To supplement these measures, Kongming summoned Gao Xiang and said to him, "Northeast of Jieting is the town of Willow Rows on a small road screened by the hills. Place troops there—I'll give you ten thousand—and pitch camp. If there's trouble in Jieting, go to the rescue." Gao Xiang left with his troops. But Kongming, still not satisfied that Gao Xiang could deal with Zhang He, decided to augment Jieting's defense with a force on the east. Accordingly, he instructed another commander, Wei Yan, to position himself behind Jieting. Wei Yan replied, "The vanguard leads the attack. Why give me such a safe assignment?" Kongming said, "The van attack is a lesser service. I want you to reinforce Jieting, to cover the main route to Yangping Pass, and to defend the choke points of Hanzhong. This is a major responsibility, not a 'safe' assignment. Don't take this for some routine affair, or you will undo everything. And keep caution foremost in your thoughts!" Assuaged, Wei Yan left with his force.
Content with his preparations at last, Kongming summoned Zhao Zilong and Deng Zhi. "Sima Yi has taken the field," he told them, "and that changes everything. I want each of you to lead a company of men through Winnow Basket Gorge as decoys. If you encounter any northern troops, give battle only intermittently to unnerve them. I will lead the main army through Ye Gorge and seize Mei. Chang'an will fall." The two men left to carry out their orders. Kongming had Jiang Wei command the van as he moved through the gorge.
Ma Su and Wang Ping reached Jieting and studied the lay of the land. With a smile Ma Su said, "What could have made His Excellency so uneasy? The Wei army is unlikely to come to this forsaken spot." Wang Ping said, "All the same, we had better camp at the intersection of these five roads and then have the men fell trees for palings for a strategic defense." But Ma Su replied, "The road is no place for a camp, with an isolated hill so near and all four fronts impossible to link. Also, the broad woods offer a natural strategic advantage. The army should move to the hilltop." "Surely you are mistaken, Military Adviser," Wang Ping replied. "If we station the army along the road and build a wall, not even one hundred thousand rebels will be able to get by us. But if we abandon this key point for the hilltop and the northerners charge in and surround us, nothing will save us." Ma Su laughed out loud and retorted, "That's really a woman's way of seeing things! The laws of warfare state, 'Depend on heights, surveying all below, and the enemy will be like bamboo to a cleaver. ' Let them come! I won't let a shield go back!"
Wang Ping persisted, "How many times have I been with His Excellency when he managed formations? At every new site he would give exhaustive directions. If we isolate our men on this hill and the northerners come and sever the water lines, the army will collapse without a battle." "Enough of your stupidity!" Ma Su cried. "Sunzi has said, 'Soldiers always survive when threatened by death. ' If they cut the conduits, won't the Riverlanders fight for their very lives, one of ours a match for a hundred of theirs? I know my military texts. Even His Excellency has come to me with questions. Don't make things difficult!"
Wang Ping said, "Would you be willing, Adviser, to form two camps, one on top and one below, giving me a portion of the troops to place at the west foot of the hill so we can create a pincer formation? Then we can deal with the northerners should they come." Ma Su refused.
Suddenly, dwellers from the hills came thronging to report the arrival of the northerners. Wang Ping wanted to take his leave. Ma Su said, "Since you will not obey my orders, take five thousand and pitch camp where you will. But after my victory, you will not get a scrap of credit when we stand before the prime minister." Wang Ping led his men ten li from the hill and camped. Then he prepared maps and had them carried to Kongming along with a description of Ma Su's hilltop position.
From the city, Sima Yi sent his second son, Sima Zhao, to explore the road ahead, instructing him not to proceed if he found soldiers defending Jieting. After making his survey, Sima Zhao said to his father, "There are soldiers protecting Jieting." In a tone of resignation Sima Yi said, "Zhuge Liang is marvelous! Far beyond me!" "Don't despair, Father," Sima Zhao said with a smile. "Jieting looks easy enough to capture." "Is this an empty boast?" asked Sima Yi. "When I scouted the road, I saw no fortifications—all their men had been put on the hill—so I am sure we can defeat them." Delighted, Sima Yi said, "If that's true, then Heaven itself ensures our success." He dressed in war gear and, attended by a hundred cavalry, went to inspect the site himself.
It was a clear night; the moon shone bright. Sima Yi and his son rode straight to the foot of the hill, explored all around it, and went back. From the hill Ma Su watched it all, smiling. "They are doomed if they surround this hill," he said, and he issued orders to his commanders: if the enemy comes, swoop down on all sides when you see a red flag waving on the summit.
Sima Yi got back to camp and sent a man to find out who the Riverlands commander at Jieting was. "Ma Su," was the answer, "younger brother of Ma Liang." Sima Yi smiled and said, "A man with an undeserved reputation. If Kongming is using men of such commonplace abilities, he will defeat only himself." Then he asked another question: "Have they any other forces near Jieting?" The scout reported: ''Wang Ping is camped ten li away. " Sima Yi accordingly ordered Zhang He to block Wang Ping's position with a corps of men. He also ordered Shen Dan and Shen Yi to take two contingents to surround the mountain and cut off the water conduits. Sima Yi intended to strike after the Riverlands forces had become disorderly; that night he completed his deployment.
The following dawn Zhang He led his men behind the mountain as Sima Yi advanced in force, cordoning the base with his troops. Ma Su looked down on the swarm of northerners spreading over hill and dale, their flags and ranks in perfect order. His Riverlands troops lost heart and refused to go down. Ma Su raised the red flag to signal the attack, but none of the commanders or soldiers would take the initiative. Enraged by this show of resistance, Ma Su personally killed two commanders. The soldiers, afraid for their lives, halfheartedly descended and attacked. But the Wei troops held firm, and soon the Riverlanders retreated uphill. Ma Su, seeing his situation worsening, ordered a tight defense of the camp until outside help had arrived.
Meanwhile, Wang Ping saw the Wei troops approaching and led his men forth. Zhang He opposed him, and they battled until, exhausted and isolated, Wang Ping withdrew. The Wei troops held the ring tight from dawn to dusk. The Riverlanders had no water to cook with, and panic broke out in the camps. The commotion lasted well into the night. On the south slope Riverlands troops opened the gate to their fortifications and went down to surrender; Ma Su could do nothing to stop them. Sima Yi ringed the foot of the hill with fires, increasing the confusion of the hill-bound troops. Realizing his position was untenable, Ma Su drove his men down in a final desperate assault and fled westward where Sima Yi had made way for him to pass. Zhang He pursued hotly for thirty li until he encountered a band of soldiers, drums and horns resounding, who stopped him after letting Ma Su through. Their commander was Wei Yan.
Flourishing his sword, Wei Yan raced for Zhang He; Zhang He turned back to his line and fled. Wei Yan continued his drive and retook Jieting. But when Wei Yan had gone more than fifty li beyond the town, voices roared as ambushers emerged on either side: to the left Sima Yi, to the right Sima Zhao. They had managed to slip behind Wei Yan and were now encircling him as Zhang He reversed his flight to join the attack. Wei Yan threw himself against the northerners but could not break free; more than half his men perished.
At this critical moment a band of troops lead by Wang Ping joined the battle. Thankfully, Wei Yan cried, "I am saved!" The two western commanders forced the Wei army to retreat after heavy fighting and rushed back to their camps. But they found the colors of Wei already flying there. When Shen Dan and Shen Yi came forth to do battle, Wang Ping and Wei Yan dashed for the town of Willow Rows to take refuge with Gao Xiang.
By this time Gao Xiang had learned of the fall of Jieting and had summoned the townsmen to arms. On his way to rescue Wang Ping and Wei Yan, he came upon them. They told him what h
ad passed, and Gao Xiang said, "Raid their camp tonight, and we will recover Jieting!" The three sat down on the slope of a hill and made their plans. As the sky began to darken, they formed three units. Wei Yan advanced to Jieting but, finding it deserted, cautiously hid his men outside rather than enter. Gao Xiang arrived, but neither he nor Wei Yan could figure out where the troops of Wei had gone. And Wang Ping's troops were nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly a bombard sounded; flames mounted to the heavens and the beating of drums shook the ground as the northerners came forth and surrounded Wei Yan and Gao Xiang. The two leaders charged back and forth but could not break through. Next, thunderous shouts from behind a slope announced the arrival of Wang Ping's force; these troops opened a fresh battle and succeeded in getting Gao Xiang and Wei Yan safely out. The western forces hurried to Willow Rows only to find an army in position there, waiting for them under a banner that read "Guo Huai, Field Marshal of Wei." This move resulted from a decision by Cao Zhen and Guo Huai to have Guo Huai capture Jieting and thus prevent Sima Yi from taking all the credit for the victories of the day. Hearing of the victories of Sima Yi and Zhang He, however, Guo Huai had surprised and seized Willow Rows instead. Now he confronted the three Riverlands commanders, and in the ensuing battle dealt the Riverlands armies a grave defeat. Wei Yan, fearing the loss of Yangping Pass, hurried there with Wang Ping and Gao Xiang.
As Guo Huai's men regrouped around him, he said, "Though we failed to take Jieting, the capture of Willow Rows will be a great distinction for us!" Marching to the gate, he demanded entrance but was met instead by the roar of bombards from the wall. And standing among the proud pennons on the wall was a flag reading "Sima Yi, Field Marshal Who Conquers the West." Sima Yi himself leaned against a wooden railing on a suspended platform and said with a loud laugh to Guo Huai, "What took you so long to get here?" "Sima Yi, you are a man of amazing genius!" the astonished Guo Huai replied. He then entered the town and presented himself to Sima Yi, who said, "Now that he has lost Jieting, Kongming is sure to flee. You, sir, and Cao Zhen should pursue him at once." Guo Huai left the town of Willow Rows to carry out his assignment.
Next, Sima Yi called Zhang He and said to him, "Guo Huai and Cao Zhen came to take Willow Rows because they thought I wanted the credit for this campaign all for myself. That is not true. I took this place through an accident of war. My thought is that our enemies, Wei Yan, Wang Ping, Ma Su, and Gao Xiang, will try now to hold Yangping Pass. If I take the pass myself, Zhuge Liang will surprise me from the rear and trap me. The rules of warfare say, 'Don't surprise a retreating army; don't chase an exhausted foe. ' So you are to take the bypaths and harass the troops of Zhao Zilong and Deng Zhi as they retire from Winnow Basket Gorge. I will cover Ye Gorge myself. If they flee, don't oppose them; simply raid them along the way to seize their supplies."
Zhang He received Sima Yi's orders and departed with half of the troops. Then Sima Yi commanded: "After we have Ye Gorge, advance through Xicheng. Though a small and remote mountain town, it is a grain depot for the westerners, and it connects to the three district capitals of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding. The capture of Xicheng will mean the recovery of the three districts." With that, Sima Yi left Shen Dan and Shen Yi guarding Willow Rows and set out in force for Ye Gorge.
Meanwhile, after ordering Ma Su to hold Jieting, Kongming could not decide on a course of action. Suddenly he was told that Wang Ping's sketch of the Jieting defenses had come. Kongming received the sketch from his attendants and unrolled it on his table. Examining it, he struck the table in consternation. He cried, "The fool, Ma Su, has led my army to its doom!" "Why is Your Excellency so excited?" his attendants asked. "I can see from the map that Ma Su has abandoned the main roads and fortified the hilltop," Kongming replied. "If the northerners of Wei come in strength to surround him and cut off his water, our men will go to pieces in two days. And where can we retreat to if Jieting falls?" Senior Adviser Yang Yi advanced a proposal: "Despite my lack of talent, permit me to go and replace Ma Su." Kongming subsequently gave the adviser explicit instructions on preparing the ground for the camp at Jieting.
Yang Yi was about to leave, when Kongming was told of the fall of both Jieting and Willow Rows. He stamped his food in despair and sighed. "Our cause is lost and it is my doing!" he cried, and he summoned Guan Xing and Zhang Bao. "Take three thousand crack troops each," he ordered them, "and head for the bypaths of the Wugong Hills. If you run into Wei troops, don't launch any major action; just beat the drums and howl to the skies so they'll think you are a decoy force. If they go, do not pursue. When they withdraw, head for Yangping Pass." At the same time Kongming had Zhang Yi ready Saber Gateway for the return of the army to Shu; he issued secret instructions for the main army to prepare quietly for the march home; he had Ma Dai and Jiang Wei secure the rear of his retreat route by placing ambushes in the valleys with orders not to pull back until the main forces had withdrawn. He also sent trusted agents to Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding to inform the officers and men as well as officials and townsmen that they should move into Hanzhong; and finally, he sent a trusted agent to Jicheng to move Jiang Wei's mother into Hanzhong.
After making these arrangements, Kongming took five thousand men back to Xicheng to move grain and provender. Suddenly a dozen mounted couriers arrived and reported: "Sima Yi is leading a multitude of one hundred and fifty thousand toward Xicheng." At this point Kongming had no commanders of importance beside him—only a group of civil officials—and half the five thousand in his command had been detailed to move food supplies, leaving a mere twenty-five hundred troops in the town. The officials turned pale at the news of Sima Yi's approach. When Kongming mounted the city wall to observe, he saw dust clouds in the distance rising skyward as the two northern field armies advanced for battle.
Kongming ordered all flags and banners put out of sight and instructed the wall sentries to execute anyone who tried to pass in or out without authority or who raised his voice. Next, Kongming ordered the town's four gates opened wide; at each a squad of twenty, disguised as commoners, swept the roadway. The soldiers had been told to make no untoward move when the Wei army arrived, as Kongming was following a plan of his own. After this Kongming put on his crane-feather cloak, wrapped a band around his head, and, followed by two lads bearing his zither, sat down on the wall. He propped himself against the railing in front of a turret and began to strum as incense burned.
Meanwhile, Sima Yi's scouts had reached the wall of Xicheng. Finding the scene as described, they advanced no further but reported at once to their commander. Sima Yi laughed and dismissed the report. He then halted his army and rode forward himself to view the town from a distance. There indeed was Kongming sitting by the turret, smiling as ever and burning incense as he played. To his left, a lad held a fine sword; to his right, another held a yak-tail whisk. By the gate two dozen sweepers plied their brooms with lowered heads, as if no one else were about.
Puzzled, Sima Yi turned his army around and retreated toward the hills to the north. His second son, Sima Zhao, asked, "What makes you sure Kongming isn't putting this on because he has no troops? Why simply retreat, Father?" Sima Yi answered, "Kongming has always been a man of extreme caution, never one to tempt the fates. He opened the gates because he had set an ambush. On entering, we would have been trapped. You are too young to know! Hurry the retreat!" Thus the two Wei armies withdrew.1
After the retreating army was well into the distance, Kongming rubbed his palms together and laughed; but his officials were left amazed. One of them asked, "Why did a famous Wei general like Sima Yi with one hundred fifty thousand in his command withdraw after one look at Your Excellency?" "The man," Kongming replied, "assumed I was too cautious to tempt fate. He saw my preparations, suspected ambush, and withdrew. It was not recklessness. What choice had I? Sima Yi is sure to head for the northern hills. I have already told Guan Xing and Zhang Bao to be waiting for him there." The astonished officials acknowledged his genius, saying, "The very gods could not o
utwit Your Excellency. We would have abandoned the town!" "Could I have gotten far enough with twenty-five hundred men," Kongming asked, "to escape Sima Yi?" A poet of later times has left these lines of admiration:
A zither three spans long subdued a puissant host
When Liang dismissed his foe at Xicheng town.
A hundred fifty thousand turned themselves around—
And townsmen at the spot still wonder how!
His explanation made, Kongming clapped his hands and laughed aloud. "But were I Sima Yi, I would not have gone back!" he said. Next, he ordered the people of Xicheng to follow the troops into Hanzhong in view of the expected return of Sima Yi. And so Kongming set out for Hanzhong from Xicheng, followed by the officials, officers, soldiers, and people of the three districts Tianshui, Anding, and Nan'an.
Meanwhile, Sima Yi was heading for the Wugong Hills. Suddenly from behind a slope murderous shouts rent the air and drumbeats shook the ground. "Had I stayed, I would have fallen into Zhuge Liang's trap," Sima Yi was saying, when he saw a company of men advancing upon him; their banner read "Winged Tiger General Zhang Bao of the Right Guard." The Wei soldiers flung down their shields and weapons and fled. But they had hardly gone one stage when fresh cries came thundering out of another valley. Drum and horn rent the air and before them a banner held high on a pole bore the words "Prancing Dragon General Guan Xing of the Left Guard." Their clamor echoed in the valley; no one could tell how many Riverlands troops there were. Too confused to take up positions, the Wei army abandoned their wagons and fled. As instructed, the two warriors did not pursue; they took quantities of grain and weapons and withdrew.
Three Kingdoms Page 125