Guo Huai (died 23 February 255),[a] courtesy name Boji, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
[4] Guo Huai started his career in the middle of the Jian'an era (196–220) of Emperor Xian's reign in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
[5] When Cao Pi held the position of General of the Household for All Purposes (五官中郎將) between 211 and 220, he recruited Guo Huai to serve as an officer in the law enforcement bureau under his charge.
Guo Huai also ordered his troops to strengthen their defences and show Liu Bei's forces that they were prepared to hold their ground.
[16] Cao Pi awarded Guo Huai the title of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) and reassigned him to be the Chief Clerk (長史) under the General Who Guards the West (鎮西將軍).
[16] As Guo Huai fell sick on his journey to the imperial capital Luoyang and had to rest until he was well, he showed up late to congratulate Cao Pi on his coronation.
[19] Later, while hosting a banquet to celebrate his coronation, Cao Pi sternly asked Guo Huai in front of all the guests: "In the past, when Yu the Great called the nobles to attend an assembly at Tushan, Fangfeng showed up late and was executed as punishment.
"[21] Cao Pi was so pleased to hear Guo Huai's response that he appointed him as the acting Inspector (刺史) of Yong Province and enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Sheyang Village (射陽亭侯).
Whenever the Qiang and other tribal leaders in Yong Province expressed their willingness to submit to Wei rule, Guo Huai always sent his subordinates to gather information about their clans (e.g. demographics) first.
Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu, led the campaign and deployed his troops at Mount Qi (祁山; the mountainous areas around present-day Li County, Gansu).
[24] In response to this invasion, Zhang He led an army to attack Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting and inflicted a devastating defeat on the enemy.
However, he retreated after Zhuge Liang led a Shu army to Jianwei (建威; in present-day Longnan, Gansu) as backup for Chen Shi.
[29] In 234, Guo Huai joined Sima Yi in leading Wei forces to resist another Shu invasion led by Zhuge Liang.
When the other officers disagreed,[30] Guo Huai said, "If Zhuge Liang crosses the Wei River and occupies those plains, his troops will have access to the mountains in the north.
After Jiang Wei and his troops retreated back to Shu, Guo Huai followed up by attacking the Qiang tribes led by Midang (迷當).
Guo Huai wrote to the Wei government, requesting permission for the Chuge clans to be resettled in Gaoping County (高平縣; present-day Guyuan, Ningxia), Anding Commandery (安定郡).
For his efforts, Guo Huai was promoted to General of the Vanguard (前將軍), in addition to his appointment as the Inspector (刺史) of Yong Province.
During the campaign, Guo Huai sensed that the Wei army was at a disadvantage so he pulled back his troops, and therefore was not greatly defeated.
As he expected, Jiang Wei did attack Xiahou Ba at the west of the Tao River, but retreated when Guo Huai and his reinforcements showed up.
They expected to Jiang Wei to head west to meet Zhiwudai and combine their forces, while Liao Hua would remain behind to defend the Shu position at Chengzhong Mountain.
If they split their army into two, their attacking power would be greatly reduced, and they might end up in a situation where they were able to neither resist Jiang Wei nor capture Liao Hua's position.
He then instructed Xiahou Ba to lead one detachment to pursue Jiang Wei towards Tazhong (沓中; northwest of present-day Zhugqu County, Gansu), while he led the other group to attack Liao Hua.
As Guo Huai foresaw, Jiang Wei did turn back to save Liao Hua and failed to meet up with Zhiwudai.
Jiang Wei led his troops from Mount Niutou (牛頭山; west of present-day Zhaohua District, Guangyuan, Sichuan) to reinforce the fortresses.
Chen Tai ordered his army to build forts to resist Jiang Wei and his troops but refrain from engaging the enemy.
[47][48] In 250, the Wei emperor Cao Fang issued an imperial edict to praise Guo Huai for his contributions and achievements throughout his tenure of over 30 years in the Guanzhong region.
In 251, Wang Ling started a rebellion in Shouchun (壽春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui) against Wei but failed and ended up being captured.
Guo Huai, moved by his sons' filial piety, changed his mind and ordered his subordinates to bring his wife back.
[54] Guo Pei (郭配), whose courtesy name was Zhongnan (仲南), served as the Administrator (太守) of Chengyang Commandery (城陽郡; around present-day southeastern Shandong).
[60] Guo Huai is a playable character in the seventh and eighth instalments of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.