In the autumn of 249, the Shu general Jiang Wei led the Shu army to invade Wei's western border. Seeing that Jiang Wei had constructed a fortress at Mount Chu and incited several Qiang tribes to rebel against Wei rule in the neighbouring counties, Chen Tai asked his supervisor, the veteran Wei general Guo Huai, to lead an attack on the fort to cut them off from Jiang Wei's main army. He pointed out that although the fortress at Mount Chu was strong, it was also far from the Shu base and it would be easy to cut off the supply route. Guo Huai, along with Chen Tai and Deng Ai, led the Wei forces to besiege the Shu camp at Mount Chu. They cut off the supply route without difficulty. Acting on Chen Tai's advice, Guo Huai also led his army to occupy Mount Niutou, blocking Jiang Wei's retreat route and cutting him off from his supply routes. Jiang Wei and the Shu forces retreated, abandoning the soldiers at Mount Chu, who quickly surrendered.