Battle
Battle of Lucheng 鹵城之戰
About this event
This was the battle in which Yang Fu of Liang Province, after Ma Chao had seized Ji, raised troops at Lucheng together with his elder cousin Jiang Xu and drove Ma Chao out. While Ma Chao was out attacking them, Zhao Qu, Liang Kuan and others shut the gates of Ji and killed Ma Chao's wife and children, and Ma Chao, though he raided Licheng and killed Jiang Xu's mother, in the end fled south to Zhang Lu. The biography of Yang Fu dates this uprising to the 9th month of the 17th year of Jian'an (212). Records, Wei 25 §29–32Records, Shu 6 §29
Chen Shou recorded this battle in the Biographies of Xin Pi, Yang Fu and Gaotang Long in Records of Wei 25, in the biography of Xiahou Yuan in Records of Wei 9, and in the section on Ma Chao in the Biographies of Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang and Zhao in Records of Shu 6, but the biography of Xiahou Yuan and the Annals of Emperor Wu place these events in the 19th year of Jian'an (214). The Romance depicts this battle in Chapter 64, "Yang Fu Borrows Troops to Defeat Ma Chao." Records, Wei 25 §31–32Records, Wei 9 §18Records, Wei 1 §136Records, Shu 6 §29Romance, Ch. 64 §40–46
Course of events in the Records
Ma Chao, defeated at Weinan, led the various Rong peoples to attack the commanderies and counties of Longshang, and only the city of Ji held out, from the 1st month to the 8th month, until the Inspector and the Administrator opened the gates and surrendered. Ma Chao imprisoned Yang Fu's cousin Yang Yue and had Yang Ang kill the Inspector and the Administrator. Yang Fu, who had tearfully urged them to hold out to the end, inwardly resolved to take revenge on Ma Chao. Records, Wei 25 §26–29
Yang Fu obtained leave on the pretext of burying his wife and went to see his elder cousin Jiang Xu, who was stationed at Licheng. Sobbing, he said that he had failed to hold the city and had not died with his lord when his lord was killed, and that Ma Chao was strong but lacked righteousness and had many weak points, so he was easy to bring down. Jiang Xu's mother, roused, told Jiang Xu to follow Yang Fu's plan, and they swore a pact with their fellow townsmen Jiang Yin, Zhao Ang, Yin Feng and others and with Li Jun and Wang Ling of Wudu, sent Yang Fu's cousin Yang Mo to Ji to inform Yang Yue, and also joined hands with Liang Kuan of Anding and Zhao Qu, Pang Gong and others of Nan'an. Records, Wei 25 §29–30
According to the biography of Yang Fu, in the 9th month of the 17th year of Jian'an (212) Yang Fu raised troops at Lucheng together with Jiang Xu. When Ma Chao came out in person at the head of his troops, Zhao Qu, Liang Kuan and others released Yang Yue, shut the gates of Ji and then attacked Ma Chao's wife and children. The biography of Ma Chao records that when Yang Fu and Jiang Xu rose at Lucheng, Ma Chao went out to attack them but could not take the place, and that Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu shut the gates of Ji so that he could not get in, leaving him unable to advance or retreat. Records, Wei 25 §31Records, Shu 6 §29
Ma Chao raided Licheng and seized Jiang Xu's mother, and when she rebuked him as an unfilial son who had betrayed his father and a vicious brigand who had killed his lord, he killed her in a rage. Yang Fu was wounded in five places fighting Ma Chao, and seven of his clan brothers were killed. Ma Chao at last fled south to Zhang Lu. Records, Wei 25 §31–32Records, Shu 6 §29
The biography of Xiahou Yuan dates this to the 19th year of Jian'an (214), saying that when Zhao Qu, Yin Feng and others plotted to attack Ma Chao, Jiang Xu rose at Lucheng in support, and that Zhao Qu and the others tricked Ma Chao into going out to attack Jiang Xu and then killed all his wife and children. The Annals of Emperor Wu likewise record that in the 1st month of the 19th year of Jian'an, Zhao Qu, Yin Feng and others killed Ma Chao's wife and children and displayed their heads, and Ma Chao fled to Hanzhong. The biography of Xiahou Yuan goes on to record that when Ma Chao afterward came back and besieged Mount Qi, Xiahou Yuan set out to relieve it. Records, Wei 9 §18Records, Wei 1 §136
In the Romance
In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Ma Chao, having taken Ji, beheaded more than forty members of Wei Kang's household, but employed Yang Fu, who had urged against surrender, as his Army Adviser on the grounds that he had kept faith. Yang Fu obtained leave on the pretext of burying his wife and went to see Jiang Xu at Licheng, and Jiang Xu's mother urged the uprising, saying that if her son did not heed Yang Fu she would die first. Zhao Ang, too, though his son Zhao Yue was at Ma Chao's side, made up his mind at the urging of his wife, Lady Wang. Romance, Ch. 64 §34–40
Jiang Xu and Yang Fu rose at Licheng, and Yin Feng and Zhao Ang at Mount Qi; Ma Chao, after beheading Zhao Yue, attacked Licheng and defeated Jiang Xu and Yang Fu. But, attacked from both sides by Yin Feng and Zhao Ang and by the troops of Xiahou Yuan, who had come under Cao Cao's orders, he was heavily defeated, and when he returned to Ji, Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu cut down his wife, Lady Yang, and his three young sons on the walls and threw them down. Romance, Ch. 64 §40–43
Ma Chao entered Licheng, slaughtered the people in the city, killed Jiang Xu's mother with his own hand, and also killed the families of Yin Feng and Zhao Ang. When Xiahou Yuan arrived the next day, Ma Chao fled west and ran into Yang Fu, killing seven of Yang Fu's clan brothers and inflicting five spear wounds on Yang Fu. Ma Chao went with Pang De and Ma Dai to Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, and Yang Fu was enfeoffed as Marquis Within the Passes. Romance, Ch. 64 §44–47
Where the Romance differs
Where they rose: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Jiang Xu and Yang Fu rose stationed at Licheng, and Yin Feng and Zhao Ang at Mount Qi. In the biography of Yang Fu in the Records, Yang Fu and Jiang Xu raised troops at Lucheng, and Ma Chao raided Licheng and seized Jiang Xu's mother. Romance, Ch. 64 §40Records, Wei 25 §31
Xiahou Yuan's troops: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Xiahou Yuan came under Cao Cao's orders, attacked Ma Chao from both sides and pursued him. In the biography of Xiahou Yuan in the Records, Xiahou Yuan set out to relieve Wei Kang at Ji but did not arrive before Wei Kang was defeated, fought Ma Chao more than 200 li from Ji to no advantage, and later, when Ma Chao besieged Mount Qi, set out to relieve it. Romance, Ch. 64 §42 · 45Records, Wei 9 §17–18
Ma Chao's wife and children: In Chapter 64 of the Romance, Liang Kuan and Zhao Qu cut down Ma Chao's wife, Lady Yang, his three young sons and more than ten close kin on the walls and threw them down. The biography of Yang Fu in the Records says that Zhao Qu, Liang Kuan and others shut the gates of Ji and attacked Ma Chao's wife and children, and the Annals of Emperor Wu record that Zhao Qu, Yin Feng and others killed his wife and children and displayed their heads. Romance, Ch. 64 §43Records, Wei 25 §31Records, Wei 1 §136
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.
Belligerents
| Item | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| Factions | Ma Chao faction | Wei |
| Commanders | Ma Chao | Yang Fu, Jiang Xu, Yin Feng |
Factions, commanders, strength and casualties are checked against the source texts (3KDEX). Strength and casualties show only figures stated in the sources. Source: Wei 25 §32