About "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the speed is too slow! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

For the introduction of key figures, I recommend reading this website, it is very clear! ! !

/sanguo/wenyi/renwu/index.html The more important characters have been introduced.

There are probably more than 300 battles in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", among which ten are more classic:

1. Battle of Guandu

In 200 AD, Yuan Shao Select 100,000 elite infantry and 10,000 cavalry, with Liyang as the base camp; order Yan Liang as the vanguard, cross the river to attack Baima. Cao Cao used Xun You's plan and threatened to cross the river to steal Yuan Shao's retreat. Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang to send half of his troops to Yanjin to prevent Cao Cao from crossing the river. Cao Cao ordered Yu Jin to defend Yanjin, with Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as the vanguard, and he personally led the main force to attack Baima and fight with Dongjun. Prefect Liu Yan attacked Yan Liang, and Yan Liang was killed. Yuan Shao was furious and ordered the entire army to cross the river. He also ordered another confidant general Wen Chou and Liu Bei to be the vanguard and attack Baima. Cao Cao gave up his white horse and retreated to Yanjin. He personally commanded the elite rear and deliberately put away the baggage. Wen Chou and Liu Bei led more than 6,000 cavalry in pursuit and scattered to grab the baggage. Cao Cao took the opportunity to order an attack. Yuan's army was in chaos and Wen Chou himself was killed. Cao Cao acted as a decoy. The enemy penetrated deeply and retreated to Guandu. Yuan Shao refused to listen to Tian Feng's plan and escorted him to Yecheng. Yuan Shao opened up his alliance and advanced step by step; Cao Cao reacted and ordered Yu Jin and Le Jin to attack both wings, and won a great victory. In order to win the victory, Yuan Shao instigated a rebellion against Li Tong and Liu Pi in the south; Li Tong did not betray but instead led troops to destroy the local tycoons who secretly communicated with Yuan Shao; Cao Cao also ordered Cao Ren and Xu Huang to lead the cavalry to suppress Liu Pi and Liu Bei at night. When Yuan Shao's plan failed, he made another one, writing a letter to ask Sun Ce from Jiangdong to go north to attack Xuchang. Guo Jia, Cao Cao's counselor, thought that Sun Ce was too frivolous and would die at the hands of assassins. Sure enough, not long after, Sun Ce was blocked by his enemies and died of serious injuries (one theory is that Guo Jia secretly sent Cao Cao's warriors to kill Sun Ce). The stalemate between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao lasted for a long time, and the army was short of supplies. He wanted to retreat to Xuchang. Xun Wenruo urged Cao Cao to hold on and provide maximum support to the front line. In October 200 AD, Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren, Xu Huang and others to sneak attack Yuan Shao's general Han Meng and burn down thousands of carts of grain and grass transported by Han Meng. Xu You, a counselor of Yuan Shao, suggested that Yuan Shao send troops to sneak attack Xuchang and kidnap the Han Emperor. After being rejected, Xu You had no choice but to seek refuge with Cao Cao because his family members were tried and imprisoned. Guarding the camp, he led Xia Houyuan, Zhang Liao, Cao Ren and others to attack Wuchao. At the same time, he ordered Xu Huang to sneak attack on Gushi, another place where Yuan Jun's grain and grass were stored. Cao Jun pretended to be Yuan Jun, deceived Yuan Jun's interrogation, and launched a sneak attack on Wuchao. When the news reached Yuan Shao's ears, Yuan Shao did not follow General Zhang He's suggestion to rescue Wuchao with a heavy force. Instead, he followed the advice of counselor Guo Tu and ordered Zhang He and Gao Lan to lead a heavy force to attack Cao's camp and only send a small number of cavalry to rescue Wuchao. When the reinforcements arrived at Wuchao, Cao Cao first concentrated all his efforts to capture the Wuchao Yuan Army Camp, captured the guarding general Chun Yuqiong, and burned all supplies. Then he turned back and defeated the Yuan Army cavalry who came to rescue him. At the same time, Xu Huang also captured the old city and burned all supplies. The news reached Yuan Jun's camp. In order to avoid being punished, Guo Tu spread a rumor that Zhang He was gloating about Wuchao's defeat. At the same time, he sent someone to inform Zhang He that Yuan Shao wanted to kill Zhang He. Zhang He had no choice but to surrender to Cao Jun. Cao Cao then launched a massive counterattack, but Yuan's army had no fighting spirit and most of them surrendered to Cao's army. Yuan Shao and others only escaped with 800 soldiers; more than 70,000 surrendered soldiers were ordered to be buried alive by Cao Cao. The genius counselor Ju Shou was moved by Cao Cao's sincerity and surrendered, and later won Zhi's family members were in Anhao, Hebei, and wanted to flee north but were killed; another important counselor of Yuan Shao, Tian Feng, was killed by Yuan Shao who believed the slander. The Battle of Guandu can be said to be the most exciting battle during the Three Kingdoms period and a famous example in the history of war; it marked Cao Cao's formal dominance in the north and laid the foundation for the unification of the north.

2. Battle of Chibi

In 208 AD, Liu Biao was seriously ill, so Sun Quan stepped up the opportunity to attack Jingzhou; Liu Bei, who had taken refuge with Liu Biao and was stationed in Xinye, also used the excuse to resist Cao Cao and Sun Quan, The affiliated army expanded to tens of thousands, and Guan Yu was ordered to vigorously train the navy in Fankou in preparation for the capture of Jingzhou; Liu Biao's eldest son Liu Yi was forced by his stepmother Cai's family to garrison in Xiakou. In August, Liu Biao died of illness, and his second son Liu Zong, with the support of his powerful uncles Cai Mao brothers, Zhang Yun, Kuai Yue, etc., served as the shepherd of Jingzhou. Cao Cao then led his army quickly southward from the small roads of Ye and Wan, defeated Liu Bei's defenders, and occupied Xinye; Liu Zong surrendered to Cao Cao on the advice of Wang Can, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others. Liu Bei attempted to occupy Nanjun (Jiangling) and rely on the large amount of supplies there to resist Cao Cao. After Cao Cao learned of Liu Bei's intentions, he personally led 5,000 elite cavalry to pursue Liu Bei at night. Since a large number of people followed Liu Bei south, Cao Cao's army tried to catch up with Liu Bei at Dangyang Changban. However, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang had already retreated to Xiakou in advance. Liu Jun was defeated and Liu Bei, Zhao Yun and others "only escaped with their own lives". Liu Bei had no choice but to change his mind and retreat to Xiakou. After Cao Cao captured Jiangling, he captured and surrendered 8 counties in Jingzhou, surrendering Liu Zongshui and an army of 100,000 men. Liu Bei then sent Zhuge Liang to form an alliance with Sun Quan. After listening to the analysis of Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan decided to resist Cao Cao and Ordered Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Cheng Pu to lead more than 30,000 naval troops to fight against Liu Bei. In November, Cao Cao led an army of more than 100,000 to attack Liu Bei in Xiakou; Cao Cao's navy encountered a rude battle with the Sun and Liu coalition forces in Chibi. After Cao Cao's main force arrived, the army was stationed in Wulin; due to the unsuitable climate and soil, Cao Cao's army was infected with schistosomiasis in large numbers sick. In order to overcome the shortcomings of Cao Cao's army that were not adapted to water warfare, Cao Cao ordered most of the ships to be connected with iron ropes to form a "chain ship" that would be fatal in the future.

Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and others discovered that the serial ship had a fatal weakness in avoiding fire, and decided to use fire attack; usually the north wind blows in winter, but due to climate problems in the south of the Yangtze River, there are abnormal southeast winds for a few days in December every year; in order to facilitate arson , Zhou Yu and Huang Gai resorted to the "bitter meat trick", and Cao Cao was deceived. On a night when the north wind turned to the southeast wind, Huang Gai pretended to surrender and successfully set fire to Cao's army. Cao Cao's army was in chaos and the coalition forces took the opportunity to attack. Cao Cao's army was burned, drowned and surrendered in large numbers. Cao Cao, under the protection of his personal guards, fled back to Jiangling from Huarong Road in a hurry. In order to prevent the warships from falling into the hands of the coalition forces, Cao Cao ordered all the warships in other camps to be set on fire. At the same time, Sun Quan attacked Hefei in the south. Cao Cao had no choice but to order Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, and Li Dianxing to rush to Hefei at night; leaving Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, he retreated to Xuchang. A year later, Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren and Xu Huang to withdraw from Jiangling and defend Xiangyang and Fancheng. Most of Jingzhou fell into the hands of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. In 209, Sun Quan attacked Hefei from the east, but was blocked by Liu Fu in Hefei. Cao Cao's army of more than 100,000 was defeated by the Sun-Liu coalition with only 50,000 to 60,000. The main reason was that the epidemic of schistosomiasis and acclimatization caused the northern army to lose its combat effectiveness. The main subjective reason was that Cao Cao was too proud and underestimated the enemy; The coalition forces took full advantage of all the favorable conditions, so winning was a matter of course. In the Battle of Chibi, all of Cao Cao's naval forces were lost. Liu Bei and Sun Quan were greatly strengthened after the Battle of Chibi. Cao Cao lost the opportunity to unify China in a short period of time, which had a considerable impact on future generations.

3. The Battle of Hanba

In 215 AD, Cao Cao led Zhang He and Zhu Ling as the vanguard, leading 5,000 soldiers and horses to open the way in front, and led an army of 100,000 from Chencang. Set off. Zhang Lu proposed surrendering to Cao Cao, but his younger brother Zhang Wei, general Yang Ang and other powerful factions firmly opposed it. Zhang Wei and Yang Ang led tens of thousands of people to defend Yangping Pass. Cao Cao's army was unable to attack by force many times, so he decided to pretend to retreat to confuse Zhang Wei, and Zhang Wei reduced his defense military. Cao Cao immediately ordered a strong attack at night. Due to the weak strength of the defenders and lax guarding, Yangping was almost lost and Yang Ang died in the battle. Cao Cao's army continued to attack other camps, alarming thousands of night moths on the mountain, and the night moths rushed into Zhang Wei's camp. Cao Cao thought Zhang Wei was counterattacking, so he ordered Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu and other generals to attack Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei was defeated and surrendered. The capture of Yangping Pass epitomized Cao Cao's artistic talent in military command. Zhang Lu proposed surrender again, but Yan Pu objected, so Zhang Lu went into hiding and went to Bajun. Cao Cao knew that Zhang Lu wanted to surrender, so he used high-ranking officials to bribe the leaders of the seven surnames of the Ba tribe. Zhang Lu had no choice but to surrender. Cao Cao also ordered Xia Houyuan, Xu Huang, and Zhang He to capture Sanba. At the same time, Cheng Yin, Hou Xuan and other rebel generals in Guanzhong also surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao then occupied Hanzhong and Bajun.

Liu Bei learned that Cao Cao had pacified Hanba (the capital of Badong is now Chongqing), which posed a great threat to him, so he had to compromise with Sun Quan. Sun Quan also wanted to use this to launch an offensive in Hefei to capture Huainan. , so the two sides divided Jingzhou. So Liu Bei ordered Huang Quan to capture Sanba and kill Du Huo, the leader of the Ba tribe who had taken refuge with Cao Cao. Cao Cao ordered Zhang He to counterattack, capture Badong and Brazil, and move the people to Hanzhong. They fought with Zhang Fei for more than 50 days and were defeated by Zhang. Fei was defeated. After taking a series of measures to stabilize Hanba, Cao Cao left Xia Houyuan and others behind and returned to Luoyang (whether it is appropriate to continue attacking Liu Bei will be analyzed later), and moved more than 80,000 people back to Guanzhong. After Liu Bei concentrated his forces, he first attacked Wudu with Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Wu Lan, blocking Cao's army in Guanzhong from reinforcing Hanzhong at any time in the Xiabian area. He led Fazheng, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun and others to lead the main force to attack Yangping Pass where Xiahou Yuan was guarding. Cao Cao immediately ordered Cao Hong and Cao Xiu (originally Cao Zhi was the commander-in-chief, but because of Cao Pi's mischief--) to reinforce Hanzhong, and started a fierce battle with Liu Bei's army in Xiabian, defeating Wu Lan. Wu Lan fled into Yinping and was killed by the locals, and later defeated Ma Chao, Zhang Fei pacified the local leader Lei Ding and other troops who responded to Liu Bei. Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang for help. Zhuge Liang called for "men to fight, women to be lucky" and to maximize their efforts to support the front line. The situation was quite unfavorable to Cao Cao. Cao Cao personally garrisoned Chang'an and ordered Cao Renping to surrender Wancheng general Hou Yin to Guan Yu. Liu Bei personally used Fa Zheng's strategy to mobilize half of Xiahou Yuan's army to reinforce Zhang He, and then attacked Xiahou Yuan at night. In the early morning of the next day, Liu Bei sent Huang Zhong to sneak attack Xiahou Yuan who was commanding the repair of antlers. Xiahou Yuan was killed and Zhang He was forced to gather the remaining soldiers. Return to guard Yangping Pass. As the situation became more serious, Cao Cao personally went to the front line of Hanzhong and ordered Xu Huang to sneak attack Maming Pavilion guarded by Chen Shi, thus restoring the connection between Hanzhong and Xiabian. Liu Bei ordered his men to hold their positions and at the same time harass Cao Cao's supply line, and ordered Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong to sneak attack Beishan burned more than 10,000 bags of grain and grass for Cao Jun. Cao Cao had no choice but to let Cao Zhen go to Xiabian to pick up Cao Hong, abandon Hanzhong, and at the same time move tens of thousands of households back to Guanzhong. The outcome of the Battle of Hanzhong basically determined the establishment of the Three Kingdoms.

4. Guan Yu lost Jingzhou

In October 218 AD, the people of Nanyang rioted because they could not bear the exploitation. Wanhou general Hou Yin took the opportunity to rebel and sent a letter to Guan Yu for help; Guan Yu responded slowly, and Hou Yin Yin was captured and killed by Cao Ren. In July 219, inspired by Liu Bei's victory in Hanzhong, Guan Yu went north to capture Xiangfan. Cao Cao took Yu Jin as his general and supervised the 7th Army to rescue Cao Ren. At the same time, he ordered Xu Huang to lead his army to Wancheng. In August, a flash flood broke out, flooding Yu Jin and seven other armies. Guan Yu took the opportunity to attack, but Pang De refused to surrender and was killed. Yu Jin surrendered; Cao Ren sank his white horse to defend Fancheng.

Guan Yu attacked Xiangyang with a partial general, and attacked Fancheng himself. He set up a position in the north of Fancheng to prevent reinforcements from Cao's army in the north. At the same time, he sent people to instigate rebellion in nearby counties. Hu Xiu, the governor of Jingzhou, and Fu Fang, the governor of Nanxiang, surrendered, and south of Xuchang Some officials also secretly assisted Guan Yu; Sun Lang, a man from Lu Hun, gathered a crowd to riot in response to Guan Yu, and Wei Xi of Yecheng took the opportunity to attempt to launch a coup; this was the so-called "Wei Zhen Huaxia". Cao Cao listened to the opinions of Sima Yi, Jiang Ji and others and formed an alliance with Sun Quan. At the same time, he ordered Xu Huang to lead an army to rescue Cao Ren, and named General Zhang Liao to help Cao Ren quickly. Sun Quan deliberately sent Lu Xun to replace Lü Meng, but Guan Yu was careless and took away some of the defenders of Jingzhou. In the intercalated tenth month, Sun Quan made Lü Meng the commander-in-chief and led the army to attack Jiangling. Sun Jiao succeeded him and sent another right guard Jiang Qin to supervise the navy to enter Mian. Water (Han River), to prevent Guan Yu from flowing down the river. Lü Meng went to Xunyang (southwest of today's Huangmei, Hubei), disguised his warships as merchant ships, and his soldiers as merchants, traveling day and night. When they arrived at Public Security Bureau, they forced the Shu garrison Fu Shiren to surrender, and then used Fu Shiren to persuade the Jiangling garrison Mi Fang to surrender. He treated the families of Guan Yu's officers and soldiers favorably, released the Wei army officers and soldiers captured by Guan Yu, and comforted the people. At the same time, Lu Xun was ordered to advance to Yiling (now Yichang) and defend Liu Bei in the west. After Xu Huang arrived at the front line, he got in touch with Cao Ren, and the morale of Cao Ren's army greatly increased. In order to alienate Sun Liu and profit from it, he ordered his general to shoot Sun Quan's letter into Guan Yu's camp. After seeing this, Guan Yu was hesitant and his military morale was shaken. Xu Huang took the opportunity to launch a large-scale attack on Guan Yu's stronghold, defeated Guan Yu, and took the opportunity to open up the route to Fancheng. At that time, the flood receded, Cao Ren led his army to cooperate with Xu Huang to attack Guan Yu, Wenpin cut off Guan Yu's grain road by water, and Guan Yu retreated steadily. Guan Yu knew that Jingzhou had been lost and hurriedly retreated. When the soldiers learned that their families were being treated favorably, their morale dropped sharply. Later, Guan Yu was defeated in Maicheng.

5. Battle of Yiling

In 219 AD, Guan Yu was captured and killed by Lu Meng, Jingzhou was owned by Sun Quan, and all Liu Bei's forces east of Bashan were wiped out. In order to recover his vested interests and avenge Guan Yu, he ignored the advice of his ministers and decided to go eastward, ordering General Zhang Fei from Langzhong (today's Sichuan) to join forces in Jiangzhou (today's Chongqing). Zhang Fei was assassinated by his generals before setting off. Liu Bei still ordered Zhuge Liang to stay in Chengdu. Zhao Yun served as the rear army commander in Jiangzhou and unified the army to march eastward in July. Sun Quan failed to seek peace with Liu Bei, so he further made peace with Wei, and in August he sent envoys again to proclaim himself a vassal. Cao Wei took advantage of the situation and named Sun Quan King of Wu, and stepped up efforts to alienate Sun Quan and Liu. Sun Quan accepted the title of king, and at the same time appointed Lu Xun, the right guard army and general of Zhenxi, as the general governor, commanding Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng, Han Dang, Sun Huan and other 50,000 troops to resist the Shu army; he ordered General Pingrong to lead the army on foot. Ten thousand soldiers guarded Yiyang (now part of Hunan) in an attempt to prevent the indigenous tribes in Wuling (now in the area of ​​western Hunan, eastern Guizhou and southwestern Hubei) from aiding Shu. When 40,000 Shu troops attacked Wu (now Wushan, Sichuan) and Zigui (now Hubei), Lu Xun took the strategy of giving in first, concentrating his forces, and preparing for a decisive battle in view of the strong Shu army, eagerness to win, and unfavorable terrain. According to the strategy, the guard generals Li Yi and Liu A led their troops to retreat to the area of ​​Chengting in Yiling (today's north of Zhicheng, Hubei, on the east bank of the Yangtze River), to hold on to the favorable terrain, and to give up hundreds of miles of canyons and mountains to Liu Bei to tire out the Shu army. In the first month of the following year, Liu Bei sent generals Wu Ban and Chen Shi to supervise the navy into the Yiling area and lock the east and west banks of the river. In February, he personally led the generals to cross from Zigui to the south, pass through the rugged mountain roads, and enter the camp area of ​​Yiling and Yidao (today's Zhicheng), where he took command in I Pavilion. Huang Quan was appointed as the general to the north to supervise the armies in the north of the Yangtze River to Yi. To the north of the Ling Dynasty, he resisted the Wu army and guarded against the attack of the Wei army. He sent his servant Ma Liang to Wuling County to meet the tribal leader Shamoke who rebelled against Wu and surrendered to Shu to obtain greater support. When Liu Bei sent his former commander Zhang Nan to surround Sun Huan in Yidao, the generals of the Wu army asked Lu Xun to send troops to rescue him. Lu Xun knew that Sun Huan had won the hearts of the people and that the city of Yidao was strong and well-supplied, so he insisted not to divide his troops. The Shu army frequently challenged, and General Wu was eager to attack, but Lu Xun patiently dissuaded him and could not hold on. Some veteran generals and generals who were members of the royal family tried to go their own way and made rash moves, but Lu Xun enforced military discipline and strictly stopped them. Liu Bei ambushed 8,000 Shu soldiers in the valley and sent Wu Ban to camp on the ground in an attempt to lure Lu Xun into battle. Lu Xun saw through his plan but still refused to fight. The two armies were in a stalemate for half a year. The Shu army marched a long way, but could not achieve a quick victory. Moreover, the camps were scattered, transportation was difficult, and the troops were exhausted. It was a hot summer day, so Liu Bei stationed his navy on land and lost the initiative. In leap six months, Lu Xun believed that the time was ripe and decided to shift from defense to counterattack. First, he used fire to defeat the Shu army's first battalion, and then ordered all armies to take advantage of the situation to attack, forcing Liu Bei to retreat westward. After hearing the news, Zhang Nan also abandoned the Yi Road and headed north. He was attacked from the north and south by Zhu Ran and Sun Huan, and died in battle. Lu Xun immediately ordered the navy to block the river, and Sun Huan and others guarded the Yiling Road, dividing the Shu army east and west of the river, and then defeated them one by one, burned the entire camp, and captured more than 40 camps. The Shu army suffered heavy casualties. Generals Du Lu and Liu Ning surrendered, and governors Feng Xi and Samoko were killed. Liu Bei was defeated and retreated to Ma'anshan in the northwest, relying on danger to defend. Lu Xun concentrated his troops, besieged on all sides, and annihilated tens of thousands of Shu troops. Liu Bei led the rest of his troops to break out of the encirclement westward at night, and the rearguard general Fu Wei and others were beheaded by the Wu army. Liu Bei's army retreated to Zigui and ordered the postmen to burn cymbals on the dangerous road to block the road to cut off the rear. The generals of the Wu army called for battle one after another and wanted to pursue them vigorously. In order to prevent Cao Wei from attacking Wu, Lu Xun only sent Li Yi and Liu A to follow him to Nanshan (referring to the mountains on the south bank of Zigui). Because his return route was cut off by the Wu army, Huang Quan led his troops to surrender to Wei. Liu Bei gathered the scattered soldiers and returned to Baidi City from Zigui (today's east of Fengjie, Sichuan). Li Yi and Liu A still guarded the witchcraft in August. In April of the following year, Liu Bei died of illness.

6. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition

In 228 AD, Cao Pi died of illness. Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to send troops to Hanzhong, and led his army directly to Qishan, where Cao Wei was guarding; at the same time, he sent veterans Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead partial troops to follow. Xiegu set out and threatened to attack Meicheng, and then attack Chang'an, the central city of Cao Wei. Since the Shu army had been recuperating for more than 2 years and was fully prepared, but Cao Wei was insufficiently prepared, the Shu army quickly captured Qishan, and Cao Wei's Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding Taking refuge in Shu, Cao Wei and his country were shaken. Emperor Wei Ming Cao Rui immediately ordered General Cao Zhen to lead an army of 150,000 from Chang'an to assist Meicheng; the wise and brave general Zhang He led 50,000 elite troops to intercept Zhuge Liang's troops at night; he also arrived in Chang'an personally to take charge. Zhuge Liang took Ma Di as the vanguard and occupied the strategically important street pavilion first. Ma Di did not listen to the bitter advice of his deputy Wang Ping and stationed his troops on a nearby hill while letting Wang Ping station himself nearby. After Zhang He arrived at the street pavilion, he divided some troops and horses. He prevented Wang Ping and Ma Su from joining forces, and led the main force to surround Ma Su's army on the mountain, and at the same time ordered the mountain to be set on fire. Ma Su was defeated and did not dare to see Zhuge Liang, so he fled back to Chengdu and later died of illness in prison. After the Shu army lost the street pavilion, it was basically suppressed by Zhang He and could not break through Zhang He's defense line. Zhao Yun's troops on the eastern front were also defeated by Cao Zhen's superior troops. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to retreat to Hanzhong, and the first Northern Expedition failed. Before the Northern Expedition, General Wei Yan proposed that he lead 5,000 elite troops from Xiegu to take a shortcut to Chang'an, but Zhuge Liang refused.

In the winter of that year, Cao Xiu, the great commander of Cao Wei, was defeated by Wu in Shiting. The main force in Guanzhong went east to rescue Cao Xiu. Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to break out of Sanguan and surrounded the strategically important Chencang. Since Cao Wei's general Cao Zhen had expected that Zhuge Liang would have this trick, he asked the wise and brave general Hao Zhao to lead 3,000 troops to guard Chencang. Due to the dangerous terrain of Chencang, it was easy to defend and attack from the south. In addition, after taking office, Hao Zhao prepared a large amount of rolling stones, grease, rockets and other materials, and also reinforced the city wall. The Shu army had not yet broken through after more than 20 days of strong attack. The Shu army was short of food and grass, and Cao Wei's famous general Zhang He also led an army to support him. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to order to return to Hanzhong and set up an ambush to kill Wei general Wang Shuang who came to pursue him; the second Northern Expedition ended in failure.

In the spring of 229 AD, Zhuge Liang sent Chen Shi (father of Chen Shou) to take over the two small counties of Wudu and Yinping. Although the third Northern Expedition gained two counties, it could not reverse the passive disadvantage.

In 231 AD, Zhuge Liang launched his fourth Northern Expedition and once again attacked Qishan, the stronghold of Cao Wei. Cao Rui ordered Sima Yi, Zhang He and others to lead an army to fight against Zhuge Liang; Zhuge Liang left Wang Ping to lead some troops to continue the attack on Qishan, and he led the main force to fight Sima Yi; on the way, he defeated Cao Wei's Liangzhou Mu Guo Huai tribe and plundered local wheat for military rations. Sima Yi knew that the Shu army was coming from afar, and the supply line was long and arduous, so he couldn't hold on. Later, Zhuge Liang designed to defeat Sima Yi, and Sima Yi couldn't hold on. However, because Li Yan (Li Ping), the second most powerful person in charge of logistics, was unable to supply food and grass, he falsely reported that the emperor had ordered Zhuge Liang to retreat. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to retreat. Sima Yi learned that Zhuge Liang had retreated and ordered General Zhang He to pursue him. Zhang He protested, but Sima Yi forcibly ordered Zhang He to pursue him. Zhang He was killed by Zhuge Liang's ambush; the fourth Northern Expedition also ended in failure.

In 234 AD, after three years of training and production, the Shu army changed its old route from Qishan and sent troops from Xiegu. At the same time, a letter was sent to Sun Quan to cooperate in the battle; Cao Wei also had Sima Yi lead the army to fight with Zhuge Liang. Confrontation. After Zhuge Liang arrived at Wuzhangyuan, he camped there in order to fight Cao Wei's army for a long time. Sun Quan's army was also defeated by Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui personally leading the army, and Sun Quan retreated to Jianye. Sima Yi knew that the Shu army could not fight for a long time, so he also adopted the strategy of holding on. The old method was to wait for the Shu army to run out of food and then retreat. No matter how Zhuge Liang tried to motivate his generals, they still couldn't hold on. Due to the hardships of military life and the uncertainty of victory, Zhuge Liang became seriously ill; Zhuge Liang abandoned his deputy commander Wei Yan to discuss his funeral with Jiang Wei, Yang Yi and others. After Zhuge Liang's death, Yang Yi was appointed as the commander-in-chief and Wei Yan was placed in the rear. Wei Yan did not get along with Yang Yi and returned south to Shaoge Road, where he was defeated by Yang Yi. He and his son fled back to Chengdu and were killed by Ma Dai sent by Yang Yi. Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions ended in failure.

7. The Kwantung Allied Forces defeated Dong Zhuo

8. The Huainan War

9. Cao Wei destroyed Shu and Wu

10. The Western Jin Dynasty unified China