Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  As ordered, Zhang Hu, Yue Chen, and their men slipped into the gorge by night disguised as Riverlands soldiers and watched, hidden, as Gao Xiang's men hauled the mechanical transports toward them. When almost all had passed, the northerners, drumming and screaming, set upon the transport troops from both sides. Caught unprepared, the Riverlands troops abandoned several of the mechanical beasts, which Zhang Hu and Yue Chen eagerly hauled back to their main camp.

  Sima Yi examined the vehicles and found that they could move forward and backward as if they were alive. Excitedly he said, "Don't think this technique is for you alone, Kongming, and not for me!" Sima Yi ordered one hundred skilled craftsmen to disassemble the devices before him and construct new machines according to the dimensions of the captured models. Within half a month they had built some two thousand that were identical to Kongming's and able to move as well. Sima Yi then ordered General Cen Wei, controller of Distant Regions, to use a thousand of the vehicles to carry grain and provender from Longxi. The machines moved in a continuous train, to the delight of the soldiers and commanders in the Wei camp.

  Meanwhile, Gao Xiang had returned to tell Kongming how the northerners had made off with five or six of the bulls and horses. Kongming smiled and said, "Exactly what I wanted them to do! We've lost only a few machines, but we will soon have more than ample return from them." The commanders asked, "How does Your Excellency know?" And Kongming answered, "Sima Yi will copy them once he has seen them—and for that I have a countermove."

  Several days later Kongming was informed that the Wei army had been able to build the wooden bulls and gliding horses and was already using them to ship grain from Longxi. "Exactly as I expected!" Kongming said with great satisfaction. He summoned Wang Ping and instructed him: "Take a thousand troops disguised as northerners and slip past Beiyuan right away. Claim that you are running patrol for the grain. As soon as you reach the shipment, cut down the guard. Bring the engines back here, passing through Beiyuan. From there Wei soldiers are sure to pursue you. Twist the lever-tongues in the mechanical animals—they won't move then. Abandon them; get away. When the Wei troops catch up, they will be unable either to drag the animals or to carry them. After I send more troops there, you can go back and release the brakes and bring the beasts all in smoothly. The northerners will be thinking it is done by magic!" Wang Ping left to carry out his commission.

  Next, Kongming summoned Zhang Ni and instructed him: "Take five hundred men and costume them as the Six Jia goddesses and the Six Ding gods and as supernatural troops with demon heads and animal bodies. Daub their faces with the five colors and deck them out as fantastical forms with embroidered flags in one hand and swords in the other. Hide the soldiers beside the hill, each carrying a gourd stuffed with flammable material. As soon as the bulls and horses arrive, ignite the gourds and rush out, take control of the wooden beasts, and go. The northerners will hesitate to pursue what they imagine to be ghosts and demons."

  Kongming next summoned Wei Yan and Jiang Wei and instructed them: "Take ten thousand men and go to our camp at Beiyuan to do whatever is necessary to protect the bulls and horses in case of engagement with the enemy." After that Kongming instructed Liao Hua and Zhang Yi: "Take five thousand men and block Sima Yi's avenue of approach." Lastly, Kongming instructed Ma Zhong and Ma Dai: "Take two thousand men to the south shore of the River Wei and challenge the enemy." The six commanders departed to carry out their assignments.

  General Cen Wei was directing the hauling of the north's grain-loaded bulls and horses when he was told that there were troops up ahead scouting for grain. Cen Wei sent men to investigate, but they found only Wei troops, and so the train proceeded without worry. When the real and the false Wei armies came together, the Riverlands troops erupted from their unit shouting, "Here's Marshal Wang Ping of the Riverlands!" The northerners had no chance to defend themselves, and the majority were slaughtered. Cen Wei tried to rally his men and make a stand, but Wang Ping killed him with a single sword stroke; the rest scattered. Under Wang Ping's direction all the bulls and horses were hauled back. The defeated northerners brought the news to the Beiyuan camp.

  When Guo Huai learned that the army's grain had been seized, he hurried forth to recover it. Wang Ping had his men lock the bulls and horses and leave them on the road as they alternately fought and fled. Guo Huai called off the chase and told his men to haul the animals back, but they stood immovable. Completely perplexed, Guo Huai could not decide what to do, when a sudden onset of drums and horns filled the air. Shouts went up on all sides, and two armies closed in for the kill, their commanders Wei Yan and Jiang Wei. At this point Wang Ping turned and attacked; and Guo Huai, battered from three sides, fled the field. Wang Ping's men released the locks on the animals and hauled them away.

  From a distance Guo Huai watched the Riverlanders and was about to resume pursuit, when from behind a hill clouds of smoke shot skyward and a squad of demonic soldiers burst into view. Flags and swords in hand, the various fantastic shapes guided the animals; and then, sweeping about like the wind, they were gone. Guo Huai stood amazed. "Some kind of supernatural force must be helping them!" he cried. The soldiers looked on terrified; none dared pursue.

  Sima Yi had heard of the defeat at Beiyuan and hastened to the rescue. Halfway there he heard the report of a bombard as two armies poured down from the steep hillsides, their yells rocking the earth. On their flags were the words "Han Generals Zhang Yi and Liao Hua." Sima Yi watched, astonished, and the Wei army scuttled away in utter confusion. Indeed:

  After meeting superhuman commanders, his grain was stolen;

  After meeting a surprise attack, his fate hung in the balance.

  Could Sima Yi withstand his foe?

  Read on.

  103

  Sima Yi Is Trapped in Shangfang Gorge;

  At Wuzhangyuan Zhuge Prays to Reverse His Star-told Fate

  Defeated at the hands of Zhang Yi and Liao Hua, Sima Yi escaped alone and rode into a dense wood. Zhang Yi had called back his troops, but Liao Hua tracked the Wei leader and soon caught up with him. Sima Yi scrambled around a tree as Liao Hua swung his sword, catching it in the trunk. Before Liao Hua could yank it free, Sima Yi had fled beyond the woods. Liao Hua tried to continue the chase, but he lost direction. To the east among some trees he spotted a golden helmet on the ground; he tied it to his horse and rode farther east. In fact, Sima Yi had thrown the helmet toward the east before backtracking west. Liao Hua pursued another distance but, finding no trace of his man, dashed out of the valley. He then encountered Jiang Wei, and the two returned to camp and came before Kongming.

  Zhang Ni had long since hauled the mechanical animals to the camp and handed them over with their cargo of more than ten thousand piculs of grain. Liao Hua was commended for exceptional merit when he delivered Sima Yi's helmet. The frustrated Wei Yan voiced his complaints, but Kongming pretended to be unaware of the situation.

  Sima Yi returned to camp in a state of vexation. Suddenly an envoy brought an imperial edict saying that three Southland armies had invaded and that the court was contemplating recalling all commanders to defend the kingdom; Sima Yi was ordered to maintain strict defense and fight no battles. After receiving the edict, Sima Yi fortified his position and held it steadfastly.

  When Cao Rui heard that Sun Quan had sent three armies to attack his kingdom, he mustered three armies to meet them: he sent Liu Shao to Jiangxia and Tian Yu to Xiangyang; Cao Rui himself and Man Chong led a third army to relieve Hefei. Man Chong went ahead to Lake Chao, where he saw a crowd of warships on the eastern shore, their flags and banners in strict array.

  Man Chong returned to the main army and petitioned Cao Rui: "The southerners will not take their defense seriously, thinking we have come too far to attack at once. If we strike their lakeside camps tonight, we will win the day!" "My own thought precisely," said the ruler of Wei. He ordered Zhang Qiu, general of the Valiant Cavalry, to take five thousand men, provide each with the means to set fires, and atta
ck from the edge of the lake. Man Chong took another five thousand to attack from the eastern shore.

  That night during the second watch Zhang Qiu and Man Chong advanced quietly toward the lake with their men. They approached the Southland camps, burst in noisily, and did their deadly work. The southern troops fled in panic and disorder without putting up a fight. The northerners set fires everywhere and destroyed the southern fleet, the food supplies, and the weapons, taking a toll beyond reckoning. Zhuge Jin led the defeated troops to safety in Miankou, and the northerners returned in triumph.

  These events were reported to Southland general Lu Xun the following day. Lu Xun summoned his commanders and said, "I shall have to petition the sovereign, requesting him to withdraw from the siege at Xincheng in order to cut off the northern army's escape route. I'll take my men and attack their front. If their head and tail can be severed, one battle will suffice to finish them." The assembly agreed. Lu Xun prepared the petition and sent a petty officer to deliver it secretly to Xincheng. The officer carried the letter to the river crossing but was seized by Wei troops and led before Cao Rui, who took the letter from him. On reading it, he sighed and said, "Lu Xun of the Southland is a subtle strategist." He ordered the officer held, and ordered Liu Shao to mount a cautious watch over Sun Quan's rear army.

  Zhuge Jin's defeat came at summer's height, when most of the troops were suffering from disease. He sent a letter to Lu Xun proposing that he withdraw his army to the Southland. Lu Xun read through the letter and said to the bearer, "With all respect to the general, I have my own ideas." The messenger reported back to Zhuge Jin, who asked him, "What is Lu Xun up to?" "All I could see," the messenger replied, "was General Lu urging his troops to plant beans and legumes outside the camp while he and the commanders practiced games of marksmanship at the entrance."

  In alarm Zhuge Jin went to Lu Xun and said to him, "Cao Rui is marching against us in person with his military might at its peak. Field Marshal, how will you meet his attack?" Lu Xun responded, "I sent a petition to the sovereign, not anticipating its interception. Now that my tactics are known to the enemy, they will be prepared. So we have nothing to gain from a battle. Retreat is our best course. I have already sent a petition to our lord to suggest that we all slowly withdraw." Zhuge Jin said, "If that is your intention, Field Marshal, you should move swiftly. Why draw it out?" "Our troops want to return," Lu Xun said, "but must do so in stages. Otherwise, we'll give the enemy too good a chance to pursue, and bring defeat on ourselves. You would do well to dispatch some boats to make a show of resistance before evacuating; I will move all our land forces toward Xiangyang. The enemy will thus be thrown off our trail, and we can withdraw to the Southland in our own good time with no fear of northerners approaching."

  Zhuge Jin agreed to this plan. He returned to camp, put his fleet in order, and then prepared to march. Lu Xun organized his ranks and made a big show of heading for Xiangyang. Well before, a spy had informed the Wei ruler that the Southland troops were on the move and that defense measures were needed. The northern commanders, hearing the news, were eager to go out and fight. But Cao Rui, who was well acquainted with Lu Xun's ability, enjoined them: "Lu Xun is a deep strategist and may well be trying to draw us out. Do not advance." The commanders desisted.

  Several days later northern scouts reported, "All three Southland armies have withdrawn." The Wei ruler did not believe it, and sent another man to investigate. He brought back the same report. The Wei ruler said, "Lu Xun's tactics are the equal of those of Sunzi and Wu Qi! The Southland cannot be conquered." Cao Rui ordered his commanders to defend the strategic points while he led the main army to Hefei, where he awaited further developments.1

  In the Qishan hills Kongming, planning for a long occupation, had the Riverlands soldiers intermingle with the Wei peasants and join in their agricultural work. One part of the crop went to the troops, two parts to the peasants. The soldiers did not encroach on the peasants' land, and the peasants of Wei farmed in security.

  Sima Shi went before his father and said, "The enemy has already stolen much of our grain, and their settlements among our people along the River Wei pose a great threat to our rule. Father, why not set a date with Kongming for a major battle to decide the victor?" Sima Yi replied, "The Emperor has commanded me to defend. We cannot act rashly." During this conversation a report arrived: Wei Yan had come before the camp wearing the marshal's helmet lost the day before; mouthing vicious taunts, he was challenging Sima Yi to battle. The northern commanders chafed, impatient to respond, but Sima Yi said with a smile, "As the Sage has put it, 'Intolerance of trifles ruins great plans. ' The best policy is to maintain defense." The northern commanders complied with Sima Yi's command. Wei Yan kept up his tirade against Sima Yi for some time before he returned to camp.

  Kongming realized that Sima Yi would not come forth, so he secretly sent Ma Dai to build palisades and dig a deep moat in the camp to be filled with dry branches and other flammable material. Then on the nearby hills Kongming had straw sheds and bunkers put up to deceive the enemy; in and around the sheds he had combustible mines set in place. Satisfied with his preparations, Kongming whispered to Ma Dai, "Block the rear route into Gourd Gorge and hide troops inside the gorge. If Sima Yi pursues, let him enter the gorge. Then set the kindling ablaze." Next, Kongming had a seven-star banner raised over the entrance to the gorge by day and seven burning lanterns placed on the hillside by night as a secret signal. Ma Dai left with his men to put the plan in motion.

  Kongming next summoned Wei Yan and instructed him: "Take five hundred men to Sima Yi's camp to provoke the rebels to fight. Do whatever you can to draw them out, but do not try to defeat them. Instead, feign defeat yourself. Sima Yi will pursue, and you will reenter the gorge under the seven-star banner; if it is night, the seven hillside lanterns will guide you. The main thing is to get Sima Yi into the gorge. I will have a way then to do him in." Wei Yan went to perform his assignment.

  Lastly, Kongming instructed Gao Xiang: "Take the wooden bulls and gliding horses, some in groups of twenty or thirty, others in groups of forty or fifty. Load them with grain and move them back and forth on the hill paths. If the enemy seizes them, it will add to your merit." Gao Xiang accepted his assignment and moved the mechanical animals into the hills. Kongming next shifted the Qishan troops away, ostensibly to work the fields, and instructed them: "Whatever soldiers come to fight, feign defeat. Only if Sima Yi himself comes should you subsequently regroup and direct your attack to the southern shore of the River Wei, cutting off his escape." His dispositions completed, Kongming led a company to pitch camp near Shangfang Gorge.

  During this time Xiahou Hui and Xiahou He entered the northern camp and said to Sima Yi, "The Riverlands troops are pitching campsites all over and starting to till the land—measures for a long-term stay. If we miss this moment to get rid of them, if we let them settle in securely and sink deep roots in the area, how will we ever dislodge them?" Sima Yi replied, "This has to be another of Kongming's schemes!" The two commanders answered, "If you are so easily unnerved, Field Marshal, when will the enemy invader be destroyed? Let the two of us decide the matter with a last ditch battle to repay our kingdom's kindness." "If you insist," Sima Yi replied, "go out separately and give battle." Sima Yi gave the order for the two brothers to take five thousand men each and then waited for news of the outcome.

  As Xiahou Hui and Xiahou He led their two armies forward, they saw Riverlands troops hauling wooden bulls and gliding horses toward them. The two men attacked in concert, and the Riverlands force fled, leaving the machines in the hands of the enemy. The northern commanders delivered the prizes to Sima Yi's camp.

  The next day the northern army captured one hundred or so Riverlands troops and brought them to Sima Yi, who interrogated them carefully. The Riverlands soldiers told him, "Kongming did not expect you to do anything but hold tight, Field Marshal, so he commanded us to disperse and establish farms—planning for the long term. We never expected to be taken
like this!" Sima Yi released all the Riverlands soldiers and sent them home. "Why didn't you kill them?" Xiahou He asked him. "What good would that have done?" he responded. "Letting them go home to tell of the kind generosity of the Wei commanders, however, will weaken the enemy's will to fight. That's how Lü Meng captured Jingzhou!" And so Sima Yi ordered that all future captives be sent home as a friendly gesture—though he would continue to reward his officers and men for their achievements. So directed, the commanders departed.

  Following Kongming's instructions, Gao Xiang hauled the mechanical animals around Gourd Gorge, pretending to be moving grain. Xiahou Hui and his commanders attacked frequently and scored several victories within half a month's time, victories which greatly heartened Sima Yi. One day after the capture of another group of Riverlands soldiers, Sima Yi summoned them to his tent and asked, "Where is Kongming now?" The soldiers replied, "Prime Minister Zhuge is no longer in the Qishan hills; he has pitched a new camp ten li west of Gourd Gorge. At the moment food supplies are being moved into the gorge every day." After further close questioning, Sima Yi released the prisoners and called his commanders for instructions. "Kongming has left Qishan," he told them, "and camped in Gourd Gorge. Tomorrow I want you to join forces and seize his main camp in the Qishan hills. I will follow with reinforcements." The commanders accepted the assignment and prepared for battle. Sima Shi said to his father, "Why do you want to attack from the rear?" "The hills of Qishan," Sima Yi responded, "are the enemy's bastion. If they see us attacking their main camp there, all their other camps will send men to its defense; and I can take the gorge, burn their grain, and thus cut their force in two. That will be the end of them!" Sima Shi expressed respectful admiration for his father's tactics. Sima Yi ordered his troops to move out, with Zhang Hu and Yue Chen close behind leading two units of five thousand each.