Xi Wei Slope is a position on the route of Cao Cao’s advance against Xinye, made significant by Kong Ming’s use of it as part of a layered defense. Troops stationed there appear to retreat in opposite directions, drawing attention and disrupting pursuit while other parts of the plan prepare to strike the advancing army.

Position in the Xinye defense

As Cao Cao’s large force approached Xinye, Kong Ming assigned Mi Fang and Liu Feng two thousand men at Xi Wei Slope, divided into contingents of one thousand beneath blue and red banners. Their orders were to flee in opposite directions when the enemy appeared, confusing its response and slowing its pursuit. Once the fires began at Xinye, they were to ambush the enemy and then move to the upper waters to support the next stage of the defense.

The feigned retreat

The plan depended on the apparent withdrawal being mistaken for disorder or weakness. When the Wei advance reached the slope, the two contingents separated as instructed. Xu Chu, leading an elite force, suspected that the movements concealed an ambush and warned Cao Ren. Cao Ren dismissed the warning and continued forward, leaving the advance exposed to the confusion Kong Ming had set in motion.

Role in the battle’s wider design

The slope was one element in a coordinated scheme rather than an isolated battlefield. Kong Ming’s orders connected the troops there to the fires at Xinye and to subsequent support at the upper waters. The feint also contributed to the uncertainty facing Xu Chu’s force as it continued toward a small wood, where it encountered further signs of a trap and was driven back by stones and logs. Xi Wei Slope thus marks an early stage in the defense’s progression: the enemy is first misdirected, then drawn onward into successive obstacles, while Kong Ming and Xuande observe the unfolding battle from a distance.