Ma Su’s execution

Ma Su’s execution is the painful reckoning after the loss at Jieting: Kong Ming orders the death of a commander whose overconfidence and inexperience helped bring serious military losses, then mourns him as someone nearly like a son. The episode makes command accountability costly on both sides of the relationship: Ma Su is executed, while Kong Ming formally accepts demotion for having entrusted him with the post.

The decision at Jieting

Kong Ming assigned Ma Su to defend Jieting against the expected attack by Sima Yi, with Wang Ping appointed to oversee him. Ma Su’s military knowledge came chiefly from books, but he disregarded Wang Ping’s practical advice to hold the road. Instead, he chose a hill, believing its height would give him a better view of the route below. He invoked Sun Zi’s Art of War to defend his choice and dismissed Wang Ping’s objections.

As the enemy approached, Ma Su allowed Wang Ping to take a small force to guard the road, while keeping his main force on the hill. Wang Ping sent Kong Ming an urgent account of their separate positions. Sima Yi, encouraged by the news that an inexperienced commander held the post, advanced to attack. His forces cut Ma Su off on the hill, where there was no water. As thirst drove soldiers to desert, Ma Su led his troops down in an attempt to escape. Zhang He pursued them; Wei Yan’s rescue force intervened, and Wang Ping in turn rescued Wei Yan from an ambush. The Shu force nevertheless suffered heavy losses, and Sima Yi captured Jieting.

Defeat and retreat

The loss at Jieting did not end with the capture of the town. The Shu commanders later tried to retake it in a night attack, but found the place apparently empty and were surprised after entering. Their retreat to Lieliu coincided with a further threat: Guo Huai and Cao Zhen were advancing there as well, in opposition to Sima Yi’s command. After another damaging battle, Wang Ping, Wei Yan, and Ma Su withdrew toward Yangping Pass, fearing that it too might fall.

Kong Ming’s immediate assessment was that, despite the losses, all his commanders had survived. That survival did not absolve Ma Su. His choice had brought grave costs to the army and the state of Shu, and Kong Ming concluded that his foolishness had to be punished. The episode’s consequence is therefore both military and disciplinary: a failed deployment undermines the campaign, and the commander responsible faces the severest sanction.

Execution and mourning

Kong Ming ordered Ma Su’s execution while weeping. As the sentence was carried out, he recalled that Xuande had warned him not to trust Ma Su. The recollection sharpens the tragedy of the decision: Kong Ming had appointed him despite that earlier warning, and the defeat made the consequence of that trust unmistakable.

Kong Ming then led the official mourning and burial rites. The narrative holds the punishment and grief together rather than allowing either to cancel the other. Ma Su had been responsible for grave military losses, yet Kong Ming regarded him as almost a son; the formal rites express a personal attachment that coexists with the demand for accountability.

Kong Ming’s demotion

Kong Ming followed the execution with a formal memorial to the second ruler, recommending his own demotion because of his failures. The ruler did not initially agree, but was advised that custom and honour required the measure. Kong Ming consequently lost military titles while remaining acting prime minister. His punishment does not reverse the defeat or restore Ma Su; it establishes that the commander who made the appointment also accepted an official consequence for the campaign’s failure.

The episode links military judgment to political responsibility. Ma Su’s confidence in book learning over Wang Ping’s advice contributes to the loss, but Kong Ming does not present the disaster as Ma Su’s burden alone: he mourns him, conducts the rites, and submits to demotion for his own part in the failure. The ending leaves the cost of Jieting marked in both the army’s losses and the diminished rank of its chief strategist.