Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 28: The Three Kingdoms Period

That an unknown commander’s ingenuity was able to trap a mind like Zhuge Liang’s shows that the world’s talent is truly beyond measure.

An imperial decree was issued, appointing [Zhuge Liang] as General of the Right, acting in the capacity of the Chancellor. Following his defeat at Jieting, Zhuge Liang requested a formal demotion to take responsibility, though he remained the executive leader of the Shu Han military.

In the twelfth month, Liang Zhuge Liang (181–234), the Chancellor and chief strategist of the state of Shu Han. led tens of thousands of troops out through Sanguan Pass to besiege Chencang A vital strategic stronghold guarding the path to the Wei capital region., but he was unable to capture it. He sent an envoy to try and persuade Hao Zhao A veteran Wei general who had been specifically tasked with fortifying Chencang in anticipation of this attack. to surrender, but Zhao would not yield.

Although Zhao’s soldiers numbered only about a thousand, Liang launched a fierce assault. He deployed Cloud Ladders yunti; massive, folding siege ladders often equipped with counterweights. and Battering Rams chongche; heavy mobile rams used to breach gates and walls. against the city. Zhao countered by firing Incendiary Arrows huojian; literally "fire arrows," these carried flammable materials to ignite wooden siege engines. at the ladders, and the men upon them were all burned to death. Zhao also used ropes to link together heavy stone millstones, which were dropped to crush the battering rams, causing them to shatter.

Liang then constructed Siege Towers jinglan; tall wooden towers used by archers to fire down upon defenders. a hundred feet high to fire into the city, and he used dirt mounds to fill the defensive moats, intending to scale the walls directly. Zhao responded by building secondary inner walls. Liang then ordered the digging of Tunnels dixue; sapping or mining under walls to create an entrance or cause a collapse., hoping to emerge inside the city, but Zhao dug a horizontal intercepting trench within the city walls to block their path.

The two sides attacked and resisted one another day and night for over twenty days. The State of Wei dispatched General Zhang He to relieve the siege. Before he arrived, Liang’s provisions were exhausted, and he withdrew his forces. General Wang Shuang pursued Liang’s retreat, but Liang struck back and beheaded him.

Treatise on Armament Technology (Wubei Zhi), Hao Zhao (The Wei defender), Zhuge Liang (The Shu commander), Chencang (The besieged city), Cloud Ladders (Siege ladders), Battering Rams (Assault engines), Incendiary Arrows (Fire-tipped arrows), Siege Towers (Archery towers), Filling the Moats (Tactical earthworks), Horizontal Interception (Anti-tunneling tactics), Zhang He, Wang Shuang.