Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions
Encyclopedia
Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions refer to a series of nine military campaigns launched by Shu Han
general Jiang Wei
against the rival state of Cao Wei
from 247 to 262 during the Three Kingdoms
period of Chinese history
. Each expedition was aborted eventually due to inadequate food supplies or battlefield losses. Jiang Wei's campaigns drained Shu's already limited resources, and led to the eventual downfall of Shu
in 263.
and Xiahou Ba
west of the Tao River
. Xiahou Ba fled and the army scattered.
Guo Huai dispatched Deng Ai
to guard the northern coast of Baishui. Three days later, Jiang Wei dispatched Liao Hua
to camp at the southern coast of Baishui as a ruse while he intended to launch a sneak attack at Taocheng. However, Deng Ai saw through his plans and proceeded to occupy Taocheng before Jiang Wei. He attacked and defeated Liao Hua. Deng Ai later, attempted to shield his defence and injured Liao Hua, thus forcing him to flee.
In anger, Jiang Wei attacked Taocheng with almost everything he had. He used his rams and towers to destroy Taocheng so he could destroy Deng Ai. Suddenly, Sima Zhao
sent his ambush team to rescue Deng Ai. Gao Cheng taken Jiang Wei's main camp at Baishui, forcing Jiang to retreat. Jiang Wei re-assembled his units and launched a second siege at Qucheng.
and Qiang tribes) as hostages and forced them to obey his orders. Seeing this, Chen Tai
advised his superior, Guo Huai
, that it would be a good opportunity for them to launch an attack on the forts given that the distance between the forts and Shu's track was far, and the natives were resentful of forced labor under Shu. Guo Huai agreed with Chen Tai and sent him to attack the Shu defending army under Xu Zhi
. At the same time, the governor of Nan'an, Deng Ai
, was dispatched to lay siege to the forts. As they were speaking, Jiang Wei stole supplies for aid.
Chen Tai managed to cut the food and water supply chains to the forts but was surrounded by Shu soldiers who came out for a counteroffensive. Subsequently, Jiang Wei led his main forces to break the siege and met up with Chen Tai at the rear of Bull Head Mountain. Instead of engaging Jiang Wei's troops, Chen Tai advised Guo Huai to cut off Jiang Wei's possible retreat route. Guo Huai agreed and dispatched Chen Tai to proceed as planned. Jiang Wei found out the maneuvers of the Wei armies and realized that there was a competent commander among his ranks. Despite the unfavorable situation, Jiang Wei refused to retreat and on seeing that, the soldiers at the two forts pretended to surrender to Wei.
Meanwhile, Chen Tai saw through the fake surrender and battled the enemy troops. Jiang Wei met Chen Tai again and this time they dueled. Chen Tai attacked Jiang Wei but the latter dodged and Chen hurt himself. Jiang Wei then ran through a door that was locked and only Chen Tai's blade was able to destroy it. He smashed off a piece of the wooden bamboo and his hand bled. Jiang Wei was almost attacked again but he dodged and the door was smashed. Chen Tai allowed Jiang Wei to retreat.
In 253, Jiang Wei set up a coordinated attack with Zhuge Ke
to attack Wei on two fronts: Shu on the west in Nan'an and Shu's ally Eastern Wu
on the east at Hefei
. Jiang Wei attacked the key border city of Didao as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei. The Wei regent Sima Shi
knew the Wu army to be the more serious threat and led the main Wei force to the eastern front, while sending a smaller unit to relieve Didao. The first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang Wei, while besieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Sima Shi's forces dealt a crippling defeat to Zhuge Ke.
However, Jiang Wei resumed his attack very soon, and led tens of thousands of Shu soldiers to venture into Wei territory again. He bypassed Shiying (石營) and Dongting (董亭), and laid siege on Nan'an. Chen Tai
reinforced Nan'an in time, and Jiang Wei lifted the siege due to logistical consideration. Guo Huai
then drove back Jiang Wei's forces out of Wei's domain.
managed to deal considerable damage to the enemy and slew Shu general Zhang Yi (Boqi)
. However, Zhang Yi's desperate fight also inflicted a devastating damage to Xu Zhi's army, forcing the latter to retreat and await reinforcements. Shu forces thus gained some footholds on the Xiangwu region and battles went on and off for some time, and Jiang Wei forced the residents in Didao, Hejian (河間) and Lintao (臨洮) to retreat with him to Longxi upon the arrival of Guo Huai. At this point, Zhang Yi (Bogong)
attempted to convince Jiang Wei to declare victory and return to Hanzhong as he witnessed the death of his colleague, Zhang Yi (Boqi). Jiang Wei refused, and deemed the defeat of Xu Zhi (who actually was just a low ranking military officer) as a major success, not realizing such a deed was accomplished by Zhang Yi (Boqi)'s sacrifice.
In the summer of 255, Jiang Wei and Xiahou Ba
(who had defected to Shu) attacked Didao again in three different directions aiming for Mount Qi, Jincheng and Shiying. Jiang Wei was successful in his initial battles against the Wei Inspector of Yong Province, Wang Jing (王經), west of the Tao River, nearly annihilating Wang's troops, leaving around 10,000 troops to defend Didao. Wang Jing requested Chen Tai
to dispatch troops to defend in all three directions Jiang might attack. However, Chen Tai did not think that Jiang Wei would split his forces into three, so he ordered Wang Jing to defend Didao and only launched an attack when Shu armies arrived and an opportunity arose. Then, Chen Tai personally led some troops to defend Chencang. However, Wang Jing disobeyed Chen Tai's order and proceeded to attack the enemy on his own. On hearing that, Chen Tai knew that something disastrous would happen and hastily led his armies to reinforce Wang Jing.
Chen Tai reorganized the defeated troops in preparation for a counteroffensive. Chen Tai mentioned although Jiang Wei was victorious, he did not seize the opportunity to attack eastward in order to capture Wei's food supplies at Liyang. Zhang Yi (Bogong) again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point; unfortunately, Jiang refused. Rather, Jiang Wei besieged Didao again and Shu morale was affected due to continuous campaign and fatigue. Jiang Wei and Chen Tai's forces stayed in a stalemate throughout the winter. One night, Chen Tai led his troops to a mountain south of Didao, and instructed his troops to raise torches. The Wei troops defending at Didao saw that and their morale increased tremendously. Shu's troops besieging Didao were badly affected by the display put up by Chen Tai and a portion of the Shu forces was dispatched to attack Chen's army and they were badly defeated by Chen due to his capitalization of strategic points for defense. As a result, the Shu armies were forced to lift the siege and retreat; thus Didao was saved. However, Jiang was unwilling to abort the campaign.
In summer 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance on Shanggui instead, his move was anticipated by Deng Ai
, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss that would cause the people of Shu to start to resent Jiang Wei.
rejected his proposals and limited the amount of troops that Jiang was allowed to use. Jiang Wei scored the initial victory at Tao River, but was driven back by Deng Ai
.
In 256, a year later, Jiang Wei had arranged for Hu Ji
to assist his expedition aiming for Mount Qi. However, Hu Ji broke his promise and did not arrive as planned. When Jiang Wei heard that Deng Ai was fully prepared, he decided to attack Nan'an instead. Deng Ai was defending Mount Wucheng. Jiang Wei failed to take it so he consulted Xiahou Ba. Xiahou Ba told him to take Shanggui, Nan'an's grain depot. Taking the advice, Jiang Wei led crack troops to Shanggui via Duan Valley, but he was ambushed by Deng Zhong, Deng Ai's son. As a result, Jiang Wei was badly defeated at Duan Valley and forced to retreat to Hanzhong.
rebelled against Wei, Jiang Wei attacked Chenling, advancing all the way to Mangshui, and a stalemate resulted at Weishui, but Jiang could not induce Wei forces, commanded by Deng Ai
and Sima Wang
. In 258, Jiang Wei withdrew after Zhuge Dan was defeated.
In 262, despite Liao Hua
's opposition, Jiang Wei, attacked Wei again, targeting Taoyang, but was defeated by Deng Ai, and withdrew to Tazhong.
and Deng Ai
invaded Shu at two points. Jiang Wei resisted Zhong Hui's attack, but Liao Hua
was defeated by Deng Ai, and after the defeat of Zhuge Zhan
at Mianzhu Pass, Shu was lost. In 263, the Shu emperor Liu Shan
surrendered to Deng Ai, and Jiang Wei was ordered to surrender his troops to Zhong Hui.
of Koei's Dynasty Warriors
video game series. A notable difference is the battles of the expeditions are out of order (e.g. Battle of Tao River served as the third invasion).
Shu Han
Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...
general Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei was a military general and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang, leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang...
against the rival state of Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
from 247 to 262 during the Three Kingdoms
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. Each expedition was aborted eventually due to inadequate food supplies or battlefield losses. Jiang Wei's campaigns drained Shu's already limited resources, and led to the eventual downfall of Shu
Conquest of Shu by Wei
The conquest of Shu by Wei was a military campaign launched by the state of Cao Wei against its rival Shu Han in 263 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The campaign culminated in the fall of Shu and the tripartite equilibrium maintained in China for over 40 years since the end of...
in 263.
First expedition: Battle of Tao River
In 247, Jiang Wei led some troops to quell a minor uprising by local tribes in Pingkang (平康), Hanshan (漢山). After which, he invaded Longxi (隴西), Nan'an (南安) and Jincheng (金城) where he fought Guo HuaiGuo Huai
Guo Huai , style name Boji , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He started his career during the late Han Dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao. During Cao Pi's reign, Guo rose up the ranks and became a grand marshal under Sima Yi...
and Xiahou Ba
Xiahou Ba
Xiahou Ba , style name Zhongquan , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
west of the Tao River
Tao River
Tao River is a right tributary of China's Yellow River. It starts in Xiqing Mountains near the Gansu-Qinghai border, flows eastward across Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and then northward more or less along the border between Dingxi Prefecture-level City in the east and Gannan and Linxia...
. Xiahou Ba fled and the army scattered.
Guo Huai dispatched Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
to guard the northern coast of Baishui. Three days later, Jiang Wei dispatched Liao Hua
Liao Hua
Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
to camp at the southern coast of Baishui as a ruse while he intended to launch a sneak attack at Taocheng. However, Deng Ai saw through his plans and proceeded to occupy Taocheng before Jiang Wei. He attacked and defeated Liao Hua. Deng Ai later, attempted to shield his defence and injured Liao Hua, thus forcing him to flee.
In anger, Jiang Wei attacked Taocheng with almost everything he had. He used his rams and towers to destroy Taocheng so he could destroy Deng Ai. Suddenly, Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
sent his ambush team to rescue Deng Ai. Gao Cheng taken Jiang Wei's main camp at Baishui, forcing Jiang to retreat. Jiang Wei re-assembled his units and launched a second siege at Qucheng.
Second expedition: Battle of Qucheng
In 249, Jiang Wei constructed two forts at the Qu mountains and dispatched troops to defend them. In addition, Jiang Wei took the native people (from the DiDi (ethnic group)
The Di were an ethnic group in China from the 8th century BCE to approximately the middle of the 6th century CE. Note that the character Di is used to differentiate this group from the Beidi , a generic term for "northern barbarians". They lived in areas of the present-day provinces of Gansu,...
and Qiang tribes) as hostages and forced them to obey his orders. Seeing this, Chen Tai
Chen Tai
Chen Tai , style name Xuanbo , was a military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Chen Qun. Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children...
advised his superior, Guo Huai
Guo Huai
Guo Huai , style name Boji , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He started his career during the late Han Dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao. During Cao Pi's reign, Guo rose up the ranks and became a grand marshal under Sima Yi...
, that it would be a good opportunity for them to launch an attack on the forts given that the distance between the forts and Shu's track was far, and the natives were resentful of forced labor under Shu. Guo Huai agreed with Chen Tai and sent him to attack the Shu defending army under Xu Zhi
Xu Zhi
Xu Zhi was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. His name is sometimes romanticized as Xu Zi.-Biography:...
. At the same time, the governor of Nan'an, Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
, was dispatched to lay siege to the forts. As they were speaking, Jiang Wei stole supplies for aid.
Chen Tai managed to cut the food and water supply chains to the forts but was surrounded by Shu soldiers who came out for a counteroffensive. Subsequently, Jiang Wei led his main forces to break the siege and met up with Chen Tai at the rear of Bull Head Mountain. Instead of engaging Jiang Wei's troops, Chen Tai advised Guo Huai to cut off Jiang Wei's possible retreat route. Guo Huai agreed and dispatched Chen Tai to proceed as planned. Jiang Wei found out the maneuvers of the Wei armies and realized that there was a competent commander among his ranks. Despite the unfavorable situation, Jiang Wei refused to retreat and on seeing that, the soldiers at the two forts pretended to surrender to Wei.
Meanwhile, Chen Tai saw through the fake surrender and battled the enemy troops. Jiang Wei met Chen Tai again and this time they dueled. Chen Tai attacked Jiang Wei but the latter dodged and Chen hurt himself. Jiang Wei then ran through a door that was locked and only Chen Tai's blade was able to destroy it. He smashed off a piece of the wooden bamboo and his hand bled. Jiang Wei was almost attacked again but he dodged and the door was smashed. Chen Tai allowed Jiang Wei to retreat.
Third, fourth, and fifth expedition
In 249, Jiang Wei launched his third invasion and was defeated.In 253, Jiang Wei set up a coordinated attack with Zhuge Ke
Zhuge Ke
Zhuge Ke , style name Yuanxun , was a military general and regent of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhuge Jin and nephew of Zhuge Liang. He succeeded Lu Xun after the latter's death...
to attack Wei on two fronts: Shu on the west in Nan'an and Shu's ally Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...
on the east at Hefei
Hefei
Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...
. Jiang Wei attacked the key border city of Didao as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei. The Wei regent Sima Shi
Sima Shi
Sima Shi , style name Ziyuan , was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he...
knew the Wu army to be the more serious threat and led the main Wei force to the eastern front, while sending a smaller unit to relieve Didao. The first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang Wei, while besieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Sima Shi's forces dealt a crippling defeat to Zhuge Ke.
However, Jiang Wei resumed his attack very soon, and led tens of thousands of Shu soldiers to venture into Wei territory again. He bypassed Shiying (石營) and Dongting (董亭), and laid siege on Nan'an. Chen Tai
Chen Tai
Chen Tai , style name Xuanbo , was a military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Chen Qun. Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children...
reinforced Nan'an in time, and Jiang Wei lifted the siege due to logistical consideration. Guo Huai
Guo Huai
Guo Huai , style name Boji , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He started his career during the late Han Dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao. During Cao Pi's reign, Guo rose up the ranks and became a grand marshal under Sima Yi...
then drove back Jiang Wei's forces out of Wei's domain.
Sixth expedition: Campaign on Xiangwu region
In 254, after Li Jian (李簡), the county magistrate of Didao, secretly declared that he would defect, Jiang Wei again attacked Longxi, and took the city of Didao. However, a local force led by Xu ZhiXu Zhi
Xu Zhi was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. His name is sometimes romanticized as Xu Zi.-Biography:...
managed to deal considerable damage to the enemy and slew Shu general Zhang Yi (Boqi)
Zhang Yi (Boqi)
Zhang Yi , style name Boqi, was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was instrumental in pacifying the barbarian peoples who rebelled against Shu. He was slain by Xu Zhi during one of Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions while distracting the enemy from pursuing...
. However, Zhang Yi's desperate fight also inflicted a devastating damage to Xu Zhi's army, forcing the latter to retreat and await reinforcements. Shu forces thus gained some footholds on the Xiangwu region and battles went on and off for some time, and Jiang Wei forced the residents in Didao, Hejian (河間) and Lintao (臨洮) to retreat with him to Longxi upon the arrival of Guo Huai. At this point, Zhang Yi (Bogong)
Zhang Yi (Bogong)
Zhang Yi , style name Bogong, was a general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Originally from Wuyang and a descendant of Zhang Liang, he became Liu Bei's commander after Liu Bei had captured Yizhou...
attempted to convince Jiang Wei to declare victory and return to Hanzhong as he witnessed the death of his colleague, Zhang Yi (Boqi). Jiang Wei refused, and deemed the defeat of Xu Zhi (who actually was just a low ranking military officer) as a major success, not realizing such a deed was accomplished by Zhang Yi (Boqi)'s sacrifice.
In the summer of 255, Jiang Wei and Xiahou Ba
Xiahou Ba
Xiahou Ba , style name Zhongquan , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
(who had defected to Shu) attacked Didao again in three different directions aiming for Mount Qi, Jincheng and Shiying. Jiang Wei was successful in his initial battles against the Wei Inspector of Yong Province, Wang Jing (王經), west of the Tao River, nearly annihilating Wang's troops, leaving around 10,000 troops to defend Didao. Wang Jing requested Chen Tai
Chen Tai
Chen Tai , style name Xuanbo , was a military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Chen Qun. Chen Tai was very knowledgeable in the art of war, and so led his men as if they were his own children...
to dispatch troops to defend in all three directions Jiang might attack. However, Chen Tai did not think that Jiang Wei would split his forces into three, so he ordered Wang Jing to defend Didao and only launched an attack when Shu armies arrived and an opportunity arose. Then, Chen Tai personally led some troops to defend Chencang. However, Wang Jing disobeyed Chen Tai's order and proceeded to attack the enemy on his own. On hearing that, Chen Tai knew that something disastrous would happen and hastily led his armies to reinforce Wang Jing.
Chen Tai reorganized the defeated troops in preparation for a counteroffensive. Chen Tai mentioned although Jiang Wei was victorious, he did not seize the opportunity to attack eastward in order to capture Wei's food supplies at Liyang. Zhang Yi (Bogong) again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point; unfortunately, Jiang refused. Rather, Jiang Wei besieged Didao again and Shu morale was affected due to continuous campaign and fatigue. Jiang Wei and Chen Tai's forces stayed in a stalemate throughout the winter. One night, Chen Tai led his troops to a mountain south of Didao, and instructed his troops to raise torches. The Wei troops defending at Didao saw that and their morale increased tremendously. Shu's troops besieging Didao were badly affected by the display put up by Chen Tai and a portion of the Shu forces was dispatched to attack Chen's army and they were badly defeated by Chen due to his capitalization of strategic points for defense. As a result, the Shu armies were forced to lift the siege and retreat; thus Didao was saved. However, Jiang was unwilling to abort the campaign.
In summer 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance on Shanggui instead, his move was anticipated by Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss that would cause the people of Shu to start to resent Jiang Wei.
Seventh expedition: Battle of Duan Valley
Jiang Wei was confident in his abilities to use the northern tribes to his advantage, but Fei YiFei Yi
Fei Yi, style name Wenwei , was an official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He succeeded Jiang Wan as regent of Shu Han, and avoided major expedition against rival state, Cao Wei...
rejected his proposals and limited the amount of troops that Jiang was allowed to use. Jiang Wei scored the initial victory at Tao River, but was driven back by Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
.
In 256, a year later, Jiang Wei had arranged for Hu Ji
Hu Ji
Hu Ji, style name Weidu , was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.Hu was from Yiyang . He replaced Wang Ping as overseer of military affairs in Hanzhong after the latter died...
to assist his expedition aiming for Mount Qi. However, Hu Ji broke his promise and did not arrive as planned. When Jiang Wei heard that Deng Ai was fully prepared, he decided to attack Nan'an instead. Deng Ai was defending Mount Wucheng. Jiang Wei failed to take it so he consulted Xiahou Ba. Xiahou Ba told him to take Shanggui, Nan'an's grain depot. Taking the advice, Jiang Wei led crack troops to Shanggui via Duan Valley, but he was ambushed by Deng Zhong, Deng Ai's son. As a result, Jiang Wei was badly defeated at Duan Valley and forced to retreat to Hanzhong.
Eighth expedition: Battle of Mang River and ninth expedition: Battle of Taoyang
In 257, when Zhuge DanZhuge Dan
Zhuge Dan , style named Gongxiu , was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. 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 Cao Wei, Sima...
rebelled against Wei, Jiang Wei attacked Chenling, advancing all the way to Mangshui, and a stalemate resulted at Weishui, but Jiang could not induce Wei forces, commanded by Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
and Sima Wang
Sima Wang
Sima Wang was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He served the Jin Dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period...
. In 258, Jiang Wei withdrew after Zhuge Dan was defeated.
In 262, despite Liao Hua
Liao Hua
Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
's opposition, Jiang Wei, attacked Wei again, targeting Taoyang, but was defeated by Deng Ai, and withdrew to Tazhong.
Aftermath
After Jiang Wei's continued failures in his invasions, the people of Shu resented him. Shu resources were almost drained and this gave Wei an opportunity to attack and eliminate Shu. Zhong HuiZhong Hui
Zhong Hui was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He was the son of Zhong Yao, a calligrapher and politician of Wei....
and Deng Ai
Deng Ai
Deng Ai was a military general of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. It was said that whenever he saw a hill or wide valley, he would immediately size up the best places to store grain and position troops. His talent was recognized by Sima Yi, who recommended him to take up...
invaded Shu at two points. Jiang Wei resisted Zhong Hui's attack, but Liao Hua
Liao Hua
Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...
was defeated by Deng Ai, and after the defeat of Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan
Zhuge Zhan , style name Siyuan , was a politician and military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...
at Mianzhu Pass, Shu was lost. In 263, the Shu emperor Liu Shan
Liu Shan
Liu Shan, , was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As he ascended the throne at the young age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Liang and Imperial Secretariat Li Yan...
surrendered to Deng Ai, and Jiang Wei was ordered to surrender his troops to Zhong Hui.
Modern references
Some of the expeditions are featured as playable stages in the seventh installmentDynasty Warriors 7
is a hack and slash video game and the seventh official installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game has been confirmed to be PS3 exclusive in Japan. The story is based on Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms....
of Koei's Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...
video game series. A notable difference is the battles of the expeditions are out of order (e.g. Battle of Tao River served as the third invasion).