Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period of China.
The battle
In the spring of 253, the Wu regent
Zhuge Ke
Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military gene ...
returned from the
Battle of Dongxing
The Battle of Dongxing, also known as the Battle of Dongguan, was fought from January to February 253 between the states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle concluded with a tactical victory for Wu.
B ...
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
). Ignoring the advice of several officials, in April 253, Zhuge Ke led a 200,000 strong army to attack Wei in the north. By May or early June, Zhuge Ke and his army had reached south of the
Huai River
The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
, and started attacking the Wei fortress Xincheng (新城; literally "new city/fortress") at
Hefei
Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
in the following month. Zhuge Ke's forces besieged Xincheng and launched fierce attacks on the fortress. At the time, Xincheng was guarded by the Wei general Zhang Te and his subordinates Liu Zheng () and Zheng Xiang (). The Wei forces defending Xincheng, numbering only 3,000, managed to hold off Zhuge Ke's army for more than a month while inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.
Zhang Te told Zhuge Ke: "I have no intention of fighting now. However, according to the laws of Wei, when I am under attack for more than 100 days and reinforcements do not arrive, even if I surrender, my family will be spared from punishment. Since I first started resisting the enemy, it has been more than 90 days. This city originally had a population of more than 4,000, and now more than half of them have died in battle. Even when the city falls, if someone does not wish to surrender, I will speak to him and explain the possible implications of his choice. Tomorrow morning I will send a list of names, you can first take my tally as a token of trust." After finishing his speech, Zhang Te tossed his tally to Zhuge Ke, who did not take the tally as he believed that Zhang Te would keep his word.
That night, Zhang Te ordered his men to tear down houses and fences, and use the wood to reinforce damaged parts of the fortress walls. The next morning, Zhang Te announced to the enemy: "We shall fight to the death!", and firmly refused to surrender. The Wu soldiers were furious and attacked the fortress but were unable to breach the walls.
At that time, the weather was extremely hot and the Wu troops were growing weary. A plague broke out and killed many Wu soldiers as well as caused more than half of the Wu army to fall ill. Zhuge Ke grew impatient and vented his frustration on his subordinates, causing much unhappiness among his men. He even dismissed his subordinate, Zhu Yi. Later, the Wei general
Sima Fu
Sima Fu () (180– 3 April 272), courtesy name Shuda, was an imperial prince and statesman of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period before his grandnephew, Sima Y ...
led 200,000 troops to reinforce Zhang Te at Xincheng and defeated the exhausted Wu army. Sometime between 12 August and 9 September 253, Zhuge Ke had no choice but to order a withdrawal and the siege on Xincheng was lifted.
Aftermath
As Zhuge Ke and the Wu army withdrew from Xincheng, many of the sick and wounded soldiers died along the way or were taken prisoner by Sima Fu and his reinforcements. Zhuge Ke showed no concern towards them.
At Xunyang, Zhuge Ke halted and made plans to create an agricultural colony. The Wu emperor
Sun Liang
Sun Liang (245–260), courtesy name Ziming, was the second emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the youngest son and heir of Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Wu. He is also known as the Prince of ...
sent several edicts recalling Zhuge Ke and his army to the capital. Slowly, Zhuge Ke sent the soldiers home. After this, popular opinion turned sharply against Zhuge Ke, as the resentment of the widowed, orphaned and maimed far outweighing the goodwill Zhuge Ke had earned with his economic reforms in 252.
15 years later, the Wu emperor
Sun Hao
Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...
ordered the general Ding Feng to lead an army to attack Hefei again. However, neither side saw any significant action, and the campaign ended after Ding Feng exchanged some letters with the Jin general Shi Bao, who was guarding Hefei.(寶鼎三年，皓命奉與諸葛靚攻合肥。奉與晉大將石苞書，搆而間之，苞以徵還。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 55.
In popular culture
The battle is featured as a playable stage in
Koei
Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...
's video game series ''
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...
''. In '' 7'', playable under the new Jin dynasty story, the battle is known as the "Battle of New Hefei Castle", and is not to be confused with another stage (Battle of Hefei Castle), which refers to the
Battle of Hefei (234)
The Battle of Hefei, also known as the Battle of Hefei Xincheng, was fought between the contending states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu from roughly June to September 234 during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
Background
Around March 234, Shu ...
and appears along with the former battle in the succeeding installment. In the game, however, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, and Zhuge Dan also appear on the Wei side, despite they are considered Jin officers.
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...
Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...