Novel scene
Zhuge Liang Defeats the Qiang in the Snow 諸葛亮乘雪破羌兵
About this event
"Zhuge Liang Defeats the Qiang in the Snow" is the first scene of Chapter 94 of the Romance, whose chapter title is "Zhuge Liang Takes Advantage of the Snow to Rout the Qiang Troops; Sima Yi Captures Meng Da by the Appointed Day." It covers the events from the 150,000 iron-chariot troops sent by Che Liji, King of the Western Qiang, at Cao Zhen's request, defeating Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, to Zhuge Liang luring them into snow-covered pits at the end of the 12th month during a heavy snowfall and crushing them, and then cutting down Cao Zhen's vanguard, which had come in pursuit. It is one episode of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions as depicted in the Romance. Romance, Ch. 94 §1–3 · 7 · 15–18 · 21–23
Chen Shou's text has no such scene, and Che Liji, Yadan and Yueji do not appear. The Biography of Cao Zhen records that Cao Zun (曹遵) and Zhu Zan, who had served Taizu with Cao Zhen in their youth, died early, and that Cao Zhen asked to divide his own fief and grant it to their sons. Records, Wei 9 §68
In the Romance
In Chapter 94 of the Romance, Guo Huai proposed to Cao Zhen that they ask for help from the Western Qiang, who had paid tribute since the time of Taizu, and promise a marriage alliance. Che Liji, King of the Western Qiang, gave 150,000 men to his Chancellor Yadan and his Marshal Yueji; they were iron-chariot troops, carrying provisions and weapons in carts sheathed in iron plates and studded with nails, drawn by camels or by mules and horses. When they attacked Xiping Pass, Zhuge Liang sent Guan Xing and Zhang Bao with 50,000 men, attaching Ma Dai, who knew the nature of the Qiang well, as their guide. Romance, Ch. 94 §1–5
Advancing by three routes against the Qiang formation, where the iron chariots were linked together like a city wall, the Shu army was heavily defeated by a hail of bows and crossbows. Surrounded and fallen into a stream, Guan Xing was nearly killed by Yueji's iron hammer but was saved by the apparition of his father Guan Yu appearing in the clouds, and Zhang Bao, too, said he had come looking for Guan Xing on the instructions of his uncle, who had descended from the sky. Romance, Ch. 94 §6–12
Zhuge Liang, who came in person, said that with dark clouds gathering and the north wind blowing, snow would soon fall, and had Jiang Wei fight and then flee. When heavy snow fell at the end of the 12th month, the Qiang troops pursuing Zhuge Liang, who fled from an empty camp in a carriage carrying a zither, fell into pits covered by the snow, and the iron chariots following behind could not stop and trampled one another. Guan Xing and Zhang Bao shot their crossbows, Jiang Wei, Ma Dai and Zhang Yi attacked from behind, Guan Xing cut down Yueji and Ma Dai captured Yadan. Romance, Ch. 94 §12–18
Zhuge Liang gave Yadan wine and had him tell his king that the Han emperor was punishing rebels, so why did he help the rebels; returning all the captured troops, chariots and weapons, he proposed a lasting covenant. Pursuing in the belief that the Shu army was withdrawing, Cao Zhen's vanguard Cao Zun was killed by Wei Yan and his deputy vanguard Zhu Zan by Zhao Yun, and Cao Zhen and Guo Huai, heavily defeated by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, lost their camp on the Wei River. Romance, Ch. 94 §19–23
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.