| Battle of Mt. Xingshi | |||||||
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| Forces | |||||||
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| Shu | Wei | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Ma Dai Wang Ping Guan Suo Yue Ying Fei Yi Jiang Wan Xing Cai Liu Min |
Cao Shuang Sima Zhao Deng Ai Guo Huai Xiahou Xuan | ||||||
The Battle of Mt. Xingshi was a battle between Wei and Shu.
Battle[]
In AD 244, the Regent-Marshal of Wei, Cao Shuang, ordered an invasion of Shu. Under command of Sima Zhao, Deng Ai, Guo Huai, and Xiahou Xuan, 60,000 Wei soldiers invaded Shu's northernmost possession of Hanzhong. The Shu strategist Ma Dai was in command of 30,000 troops, led by generals Wang Ping, Liu Min, and many others. Though the Shu had half the force that the Wei commander had, they had a plan to secure victory. Cao Shuang ignored his strategist Deng Ai's advice to defend the main camp, and rather struck at the supply depot. Wang Ping was in command of the storehouses, and fought off the Wei attack. During that time, Zhang Yi led a fire attack on the Wei main camp and Cao Shuang was in danger. Sima Zhao and Deng Ai headed back to relieve him, and Shu reinforcements under Fei Yi, Jiang Wan, Xing Cai, Yue Ying, and Guan Suo arrived with 30,000 more Shu troops. Cao Shuang, recognizing his mistake, began a withdrawal. His army was attacked as it retreated, by Xing Cai, Yue Ying, and Guan Suo, and suffered heavy casualties. Ma Dai led the pursuit, but was struck down by Sima Zhao, yet not fatally. The Wei invasion of Shu was a failure, but Cao Shuang brushed it aside and held several banquets in honor of the battle that drained Wei's coffers.