Sima Wang 司馬望

In Chapter 112 of the Romance, Sima Wang is the general guarding Changcheng and a clan elder brother of Sima Zhao. The city has plenty of grain and fodder but few men and horses, and on hearing that the Shu army is coming he sets up camp 20 li from the city with Wang Zhen and Li Peng. When Jiang Wei likens Sima Zhao to Li Jue and Guo Si and calls on him to surrender, Sima Wang retorts, 'You have been insolent enough to invade our superior state many times.' But Wang Zhen is captured by Fu Qian and then stabbed to death by the spears of the Shu soldiers, Li Peng is killed by a blow from Fu Qian's iron mace, and Sima Wang abandons his camp, enters the city and shuts the gates. Romance, Ch. 112 §29–32

When the Shu army burns the city with fire arrows and dry firewood and its fall is imminent, Deng Ai and his son Deng Zhong appear behind Jiang Wei and give battle. After setting up camp against the Wei River, Deng Ai sends Sima Wang a letter saying that they must on no account fight but should hold firm and wait for the troops from Guanzhong, and he sends his eldest son Deng Zhong to help defend the city. Romance, Ch. 112 §32–33 · 36–37

In Chapter 113, when Deng Ai is trapped in Jiang Wei's Long Snake Coiling on the Ground Formation, Sima Wang breaks in from the northwest corner and rescues him. Sima Wang says that when he traveled to study in Jingnan as a youth he became friends with Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan and discussed this formation with them, so seeing that the head of the formation lay to the northwest, he struck from that side. The next day Sima Wang competes with Jiang Wei in formations before the lines, deploying the Eight Trigrams formation and claiming it has 81 variations, but Jiang Wei says his has 365 and calls him a frog at the bottom of a well. Jiang Wei sees through Deng Ai's plan for a surprise attack and sends out the troops on both wings, and the Wei army suffers a crushing defeat. Romance, Ch. 113 §33–34 · 37–39

In the same chapter, Sima Wang tells Deng Ai that since the ruler of Shu, Liu Shan, favors the eunuch Huang Hao, they can use a stratagem of sowing discord to have Jiang Wei recalled, and Deng Ai sends Dang Jun to Chengdu to collude with Huang Hao. When Jiang Wei receives the edict and withdraws his army, Deng Ai and Sima Wang draw out the troops south of the Wei River and pursue him. In Chapter 114, when Dang Jun returns and reports, Deng Ai tells Sima Wang that since the ruler and his ministers are not in harmony, there will surely be an upheaval from within. Romance, Ch. 113 §41–43Romance, Ch. 114 §4

In Chapter 115, when Jiang Wei comes out toward Taoyang, Sima Wang suspects that Jiang Wei actually means to attack Qishan, but after hearing Deng Ai's explanation he follows his plan, hides troops in Taoyang and leaves its four gates open. Xiahou Ba, entering in the belief that the city is empty, dies beneath its walls together with 500 soldiers, and Sima Wang sallies out from inside the city and routs the Shu army. That night, when Deng Ai launches a surprise attack on the Shu camp from Houhe, Sima Wang also sallies from the city and they attack from both sides. Romance, Ch. 115 §4–11

In Chapter 116, on receiving the edict to attack Shu, Deng Ai has Sima Wang hold back the Qiang. In Chapter 119, on ascending to the position of King of Jin, Sima Yan appoints Sima Wang Minister over the Masses. Romance, Ch. 116 §6Romance, Ch. 119 §35