Zhuge Ke (203 – November or December 253), courtesy name Yuanxun (元逊), was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the eldest son of Zhuge Jin, a military general who served under Wu's founding emperor, Sun Quan. After Sun Quan's death in 252, Zhuge Ke served as regent for Sun Quan's son and successor, Sun Liang, but the regency proved to be militarily disastrous due to Zhuge Ke's aggressive foreign policy towards Wu's rival state, Cao Wei. In 253, he was ousted from power in a coup d'état and killed along with his family.
Early life and career In the Record of Wu (吴录), Chinese author Zhang Bo noted that Zhuge Ke was a loud spoken man and was about 182–184 cm tall, and that he had a crooked nose, wide forehead, large mouth, with little facial hair and eyebrows.(《吴录》曰：恪长七尺六寸，少须眉，折頞广额，大口高声。) Wu Lu annotation in Sanguozhi, vol.64
In 221, when the Wu kingAt this point, Sun Quan was still King of Wu; he would crown himself emperor only in 229. Sun Quan designated his son Sun Deng as crown prince, he set up a staff for the crown prince composed of the sons of key officials in his government or other well-known younger members of the administration. The four most prominent ones were Zhuge Ke (Zhuge Jin's son), Zhang Xiu (Zhang Zhao's son), Gu Tan (Gu Yong's grandson) and Chen Biao (Chen Wu's son).(于是诸葛恪、张休、顾谭、陈表等以选入，侍讲诗书，出从骑射。) Sanguozhi, vol.59 Sun Deng treated the four of them as his close friends and they served as his advisers. When he ordered his secretary Hu Zong () to write a commentary on four of his advisers in 229, Hu Zong wrote that Zhuge Ke was the most skillful and intelligent of his generation.(《江表传》曰：登使侍中胡综作賔友目曰：“英才卓越，超逾伦匹，则诸葛恪。) Jiang Biao Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol.59. The other three whom Hu commented on were Gu Tan, Xie Jing and Fan Shen. While this might have been true, Zhuge Ke was also known for being reckless – a negative trait that his father Zhuge Jin repeatedly chided him for. On one occasion, Zhuge Jin observed, "This child will either bring great honour to my household or destroy it."Zhuge Jin was commenting in light of Ke's plan to suppress the indigenous Shanyue tribes; see section "Pacifying the Shanyue" below.
After Sun Quan declared himself emperor in 229 and again designated Sun Deng as his crown prince, the four attendants were promoted to commandants under various titles; Zhuge Ke continued playing a supporting role to Sun Deng.(黃龍元年，權稱尊號，登為皇太子，以[諸葛]恪為左輔，[張]休右弼，[顧]譚為輔正，[陳]表為翼正都尉，是為四友， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 59. Among his four attendants, Sun Deng favoured and trusted Zhuge Ke and Gu Tan the most, and he regarded them more highly than others such as Fan Shen (范慎), Xie Jing (謝景) and Yang Hui (羊徽).(陸機為譚傳曰：宣太子正位東宮，天子方隆訓導之義，妙簡俊彥，講學左右。時四方之傑畢集，太傅諸葛恪以雄奇蓋衆，而譚以清識絕倫，獨見推重。自太尉范慎、謝景、羊徽之徒，皆以秀稱其名，而悉在譚下。) Gu Tan Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 52.
After Hu Zong made his commentary public, Yang Dao (羊衜Not the same person as the father of Yang Hu and Yang Huiyu) commented to Hu in private on the four's shortcomings; Yang's criticism of Zhuge Ke was that "Yuanxun (Zhuge's courtesy name) is talented but neglectful." Later, Yang's criticism of the four became known to them, estranging them from Yang. However, eventually all four failed at politics, causing the people of Wu to comment that Yang's criticisms were valid.(衜乃私驳综曰：“元逊才而疏，子嘿精而狠，叔发辩而浮，孝敬深而狭。”所言皆有指趣。而衜卒以此言见咎，不为恪等所亲。后四人皆败，吴人谓衜之言有征。) Jiang Biao Zhuan annotation in Sanguozhi, vol.59. "Zimo" was Gu Tan's courtesy name, "Shufa" was Xie Jing's and "Xiaojing" was Fan Shen's.
Pacifying the Shanyue Around 234, Zhuge Ke submitted a plan to Sun Quan to suppress the indigenous Shanyue tribes and recruit about 40,000 locals to serve as soldiers in Danyang Commandery (丹陽郡; around present-day Xuancheng, Anhui). Most of Sun Quan's senior officials, including Zhuge Ke's father Zhuge Jin, considered the plan reckless and costly; Zhuge Jin was recorded to have commented, "If Ke does not bring great fortune to our clan, he'll bring great disaster instead.".(恪父瑾闻之，亦以事终不逮，叹曰：“恪不大兴吾家，将大赤吾族也。”) Sanguozhi, vol.64. However, after Zhuge Ke insisted that his plan would be successful, Sun Quan appointed him as the Administrator () of Danyang Commandery and General Who Pacifies the Yue (), effectively giving him full authority to implement his plan.Zizhi Tongjian vol. 72. Once Zhuge Ke arrived in Danyang Commandery, he requested the Administrators of the four neighbouring commanderies to seal their borders and refrain from using military force against the Shanyue. When the harvesting season arrived, he gave orders to quickly harvest the grain and stockpile them far away from the imperilment of the potential threat posed by the pilfering Shanyue. The Shanyue, deprived of food supplies, were inevitably left without any alternative options but to ultimately surrender to Zhuge Ke, who treated them kindly and earned their respect. By 237, Danyang Commandery was completely under the Wu government's control and had become a highly productive commandery for manpower and supplies. Zhuge Ke was also able to easily fulfill his quota of conscripting 40,000 local men to serve as soldiers. Sun Quan was so impressed with Zhuge Ke that he promoted him to General Who Awes the North () and awarded him the title of a Marquis of a Chief District ().Zizhi Tongjian vol. 73.
Planned attack on Shouchun In 243, Zhuge Ke planned to launch a major attack on Shouchun (壽春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui), a strategic location in Eastern Wu's rival state, Cao Wei. After he positioned his forces in preparation for the attack, the Wei general Sima Yi showed up with his troops to defend Shouchun and counterattack Zhuge Ke. Instead of allowing Zhuge Ke to engage Sima Yi, Sun Quan ordered him to retreat to Wu. Despite his withdrawal, Zhuge Ke became famous among the Wu people for willing to stand up to Sima Yi, who had a huge reputation in Wei. The Wu general Lu Xun was concerned about Zhuge Ke's recklessness so he wrote a letter to him, urging him to be more cautious in the future. Zhuge Ke decided to defer to Lu Xun, who was much more senior than him, so he wrote back and apologised for his attitude. After Lu Xun's death in 245, Sun Quan appointed Zhuge Ke as General-in-Chief () and ordered him to assume Lu Xun's role at Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to supervise military affairs in Jing Province.
Appointment as regent In 251, when Sun Quan became critically ill, he sought a regent for his young son and heir apparent, Sun Liang. One of his close aides, Sun Jun, recommended Zhuge Ke. Although Sun Quan had second thoughts about Zhuge Ke, particularly his arrogance, he eventually heeded Sun Jun's advice and recalled Zhuge Ke back from Wuchang to the Wu imperial capital, Jianye. Before Zhuge Ke left Wuchang, the senior Wu general Lü Dai told him, "What you will be doing is a difficult task. Before you do anything, you should reconsider ten times." Zhuge Ke responded in a disrespectful manner: "When Ji Wenzi (季文子) reconsidered thrice before acting, Confucius told him, 'Only reconsider twice.' You, Sir, are telling me to reconsider ten times. Are you not saying that I am stupid?" Lü Dai did not respond. Historians interpreted this incident as a sign of Zhuge Ke's growing arrogance and recklessness. Indeed, Zhuge Ke became more arrogant after his appointment as regent, and especially after a dying Sun Quan instructed his subjects to let Zhuge Ke review all important policy decisions first.
As regent to Sun Liang Sun Quan died in 252 and was succeeded by Sun Liang, who became the second emperor of Eastern Wu. After his coronation, Sun Liang appointed Zhuge Ke as Grand Tutor (). During his short tenure as regent, Zhuge Ke relaxed some of the strict laws enacted in Sun Quan's reign and reduced tax rates. The people of Wu were very pleased with him; wherever he went, there were massive crowds jostling to get a better view of him.
Battle of Dongxing
In late 252, Zhuge Ke gave orders to rebuild the dam at Dongxing (東興; in present-day Chaohu, Anhui), which was constructed earlier in 230 but had been destroyed in 241. His plan was to create a reservoir near the Chao Lake and use it as a defensive structure against potential invasions from Wei, as well as to construct two castles nearby to serve as forward attack mechanisms for Wu ships. In response, the Wei regent Sima Shi sent three separate forces to attack Wu, with the main one focusing on the Dongxing dam. Zhuge Ke, along with the veteran Wu general Ding Feng and others, caught the enemy off guard by pretending to lower their guard, and inflicted a devastating defeat on them and forced them to withdraw from Dongxing.
Battle of Hefei
In 253, Zhuge Ke prepared for another invasion of Wei and said that he wanted to take advantage of Sima Shi's "youth and inexperience" (even though Sima Shi was 45 years old then). Despite strong opposition from some Wu officials, Zhuge Ke rallied an army from among all able-bodied men in Wu for the invasion. He also coordinated the invasion with Jiang Wei, a general from Wu's ally state Shu Han. (At the time, Jiang Wei was also actively launching a series of campaigns against Wei at Wei's western border.)
However, Zhuge Ke's strategy turned out to be flawed when he switched his target from Shouchun (壽春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui) to Hefei, even though Hefei's defences were much stronger and built to withstand enemy attacks. After a long siege, the Wu forces failed to breach Hefei's walls. When a plague broke out in the Wu army, Zhuge Ke ignored it and continued to press on the siege. He only withdrew after hearing that Wei reinforcements had arrived. Instead of returning to the Wu imperial capital Jianye to apologise for his mistakes, he stayed away from Jianye for some time and refused to take responsibility for the Wu defeat.
Downfall, death and posthumous rehabilitation When Zhuge Ke returned to Jianye later in 253, he attempted to wipe out all dissent against him by punishing those who disagreed with him. He also made plans for another invasion of Wei, despite much resentment from the people over the heavy losses incurred from the previous campaign.
Sun Jun, a Wu general distantly related to the Wu emperor Sun Liang, decided to launch a coup d'état against Zhuge Ke to oust him from power. He lied to Sun Liang that Zhuge Ke was secretly plotting to usurp the throne and then set up a trap for Zhuge Ke. (The extent of Sun Liang's involvement in the coup d'état is unclear. However, historians traditionally consider him to have understood and approved Sun Jun's actions even though he was only about 10 years old then.) Zhuge Ke met his end at the hands of Sun Jun's assassins when he unsuspectingly attended a banquet hosted by Sun Liang in the imperial palace. After Zhuge Ke's death, Sun Jun used the opportunity to send his troops to capture and execute Zhuge Ke's family members.
Sun Jun became the new Wu regent after Zhuge Ke's death and he monopolised state power until his death in 256, after which his cousin Sun Chen succeeded him and continued to rule as regent. In 258, Sun Chen deposed Sun Liang and replaced him with his brother Sun Xiu as the new Wu emperor. Sun Xiu staged a coup against Sun Chen shortly after his accession to the throne and succeeded in eliminating him. Sun Xiu posthumously rehabilitated Zhuge Ke and ordered him to be reburied with full honours. However, he refused to have a monument built to commemorate Zhuge Ke when someone suggested doing so, because he felt that Zhuge Ke's recklessness and the losses he caused to Wu made him unworthy of such commemoration.
Anecdotes and legends