Liang and his men travel deeper into the valley, they fall into an ambush by Shu forces led by Liao Hua and Guan Xing and are completely destroyed. The Shu forces then disguise themselves by wearing the Wei soldiers' armour and uniform and infiltrate Cao Zhen's camp. In the meantime, Sima Yi encounters and defeats Shu forces led by Wei Yan. When he learns that no enemy forces have been spotted at Cao Zhen's side, he immediately leads his troops to Cao Zhen's camp. By then, the Shu infiltrators have launched a surprise attack within Cao Zhen's camp. Sima Yi shows up in time, drives back the Shu forces, and saves Cao Zhen. Cao Zhen feels so ashamed of himself that he falls sick. Zhuge Liang writes a letter to Cao Zhen to taunt and insult him. Cao Zhen becomes so angry after reading the letter that he coughs blood and dies that night in his camp. Sima Yi sends his dead body back to Luoyang, where he receives a proper burial. See also Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms Notes References Chen, Shou (3rd century). Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi). Fang, Xuanling (648). Book of Jin (Jin Shu). Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi). Pei, Songzhi (5th century). Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu). Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian. Year of birth unknown 231 deaths Generals under Cao Cao Cao Wei generals