Authors: Luo Guanzhong
When Zhuge Liang reached Qishan and had encamped his men, he saw that the bank of the River Wei had been fortified by his enemy.
“That must be the work of Sima Yi,” he remarked to his officers. “But we haven’t enough food. I have repeatedly sent people to urge Li Yan to send grain, but so far it has not yet arrived. I reckon the wheat in Longxi is now just ripe. Let us go quietly and reap it.”
Leaving four officers to guard the camp, Zhuge Liang, with Jiang Wei, Wei Yan, and others, went over to Lucheng. The prefect of that city, who had long known Zhuge Liang’s reputation, opened the gates and yielded. Zhuge Liang learned from him that the wheat in Longshang was ready to be harvested. So leaving two officers to defend the city, he led the remainder of the army to Longshang.
But soon the leading body reported that Sima Yi had already positioned his army there.
“So that man guessed what I intended to do!” said Zhuge Liang, taken aback.
Zhuge Liang then bathed and changed his attire. He told his men to push out three identical four-wheeled chariots with exactly the same decorations. These chariots had been built in Shu sometime before and were among the baggage of the army.
Jiang Wei was told to lead a troop of 1,500 and hide beyond the city, where a thousand soldiers were to escort a chariot and five hundred to beat drums. In like manner, Wei Yan and Ma Dai were assigned the two other chariots and sent to the east and the west of the city. Each chariot was propelled by a team of twenty-four men, all dressed in black, barefooted, and with loosened hair. Each one of the team also held a sword and a black, seven-starred bannerol.
While the chariots were taking up their positions, the remaining 30,000 men were ordered to prepare ropes and sickles to cut and carry away the grain. Next Zhuge Liang selected twenty-four handsome soldiers dressed and armed in the same fashion as the charioteers of the other three chariots. These soldiers were to man his own chariot. Guan Xing was told to dress up as a heavenly general and to walk in front of Zhuge Liang’s chariot holding a black, seven-starred bannerol. The preparations complete, Zhuge Liang mounted the chariot and headed toward the Wei camp.
The appearance of a chariot with such attendants more than startled the enemy’s scouts, who did not know whether the apparition was that of a man or a demon. They hastened to tell their commander about this. Sima Yi came out to see for himself. There was Zhuge Liang seated in his chariot, dressed as a Taoist mystic with his headdress, white robe, and a feather fan, surrounded by twenty-four men armed with swords, all with their hair down, and preceded by a god-like figure carrying a black bannerol.
“Some of Zhuge Liang’s tricks again,” he said, and he ordered a couple of thousand men to go out and seize the chariot and its escort.
The Wei soldiers went out to give chase, but seeing this, Zhuge Liang ordered the chariot to retreat slowly toward the Shu camp. As the men of Wei galloped onward, they felt a chilly breeze and a cold mist rolling about them. Mounted as they were, they could not catch up with the procession.
They found it uncanny and halted. “How odd!” they said to one another. “We’ve been pressing on for thirty
li
and yet we get no nearer. What does it mean?”
When Zhuge Liang saw that the pursuit had ceased, he had his chariot turned back again to rest before the pursuers. They hesitated for quite some time, but were later tempted to take up the chase once more. Upon this the chariot again turned and retreated, proceeding slowly. And thus another twenty
li
were covered but to the pursuers, the chariot was always in sight yet never within reach.
The Wei soldiers halted again, stunned at this puzzling pursuit. But as they stopped, the chariot came again toward them. They were about to resume the chase when Sima Yi came up with a strong force and stopped them.
He said to his men, “Zhuge Liang is an old master in the Taoist magic. This trick of his is recorded in the
Book of Heaven
as ‘Shortening the distance’—it’s futile to pursue.”
So they ceased following. But the moment they turned back, a roll of drums from their left indicated the arrival of the enemy. Sima Yi at once ordered his men to repel them, but to their astonishment, from the midst of the Shu soldiers there came into view a chariot with Zhuge Liang seated in it, accompanied by twenty-four men, the exact replica of the procession he had just seen.
“But just now he was sitting in that other chariot—how can he be here? It’s most weird,” cried Sima Yi in disbelief.
Hardly had he finished speaking than another roll of drums rose from their right, and there appeared another body of men, with an identical chariot and escort in the midst, complete with the seated figure of Zhuge Liang.
“These must be heavenly soldiers,” said Sima Yi, filled with fear.
The men, spooked by these mysterious appearances, began to get restless. Not daring to fight such beings, they fled. But before they had gone far, lo!—another roll of drums, another cohort, and yet another chariot appeared, with yet another figure of Zhuge Liang seated therein.
The men of Wei were now thoroughly frightened, and even Sima Yi himself was much alarmed, not knowing whether these phantoms should be ascribed to men or ghosts. So he and his men fled in disorder, not stopping until they reached Shanggui. Once inside the city, they closed the gates and refused to go out.
In the meantime, Zhuge Liang’s 30,000 men had already reaped the wheat and carried it into Lucheng to winnow and dry.
Sima Yi remained behind the protection of the city walls for three days. Only when he saw his enemy had left did he dare to send out some scouts, who presently returned with a Shu soldier they had captured. The prisoner was questioned.
“I was of the reaping party,” confessed the man. “My horse had wandered away so I was caught.”
“What magic soldiers were those of yours that we saw here lately?” asked Sima Yi.
The man replied, “The prime minister was not with the three ambushing forces. These officers were Jiang Wei, Ma Dai, and Wei Yan. Each force had only one thousand fighting men and five hundred drummers. He was only in the first chariot that came to induce you.”
“His comings and goings are as mysterious as those of a god or a demon,” said Sima Yi in resignation.
Just then Guo Huai came to see him. After exchanging greetings, Guo Huai said, “I hear the enemy has only a small force in Lucheng, occupied with winnowing the grain—why not smite them?”
Sima Yi told him his last experience with his opponent’s wiles.
“He succeeded in throwing dust in your eyes once,” said Guo Huai with a smile. “But now that you have seen through his ruse, it is absolutely useless. Let me go and attack Lucheng from the rear, while you lead a troop to storm the front. We will take the city and capture Zhuge Liang, too.”
Sima Yi approved and the army departed by two routes to attack Lucheng.
At Lucheng the men of Shu were busy gathering in the wheat. Suddenly Zhuge Liang called up his officers and said, “The enemy will attack tonight. I presume there is enough space for an ambush in the newly reaped fields. Who dares to go for me?”
Four officers offered themselves, and he posted them with 4,000 men at the southeast, northwest, southwest, and northeast corners of the city. They were to await a signal and then converge to withstand the enemy. When these had gone, Zhuge Liang led out about a hundred men, each carrying explosives, and hid in the newly reaped wheat fields.
When Sima Yi reached the walls of Lucheng the sun had already gone down. He said to his officers, “If we attacked by daylight we should find the city well prepared, so we will take advantage of the darkness. The moat is shallow and the walls are low here. There will be no difficulty in overcoming it.”
The men bivouacked to wait till the time to attack. At about the first watch Guo Huai also arrived, and the two forces converged. Then drums began to beat and the city was quickly surrounded tightly on all sides. However, the defenders maintained such a heavy discharge of arrows, bolts, and stones from the walls that the besiegers dared not close in.
Suddenly from the midst of the Wei army sounded signal explosions. The soldiers were startled, but no one could tell where the enemy was coming from. Guo Huai sent his men to search the wheat fields. But all at once, from the four corners rose towering flames and roaring shouts, and the four Shu forces rushed forth to fall upon the Wei army. At the same time the four city gates were thrown widely open and the men inside also burst out to support their comrades. A great battle ensued, and Wei suffered heavy losses.
After desperate fighting Sima Yi extricated his beaten army from the press and occupied a hill, while Guo Huai got round to the rear of the hill and encamped. Zhuge Liang returned to the city and the four officers were ordered to camp at the four corners of the walls.
Guo Huai went to see his chief and said, “We have been at close quarters with the enemy for a long time yet we have no way to drive them off. Now we have lost another fight, and unless something is done we won’t get away at all.”
“What can we do?” asked Sima Yi.
“You can write to officers at Yong and Liang and order them to move their forces here to help. I will lead my men to attack Sword Pass and cut off Zhuge Liang’s retreat and intercept his supplies. That should result in confusion among his men and our chances for victory will come.”
Sima Yi agreed and the letters were dispatched. Soon, Sun Li came leading the forces of the two districts. He was sent to help Guo Huai in the attack on Sword Pass.
Now Zhuge Liang had been holding Lucheng for many days, but the Wei army did not show up. Thinking it was time to make another move, he summoned Jiang Wei and Ma Dai inside the city and said to them: “The men of Wei are well posted on the hills and refuse to give battle. Presumably, they must have anticipated that we are short of food, and they must have sent an army to attack Sword Pass to cut off our supply route. Now I want each of you to take 10,000 men and garrison the strategic points. When they find us prepared they will retreat.” The two took their orders and left.
Presently, Yang Yi came in to see Zhuge Liang. “Sir, formerly you ordered the army to alternate every hundred days. Now the time is due to relieve the forces. The troops from Hanzhong are already on their way and the documents for the exchange have arrived. All that remains to be done is the actual switch over. We have 80,000 men here, and half of them are due for exchange.”
“All right. Let these leave quickly according to the order,” replied Zhuge Liang.
So the home-going troops packed up their belongings. Just then came the alarming news of Sun Li leading a huge army from Yong and Liang to assist in the attack on Sword Pass and of Sima Yi’s imminent attack on Lucheng. In the face of such a great danger, Yang Yi suggested keeping the replacement forces to withstand the enemy and not allowing them to leave until the new army had arrived.
Zhuge Liang objected: “I must keep faith with the men. Since the order for the periodical exchange of men has been issued it must be carried out. Besides, the men due to pull out are all ready to leave, and their parents, wives, and children are leaning against the gates, waiting for them to come home. Whatever great difficulty I face today I will not keep them here.”
Then he gave orders for the exchange soldiers to march homeward that very day. But when the soldiers heard the order, they were overwhelmed by the prime minister’s generosity, and they cried in unison that they preferred to risk their lives in fighting against the Wei army to show their gratitude to him.
“But you’re due to go home—you can’t stay here,” said Zhuge Liang.
But they insisted that they would stay to fight instead of going home.
“Since you wish to stay and fight for me, you can encamp outside the city. As soon as the men of Wei arrive, attack vigorously at once, without giving them any time to recover breath. This is the tactic of ‘Attacking the weary with a fresh force.’”
So they gripped their weapons and joyfully went out of the city to prepare themselves in readiness.
Now the men of Wei, who had traveled in double time, were worn out and badly in need of rest. But before they could pitch their tents for some repose the men of Shu fell upon them lustily, officers full of vigor, men filled with courage. The weary soldiers could make no proper stand, and retreated. The men of Shu followed, pressing on them till corpses littered the whole field and blood flowed in rivers.
It was a victory for Zhuge Liang, and he came out to welcome the victorious army into the city and distribute rewards among them.
Suddenly there arrived an urgent letter from Li Yan of Yongan. Zhuge Liang tore it open and read: “I have heard recently that Wu has sent an envoy to Luoyang and entered into an alliance with Wei, which has urged Wu to attack us. Fortunately the army of Wu has not yet set out, but I hope you, sir, will take quick actions.”
Doubts and fears crowded in upon Zhuge Liang’s mind as he read. He summoned his officers. “If Wu is coming to invade our land, I have to retreat quickly,” he said and immediately issued orders for the Qishan force to withdraw back into Shu. “Sima Yi won’t dare to pursue while we are camped here.”
The Qishan force broke camp and marched back in two divisions. Zhang He watched them go, but was too fearful of some hidden ruse in the retreat to attempt to follow. He went to see Sima Yi.