Chapter 84- Liu Bei's Army Gets Burned and Suffers Total Defeat(Battle ...

Liu Bei's Shu forces. Their vanguard, led by Wu Ban, is deep in Wu territory. And they're not just sitting there, they're actively trying to provoke the Wu army. Yeah, they're like taunting them, Wu Ban's troops are taking off armor, acting all relaxed, basically daring Wu to attack. And you've got these Wu generals, Han Dang, Zhu Tai veterans, right? They're seeing this and thinking it's children's play, calling the Shu forces old and weak. They're practically begging their commander, Liu San, to let them go fight. Which sets up this immediate tension. You've experienced guys wanting to charge, thinking it's an easy win. But Liu San, the commander, he's incredibly calm. He's watching from afar. And he sees something different. Exactly. He points out what the text calls a killing aura. A shaki coming from the mountains nearby. He smells a trap. He tells his generals, hold back, this looks like bait. So he's seeing past the obvious, but his generals aren't convinced, right? They're calling him cowardly, pressing him to attack. Meanwhile, Wu Ban keeps up the taunts. And Liu Kan lets it happen. For three days. He actually says, in three days, their trick will be seen. His real aim. He wants the enemy to move their camps. Okay, wait, three days, isn't that risky? Giving the enemy time? Why wait so long when his own guys are doubting him? That's the key to Liu Shan's genius, isn't it? He's playing the long game. He knows Liu Bei is smart, a worldly hero. He suspected the initial provocative force wasn't the real threat. He needed Liu Bei to commit fully, to spread out, to get comfortable, or maybe overconfident. So he's letting Liu Bei walk deeper into the potential trap. Precisely. And it works exactly as Liu San predicted. After three days, Wu Ban pulls back. And then, boom. The main Shu army, fully armored, pours out from the valleys. It's a terrifying sight. The Wu soldiers are stunned. Liu Bei played a good feint. But Lu Xin was ready for it. He was. This is the moment he explains his reasoning to his now rather impressed generals. He says, yes, Liu Bei is brilliant, intelligent, and resourceful. His initial troops were disciplined. But. But, after seven or eight months of continuous campaigning, setting up camps, marching, just the grind. Liu Bei's army is now tired and discouraged. That's the weakness. That's the moment to strike. Time wasn't Liu Bei's friend here. It became his enemy because Lu Xin used patience. Wow. So the generals who called him a coward are now eating their words. Completely. They're sighing in admiration, the text says. And this isn't just about his immediate commanders. Lu San sends his plan up to Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu. And Sun Quan. He must have been hearing the whispers about Lu San being timid too. He probably was. But when he sees Lu Sun's detailed plan and the reasoning behind the patience, he's overjoyed. His faith in Lu Sun is totally cemented. It shows Lu Sun didn't just outsmart the enemy, he managed his own internal politics too. That's a huge part of leadership, managing your own side. Okay, but let's flip this. Let's look at Lu Bei. How does a worldly hero, as Lu Sun called him, make such a massive mistake? What was going on in his head? It seems like a classic case of overconfidence. Maybe fueled by those early victories. And perhaps, yeah, underestimating this younger Wu commander, Lu Sun. So he got complacent. It looks that way. The text says he pushed his river forces way too deep into Wu territory. His own general, Huang Quan, actually warned him, said something like, it's easy to advance, but gonna be hard to retreat. Sound advice. Very sound. Huang Quan even offered to lead the vanguard himself, probably hoping to be cautious. But Lu Bei just dismissed it. He seemed convinced the Wu army was terrified, and he could just roll over them. That sounds like confirmation bias kicking in hard. He only hears what he wants to hear. Exactly. And this leads directly to the massive strategic error, the camps. He sets up this enormous network of camps, stretching, what was it? Continuous for 700 lightens. That's hundreds of miles. 40-something encampments. Right, and the killer detail, they're all positioned along mountains, streams, and dense forests. For anyone who knows military strategy, that just screams danger. Like setting up kindling for a massive bonfire. Precisely. And it wasn't just Lu Shen who saw it. Over in the rival kingdom of Wei, Emperor Cao Pai hears about Lu Bei's camp layout, and he laughs. He laughs. Yeah, laughs out loud and says, Lu Bei will be defeated. He explains that camping like that, continuously through forests and complex terrain, is a great taboo of military strategy. He basically predicts Lu Shen will crush him within days. Even his rival side clear his day. It shows some military principles are just universal, right? Absolutely. And tragically, that same realization hits home in Shu, Lu Bei's own kingdom. Lu Bei actually sends a map of his camps back to his chancel, the legendary Zhu Ji Ling. Oh, I bet Zhu Ji Ling saw it immediately. Instantly. The reaction is intense. He slams the table, cries out, wall. He asks, who on earth advised Lu Bei to do this, saying they should be executed? And when he finds out, Lu Bei did it himself. He despairs. He says the Han dynasty's fate is over. Just devastating. He sees the exact same vulnerability Cao Pai saw. So both his enemy and his most brilliant advisor see the fatal flaw. Yeah, it's chilling. Zhu Ji Ling says camps like that are sitting ducks for a fire attack. Utterly indefensible, he begs them to reposition immediately, but well. Too late by then. Seems so. It makes you think, doesn't it? How often do we get so caught up in our own momentum, maybe after a few successes, that we ignore fundamental rules or warnings from people who know better? A really sobering thought. But even in despair, Zhu Ji Ling is thinking ahead. He makes some predictions, right? He does. Shows his genius even then. He predicts Lu Sun won't chase Lu Bei too far if defeated, because Lu Sun has to worry about Wei potentially attacking him from behind. It's this complex, multi-sided game. Right. The three kingdoms are always watching each other. Exactly. So Zhu Ji Ling tells them, if the worst happens, retreat to Beidi City, a strong, defensible position. And then he drops this bombshell. The hidden army. Yeah. He reveals he'd secretly stationed 100,000 soldiers near a place called Yufupu, or fish belly shoal, years ago when he first entered the region. His advisor, Ma Liang, is completely stunned. He'd been through there loads of times, never saw a thing. That's incredible foresight, Zhu Ji Ling playing the long, long game. Always. He just cryptically says, later it will be seen. Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, Lu Sun has finished his observations. He's noticed the Shu soldiers have gotten sloppy, lax, and unguarded after all these months. The time is ripe. OK, so this is it. The moment Lu Sun decides to strike, he calls his generals. But then he does something odd, doesn't he? He turns down the guys like Han Dang and Zhu Tai, the experienced ones who are eager to fight. Yeah, you'd think he'd send his best guys for the main blow, but no. He picks a junior officer, Chun Yu Dan, gives him only 5,000 men, and tells him to hit the fourth Shu camp at night. Just 5,000. Why? And why a junior officer? It's another calculated move. It's not the main assault yet. It's a final test, a probe. He even sets up rescue forces under Shu Sheng and Ding Feng nearby, but tells them explicitly. Rescue Chun Yu Dan if he gets into trouble, but do not pursue the enemy. So he's testing the waters one last time, seeing how they react. Exactly. He wants to confirm their state of readiness, maybe draw out some of their key defenders, but without committing his main strength or revealing his full hand. It's incredibly precise. And does the test work? It does, but not in the way Chun Yu Dan hoped. He attacks, but the Shu general, Fu Tong, fights back hard. Then Chun Yu Dan gets ambushed by other Shu forces, takes heavy losses. Ouch. So he has to be rescued. Yep. Shu Sheng and Ding Feng ride in, pull him out, and withdraw, just as Lu Sun ordered. No pursuit. Chun Yu Dan comes back wounded, probably expecting to be punished. But Lu Sun. Lu Sun reassures him. Not your fault, he says. I was merely testing the enemy's reality. This skirmish confirmed everything for Lu Sun. The outer camps might still have some fight, but the overall Shu army is vulnerable. The conditions are perfect. And now he's ready to unleash the real plan. Now he is. And he lays it all out for his generals, adding this little knowing smile, saying, this plan, well, it could only be hidden from Zhu Jilin. He literally thanks heaven. Zhu Jilin isn't there in person. Shows you the respect he had for his rival's intellect. Wow. OK, so what is this devastating plan? It's terrifyingly simple and brutal. He predicts a strong southeast wind for the next afternoon, perfect for his strategy. Goodbye. Zhu Ran will take boats loaded with dry reeds and grass down the river. Han Dang attacks the camps on the north bank. Zhu Tai hits the south bank. And the soldiers. Every single soldier carries a bundle of flammable reeds or grass, hidden sulfur, and salt peter, basically gunpowder ingredients and fire starters. Oh, no. Oh, yes. The plan. Use the wind, assault the camps, and set them ablaze. Xunfeng Zhuhu will raise fire with the wind. Not all the camps, though, right? No, strategically targeting them. Burn 20 out of the 40 camps, specifically hitting every other camp. Imagine the chaos fire spreading, escape routes cut off, panic. Maximum disruption. Yeah. And the orders. No retreat. Relentless pursuit, day and night, until Lu Bei himself is captured. This isn't just about winning a battle. It's about annihilating an army. Chilling. Meanwhile, back in Lu Bei's main camp, does he have any clue what's coming? He gets warnings, omens even, but he just doesn't see it. The text describes his central army banner suddenly falling over, even though there's no wind, a really bad sign. Spooky, as anyone pointed out. Yeah. His officer, Cheng Ji, suggests that it might mean a Wu raid is coming. But Lu Bei, still high on that minor skirmish the night before, where Qin Yudan was repelled, just dismisses it. He thinks Wu was routed. He's completely misreading the situation. Totally. Then more news comes in. Wu troops are spotted moving east along the mountains. Lu Bei again brushes it off as a faint, just a diversionary tactic. He cannot imagine the scale of what Lu Xin has planned. It's heartbreaking, really. His confidence has become total blindness. It really has. As evening approaches, he sends out Generals Guan Xing and Zhang Bao on patrol. Guan Xing writes back urgently, the report. Fire has broken out in the Jiangbei camp. The first spark. But even then, Lu Bei doesn't grasp the enormity. He just tells them to go investigate further. He still thinks it's maybe a small raid. He has no idea that the inferno is just beginning and his entire army, spread out and vulnerable, is about to go up in flames. The inferno. It kicks off around the first watch. That's like 7 to 9 PM, right? Deep into the night. Picture this. A sudden southeast wind whips up and bam, fire erupts on the left side of the imperial camp. Then almost immediately, the right side too. It spread incredibly fast. The text says even the trees caught fire. And the noise, cries of battle shook the earth. It must have been just utter pandemonium. Oh, absolutely pandemonium. The panic was instant. Total. We read that his own soldiers, the imperial troops, were trampling each other. Catalyst died just like that, before Wu even fully engaged. And then the chase begins. Swift, merciless. Lu Bei flees on horseback, heading for Feng Xi's camp, hoping for safety. Only to see it's also just a wall of flames. Firelight reaching the sky, it says. Yeah, Lu Xun's fire attack. It was tactically brilliant, for sure. But its genius was deeper than just burning things. Striking at night, using the wind. He hit the psychological weak spot of an army already kind of on edge. The terror, the confusion from the flames spreading so fast, the noise. It caused total disarray. Self-inflicted casualties, like you said. Trampling each other. Cohesion gone. So this wasn't just a win, it was a shattering of morale, of command. It really highlights how using the environment can turn a battle into a complete rout. That makes total sense. But how did Lu Xun keep his own forces from getting tangled in that chaos? How did they capitalize so effectively? Good question. It came down to, well, really meticulous follow-up planning. His troops were organized. Multiple columns, hitting specific points, keeping up relentless pressure. The fire was like the hammer blow, yeah. But the organized pursuit was the anvil. They were disciplined. They exploited the chaos without getting sucked in. Gave Lu Bei zero chance to regroup. Right, no breathing room. And Lu Bei's escape, it was harrowing. Feng Xi somehow gets away, but Lu Bei, he's got Xu Sheng chasing him from behind, and then Ding Feng cuts him off from the front. The source just puts it grimly, four sides, no escape route, utterly trapped. But then you get this glimmer of hope. Zhang Bao shows up dramatically, leads a troop, somehow breaks through the encirclement, saves Lu Bei, gets the Imperial guards out. A real heroic moment. A critical intervention, absolutely critical. And as they're fleeing, another general, Fu Tong, manages to join them. But it's short-lived relief. They make it to Mian Mountain, maybe thinking they can regroup, but no. Lu Zhong's main army surrounds them again. The description is stark. Firelight everywhere, corpses piled high, choking the river, just grim. Yeah, imagine the scene. And the next day, no letup. Wu soldiers start setting fires on the mountain. Lu Bei's panic is just, you can feel it through the text. He's right on the edge. And this is where that loyalty just shines through, doesn't it? These generals. Zhang Bao, Fu Tong, risking everything, fighting into a disaster zone to save their emperor when it looks completely hopeless. It makes you ask, you know, what drives that level of sacrifice? Is it just duty? Or something deeper? A personal bond? Belief in the cause, the Han Dynasty idea Lu Bei represented. That's a great question. He must've had incredible charisma. Looking back at that chaos, what stands out to you is the absolute closest call, the moment it almost ended, and what saved him. Hmm, gotta say, the closest call was definitely when Xu Shang and Ding Feng had him boxed in. Four sides, no escape. That was it. Capture seemed inevitable. Xu Han finished. The turning point had to be Zhang Bao's charge. That desperate, focused breakthrough, it wasn't just fighting, it was leadership. Rallying a few guys, creating an opening from nothing. Pure willpower buying Lu Bei crucial seconds. Absolutely. Yeah. And then, just when things look desperate again on the mountain, Guan Jing appears. Says, head for Beidi Cheng. And Fu Tong immediately volunteers to hold the rear. I will die for it, he says. Just pure selflessness. Incredible devotion. Lu Bei then orders this desperate measure. Soldiers strip off their armor, burn it to block the road, trying anything to slow the pursuit. But the tension just ramps up again. A shout goes up. Zhu Ran's forces are by the riverbank. Escape route cut off. Again, Lu Bei cries out, I shall die here. Guan Jing, Zhang Bao, they get wounded by arrows. Lu Sun's main army is closing in fast from behind. It's peak desperation. It's really hard to overstate how close he was. Multiple times. The scale of the chase, the coordinated attacks, the constant pressure, it was designed to break him. And honestly, the narrative makes it clear. Only these timely, almost miraculous interventions by loyal generals stopped complete annihilation. But then, dawn breaks. And with it, this thunderous roar. Zhu Ran's troops are suddenly stumbling, falling into ravines. A new force has arrived, a heroic force. The cavalry arrives. Literally. It is, of course, the legend himself. Zhao Zilong. Zhao Yun. He'd been stationed back in Jiangsu, saw the firelight reaching the sky miles away, knew something was terribly wrong, and just rode like hell. Investigated quickly, understood the disaster, and boom, charged in. And Zhao Yun's arrival. I mean, it changed everything instantly. His reputation alone wasn't a weapon. The moment Lu Sun hears Zhao Yun's name, he orders a retreat just like that. It wasn't only about Zhao Yun's fighting skill, which was immense, obviously. It was the legend, the morale boost for Xu, the gut punch for Wu, knowing this guy was now in the fight. Wow. So he engages Zhu Ran directly. Yep. Takes him on, kills him with a single spear thrust, according to the story, scatters that whole Wu contingent, clears the path to Beidou Cheng. He wasn't just a force multiplier. He was a symbol. His presence shifted the whole psychological balance of the pursuit. Incredible that one person could do that. But even then, as he's being rescued, Lu Bei's thinking of others. Yes, okay, I'm safe, but what about my other general? Shows his character, even then. Zhao Yun, though, ever the practical one, says basically, we gotta secure Beidou Cheng first, your majesty. Sensible advice. So Lu Bei enters Beidou Cheng with barely a hundred men, a tiny fraction of the army he left with, a stark reminder of the scale of the defeat. And it's crucial to remember, while this was a disaster for Lu Bei, it was a massive, massive victory for Wu and Lu Sun. There's a poem from the time that really captures it, holding spear, raising fire, breaking camp after camp, Lu Bei flees headlong to Beidou Cheng. Overnight, Lu Xun's fame startles Shu and Wei. How could the Wu King not respect this scholar? It gives you that other perspective, right? Lu Xun's reputation soared. Good point. A triumph for one, tragedy for the other. And the human cost for Shu. It was immense. We need to talk about those sacrifices. Fu Tong, the guy who volunteered for the rear guard, he gets surrounded. Ding Feng basically tells him, The typical surrender or die speech, but Fu Tong, fierce defiance. His first line, I am a Han general. How could I surrender to Wu dogs? Just, wow. He fights on, apparently over a hundred rounds of combat, but can't break through. Finally cries out, I am finished. And dies spitting blood right there in the middle of the Wu soldiers. His story really hits hard and the poem praising him nails it. At Yiling, Wu and Shu fought fiercely. Lu Xun used fire. To his death, still cursing Wu dogs, Fu Tong is worthy of being a Han general. It's that profound sense of identity, that duty beyond just following orders. It's loyalty to an ideal of the Han, even facing certain death. That's what defined these figures. And he wasn't alone. There was Cheng Ji, a ceremonial officer. He tries to rally the Navy at the riverbank. Wu soldiers chase him down. His sailors scatter. Someone tells him to run, but he just explodes. Since I followed my Lord to war, I have never fled from the enemy. Before he can even finish, he's surrounded, draws his own sword, commits suicide. Another powerful story. And the poem for him captures that spirit too. Generous Shu ceremonial officer Cheng Ji left a sword to answer the Emperor. Facing danger, ambition unchanged, earned eternal renown. These aren't just soldiers. They're men of incredible, like moral courage, driven by personal honor, this deep code. Dying wasn't just for Lu Bei. It was about upholding their own values against overwhelming odds. Then there's Zhang Nan and Feng Xi. They were actually besieging Yiling. They hear about the main army's defeat, try to go rescue Lu Bei, but they get caught in a pincer. Pursuing Wu forces from one side, Sun Huan attacking from Yiling on the other, both die fighting in that mess. And again, their legacy is remembered in verse. Feng Xi's loyalty unparalleled, Zhang Ran's righteousness unmatched. Willing to die on the battlefield, their names flow through history. Seeing these stories one after another, it shows the staggering personal price of this war. For Xu Han, these weren't just troop losses. They were gutting blows, emotionally and morally. Other names are mentioned too. Shamo, the barbarian king fighting for Xu, killed by Zhu Tai after a long fight. Some did surrender, like Du Lu and Lu Ning. Understandable, perhaps. The Xu camps were just gone, wiped out. No supplies, no weapons left. Not an inch, the text says. But maybe the most poignant story is Lady Sun. Sun Shangxiang, Lu Bei's wife, back in Wu territory. She hears false rumors that Lu Bei died in the battle. She goes to the riverside, faces west towards Xu, weeps, and then drowns herself. They later built the Owl Heroine Temple for her. It's tragic. Yeah, utterly heartbreaking. And her poem reflects that. Former emperor's troops return to Beidicheng. The lady heard of disaster, sacrificed her life. A monument remains by the river, still bearing a heroic woman's name. All these sacrifices together. Generals, officials, even the empress, they tell you the stakes were sky high. Way beyond land or power. It was about honor, loyalty, personal bonds, the very fabric of their world being torn apart. For Lu Bei, any thought of victory was just buried under this mountain of personal loss. Such a heavy toll. Loyalty etched in blood. But, okay, as the immediate fighting dies down, another layer of strategy starts to reveal itself. Something weirder. Lu Sun, still riding high on his victory, keeps pushing west after Lu Bei, towards Qiguan Pass. And then he sees something near a mountain by the river. A killing aura, rising into the sky. Right, and this killing aura, it wasn't just like a spooky feeling for them. In ancient Chinese thought, especially military strategy, it was seen as a tangible sign. Palpable, hostile energy. An omen. A sharp commander like Lu Sun wouldn't dismiss it. He'd instinctively see it as a warning. Potential ambush. Hidden danger. It's this deep reading of the environment, almost. Fascinating. So yes, first thought is ambush. He orders a retreat. Ten Li sets up defenses. Smart move. But then his scouts come back. No enemy troops, sir. He's like, what? Climbs up high, looks again. And yep, the killing aura is definitely still there. Weird. Very weird from his perspective. Then they get closer. What's causing it? Just 80 or 90 piles of random stones by the river, and a place called Fishbelly Shoal, Nianyu Day. Lu Sun, still skeptical, maybe a bit cocky after his big win, dismisses it. Just a trick to fool people, he thinks. Sounds like overconfidence creeping in. Oh, big time. And that overconfidence nearly doomed him. Because these weren't random stones at all. Not even close. This was the legendary Eight-Tree-Gram Array, set up by Zuge Yang years earlier when he first came into Sichuan. It's not about blocking paths physically. Not really. It's about manipulating perception, the environment. Think of it as like a giant psychological maze. A maze made of rocks. Sort of. Rocks, sand, the sound of the river, even the changing light and wind, it all combines to create this disorienting, terrifying labyrinth in your mind. Paths seem to shift, illusions appear, echoes. It traps you mentally. No soldiers needed. It's pure psychological warfare built into the landscape, said to be as potent as 10,000 elite soldiers changing every day and every hour. Deep understanding of terrain and the human mind. Okay, that's chilling. And Lu Sun, still thinking it's nothing, rides in with just a few cavalry. Yep, rides right in to check it out. Bad move. As dusk hits, the whole thing transforms. Fierce wind, flying sand and stones, covering sky and earth. That's the description. Total disorientation. Suddenly the stones look like swords, the sand dunes like mountains, the river sounds like drums and clashing weapons. And Lu Sun gets it. That cold dread. I've fallen for Zhuge's scheme, he cries out. Trapped. Utterly lost inside. It's such a powerful illustration of Zhuzhu Zhang's genius, right? Not just battlefield tactics, but this incredible long-term foresight. Creating a weapon that lies dormant for years, then springs to life. Turning geography into a trap. It really shows how strategic thinking beats overconfidence. Mind over matter, almost literally. Just when he's probably freaking out, this old man appears, laughing apparently. Offers to lead him out, like out of nowhere. Yeah, talk about unexpected saviors. And the reveal is just mind-blowing. The old man, it's Huang Chengyan, Zhuzhu Zhang's father-in-law. And Huang Chengyan explains, yeah, Zhuge Liang set this up ages ago, and he actually told me not to help any Wu generals who got lost in here. But Huang Chengyan says he's just too kind-hearted. Couldn't leave Lu Zun stuck in the death gate, so he guided him out through the life gate. It's an amazing story. You've got layers of genius here. Zhuge Liang's foresight, planning for a pursuit years later. And then this added layer, maybe a bit of literary flair, right? His own father-in-law acting as this, like, ethical release valve for the trap. It elevates Zhuge Liang's mystique even further powerful, but ultimately magnanimous even to rivals. Whether historically exact or not, it underlines the sheer depth of his strategic thinking. Strategy on a whole other plane. Almost too perfect, yeah. Legend solidified. And Lu Zun, once he's out, he gets it. He's humble. Kongming is truly a sleeping dragon. I cannot compare. That says it all. A moment of profound realization for him. And then the truly astonishing part. Lu Xiu immediately orders a full retreat, backs off completely. Even though Lu Bei is weak, cornered in Bei Di Cheng. Seems like the perfect time to finish him off. Why retreat? This decision. This shows Lu Xun's own strategic brilliance. It's different from Zhuge Liang's. Maybe less mystical, but just as sharp. He wasn't retreating because he was scared of the rocks anymore. He understood that was about confusion, not killing. His calculation was pure grand strategy. He thought, okay, Taopai, the ruler of Wei. He's just as cunning as his father, Tao Tao. He knows I'm deep in Xiu chasing Lu Bei. He's definitely gonna hit our undefended borders in Wu while I'm gone. The bigger picture. Exactly. He realized being overextended in Xiu was dangerous. Supply lines stretched thin, too far away to react if Wei attacked Wu. Victory isn't just about crushing the enemy in front of you. It's about protecting your own base, keeping your options open. He saw the whole chessboard, not just the corner he was in. That's a masterclass in strategic thinking. Don't get tunnel vision. And was he right? Did Wei attack? Spot on. Within two days, reports flood in. Massive Wei invasion. Cao Ren, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen. Hundreds of thousands of troops hitting Wu from three different directions. Just like Lu Xun predicted. Wow. Incredible foresight, his response. Totally calm. Basically, yeah, I expected this. Already sent troops to counter them. Chillingly prepared. I do. There's a final poem that sums it up perfectly. With ambition to swallow Xiu but must defend against the northern court, Lu Xun knew you couldn't just focus on one enemy. True genius is anticipating the next move, even from someone not currently in the fight. He understood the ripple effects.