Battle of Jieting

Battle of Jieting
Part of the First Northern Expedition of Shu of the Three Kingdoms
Date 228 CE
Location Jieting, Gansu, China
Result Decisive Wei victory
Belligerents
Cao Wei Shu Han
Commanders and leaders
Zhang He Ma Su
Strength
50,000 men ca. more than 25,000
Battle of Jieting
Traditional Chinese 街亭之戰
Simplified Chinese 街亭之战

The Battle of Jieting was fought between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 228 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was part of the first Northern Expedition led by Shu's chancellor Zhuge Liang to attack Wei. The battle concluded with a decisive victory for Wei.

Contents

Opening moves

Zhuge Liang first sent generals Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to attack Mei, while he personally led a force towards Mount Qi. Cao Rui, the emperor of Wei, moved to Chang'an and sent Zhang He to attack Zhuge Liang while Cao Zhen would oppose Zhao Yun. Zhuge Liang chose generals Ma Su and Wang Ping to intercept Zhang He.

The battle

Jieting was a crucial region for the securing of supplies, and Zhuge Liang sent 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, Ma Su chose to "take the high ground" and set his base on the mountains instead of in a city, ignoring Wang Ping's advice to make camp 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's camp, in order to offer assistance when Ma was in danger. Due to this tactical mistake, the Wei army 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 lost. Though he survived the battle, Ma Su feared punishment and attempted to flee. However, he was soon captured by Shu forces.

Aftermath

Ma Su was sentenced to death by Zhuge Liang, along with his deputy commanders Zhang Xiu (張休) and Li Sheng (李盛), but Ma eventually died of illness in prison before the execution could be carried out, while the other two were executed.

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 addition, the defeat at Jieting had caused the First Northern Expedition to result in failure.

In fiction

In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of Three Kingdoms, Ma Su was executed on the order of a tearful Zhuge Liang, whose continued high appraisal for Ma's intelligence made that a very reluctant decision. The scene has also been reenacted in Chinese opera. 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."

In the novel, the loss of Jieting exposed Zhuge Liang's current location, the defenseless Xicheng. Zhuge Liang used the Empty Fort Strategy to ward off the enemy before retreating.

Modern references

The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors for the PlayStation 2. If the player is playing on the Wei side, he has the option of following history to win the stage easily. On the other hand, if the player is playing on the Shu side, he will encounter a higher level of difficulty since one of his major objectives is to ensure the survival of Ma Su.

In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering there is a card named Empty City Ruse in reference to the Empty Fort Strategy described in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

References