Meanwhile, Zhong Hui was hastening toward Hanzhong. The van leader Xu Yi, anxious to perform some startling merit ahead of all others, led his force to Nanzheng Pass.
He said to his officers, “Hanzhong lies just next to this pass. The defense here is weak. Let’s strive our best to seize it.”
His officers followed his order and dashed forward together to capture the fort. But the pass commander, Lu Xun, who had been informed of the coming of the invaders, posted soldiers on both sides of the bridge, armed with Zhuge Liang’s multiple-shot bows and crossbows. As soon as the attacking force appeared, the signal was given by a clapper and a terrific discharge of arrows and bolts opened up. Xu Yi hurriedly turned back, but dozens of his men were already shot and the Wei force was defeated.
Xu Yi reported this to Zhong Hui, who went with over a hundred mailed horsemen to see for himself. Again bows and arrows flew down in clouds, and Zhong Hui at once turned to flee.
But at that moment Lu Xun rushed down from the pass with five hundred soldiers to pursue. Zhong Hui hastened to cross the bridge at a gallop, but as he did so the earth on the bridge suddenly gave way and his horse’s hoof was caught in the falling mud. Zhong Hui was nearly thrown down. The horse could not free himself, so Zhong Hui slipped off its back and fled on foot. As he ran down the bridge Lu Xun came to strike him with a spear, but one of Zhong Hui’s followers, Xun Kai by name, shot an arrow at the Shu officer and ended his life. At this lucky turn of events, Zhong Hui signaled to his men to seize the pass. The defenders were afraid to shoot, as their own men were intermingled with the enemy, and soon Zhong Hui scattered the Shu soldiers and the pass fell into his hands.
Xun Kai was well rewarded for the shot that had saved his general’s life. He was promoted to be Zhong Hui’s personal guard and given as presents a complete outfit of horse saddle and armor. Then he called Xu Yi into his tent and blamed him for neglecting his duty.
“As leader of the van you ought to cut trails in hills and build bridges across rivers. You should see to it that bridges and roads are mended and in good condition so that the army can march easily, yet on the bridge just now my horse’s hoof was caught, and I nearly fell from the bridge. Were it not for Xun Kai I would have been slain. You have been disobedient and must bear the penalty.”
Then he ordered Xu Yi to be put to death. The other officers tried to plead for him, saying that his father Xu Zhu had rendered great services to the court.
Zhong Hui said angrily, “How can discipline be maintained if the laws are not enforced?”
Xu Yi was executed and his head exposed. This severe punishment put fear into the hearts of the officers.
On the Shu side, Wang Han was guarding Yuecheng and Jiang Bin was holding Hancheng. As the enemy came in great force, they dared not go out to meet them, but stood on the defensive with the gates of the cities closed shut.
Seeing this, Zhong Hui issued an order: “Speed is the soul of war. There should be no halts.”
So he commanded Li Fu to lay siege to Yuecheng, and Xun Kai to surround Hancheng. He himself led the main army to capture Yangan Pass.
The commander of the pass, Fu Qian, discussed a plan with his comrade Jiang Shu to withstand the enemy.
“The enemy is too strong to resist,” said Jiang Shu. “We’d better maintain a strict defense.”
“I don’t agree,” objected Fu Qian. “They must be fatigued, coming from so far away. We mustn’t be daunted by their huge number. Unless we go out and give battle, the two cities of Yuecheng and Hancheng will fall.”
Jiang Shu fell silent and made no reply. Suddenly it was reported that the main body of the enemy had arrived at the front of the pass, and both officers went up the wall to look.
Whirling his whip, Zhong Hui shouted to them, “I have here a mighty army of 100,000. Surrender quickly and you will be given employment according to your ranks now, but if you are obstinate enough to resist, then when we take the pass, you will all perish, jade or stone sharing the same fate.”
This threat threw Fu Qian into fury. Telling his colleague to guard the pass, he rushed down to give battle, taking 3,000 men with him. Zhong Hui at once turned back and the Wei army retreated. At this success Fu Qian pursued, but soon the army of Wei closed around. Fu Qian turned to retreat back into the pass, but to his great shock he saw flags of Wei flying up on the wall.
“I have yielded to Wei,” cried Jiang Shu from the wall.
In wrath Fu Qian cried, “Ungrateful, shameless traitor! How can you ever look people in the face?” He turned once more to the battle. The men of Wei converged on all sides and had him entirely surrounded. He fought desperately, thrusting left and right, but could not break through. His men were mostly wounded or dead.
Fu Qian raised his eyes to Heaven and sighed deeply. “Alive I am an officer of Shu—dead I will be a ghost of my country.”
Once more he plunged into the thickest part of the fight. He was severely wounded by several spear thrusts and blood soaked through his robe and armor. Then his steed fell, so he took his life with his own sword.
The loyalty Fu showed in stressful days
Won him a thousand years’ noble praise;
The base Jiang Shu lived on, a life disgraced,
I would prefer the death that Fu Qian faced.
With the fall of the pass, great booty of grain and weapons fell into the hands of Zhong Hui. Delighted, he feasted the army. That night the men of Wei rested in the city of Yangan. Suddenly, sounds of men shouting were heard from the southwest. Zhong Hui got up in haste and went out to investigate, but the sounds had ceased. He returned to his tent but all through the night none of them dared to sleep. On the following night, at midnight, shouting rose again in the southwest. Zhong Hui was alarmed and puzzled. As day dawned he sent scouts out to search the area, but they came back to say they had gone over ten li without seeing a single enemy. Still filled with apprehension, Zhong Hui took several hundred fully-armed cavalrymen to explore the same area. On the way they came upon a hill of sinister aspect overhung by a dismal cloud, and wreathed in mist at the summit.
“What hill is that?” asked Zhong Hui, pulling up to question the guide.
“That is the Dingjun Hill,” replied the guide. “Years before, Xiahou Yuan met his end here.”
This only displeased Zhong Hui even more, who turned to ride back. Rounding the curve of a hill, he came full into a violent gust of wind and there suddenly appeared several thousand cavalrymen descending with the wind to attack.
The whole party, panic-stricken, galloped off, with Zhong Hui leading the way. Many officers fell from their steeds. Yet when they returned to the pass not a man or a horse was missing, although there were many with bruises and cuts from the falls, and many who had lost their helmets. Everyone claimed seeing phantom horsemen coming down from the dark clouds, who, nevertheless, did no harm when they approached, but melted away as a blast of air.
Zhong Hui summoned the surrendered officer Jiang Shu. “Is there a holy shrine on the hill?”
“No,” he replied. “There is only the tomb of Prime Minister Zhuge.”
“Then this must have been his spirit demonstrating its power,” said Zhong Hui in alarm. “I myself will go and offer sacrifices to him.”
So the next day he prepared sacrificial offerings, slew an ox, a sheep, and a pig, and presented them at the tomb while he bowed and prayed. As soon as the ceremony was over the wind ceased to roar, and the dismal clouds began to disperse. There followed a cool breeze and a gentle drizzle. Presently the sky cleared. Pleased with the result of their prayer, the men of Wei bowed gratefully at the tomb and returned to camp.
That night Zhong Hui dozed off while resting by a small table in his tent. Suddenly a cool breeze began to blow, and he saw a figure walking into his tent, wearing a silk headdress and a cape of crane feathers, white shoes, and a black girdle, and carrying a feather fan in his hand. The countenance of the figure was fair as jade, the lips a deep red, and the eyes clear
and bright. Tall in stature, he moved with the calm serenity of a god.
“Who are you, sir?” asked Zhong Hui, rising to welcome him.
“Thank you for your kindly visit this morning,” said the superior figure. “I have a few words to say to you. Though the fortune of the Hans has declined and the mandate of Heaven cannot be disobeyed, yet the people of the west, exposed to the inevitable miseries of war, are to be pitied. After you enter the country, do not slay unnecessarily by any means.”
As he finished these words, he disappeared with a flick of his sleeves.
Zhong Hui tried to get him to stay, but at that moment he awoke with a start. It was only a dream and he realized with amazement that the spirit of the great leader Zhuge Liang had paid him a visit.
He issued an order that the leading division of his army should bear a white flag on which was written the four words, SAFEGUARD STATE, COMFORT PEOPLE. He also threatened to execute any soldier who killed an innocent person. This humane decree was greatly appreciated by the residents in Hanzhong, who went out of the city to bow and welcome the northerners. Zhong Hui soothed the people, and his army committed no injury.
Those phantom soldiers around the Dingjun Hill
Moved Zhong Hui at Zhuge Liang’s tomb to pray.
In life he furthered the cause of Liu Bei,
Though dead, he would Liu’s people still protect.
On hearing that the invaders had come in full force, Jiang Wei at once dispatched urgent messages to his three officers Zhang Yi, Liao Hua, and Dong Jue, ordering them to assemble their troops for the war against the enemy, while he himself prepared his own army at Tazhong.
Soon they came, and he went out to encounter them. The leading officer of the Wei army was the Prefect of Tianshui, Wang Qi. Wang Qi rode out and shouted, “Our soldiers number a million and our officers, over a thousand. We are advancing in twenty divisions, and have already reached Chengdu. Yet you do not yield quickly and still try to put up a struggle. Are you ignorant of our divine mandate?”
Filled with fury Jiang Wei galloped straight at Wang Qi, his spear raised to strike. The prefect stood less than three bouts and fled defeated. Jiang Wei pursued him for twenty li, when he heard the familiar sounds of drums and gongs and a cohort spread out in front of him. On the banner he read the words QIAN HONG, PREFECT OF LONGXI.
Jiang Wei laughed. “Such lowly rats! They are no match for me!”
He led his men straight on and the enemy fell back. He chased them for another ten li, and there came Deng Ai. Rallying up his energy, Jiang Wei fought with Deng Ai for more than a dozen bouts but neither could overcome the other. Then sounds of drums and gongs arose in the rear of his force and Jiang Wei hastened to pull out of the battle. But at this moment the rear division reported that his camps at Gansong had been burned down by the prefect of Jincheng.
This news startled Jiang Wei, who at once ordered his lieutenants to keep his own standard flying and hold Deng Ai, while he himself hastened to the rescue of the camps with the rear division. There he ran into the prefect, who, however, dared not fight with Jiang Wei and escaped toward the hills. Jiang Wei followed but as he came near the hill, boulders and logs rained down, blocking his advance.
He turned to go back, but halfway he found that his men had been dispersed by Deng Ai. Then a large force of Wei came up and he was surrounded. However, Jiang Wei and his men broke through and hastened to the main camp to wait for rescue forces.
Suddenly scouts galloped up and reported: “Zhong Hui has seized Yangan Pass and the defending officer Fu Qian has died, but his colleague Jiang Shu has surrendered. Hanzhong is now in the possession of Wei. And on hearing of the loss of Hanzhong the commanding officers at Yuecheng and Hancheng also opened their gates and yielded to the invaders. Hu Ji alone was unable to withstand the enemy, so he has escaped to the capital to seek aid.”
Greatly upset by this report, Jiang Wei immediately ordered his men to break camp and set out for the frontier. That night he reached the mouth of the Jiang River. A troop barred his way, and at its head was the prefect of Jincheng. In a great rage Jiang Wei rode at him and sent him flying in the first exchange. As the prefect fled, Jiang Wei shot at him thrice, but missed all three times.
Exasperated, Jiang Wei snapped his bow and raised his spear to chase, but his horse tripped and fell, throwing Jiang Wei down to the ground. The prefect turned back to slay him but Jiang Wei, suddenly leaping up, thrust hard with his spear and wounded his opponent’s horse in the head. Wei troops rushed up and rescued the prefect.
Mounting another steed, Jiang Wei intended to continue his pursuit but was told that Deng Ai was approaching from behind. Realizing that he would be caught in between two forces, Jiang Wei collected his men in order to recover Hanzhong. However, he soon learned that his way back to Hanzhong had been blocked by another troop led by Zhang Xu, Governor of Yongzhou, so he halted and encamped in a strategic position in the hills. The Wei troops pitched their camps at the head of Yingping Bridge.
Advance or retreat being equally impossible, Jiang Wei sighed in anguish: “Heaven is destroying me!”
Ning Sui, one of his lieutenants, said, “Since our enemies are holding Yinping Bridge, they must have left a weak force in the city of Yongzhou. If you, General, cut through Konghan Valley to seize Yongzhou, they will be forced to abandon the bridge in order to rescue the city. When the bridge is clear, you can make a dash for the Sword Pass and fortify yourself there. Then Hanzhong can be recovered.”
Jiang Wei accepted this plan, and the army immediately marched toward the valley, feigning an advance on Yongzhou.
When Zhuge Xu, who was guarding the bridge, heard this from his scouts, he was much alarmed. “The defense of Yongzhou is my responsibility. If it is lost, I will be the one to blame.” So he left with most of his troops toward the south to rescue the city, leaving only a small force to hold his position at the bridge.
Jiang Wei marched along the northern trail for about thirty li when he retraced his steps, anticipating that Zhuge Xu must have abandoned the bridge by then. Turning his rearguard into a vanguard, he went swiftly back to the bridge, where he found that the main body of the enemy force had withdrawn, just as he had expected. Those left at the bridge were soon either slain or dispersed, and the camps razed to the ground. When Zhuge Xu learned about this he turned back, but by the time he got to the bridge the army of Shu had long passed and he dared not pursue.
Meanwhile Jiang Wei, after crossing the bridge, marched ahead. On the way he fell in with Zhang Yi and Liao Hua. Jiang Wei asked them the reason for their arrival.
Zhang Yi replied, “The eunuch Huang Hao believes in the words of a witch and refuses to send help to defend the frontiers. When I heard of the danger in Hanzhong I went there to rescue the city, but Yangan Pass had already been captured by Zhong Hui. Then I was told of your predicament, General, so I have come here especially to aid you.”
The two armies combined and marched together to White Water Pass.
Liao Hua said, “As we’re attacked all around, the grain route will be blocked. It seems to me it’s better to retreat to Sword Pass.”
But Jiang Wei was doubtful. Then they were informed that Zhong Hui and Deng Ai were approaching in ten divisions. Jiang Wei was inclined to resist, but Liao Hua said that the roads at White Water Pass were too narrow and too numerous to be suitable for fighting a battle, and again urged Jiang Wei to retreat to Sword Pass.
At last Jiang Wei consented, and the army headed for Sword Pass. But as they neared the pass they were greeted by the usual sounds of war and saw flags fluttering all around. A troop held the entrance to the pass.
Hanzhong’s strong defense was lost;
Storms gathered to threaten Sword Pass.
What force was holding the pass will be told in the next chapter.
Footnote
* Meaning “lame” or “unsuccessful.”
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN
Deng Ai Slips Through Yi
nping Pass
Zhuge Zhan Fights to the Death at Mianzhu
The troops that had at first alarmed Jiang Wei turned out to be a force under General Dong Jue, who had come to defend the Sword Pass with his army of 20,000 men after he learned that more than a dozen Wei forces had entered his country. That day he saw swirls of dust rising in the distance and he hastened out to the entrance of the pass in fear that the enemy had already arrived. Then he rode forth to the front to find out who the newcomers were. He was overjoyed to see Jiang Wei and the others, and conducted them to the pass, where they exchanged formal greetings. Then he tearfully told them everything about the Second Ruler and the eunuch Huang Hao.
“Don’t worry,” said Jiang Wei to comfort him. “As long as I’m alive I will never allow Wei to devour our country. Let’s guard the pass first and gradually work out ways to drive out the enemy.”
“Though this pass is defensible, the capital is quite empty,” cautioned Dong Jue. “If the enemy should attack it, all would collapse!”
“Chengdu is protected by natural defenses,” replied Jiang Wei. “It is hard to climb over the steep mountains and cross the dangerous roads. There is nothing to fear.”
At that moment it was reported that Zhuge Xu had come to challenge below the pass. Wrathfully, Jiang Wei rushed down with 5,000 soldiers and plunged straight into the Wei ranks, charging left and right and slaying a very large number of the enemy. Utterly smitten, Zhuge Xu retreated scores of li. The men of Shu captured many horses and weapons. Jiang Wei recalled his men and went back to the pass.
By then Zhong Hui had set his camp twenty li from the pass and Zhuge Xu came to admit his failure. Zhong Hui flared up in anger. “I commanded you to hold Yinping Bridge, to cut Jiang Wei’s way of retreat. Why have you lost the position? And now without my order you attacked and are therefore defeated.”
The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: An Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation Page 60