Zhuge Liang ' s Northern Expeditions 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 . All five expeditions were led by Shu ' s - regent Zhuge Liang . Although they proved unsuccessful and indecisive , the expeditions have become some of the most well - known conflicts of the Three Kingdoms period . In popular history , they overlap with the " six campaigns from Mount Qi " , which is inaccurate , since Zhuge Liang only launched his campaigns from Mount Qi twice . Background . In 227 , China was divided into three competing regimes - Cao Wei , Shu Han and Eastern Wu - each with the purpose of reunifying the empire of the fallen Han Dynasty . In the state of Shu , the strategic thinking behind the Northern Expeditions can be traced back as early as 207 , when the 27 - year - old Zhuge Liang outlined his Longzhong Plan to his lord Liu Bei . In it , he explained in very general terms the need to gain a viable geographical base , and then went on to detail a two - pronged strike north for mastery of the north . One advance would be from Yi Province in the west ( covering the Sichuan Basin ) , north through the Qin Mountains , debouch ing into the Wei River valley and achieving a strategic position at the great metropolis Chang ' an from which to dominate the great bend of the Yellow River . The second advance would be from Jing Province ( covering present - day Hubei and Hunan ) north toward the political center of Luoyang . After Liu Bei established himself in Yi Province in 215 , the essential prerequisites of the plan had been completed . The geopolitical arrangement envisaged by Zhuge Liang proved , however , to be a militarily unstable one . The alliance with the state of Wu in the east broke down over the issue of the occupation of Jing Province . By 223 , the province had been lost and Liu Bei , as well as some of his top generals , were dead . Even after Zhuge Liang re - established friendly relations with Wu , his original plan had been markedly altered since only the left prong could be executed . In Zhuge Liang ' s much quoted memorial " Chu Shi Biao " of 227 , he explained to Liu Bei ' s son and successor Liu Shan in highly ideological terms the reasoning for his departure from the capital Chengdu : " We should lead the three armies to secure the Central Plain in the north . Contributing my utmost , we shall exterminate the wicked , restore the house of Han and return to the old capital . Such is this subject ' s duty in repaying the Former Emperor and affirming allegiance to Your Majesty . " Geography . Zhuge Liang ' s plan called for a march north from Hanzhong , the main population center in northern Yi Province . In the third century , the region of Hanzhong was a sparsely populated area surrounded by wild virgin forest . Its importance lay in its strategic placement in a long and fertile plain along the Han River , between two massive mountain ranges , the Qin in the north and the Micang in the south . It was the major administrative center of the mountainous frontier district between the rich Red Basin ( Sichuan Plain ) in the south and the Wei River valley in the north . The area also afforded access to the dry northwest , and the Gansu panhandle . Geographically , the rugged barrier of the Qin Mountains provided the greatest obstacle to Chang ' an . The mountain range consists of a series of parallel ridges , all running slightly south of east , separated by a maze of ramifying valleys whose canyon walls often rise sheer above the valley streams . As a result of local dislocations from earthquakes , the topographical features are extremely complicated . Access from the south was limited to a few mountain routes called the gallery road s . These crossed major passes and were remarkable for their engineering skill and ingenuity . The oldest of these was to the northwest of Hanzhong , and which crossed the San Pass . The Lianyun " Linked Cloud " Road was constructed there to take carriage traffic during the Qin Dynasty in the third century BCE . Following the Jialing Valley , the route emerges in the north where the Wei River widens considerably , near the city of Chencang . Another important route was the Baoye route , which transverses the Yegu Pass and ends south of Mei . A few more minor and difficult routes lay to the east , notably the Ziwu , which leads directly to the south of Chang ' an . First expedition . At Hanzhong , Zhuge Liang held a war council on the method of realization of the tactical objective of capturing Chang ' an . He proposed a wide left hook to seize the upper Wei River valley as a necessity to the capture of the city itself . General Wei Yan , however , objected to the plan and suggested a bold strike through a pass in the Qin Mountains with 10 , 000 elite troops to take Chang ' an by surprise . He was confident that he could hold the city against Cao Wei until the main forces of Zhuge Liang arrived . Wei Yan ' s plan was rejected by Zhuge as being too ambitious ; he preferred a more cautious approach . In the spring of 228 , two small forces were sent through Ji Gorge , one of which was commanded by the veteran general Zhao Yun , as decoys to give the appearance of threatening Mei . The real objective , however , was to seize the Longyou area far west of Chang ' an : Tianshui , Anding , Nan ' an and most of all of Mount Qi , the defensive bastion that screened the upper Wei valley . Cao Rui , the Emperor of Cao Wei , himself moved to Chang ' an to oversee the defense . General - in - chief Cao Zhen secured Mei against Zhao Yun whilst a combined cavalry - infantry force of 50 , 000 under Zhang He were sent west to oppose Zhuge ' s main army . Sima Yi put down Meng Da ' s rebellion , which was co - ordinated with Zhuge Liang . Meng Da was taken by surprise as he had not expected Sima Yi to attack without seeking court approval . At Jieting , the strategic outpost crucial to future Shu supplies , Wei general Zhang He found a weakness of Shu ' s arrangement – the larger part of the advance guard of Shu was entrenched on a nearby mountain top . Thus , Zhang He forfeited access to water supplies , and Shu vanguard was easily defeated . The minor part of the vanguard stationed on the mountain road broke through Wei ranks and the remnants fled south , only escaping total annihilation due to Zhang He ' s fear of ambush . Meanwhile Zhao Yun ' s small intrusion against Mei met with stiff resistance and Zhuge Liang ordered a general withdrawal to Hanzhong at the prospect of an outflanking motion by Wei army . Following his defeat , Zhuge Liang had the vanguard leader , Ma Su , executed for the tactical blunder at Jieting , and a memorial published to Liu Shan , in which he chastised himself for the failure and requested demotion from ( 宰相 ) to General of the Right ( 右将军 ) , but Zhuge Liang would wield the same power even after demotion . Second expedition . Not long after the end of the first expedition , Eastern Wu inflicted a defeat on Cao Wei at the Battle of Shiting , on the Hefei battlegrounds . Fearing a breakthrough in the Huai River valley , the Wei court decided to reinforce the east by transferring troops from the west . Sensing an opportunity , Zhuge Liang struck in December 228 through Qinling with the aim of capturing Chencang ( 陳倉 ) , communication thoroughfare of the Wei River . The walled city was held by Hao Zhao with an estimated 1000 or so soldiers who was warned by Cao Zhen after Zhuge Liang ' s first campaign to make defensive preparations . Although hugely outnumbered by the 20 , 000 to 100 , 000 Shu troops , Hao Zhao refused requests to surrender . Soon Zhuge Liang brought to bear an array of siege equipment , including scaling ladders , battering rams and archery towers . Nevertheless , Chencang could not be broken and the Wei soldiers provided stubborn resistance with various incendiary devices . After three weeks , Zhang He arrived with relief troops and food supplies . Zhuge Liang , himself short of grain , ordered a retreat to Hanzhong once more . One of Zhang He ' s subordinates , Wang Shuang , decided to pursue through the Qin Mountains and was killed by an ambush arranged by Zhuge Liang . This incident , with the victim as one of the champions personally accredited by the Wei emperor , was a shock reminder of the skills of Zhuge Liang as a master of ambuscades . Third expedition . The spring of 229 saw Zhuge Liang make his third expedition . Setting the immediate goal as the capture of the of Wudu and Yinping , Zhuge Liang sent Chen Shi to storm the enemy territory before he ventured out . The area Chen Shi was asked to take seated on the western foothills of the Qin Mountains , and could potentially be used as a launch - pad for a further strike toward Tianshui Commandery . The defending general , Guo Huai , had readied his troops to attack Chen Shui , but drew back as he received intelligence that Zhuge Liang was marching toward Jiawei , a northern county of Wudu Commandery . Although Guo Huai retreated , he secured a defense line to prevent any hostile advance to Tianshui . The Shu regent , in the mean time , was arriving Jianwei , where he would halt his army . After surveying the situation , Zhuge Liang chose to station his army at the relatively remote county , in anticipation of probable Wei reinforcement , which never came to rescue the two commanderies . The victory , however , did not reap significant strategic benefits for Shu despite the regent ' s personal political gain ; the livestock and tribesmen had already been transported out from the area by Cao Wei , and to station there would be a drain on manpower and rations . Zhuge Liang retreated back to Hanzhong , but in response to the acquisition of two commanderies , the Shu emperor Liu Shan issued an imperial edict and had Zhuge Liang reinstated as Chancellor . Beginning in the winter of 229 and into the spring of 230 , Hanzhong was again involved in new military developments ; on knowledge of a Wei offensive , Zhuge Liang initiated extensive preparations , including two defensive barriers on the Hanzhong plain , running 200 kilometers with nearly 100 , 000 troops . The Wei court had decided to alter its defensive strategy and launched a three - pronged attack with the objective of seizing Hanzhong led by Sima Yi , Cao Zhen and Zhang He . The Wei offensive began in the fall of 230 with over 400 , 000 troops ; in response Wei Yan and Wu Yi ( 吳懿 ) were sent north with a mixed cavalry - infantry force behind enemy lines to incite dissension amongst the various non - Han Chinese ethnic groups within the domain of Wei , while at the same time sell the famous Chengdu silk brocades in return for horses and weapons . Aiding Shu was the fact that Wei attack ran into problems from the beginning : heavy rain continued for more than thirty days and made narrow valleys impassable , while Zhang He in the west had to deal with the threat from rear . After nearly one and a half month of little progress , Wei terminated the disastrous campaign . Zhuge Liang made a daring march northwest in an attempt to relieve Wei Yan , who had been intercepted by Guo Huai on his return ; but before Zhuge Liang ' s reinforcement reached its destination , Wei Yan had already managed to defeat Guo Huai . Thus Shu force was able to make a pround return to Hanzhong . In many Chinese historical writings and novels , these two battles are classified as separate expeditions although the latter was actually a defensive maneuver and Zhuge Liang never left Shu . Fourth expedition . Zhuge Liang ' s fourth Northern Expedition was launched in early 231 . Envoys were sent out to rouse the Xianbei and Qiang people , urging them to create a disturbance within Wei ' s domain . In early summer Cao Zhen took ill and was replaced by Sima Yi , who at once ordered Dai Ling and Fei Yao to protect Shanggui with 4 , 000 troops , and set out with the main army at Chang ' an to relieve Mount Qi . In response to Sima Yi ' s advance , Zhuge Liang left part of his army besieging Mount Qi and rushed to Shanggui before his nemesis could arrive . Without a coordinated strategic effort , Zhuge ' s opponents played into his hands . Guo Huai had been ordered to join Sima Yi at Mount Qi but he took the initiative and together with Fei Yao , tried to catch Zhuge Liang in a front - rear pincer attack . Having left the defensive position , they were routed by the Shu forces . The Shu regent then went about harvesting the early spring wheat in the vicinity . Receiving the news Guo Huai was defeated , Sima Yi altered his destination and went to reinforce the loser . The Wei marshal occupied the hills east of Shanggui , but restrained from attacking . Zhuge Liang withdrew upon completion of harvest , but was caught up by Sima Yi at Hanyang , where the latter challenged Shu forces . After the vanguards briefly engaged , however , Zhuge Liang ordered a general retreat to Lucheng ( 鹵城 ) , where he could set up a better defense . The Prime Minister sent his generals to station atop two mountains both north and south to his fortress , and set up " covering camps " near the riverbanks . Generals under Sima Yi requested the marshal for a showdown , which Sima was hesitant to do so . Faced with intensive criticism and incessant ridicule , the careful marshal eventually relented . In May , Sima Yi sent Zhang He to attack the southern mountain guarded by Wang Ping , while the Wei marshal marched Lucheng from the main road . Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan , Wu Ban , and Gao Xiang to stop Sima Yi outside the city wall , where the two forces clashed . Sima Yi suffered a heavy defeat and Zhang He could make no progress . Nevertheless , Sima Yi still possessed of a sizable army after such a defeat , and he would continue the war . After the victory , Zhuge Liang did not capitalize with a major offensive due to a lack of food supply , while Sima Yi , having good rejuvenation , again mounted attacks on Shu , and conquered Zhuge Liang ' s outer camps . According to the Book of Jin , having lost his outer camps , Zhuge Liang retreated under the cover of night , but was caught up and dealt a serious blow . However the Book of Jin has been widely criticised for inaccuracies . In the Records of the Three Kingdoms , reports instead that Li Yan , who was responsible for maintaining ration supplies to the front , realizing rain had caused the breakdown of transport , lied to Zhuge Liang that Liu Shan had ordered a withdrawal . Sima Yi , letting go of his usual cautiousness after his prior success , ordered Zhang He ' s cavalry to further pursue the enemy in an attempt to capitalize on their recent victory . Zhang He argued with his superior that additional risks should not be taken when they had already won , but Sima threw out his title on Zhang and forced the latter to carry out his will . Indeed , Zhang He was ambushed at Mumen , where Zhuge Liang ordered massed crossbowmen to hide at high grounds and fire at the approaching enemies when they entered a narrow defile . Zhang He was hit by a stray arrow on his right leg and died , and Sima Yi became the single most valued military authority of Cao Wei . Fifth expedition . In the following two years both sides developed agriculture and prepared for another inevitable campaign in Longyou . Sima Yi , for his part rehabilitated the Zhengguo Canal in 234 , increasing the potential to withstand a protracted war in Longyou . In the spring of 234 , 100 , 000 Shu soldiers advanced through the Qin Mountains by way of Baoye toward the broad plain of Wuzhang Plains , in what would become Zhuge Liang ' s fifth and last Northern Expedition . Sima Yi , well prepared for such a move with a 200 , 000 - strong army , built a fortified position on the southern bank of the Wei River . The veteran of the Zhuge Liang ' s incursions , Guo Huai , suggested that the Shu forces were not planning an immediate attack on Chang ' an itself but were planning to consolidate their position on the Wuzhang Plains for a takeover of Longyou , which had always been Zhuge Liang ' s immediate goal . Already , he pointed out , there were reports of Shu forces crossing the Wei River upstream and constructing lines of communications . Concerned about the threat of being cut off on the south bank , Sima Yi asked for an additional planned reinforcement of several hundred thousand troops for the communication center of Beiyuan . Such a move was none too soon , for Zhuge Liang was already on the verge of wiping out the Wei garrison after encroaching on the Wei positions in the north . After two months of manuevring north of the Wei River , the additional Wei reinforcement successfully foiled Zhuge Liang ' s attempt and he settled down to a stalemate on the Wuzhang Plain . The Shu army anticipated a long protracted struggle and used the tuntian system pioneered by Cao Cao , as they awaited an agreed offensive by Eastern Wu . Sun Quan ' s armies in the Huai River region , however , was defeated and his offensive broke down due to the spread of endemic disease . The frustration of this last hope to break the stalemate no doubt increased the rapid deterioration of Zhuge Liang ' s health and depressed mental condition . By late summer , he started giving instructions to his close subordinate officers on the future of Shu . In the early autumn of 234 , Zhuge Liang died at the age of 54 . Sima Yi , convinced that Zhuge Liang had died despite the fact that Zhuge ' s death was kept a secret by Shu , gave chase to the retreating Shu forces . Zhuge Liang ' s successor , Yang Yi , then turned around , pretending to strike in full scale by devastating the vanguard of Wei . Learning the news of the defeat , Sima Yi feared that Zhuge Liang only pretended he was dead to lure him out for a full - scale war that favored Shu force , and immediately ordered a general retreat . Common folklore tells of a double , or a wooden statue , that was dressed as Zhuge Liang , driving Sima Yi away in this incident . In any case , word that Sima Yi fled from the already dead Zhuge Liang spread , spawning a popular saying , " A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda ( Sima Yi ' s ) " ( 死諸葛嚇走活仲達 ) . Sima Yi ' s answered such ridicule by claiming that he , like most of the time , could predict the intention of living Zhuge Liang , but not a ghost . News of Zhuge Liang ' s death was withheld until the army had reached the safety of the Baoye valley to return to Hanzhong . Sima Yi , still fearful that the announcement was false and merely another opportunity for Zhuge to demonstrate his talent for ambuscade , hesitated to pursue . Only after his inspection of the empty Shu encampment did he resolve that pursuit was appropriate , but after reaching Baoye and deciding the advance could not be supported with supplies , the Wei army returned to the Wei River . The death of Zhuge Liang ended a huge strategic threat to Wei and the Wei court soon began development of ambitious public works . Analysis . It is surprising that although , of the three states , Shu was the weakest in terms of land size and resources , in its early years it carried out a vigorous offensive military policy . If Zhuge Liang had not died in 234 , he may well have continued this policy . However , the constant expeditions took a heavy toll on Shu ' s limited resources and this was worsened by Jiang Wei ' s Northern Expeditions after the death of Zhuge Liang . Resources wise , Shu was far inferior to the vast state of Wei , as reflected in the obvious numerical difference : with the exception of the second expedition , Shu force committed never exceeded 50 % of the Wei force it faced during each campaign , and it was only Zhuge Liang ' s ingenuity that forced Wei to be on the defensive all the time . Sima Yi was arguably one of the best tacticians that Wei had at that period . Even so , after initial defeats against Zhuge Liang , he was forced to change his tactics in the later expeditions . He was on the defensive for long periods of time with strong fortifications to deter Shu . His aim was to create a deadlock in which was to wait for Shu ' s supplies to run out and to force them to retreat without a fight . In the last expedition ' s deadlock on the Wuzhang Plains , Sima Yi ' s reluctance to engage in battle prompted Zhuge Liang to send him a woman ' s dress in one occasion to mock his tactics . Even so , Sima Yi refused to rise to the bait , much to the displeasure of his officers . The diplomatic success in restoring the alliance with Sun Quan prior to the Northern Expeditions has been dismissed as useless because it brought little strategic dividend : each side had different political agendas which precluded close military coordination . Once the first Northern Expedition was turned back , the Wei state was capable of handling the two - front threat without much difficulty . Arguments revolving around Wei Yan ' s plan for a surprise assault on Chang ' an have never been stopped . Whether his plan could have succeeded , Zhuge Liang had rejected it , believing the plan was far too ambitious . In Zhuge ' s view , Chang ' an , being one of Wei ' s most prosperous cities , would probably have been well fortified , in contrast to the intelligence from Wei Yan . Furthermore , there is little chance that the people of the city , who enjoyed peace and prosperity under the rule of Wei , would side with the Shu - Han forces . However , it may be more possible that Zhuge ' s military objective was to cut the connection between Longyou and Luoyang to force the surrender of the western wing of Wei , instead of attacking the heartland of Wei to " restore the Han Dynasty " . In fiction . The Northern Expeditions were featured prominently in the historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " by Luo Guanzhong , covering chapters 91 - 105 out of the 120 chapters in the novel . Many actual events were largely romanticised or highly exaggerated , while some fictitious stories were also included , for dramatic effect . See the following for some fictitious stories in the novel that are related to the Northern Expeditions : Modern references . The Northern Expeditions are featured as playable stages in Koei ' s video game series " Dynasty Warriors " . As of the sixth instalment in the franchise , all of the five expeditions are playable stages in some form .