Chief strategist of the campaign. Argued for the march on Hanzhong, planned the stroke at Dingjun, and became Prefect of the Masters of Writing in the new kingdom; died the year after the victory.
If Fa Xiaozhi were still alive, he could have restrained his lord from marching east.Zhuge Liang's sigh after the Yiling defeat; Sanguozhi, Shu shu 7, Biography of Fa Zheng
Appears in
Relations
- Liu Bei strategist & lord — Argued for the march on Hanzhong and went with the army; the design at Dingjun was counted his. Liu Bei wept many days at his death in 220.
- Zhuge Liang colleagues — Zhuge Liang held Chengdu and fed the army while Fa Zheng planned at the front; the histories keep each his office.
- Huang Zhong strategist & general — Fa Zheng saw the Wei line grown thin on the slope and gave the word; Huang Zhong came down from the heights.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
The Hanzhong campaign was masterminded by Zhuge Liang, directing the war by letter from Chengdu.
What the sources say
The histories name Fa Zheng: the persuasion to march, the three-course plan, and the design at Dingjun were his, and he went with the army. In the new kingdom he became Prefect of the Masters of Writing — without he commanded the capital district, within he was chief of counsel. No history puts Zhuge Liang at the front; his recorded office was holding Chengdu.