Longzhong Plan

The Longzhong Plan is the name given to a strategic plan by Zhuge Liang, a statesman of the Shu Han state in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. Zhuge Liang presented the plan to Liu Bei, a warlord who became the founding emperor of the Shu Han state, sometime in 207 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty when Liu Bei visited him at his residence in Longzhong (隆中), an area in the west of present-day Xiangyang, Hubei.^[1]

The Longzhong Plan formed the basis for the establishment of the Shu Han state. In essence, the plan required Liu Bei to gain control over Jing and Yi provinces, which covered present-day Hubei and Hunan, and Sichuan and Chongqing, respectively, so as to secure a viable base for staging attacks against Liu Bei's rival, Cao Cao, and his territories in central and northern China. The plan also required Liu Bei to form a strategic alliance with another warlord, Sun Quan, who was based in eastern China.