[9] After Zhuge Liang died in 234, his successors Jiang Wan and Fei Yi adopted a more defensive stance against Wei and focused on policies promoting internal development and stability in Shu.

Sima Zhao made an announcement to the Wei imperial court as follows: "Since the Shouchun rebellions, we have not launched a military expedition for six years; we have trained our soldiers and repaired their armor, such that we may eliminate the two barbaric states.

[16] In the winter of 262, Sima Zhao appointed Zhong Hui as General Who Guards the West (鎮西將軍) and granted him imperial authority to oversee military affairs in the Guanzhong region.

He also ordered the defence infrastructure to be strengthened at a number of locations around Hanzhong: Xi'an (西安), Jianwei (建威), Wuwei (武衛), Shimen (石門), Wucheng (武城), Jianchang (建昌) and Linyuan (臨遠).

In early 263, Jiang Wei wrote a memorial to the Shu emperor Liu Shan as follows: "I heard that Zhong Hui has been mobilising troops in Guanzhong and appears to be preparing to launch an invasion.

During this time, when a Wei officer Deng Dun (鄧敦) said that Shu could not be conquered, Sima Zhao executed him as a warning to others to not speak ill of the campaign.

[33] Around September or October 263, after his army passed through the Xie and Luo valleys as planned, Zhong Hui ordered his subordinates Li Fu and Xun Kai (荀愷) to each lead a detachment of 10,000 troops to attack Lecheng and Hancheng respectively.

Jiang Bin politely obliged and told Zhong Hui that his father's tomb was in Fu County (涪縣; present-day Mianyang, Sichuan).

[39] While Wang Han's eventual fate is unknown, it is recorded that after the fall of Shu, Jiang Bin surrendered to Zhong Hui at Fu County and befriended him.

[45] After Jiang Wei received news that Zhong Hui's army had taken Yang'an Pass and occupied Hanzhong, he attempted to retreat to Baishui (白水; in present-day Qingchuan County, Sichuan)[46] but Yang Xin caught up with him and defeated him at Qiangchuankou (彊川口; the intersection of the Bailong and Jialing rivers) near Yinping.

[54] Zhong Hui also wrote a long address to the Shu forces to urge them to surrender: "In the past, when the Han dynasty declined, the Empire became fragmented and the people suffered extreme hardships.

Emperor Wu used his divinely-bestowed military genius to bring order to chaos, save the people from their suffering, and restore peace and stability to the Empire.

When he suffered defeats in Ji and Xu provinces and got threatened by Yuan Shao and Lü Bu, our Emperor Wu came to his aid and developed a bond with him.

Some time between 18 November and 17 December 263,[h] Deng Ai led a strike force from Yinping through the shortcut, bypassing the west of Jiange and heading straight towards Jiangyou.

[62] Following their capture of Jiangyou, Deng Ai and his men pushed on further to Fu County, where they encountered resistance from Shu forces led by Zhuge Zhan.

Zhuge Zhan's subordinate, Huang Chong, urged his superior to swiftly take control of the mountainous terrain around Fu County and use that geographical advantage to stop the Wei forces from entering the flat lands.

A furious Zhuge Zhan executed the messenger who delivered the letter,[64] and ordered his troops to assemble in formation outside Mianzhu and prepare to engage the enemy in battle.

[70] In the meantime, after capturing Mianzhu, Deng Ai and his men pressed on further to Luo County (雒縣; north of present-day Guanghan, Sichuan) near the Shu capital Chengdu.

Around this time, when Liu Shan held a discussion with his subjects on what options they had, some suggested that they flee to their ally state Wu while others proposed retreating southward into the Nanzhong region (covering parts of present-day southern Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou).

I often recall the time during the Huangchu era when Emperor Wen sent General Xianyu Fu to Shu to announce a warmly- and sincerely-worded imperial edict, reiterate his kindness, and open his doors to accepting our surrender.

I failed to see the bigger picture, greedily clung on to the mediocre legacy of my predecessor, put up a struggle for so many years, and resisted attempts by the Empire to make us more civilised.

I bow down in the hope that the Great Wei Empire will, with the aid of wise and virtuous officials like Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou, rule with benevolence and spread its virtues throughout the world.

I hereby send my aides Palace Attendant Zhang Shao, Household Counsellor Qiao Zhou, and Chief Commandant of Escorting Cavalry Deng Liang to present my seal of authority to you as an act of surrender and as a token of my sincerity and allegiance.

[79] Deng Ai appointed Shi Zuan as the Inspector of Yi Province and put Qian Hong in charge of overseeing the former Shu commanderies.

When Sima Zhao told him that his proposal had to be discussed in the imperial court before approval, Deng Ai grew impatient and hinted that he was justified in ignoring standard protocol and behaving autocratically as long as he acted in Wei's interests.

[93] On 1 March 264, a day after arriving in Chengdu, Zhong Hui summoned all the high-ranking Wei officers to attend a meeting and showed them a fake imperial decree ordering them to rise up against Sima Zhao and overthrow him.

Yan Yu's deputy, Luo Xian,[96] remained behind with only 2,000 troops to guard Yong'an (永安; present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing), the capital of Badong Commandery.

After receiving news confirming that Liu Shan had indeed surrendered to Wei, Luo Xian gathered all his troops and mourned the fall of Shu for three days.

Around March 264, the Wu general Bu Xie led troops from Xiling (西陵; present-day Yichang, Hubei) to attack Yong'an but encountered strong resistance from Luo Xian and his men.

As the Wu forces rained arrows on his position, Luo Xian ordered his subordinate Yang Zong (楊宗) to break out of the siege and seek help from Wei.