Three Kingdoms

Chapter 44
Sima Yi immediately ordered the generals Zhang Hu and Le Wei: "Each of you lead five hundred troops and copy out from the Xiegu alley. After the Shu army escorts the wooden cows and horses, go out together from behind. Don't grab too many, just three or five horses will do. There must be no mistake."

Zhang Hu and Le Wei each led [-] soldiers, pretending to be the Shu army, quietly copying the path of Xiegu at night, and laying in ambush in Xiegu.After a while, Gao Xiang, the general of Shu, escorted the wooden cow and horse through the inclined valley.Wei Jun couldn't wait, rushed out of Xiegu, snatched a few wooden cows and horses, and returned to Wei Jun's camp happily.

Sima Yi looked at the wooden cow and horse, and it was really convenient, simple and lifelike to make. He couldn't help laughing and said, "Not only Zhuge Liang can make wooden cow and horse, but I can also do it!" At the end of the day, he immediately drew a production sketch, handed it to his soldiers, and ordered to build wooden oxen and horses without any mistakes.The military craftsmen of Wei Bing immediately rushed to make wooden oxen and horses. In less than fifteen days, they made two thousand wooden oxen and horses, which were exactly the same as those made by Zhuge Liang, and they could also carry grain and grass.Sima Yi ordered the general to lead a thousand soldiers to escort the wooden oxen and horses to carry the grain and grass. It was indeed convenient and quick to come and go, and the generals and soldiers of the Wei army were very happy.

Gao Xiang lost a few wooden cows and horses and hurriedly returned to Zhuge Liang.Zhuge Liang smiled triumphantly: "I just wanted him to snatch it. I only wasted a few wooden cows and horses, but Sima Yi will soon lose a lot of things."

All the generals asked: "How did the prime minister know that Sima Yi would lose a lot of things?"

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Sima Yi snatched a few wooden cows and horses. When he sees the function of the wooden cows and horses, he will definitely imitate them. Then I will have a way to deal with him."

A few days later, the front-line sentry reported that the Wei army had also made a lot of wooden cattle and horses, and sent food and grass to and from Longxi.

Zhuge Liang was overjoyed when he heard that, and smiled, "As expected!" He immediately ordered Wang Ping: "Lead a thousand soldiers, dress up as the Wei army, and sneak across Beiyuan immediately. , Get close to the Wei army escorting Mu Niu Liuma and destroy them immediately. As soon as the battle is over, immediately escort Mu Niu Liuma back to Beiyuan. Beiyuan Wei Army will definitely come to catch up. You order your subordinates to twist the tongue of Mu Niu Liuma's mouth immediately, and Mu Niu Liuma will not be able to move. You retreat immediately. Wei Jun chased after him, but the wooden ox and the horse could not be dragged or lifted. I will send troops to help you, and you can turn the tongue of the ox and horse around and let the wooden ox and horse walk. Wei Jun will definitely think that the wooden ox and horse are monsters!"

Wang Ping took the order and left.

Zhuge Liang then ordered Zhang Ni: "You lead five hundred soldiers, all dressed up as six Ding Liujia magic soldiers and heavenly generals, with ghost heads and ghost bodies, painted on their faces with colorful things, dressed as ghosts and goblins, with a red flag in their left hand and a sword in their right. , hang a gourd around his waist, hide gunpowder and flammable and explosive materials in the gourd, and lie in ambush by the mountain. After the wooden ox and the horse pass by, immediately release the gunpowder, rush out of the mountain, and drive the wooden ox and the horse back. Wei Jun saw you With this attire, I will definitely regard you as ghost soldiers and generals, and dare not chase after you." Zhang Yi led the plan and set off.

Zhuge Liang then ordered Wei Yan and Jiang Wei: "The two of you lead [-] soldiers together to cover Beiyuan Zhaikou." Then he ordered Ma Dai and Ma Zhong: "You lead two thousand soldiers to Weinan to challenge." Finally ordered Liao Hua, Zhang Yi: "You take five thousand troops to stop Sima Yi's reinforcements." The six generals took orders and set off.

General Cen Wei of the Wei Army escorted Mu Niu Liuma halfway, when suddenly the sentinel reported that there were soldiers patrolling food ahead.Cen Wei ordered the soldiers to investigate again, and reported that the Wei army was patrolling the grain and grass, so Cen Wei went forward with confidence.The two armies had just met, when Wang Ping, pretending to be General Wei, yelled, "Destroy the Wei army!" Before Cen Wei could react, Wang Ping hacked him to death.Most of the Wei army was killed, and the remaining troops fled in all directions.Wang Ping ordered his soldiers to drive Mu Niu Liuma back to Qishan Dazhai.As soon as he arrived in Beiyuan, Guo Huai, the general of the Wei army, led his troops to chase after him.Wang Ping immediately ordered the tongue to be twisted, and the whole army retreated.Guo Huai didn't dare to chase after him, so he ordered his soldiers to drive the wooden cows and horses back to the camp, but they couldn't pull them back.At this time, Jiang Wei and Wei Yan rushed out from both sides, Guo Huai couldn't resist, Wang Ping led the troops back, and the Wei army was defeated and fled.Wang Ping ordered his soldiers to twist the tongues of the cows and horses, and the wooden cows and horses walked again.

Guo Huai saw it from a distance, and was about to chase after him, when suddenly he saw fireworks rising from behind the mountain, and a group of ghost soldiers and generals leaped out, all of them were in strange shapes, and they drove away with wooden oxen and horses. There are gods to help!" Wei Jun did not dare to pursue, so he withdrew his troops and returned.

When Sima Yi heard that Beiyuan was defeated, he hurriedly led troops to rescue Beiyuan.Walking halfway, suddenly heard a gunshot, two groups of Shu troops rushed out from a dangerous place, and the shouts of killing shook the sky and the earth.It was Shu generals Liao Hua and Zhang Yi.Sima Yi was shocked when he saw this, fearing that there would be an ambush, so he ordered to retreat and withdraw his troops.Liao Hua and Zhang Yi pursued bravely, and Wei Jun fled in all directions.Sima Yi escaped into the depths of the woods alone without any protection from his men.Zhang Yi received the rear army, and Liao Hua took the lead in chasing Sima Yi.Seeing that he was about to catch up, Sima Yi was terrified and dodged left and right around the big tree. Liao Hua chased after him and slashed at Sima Yi.Fearing that Sima Yi would escape, Liao Hua hurriedly drew out the big knife on the tree. At this time, Sima Yi had already fled outside the woods.When Liao Hua chased him out of the woods again, Sima Yi had already disappeared without a trace.Liao Hua saw a golden helmet on the east side of the forest. Liao Hua picked it up and immediately chased it to the east.It turned out that this was Sima Yi's trick to take off the golden helmet. He actually fled to the west.

Liao Hua chased him for a while, but he still couldn't catch up with Sima Yi. He ran out of the valley, met Jiang Wei, returned to the camp, and presented his golden helmet.Zhang Yi had driven Mu Niu Liuma back to Qishan Dazhai long ago, and seized a large amount of grain and grass.Liao Hua presented Sima Yi's golden helmet, and Zhuge Liang immediately credited Liao Hua with the first-class merit.Wei Yan was dissatisfied in his heart, complained and complained loudly.Zhuge Liang pretended not to see or hear.

Sima Yi fled and retreated to the camp, feeling depressed.Suddenly the imperial court sent an imperial decree saying that Soochow divided its troops into three ways to invade the border. The court was discussing sending troops to resist Soochow's army and ordered Sima Yi to stand firm and not to fight Zhuge Liang.

Sima Yi was ordered to dig deep trenches and build high camps, but he could not hold out.

When Cao Rui learned that Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty was attacking in three ways, he also sent troops to fight in three ways: Liu Shao was ordered to lead troops to rescue Jiangxia, Tian Yu led troops to rescue Xiangyang, Cao Rui and Man Chong led an army to rescue Hefei.Man Chong first led an army to Chaohukou, and saw that there were many Soochow warships arranged neatly.Man Chong said to Cao Rui: "Wu Jun must despise our army coming from far away. If the troops are tired, they will not go out immediately. Wu Jun will definitely not be prepared. Tonight our army can take the opportunity to attack Wu Jun's water village, and we will definitely win." Cao Rui adopted him. This is a good strategy.Zhang Qiu was ordered to lead five thousand troops, hide the gunpowder in the boat, and attack from the mouth of the lake; Man Chong also led five thousand troops to attack from the east bank.At the second watch that night, Zhang Qiu and Man Chong each led [-] troops to kill Wu Jun's position.When Wu Jun was killed, he was caught off guard, panicked, and fled around.The Wei army burned a lot and burned countless warships, grain and grass, and military equipment of the Wu army.Zhuge Jin led the remnants of the defeated generals and fled to Miankou.Wei Jun came back with a big victory.

The next day, the sentry reported back to Lu Xun.Lu Xun summoned generals at all levels: "I will immediately play to Your Majesty and tell him to withdraw the Wu army that besieged the new city and cut off the Wei army's return route. I will lead the troops to attack the front of the Wei army. The Wei army will not be able to guard against it. It will definitely be defeated." resourceful.

Lu Xun immediately wrote a secret letter and sent his confidantes to Sun Quan, who was besieging Xincheng. Unexpectedly, the person who delivered the secret letter was caught by Wei Jun halfway, and the secret letter was handed over to Cao Rui.After reading Lu Xun's secret letter to Sun Quan, Cao Rui couldn't help sighing: "Lu Xun of the Eastern Wu is really resourceful, he deserves to be a general of the Eastern Wu!" He immediately ordered Liu Shao to lead troops to guard against Sun Quan's army.The Wu army soldiers who delivered the letter were trapped.

Zhuge Jin was defeated for a while, and at this time it was very hot, and the soldiers were all sick; Zhuge Jin was so angry that he wrote an urgent letter ordering his men to send horses to Lu Xun, hoping that Lu Xun would order the troops to retreat. Soochow.After reading the letter, Lu Xun said to the sender: "Go and report to General Zhuge, I have my own way." The sender returned to Zhuge Jin.Zhuge Jin asked the sender: "What did General Lu do?" The sender replied: "I saw General Lu Xun ordered his soldiers to plant beans and vegetables outside the camp, but he and his generals were playing outside the camp." Zhuge Jin Surprised, he hurried to Lu Xun's barracks to meet Lu Xun.Zhuge Jin asked Lu Xun: "Now that Cao Rui personally leads the army to kill, the momentum is huge, what good way does the governor have to resist the enemy?" Lu Xun replied: "A few days ago I sent someone to send a secret letter to your majesty, but unexpectedly it was handed over by the enemy. Go. Our military plan has been leaked. The enemy knows our situation. When we fight against the Wei army, our army is not sure of victory. It is better to retreat and use retreat as defense. I have sent someone to report to His Majesty, and let His Majesty retreat slowly. Zhuge Jin asked again: "Since the governor intends to retreat, why didn't he retreat quickly instead of delaying his return?" Lu Xun said: "Our army must retreat slowly. If we retreat quickly, the Wei army will definitely take advantage of the momentum to catch up. It is very bad for our army. The general immediately collected warships and pretended to make a comeback, and I also sent troops to pretend to attack Xiangyang, bluffing, and doubting the Wei army. Then retreat quietly, and the Wei army must not dare to pursue."

Zhuge Jinlian applauded the clever plan, and immediately bid farewell to Lu Xun and returned to the camp to collect warships and prepare to attack the Wei army.Lu Xun lined up, made a big show of momentum, and marched towards Xiangyang.

The sentinels of the Wei army reported to Cao Rui, the emperor of Wei: The Wu army was ready to attack again.When the generals of the Wei Army heard about it, they would lead their troops to battle. Cao Rui knew that Lu Xun was resourceful, and said to his generals: "Lu Xun is resourceful, we must deal with it carefully, and don't act rashly." The generals no longer asked to fight.

A few days later, the sentinel reported again: "The soldiers and horses of the three routes of Dongwu have all withdrawn." Cao Rui didn't believe it, so he ordered the sentinel to investigate again, and immediately reported that the Dongwu army had withdrawn a few days earlier.Cao Rui said: "Lu Xun's army is not inferior to Zhou Yu's." So he ordered the generals at all levels to guard the military fortresses, and he commanded the army to station in Hefei to wait and see what happened.

Zhuge Liang is preparing for a protracted battle with Sima Yi in Qishan.Order the soldiers of Shu and the people of Wei to farm and produce food together, one for the Shu army and two for the people of Wei, and they will not invade each other, and the people of Wei will live and work in peace and contentment.

Master Sima hurriedly told Sima Yi: "Shu soldiers robbed our army of a lot of food and grass, and now they are farming and sharing the harvest with our border people. It is obvious that the Shu army has plans for a long-term confrontation. This is the country's serious trouble! Father should Make an appointment with Zhuge Liang to fight to the death with the Shu army at Mount Qi."

Sima Yi said: "I did not give the order to go to war, and no one is allowed to disobey my order!"

Just at this point, the sentinel reported that Wei Yan, the general of the Shu army, was scolding in front of the battle with Sima Yi's lost golden helmet.All the generals under his command were angry and wanted to fight to kill the enemy.

Sima Yi laughed loudly and said: "The sage said: If you can't tolerate small things, you will ruin big things. We just can't hold on to it."

The generals under him did not dare to disobey Sima Yi's orders.

Wei Yan insulted him for a long time before returning to the camp.

Seeing that Sima Yi refused to fight, Zhuge Liang ordered Ma Dai to lead his troops to the upper valley to plant mines, gunpowder and explosives, and build straw huts. Everything was ready, and Zhuge Liang said in Ma Dai's ear: "You lead the troops Block the back road of Shangfang Valley, and secretly ambush the soldiers in Shangfang Valley. If Sima Yi pursues Shangfang Valley, let him enter the valley. Once he enters, he will immediately ignite the fire with dry wood, landmines and gunpowder." He also ordered the soldiers to hang up at the mouth of the valley during the day. Seven-star belt, seven-star lanterns are placed at the mouth of the valley at night.He also ordered Wei Yan to say: "Go to the Wei army camp and lead Sima Yi to fight again. If Sima Yi chases after you, you should approach the Shangfang Valley. During the day, use the seven-star belt as evidence, and at night, use the seven-star lamp as a sign. Just lead Sima Yi into the Shangfang Valley. Naturally, I have a way to catch Sima Yi." Wei Yan led the order and left.Zhuge Liang said to Gao Xiang again: "You still drive your army of grain, wood, oxen and horses back and forth between the inclined valleys, in a group of twenty or thirty horses, or in a group of forty or fifty horses. If the Wei army snatches it, it will be your great contribution. "Gao Xiang led the plan and set off to drive away the wooden cows and horses.Zhuge Liang dispatched the army from Qishan Dazhai, and the rest planted grain in front of Qishan, and ordered his soldiers: "If other generals of the Wei army come to fight, they can only pretend to be defeated; if Sima Yi personally leads troops to kill, our army will fight desperately. Weinan, cut off his way back." After Zhuge Liang dispatched his troops, he led an army and set up camp near Shangfang Valley.

Generals Xiahouhui and Xiahouhe of the Wei army reported to Sima Yi: "The Shu army is farming and producing food everywhere in Qishan Mountain. They want to fight a protracted war. If they don't defeat the Shu army early, it will definitely become a serious problem for our army. Please send troops to attack."

Sima Yi said: "Don't fall for Zhuge Liang's scheme, this is another Zhuge Liang's trick to lure the enemy."

Xia Houhe said loudly: "The governor will not fight, when will we wipe out the enemy? My two brothers are willing to lead an army to fight the Shu army to the death and serve the country!"

Sima Yi said: "Since you must go to battle, I will give you two troops to attack the Shu army. You can attack separately, and there must be no mistake." The two led the order and left.

Xiahouhui and Xiahouhe each led 5000 troops to attack Xiegu, when they saw Gao Xiang escorting wooden cattle and horses.The two led troops to attack the Shu army, snatched dozens of high-flying wooden oxen and horses, and escorted them back to the Wei army camp.

The next day, more than 100 Shu soldiers who escorted wooden cattle and horses were captured.Sima Yi took them and interrogated them.The Shu soldiers told Sima Yi: "Prime Minister Zhuge expected that the governor would not dare to go out to fight, so he ordered us to disperse and form camps, grow food for self-sufficiency, and want to make a long-term plan." Sima Yi sent all the Shu soldiers back.Xia Houhe asked: "Why didn't the governor kill them?" Sima Yi smiled and said: "These are small soldiers, and it is useless to kill them. I will let them go back to Shuying and let them say that we are generous. Lü Meng's plan to outwit Jingzhou." So the order was passed down that all captured Shu soldiers would be sent back to the Shu camp and treated favorably to them.

Zhuge Liang ordered Gao Xiang to pretend to transport grain to Shanggu.Xia Houhui and others didn't know that this was Zhuge Liang's trick. They often intercepted and killed the wooden cows and horses of the Shu army, and they succeeded for several days.Sima Yi was also very happy.

Another day, dozens of Shu soldiers were captured. Sima Yi interrogated himself: "Where is Zhuge Liang stationing his troops now?" The Shu soldiers replied, "Prime Minister Zhuge is no longer in Qishan Dazhai. He has already stationed troops in the upper valley. The upper valley is our army." granary."

Sima Yi released the captured Shu soldiers again, and immediately summoned his generals to discuss: "Zhuge Liang is not stationed at Qishan now, but has moved to the upper valley. Tomorrow, you lead troops to attack the Shu army's stronghold in Qishan, and I will lead the attack. Shangfanggu." The generals under his command were ordered to make preparations.

Sima Shi asked, "Why did father go to attack Qishan Shu army's Dazhai?"

Sima Yi said: "Qishan is the base of the Shu army. If our army goes to attack Qishan, Zhuge Liang will definitely come to rescue Qishan Dazhai, but I lead the army to attack Shangfanggu and burn their granaries, so that the Shu army can't look after each other. Definitely win."

Master Sima bowed down.Sima Yi immediately ordered all the soldiers and horses to set off, and also ordered his generals Zhang Hu and Le Wei to lead 5000 troops each, and to meet them at any time.

Zhuge Liang saw Wei Jun mobilizing troops and horses in the high mountains above the valley, pointing at Qishan Dazhai, knowing that they were going to attack Qishan Dazhai, so he secretly sent a message to the generals: "If Sima Yi leads troops to attack in person, you will go to Wei Jun's camp and smash it. Destroy his camp and seize the Weinan area."

The generals at all levels of the Shu army listened to their orders and prepared to fight the Wei army.

(End of this chapter)