CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO

Sima Yi Occupies the Wei Bridge over Beiyuan

Zhuge Liang Constructs Wooden Oxen and Running Horses

Qiao Zhou, who spoke against the expedition, was an official responsible for observing celestial bodies. Addressing the Second Ruler, he said, “I am bound by duty to report to Your Majesty whether there are auspices of fortune or misfortune. Not long ago, hundreds of thousands of orioles flew from the south and drowned themselves in the Han Waters. This is an evil omen. Moreover, I have been studying the aspect of the sky and found the movements of the stars point to an aura of prosperity in the north. To attack Wei will not be to our benefit. Thirdly, the people in the capital claim they hear the cypress trees moan at night. With these evil omens, I think the prime minister should not go to war, but remain at home to protect the regime.”

Zhuge Liang said, “The late Emperor laid upon me a heavy responsibility, and I must exert myself to the utmost to destroy these rebels. The policy of a state must not be changed because of some unsubstantiated signs of trouble.”

Undeterred, he ordered a great sacrifice to be offered at the Temple of Emperor Zhao Lie (Liu Bei). There, weeping, he prostrated himself and made this declaration: “I, Liang, have made five expeditions to Qishan without gaining any expansion of territory and this fault weighs heavily upon me. Now once again I will lead the army to Qishan and I pledge to devote all my heart and might to the extermination of the rebels of Han and the restoration of the northern territory. To achieve this end I will exert myself to the last remnant of my strength and die content.”

The sacrifice ended, he took leave of the Second Ruler and set out for Hanzhong to make the final arrangements for his military campaign. While so engaged, he received the unexpected news of the death of Guan Xing due to illnesses. He was so grieved that he cried himself faint. When he finally recovered consciousness his officers did their utmost to console him.

“How pitiful!” he lamented. “Why does Heaven deny long life to the loyal and good? I have lost a most able general just as I am setting out and need him most.”

As all are born, so all must die;
Men are as gnats against the sky;
But loyalty or piety
May give them immortality.

The armies of Shu numbered 340,000 and they marched along in five divisions, with Jiang Wei and Wei Yan in the van. All the troops were to converge at Qishan. Li Gui, who was in charge of supplies, was ordered to convey grain and forage first into Ye Valley in readiness.

In Wei the reign title had earlier been changed to Blue Dragon, because such an animal had been seen to issue from a well in Mopo. At the time it was the second year of the new reigning period.

News of Zhuge Liang’s fresh expedition was duly reported to the ruler of Wei, who was distressed and at once called in Sima Yi for consultation.

Sima Yi replied, “The aspect of the sky is very favorable to us and unfavorable to Shu. But Zhuge Liang is attempting to pit his powers against Heaven. He is only asking for defeat and destruction for himself. And I, by virtue of Your Majesty’s good fortune, will be the instrument of that destruction. But permit me to name four men to go with me.”

“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 desired 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.”

All were amazed. “Since ancient times no one has ever heard of ‘wooden oxen and running horses.’ What excellent plan do you have, sir, to make such marvelous creatures?”

“These animals are now being made after the specifications I give them, but they are not yet ready. I will write down the method in full detail for you to see.”

Zhuge Liang then wrote out the specifications for making a wooden ox and a running horse on a sheet of paper. All the officers bowed to the ground after reading, and lauded their prime minister for his super-human genius. A few days later the transport animals were complete. They looked like real animals and could move up and down a hill with alacrity. The whole army was delighted to see them. Zhuge Liang ordered Gao Xiang, with a thousand soldiers, to drive the animals from Sword Pass to the main camp in Qishan, to transport grain for the use of the troops.

Along the Sword Pass mountain roads
The running horses bore their loads,
And through Ye Valley’s narrow way
The wooden oxen paced each day.
Oh! if they were at hand today,
Transport troubles would melt away.

Sima Yi was already distressed at his defeat when he was told of these “wooden oxen and running horses” that the men of Shu were using to convey their grain. This troubled him still more. With this device his enemy might never be compelled to retreat for want of food. What was the point of him shutting his gates and remaining on the defensive, waiting for them to be starved, when they never would be starved?

He immediately summoned two officers. “I want you to lead five hundred men each and take some bypaths to Ye Valley to wait for the enemy. When the men driving the wooden animals have all passed, rush out all at once, seize only several of these animals and come back.”

That night the two officers and their soldiers sneaked into Ye Valley and hid themselves there, disguised as men of Shu. Presently they saw their enemy leading the “wooden” convoy along. When nearly all of them had gone past they made a sudden rush, shouting and beating drums at the same time. The men of Shu were caught unprepared and abandoned several of their transport animals. The northerners captured these gleefully and took them to their own camp.

When Sima Yi saw the wooden animals he was amazed to find that they could move forward or backward, just like live ones.

Overjoyed, he said, “If he can use this, so can I.”

Sima Yi called in more than a hundred clever artisans, who were told to take the machines to pieces in front of him and to construct their own transport animals exactly like Zhuge Liang’s models. In less than two weeks they had produced 2,000 such animals that could also move about. Then he placed Chen Wei, with a thousand men, in charge of this new means of transport, and the wooden animals, much to the delight of the officers and men, began to ply between the camp and Longxi, carrying grain and forage.

Meanwhile Gao Xiang returned to camp and reported the loss of five or six of his wooden “oxen and horses.”

“I wanted the enemy to capture some of them,” said Zhuge Liang, much pleased. “I have lost only a few wooden oxen and running horses, but before long I will get some very solid help in exchange.”

“How do you know, sir?” asked his officers.

“Once he sees them Sima Yi will certainly try to make his own, copying my models, and when he has done that I have another scheme ready to play on him.”

Some days later, Zhuge Liang received a report that the northerners had also constructed their own wooden animals and were using these to bring up supplies from Longxi.

“Just as I expected,” said Zhuge Liang joyfully.

He called Wang Ping to him and said, “Take a thousand men and disguise yourselves as men of Wei. Move quickly and secretly past Beiyuan, pretending to be patrol men for the grain convoy, and go to their depot. Once there turn on the guards and scatter them all away. Then drive the wooden animals back past Beiyuan, where you will surely be pursued. When that occurs, turn the tongues of the animals, and they will not move. Leave them where they are and run away. When the men of Wei come up, they will be unable to drag the creatures along, nor will they be able to carry them. Later when you see another troop of ours come, turn back and give the tongues a backward twist and bring the convey here. The enemy will certainly find it supernatural.”

Wang Ping departed to carry out the plan. Next Zhuge Liang called Zhang Ni and said, “Take five hundred men and dress them up as heavenly soldiers with heads of demons and bodies of wild beasts. Let them paint their faces in five colors and assume all kinds of grotesque facial expressions. Let each of them hold a flag in one hand and a sword in the other, and slung across his shoulder is a gourd with combustibles hidden inside. Hide these men among the hills till the grain convoy approaches. Then they are to kindle the flammable material inside the gourds, rush out all at once, driving the wooden animals along. The enemy will think you are supernatural and dare not pursue.”

When he had left, Wei Yan and Jiang Wei were called.

“You two take 10,000 men and leave for the camp in Beiyuan to guard the wooden transport creatures in case there is fighting.”

Then Zhang Yi and Liao Hua, commanding 5,000 men, were sent to check Sima Yi’s route of retreat, and Ma Dai and Ma Zhong, with 2,000 men, were ordered to challenge the enemy on the south bank of the river.

The Wei officer Cen Wei was leading a convoy of wooden animals to transport grain from Longxi. On the way scouts suddenly reported some soldiers ahead, who declared that they were patrol men for the grain convoy. Cen Wei halted and sent his men to inquire. It appeared they were truly men of Wei and so he advanced without suspicion. The newcomers mingled with his own men.

But before they had gone much farther there was a yell, and the newcomers, who were men of Shu in disguise, began to kill, while shouting “General Wang Ping is here!” The Wei soldiers were taken aback and many were killed. Cen Wei rallied around him the remaining troops to resist but was slain by Wang Ping and the others ran away. Then Wang Ping led his men to drive the wooden animals to the Shu camp.

The Wei soldiers ran back to Beiyuan and reported the mishap to Guo Huai, who at once set out to rescue the convoy. When he approached, Wang Ping ordered his men to turn the tongues of the wooden animals and left them on the road. Then they fled, intermittently fighting with the pursuers. Guo Huai made no attempt to pursue, but told his men to lead the wooden animals back. But he could not move them.

Guo Huai was greatly perplexed, not knowing what to do. Suddenly there arose the roll of drums all around, and out burst two parties of soldiers. These were Wei Yan and Jiang Wei’s men, and when they appeared Wang Ping’s men faced about and joined the attack as well. Pounded by the three forces, Guo Huai fled in utter defeat. Thereupon the tongues were turned back again and the wooden animals set in motion.

Seeing this, Guo Huai intended to pursue again but just at that moment he saw clouds of smoke curling up behind some hill and a body of unusual warriors burst out, each holding a flag and a sword and all grotesque to look at. They rushed at the “animals” and goaded them away.

“Truly these must be supernatural helpers,” cried Guo Huai, quite frightened.

The soldiers were also terror-stricken and dared not pursue.

Hearing of the setback in Beiyuan, Sima Yi hastened to the rescue. Midway along the road, where the land was most precipitous, two forces burst out upon him with fierce yells and deafening bombs. Upon the leading banner he read: “Generals Zhang Yi and Liao Hua of Han.”

Sima Yi was startled at this and his men ran away in panic.

Encountering the demonish troops he lost his grain,
Facing a surprise attack his life was in danger again.

Sima Yi’s fate will be revealed in the next chapter.