Tianshui

The Battle of Tian Shui (天水の戦い) is a battle between Wei and Shu. In the Dynasty Warriors series the battle's purpose is similar to the novel: for Jiang Wei to defect to Shu.

Historically there wasn't any battle that happened in Tianshui, just a simple revolt. Zhuge Liang's aim was to capture the cities of Nan'an, Anding, and Tianshui, which would all be pacified by Zhang He later.

Role in Games
In the fifth installment while playing the side of the Shu forces the player needs to defeat Xiahou Mao and Cui Liang to capture Nan An and An Ding. Zhuge Liang will order his men to release Xiahou Mao inside the Tian Shui Castle telling the commander, Ma Zun, that Jiang Wei has defected. This would be the time that Jiang Wei will return to Tian Shui. Defeating him would start Ma Zun's retreat if the player defeats him then the battle has won. In the Wei side, the player needs to rescue Nan An or An Ding from the invaders. If successful, the battle will be an easy win. If the two castles fall Ma Zun will attempt to retreat and will be confused leading him to Zhuge Liang's main camp. If the player defeats Zhuge Liang the battle will be finished. The battle was removed in the sixth installment with Jiang Wei.

In the Dynasty Warriors 7, Jiang Wei returns as the enemy commander after the defeat of Ma Zun, Cui Liang and Yang Ling. Instead of simply capturing the bases after defeating the appropriate enemy, as with Dynasty Warriors 5, now the player will be ambushed as they reach the base. The battle also marks the debut of Liu Shan as a warrior in any battle, and gets caught in an ambush. At the end of the battle, Ma Zun will set fire to the base and try to escape.

Historical Information
In 228, Zhuge Liang declared that he would march through the Xie Gorge to take Mei. He sent Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi as decoys to give the appearance of threatening Mei and to occupy Ji. Cao Zhen led his armies to oppose them. Zhuge Liang personally led the armies to besiege Mount Qi; the ranks were ordered, discipline severe and authority apparent. The three commanderies of Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding all revolted and defected from the Cao Wei side to Zhuge Liang, sending shock waves through Guanzhong. Cao Rui moved to Chang'an to oversee the defense. Cao Zhen secured Mei against Zhao Yun, while a combined cavalry-infantry force of 50,000 under Zhang He went west to oppose Zhuge's main army.

Zhuge Liang ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to counter Cao Zhen, whilst he himself marched to besiege Mount Qi. The troop strength of Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi were inadequate to that of the enemy. Hence they were defeated at Ji Gorge, but their centre held firm and thus avoided a great defeat.

At that moment, Jiang Wei was patrolling the outskirts with his governor. Afraid that Jiang Wei might be colluding with the Shu army, the governor fled secretly at night. When Jiang Wei discovered about that, it was already too late and on returning to Yi Xuan, his own city refused to open the city gates. As such, Jiang Wei proceeded to meet Zhuge Liang.

There was in fact no battle at Tianshui, only revolt. The area surrounding the city submitted quickly to Shu Han, enabling the army to advance steadily but the Shu army had suffered a setback at Jieting, when Zhang He defeated Ma Su. Zhuge Liang gave the order for a retreat back to Shu territory.

Zhuge Liang separated his troops in two groups: one led by himself; the other led by Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi. Zhuge Liang encountered Zhang He, so he sent Ma Su to handle him at Jieting, but Ma lost and had to withdraw. Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi's army met Cao Zhen, who defended Mei from them. Zhao Yun and his army withdrew. The commanderies that rose in revolt to join Shu were later pacified by Zhang He and returned to Wei control.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In chapters 92 and 93 of Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Jiang Wei was one of the reasons Zhuge Liang went on this expedition, and getting Jiang to defect to Shu became a goal after his quick battle with Zhao Yun. Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun ahead first, and after a skirmish and some scheming he comes onto the battlefield. During the battle, Jiang Wei's commanding officer Ma Zun suspected him of plotting with the enemy. When Jiang Wei was outside Tianshui, Ma Zun closed the city gates and denied Jiang entry. Jiang Wei had no choice but to defect to Zhuge Liang's side.