Zhuge Liang

"Though it was for the benefit of the land, I have involved far, far too many innocent people. But it was, solely, for this very moment. Oh my beloved people, lend me your strength!"

- Zhuge Liang.

"There is no greater weapon than a prepared mind."

- Zhuge Liang's victory quote.

Zhuge Liang (in Chinese: 諸葛亮), nicknamed The Crouching Dragon (in Chinese: 臥龍), is the Three Kingdoms historically political adviser who was known to originally served Liu Bei of the Shu empire. He is a wise sage was both loved and feared as Shu's Prime-Minister. Though originally a strategist, Zhuge Liang went on to lead expeditions to conquer Wei.

He is often considered a main protagonist in the later parts of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms adaptations. Historically, he and Sima Yi didn't exactly have the well-established rivalry seen in most fictional accounts. His wife is Huang Yueying and cousin is Zhuge Dan, while his two historical children are Zhuge Zhan and Zhuge Huai.

Early Life
Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu, was known as orphaned at a young age. He was primarily raised by his uncle. Eventually moved to the providence of Jing, settling down in Wolonggong. While in Wolonggong, Zhuge Liang lived as a hermit, communing with nature and studying. Zhuge Liang's studies would see him absorb the insights of scholars such as Sima Hui, Pang Tong and Xu Shu.

He would converse with fellow scholars, which lead to his meeting of the sage, Huang Chengyan. Huang Chengyan offered Zhuge Liang his daughter, Huang Yueying, claiming she was drab in appearance but had a passion for learning that matched his own. Upon meeting Huang Yueying, Zhuge Liang was became fond of her studious nature and accepted the proposal, shortly after which the two were married.

Meeting Liu Bei
Zhuge Liang's life as a reclusive scholar would begin its end with the arrival of Shu leader, Liu Bei. Liu Bei had heard Zhuge Liang was a wise sage and made a pilgrimage to his home to try to recruit him as an adviser. Zhuge Liang initially refused Liu Bei but Liu Bei would make two more pilgrimage to Jing to recruit him as his strategist. Zhuge Liang was impressed by Liu Bei's determination and accepted Liu Bei's request upon his third visit. Once he accepted the position as the Shu lord's mentor, Zhuge Liang and Bei became inseparable.

Campaign for Shu
The first major operation Zhuge Liang was involved in was for the Battle of Changban. During the naval raid, Zhuge Liang provided reinforcements for Liu Bei and organized a tactical retreat for the troops otherwise overwhelmed. Upon Liu Bei's arrival at Xiakou after the battle, Shu sought an alliance with Sun Quan against Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang was the central mediator for between Shu and Wu. Sun Quan was eventually won over when Zhuge Liang presented the two possibilities before him, to either wait for Wei to remove them from power or rebel ahead of time, retreating north to reinforce their position while disestablishing Wei's hold in the providence; The choice was clear and Wu joined Shu against Wei.

After convincing Sun Quan to turn on Wei, Zhuge Liang returned to Liu Bei to aide his forces in an attack on Cao Cao at Chibi. the attack in Chibi was successful and afterward, Liang assisted Liu Bei in seizing control of Jing providence. With the land secured, Zhuge would be appointed Military General of the Household, a high bureaucratic position responsible for civil planning and collecting taxes. Liu Bei would eventually depart to take the Yi providence from Liu Zhang, during this time Zhuge Liang remained to defend and manage Jing providence along with Liu Bei's two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Eventually Liu Bei's takeover strained, at which point Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all left with reinforcements, Guan Yu remaining behind to guard Jing. Together the forces of Shu took the Yi Providence and Zhuge Liang was promoted to Military Advisor General giving him authority over domestic affairs and charging him with defense of Chengdu. Zhuge Liang did not waver in his duties during war times, sticking to legal matters while Liu Bei continued in military ones.

When Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, declared himself as the emperor, Zhuge Liang advised that Liu Bei make a similar proclamation that become the ruler of Shu Han. With his new role Liu Bei in-turn appointed Zhuge Liang as grand-chancellor. Lie Bei became ill after a major loss at Yiling, during which time he privately spoke with Zhuge Liang to ask him to carry on Shu's campagin for him., Liu Bei even made Zhuge Liang promise to dispose his son Liu Shan on his behalf, should he prove an inept ruler. Zhuge Liang promised Liu Bei he would honor Liu Bei's final wishes until the day he too died. After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang began sizing-up Liu Shan, ultimately considered him adept enough to become second emperor of the Shu Han dynasty. Even with Shan’s ascension to the throne, he quickly appointed Zhuge Liang as his military coordinator, relying on him even more-so than Liu Bei. However, Zhuge Liang was died of Wuzhang Plains.

Trivia

 * Zhuge Liang is a playable character in both the Dynasty Warriors and Knights of Valour series.
 * Zhuge Liang is one of the archetypes against which other strategists in fiction are measured.
 * Zhuge Liang is similar to Yoda from the Star Wars franchise.