Guo Huai 郭淮

Guo Huai, courtesy name Boji, was a man of Yangqu County in Taiyuan Commandery. During the Jian'an era he was recommended as Filial and Incorrupt and appointed Assistant in the Pingyuan commandery office; when Cao Pi became General of the Household for All Purposes, Guo Huai was summoned to serve as his Registrar of Crimes, then transferred to Clerk of the Military Section under the Chancellor, and followed the campaign against Hanzhong. When Taizu (Cao Cao) returned, leaving the General Who Conquers the West Xiahou Yuan to hold off Liu Bei, Guo Huai became Xiahou Yuan's Major. When Xiahou Yuan fought Liu Bei, Guo Huai was ill and did not go out; after Xiahou Yuan was killed and the army was in confusion, he gathered the scattered soldiers and put forward the General Who Sweeps Away Bandits Zhang He as commander of the army, and only then did the camps settle down. Records, Wei 26 §63

The next day, when Liu Bei was about to cross the Han River to attack, the generals proposed that, being few, they should form their lines against the river and resist. Guo Huai said that this would only show weakness, and that if they formed their lines far from the river and drew the enemy in, then struck when he was halfway across, Liu Bei could be defeated. When the lines were formed, Liu Bei grew suspicious and did not cross, and Guo Huai held firm, showing that he had no thought of withdrawing. Taizu approved of this, gave Zhang He a tally, and again made Guo Huai Major. Records, Wei 26 §64

When Cao Pi became King of Wei, Guo Huai was made Marquis Within the Passes and Chief Clerk to the General Who Guards the West; acting as Protector of the Army Who Subjugates the Qiang, he led Zhang He and Yang Qiu to attack and pacify the mountain bandit Zheng Gan and the rebellious non-Han people of Lushui. In the 1st year of Huangchu (220), on his way to congratulate the emperor on his accession, he fell ill on the road and arrived late, and Emperor Wen rebuked him by citing Yu, who had put Fangfeng to death for arriving late. Guo Huai replied that since this was now an age like that of Tang and Yu, who governed by virtue, he knew he would be spared Fangfeng's punishment. The emperor was pleased and made him acting Inspector of Yong Province and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Sheyang Village; in the 5th year of Huangchu (224) he became Inspector in full. Records, Wei 26 §65–67

When Bizhi, a great chief of the Qiang of Anding, rebelled, Guo Huai attacked and defeated him and made him submit. Whenever Qiang or other non-Han people came to surrender, Guo Huai first had men look into their kinship ties, the numbers of men and women, and their ages, and when he met them he asked about their circumstances knowing each detail, so that all of them called him godlike in insight. Records, Wei 26 §67

In the 2nd year of Taihe (228), when Zhuge Liang came out to Mount Qi, sent Ma Su to Jieting and stationed Gao Xiang at Lieliu Fort, Zhang He attacked Ma Su and Guo Huai attacked Gao Xiang's camp, and both were defeated. He also defeated Tangti of the Qiang of Longxi at Fuhan and was given the added title of General Who Establishes Might. The records of Shu state that the following year he set out to attack Chen Shi but withdrew when Zhuge Liang advanced as far as Jianwei, and that in the 8th year of Jianxing (230) he was heavily defeated by Wei Yan at Yangxi. Records, Wei 26 §68Records, Shu 5 §35Records, Shu 10 §58

In the 5th year of Taihe (231), when the Shu army came out to Lucheng and there was no grain in Longyou, Guo Huai soothed the Qiang and other non-Han peoples with both authority and kindness, had each household contribute grain and made the transport and levies fair, so that the army's provisions were ample. He was transferred to General Who Displays Martial Might. In the 2nd year of Qinglong (234), when Zhuge Liang came out through the Xie Valley and set up military farms at Lankeng, Guo Huai said that Zhuge Liang would certainly contend for the Northern Plain and that they should occupy it first. Many opposed this, but Sima Yi agreed, and Guo Huai camped on the Northern Plain and struck back at the Shu army, which arrived before the ramparts were finished. A few days later, when Zhuge Liang moved west, Guo Huai alone judged that he would attack Yangsui; that night Zhuge Liang did attack Yangsui, but found it prepared and could not climb it. Records, Wei 26 §68–70

In the 1st year of Zhengshi (240), when Jiang Wei of Shu came out to Longxi, Guo Huai pursued him as far as Qiangzhong and made him withdraw, attacked Midang and other Qiang, and moved more than 3,000 encampments of the Di into the area within the passes. After serving as General of the Left he became General of the Front and continued to govern the province as before. In the 5th year of Zhengshi (244), when Xiahou Xuan attacked Shu, he led the vanguard, but seeing that the situation was unfavorable he pulled his troops out and so avoided a great defeat; on his return he was granted Provisional Authority. Records, Wei 26 §71–72

In the 8th year of Zhengshi (247), Ehe, Shaoge, Fatong, Ezhesai and other Qiang of Longxi, Nan'an, Jincheng and Xiping rebelled and called in the Shu army, and Zhi Wudai, a non-Han leader of Liang Province, also rose in support. Guo Huai judged that Jiang Wei would attack Xiahou Ba, the Protector of the Army Who Punishes Shu stationed at Weichi, and turned south to meet Xiahou Ba. Jiang Wei did attack Weichi, and fled when Guo Huai's army arrived. Guo Huai beheaded Ehe and Shaoge and accepted the surrender of more than 10,000 encampments. The following year he made a show of force upstream, secretly crossed downstream and took Baitu Fort, and drove off Zhi Wudai, who had besieged Wuwei and turned back, north of Longyi. Records, Wei 26 §72–74

When Jiang Wei came out to Shiying and went west to meet Zhi Wudai, he left Liao Hua, Administrator of Yinping, to build a fortress on Mount Chengzhong. Despite his generals' objections, Guo Huai said that if they attacked Liao Hua, Jiang Wei would look back and come running, so that a single move would gain two ends. He sent Xiahou Ba and others to pursue Jiang Wei at Tazhong while he himself attacked Liao Hua, and Jiang Wei did indeed turn back to rescue Liao Hua. Everything went as Guo Huai had planned, and he was advanced to Marquis of a Chief District. Records, Wei 26 §75–76

In the 1st year of Jiaping (249) he became General Who Conquers the West, commanding the armies of Yong and Liang Provinces. That year, combining plans with Chen Tai, Inspector of Yong Province, he forced the surrender of the Shu Gate General Gou An and others. According to the Biography of Chen Tai, when Jiang Wei built two forts at Mount Qu and had Gou An and Li Xin hold them, Guo Huai, following Chen Tai's plan, had Chen Tai surround the forts and cut off their supply route and the water outside the walls. When Jiang Wei came to the rescue by way of Mount Niutou, Guo Huai, at Chen Tai's request, encamped on the Tao River; Jiang Wei fled, and Gou An and the others all surrendered. Records, Wei 26 §77Records, Wei 22 §39–41

In the 2nd year of Jiaping (250) an edict declared that in the campaign in Hanchuan, when the army had nearly collapsed, Guo Huai had rescued it from peril, and that during more than thirty years west of the passes he had fought the enemy abroad and brought peace to the people and non-Han peoples at home; it made him General of Chariots and Cavalry with honors equal to the Three Excellencies. He was advanced to Marquis of Yangqu with a fief of 2,780 households. On the guiwei day of the 1st month of the 2nd year of Zhengyuan (255), the General of Chariots and Cavalry Guo Huai died. He was posthumously made General-in-Chief and given the posthumous name Marquis Zhen, and his son Guo Tong succeeded him. On Guo Huai's death Chen Tai replaced him as General Who Conquers the West. Records, Wei 26 §77–78Records, Wei 4 §31 · 54Records, Wei 22 §42

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Guo Huai's plans were precise and thorough and that his fame spread through the lands of Qin and Yong. Records, Wei 26 §80