Guo Huai
From 244 to 249, Xiahou Ba played into the hands of Guo Huai, who wielded power to temporarily command him when a military crisis arose. In 247, when some tribal leaders rebelled against Wei, Xiahou Ba came under attack by the Shu general Jiang Wei, who came to support the tribes. Together with Guo Huai, Xiahou Ba repelled Jiang Wei's attack and struck back at the rebels, forcing many of them to surrender. However, E Zhesai (蛾遮塞) of the Qiang tribes and Zhi Wudai (治无戴) of the Hu tribes still persevered, so the war was fragmented into battles that dragged on to 248, wherein Jiang Wei again led Shu forces to the aid of the rebels. At this point, it is clear that Guo Huai, instead of Xiahou Xuan, was the actual commander on the field to give out orders. For instance, when Guo Huai decided to attack Jiang Wei's subordinate, Liao Hua, Xiahou Ba was ordered directly by the decision maker to tail Jiang Wei's main troop to the west. Upon knowing Liao Hua was under attack, Jiang Wei harshly returned to his aide's assistance just as Guo Huai predicted, isolating the rebels from Shu reinforcement. As the Shu commander was worn out from the travel, so was Xiahou Ba, but the glory and merit of subjugating the rebellion went to Guo Huai, who was promoted to a district marquis for his achievements. On the contrary, Xiahou Ba virtually received nothing for his effort in the campaign.