王平
Wang Ping
Allegiances: Came over from Wei during the Hanzhong campaign
Profile
Barely able to read ten characters, yet he grasped the essence of war better than the theorists. Alone in opposing Ma Su’s deployment at Jieting, he brought his own unit home intact from the disaster. Promotion followed: he helped put down Wei Yan’s revolt, then repelled Wei’s massive invasion at Xingshi with terrain and nerve. Wherever the unlettered general stood, the line held.
Key events
- 225
The Southern Campaign — Seven Captures
Zhuge Liang pacifies the southern revolt, capturing and releasing the chieftain Meng Huo seven times until he submits from the heart (per the Han Jin Chunqiu).
- 228
Battle of Jieting
Defying orders, Ma Su camps on the hilltop and is routed by Zhang He, wrecking the first campaign. Only Wang Ping kept his unit intact; Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su in tears.
- 228
Siege of Chencang
That winter Zhuge Liang stormed Chencang, but Hao Zhao’s thousand-odd defenders held for over twenty days until Shu’s grain ran out.
- 244
Battle of Xingshi
With a small force and shrewd use of terrain, Wang Ping repels Wei’s massive invasion of Hanzhong — the defense said to have saved Shu.
History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel
A bit player in the novel, but the histories crown him the only winner at Jieting and the anchor of Shu’s later defenses. The theorist Ma Su versus the veteran Wang Ping is history’s own framing.