Zhuge Liang ' s Southern Campaign Zhuge Liang ' s Southern Campaign , also known as the War of Pacification in Nanzhong , was a military campaign led by Shu Han Zhuge Liang to suppress opposing forces in the south in 225 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history . The campaign was a response to rebellions started by local governors in the southern region of Nanzhong and intrusions by the Nanman ( literally : " southern barbarians " ) . Background . In 222 , the Shu Han emperor Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Xiaoting against the state of Eastern Wu . He died in Baidicheng the following year . When Yong Kai of southern Yi Province ( covering the Sichuan Basin ) received news of Liu Bei ' s death in the summer of 223 , he planned to revolt . Although Li Yan tried to dissuade him from it , Yong Kai only sent an arrogant reply , " I heard that the sky does not have two suns , and the land does not have two rulers . Now the lands are split into three with each claiming to be the absolute , the distant [ Yong Kai ] rests uneasy , not knowing who to follow . " Soon , Yong Kai killed Zheng Ang ( 正昂 ) , the Administrator of Jianning ( 建寧 ) , and kidnapped Zhang Yi to Eastern Wu . Yong Kai was given the post of Administrator of Yongchang ( 永昌 ) by Eastern Wu , but Yongchang belonged to Shu Han . Lü Kai and Wang Kang defended Yongchang from Yong Kai , who sought his position . Although Yong Kai spread many rumours outside the city walls , Lü Kai refused to open the gates to let Yong Kai in . Gao Ding ( 高定 ) , a leader of the local Sou people ( 叟族 ) , also revolted in coordination with Yong Kai , killing general Jiao Huang ( 焦璜 ) and declaring himself king . He marched his army north to attack Xindao ( 新道 ) , but he was repelled by reinforcements led by Li Yan from Jianwei ( 犍為 ) . Shu Han ' s chancellor Zhuge Liang decided not to launch an offensive so soon because Shu had just recently lost their leader , and instead only sent Qi Xing ( 頎行 ) to investigate the problems in the south while he busied himself with domestic affairs . However , as soon as Qi Xing arrived in Zangke ( 牂柯 ) , he was killed by the Administrator Zhu Bao , who had also rebelled . Yong Kai then called upon Meng Huo , a local aristocrat , to lure the southern tribes into revolting because the tribes did not trust Yong Kai . Meng Huo made up stories about Shu Han giving the tribes impossible demands , thus the tribes became angry at Shu and joined the rebellion as well . Suppressing the rebellion . In the spring of 225 , after reaffirming Shu Han ' s alliance with Eastern Wu , Zhuge Liang personally led the Shu generals south from Chengdu to suppress the rebellion with full preparations . Wang Lian ( 王連 ) advised Zhuge Liang against personally participating in the campaign , but Zhuge was worried that his generals were not competent enough to deal with the rebels by themselves . Ma Su suggested to Zhuge Liang that the campaign should focus on psychological warfare rather than conventional warfare in order to ensure that the defeated rebels would not rebel again , a suggestion which Zhuge readily accepted . Zhuge Liang ' s army entered Nanzhong via Yuesui ( 越巂 ) . Along the way , Yong Kai was murdered by one of Gao Ding ' s subordinates , and Gao Ding himself was killed in battle against Zhuge Liang ' s main army . Meanwhile , Ma Zhong was sent to attack Zangke by marching southeast from Bodao ( 僰道 ) , and Li Hui to attack Jianning from Pingyi ( 平夷 ) by marching southwest . Li Hui ' s army , however , became surrounded in Kunming by rebel forces twice his numbers , and he did not know of Zhuge Liang ' s whereabouts to ask for reinforcements . Hence , Li Hui pretended to join the rebels , saying his supplies had run out and could not return north , and therefore had no choice but to rebel . The Nanman believed him and lowered their guard , whereupon Li Hui struck and defeated the encirclement . He then led his men south to Panjiang ( 槃江 ) and joined Ma Zhong to the east , who had defeated Zhu Bao in Qielan ( 且蘭 ) . Finally , the two divergent forces rejoined Zhuge Liang ' s main army . Meng Huo incorporated the remnants of Yong Kai ' s forces and continued to resist the Shu attackers . Zhuge Liang , knowing Meng Huo was respected by the populace , wanted to capture and subdue him according to Ma Su ' s strategy . When Meng Huo was captured , Zhuge Liang showed him around the Shu camp , asking how he felt about the army . Meng Huo replied : " Before , we did not know the conditions of your army , so we were defeated . Now you have so graciously shown me your pavilions , I know your army is only as thus , we can win easily . " Zhuge Liang smiled , and released him to fight again . After seven captures and releases , Meng Huo finally said , " You must be the valour of the heavens , the south will not rebel again . " Zhuge Liang then marched towards Dian Lake in triumph . Aftermath . Once Nanzhong had settled , Zhuge Liang split the four existing ( Yi Province , Yongchang , Zangke , Yuesui ) into six commanderies , adding Yunnan and Xinggu ( 興古 ) to better administer the region . He left the commanderies to be governed by the locals instead of Han Chinese officials , citing three difficulties if Han Chinese officials were installed : Zhuge Liang then returned north , not stationing any soldiers , only requiring the locals to pay tribute . Wang Kang , Lü Kai and Li Hui were among those appointed as the administrators of the new governing regions . However , these new administrators were considerably different that other governors at the time in that they only act representatives of Shu Han , and the local populace were generally reigned by their chieftains who pay tribute to Shu Han . The tributes from Nanzhong included , but not limited to , gold , silver , oxen , and warhorses , which helped Shu Han prosper , preparing it for Zhuge Liang ' s upcoming Northern Expeditions . Although rebellions in the south still broke out after the Southern Campaign , they were comparatively minor , and Ma Zhong and Li Hui were quick to suppress them again and again . The Nanzhong region enjoyed relative stability under the reign of Shu Han afterwards , in contrast to during the Eastern Han Dynasty . In fiction . Although historical records seem to show that Zhuge Liang actually did capture and release Meng Huo a total of seven times , the details of each capture were not recorded . Luo Guanzhong , the author of the historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " , fleshed out the stories for each capture , inventing many fictional people such as Meng You , Lady Zhurong , and King Mulu . Besides , Zhao Yun , Wei Yan , and Ma Dai were described to have made great contributions to this campaign in the novel , but historically they were not involved with the campaign at all . In the first encounter between Zhuge Liang and Meng Huo , Zhao Yun led a charge and tore through his forces like a gale , after which Meng Huo himself was captured by Wei Yan . Meng Huo refused to yield to Zhuge Liang , whereupon the strategist released him , giving him another chance to attack . Meng Huo warily created fortifications along a river for the second battle , daring the Shu forces to cross . Ma Dai cut off the supply routes and killed Jinhuan Sanjie , a Nanman general protecting the river fortifications . Seeing that Shu Han was much stronger than the Meng Huo ' s forces , Nanman generals Ahuinan and Dongtuna betrayed Meng Huo and handed him over to the Shu army . But still , he did not yield . As part of a ploy , Zhuge Liang gave Meng Huo a tour of his encampment before releasing him a second time . Meng Huo , now overconfident in his newfound knowledge of the enemy camp , sent his brother , Meng You , on a false defection ploy , but it was easily discovered and both brothers were captured . Released yet again and eager for revenge , Meng Huo gathered a force of 100 , 000 and attacked the Shu camp , whereupon Zhuge Liang evacuated his entire force . Of course , this was all part of Zhuge Liang ' s plan , and Meng Huo ' s army fell into numerous pit traps that had been dug within the camp . Meng Huo was captured once again . With caution , and learning from his previous failures , Meng Huo now opted to wait for an attack by the enemy . The plan was to lure the Shu forces into poisonous marshes around the caves of King Duosi , but Zhuge Liang was forewarned of the dangers by Meng Huo ' s older brother , Meng Jie , and managed to avoid the marshes all together . Once again , Meng Huo was defeated and captured , and King Duosi was killed . In folklore , Zhuge Liang became ill from the marshes but then recovered . After Meng Huo ' s fifth defeat , his wife , Lady Zhurong , now took to the battlefield , complaining that her husband was incompetent . She captured Ma Zhong and Zhang Ni , and Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun , Wei Yan , and Ma Dai after her . Eventually Ma Dai dismounted her and captured her . Zhuge Liang returned her to Meng Huo in exchange for the captured Shu generals . Meng Huo now attempted to gather wild animals such as elephants and tigers from King Mulu to combat the enemy , but they were chased away by Zhuge Liang ' s fire - breathing contraptions , also known as juggernaut s . King Mulu was killed , and Meng Huo was captured again . In all contemporary sources , no woman was said to have fought during the Three Kingdoms period . Finally , Meng Huo enlisted the aid of Wutugu , whose troops wore armor made of rattan that was said to deflect swords and arrows alike . However , Zhuge Liang conjured a trap in which Wei Yan lured Wutugu into a valley with mines set beneath the ground . Wutugu ' s troops took the bait and chased Wei Yan into the valley . When inside the valley , Zhao Yun blocked the escape routes off and the mines were detonated , lightning the inflammable armour and destroying Wutugu and his troops . Although a great victory , Zhuge Liang is said to have wept at the destruction when he viewed the valley . Meng Huo was now captured for the seventh and final time . Meng Huo had to admit defeat at this point and he vowed to surrender and serve Shu Han from the bottom of his heart . The southern threat was neutralized and the Shu army returned home victorious . Folklore . A popular story in China tells of the invention of the mantou , a kind of steamed bun , by Zhuge Liang during this campaign . It probably rose from the fact that the name mantou ( ) is homonymous to " mantou " ( ) . The story tells that , after subduing Meng Huo , Zhuge Liang led the army back to Shu , but met a swift - flowing river which defied all attempts to cross it . Locals informed him that the barbarians would sacrifice 50 men and throw their heads into the river to appease the river spirit and allow them to cross ; Zhuge Liang , however , did not want to cause any more bloodshed , and instead ordered buns shaped roughly like human heads — round with a flat base — to be made and then thrown into the river . After a successful crossing he named the bun " barbarian ' s head " , which evolved into the present day mantou . Modern references . The southern campaign has been reenacted in a number of video games , including Koei ' s " Dynasty Warriors " series and " Sangokushi Koumeiden " . Both follow the events described in Luo Guanzhong ' s historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " , and the player can defeat Meng Huo up to seven times . A whole chapter ( out of 5 ) is dedicated to this campaign in " Sangokushi Koumeiden " .