Chencang

Chencang (陳倉, onyomi: Chinsō) is a siege fought by the Kingdom of Shu during the Second Northern Expedition of Zhuge Liang. The Wei forces outwitted Zhuge Liang by building inner walls so that when the battered Shu forces finally breached the outer wall, they would face new defenses with fresh troops. Upon hearing of Zhang He's arrival, Zhuge Liang withdrew with his army losing valuable officers in the battle. Wei commander Hao Zhao won fame for this victory, but died afterwards at Chang'an. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it was during the course of this battle that Shu lost Zhang Bao and the death of Wei's general Wang Shuang.

Dynasty Warriors
The battle first appears in Dynasty Warriors 5, with both the forces of Shu and Wei playable in this scenario.

In Shu's version of the battle, Zhuge Liang gives Jiang Wei command of the battle for the first quarter. The Shu have three armories where they store their siege ramps and rams, and attack the castle gates. Wang Shuang, Zhang Hu, and Fei Yao are near the Shu base proving threats to the Shu camp. Meanwhile, Xiahou Wei is near the west gate blocking a flanking attack as Liu Ye blocks the east gate. After cannons inside the main gate destroy the siege weapons, Zhuge Liang takes over command, and brings in more siege weapons. He orders a unit to destroy the weapons on the walls, and as the main force guards the weapons, other units will take the mountain path and attack the castle walls. Sima Yi will deploy ambush units on these paths in hopes of killing the player character, predicting that the Shu troops would move that way. Soon, Cao Xiu, Cao Hong, Cao Zhen, and other Wei reinforcements will arrive on each path. The east gate will open upon the arrival of ambush units so the player character can defeat Zhang He and then Cao Ren; Cao Ren's defeat will dismantle the operations of the Wei fireball contraptions and allow siege ramps to be set up. Defeating Hua Xin will grant the player access to further keeps inside the castle and defeating Wang Lang opens the way to Sima Yi at the Wei main camp. His defeat ends the battle in Shu's favor.

During the Wei scenario, Zhuge Liang is not present in the battle as of yet instead leaving command to several units. At this point, the Shu have already breached the eastern gate leaving Zhang He to wipe Wang Ping and Ma Dai out before they can attack the castle walls; Cao Ren is the commander of the castle's defenses. The Wei forces are able to attack the Shu armories to destroy their siege weapons permanently as they will respawn until these bases are captured from the guard captains. Soon, Zhuge Liang will appear at the main camp with some Shu reinforcements, but at this point many of the Shu units will have been routed. The Wei army will have the opportunity to clear him from the battlefield in one swift stroke if they have already defeated the other Shu units.

In Dynasty Warriors 8, this stage makes a return in the battle that decides the fate of Zhang Bao. In the Shu scenario for the battle, Zhang Bao may fall into a trap and be injured. If a catapult is brought in to destroy some damaged inner walls, and the player advances from the new route, Zhang Bao will be able to survive at the end of the stage.

The map is also reused in Jin's story as the "Battle of Taoyang" where Sima Zhao and the Wei forces trap Xiahou Ba within the castle.

Dynasty Warriors 9 merges the campaign to happen simultaneously with both Jieting and Tianshui. During the battle, Yueying will be the one leading Shu's assault troops and siege weapons against Hao Zhao's men. Yueying's defeat will cause some of the juggernauts used by the other Shu forces to malfunction in Wei's side, while Hao Zhao's defeat will simply mean a morale boost from Shu's perspective.

Warriors Orochi
During Warriors Orochi, Chen Cang is unlocked by completing Wei's fifth stage. Players begin at the southernmost part of the map with Da Ji assisting them. Defeating Oichi is a top priority in order to cut off the flow of enemy reinforcements. Upon breaching the castle walls, subdue Gan Ning to open the enemy's main camp and face Nagamasa. After Nagamasa's defeat, he, along with Oichi and Gan Ning joins Cao Pi's forces.

The battle returns in Warriors Orochi 2 as a dream stage for Xing Cai, Ginchiyo Tachibana, and Yoshimoto Imagawa. Like in the first game, players start at the south and must work their way up to defeat the Wu army. This time they must also rescue Hideyoshi's allies who have been scattered by the enemy officers throughout the castle area. Upon saving Yuan Shao, the rest of the Wu forces led by Sun Quan will arrive and clash with the allied troops at the south. Yuan Shao or Yue Ying (she is guarding the main camp)'s defeat will count as a loss, while Sun Quan's defeat will count as a victory.

Historical Information
Despite losing at Jieting, Zhuge Liang refused to halt his expedition and brought 100,000 Shu Han troops northwards, besieging the strategic castle on the Chencang Road. The castle was held by Hao Zhao and only 1,000 troops; Cao Zhen had predicted Zhuge Liang's route of invasion and ordered him to build a castle to block Chang'an from the Shu army.

Hao Zhao faced a larger army who had constructed three barricades, so assault was out of the question. He ordered his archers to loose fire arrows at Shu troops climbing ladders into the city and his men threw boulders on top of the Shu Army's battering rams. While the attackers filled their trenches, Hao Zhao built an interior wall to defend against the next Shu assault, outwitting Zhuge Liang. When the Shu dug tunnels to enter the city directly, the Wei toppled the tunnels and caused a collapse upon the Shu miners, killing them and destroying their works prematurely.

After 20-odd days, Zhuge Liang discovered that Zhang He was leading a reinforcement army to assist Hao Zhao's weakening army; Zhuge Liang retreated from the battlefield.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang's siege remains close to its historical counterpart. At the final stages, however, as Zhuge Liang hears that Wei reinforcements led by Wang Shuang, he sends Zhang Ni, Liao Hua and Wang Ping to deal with him, but neither of the three are able to overcome the Wei general, and Zhang was injured in the process. With Zhang He leading more reinforcements and supplies dwindling, Zhuge Liang orders a retreat, but predicts that Wang Shuang would likely give chase. Giving secret orders to Wei Yan, the Shu forces withdrew. Wang Shuang, who attempted to chase, was startled as Wei Yan had launched a simultaneous raid on the Wei camp. While rushing back to his camp, Wang Shuang met Wei midway and was slain by him. Wei Yan then rejoined the main forces of Shu. By the time Zhang He arrived, the enemy was gone and Wang Shuang was dead.

Though Hao Zhao was promoted for his service, he fell deathly ill shortly afterwards. Zhuge Liang's spies reported this, prompting him to begin another invasion. He then commissioned both Wei Yan and Jiang Wei and gave them three thousand troops with orders to take the city in three days. Both men were perplexed why they were being given such rigid conditions as Zhuge had failed to break the defenders with more troops and a longer time, but accepted nonetheless. Hao Zhao's spies reported this while he was in his bed. As he was about to rest, a messenger rushed in saying that Zhuge Liang's spies had set fire on the ramparts and opened the gates. Hao Zhao attempted to leave his bed, but collapsed and died shortly. With their commander dead, the Wei forces broke rank and fled from the city. Three days later, Jiang Wei and Wei Yan arrived but were surprised to see Zhuge Liang, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao at the ramparts instead, and the two were chided for their tardiness. Zhuge Liang then explained to them that he intentionally gave them the task for fear that Hao Zhao would have spies within the Shu camp. Thanks to the false information, the Wei forces were lulled in a false sense of security, allowing the Shu forces to surprise them. Still respecting Hao Zhao's talent and resistance, Zhuge Liang sent his body back to Wei. Jiang and Wei were then sent to attack the nearby passes, which they took with ease.

Sun Li and Guo Huai attempted to reinforce Chencang and the nearby area, but the city fell before they arrived, and they were routed by Zhang Bao. Zhang Bao gave chase to the fleeing generals, but his horse slipped, and he fell into a gulley, suffering heavy injuries as a result. Though he made it back to camp, Zhang Bao's injuries were too serious, and he died shortly. Upon his death, Zhuge Liang's condition worsened, leading to his untimely death at Wuzhang Plains six years later.