Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮

Having lost his father early, Zhuge Liang went with his younger brother Zhuge Jun to the post of his uncle Zhuge Xuan, whom Yuan Shu had appointed Administrator of Yuzhang. When the Han court sent another man to replace Zhuge Xuan, Zhuge Xuan took refuge with Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, an old acquaintance of his. After Zhuge Xuan died, Zhuge Liang farmed the fields himself and liked to chant the “Liangfu Yin.” He stood eight chi tall and compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, but the only ones who accepted this were his close friends Cui Zhouping and Xu Shu. Records, Shu 5 §2–3

While Liu Bei was stationed at Xinye, Xu Shu called Zhuge Liang a “Sleeping Dragon” and said Liu Bei should humble himself and visit him in person; only after going three times did Liu Bei meet him. Zhuge Liang said that Cao Cao could not be contended with, and that Sun Quan could serve as an ally but could not be a target; he advised Liu Bei to take Jing and Yi Provinces, make friends with Sun Quan, and, when upheaval came to the realm, send out armies from both places. As their bond grew closer by the day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were displeased, but Liu Bei soothed them, saying, “My having Kongming is like a fish having water.” Records, Shu 5 §4–8

Liu Biao favored his younger son Liu Cong and disliked his eldest son Liu Qi, so Liu Qi took Zhuge Liang up into a tower, had the ladder removed, and asked him how to keep himself safe. Zhuge Liang replied that Shensheng, who stayed inside, was in danger, while Chong'er, who was outside, was safe; when Huang Zu died, Liu Qi became Administrator of Jiangxia and took up a post outside. After Liu Biao died and Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei south together with Xu Shu, and Xu Shu went over to Cao Cao when his mother was captured. Records, Shu 5 §9–11

When Liu Bei reached Xiakou, Zhuge Liang asked to go himself to Sun Quan, who was at Chaisang watching to see who would prevail. He pressed Sun Quan to decide, telling him to break with Cao Cao early if he could resist him and otherwise to submit, and explained that the returning soldiers and Guan Yu's navy numbered 10,000, that Liu Qi's troops also numbered 10,000, that Cao Cao's host had come far and was exhausted, and that northerners were unused to fighting on the water. Sun Quan was delighted and sent 30,000 marines under Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su, and others. Chen Shou recorded that Zhuge Liang was twenty-seven at the time. Records, Shu 5 §12–16 · 47

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei took Jiangnan and made Zhuge Liang Military Adviser General of the Household (junshi zhonglangjiang), having him supply the army with the taxes of the three commanderies of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha. In the 16th year of Jian'an (211), when Liu Zhang invited Liu Bei in, Zhuge Liang guarded Jing Province together with Guan Yu; when Liu Bei attacked Liu Zhang, he went up the river with Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and others, pacified the commanderies and counties, and besieged Chengdu. Once Chengdu was taken, he became Military Adviser General (junshi jiangjun) and handled the affairs of the office of the General of the Left; whenever Liu Bei was away, he held Chengdu and kept food and troops in ample supply. Records, Shu 5 §17–18

In the 26th year of Jian'an (221), when Liu Bei would not agree to take the imperial throne despite his ministers' urging, Zhuge Liang persuaded him; Liu Bei then ascended the throne and made him Chancellor with control of the Secretariat (lu shangshu shi). In the spring of the 3rd year of Zhangwu (223), Liu Bei, gravely ill at Yong'an, summoned him and said that since his talent was ten times that of Cao Pi, he should assist the heir if the heir was worth assisting, and take the throne himself if the heir lacked ability. Weeping, Zhuge Liang answered that he would serve with loyalty until death, and Liu Bei left an edict telling the Later Sovereign Liu Shan to serve the Chancellor as a father. Records, Shu 5 §19–22

In the first year of Jianxing (223) he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuxiang, opened his own administrative office, and also served as Governor of Yi Province; all affairs of state, great and small, were decided by him. When the commanderies of Nanzhong rebelled, he first formed an alliance with Wu, and in the spring of the 3rd year of Jianxing (225) he campaigned south, pacifying the whole region by that autumn. In the 5th year (227), as he left for Hanzhong, he submitted a memorial urging the emperor to consult Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi, and Dong Yun on palace affairs and Xiang Chong on military matters, and declaring that he would repay the late emperor, who had visited his thatched cottage three times, by restoring the house of Han. Records, Shu 5 §23–30

In the spring of the 6th year (228), he stationed Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi at Ji Valley as a diversion, and Cao Zhen of Wei blocked them with his whole host; meanwhile he himself attacked Mount Qi, and the three commanderies of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding rebelled against Wei and went over to him. When Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, sent Zhang He to stop him, Zhuge Liang put Ma Su in the vanguard, but Ma Su disobeyed his orders and was badly defeated by Zhang He at Jieting. Zhuge Liang moved more than a thousand households of Xi County back with him to Hanzhong, executed Ma Su to make amends to the troops, and asked to be demoted three grades, acting as Chancellor with the rank of General of the Right. At this time Jiang Wei of Tianshui came over to Zhuge Liang and became a Clerk of the Granary Bureau. Records, Shu 5 §32–34Records, Shu 14 §30–31

That winter he besieged Chencang but withdrew when his food ran out, killing the pursuing Wei general Wang Shuang; in the 7th year (229) he sent Chen Shi to attack Wudu and Yinping, went out himself to drive off Guo Huai, pacified the two commanderies, and was restored as Chancellor. In the 9th year (231) he marched out to Mount Qi again, carrying grain with the wooden oxen; facing Sima Yi and Zhang He, who came to the rescue, he withdrew when his food ran out and shot Zhang He dead. At this time Li Yan, who was in charge of grain transport, called Zhuge Liang back when the long rains cut off supplies and then tried to shift the blame by asking why he had returned; Zhuge Liang submitted a memorial and had him reduced to a commoner. Records, Shu 5 §35–37Records, Shu 3 §12Records, Shu 10 §46–49

In the spring of the 12th year (234) he led his main army out through the Xie Valley, carrying grain with the gliding horses, and took position at the Wuzhang Plains, facing Sima Yi south of the Wei River. Worried that his supplies would not keep up, he divided his troops to farm military colonies; though the soldiers lived among the local people, the people remained at ease. After a standoff of more than a hundred days, he fell ill and died in camp in the 8th month of that year, at the age of fifty-four. After the Shu army withdrew, Sima Yi inspected the site of its camp and said, “A marvel of talent under Heaven!” Records, Shu 5 §38

In accordance with his last wishes, he was buried at Mount Dingjun, using the mountain itself as his tomb, and dressed in his everyday clothes; he received the posthumous title Marquis Zhongwu. He had once memorialized that, since he had 800 mulberry trees and 15 qing of poor farmland in Chengdu, he would not seek to increase his wealth, and at his death it was found to be just as he had said. He improved the repeating crossbow, devised the wooden oxen and gliding horses, and created the Eight Formations Diagram. In the 6th year of Jingyao (263) a shrine to him was built at Mianyang, and that autumn Zhong Hui of Wei, who had come to invade Shu, sacrificed at the shrine and forbade anyone to cut fodder or firewood around the tomb. His son Zhuge Zhan inherited his title. Records, Shu 5 §39–43

In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that Zhuge Liang rewarded the loyal even if they were his enemies and punished lawbreakers even if they were close to him, so that everyone in the realm both feared and loved him, and no one resented him though his punishments and government were strict. He called him a talent who understood governance, second only to Guan Zhong and Xiao He, but concluded that since he mobilized his forces year after year without achieving success, generalship in responding to changing circumstances seems not to have been his strength. Records, Shu 5 §66–67