1. There is indeed an empty city plan in history, but Zhuge Liang's empty city plan is fictional in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

2. The "Empty City Plan" in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a story adapted by Luo Guanzhong according to the "Three Things of Guo Chong" in Pei Songzhi's Notes on the Three Kingdoms.

Zhuge Liang didn't set an empty plan. "Zhuge Liang set up an empty city plan" is Luo Guanzhong's artistic creation. In the battle of Jieting, Wei Fang's coach was Zhang He, not Sima Yi, and it was impossible for Kong Ming to scare Sima Yi away thousands of miles away with an "empty city plan".

There are some successful examples in history, such as Zhang Shougui guarding Guazhou.