Zhuge Liang's First Northern Expedition

Zhuge Liang's First Northern Expedition is the first major attempt by Kong Ming to carry the project of reunification from Shu into Wei, and it turns on the fragile difference between a brilliant plan and its execution. Launched in the spring of AD 227 after Sima Yi is dismissed, the campaign wins cities and recruits Jiang Wei, but the loss of Jieting exposes the cost of Ma Su’s disobedience and forces Kong Ming to face a vastly larger Wei army with only five thousand men at Xicheng.

Causes and Launch

The expedition becomes possible when Cao Rui strips Sima Yi of his post and orders him back to his ancestral village. Kong Ming welcomes the news: he had feared invading Wei while Sima Yi retained command of an army. He presents Liu Shan with a formal petition urging him to continue the reunification purpose embraced by his father, Liu Bei. Liu Shan worries that the recent southern campaign has already overtaxed Kong Ming, and astrological warnings are also raised. Kong Ming argues that Heaven’s conditions are not fixed and that the moment to strike has arrived; Liu Shan agrees to the war.

Kong Ming again assumes supreme command and consults astrological charts to choose an auspicious spring day in AD 227. As the army prepares to depart, Zhao Zilong insists on joining despite Kong Ming’s attempts to dissuade the elderly general. Zhao Zilong secures a place in the vanguard with Deng Zhi, supported by five thousand of the best troops and ten officers assigned to protect them. The scale of the invasion is substantial: Cao Rui soon hears that three hundred thousand men have crossed the border. Xiahou Mao, who seeks revenge for his father Xiahou Yuan’s death in the campaign for Hanzhong, is appointed to defend Wei despite concerns about his lack of relevant experience.

Early Victories and the Capture of Cities

The opening encounters establish both the force of the invasion and its reliance on deception. Zhao Zilong fights Han De and his four sons, killing two sons, wounding another, and capturing Han Yao; Han De and his remaining troops flee. The episode presents this as a significant Shu victory and as a striking entrance for the old general in the campaign.

Kong Ming’s advance then becomes a contest over cities and the roads between them. Xiahou Mao is besieged at Nan’an, but after ten days Zhang Bao, Guan Xing, Zhao Zilong, and Deng Zhi have not taken the city. Kong Ming recognizes that capturing the emperor’s son-in-law would carry psychological weight against Wei. Instead of relying on a direct assault, he induces the governors of Anding and Tianshui to send forces toward Nan’an, hoping to leave their own cities exposed.

The stratagem at Nan’an turns on false reports, staged appearances, and divided routes. A messenger arrives in Anding with a purportedly damaged letter from Xiahou Mao requesting aid; another report claims that Tianshui has already sent troops. When Cui Liang, governor of Anding, sets out, Shu forces use a fire in the distance to reinforce the impression that Nan’an is under attack. Zhang Bao and Guan Xing ambush him, while Wei Yan takes Anding. Kong Ming’s forces subsequently enter Nan’an by disguising Shu officers among surrendered Wei soldiers and men presented as Anding reinforcements. Guan Xing kills Yang Ling at the gate, Zhang Bao kills Cui Liang, and a fire signal brings the Shu army inside. Xiahou Mao flees through the south gate but is captured by Wang Ping’s troops.

Kong Ming’s handling of the captured city matters as much as its seizure. He has anticipated that Cui Liang’s apparent cooperation is false and has prepared a counter-trap. After Nan’an falls, his men behave in a way that reassures the local population. The city’s capture therefore serves both the military aim of taking a strategic position and the political aim of presenting Shu rule as orderly.

Jiang Wei Joins Shu

Jiang Wei’s defection emerges from the campaign’s shifting control of territory and information. After Shu forces take Jicheng by luring him away from the city, he returns to find it in enemy hands. His attempts to reach safety fail in succession: Tianshui’s defenders fire on him, the commander at Shanggui refuses him entry, and Guan Xing’s men block his route toward Chang’an. Exhausted and outmaneuvered, Jiang Wei finally surrenders to Kong Ming.

The surrender changes the campaign’s balance of people and allegiance. Jiang Wei helps Kong Ming take Tianshui, while Xiahou Mao and Ma Zun flee to safety among the Qiang. Shanggui also falls after its commander concludes that surrender is the only viable choice. With additional soldiers joining Shu, Kong Ming moves on and establishes camp on the banks of the Wei River. The advance has brought cities, troops, and a capable new commander into the expedition, but it has also carried the army deeper into territory where its supply and defensive positions will become increasingly important.

Jieting and the Reversal

The campaign’s central reversal begins with the assignment to defend Jieting. After news arrives of Meng Da’s death, Kong Ming recognizes that the odds have changed and orders a force to hold the position against Sima Yi. Ma Su volunteers for the task, although his understanding of warfare comes chiefly from books. Kong Ming pairs him with Wang Ping, whose role is to oversee the defence, and dispatches other forces to protect key passes and provide support if Jieting falls. Jiang Wei leads the vanguard of the main army.

At Jieting, Ma Su rejects Wang Ping’s advice to defend the road and instead occupies a hill, believing it offers a better view of the route. He cites military texts to justify his choice and dismisses Wang Ping’s objections. As the enemy approaches, Ma Su permits Wang Ping to take a small force to protect the road while keeping the main troops on the hill. Wang Ping sends Kong Ming an urgent account of their separate positions, but the warning cannot undo the decision.

Sima Yi advances after learning that the inexperienced Ma Su commands the position. His army cuts Ma Su off on the hill, where the troops have no water. As thirst and desertion break their cohesion, Ma Su leads them down in an attempt to escape. Zhang He pursues them; Wei Yan’s rescue force intervenes, but Wei Yan is drawn into an ambush and Wang Ping has to rescue him, with heavy losses among their men. Sima Yi captures Jieting. A night attempt by Shu forces to retake it also fails: they find the town apparently empty, enter, and are surprised. Meanwhile, Guo Huai and Cao Zhen advance against the town while their commander Sima Yi is away. The Shu army suffers badly in the ensuing fighting, and Wang Ping, Wei Yan, and Ma Su retreat toward Yangping Pass.

The consequences reach beyond the lost position. Jieting’s capture gives Sima Yi a base from which to lay further ambushes and attacks, while Kong Ming’s forces lose ground and face danger to the routes and supplies sustaining the expedition. The campaign’s earlier use of deception had taken cities by manipulating the enemy’s movements; here, a commander’s flawed judgment allows Wei to exploit terrain and the army’s separation.

Xicheng and the Limits of the Campaign

Kong Ming receives Wang Ping’s map and is dismayed by Ma Su’s decision. News then arrives that both Jieting and Lieliu have fallen. He hastily advances to Xicheng, where Shu’s supplies are stored, with just five thousand men. Sima Yi approaches at the head of a force of one hundred and fifty thousand. The disparity leaves little room for open battle, and the city’s importance as a supply point makes the moment especially dangerous.

Kong Ming responds by making the city appear unoccupied. He orders banners and other signs of military presence removed, and the people are told to hide and remain silent. Wearing his customary Daoist robes, he sits on the city wall with only two boys and plays a lute. The open gates and quiet streets do not reassure Sima Yi; he interprets the scene as evidence of an ambush and orders his army to turn aside. The stratagem preserves Kong Ming’s small force and allows the retreat to continue, but it does not recover Jieting or undo the losses that have altered the campaign.

The expedition thus places Kong Ming’s strategic gifts beside the vulnerabilities of command. He reads opponents, manipulates their expectations, and captures cities through coordinated signals and false information; yet his success depends on decisions made across a wide network of roads, passes, and supply points. Ma Su’s refusal to follow Wang Ping’s counsel breaks a crucial link in that network. The retreat from Jieting and the danger at Xicheng make the campaign’s central contrast plain: ingenuity can avert disaster, but it cannot make a poorly held position or a broken line of support cease to matter.