Battle of Hefei (253)

The Battle of Hefei, also known as the Battle of Hefei New City, was fought between the contending states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu in 253 during the Three Kingdoms period.

The battle
In the spring of 253, Wu's Grand Tutor, Zhuge Ke, returned from Dongxing (東興) to the capital Jianye (建業; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). Ignoring the advice of several court officials, in the third lunar month, Zhuge Ke led a 200,000 strong army to attack the state of Wei in the north. By the fourth month, Zhuge Ke's force had reached south of the Huai River, and started attacking Wei's fortress Xincheng (新城; literally: "new city"), Hefei in the following month. Zhuge Ke's forces besieged Xincheng and launched fierce attacks on the fortress. Zhang Te, the Wei general defending Xincheng, managed to hold off the enemy with his 3,000 men for more than a month. The Wu forces sustained heavy casualties but were still unable to take Xincheng.

Zhang Te said to the Wu army, "I've no intention of fighting now. However, according to the law of Wei, when I'm under attack for more than 100 days and reinforcements do not arrive, even if I surrender, my family will be spared from punishment. Since I first started resisting the enemy, it has been more than 90 days. This city originally had a population of more than 4,000, and now more than half of them have died in battle. Even when the city falls, if someone does not wish to surrender, I'll speak to him and explain the possible implications of his choice. Tomorrow morning I'll send a list of names, you can first take my official seal as a token of trust." Having said that, Zhang Te tossed his official seal to the enemy. Zhuge Ke believed Zhang Te and did not take the seal.

That night, Zhang Te ordered his men to tear down houses and fences, and use the wood to reinforce damaged parts of the fortress' walls. The next morning, Zhang Te announced to the enemy, "I'll only die in battle!", and firmly refused to surrender. The Wu soldiers were furious and attacked the fortress but were unable to breach the walls.

At that time, the weather was extremely hot and the Wu troops were growing weary. A plague broke out and killed many Wu soldiers and caused more than half of the Wu army to fall ill. Zhuge Ke grew impatient and vented his frustration on his subordinates, causing much unhappiness among his men. Later, Wei's Grand Commandant, Sima Fu, led 200,000 relief troops to Xincheng, and attacked and defeated the exhausted Wu army. In the seventh month, Zhuge Ke had no choice but to order a withdrawal and the siege on Xincheng was lifted.

Order of battle
Cao Wei forces
 * Zhang Te
 * Grand Commandant (太尉) Sima Fu

Eastern Wu forces
 * Grand Tutor (太傅) Zhuge Ke

Modern references
The battle is featured as a playable stage in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors. In Dynasty Warriors 7, playable under the new Jin dynasty story, the battle is known as the "Battle of New Hefei Castle", and is not to be confused with another stage (Battle of Hefei Castle), which refers to the Battle of Hefei (234) and does not appear in the game. In the game, however, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, and Zhuge Dan also appear on the Wei side.