Episode 92
Three Kingdoms
Minister Father,
In the past ten years, you have launched five campaigns from Qi Mountain.
Your health isn't what it used to be.
You need to take care of yourself.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
This time, I'm certain of success.
Minister Father.
Your Majesty, do you have any other orders?
Allow me to help you into the carriage.
This isn't right. You're the Son of Heaven.
I may be the Son of Heaven, but I'm also your adopted son.
Please get into your carriage.
Your Majesty.
I... shall take my leave.
Your Majesty, what grieves you so?
Minister Father has grown old.
I fear... I will never see him again.
General, as I was patrolling the camps
I spotted this man who had come to surrender to us. so I brought him here.
Who are you?
And why have you come into my camp?
General, I am Zheng Wen, a lieutenant in the Wei vanguard.
I have been guarding Wugong along with Qin Lang.
Last month, we were unable to resist Shu's attack,
so we abandoned the city and fled.
After we returned to the main camp.
Qin Lang blamed the whole incident on me
and took all the credit for the defense efforts.
Sima Yi promoted Qin Lang to General of the Vanguard,
and gave orders to have me executed.
The other generals pleaded for leniency, and I narrowly escaped death.
But then Sima Yi ordered me to take back Wugong.
Wugong belongs to me now.
How could you possibly take it back?
I'm well aware of your great might, General.
If I attempt to take Wugong,
would that not be just asking for death?
How I loathe that Sima Yi's unfairness!
He's sending me to my doom
I've pondered this over and over.
and my only hope is to surrender to you. General.
I beg you to take me in.
Ill gladly wait on you and serve you for the rest of my life.
Zheng Wen!
How dare you attempt to deceive me with your feigned surrender!
Who do you take me to be?
Guards!
Sir!
Take this man out and behead him.
Yes, sir!
General, please reconsider.
I've come most truly and sincerely to serve you,General.
General, if you kill me,
who will dare to come serve you in the future?
If you don't allow Wei officers to surrender.
aren't you forcing us to fight to the death?
Qin Lang is here!
Zheng Wen, come out and prepare to die!
What's happening outside?
Report!
General! There is a Wei detachment outside the city.
The commanding general claims to be Qin Lang, and calls himself General of the Flying Eagle.
He is challenging Zheng Wen to a duel.
Zheng Wen, isn't Qin Lang your commanding officer?
How are his martial skills compared to yours?
General, please give me your orders.
Ill take his head and prove my allegiance to you.
Good!
If you manage to slay Qin Lang, Ill promote you to General of the Vanguard.
As you command, sir.
General, please wait a moment.
Qin Lang, you're asking for death.
Don't blame me!
Traitor, give me your head!
Thank you. General.
Come, come! Sit down!
Here is Qin Lang's loathsome head for your inspection. General.
Good! Bring the wine!
Thank you. General.
Sit down.
Thank you, General.
Zheng Wen,
now that you've come into my service,
well be brothers in arms from this point on.
I may not have many redeemable qualities.
but I hold brotherhood in high regard, and am fond of the loyal and courageous.
General, you're the mightiest general of Shu-Han, and you're known throughout the realm.
Having heard that you're here.
the Wei army is already cowering in fear.
Zheng Wen,
since you've come from the Wei camps, you must know about Sima Yi's army.
How many men are in his Longxi camp?
The Longxi camp, including the left, middle and right encampments,
has a total of 130,000 men,
and they're the elite troops of the Wei army.
Not bad.
No wonder Sima Yi can afford to be such a steadfast guard.
I suppose you don't know this yet, General.
Actually,
Sima Yi is long gone from the Longxi camp
Where is he?
He's at the camp at Beiyuan.
#unrecognized text#
Sima Yi suspects that Zhuge Liang will use the main road at Longzhong eventually,
so he waits there, guarding the pass and watching for Shu troops.
Also...
How many men are camped at Beiyuan?
There are 5,000 cavalry men, led by Sima Zhao, the son of Sima Yi.
Ma Dai, did you hear that?
Sima Yi has only 5,000 men.
I have 20,000 cavalrymen.
If we launch our entire force against Beiyuan,
well have a four-to-one advantage. Victory is certain.
Once we take care of Sima Yi, the entire Wei army will be shaken.
At that time, we can settle the Central Plains without a fight.
If that is so,
then you'll be the hero of this northern expedition.
But the Prime Minister left strict orders. While he's away, the troops are not to move.
If we wait for the Prime Minister, we'll miss this opportunity.
Beiyuan is at the rear of Longxi, 150 miles from here.
If we march our troops so far into enemy territory.
wont we be taking too much of a risk?
Unpredictability is the essence of war. If there is no risk, there can be no gain.
Zheng Wen.
Here, sir!
Lead the way for us.
Bypass Wei's camp at Longxi, and head straight for Sima Yi.
Yes, sir!
General, perhaps it's best to wait until the Prime Minister returns.
The Prime Minister is cautious by nature. He may not agree when he returns.
Ma Dai,
if you fear the enemy, just stay here and guard the camp.
What talk is this. General? I'm coming with you.
Good!
Officers, hear my orders!
Yes, sir!
Convey my order for the troops to eat at the second watch and set off at the third.
Before daybreak, bypass Longxi and attack Beiyuan.
Come, come, come.
Our respects. Your Excellency.
Well, well.
Allow me to introduce my old friend, Yang Yi.
I've enlisted his help to serve as our advisor, and assist me in affairs of the northern expedition.
Greetings, Advisor.
Generals, I've heard much of your great acclaim.
I look forward to working alongside you to serve our common cause.
Where is Wei Yan? Why hasn't he come to .greet us?
Your Excellency, I just heard of this an hour ago.
Last night, General Wei Yan led his cavalrymen straight toward Beiyuan.
What?
Beiyuan is 200 miles from here, deep in enemy territory.
Did he take all 20,000 cavalrymen?
Yes.
How did this happen?
Your Excellency,
three days ago, a lieutenant of Wei, Zheng Wen, was defeated
and surrendered to Wei Yan.
General Wei suspected that he was sent by Sima Yi to feign surrender.
The suspicion was correct. Continue.
Yes, sir
Your Excellency, this is what happened...
Zheng Wen is a nobody.
His superior, Qin Lang, was a fierce warrior, though.
And Zheng Wen killed him after only two bouts.
Do you believe that?
Do you think Sima Yi would use his men like this?
The way I see it,
not only was Zheng Wen's surrender fake.
that Qin Lang was also a fake one!
Also, Sima Yi being in Beiyuan is probably a lie as well.
That's right.
Good Heavens.
If it wasn't for the Prime Minister's insight, we would still be in the dark.
Your Excellency, the 20,000 cavalrymen under Wei Yan are our best troops.
We need them for attacking Chang'an and Luoyang.
If they're surrounded and destroyed by Sima Yi,
our northern expedition may as well be over.
Here.
Wei Yan must pass through Zishi Valley on his way to Beiyuan.
Sima Yi will certainly set up an ambush there.
Jiang Wei, Wang Ping, here are my orders!
You will both take your cavalrymen and attack the Wei troops from behind.
Remember, Sima Yi will be leading heavy forces.
You must not engage him in battle. It would be sufficient to rescue Wei Yan.
Yes, sir.
Zheng Wen, how far are we from Beiyuan?i
General, it's about 15 miles from here.
Ma Dai, look.
The terrain is precarious and ideal for an ambush.
Give orders to all camps. Pass through quickly.
Yes, sir.
All troops, pass through quickly.
Well rest the steeds after we exit the valley.,
Move! Move! Move!
Watch out!
It's an ambush!
Be careful, men! There's an ambush!
Brother, are you all right?
General, Zheng Wen is fleeing.
Men, do not panic!
We mustn't retreat at this point!
There'll be more troops in ambush behind us.
Now, follow me out of the valley.
Then, our steeds can gallop at ease.
The General is right.
Follow him!
Kill your way out!
Charge! Kill!
Those tens of thousands of men with Wei Yan are the best of Shu's army.
After we purge them. Shu will be like along spear without the spearhead.
This will surely make Zhuge Liang nervous.
Is that Wei Yan on the black horse?
Three years ago,
Zhuge Liang set up an ambush at Jiange
and lured General Zhang He to his death.
Today, I will slay Wei Yan at this place
as consolation to General Zhang He's spirit.
Zhao, my son,
lead the troops to the valley's exit quickly.
Don't let Wei Yan get away.
Yes, sir.
Grand Commander, the Shu reinforcements are here.
and they're attacking the exit route from the side.
Zhuge Liang is not with them.
These troops are on a rescue mission.
Not to worry.
Hear my orders!
All troops will go forth to meet the enemy! Forward!
Wei Yan!
You went to battle without my consent and fell victim to the enemy's plot.
costing us 5,000 to 6,000 men.
What punishment do you think this warrants?
I'm guilty. Please punish me severely.
Your Excellency, this isn't the fault of Wei Yan.
In my eagerness to score victory,
I urged him to attack Sima Yi's camp.
So then...
you intend to take the 80 lashes in his place?
Your Excellency,
while Wei Yan and Ma Dai were rash and greedy for victory.
they kept calm in crisis and regrouped with our units to attack Sima Yi from behind.
Nearly 10,000 enemy troops were killed.
Your Excellency, given that Wei Yan and Ma Dai were able to turn defeat into victory,
perhaps they might be pardoned this time?
They can redeem themselves in the future.
If it weren't for the sake of the others,
I certainly wouldn't forgive you so easily.
We'll suspend these 80 lashes.
Take good note of todays lesson.
Thank you. Your Excellency.
Jiang Wei, what is the situation with the Wei army?
Your Excellency, Sima Yi has retreated to the Longxi camp north of the Wei River.
There, he has painstakingly built three camps. I suspect he's resolved to defend from there.
Sima Yi is the realm's best in defense.
Wei Yan, Ma Dai,
you will challenge them to battle each day.
If you manage to lure Sima Yi out,
I'll forgive you for your recklessness.
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir.
Sima Yi, you old thief come out!
Come out at once! You coward! .
Sima Yi, come out and kowtow to us!
Sima Yi, get yourself out here, you old thief!
You coward!
Peed your pants in fright, have you?
Come out! Hiding in your shell like a cowardly turtle!
Sima Yi, rascal! Get out here! Get out here!
Come out at once!
Coward, come out here! Come out!
Come out here, coward!
Come out here! Scoundrel!
Come out quickly! Come out!
General, we've been at it for over 10 days now.
That old bastard simply refuses to come out.
I anticipated this.
Sima Yi won't fall for the Prime Minister's bait.
Never mind 10 days,
even if we kept at it for 100 days, he wouldn't come out to fight.
Then what should-we do?
Nothing.
Bear with it.
The Prime Minister ordered us to do this,
as a way of testing our endurance.
Well, I can't endure this anymore.
General, you can wait here. I'm returning to camp.
Your Excellency.
My friend,
I must trouble you with a trip to the Wei camp.
Please take this letter to Sima Yi.
And bring this box of gifts with you.
Your Excellency,
if Sima Yi refuses to engage in battle even after accepting the gift,
what should we do?
Rest assured, my friend.
Once this gift arrives.
I'm positive Sima Yi will lead his troops to battle.
Grand Commander!
The Shu army is hurling abuses in front of our camps day after day from dawn until dusk.
And what abuses are those?
All sorts of foul things!
I cant repeat them.
Let them yell away.
The more vigorously they yell,
the more desperate Zhuge Liang is for battle,
and the more pleased I will be.
Report!
Grand Commander, Zhuge Liang has sent a messenger to our camp.
Coming straight for me, I see.
Yes, sir.
I am Advisor Yang Yi.
As ordered by our Prime Minister,
I am here to pay respect to the Grand Commander of Wei.
Yang Yi, what has Zhuge Liang sent you here for?
The Prime Minister commanded me
to bring you this letter and gift.
You're not afraid I'll kill you?
Our Prime Minister has said.
the Grand Commander is great and mighty, wise and stalwart.
His stature towers like that of Mount Tai,
and his skin measures as thick as the city walls,
impervious to water or fire, betraying neither joy nor anger.
Therefore, Grand Commander, you'll surely not express your anger at this messenger.
How well Zhuge Liang knows me.
Bring it here.
I had*long admired*your legendary courage, with which you command a force of millions."
Never would I have expected such cowardice from you!"
You hide yourself away, preserving your life
What different are you from a woman?
I hereby present you with this beautiful silken dress.
If you refuse my challenge to battle. please graciously accept this gift."
Zhuge Liang looks upon me as a woman.
Sun Li.
Goodness.
How lovely and resplendent the dress looks!
I wonder if it fits you, Grand Commander?
Father!
Ah, Yang Yi, take a look and tell me if it flatters me.
Quite fitting, quite fitting.
Just like the lid of a teapot,
it fits snugly and perfectly.
After you return,
please express my gratitude to Kongming.
What a fine dress! What fine fabric! What fine sentiments!
As you command, sir.
Yang Yi is a noble and worthy man of Shu Han.
It's truly a special occasion for us to meet.
Bring out the wine!
I shall have a few drinks with the worthy Master Yang.
Yang Yi, please.
Yang Yi?
Are you shy?
If I'm not shy, what cause have you to be shy?
I've never seen such dazzling colors in a dress.
It's blinding my eyes.
Cheers.
Cheers, Grand Commander.
How is Kongming's health? How is his energy level?
Our Prime Minister's health is excellent and is most energetic.
How is his diet? His sleep?
Is he quite busy with work?
Its just his sleep that is not quite ideal.
Our Prime Minister is burdened by his many duties, and deals with thousands of issues each day.
He has not a moment's respite.
Little sleep and much to do. That can't last long.
Go back and tell Kongming.
Only when a man clears the heart of all desires,
can he obtain peace of mind.
Thank you, Grand Commander.
I take my leave.
Your Excellency.
After Sima Yi received the woman's dress. he was not only unruffled,
but wore it right then and there, and even invited me to drink with him.
He also asked after your diet and sleep.
I told him the truth.
Sima Yi said.
A man must first clear his heart of all desire.
before obtaining peace of mind.
Sima Yi truly knows me well.
He saw right through my purpose.
Your Excellency,
our food supplies will only last five more days.
If Sima Yi holds fast and refuses to fight.
we may have to retreat gradually.
Your Excellency!
Any news of our supply route?
I rode as fast as I could for 30 miles, almost reaching Qi Mountain, but still I saw no sign of the supply carts.
I received letters from court saying
that they have a heavy load from the Riverlands this time.
The supply officer is the Chief State Secretary, Li Feng,
whom I recommended personally.
He's never been remiss before.
Your Excellency,
it's three days past the deadline, but Li Feng has yet to arrive.
Our army of 300,000 men
suffers from lack of supplies at each northern expedition.
If only we still had Jing!
What good is such talk?
Whenever matters don't go well,
I can't help but think of Jing Province.
I understand.
What's the matter here?
Grand Commander, please give orders! We wish to go out and kill the enemy!
Grand Commander, please give orders!
Wait.
Tell me, why are you so anxious?
If our Grand Commander is insulted, all of us suffer humiliation!
Zhuge Liang has the nerve to send a gaudy woman's dress!
But you, Grand Commander, think nothing of it!
That's it?
Such a trivial thing is hardly worth mentioning.
Grand Commander, you may be able to bear it, but the rest of us can't!
Grand Commander, please give orders! Were willing to fight to the death!
Grand Commander, please give orders!
I've already given orders not to fight.
Grand Commander,
please excuse me for defying orders.
I shall leave to go kill some enemies now!
Sun Li!
Do you want to die?
I'd rather die than endure such humiliation!
Listen.
You may very well think only of pleasing yourself.
But after you die, not only will you receive no honor,
I'll report you as a traitor to the court!
You'll be stripped of all your titles and salary.
Your parents, wife, and children will be shamed on your behalf,
and exiled to the borders as slaves.
never to return to the Imperial Capital.
Grand Commander!
Generals, please return to your camps.
You must trust me.
Standing fast and avoiding combat is the way to victory.
This will destroy Zhuge Liang.
Yes, sir.
Why are we stopping?
Clear the roads! Hurry!
What is the matter?
Sir, the roads collapsed under a rockslide.
What?
Look, sir. Three days ago there was a severe storm here.
The road has been destroyed.
Leave 100 men here to guard the food supplies.
The rest will come with me to repair the path.
Sir, our men are few to begin with.
Besides, we lack the excavation tools.
Well take the Jiange path instead.
Then, we must cross Mount Baizhang.
The roads,are treacherous and the terrain is rough. The carts cannot pass through.
We'll have to carry the supplies on our backs.
It's settled. We'll have to carry the supplies on our backs.
Well carry however much we can and,make do with that.
Yes, sir.
Brothers, listen! We'll take the Jiange path.
Your Excellency, Li Feng is here.
Your Excellency.
Li Feng, you've come at last.
Are the food supplies here?
Your Excellency, the mountain paths were destroyed by a storm.
I and my men together carried everything by hand.
We suffered through much hardship,
but at long last managed to bring 5,000 bushels of food.
Eight men fell to their deaths.
Is the damage to the plank roads severe?
I've inspected it carefully.
Fourteen miles of the plank roads were damaged.
Any repairs must wait until next year.
Your Excellency, now that the path is ruined.
the food supply carts have no access.
We must rely on our men to carry the food supplies on foot via Jiange path and over Mount Baizhang.
This way, in a day we can only transport a few hundred bushels at most.
At any rate, it won't meet the army's needs.
Why must Heaven aid Cao and not Han?
Your Excellency.
No need to worry.
Your Excellency,
lets gradually make our retreat back to Hanzhong.
If we wait until our supplies are exhausted,
it'll be too late.
We can't retreat.
An expedition through Qi Mountain is no easy matter for our troops.
Li Feng,
how much can you carry across Mount Baizhang in one day and one night?
Even if we take no rest.
we can carry only a thousand bushels or so.
If we allocated a few thousand more men to you, would you be able to carry more?
The mountain paths are narrow and perilous. only slightly over a span wide.
More men would not be of help.
I... I've got a plan!
I've got a plan.
Yang Yi.
Yes, sir.
Take this sketch to the craftsmen in the camps
and have them assemble 300 sets to transport the food supplies.
Your Excellency, what is this?
It looks like a cart, but also like an ox or a horse.
This is called the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse.
It can freely traverse through rugged mountain paths.
Twenty-five years ago.
I designed this apparatus when I was still at Sleeping Dragon Ridge.
I didn't expect to use it for battle in the Central Plains.
Who would've thought that we would find use for it today at Jiange path?
Wonderful, that will take care of it.
Your Excellency, I'll go now to assemble 300 of these.
Good.
Our scouts have gone deep into Qi Mountain under camouflage. Dozens of miles of the Jiange path was destroyed.
Shu troops had to carry the food on their backs over Mount Baizhang. Sometimes, men fall off the cliffs.
They mustered up ever last ounce of strength to carry a mere few thousand-bushels of food,
all of which is now stored at juma camp past the mountain.
Carrying food across the mountain certainly won't feed an army of 30,000.
From the looks of it, the Shu army will have to live on thin gruel.
If this drags on, the army will lose its battle spirit.
Chaos and strife will ensue.
We'll make certain that they won't even have gruel to eat.
Sima Zhao, hear my order.
Yes, sir.
You will lead 5,000 courageous men
to lie in ambush near Juma camp.
When the Shu troops emerge from camp to transfer food to the camp at Qi Mountain,
you'll ambush them, and burn down Juma camp while you're there.
Yes, sir.
But, Grand Commander,
could this be... one of Zhuge Liang's insidious tricks?
What trick could this be?
Such as... such as... say,
Zhuge Liang destroyed Jiange path himself
as a ploy to lure us out to war.
That idea is insightful,
but don't worry too much about it.
Zhuge Liang may bait me with many things,
but not this Jiange path, he wouldn't dare.
With the Jiange path destroyed.
the Shu army will starve even if they defeat us.
Just go, and don't worry.
Yes, sir.
I'd like to go along with the Young General.
Granted.
Shu's food supplies are here. .
What is that thing?
It's neither carriage nor boat, neither oxen nor steed.
It can even carry food.
There aren't many of them. General, lets charge over there.
We mustn't be rash.
I think it's best we split into two groups.
One will attack, and the other will act as the relief, just in case.
All right. General, you lead the relief troops.
Ill lead the troops to attack.
Sun Li, you must remember.
Attack only. Don't pursue them.
Also,
it would be best if you could snatch a few of those beasts to present to the Grand Commander.
Yes, sir.
Come, come. Slowly.
Brothers, let's charge!
Kill!
Run! Run quickly!
Grand Commander! Come look at this!
Grand Commander, Grand Commander.
I saw it with my own eyes.
The Shu army is using this apparatus to transport food supplies.
It can carry up to a few thousand pounds of food,
but it only has one wheel.
Whatever roads a man can pass through it can as well!
We didn't leave them any.
We brought every last one back with us.
This thing looks bulky and cumbersome
but it is surprisingly flight and easy to use.
Zhuge Liang is truly an extraordinary man
to come up with a!beast of a thing like this.
Perhaps it wasn't Zhuge Liang who invented this?
There is no lack of eccentric geniuses living in reclusion.
Is that so?
Then why do these eccentric geniuses flock to Shu and not to Wei?
Guo Huai.
Yes, sir.
Order the craftsmen to familiarize themselves with this. and use it for transporting food.
Yes, sir.