Shanggui is a supply town whose importance in the campaign against Tianshui turns on both its material role and the divided loyalties of those defending the region. Kong Ming’s operations draw Jiang Wei away from the city, then exploit the suspicion surrounding him to close off his routes of refuge. The town ultimately falls after Jiang Wei joins the Shu army, helping clear the way for Kong Ming’s advance toward the River Wei.

Setting and Strategic Role

Shanggui enters the account as one of the towns involved in the defense of Tianshui. While Kong Ming’s army threatens Tianshui, he sends Wei Yan toward nearby Jicheng and attacks Shanggui, seeking to cut off Tianshui’s resources. The two moves connect military pressure with supply: Shanggui is not merely another defended settlement, but a supply town whose loss would weaken the neighboring city.

The campaign depends on maneuvering troops among Jicheng, Tianshui, and Shanggui, and on controlling the routes between them. Kong Ming makes the defending commanders’ uncertainty part of that geography. Once Jiang Wei leaves Tianshui, the Shu army can act against the towns while the Wei forces struggle to determine where he stands.

Kong Ming’s Maneuver and Jiang Wei’s Departure

Jiang Wei has already recognized an earlier Shu stratagem and defended Tianshui against an attack. Kong Ming responds by making use of Jiang Wei’s filial devotion: he learns that Jiang Wei’s mother lives in Jicheng and directs Wei Yan to approach the town under the appearance of a siege, with the actual aim of seizing her. At the same time, Kong Ming’s attack on Shanggui threatens Tianshui’s supplies.

Hearing of the assault on Jicheng, Jiang Wei asks Tianshui’s governor, Ma Zun, for permission to go to his mother’s aid. He sets out with three thousand men. Another three thousand are sent toward Shanggui, dividing the forces available to respond to the two threats. Outside Jicheng, Wei Yan appears to flee when Jiang Wei attacks, drawing him into the city and toward his mother’s home. At Shanggui, Zhao Zilong allows the enemy troops to enter. The two operations thus pull the defenders in different directions while the apparent opportunities to rescue Jicheng and protect Shanggui serve Kong Ming’s larger design.

The Turning Point in the Campaign

Kong Ming’s deception deepens the confusion over Jiang Wei’s allegiance. He sends the captured Xiahou Mao toward Tianshui with a fabricated account that Jiang Wei has joined the Shu side, while a disguised soldier appears in Jiang Wei’s likeness during a night attack. Meanwhile, the Shu army takes Jicheng. When Jiang Wei returns and finds the city lost, his attempts to find refuge expose how thoroughly the surrounding defenses have turned against him: Tianshui’s defenders fire arrows at him, and he is refused entry at Shanggui because its commander believes he has gone over to the enemy.

With his routes of retreat closed, Jiang Wei encounters Kong Ming and surrenders. The moment makes Shanggui’s role in the episode especially clear. Its defense does not simply fail under attack; suspicion of Jiang Wei prevents the town from serving as a refuge, leaving him increasingly isolated and helping bring about his decision to join Kong Ming.

Fall and Aftermath

After surrendering, Jiang Wei assists Kong Ming in taking Tianshui. Xiahou Mao and Ma Zun flee to safety in Qianghu, while Shanggui falls when its commander becomes convinced that there is no better option. The account does not describe a separate assault or a prolonged siege of Shanggui; it presents the town’s fall as the consequence of the wider military and political unraveling around it.

Shanggui’s capture adds troops to Kong Ming’s victorious army. With Tianshui and Shanggui secured, he advances to the next stage of the invasion and establishes camp on the banks of the River Wei. The town’s significance therefore lies in the way its supply function, its position among neighboring defenses, and Jiang Wei’s exclusion from its gates combine to shift the campaign: Shanggui’s fall accompanies the loss of Tianshui and the Shu army’s movement farther into Wei territory.