Battle of Shi Ting

Battle of Shi Ting
Date 228 Location Shiting, Hefei, Yang Province Result Wu victory
Forces
Wu	Wei
Commanders
Lu Xun Zhou Fang	Sima Yi Cao Xiu †

The Battle of Shi Ting was an engagement between Wu and Wei.

Battle

In AD 228, Lu Xun and 35,000 Wu soldiers invaded He Fei, planning an attack in coordination with Zhuge Liang's invasion of Han Zhong that same year. But Zhuge Liang was defeated prior to the Wu arrival at He Fei, and fresh troops were rotated to He Fei under command of Sima Yi. The commandant of He Fei, Cao Xiu, now had 70,000 troops in his army. Lu Xun wanted to extricate his army intact, so he embarked on a ploy. His general Zhou Fang would pretend to surrender to Wei at Wan Castle, while the Wu forces encircled Cao Xiu there. Then, they would clamp down and slay him. On the way to the main camp, Wei strategist Jia Kui overheard Zhou Fang's plan, and warned Cao Xiu; he did not listen, and accepted Zhou Fang's speech. Zhou Fang cut his beloved long hair off in order to please Cao Xiu, who trusted his word. Cao Xiu removed Jia Kui from the campaign, which made it easier for the Wu. Zhou Fang set up Cao Xiu's main camp in a clearing, for he knew the area well. Just then, Lu Xun struck in ambush, sending Zhu Huan and Quan Cong to take the left and right flanks as Lu Xun attacked the center of the Wei main force. Cao Xiu was inable to counterattack, and his force was annihilated. Later that month he died of an ulcer. Jia Kui was praised by Cao Rui for his efforts. The Wu invasion force won a victory, and their army was able to safely withdraw.