In the fifth year of Jingyao in Shu-Han, in the tenth month of winter, the General-in-Chief Jiang Wei had men repairing the plank roads through the night, and he had the army stores and weapons put in order; he also shifted boats along the Hanzhong waterways. Everything was then complete. He submitted a memorial to the Latter Ruler saying,

“Though I have gone out on campaign repeatedly and have not won a great victory, I have already shaken Wei’s courage. Now, with soldiers kept too long in reserve, idleness will make them dull, and dullness will make them sick. As it is, the army thinks only of dying in service and wishes to risk its lives. If I do not prevail, I should bear the death penalty.”

The Latter Ruler read the memorial and hesitated. Qiao Zhou stepped out of his place and reported,

“I watched the heavens last night. In the land of Western Shu, the star of command was dim and not clear. Since the General-in-Chief wants to march again, this expedition is very ill-favored. Your Majesty should issue an edict and order him to stop.”

The Latter Ruler said,

“Let us see how this campaign turns out. If it is truly a failure, then I will stop it.”

Qiao Zhou remonstrated repeatedly and was not heard. He went home and sighing deeply, began claiming illness and did not come out.

When Jiang Wei was preparing to raise the army, he asked Liao Hua,

“Now that I take the field, I have sworn to recover the Central Plains. Which place should we take first?”

Liao Hua replied,

“Years of constant campaigning have unsettled the people. Wei has Deng Ai as well, ingenious and clever, not men of trivial caliber. Since the General is determined to do what is difficult, I do not dare to oppose him.”

Jiang Wei grew angry in an instant and said,

“Formerly the Chancellor rode out to Qishan six times, and that was also for the realm. I have attacked Wei eight times. Was it for one man’s private gain? We should take Taoyang first. Whoever opposes me will be executed.”

He left Liao Hua behind to guard Hanzhong and, with his commanders, he marched out with three hundred thousand men straight for Taoyang.

Soon after, men from Sichuan Gate arrived and reported to the stockade at Qishan. At that time Deng Ai was speaking of military matters with Sima Wang. When this news arrived, he sent scouts to verify it, and they reported that the Shu soldiers had all gone out through Taoyang.

Sima Wang said,

“Jiang Wei is very calculating. Could he be feinting Taoyang while truly aiming for Qishan?”

Deng Ai replied,

“It is so: Jiang Wei has truly taken the way out through Taoyang. If he knew us only of the grain in that area, he would expect us to hold Qishan and ignore Taoyang. He has therefore struck at Taoyang directly. If he takes this city, he can stock grain and forage, connect with the Qiang, and plan for a long affair.”

Sima Wang asked,

“What then should be done?”

Deng Ai said,

“We can withdraw all soldiers from here and split into two routes to go to Taoyang. Twenty-five li from Taoyang lies the small city of Houhe, the throat of that area. You take one army and hide at Taoyang. Lower flags and drum signals, open all four gates as if unguarded, and then act just so. I will take one army and hide at Houhe; we will win a great victory.”

Plans were fixed, and everyone acted accordingly. Only the subordinate commander Shizuan remained at the Qishan stockade.

Jiang Wei made Xiahou Ba lead the vanguard and set out with one force first toward Taoyang. As Xiahou Ba advanced, he saw no single banner on the city walls and all four gates stood open. Uncertain, he did not dare enter and turned to his commanders,

“Could this be deception?”

The commanders replied,

“We can see that it is an empty city. There are only a few common people in it. Having heard the General-in-Chief had come, they have all abandoned it and fled.”

Xiahou Ba did not trust them. He rode south of the city to scout. He saw countless old men and children all fleeing toward the northwest.

Xiahou Ba rejoiced,

“It truly is an empty city.”

He entered first, with the rest following behind. As they came up to the city wall, a sudden signal blast rang out. Drums and horns sounded together on the walls, standards were raised everywhere, and a bridge was hauled out.

Xiahou Ba was alarmed,

“I have been tricked!”

When he tried to withdraw, arrow and slingstone fell from above like rain. The pitiful Xiahou Ba and five hundred soldiers all died at the wall’s foot.

Later generations sighed in a verse:

Great was Jiang Wei’s boldness; his stratagems were long and subtle. Who knows that Deng Ai lay in hidden watch? Pity is Xiahou Ba, who dashed for Taoyang, slain in an instant beneath the city arrows.

Sima Wang broke out from the inner fort; Shu soldiers were utterly defeated and fled. Shortly afterward Jiang Wei arrived with the relieving force, drove back Sima Wang, and camped below the city. When he learned that Xiahou Ba had been shot dead, he grieved deeply.

At the second watch of that night, Deng Ai, from within Houhe city, secretly led one army by hidden ways into the Shu camp. Shu ranks were thrown into confusion, and Jiang Wei could not hold them. The ramparts above roared with drums and horns. Sima Wang brought out his troops. Clashing from both sides, the Shu army was overwhelmed.

Jiang Wei broke in on one side and surged on the other, fought and escaped only with difficulty, then withdrew more than twenty li and camped again. After two defeats in succession, the Shu troops trembled in heart. Jiang Wei told his commanders,

“Victory and defeat are common in war. Though we have lost men and officers today, there is no need for alarm. The matter of success and failure will be decided in this one turn. Do not change your hearts. If any man says we should retreat, he will be executed on the spot.”

Zhang Yi submitted,

“All Wei troops are here; Qishan must surely be empty. Let the General battle Deng Ai and hold him, and attack Taoyang and Houhe. I will take one force to take Qishan. If we take the Nine Camps of Qishan, then drive on Chang’an. That is the best plan.”

Jiang Wei agreed and ordered Zhang Yi to take the rear force and go straight to Qishan.

Jiang Wei brought his troops to Houhe and fought Deng Ai. Deng Ai led his army out to meet him. The two forces faced in formation, and the two armies faced one another, and their champions exchanged blows for several dozen rounds without deciding victory. Both withdrew and returned to camp.

The next day Jiang Wei again brought his force to challenge. Deng Ai held his troops and did not come out. Jiang Wei ordered his army to taunt the enemy. Deng Ai considered,

“The Shu men were nearly annihilated in one encounter and yet did not retreat, but returned day after day for close fighting. They must mean to split forces to strike the Qishan stockade. Commander Shizuan there is few and weak in wisdom, so he will fail for sure. I must go myself to save him.”

He called Deng Zhong and instructed,

“You must hold this post carefully and endure these skirmishes. Do not venture out lightly. Tonight I will take troops to Qishan to give aid.”

At the second watch that night, while Jiang Wei was planning in camp, a roar rose from outside, and drums and horns filled the air. Men reported that Deng Ai had brought three thousand picked troops for a night assault and the commanders intended to sally out.

Jiang Wei restrained them:

“Do not move rashly.”

In truth Deng Ai had already ridden to the forward pickets of the Shu camp, reconnoitered the position, and taken the chance to go help Qishan. Deng Zhong slipped back into the city.

Jiang Wei summoned his commanders,

“Deng Ai is making a fake display of a night fight. He must be going to save the Qishan stockade.”

He then called for Fuxian and told him,

“You hold this camp and do not lightly engage the enemy.”

After dispatching him, Jiang Wei took three thousand soldiers himself to aid Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi had already arrived and was attacking Qishan. Commander Shizuan, with too few men, could not hold it long. As he waited to be broken, Deng Ai’s troops suddenly arrived and charged through one round. The Shu soldiers were badly defeated, and Zhang Yi was cut off behind the mountain with his path of return blocked.

In the middle of panic, a loud cry rose and horns thundered. It was seen that Wei troops were repeatedly falling back.

An officer reported,

“The General-in-Chief Jiang Boyue has arrived.”

Riding this moment, Zhang Yi drove his force forward to link with him. From both sides they attacked in tandem. Deng Ai was broken in one engagement and withdrew in haste up to the Qishan stockade, where he did not emerge.

Jiang Wei ordered the troops to surround from all four sides.

The story now splits in two threads. In Chengdu, the Latter Ruler, listening to the eunuch Huang Hao and sunk in drink and lust, neglected court affairs. In those days, Liu Yan’s wife, Hu Shi, was exceedingly beautiful. She entered the palace to receive an audience with the Empress; Hu Shi remained in the palace for a month before leaving.

Liu Yan suspected that his wife had private dealings with the Latter Ruler. He ordered five hundred household soldiers, lined up before him, and had his wife bound and beaten with the soles of shoes across her face repeatedly by each, so that she nearly died and came back again.

When the Latter Ruler heard this he was enraged and instructed the ministries to debate Liu Yan’s guilt. The ministers concluded: Liu Yan had no right to flog his wife, and the face was not a lawful place for such punishment; he should be exposed for execution in the market. He was therefore beheaded.

From then on, officials no longer allowed wives to enter court. Yet many literati, already uneasy with the Latter Ruler’s dissoluteness, nurtured resentment. The upright withdrew gradually, the petty-men advanced day by day.

Right General Yan Yu had gained no accomplishments at all. Because he attached himself to Huang Hao, he gained high rank. Hearing that Jiang Wei still commanded troops at Qishan, he told Huang Hao to tell the Latter Ruler,

“Jiang Wei has fought repeatedly without victory. You can appoint Yan Yu in his place.”

The Latter Ruler accepted this counsel and sent an edict to summon Jiang Wei back. At that time Jiang Wei was pressing the stockades at Qishan when, on one day, three edicts arrived ordering him to retreat.

He obeyed. He first ordered the Taoyang detachment to withdraw, then withdrew with Zhang Yi slowly.

Deng Ai was in the stockade and heard nothing but drums and horns through the night, not knowing what it meant. At dawn the report came that the Shu army had completely withdrawn, leaving only an empty camp. Deng Ai had suspected a stratagem and did not dare to pursue.

Jiang Wei marched directly to Hanzhong, rested men and horses, and with his envoys rode into Chengdu to see the Latter Ruler. For ten days in a row, the Latter Ruler did not hold court. Jiang Wei inwardly was puzzled.

That day near the East Flower Gate he met Xizheng, a Secretary Gentleman. Jiang Wei asked,

“Do you know why Your Majesty has summoned the General to return?”

Xizheng laughed,

“Why does your Highness not understand it yet, General? Huang Hao wishes Yan Yu to gain merit; he has already memorialized the court and obtained this edict to recall you. Later he heard that Deng Ai can handle the army well, so this matter has been set aside.”

Jiang Wei was furious:

“I must kill this eunuch.”

Xizheng restrained him,

“As one who has taken up Master Zhuge’s work and bears a great charge, you cannot act hastily. If the Son of Heaven does not permit it, it will be ugly indeed.”

Jiang Wei acknowledged,

“Master, your words are true.”

The next day, the Latter Ruler and Huang Hao were feasting in the rear garden when Jiang Wei entered with a few men. Someone reported Huang Hao in time; he hurried to hide at the side of Lake Mountain.

Jiang Wei came beneath the pavilion, bowed to the Latter Ruler, and with tears submitted a memorial,

“I have pinned Deng Ai at Qishan, and Your Majesty has sent three edicts calling me back. I do not yet understand Your Majesty’s intent.”

The Latter Ruler was silent.

Jiang Wei spoke again,

“Huang Hao is a clever and overreaching eunuch. He was one of the Ten Attendants in Emperor Ling’s time. If Your Majesty were to use his nearness to Zhangrang and his remoteness from Zhao Gao as examples, you would see what can happen. If this man is put to death now, the court will quickly clear and the Central Plains may return.”

The Latter Ruler smiled,

“Though Huang Hao is an intimate of my chamber, if he monopolizes authority, he still is not able to do harm. Dongyun’s former biting hatred of him was odd to me. Why do you insist on it?”

Jiang Wei knelt and submitted,

“Your Majesty, if Huang Hao is not put to death today, calamity is not far off.”

The Latter Ruler said,

“‘To love a man, one wishes him to live; to hate him, one wishes him to die.’ Why can you not bear one eunuch?”

He ordered the attendants near Lake Mountain to summon Huang Hao to the pavilion and told him to kneel before Jiang Wei and beg for mercy.

Huang Hao came crying, kneeling and bowing before Jiang Wei,

“I have always merely waited to attend on the Son of Heaven, and have not involved myself in state affairs. Do not listen to outsiders and seek to kill me. If your General ties me up, only ask for mercy.”

He finished the words, knelt again, and wept.

Jiang Wei left in a rage and went to see Xizheng, explaining the whole incident. Xizheng said,

“The General is in grave danger. If he falls, the state will fall with him.”

Jiang Wei replied,

“Master, you have thankfully taught me a way to save state and person.”

Xizheng said,

“In Longxi there is a place called Tazhong. It is exceedingly rich and sturdy. Why should the General not follow Master Kongming’s example and ask Your Majesty to allow him to go to Tazhong for Tuntian? First, he can use the wheat harvest there to support the army’s stores; second, he can fully survey the commanderies on the right of Liang; third, the men of Wei will not dare openly face Hanzhong; fourth, while the General holds the forces in the field, none can move against him, and he can avoid disaster. This is a strategy for preserving state and life. He should do it soon.”

Jiang Wei rejoiced and said,

“Master’s words are like gold and jade.”

The next day Jiang Wei memorialized the Latter Ruler requesting permission for Tuntian at Tazhong in imitation of Master Kongming’s precedent. The Latter Ruler approved.

Jiang Wei returned to Hanzhong and gathered his generals:

“I have gone out many times and, because grain was short, have not succeeded. Now I have eight wan men and go to Tazhong to sow wheat and camp for a long plan. We have long suffered in battle and hardship. Today we gather and consolidate men and grain and withdraw to defend Hanzhong. Wei troops must carry supply for a thousand li and cross mountain ridges and passes, so they will naturally tire. When they tire they must retreat; then we can pursue the opening and they will all lose.”

He then appointed Hu Ji to guard Hanshou City, Wang Han to guard Le City, Jiang Bin to guard Han City, and Jiang Shu and Fuxian to hold the mountain passes together.

When distribution was complete, Jiang Wei led eight wan soldiers to Tazhong and sowed wheat there for a long plan.

Deng Ai heard that Jiang Wei was conducting Tuntian at Tazhong. He saw that for more than forty camps there were lined up along the road in unbroken chain like a long serpent. He ordered spies to examine the terrain, sketched a map, and submitted an illustrated report.

Sima Zhao of Wei, seeing it, grew furious:

“Jiang Wei has violated the Central Plains repeatedly and cannot be exterminated. He is an ache in my own heart.”

Jia Chong said,

“Jiang Wei learned deeply from Kongming. It is hard to drive him off. Only a commander of wit and courage should be sent to stab him and spare the labor of moving troops.”

Xun Xu, Gentleman of the Court of Works, said,

“That is not right. Liu Shan of Shu is sunk in wine and lust, trusts Huang Hao, and all major ministers seek only to escape calamity. Jiang Wei’s Tuntian at Tazhong is exactly his plan to avoid disaster. If the principal command is used against him, there is no case where we do not prevail. Why need an assassin?”

Sima Zhao laughed,

“That is the best argument. Who can lead in the invasion of Shu?”

Xun Xu replied,

“Deng Ai is a talented man of this age, and with Zhong Hui as his deputy, the matter will be accomplished.”

Sima Zhao was delighted:

“Your words agree exactly with my thought.”

He summoned Zhong Hui and asked,

“I wish to appoint you as commander in chief. Will you go to punish Eastern Wu?”

Zhong Hui said,

“Your intent, my lord, is not in fact to punish Wu but to punish Shu.”

Sima Zhao laughed,

“You truly understand my heart. But if you go to punish Shu, what is your plan?”

Zhong Hui said,

“I understand Your intent, and the map is already here with Your Lordship.”

He spread it out. The map showed in detail where a route should camp and build stockades, where to store grain and forage, and from where to advance and from where to withdraw.

Sima Zhao saw it and praised him greatly,

“You are truly a good general. How is it if you join forces with Deng Ai and take Shu?”

Zhong Hui said,

“The roads in Shu are broad. We cannot advance in a single route. Let Deng Ai divide troops and advance in multiple directions.”

So Sima Zhao made Zhong Hui the General Who Guards the West, invested him with seal and command badge, made him Chief Commander of the Guanzhong cavalry and horsemen, and summoned contingents from Qing, Yan, Yu, Jing, and Yang Provinces. At the same time he sent an envoy with command and appointed Deng Ai as General Who Conquers the West, commander over the Long ridges beyond the passes to set the time and move against Shu.

The next day Sima Zhao discussed this matter at court. Former General Deng Dun said,

“Jiang Wei has attacked the Central Plains repeatedly. Our soldiers have suffered grave losses. At present, even defense is not secure. Why should we enter distant mountains and dangerous country and invite trouble for ourselves?”

Sima Zhao became angry,

“I wish to lead a righteous and benevolent army against an unrighteous ruler. How can you dare to oppose my intent?”

He shouted an officer to him who immediately beheaded Deng Dun and dragged him forward. In moments later Deng Dun’s head was presented below the steps. All present turned pale.

Sima Zhao said,

“Since I began the campaign eastward, I have rested six years and repaired troops and armaments. I have long wished to punish Wu and Shu. Now, first fix Western Shu, ride the stream-wind current and strike by land and water in one advance, and absorb Eastern Wu after. It is the way to overthrow Guo and seize Yu. I judge that Shu now fields eight or nine wan men at Chengdu, and on the frontier four or five wan at most. Jiang Wei’s Tuntian has not more than six or seven wan soldiers.

I have already ordered Deng Ai to bring in more than ten wan men from beyond Liangshan and bind Jiang Wei at Tazhong so he cannot look eastward. I have ordered Zhong Hui to lead from Guanzhong two or three wan men straight to Luogu. Three paths together will strike Hanzhong. Liu Shan of Shu is drunk in darkness; his frontier cities break outwardly and men and women tremble inwardly. Its fall is certain.”

All present obeyed and bowed.

When Zhong Hui received the seal and rank of General Who Guards the West, he raised the army against Shu. Fearing that intelligence might leak, he spoke of punishing Eastern Wu and so ordered the five regions of Qing, Yan, Yu, Jing, and Yang to each build large ships. He also sent Tangzi to gather coastal vessels at Deng and Lai commanderies.

Sima Zhao did not know his intent and asked him,

“You have come to collect grain by the dry road into Sichuan. Why build ships?”

Zhong Hui replied,

“If Shu hears that our army advances in strength, it will seek rescue from Eastern Wu. Therefore I raise this appearance first, displaying the forms of punishing Wu; Wu will then not dare to act rashly. In a year Shu will be broken and the ships will be ready, and then punishing Wu will be exactly in order.”

Sima Zhao was overjoyed and chose a date to dispatch the army.

In the fourth year of Wei Jingyuan, on the third day of the seventh month of autumn, Zhong Hui departed on campaign. Sima Zhao escorted him to ten li beyond the city and then returned.

Shao Ti, the secretary of the Western Ministry, spoke privately to Sima Zhao,

“The Great Lord has sent Zhong Hui with ten wan troops to attack Shu; I suspect his ambition is great and his heart high. He cannot be allowed to hold all authority alone.”

Sima Zhao laughed,

“Do I not know that?”

Shao Ti replied,

“Since you know it, why do you not appoint someone to share the command?”

Sima Zhao spoke many words that eased Shao Ti’s suspicion.

Thus it was:

As horses and men gallop in that day, one may recognize the general’s overbearing spirit. How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.