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Battle of Wuzhang Plains
Wuzhang Plains in Dynasty Warriors 8
Date April ~ Autumn 234
Location Wuzhang Plains, Yong Province (present-day Wuzhangyuan, Shanxi)
Result Zhuge Liang dies and Shu's fifth Northern Campaign ends in failure.
Forces
Shu Wei
Commanders
Zhuge Liang Sima Yi

The Battle of Wuzhang Plains (五丈原の戦い, rōmaji: Gojōgen no Tatakai), or literally the "Battle of Five Measure Plains" is the final battle of Zhuge Liang's northern campaign, which ends in a stalemate due to Kongming passing from illness while on campaign.

Jiang Wei assumes control over the Shu army as it retreats. Sima Yi was eager to press an attack after learning about his enemy's passing, but due to Zhuge Liang's prior preparation for such a situation, the Shu army successfully stalls Sima Yi's advance and they make a retreat. Zhuge Liang's death was not made public until Shu had successfully returned to their kingdom.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, this stage often acts as the final battle between Shu and Wei. The battle usually gets a special cinematic in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

In the series, Zhuge Liang leads the Shu army at Wu Zhang Plains, aiming to uphold his promise to Liu Bei before he passes away. However, he loses his life to illness, which was anticipated by Sima Yi. Jiang Wei takes command of the army to recover and uses Zhuge Liang's inventions to aid Shu's fleeing soldiers. The fate of either army is left to the player.

The first game takes place under the silent night sky, with Liu Bei and Cao Cao clashing due to deadlock caused by their forces. The Wei army faces them on four fronts, with the goal of besieging Liu Bei's heavily fortified position and countering ambushes. Shu's strategy is to use their talented generals and forts to converge on Cao Cao's forces.

In Dynasty Warriors 3, Shu is outnumbered, but both sides feature more siege weapons to counter each other. Shu's version includes Sun Li taunting Wei Yan to move, while Wei's version focuses on destroying Shu's supplies.

Dynasty Warriors 4 is similar to the previous incarnation but includes more events and is the main stage of the Wu Zhang Plains series of maps. Both scenarios feature a major difference in events, with Zhuge Liang's death being a ruse and heavy defense in the form of arbelests. Liu Bei or Cao Cao will appear as the true commander of the stage depending on the scenario played.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, Zhuge Liang leads an offensive while protecting the army's supplies. He dies during the battle, and Jiang Wei takes over and orders a retreat. The Wei side gains from Sima Yi's focus on defense, while the Shu side gains from Cao Cao, Sima Yi, Zhen Ji, Cao Ren, and Cao Pi.

In Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2, the battle appears as a final stage in both Wei and Shu's story modes. In Wei's story mode, Sima Yi orders Wei forces to advance in twos, causing a rockslide and an assault from Zhuge Liang and Zhang Yi. Zhuge Liang mysteriously dies, and Sima Yi orders the Shu main camp to be taken.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Shu's version focuses on defense, with Zhuge Liang feigning distrust for Wei Yan, leading a group of soldiers to attack the enemy main camp. Sima Yi notes Zhuge Liang's unease and writes a letter to the Shu general, who eventually joins Wei. Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Liu Bei get the Shu side, while Xiahou Dun, Sima Yi, and Cao Cao get the Wei side.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Jiang Wei faces Zhuge Liang's illness and takes full command of the Shu forces. The player must avoid traps, defend the main camp, and defeat Sima Yi for a victory.

In Dynasty Warriors 8, players follow Zhuge Liang's plan of pressing the attack forward, while Jiang Wei takes command of the frontlines to split them up into a prolonged assault. The Wei forces face off against the Shu forces, forcing them into a pursuit. After Zhuge Liang's death, Sima Yi charges through the center, leaving Sima Zhao and Sima Shi to pursue the western path. Guan Yinping leads a rockslide, and Wei Yan and Ma Dai ambush the western path. Jiang Wei launches a fire attack within Shu's main camp. In the Xtreme Legends expansion, a more decisive version appears with both rivals Liu Bei and Cao Cao present. Veterans like Pang Tong, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong are present on Shu's army. Shu forces have installed Arbalests to keep Wei troops from charging at the center, and juggernauts are used to slow down the advance before the Wei troops reach Liu Bei.

Warriors Orochi[]

In Warriors Orochi, Nobunaga Oda joins the battle against Orochi, trapping Da Ji. Despite being outmaneuvered, Shingen, Kenshin, and Kanetsugu join him. The Shu army campaigns to end Orochi X, and defeating Da Ji is crucial to unlock Himiko. In Warriors Orochi 3, Wuzhang Plains is used for comic stages, with tasks completing in time to gain an upper hand. In Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Jiao, and Seimei Abe test Xu Shu, Zhuge Dan, and Kanetsugu Naoe with strategies.

During 4, The stage first appears as one of Cao Pi's strongholds, and he joins both Ares and the Toyotomi army in defending it from the Coalition. Secretly, Mitsunari had previously sent Toshiie  and Yoshitsugu to join the Coalition, as well as expressing his own intentions to switch sides. Once the Toyotomi officers, who were not made aware of the plan, withdraw, the Coalition forces begin pulling back to base.

At this point, Mitsunari defects and is joined by Hideyoshi and the rest of the Toyotomi army. Together, they are able to open the gates in order to allow the Coalition to enter. After defeating both Ares and Cao Pi, Hideyoshi explains that his army submitted to the god for fear that he would end up as a hostage like Liu Shan. The other Toyotomi officers also revealed that they were eventually able to catch on to Mitsunari's true intentions over the course of the battle. United once more, the Toyotomi army formally joins the Coaliton.

The stage reappears a second time when Wang Yi and Kai scout the area for ingredients for Kai's cooking. Initially, they encounter a lost Xu Zhu, who reveals that he had been found by a nearby village. The village's food supply is soon plundered by Diamondback's forces and the maidens work with Xu Zhu in retrieving the stolen supplies.

After all the food is recovered, Diamondback arrives and must be defeated. Once the battle is over, Xu Zhu joins the Coalition.

The southeastern portion of the map, near Shu's main camp, is completely blocked off and is inaccessible.

In Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate, Yukimura must seeks Loki and chases him to Odin's camp. Surprised by Yukimura's arrival, Loki eventually defects, and the pair make a run for it once Odin summons several horrors to chase them down. The pair would be safely teleported away by a spirit named Gaia.

Historical Information[]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

In Wuzhangyuan, Zhuge Liang's final battle with Sima Yi took place. Despite nearly killing Sima twice, Zhuge Liang moved his troops to Wuzhangyuan to fight against the Wei troops. Sima Yi refused to mobilize his troops and refused to delegate tasks to others. Sima Yi's camp was filled with insults from Shu soldiers, and he wrote a petition to Cao Rui to approve an attack. Cao Rui responded negatively, causing Sima's dissatisfaction.

Fei Yi informed the Shu forces that Sun Quan's forces were defeated, worsening Zhuge Liang's condition. He began a life-extending ritual to prolong his life by twelve more years. On the final day of the ritual, Sima Yi noticed a sudden change in the constellations, indicating death or grave illness. He sent Xiahou Ba to challenge the Shu forces, but the ritual failed due to Wei Yan's sudden entry. Zhuge Liang then sent Wei Yan to engage Xiahou Ba's troops and wrote a plan for Sima Yi's attack.

Zhuge Liang, a powerful leader, was given instructions by his trusted retainers to deal with Wei Yan, who was predicted to rebel once Zhuge died. Jiang Wei, Ma Dai, and Yang Yi were given scrolls detailing their experiences and plans for contraptions. Li Fu was sent to check on Zhuge's condition and was instructed to rely on Zhang Yi, Zhang Ni, Liao Hua, Ma Dai, and Wang Ping. Zhuge Liang did not respond to his dying breath and did not respond to Fei Yi.

The Shu forces, upon returning to Hanzhong, discovered that their bridges had been destroyed by Wei Yan and Ma Dai. They demanded that the Shu forces return to the front to engage Wei. Yang Yi opened a box stating that Wei Yan's men were not truly loyal to him and would likely desert him. Many of Wei Yan's soldiers returned to their allies, and Ma Dai advised Wei Yan to shout "Who dares to kill me?" thrice to give in to Wei Yan's demands. Ma Dai decapitated Wei Yan, giving back Zhuge Liang's instructions, and the Shu troops successfully returned to Yizhou.

Trivia[]

  • In the Dynasty Warriors 4 version of this stage, it's possible on the Wei Forces side to have the bridgelayer be destroyed. Doing so however, not only prevents Sima Yi from crossing the Wei River (if controlled by the AI), but killing all enemy generals will not allow the stage to end as a result of no scripted events past such a point when Zhuge Liang passes away.
    • Likewise, it's also possible with boundary-bypassing bugs, to cross the mountains into Zhuge Liang's main camp as soon as possible to finish him off directly before his passing event, allowing the stage to be finished sooner.

Gallery[]

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