225 AD

The year 225 is presented as the moment when Shu’s internal peace is tested by a revolt on its southern frontier—and when Kong Ming answers military rebellion with a campaign that culminates not in the removal of Meng Huo, but in his submission and appointment as ruler. The episode brings together Shu’s claims to benevolent rule, the strategic problem of frontier security, and the distinction between defeating an enemy and winning his allegiance.

Shu at the opening of the campaign

By this point Kong Ming has assumed full responsibility for the affairs of state from Chengdu. The account presents the kingdom as peaceful and prosperous: its people are happy and well fed, and all are willing to bear their share of responsibility. That domestic order gives the southern uprising particular force. The campaign begins not as an extension of disorder at the center, but as a response to a frontier crisis that threatens a government newly associated with security and effective administration.

The crisis arrives in 225, when Meng Huo, king of the Man tribes, invades with one hundred thousand men. Three local governors join the revolt: Yong Kai of Jianning, Zhu Bao of Zangge, and Gao Ding of Yuesui. The governor of Yongchang, Wang Kang, is besieged and sends an urgent appeal for help. The scale of the invasion and the siege make the revolt a direct challenge to Shu’s control of the southern borderlands.

Kong Ming takes command

When the second ruler hears that Kong Ming intends to lead the southern expedition himself, he objects, concerned by threats already facing the kingdom from Wei in the north and Wu in the south. Kong Ming reassures him that capable commanders have been assigned to protect Shu’s other territories. He then sets out with trusted generals Zhao Zilong, Wei Yan, Wang Ping, and Zhang Yi. On the march, they meet Guan Suo, the third son of Guan Yu, whom Kong Ming appoints to lead the vanguard.

The campaign’s opening action turns on the unstable loyalties of the three rebel governors. Their forces, estimated at fifty to sixty thousand men each, send the formidable E Huan forward. Wei Yan pretends to retreat, draws E Huan into a trap, and captures him. Instead of executing the prisoner, Kong Ming receives him respectfully and portrays Gao Ding as a loyal man misled by Yong Kai. He sends E Huan back with a conditional offer: Gao Ding may surrender and be accepted back, or face the consequences of refusing.

The appeal divides the rebellion. Gao Ding and E Huan return to confront Zhu Bao, who is taken by surprise; E Huan kills him with a single stroke, and Zhu Bao’s men submit. Kong Ming ends the governors’ revolt by appointing Gao Ding governor over all three districts and making E Huan commander of Gao Ding’s troops. The settlement thus converts former opponents into officials and commanders within the new order, rather than treating every rebel force as irreconcilable.

The campaign against Meng Huo

The defeat of the governors does not end the war. Meng Huo gathers the chieftains of three valleys, each bringing about fifty thousand men. Jinhuansanjie takes the central position, with Dongtuna on the left and Ahuinan on the right. Kong Ming appears to slight Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan as too old and unfamiliar with the region, giving command of the main attack to the younger Wang Ping and Ma Zhong. The two veterans, dissatisfied, leave, capture local people, and use what they learn to plan their own attack.

At night, Zhao Zilong and Wei Yan lead five thousand picked fighters against Jinhuansanjie’s camp. Their surprise attack succeeds; Zhao kills the chieftain, and the Man troops scatter. The two generals then divide their forces to strike the camps of Ahuinan and Dongtuna. The episodes show the campaign proceeding through reconnaissance, deception, and sudden attacks as well as through direct confrontation.

The narrative later describes Meng Huo, his brother Meng You, and King Duosi returning to their remaining territory in the Silver Pit hills, where three rivers meet at Sanjiang. Their ancestral temple stands there. The account emphasizes customs sharply at odds with the courtly order of Shu: the temple practices animal and human sacrifice, shamans rather than doctors treat illness, crimes receive immediate execution in the absence of courts, and markets operate by barter. With only about a thousand surviving men, Meng Huo swears revenge and seeks help from King Mulu, whose reputed command over dangerous beasts adds another threat to the campaign. King Duosi fortifies Sanjiang. When Kong Ming’s scouts, led by Wei Yan and Zhao Zilong, meet a rapid barrage of poisoned arrows, they withdraw; the apparent success encourages the defenders to relax, as Kong Ming intended.

Submission and political meaning

After the campaign’s repeated reversals, Kong Ming asks Meng Huo whether he now submits. Weeping, Meng Huo answers that generations of his people will remain grateful that Kong Ming spared them, and acknowledges that they must submit. The two then celebrate late into the night. Kong Ming appoints Meng Huo ruler over all the lands conquered by Shu, and the Man people rejoice, leaping and dancing.

The ending gives the year its political significance. Shu’s campaign secures submission while preserving Meng Huo’s authority over the conquered territory; the revolt’s conclusion is represented as an accommodation rather than the elimination of its defeated leader. Set against the opening picture of a peaceful, well-fed kingdom, the episode presents frontier rule as a test of whether military success can be turned into lasting allegiance. The year’s events therefore join the protection of Shu’s borders to a broader claim about how its power should be exercised.