat, Wei would wait twenty years before launching another conquest of Shu.

Analysis

The Battle of Xingshi was one of the most important yet most understated battles of the

period. The lack of participation of the principal figures of the time such as

and

Jiang Wei Jiang Wei (202 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Boyue, was a military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Gansu), Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer ...

caused many writers to put much less emphasis on or even ignore the battle in their works in comparison to other battles that occurred in that era. Although this battle shows that the state of Shu-Han still benefited from superior military commanders. Despite being relatively unnoticed in literature, later militarists gave high credit to the battle: For example,

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

military strategist

Liu Bowen Liu Ji (1 July 1311 – 16 May 1375),Jiang, Yonglin. Jiang Yonglin. 005(2005). The Great Ming Code: 大明律. University of Washington Press. , 9780295984490. Page xxxv. The source is used to cover the year only. courtesy name Bowen, better kn ...

, in his work titled ''The Unexpected Strategies of a Hundred Battles'' (), classified this battle as a classic example of a "retreating war" (). This meant that if the enemy held absolute geographical advantage and you were already having trouble carrying on the fight, a rapid retreat was the only viable option.

Order of battle

Wei forces *General-in-Chief ()

, commander-in-chief **General Who Subdues the West ()

, deputy commander-in-chief **Inspector of Yong Province ()

, commander of the vanguard Shu forces *General-in-Chief () Fei Yi, commander-in-chief **Senior General Who Guards the North () Wang Ping **General Who Protects the Army () Liu Min

Notes

References

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'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi. ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * *''Selected Examples of Battles in Ancient China'' Writing Team, ''Selected Examples of Battles in Ancient China'', 1st Edition, published by Chinese Publishing House & Distributed by New China Bookstore Publishing House in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, 1981 - 1984. *Yuan, Tingdong, ''War in Ancient China'', 1st Edition, published by

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

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Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

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& Distributed by New China Bookstore in

, 1988, (set) {{coord missing, Shaanxi 244 Xingshi 244 Military history of Shaanxi Xingshi