Jiang Wan stepped forward and said, "Since the prime minister led the army into the field, he has distinguished himself again and again. For what reason is he being recalled?" "We have certain matters to discuss with him in confidence," the Second Emperor said, and he dispatched an envoy to recall the prime minister.
The envoy went directly to the main camp in the Qishan hills, where Kongming received him. After reading the edict, Kongming raised his eyes to the heavens and said with a sigh, "Some wily minister near the young sovereign must be influencing him. Why should he recall me when I am about to accomplish something important? If I do not go back, it will be an act of disrespect toward the sovereign. If I obey, another chance like this will be hard to come by." Jiang Wei said, "If the army withdraws, Sima Yi will seize the opportunity to strike us. What do we do then?" Kongming answered, "I will divide our forces into five groups for the withdrawal. Today we will evacuate this camp: for every thousand men we will have two thousand fire pits dug; tomorrow, three thousand; the day after that, four thousand. With every new day of retreat, we will increase the number of cooking sites as we move on." Yang Yi said, "Long ago Sun Bin captured Pang Juan by the ruse of decreasing the cooking sites as he increased his manpower. What is the purpose of adding sites for this withdrawal, Your Excellency?" Kongming replied, "An expert strategist like Sima Yi will pursue us once he finds we have left—but wary of any ambush we might leave, he will count the sites in our former camps. The daily increase in the number of fire pits will make him wonder whether or not we have retreated, and whether or not to pursue. A slow and steady withdrawal will save the lives of our men." So saying, Kongming issued the order to retreat.
Sima Yi assumed that Gou An had by now fully carried out his plan and that he had only to wait for the Riverlands troops to withdraw before mounting a general onslaught. While he was waiting, a report came that the Riverlands positions had been evacuated; warily Sima Yi took one hundred riders to the camp to investigate before ordering pursuit. He had the cooking sites counted and then returned to his base camp. The next day he sent troops back into the evacuated camp to tally the number of fire pits; they reported an increase. Sima Yi said to his commanders, "How clever Kongming is, actually adding troops! Pursuit will lead us right into his trap. Let us retreat and plan our next move carefully." Sima Yi and his army turned back, and Kongming headed for Chengdu having suffered no losses. Only later did natives of the Wei River area tell Sima Yi they had seen Kongming add sites but not troops. Sima Yi sighed deeply and said, "Kongming did what Yu Xu once did—and he took me in!6 He is the better tactician!" So saying, Sima Yi returned to the Wei capital of Luoyang. Indeed:
Beating an equal at the game is hard;
Meeting a talented rival, a commander needs humility.7
How did Kongming finally return to Chengdu?
Read on.
101
Disguised as a God, Kongming Comes Forth from Longshang;
Racing for Saber Gateway, Zhang He Falls into a Trap
By the ruse of removing troops and adding fire pits, Kongming retreated safely to Hanzhong; and Sima Yi, suspecting ambush, returned to Chang'an. Not one Riverlands soldier was lost. After rewarding the army, Kongming returned to Chengdu and presented himself before the Second Emperor.
Addressing the ruler, Kongming said, "I, your vassal, had moved out of the Qishan hills and was about to take Chang'an when I received Your Majesty's summons home. For what great event, may I know? '' The Second Emperor did not answer for some time; then he said," Thirst for the sight of my prime minister, who had been away from us too long, nothing more. "" That could not have been Your Majesty's real purpose, "Kongming said." Some treacherous minister has sown the calumny that I harbor disloyal thoughts. "The Second Emperor listened in silence as Kongming went on," For your late father's boundless favor, I am sworn to lifelong service. But with treachery in the royal house, how can I chastise the northern rebels? "" We gave careless ear to the eunuchs and, yielding momentarily, had you recalled. Now the confusion has passed; I regret the mistake, " said the Emperor.
Kongming interrogated the eunuchs and learned of the rumors spread by Gou An. Kongming sent men to seize him, but Gou An had fled to Wei. Next, Kongming put to death the eunuch who had misled the sovereign with his petitions, and he removed from the palace all others involved in the treachery. He also severely rebuked Jiang Wan and Fei Yi for their failure to bring the conspiracy to light and to urge the Son of Heaven back to the right path, a failure the two humbly acknowledged.
Afterward, Kongming took leave of the ruler and returned to Hanzhong. There he had Li Yan see to the requisitioning of grain and provender to the front. At the same time he reopened discussions on the campaign against Wei. Yang Yi said, "On our previous campaigns our military strength was insufficient and our grain supply inadequate.1 When we get to Qishan, we should divide our two hundred thousand troops into two sections for rotation: put half in the field for three months, then bring them back to the hills and send the other half up to the front. Alternating in this way will conserve our strength and enable us to move up slowly and steadily as we approach our goal, the northern heartland." "This coincides with my thinking," Kongming said. "An invasion of the north is not something to be accomplished overnight. This long range plan is exactly what is called for." Kongming divided his army into halves for rotation every hundred days, ordering that anyone violating the time limit be punished under martial law.
Kongming launched his next punitive expedition against Wei in the second month of the ninth year of Jian Xing by the Shu-Han calendar (the fifth year of Tai He by the Wei calendar).2 The ruler of Wei, Cao Rui, summoned Sima Yi for urgent consultations concerning defense. Sima Yi said, "Though Cao Zhen is dead, I will do all I can in your Majesty's behalf to clear these marauding rebels from our land." Well pleased, Cao Rui held a grand banquet in Sima Yi's honor. The next day a military emergency was reported, and Cao Rui ordered Sima Yi into the field to meet the enemy, personally escorting the field marshal beyond the city in his carriage.3
Sima Yi took formal leave and proceeded directly to Chang'an, where he assembled several field armies. At a discussion on how to defeat the Shu army, Zhang He said, "I volunteer to lead one contingent to defend Yong and Mei and check the enemy." But Sima Yi replied, "Our forward army cannot by itself hold back Kongming's host. Further subdivision of our force is not the way to victory. I would rather leave some troops guarding Shanggui and move the rest toward Qishan. Are you willing to lead the van?" Zhang He replied with enthusiasm, "Having ever cherished the principles of loyalty and honor, with all my heart I have desired nothing so much as to requite the royal house, but in the past no one acknowledged me. If the field marshal is willing to devolve this grave duty upon me, ten thousand deaths will not deter me." Thereupon Sima Yi had Zhang He lead the van and assume overall military command. He also assigned Guo Huai to the defense of the Longxi districts. The remaining commanders were to advance along various routes.
Scouts soon reported back: "Kongming is leading a vast host toward the Qishan hills. His van, led by Wang Ping and Zhang Ni, went straight through Chencang, along the plank roads, and is moving toward Ye Gorge via San Pass." Sima Yi said to Zhang He, "Kongming is driving forward in full force. He means to reap the Longxi wheat harvest for his army. Form your camps so as to guard the Qishan hills. Guo Huai and myself will watch over the Tianshui districts to keep the wheat out of their hands." Zhang He agreed. He led forty thousand men to defend Qishan hills, while Sima Yi took the main force in the direction of Longxi.
Meanwhile, Kongming's troops had reached Qishan and had begun pitching their camps. Kongming surveyed the defenses of the Wei army on the shore of the River Wei and said to his commanders, "That must be Sima Yi. At this time we are short of provisions. I have sent several men to urge Li Yan to supply our needs, but no one has come. The Longshang harvest should be ripe now, and ready for a quiet reaping." With that, Kongming left Wang Ping, Zhang Ni, Wu Ban, and Wu Yi guarding his
Qishan camps and advanced to Lucheng with Jiang Wei, Wei Yan, and other commanders. The governor of Lucheng, who had known Kongming for many years, made haste to open the gate and tender his city. After calming the leaders of the city, Kongming asked, "Where is the wheat ripening?" The governor answered, "In Longshang." Kongming left Zhang Yi and Ma Zhong guarding Lucheng and took a few commanders and the whole of his force on to Longshang.
Kongming's advance guard reported: "Sima Yi has brought troops to Longshang." Startled, Kongming said, "So he knew what I was coming for!" At once he bathed, changed to fresh clothes, and ordered three identical four-wheeled wagons on each of which he put a model of himself. (Kongming had had these wagons built while he was still in Shu. ) Next, he ordered Jiang Wei to place an ambush of one thousand wagon-guards and five hundred drummers behind Shanggui. In addition, Ma Dai had one thousand guards and five hundred drummers on the left; and Wei Yan had the same on the right. Each wagon was carried along by twenty-four men; black-garbed and barefoot, hair unbound and swords ready, they carried black seven-star flags. As planned, Jiang Wei, Ma Dai, and Wei Yan advanced with the three wagons.
Kongming ordered thirty thousand troops armed with sickles and backpacks to prepare for reaping. At the same time he selected another twenty-four men as a special force to carry and guard his own wagon. Like the men in the other details, these guards wore black and had unbound hair and unshod feet. Swords readied, they surrounded and supported the four-wheeled wagon. Kongming ordered Guan Xing to dress up as the Strawheaded Monster of the Field4 and to walk before his wagon with the seven-star banner in his hand. Kongming sat upright on the wagon as the procession advanced toward the Wei camps.
The northern scouts watched amazed, wondering if it were man or demon before them; they sped their report to Sima Yi. Sima Yi went forth to view the scene: there was Kongming, wearing a bonnet fastened with a clasp and a robe bestuck with crane feathers; feather fan in hand, he sat upright on the four-wheeled wagon. Around him were twenty-four men, hair free, swords ready. In front of them a single man, black flag in hand, resembling a field god of some kind. Sima Yi said, "Another of Kongming's weird tricks!" He chose two thousand men and instructed them: "Go out as fast as you can and bring me the wagon and the men. Spare no effort." As ordered, the northern soldiers gave chase. Kongming had the procession turn round the moment he spotted them and head slowly off in the direction of his own camp.
As the Wei cavalry raced after the procession, they noticed a chill wind blowing in little gusts and an icy mist spreading round them. They pursued strenuously for another stage but failed to catch up with Kongming. The soldiers reined in and said in amazement, "How strange! There they are still—we've gone thirty li without catching them! What do we do?" When Kongming saw that the pursuers had stopped, he ordered the porters to rest facing the enemy. After a long pause, the northerners resumed the chase; and Kongming returned to his wagon and began moving with studied slowness. The northerners pursued another twenty li but never reached their objective. Dumbstruck, they watched as Kongming had the wagons turn round again and advance toward them. The Wei troops wanted to pursue. But at that moment Sima Yi arrived with a company and issued an order: "Kongming's marvelous skill with the Eight Gateways and the 'Taboo Days' formula has enabled him to control the Six Ding deities and the Six Jia deities. As he is now using the technique 'Foreshortening the Land'5 from the divine text of the Six Jia, the army cannot overtake him." The northern troops reined in and began turning back. From their left, war drums beat loudly as a band of men attacked. Sima Yi ordered an immediate defense, then was left to watch amazed as a team of twenty-four Riverlands troops, hair loosed, swords ready, black-garbed, and barefoot, hustled forward around a four-wheeled wagon upon which Kongming sat upright in his pinned bonnet and crane-feather robe, a feather fan in his hand.
The astonished Sima Yi said, "That wagon bearing Kongming—we chased it fifty li but could not catch up with it. How could Kongming be here now? It is most strange!" As he spoke, war drums rumbled on the right and again a band of men attacked the northerners. Again twenty-four men, identical in appearance to the last team, brought forth a wagon carrying Kongming. Sima Yi was utterly confused. "Those troops are supernatural!" he said to his commanders. Many Wei soldiers scattered in panic.
At that instant more drumming and shouting announced yet another group of attackers; ahead of them, a four-wheeled wagon holding Kongming and pushed along by porters precisely like the others. The northern troops were panic-stricken. Sima Yi could not tell if they were men or demons before him, nor the number of Shu troops. Overcome with fright, he led a headlong flight to Shanggui and slammed the gates shut behind him.
Now Kongming ordered the thirty thousand to reap the entire wheat harvest at Long-shang and move it into Lucheng for drying. Sima Yi remained in Shanggui for the next three days. After the Riverlands forces had begun retreating, he sent forth scouts. They ' found a Riverlands soldier on the road and brought him back to the field marshal, who questioned him. "I was one of the reapers," the prisoner said. "My horse got away and I was taken." "What were those supernatural troops we saw earlier?" Sima Yi asked. "None of the three ambushes involved Kongming; it was Jiang Wei, Ma Dai, and Wei Yan. Each unit had only a thousand wagon guards and five hundred drummers. Kongming was on the lead wagon, the one that enticed your army," the prisoner continued. Sima Yi raised his eyes to Heaven and sighed as he said, "Kongming's maneuvers are as subtle as those of gods and demons."
At this moment Guo Huai returned with fresh news; Sima Yi received him. The formalities concluded, Guo Huai said, "I have found out that there are few Riverlands troops and they're all in Lucheng preparing the wheat. It's a good time to attack." Sima Yi then recounted the previous events, and Guo Huai said with a smile, "He has only fooled us for a time. Now that we see through him, there is nothing to fear. I will take one company and attack from the rear; you take another to attack from the front. We can occupy Lucheng and capture Kongming." Sima Yi approved and the two companies marched to Lucheng.
Since Kongming had brought his troops to Lucheng, his men had been engaged in drying the wheat they had reaped. Unexpectedly, Kongming alerted his commanders, "Tonight the enemy will attack. The wheat fields east and west of the city make a good place to hide our soldiers. Who will dare to go out and prepare the ambush?" Four commanders came forward to volunteer: Jiang Wei, Wei Yan, Ma Zhong, and Ma Dai. Well pleased, Kongming ordered Jiang Wei and Wei Yan to take two thousand troops each out to the southeast and northwest; he ordered Ma Dai and Ma Zhong to take two thousand each out to the southwest and northeast. "Listen for the roar of the bombard," Kongming told them, "then attack from all four corners together." The four went to perform their assignments. Kongming himself took one hundred men, each with his firing tube, to hide in the wheat fields and await attack.
Sima Yi came straight to Lucheng. As evening fell, he said to his commanders, "By day, the city will be prepared. Let us use the night to attack, there where the wall is low and the moat shallow." He posted his force outside the city; during the first watch Guo Huai's force also arrived. The two units quickly combined and, as the drums rolled, surrounded Lucheng tighter than an iron loop. But from the walls of Lucheng ten thousand crossbowmen let fly, and the Wei troops, caught in a storm of arrows and stones, could not advance.
Suddenly a series of signal shots sounded. The northerners were terrified, not knowing the direction of attack. Guo Huai had some soldiers search the wheat fields. From the four corners flames shot skyward and war cries resounded as the four Riverlands units came in for the kill. The gates of Lucheng were flung open, and more soldiers poured out to aid the four Shu commanders. After a spell of slaughter and heavy Wei losses, Sima Yi led his defeated troops in a last-ditch struggle. They managed to break through the outer ring and occupied a hilltop. Guo Huai, too, fled to a new position behind the hill. Kongming reentered the city from the wheat field and ordered the four generals to pitch camp at the four corners.
Guo Huai said to Sima Yi, "We have been locked too long in combat with the westerners with no strategy to force them back. Now we have taken another serious loss. Our dead and wounded must come to more than three thousand. If we don't plan something soon, we will not get out of here alive." "What do you suggest?" Sima Yi asked. Guo Huai responded, "Send a written order to move our forces in Yong and Liang over here to help us destroy the enemy. I will take a company and surprise Saber Gateway, thereby cutting off Kongming's route home and interdicting their supplies. When disorder erupts in his army, we will strike and destroy them." Sima Yi approved and ordered the transfer. Within a day Commanding Officer Sun Li arrived with forces from Yong and Liang. Sima Yi ordered Sun Li to coordinate the attack on Saber Gateway with Guo Huai.
Kongming had maintained the resistance within Lucheng for many days. Seeing the Wei army offer no battle, he summoned Jiang Wei and Ma Dai into the city. "The Wei troops are holding their strongpoints in the hills," he instructed them. "They do not come to fight because they think we will have no food after the wheat is used up, and secondly, because they have sent troops to surprise Saber Gateway and cut our supply line. I want each of you to take ten thousand men and defend our strongpoints. When the enemy sees our readiness, they will withdraw." The two commanders departed with their troops.
Senior Adviser Yang Yi came to the command tent and said, "Your Excellency has ordered the army rotated every hundred days. Today the allotted time elapses. Troops from Hanzhong have already crossed the Riverlands border, and the documents from the forward unit are here. All that remains is for the exchange to take place, for the forty thousand at the rear to replace the forty thousand on the front." "Since the order has been given," Kongming said, "carry it out quickly." On hearing the order, the various units packed up and began moving.
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