User:Kamek98/Battle of Qucheng

Battle
Following the struggle for control of power in the Wei court between the royal family of Cao and the famed family of Sima, Chen Tai (who was favored by the Sima family) requested a position that wasn't in the central court and silently wished to avoid the internal fray. Thus, Chen was made the Inspector of Yong Province (雍州刺史) and was positioned at the frontlines of Shu's target for war with the Wei empire.

During the Sima-Cao conflict, Jiang Wei recuperated the Shu army following his defeat at Tao River and built two fortresses in the mountains of Qu and dispatched troops to defend the locations. In addition to that, Jiang Wei assaulted the Qiang and Di peoples and took hostages from the tribes. Jiang Wei also forced the hostages to obey his commands.

Seeing this, Chen Tai advised Guo Huai that it would indeed be a good opportunity for them to launch an attack on the two forts given that the distance between the forts and Shu’s track was distant and the potential food shortages Shu had. Guo Huai also was in favor of this and he sent Chen Tai to attack the Shu defending unit led by Xu Zhi. Deng Ai was dispatched to lay siege onto the two fortresses.