“Who are they?” asked the Emperor.
“They are the four sons of Xiahou Yuan, Ba, Wei, Hui, and He. The two elders are trained archers and cavaliers, whereas the two younger ones are shrewd strategists. All four desire to avenge the death of their father. Ba and Wei can be leaders of the van—Hui and He military advisors. They will help me repulse our enemy.”
“Remember the evil fate of employing the imperial son-in-law Xiahou Mou. He lost his army and is still too ashamed to return to court. You are sure these are not like him?”
“Not in the least.”
The Emperor granted the request and named Sima Yi as commander-in-chief, with the authority to employ all officers and mobilize all forces in the state. When Sima Yi took his leave he received a command in the Emperor’s own writing:
When you reach the banks of the Wei River, you are to fortify your position well and not to give battle. The men of Shu, disappointed of their desire, will pretend to retreat and so to entice you out but you must be on your guard and not pursue. Wait till they have consumed their supplies and are compelled to retreat, when you may smite them. Thus you will not find it hard to obtain victory, nor will you exhaust the army unduly. This is the best plan.
Sima Yi took it with bowed head. Then he proceeded forthwith to Chang’an, where he mustered forces from various districts and gathered together 400,000 men, all of whom came to camp by the side of the Wei River. Fifty thousand were soon assigned to construct nine floating bridges farther up the stream. The two leaders of the van, Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei, were ordered to camp across the river and a rampart was built behind the main camp as a further precaution.
One day Sima Yi was discussing plans with his officers when Guo Huai and Sun Li came to see him at the new camp.
Guo Huai said, “With the men of Shu at Qishan there is the possibility of their crossing the Wei River to occupy the plain and pushing forth their lines to the northern hills so as to cut off our transit to Longxi. That will bring serious problems to us.”
“You’re quite right,” said Sima Yi. “I want you to take command of all the Longxi forces. Go and camp at Beiyuan. Dig a deep moat and build a strong rampart there. But be sure to adopt a defensive policy—wait till the enemy’s food supplies are exhausted before you think of attacking.”
The two took the order and left.
Zhuge Liang had again led his army to Qishan, where he set up five main camps in the five directions of left, right, center, front, and rear. Between Ye Valley and Sword Pass a line of fourteen large camps were also established to accommodate his men and horses, as a long campaign was intended. He appointed inspecting officers to make daily patrols to see that all was in readiness.
When he heard that the men of Wei had camped in Beiyuan, he said to his officers: “They camp there because they are afraid I may try to seize that place and thus sever their connection with Longxi. Now I will feign an attack on Beiyuan, but my real purpose is to seize the riverbanks. I will prepare over a hundred rafts piled high with straw and get 5,000 skilled sailors to manage them. The raid on Beiyuan will begin during the night, which will bring Sima Yi to its rescue. If he is but a little worsted our rear divisions are to cross the river while the leading divisions are to embark on the rafts, not for landing on shore, but for setting fire to the floating bridges and attacking the rear of the enemy. I myself will lead an army to capture their first camp. If we can gain the south bank of the river our advance will be easy.”
Spies carried the information to Sima Yi, who addressed his officers: “Zhuge Liang has some crafty scheme behind all his maneuvers. He is only making a show of seizing Beiyuan. In fact some of his men are going downstream to burn our bridges and throw our rear into confusion while others will attack our front.”
So he ordered Xiahou Ba and his brother to lead their men to the southern hills, so that when they heard cries of battle in Beiyuan, they should attack the men of Shu as they emerged. Two other forces of 2,000 bowmen each were to lie in hiding on the north bank by the bridges. When they saw the Shu rafts coming down on the current they were to shoot at them to prevent them from nearing the bridges.
He also sent an order to Guo Huai and Sun Li: “Zhuge Liang is coming to Beiyuan to cross the river in secret. As you have only recently established your camp and your force is small, place all your men in ambush halfway along the road. If the enemy crosses the river in the afternoon, they will certainly attack you by evening. Just simulate defeat and run to induce them to pursue. Then shoot at them. We will attack them both on land and in water. If their main army comes, watch out for my orders and retaliate accordingly.”
After that Sima Yi told his two sons, Shi and Zhao, to strengthen the defense of the front camp while he led his own men to relieve Beiyuan.
On the Shu side, Wei Yan and Ma Dai were ordered to cross the Wei River and attack Beiyuan, while the mission of setting fire to the bridges was given to Wu Ban and Wu Yi. The major attack on the Wei camp was to be launched by three divisions, involving six officers. The various forces started at noon and crossed the river, where they proceeded slowly in battle form.
When Wei Yan and Ma Dai neared Beiyuan dusk had already set in. Sun Li was alerted of their approach and he at once abandoned his camp and fled. It dawned on Wei Yan that his attack was expected, and he turned to retreat. At this moment a great shouting was heard, and there appeared Sima Yi and Guo Huai, bearing down upon them. Wei Yan and Ma Dai made desperate efforts and extricated themselves. But many of their men fell into the river while others scattered and did not know where to escape. Fortunately, Wu Yi came up and rescued the force while holding the enemy at bay.
Wu Ban set half his men to navigate the rafts down the river to burn the bridges, but from the shore the men of Wei shot clouds of arrows at them. One of the arrows struck Wu Ban, who fell into the river and was drowned. His men jumped into the water and got away but all the rafts were lost to the enemy.
At this time Wang Ping and Zhang Ni, ignorant of the defeat of their Beiyuan army, went straight for the camps of Wei and arrived there at the second watch. Surprised to hear loud shouting on all sides, Wang Ping said to his colleague, “I wonder if the operation in Beiyuan is successful or not. The enemy camp is just ahead but how come there isn’t a single Wei soldier? Could it be that Sima Yi has found out our plan and so is prepared? Let’s wait till we see the floating bridges on fire.”
So they halted. Soon after, a mounted messenger came up with Zhuge Liang’s order for them to hurry back as the attacks on Beiyuan and the bridges had both failed. Shocked to hear this they hastened to withdraw, but the men of Wei had already reached their rear through byroads. An explosion pierced the air and they were at once attacked as flames rose high to the sky. A melee ensued, from which the two officers eventually got out, but only with heavy losses.
When Zhuge Liang collected his army together at Qishan he found, to his distress, that he had lost more than 10,000 of his men. Just at this time Fei Yi arrived from the capital. He was received by the prime minister, to whom he made his obeisance.
Zhuge Liang said, “I would like to trouble you, sir, to deliver a letter for me to Wu. Will you undertake the mission?”
“Certainly.”
So Zhuge Liang wrote a letter and sent Fei Yi to carry it to Sun Quan. Fei Yi hastened to the Wu capital to see Sun Quan and present the following letter:
Unfortunate indeed have been the Hans, whose line of rulers has been broken. The Caos have usurped the throne and continue to hold power. My late lord confided to me a great task, which I must exhaust all my efforts to accomplish. Now my army is at Qishan and the rebels are on the verge of destruction upon the Wei River. I hope Your Majesty, in accordance with our alliance, will send your generals on an expedition against Wei. Together we will conquer the north and share the empire. This letter leaves much unsaid, but I earnestly hope you will consider my request.
Sun Quan, much pleased with the letter, said to the envoy, “I have long d
esired to set my army in motion, but have not been able to arrange a joint campaign with Zhuge Liang. Now that he has written me this letter, I myself will lead an expedition to Juchao and capture Xincheng of Wei. Moreover, I will send Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to camp an army at Jiangxia and Miankou to take Xiangyang. I will also order Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng to seize the Huaiyang region via Guangling. The three armies, numbering 300,000 men, will start soon.”
Fei Yi bowed in gratitude and said, “In that case the north will fall in no time.”
A banquet was given in honor of the Shu envoy. During the feast Sun Quan asked, “Who does your prime minister employ to lead the battle?”
Fei replied, “Wei Yan is the chief officer.”
“He is brave enough, but not trustworthy,” said Sun Quan. “Once Zhuge Liang is no more, he will stir up trouble. Could it be that he does not know?”
“Your Majesty is perfectly right,” said the envoy. “When I return I will lay your words before the prime minister.”
Fei Yi took his leave and hastened to Qishan with the news of Wu’s intended expedition.
“Did the ruler of Wu mention anything else?” asked Zhuge Liang.
Then Fei Yi told him what Sun Quan had said about Wei Yan.
“Truly a wise ruler,” said Zhuge Liang appreciatively. “But I’m not ignorant of this. I use him because he is very bold.”
“Then, sir, you ought to decide soon what to do with him.”
“I know what to do.”
Fei Yi left and returned to the capital.
One day Zhuge Liang was discussing his campaign plan when it was reported that a certain Wei officer had come to surrender. Zhuge Liang had the man brought in and questioned him.
“I am an officer in Wei and Zheng Wen is my name. Recently Qin Lang and I were transferred here to serve under Sima Yi. But contrary to my expectations, he showed great partiality for my colleague. He gave Qin Lang a high rank but treated me as if I were but a weed. The injustice cut deeply and so I come to submit to you, sir. Pray accept my service.”
At that moment it was reported that Qin Lang was outside challenging Zheng Wen to combat.
“How does this man stand with you in fighting skill?” asked Zhuge Liang.
“I will kill him,” said Zheng Wen.
“If you were to slay him, my doubts would be removed.”
Zheng Wen readily mounted his horse and rode out. Zhuge Liang himself went out to witness the fight. There was the challenger shaking his spear and reviling the deserter, “You rebel! Give me back the horse you stole!”
And he galloped toward Zheng Wen, his spear ready to strike. Zheng Wen whipped up his horse and brandished his sword to engage him. In the first bout he cut Qin Lang down.
The Wei soldiers then ran away, while the victor hacked off the head of his victim and returned to the Shu camp. Zhuge Liang also came back to his tent and took his seat. Then he summoned Zheng Wen.
“Take him away and behead him!” shouted Zhuge Liang angrily when the man came.
“I have done nothing wrong,” cried Zheng Wen.
“As if I do not know Qin Lang! The man you killed just now was not Qin Lang. How dare you try to deceive me?”
Zheng Wen prostrated himself and said, “It was really his brother, Qing Ming.”
Zhuge Liang smiled. “Sima Yi sent you to feign submission for his own designs. But how could he hope to throw dust in my eyes? If you do not tell me the truth I will put you to death.”
Thus trapped, the false deserter had to confess everything and begged for life.
Zhuge Liang said, “If you want to live, write a letter to Sima Yi and ask him to raid our camp in person. And if I capture Sima Yi, I will give you all the credit and reward you handsomely.”
There being no alternative, the man agreed and the letter was written. Then the writer was placed in confinement.
One of the officers asked Zhuge Liang: “How did you know he was false, sir?”
“Sima Yi chooses his men carefully,” replied Zhuge Liang. “If he made Qin Lang a leading general, the man must be of great military skill. But Zheng Wen’s opponent was overcome in the first encounter, so he could not be Qin Lang. That’s how I knew.”
This explanation convinced all the officers, who bowed to him in admiration. Then Zhuge Liang selected a persuasive soldier and whispered certain instructions in his ear. The man at once left, carrying with him Zheng Wen’s letter to the Wei camp, where he asked to see Sima Yi. He was admitted, and the letter was read.
“Who are you?” said Sima Yi.
“I am a native of the north, a poor fellow stranded in Shu. Zheng Wen and I are fellow villagers. Zhuge Liang has given him the position of a van leader as a reward for what he has done, and he sent me to deliver this letter to you. He said he would raise a fire tomorrow evening as a signal and asked you, Commander, to lead the whole army to raid the Shu camp. He would work from the inside to assist you.”
Sima Yi took great pains to test the reliability of these statements, and he examined the letter minutely to see if it bore any signs of fabrication. As he could find nothing wrong he ordered in refreshments for the bearer of the letter. Then he said: “At the second watch tonight I will lead a force for the raid. If it succeeds I will give you a good appointment as a reward.”
Taking leave, the soldier retraced his steps to his own camp and reported what was said to Zhuge Liang.
Before deploying his troops Zhuge Liang performed a ritual. Holding aloft his sword, he took the proper paces for an incantation, and prayed. This done, he summoned five of his officers, to whom he gave some secret instructions. When they had gone to carry these out, he ascended a high hill to direct the battle, taking with him a few score followers.
Sima Yi had been taken in by Zheng Wen’s letter and intended to lead the night raid with his two sons. But his elder son expostulated with him.
“Father, you’re going on a dangerous expedition on the faith of a mere scrap of paper. What if something goes unexpectedly wrong? Let some other officer go first, and you come up as a reserve.”
Sima Yi saw there was reason in his words and decided to send Qin Lang, with 10,000 men, to raid the Shu camp, while he would command the reserve.
The night was fine at the first watch. There was a bright moon and a gentle breeze. But at about the second watch the sky was suddenly over-cast with dark clouds and a black vapor hung in the air. It was so dark that one could not even see the face of the person opposite.
“Heaven is helping me to succeed,” said Sima Yi, delighted.
The army soon advanced swiftly and silently, men wearing gags, and horses with cords round their muzzles. Qin Lang and his force made straight into the camp of Shu. To his shock there was not a man inside, and he knew he had been tricked. He yelled to his men to retreat, but torches fired up all round, and attacks began from all four sides. Fight as he would, Qin Lang could not free himself.
From behind the battle area Sima Yi saw flames rising from the camp of Shu and heard continuous shouting, but he did not know whether it meant victory for his own men or for his enemy He urged his troops to press forward toward the fire. Suddenly, a shout rose and instantly sounds of war began to rock the air and shake the earth. In the midst of the uproar, Wei Yan and Jiang Wei dashed forth from the right and left to smite their enemy.
The men of Wei were utterly worsted. Of every ten men of Wei eight or nine were killed or wounded and the rest scattered to the four winds. The arrows came as thick as swarms of locusts and Qing Lang was killed. Qin Lang’s men were completely crushed. Sima Yi eventually collected his defeated army together and fled.
After the third watch the sky cleared. Zhuge Liang sounded the gong of retreat from the hilltop. The obscurity at the second watch turned out to be Zhuge Liang’s magic, so was the clarity of the sky at the third watch.
So the Shu army returned to camp triumphantly. Zhuge Liang ordered the false deserter of Wei to be put to death. Then he considered new plans for
capturing the south bank. Day after day he sent his officers out to challenge the enemy to combat, without response.
One day Zhuge Liang rode out in his small chariot to carefully scan the lie of the land in front of Qishan and to the east and west of the Wei River. Presently he came to a valley shaped like a gourd, large enough to form a hiding place for a thousand soldiers in the inner recess. Then he found in between two hills another valley, which could hide half as many, but in the rear the hills were so close that they left a passage only for a single rider and his horse. Immensely pleased with the discovery, Zhuge Liang asked his guide what this place was called.
“It is called Shangfang Valley, or Gourd Valley,” replied the guide.
Returning to his camp, he called up two officers named Du Rui and Hu Zhong and whispered into their ears certain secret orders. Next he sent a thousand artisans that had been with the army into the Gourd Valley to construct “wooden oxen and running horses” for the use of the troops. Finally he sent Ma Dai with five hundred soldiers to guard the mouth of the valley and prevent all movement in or out.
“I will come to inspect the work now and then,” he added. “My plan to capture Sima Yi depends on the work here, so it must be kept a profound secret.”
Ma Dai left to guard the Gourd Valley. Inside, the two officers, Du Rui and Hu Zhong, superintended the work of the artisans. Zhuge Liang came every day to give instructions.
One day Yang Yi went to see Zhuge Liang. “All our grain is at Sword Pass, and the labor of transport is very heavy. What can be done?”
Zhuge Liang replied, smiling: “I have been thinking about this for a long time. I have told the carpenters to construct ‘wooden oxen and running horses’ with the timber we have accumulated. These can be used very conveniently to convey grain as they require neither food nor water, and can travel day and night without resting.”
The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: An Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation Page 41