Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in the late 190s and became a subordinate of Liu Zhang, the provincial governor.

Fa Zheng's keen foresight and brilliance in formulating strategies earned him praise from his contemporaries such as Zhuge Liang and Chen Shou.

[Sanguozhi zhu 1] In the early Jian'an era (196–220) of the reign of Emperor Xian, when famines broke out, Fa Zheng and his friend Meng Da travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) to join the provincial governor, Liu Zhang.

Although Fa Zheng served as the Prefect (令) of Xindu County (新都縣) and later as a Colonel Who Advises the Army (軍議校尉) under Liu Zhang.

Now I am afraid that your subjects would not comprehend my true reasons hence putting all the blame on myself however I can be mocked by others yet even with their contempt I would still strive to accomplish the mission I was given faithful to my path.

I feared that your lordship would trust those baseless rumors therefore I didn't dare to send letter but now when I look back to how I was treated and thinking of the future, I believe It's not too late.

[Sanguozhi 9] At this moment, the affairs of the state are of utmost importance and danger is near yet even if I serve another and my words can easily be hated however may what is left of my loyalty to you be used to share my sentiment on the situation.

Wise General, I know well the sentiment of your heart and It is to not lose your good relation with the General of the Left[b] but if we are in this situation is because of your subjects do not understand the way to follow and serve heroes, advocating that one can violate trust and turn his on his vows and instead change his views such as the sun and moon shift looking to only please your ears and eyes with their flattery and fawn therefore cannot plan with thoughtful calculation for the future of the state.

The incident already happened therefore they do not judge strength and weakness thinking that the General of the Left's army is isolated far from home with no provisions or grain stored and want to avoid confrontation and just wait for days behind their walls locked together.

What your strategists wanted to do was to outlast our provisions however now those strongholds have fallen and grain and rice is gathered in great numbers while your own territory Wise General is daily lost and the common people suffer.

[Sanguozhi 10] While I'm writing this letter, Zhang Yide's army of tens of thousands has already conquered Badong, entered Qianwei’s borders, with his divisions pacifying Zizhōng and Deyang as they invade by three different roads then how would you resist this?

Wise General, surely your strategists believe that this army is far from home with no provisions, their food supply lines being difficult to keep and their troops few with no followers.

However the roads of Jing province are connected and their armies increase by tenfolds also General of Chariots and Cavalry[c] sends his younger brother with Li Yi, Gan Ning and others to follow after.

From dawn they use flattery and cheat your favour, wishing to keep good appearance's while not thinking of the future, none can devote all of their energy to a long term plan.

If danger is near then all of them would first and foremost save their own skins, would strive to help their own families, switch their allegiances back and forth and would be very different of their current composure, not sacrifice themselves for you Wise General however It would be your honored household that would be victim of the disaster they fear.

[Sanguozhi 13] Sun Sheng criticizes Fa Zheng for his advice and the comparison between Guo Wei and Xu Jing : "One of the most important path of statecraft is to respect the worthies while rewarding virtue and visiting the tombs and gates of past rulers following this example.

Xu Jing while in the household of his kinsman[d] was not devoted, was put in charge where he didn't belong and when in face of danger was quick to change his heart, his safety was what matters most.

Fa Zheng's method just confuse people and detach from the noble and esteemed even give the example of Guo Wei wronging natural human relations.

"[Sanguozhi zhu 3]Pei Songzhi completely disagrees with Sun Sheng's opinion: "Your servant believes that though Guo Wei was not worthy, he received favor for his ability in planning.

Fa Zheng's comparison between Xu Jing and Guo Wei wasn't bad, but Sun Sheng made matters complicated by citing honoring tombs and visiting gates; how pedantic!

"[Sanguozhi zhu 4]Liu Bei appointed Fa Zheng as the Administrator (太守) of Shu Commandery (蜀郡) and General Who Spreads Martial Might (揚武將軍).

While Zhuge Liang was promoted to administer internal affairs, Fa Zheng served as Liu Bei's chief adviser.

Zhuge Liang was aware that Liu Bei greatly favoured and trusted Fa Zheng, which was why he refused to intervene in this matter.

[Sanguozhi 16] The historian Sun Sheng criticised Zhuge Liang's attitude towards Fa Zheng's abuse of power and called it a "lapse in justice".

[Sanguozhi zhu 5] While Tang Geng (唐庚), a scholar from the Song dynasty, in his work called the Three Kingdoms Miscellaneous Cases (三國雜事; Sanguo Zashi) compared Fa Zheng to Fan Ju (范雎), Li Guang and Guo Jin (郭進).

If we are successful we can vanquish the ennemy and restore the ruling House otherwise we can expand our borders into the Liang province and in any case we would have gain a most important position to defend and prepare ourselves.

Liu Bei ordered his general Huang Zhong to lead his men on a charge down the mountain towards Xiahou Yuan's forces, with war drums beating in the background.

[Sanguozhi 21] Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang did not share the same moral beliefs but they had a good working relationship because of their common goal, which was to serve Liu Bei well.

In comparison with officials from (Cao) Wei, Pang Tong would be similar to Xun Yu like a brother while Fa Zheng would be of the same nefarious kind as Cheng and Guo.

241), a collection of praises of notable persons who served in the Shu Han state, appraised him as follows: "Marquis Yi (翼侯; Fa Zheng) was talented for stratagem, could anticipate both rise and decline of the world.