County, Gansu), which were respectively guarded by the Shu officers Ju An () and Li Xin (). He also contacted the Qiang tribes and requested assistance from them in harassing the Wei-controlled commanderies in Yong Province. After discussing with Chen Tai, the Inspector of Yong Province, Guo Huai ordered him, Xu Zhi and Deng Ai to lead Wei forces to attack the Shu fortresses at Qushan and cut off their food and water supplies. Ju An and Li Xin led their men to taunt Deng Ai to attack them, but Deng Ai ignored them. As time passed, the two fortresses gradually ran out of supplies. Jiang Wei led his troops from Mount Niutou (牛頭山; west of present-day Zhaohua District, Guangyuan, Sichuan) to reinforce the fortresses. They encountered Chen Tai and his army along the way. Chen Tai ordered his army to build forts to resist Jiang Wei and his troops but refrain from engaging the enemy. At the same time, he also wrote to Guo Huai and requested his help in attacking Mount Niutou. Guo Huai did so and led his forces across the Tao River in preparation for attacking Mount Niutou. After Jiang Wei retreated, Ju An and Li Xin became isolated at the Shu fortresses at Qushan, so they had no choice but to surrender to the Wei forces. Guo Huai then led his troops further west to attack the restless Qiang tribes and forced them to surrender. Later life and death 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. He also promoted Guo Huai to General of Chariots and Cavalry (), granted him full imperial authority, and ordered him to be accorded treatment equivalent to that accorded to the Three Ducal Ministers. Guo Huai remained in charge of supervising military operations in Yong and Liang provinces. Guo Huai was also promoted from a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Yangqu" (), with a marquisate comprising 2,780 taxable households. The Wei government then took out 300 households from his marquisate, created a new marquisate, and awarded it to one of his sons under a village marquis title. Guo Huai died on 23 February 255 during Cao Mao's reign. He was posthumously appointed as General-in-Chief () and granted the posthumous title