In the spring of 253, Wu's Grand Tutor, Zhuge Ke, returned from Dongxing (東興) to the capital Jianye (建業; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). Ignoring the advice of several court officials, in the third lunar month, Zhuge Ke led a 200,000 strong army to attack the state of Wei in the north. By the fourth month, Zhuge Ke's force had reached south of the Huai River, and started attacking Wei's fortress Xincheng (新城; literally: "new city"), Hefei in the following month. Zhuge Ke's forces besieged Xincheng and launched fierce attacks on the fortress. Zhang Te, the Wei general defending Xincheng, managed to hold off the enemy with his 3,000 men for more than a month. The Wu forces sustained heavy casualties but were still unable to take Xincheng.