Zhuge Dan Zhuge Dan ( died 258 ) , Gongxiu , was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period . When he held military positions during his middle to late career , he got involved in all Three Rebellions in Shouchun , which aimed to drive the de facto ruler of Wei , Sima clan , out of power . During the second rebellion of 255 , he actively assisted Sima Shi to destroy Guanqiu Jian and his rebels ; however , in the third rebellion , he would be the main performer on stage , wherein he initiated an even larger revolution under exactly the same reason Guanqiu once held . As an imperial agent . Zhuge Dan was born in Yangdu County , Langya Commandery ( present - day Yinan County , Shandong ) , just like many other members of the Zhuge clan . As a direct descendant of Director of Retainers ( 司隸校尉 ) Zhuge Feng ( 諸葛豐 ) , Zhuge Dan was educated , and became a clerk working in the Imperial Secretariat Office . Although his position was not very high , he held an intimate connection with many celebrities of Wei , his best friends were Xiahou Xuan and Deng Yang ( 鄧颺 ) , both were well - known associates of Cao Shuang . Furthermore , Zhuge Dan would later have one of his daughters married to Sima Yi ' s son , Sima Zhou , and another daughter to Wang Ling ' s son , Wang Guang . With the help of his powerful connection , Zhuge Dan entered the imperial agency and moved up the ranks smoothly until he reached the position of Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk ( 御史中丞 ) Imperial Secretary ( 尚書 ) ( 御史中丞尚書 ) , as well as an imperial agent , that directly assists the Imperial Secretariat ) . This was the zenith of his career as a civil officer , and along with his friends , they enjoyed the highest praise at the time . During his tenure , he would do a favor for anyone who went for him for a position , so he was loved by his men , but started to draw resentment from the emperor . Furthermore , the reason his faction received such a good fame was due to the propaganda of their affiliates instead of solid accomplishments , so they were eventually demolished by the emperor Cao Rui , who got Zhuge Dan removed from office as a punishment . Incident of Wang Ling . After Cao Rui ' s death , Xiahou Xuan exerted his authority and reinstated Zhuge Dan as Imperial Secretariat Assistant Clerk , and granted him the title of a general before promoting him to be the Governor of Yang Province . At the time , Cao Shuang and his affiliates including Xiahou Xuan and Deng Yang represented the dominant faction which controlled the court of Wei . However , the situation was reversed after the Incident at Gaoping Tombs , during which Cao Shuang ' s political enemy , Sima Yi , wiped the whole clan of Cao Shuang out , close aides like Deng Yang and several friends of Zhuge Dan were put to death , and Xiahou Xuan was replaced by Guo Huai . Facing political instability , many once influential gentries wavered on their belief that Wei would continue to have a member of the Cao clan on the throne . Wang Ling , the grand commander who held the authority to mobilize troops around Yang Province , suspected Sima Yi had controlled the court and actually was the one wielding state power . His belief was reinforced when Sima Yi sent an envoy to announce Wang Ling ' s promotion to Grand Commandant ( 太尉 ) , which was a post that did not have the direct command of armed forces . Therefore , he secretly contacted his nephew Linghu Yu ( 令狐愚 ) , who was recorded to be a talented civil officer , to plan for the overthrow of Sima Yi . Linghu Yu acted as Wang Ling ' s strategist , and told his uncle that Prince of Chu ( 楚王 ) , Cao Biao ( 曹彪 ) , was a brave sage , and suggested Wang to replace the young emperor with Cao Biao . Wang Ling then started preparation for a coup d ' état ; however , Linghu Yu died of an illness during the process , and Wang Ling was unable to draw much support . His intention was later reported to Sima Yi by a traitor , in response , Sima Yi granted Zhuge Dan the staff of authority , and granted him the title of General who Pacifies the East to assist him on his operation against Wang Ling . The expedition army advanced swiftly and pressed Wang Ling within 100 paces , and the latter submitted without a fight . Even Wang Ling did not actually start a revolt , this incident was regarded as the First Rebellion of Shouchun . Battle of Dongxing . After the whole clan of Wang Ling was executed , Zhuge Dan became the new district commander of Yang Province , and he was made a marquis . Not long after Wang Ling ' s demise , Sima Yi also died , and was succeeded by his eldest son , Sima Shi , who continued to control the court . In 252 , Sima Shi devised a three - pronged offensive on Eastern Wu . One of the attack point was Dongxing , which was tasked to Zhuge Dan and his 70 , 000 strong army . Upon arrival , Zhuge Dan took quick control of the Dongxing Dam ( 東興隄 , in present - day Chaohu , Anhui ) , which was destroyed in 241 , but was rebuilt by the Eastern Wu regent , Zhuge Ke , recently to create a reservoir near the Chaohu Lake , with the dual purpose of using it as a defense against potential Wei attacks and , with two castles built nearby , as forward attack mechanism for Wu ships . There were only 1 , 000 defenders for each castle under the command of Liu Lue and Quan Duan , so Zhuge Ke immediately took 40 , 000 men with him as reinforcement . At the time , Zhuge Ke was near the battlefield , Zhuge Dan had already laid siege upon the castles , stationed his troops on the dam , and set up camps beneath . Despite possessing both geographic and numerical advantages , Zhuge Dan was outmaneuvered by Wu vanguard , Liu Zan ( 留賛 , father of Liu Lue ) and Ding Feng , when the two adopted an unusual strategy and charged recklessly towards him with only 3 , 000 men . After his embarrassing defeat , Zhuge Dan was demoted to General who Pacifies the South , and Guanqiu Jian replaced him as the Governor and District commander of Yang Province . Incident of Guanqiu Jian . Following the death of Sima Yi , Sima Shi inherited his father and became the new de facto ruler of Wei politics . In 254 , Sima Shi deposed the emperor Cao Fang because the latter was unhappy with the former ' s authoritarian attitude . In an attempt to reserve the sovereignty of their state , generals Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin rose up and challenged the Sima faction . The two sent a secret letter to Zhuge Dan , asking the latter to join them to bring Sima Shi ( Sima Yi ' s oldest son ) down . However , Zhuge Dan , on the other hand , executed Guanqiu Jian ' s messenger and reported the case to the central government under Sima Shi ' s grip . He then joined the expedition forces under Sima Shi to quell the military uprising known as the second rebellion in Shouchun . After Guanqiu Jian was assassinated by a traitor and Wen Qin fled for his life , Zhuge Dan breached the city of Shouchun . When the Wu forces led by Sun Jun arrived at Dongxing ( present - day Dongxing , Guangxi ) , they heard that Shouchun had been overtaken by Zhuge Dan so they retreated as well . Zhuge Dan sent Jiang Ban ( 蔣班 ) to pursue and attack the retreating Wu forces . The Wu general Liu Zan was seriously ill at the time and insisted to stay behind to let the main Wu troops get away . As a result , Zhuge Dan was able to take revenge for his humiliating loss in Dongxing by killing Liu Zan in the ensuing battle . Death at Shouchun . Not long after the revolt by Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin was suppressed , Sima Shi died of illness and his second brother Sima Zhao inherited his place in the Wei court . Shouchun was guarded by the East - Conquering General Zhuge Dan after the second rebellion was suppressed . Zhuge Dan had witnessed the deaths of Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian after their failed rebellions and he felt uneasy . He tried to increase his popularity amongst the people in the Huai River region and gain their support . At the same time , he hired a group of bodyguards to protect himself . Sima Zhao wanted to eliminate the remaining loyalists to the state , so he heeded Jia Chong ' s advice to force Zhuge Dan to rebel . Zhuge Dan received an imperial decree to report to the Wei court and assume the post of Excellency of Works . However , Zhuge Dan became afraid after receiving the decree , so he killed the Inspector of Yang Province , Yue Lin , and rose in rebellion against Sima Zhao . He sent his Chief Clerk Wu Gang ( 吳綱 ) to Eastern Wu with his son Zhuge Jing ( 諸葛靚 ) as a hostage , asking for reinforcements from Wu . Sima Zhao personally led 260 , 000 troops to suppress the rebellion and stationed his army in Qiutou ( 丘頭 ) . He sent Wang Ji and Chen Qian ( 陳騫 ) to lead an army to besiege Shouchun . He sent Shi Bao ( 石苞 ) , Hu Zhi ( 胡質 ) and Zhou Tai ( 州泰 ) to hold off the Eastern Wu forces . The Wu forces led by Wen Qin , Tang Zi and Quan Yì ( 全懌 ) managed to enter Shouchun before the encirclement by the Wei forces was completed . Subsequently , Wen Qin led his men to break out of the siege several times but failed . The Wu general Zhu Yi garrisoned at Anfeng ( 安豐 ) , southwest of Shouchun , as backup , but was defeated by Zhou Tai . Sun Chen moved his army to Chaohu . He sent Zhu Yi , along with Ding Feng and Li Fei ( 黎斐 ) to break the siege on Shouchun , but were defeated by Shi Bao and Zhou Tai . The Wei general Hu Lie ( 胡烈 ) led a surprise attack on the Wu forces and succeeded in destroying the enemy ' s supplies . Zhu Yi ' s army was unable to advance any further as they had lost their supplies . Sun Chen was furious and had Zhu Yi executed . Sun Chen then ordered a retreat to the Wu capital Jianye ( present - day Nanjing , Jiangsu ) . Zhuge Dan ' s forces were besieged in Shouchun for a long time without any reinforcements arriving . Zhuge Dan ' s deputies Jiang Ban ( 蔣班 ) and Jiao Yi ( 焦彝 ) advised him to concentrate on attacking a single flank of the encirclement to break the siege . Wen Qin opposed the suggestion and insisted that Wu reinforcements will arrive soon . Zhuge Dan did not heed Jiang Ban and Jiao Yi ' s advice and wanted to kill them instead . Jiang Ban and Jiao Yi escaped from Shouchun and defected over to Sima Zhao ' s side . Sima Zhao followed Zhong Hui ' s strategy , by faking letters from Quan Hui ( 全輝 ) and Quan Yí ( 全儀 ) to trick Quan Yī ( 全禕 ) and Quan Duan ( 全端 ) to surrender . When Quan Yī received the letters , he thought that they were real and surrendered to Sima Zhao . Zhuge Dan ' s forces were taken by surprise . In the first lunar month of the second year , Zhuge Dan , Wen Qin and Tang Zi attempted to break out of the siege again but failed and suffered heavy casualties . By then , supplies in the city were running out soon and several troops had surrendered . Wen Qin suggested release the northerners and Wu forces in the city to conserve supplies . Zhuge Dan ignored Wen Qin ' s suggestion and had him killed in anger . Wen Qin ' s sons , Wen Yang and Wen Hu , heard of their father ' s death and escaped from Shouchun and surrendered to Sima Zhao . The surrender of Wen Yang and Wen Hu caused the rebel army ' s morale to further plummet . In the second lunar month , Sima Zhao ' s forces succeeded in penetrating Shouchun . Zhuge Dan fled from the city and was killed by Hu Fen ( 胡奮 ) ' s men during his escape . The Wu general Yu Quan was killed in battle while Tang Zi and Wang Zuo ( 王祚 ) of Wu surrendered to Sima Zhao . Modern references . Zhuge Dan is first introduced as a playable character in the seventh installment of Koei ' s " Dynasty Warriors " video game series .