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The Battle of Jieting (街亭之戰) was a battle fought in 228 during the first northern expedition led by Zhuge Liang.
[edit] Battle
Jieting was a crucial region for the securing of supplies, and Zhuge Liang sent generals Ma Su and Wang Ping to guard the region. Ma Su went accompanied by Wang Ping but did not listen to his sound military advice. Relying purely on books of military tactics, he chose to 'take the high ground' and set his base on the mountains instead of in a city, ignoring Wang Ping and his advice to set up base in a valley well supplied with water. Wang Ping, however, managed to persuade Ma Su to give him command of a portion of the troops, and later Wang set up his base camp near Ma Su's camp, in order to offer assistance when Ma was in danger. Due to this tactical mistake, the Wei troops led by Zhang He encircled the hill and cut off the water supply to the Shu troops and attacked; later, Sima Yi's forces set fire to the hill. Wang Ping led his troops in an attempt to help Ma Su but the Shu army suffered a great defeat in which both the army and the fort were both lost. Though he survived the battle, Ma Su feared punishment and attempted to flee. However, he was soon captured by Shu forces. The prefectures of Nan An, Tian Shui and An Ding revolted to Zhuge Liang. Zhang He pacified all three.
[edit] Aftermath
Ma Su was sentenced to death by Zhuge Liang, along with Ma Su's deputy commanders Zhang Xiu (张休) and Li Sheng (李盛), but Ma Su eventually died of sickness in jail before the execution could be carried out, while the other two were executed. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, Ma Su was beheaded by a tearful Zhuge Liang, whose continued high appraisal for Ma Su's intelligence made that a very reluctant decision. The scene is considered among the most famous in the novel, and is reenacted in Chinese opera frequently.
A Japanese proverb, "executing Ma Su with tears" (泣いて馬謖を斬る, naite Bashoku wo kiru?) refers specifically to this incident, meaning "punishing a person for his wrongdoings regardless of relations or his abilities."
Because of the loss of Jieting, the supply situation became dire for Zhuge Liang's army and he had to retreat to his main base at Hanzhong. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, the loss of Jieting exposed Zhuge Liang's current location, the defenseless Xicheng. Zhuge Liang used the Empty Fort Strategy to ward off the Wei army before his retreat. Also, the defeat at Jieting had caused the First Northern Campaign to result in failure.
[edit] Modern culture
The Battle of Jieting is one of the stages in the Dynasty Warriors series for the Playstation 2. If the player is on the Wei side, they have the option to follow history and easily win the battle. On the other hand, if they player is on the Shu side, they will have difficulty since the survival of Ma Su is a major objective.
[edit] References
