Chapter 113- Jiang Wei Defeated Deng Ai in Battles But the Corrupted Sh....

This is around 258 CE, and Wu is just volatile. You've got these super powerful ministers, like Sun Lin, basically running the show because the emperors are young. It creates this really dangerous loop. Tyranny, failed coups, bloody revenge. It just keeps cycling. Right. But before we dive right into the palace intrigue, the sources do give us a little glimpse of Yeah, just briefly, over on the western front, you've got General Jiang Wei from Shu dealing with Deng Ai leading the Wei forces. And Jiang Wei pulls off this pretty smart retreat. He sends his foot soldiers out first, then the cavalry covers them. Textbook. But Deng Ai is sharp. Really sharp. He actually holds back, doesn't pursue. Why not? Seems like a chance to strike. Well, he figures Jiang Wei laid a trap. And he's right. Jiang Wei apparently had brushwood and straw piled up in this narrow pass, Luogu Valley, Camel Valley they call it, ready to set it ablaze. Ah, okay. So Deng Ai's caution saved his army. Smart. Very. That kind of caution keeps you alive on the battlefield. But inside the palace in eastern Wu, survival needed maybe a different kind of paranoia. Maybe even more dangerous. Definitely. So let's shift back there. Sun Lin is the regent, the great general. And his grip is, well, it's total, tyrannical. How did he manage that, such complete control? He put his family in charge. His four brothers, Sun Ju, Sun En, Sun Gan, Sun Kai, they controlled the key military posts. Especially the forbidden armies, the imperial guards. Right, the guys protecting the emperor himself. So Lin effectively owned the security. Exactly. Which meant he could act with pretty much impunity. We see that when a couple of officers, Quan Duan and Tang Shi, defect to Wei. Oh yeah, his reaction there is chilling. It's horrifying. He doesn't just punish them, he executes their entire families. Wipes them out. Wow. Just total annihilation. What's the thinking there? Yeah. Pure terror. Seems like it. Make the cost of betrayal absolute. But you gotta wonder, like you said, does that level of cruelty actually work long term? Or does it just drive the anger underground? Well, it certainly seems to have pushed the young emperor, Sun Lang, over the edge. He's only 16, but the sources stress how smart he is. And he's deeply disturbed by these killings. And there's that great story, the anecdote about the plums and the honey. It really shows you his mind at work, even if he has no real power. Right, get this. The emperor is eating some raw plums, asks a eunuch, a Yellowgate attendant, to get him some honey. And these attendants, you know, they were influential. Intercourt access. Right. Trusted positions, usually. So the attendant comes back, but Liang spots rat droppings in the honey jar. Immediately he suspects the attendant planted them there to frame the storekeeper. Apparently the storekeeper had refused this attendant honey before. The attendant denies it up and down. No, no, these must be old. From the storehouse. So how does Liang prove it? He's stuck. Politically powerless. This is where he's brilliant. He orders the droppings cut open. Cut open? Why? His logic is perfect. If they'd been sitting in the honey for ages, they'd be soaked through. Wet inside and out. Ah. But if they were just put in- The outside would be sticky with honey, but the inside would still be dry. Wow. If they were dry inside, the attendant confesses right on the spot. Wow. That's some serious deductive reasoning for a 16-year-old figurehead. It really sets him up as this clever mind, trapped. Exactly. Which is why he decides to take a massive risk. He sees Sun Lin surrounded by his brother's armies and thinks, I have to try and get rid of him. So he starts plotting. Mm-hmm. Secretly, obviously. With another Yellowgate attendant, Quan Ji, who, crucially, is also his uncle on his mother's side. Right. The plan is basically seize the troops, take out Sun Lin fast. But Liang, being smart, knows the risks. He gives Quan Ji one very specific, very important warning. Don't tell your mother. He says, whatever you do, do not tell your mother about this. Why was that so critical? Because, well, the connections were just too dangerous. Quan Ji goes and tells his father, Quan Sheng. Maybe he wanted advice. Maybe backup. Who knows? OK, still not ideal, but maybe containable. Nope. Because Quan Sheng then tells his wife, Quan Ji's mother. Oh, no. Let me guess. She's Sun Lin's sister, the one person Liang warned him about. Unbelievable. So she? Immediately sends a secret message to her brother, Sun Lin. Blows the whole thing wide open. The family tie. The exact thing he feared. It just doomed the whole plan instantly. And Sun Lin reacts like lightning. This is what happens when you threaten a tyrant who holds all the cards. What does he do? Gets his brothers. Gets the forbidden army units mobilized before dawn. Surrounds the inner palace. Arrests Quan Sheng and another plotter, Lu Cheng, executes them. So when Liang hears the drums and shouting outside. He knows. He knows he's been betrayed. He apparently confronts his empress's family. The Quan's just cursing them out for wrecking his plan. Meanwhile, Sun Lin secures the palace. Calls the court officials together. And basically forces them to agree to depose Sun Lin. Does anyone resist? It seems like suicide. One guy does. An official named Huan Yu. He actually shouts out, calls Liang a clever ruler. Refuses to follow Sun Lin. Calls him the traitor. Blotsy, what happens to him? Sun Lin pulls his own sword and cuts him down. Right there. Instantly. Jesus. Talk about sending a message. Oh yeah. Total silence after that, you can bet. It's pure psychological warfare. Anyone else thinking of protesting? Not anymore. So Sun Lin gets what he wants. Yep. He formally accuses Liang of being lewd and ill. You know, the usual charges. Strips him of the imperial seal. Demotes him to prince of Kuai Ji. The clever emperor is out. Done. Just like that. So Sun Lin is now the kingmaker. He got rid of one emperor. Now he needs a new one. Presumably someone he thinks will be easier to handle. Exactly. He picks Sun Xu, who's another son of the founder, Sun Quan. And Sun Xu comes onto the scene with this very interesting dream. A dream? What was it? He dreamed he was riding a dragon, but the dragon had no tail. Huh. Symbolic. Much. Right. It gets interpreted as meaning he'll become an emperor, but his power won't be, like, complete or secure. There's a warning attached. Who warns him? An old man named Gan Xu tells him, basically, get to the capital, fast, before Sun Lin changes his mind. Does he listen? He does. And he plays it smart. Very humble. Initially refuses the fancy imperial carriage. Greets the officials on foot. Maybe learning from Liang's fate, you know. Don't appear too ambitious. Meanwhile, Sun Lin is baffling in the glory of being the kingmaker. Oh yeah. He gets loaded up with titles. Chancellor. Governor of Jingzhou. His family is now peak power. Five marquees in his household, all controlling the military. His arrogance just goes through the roof. And that's usually when people make mistakes, right? When they think they're untouchable. Precisely. Pride comes before a fall, as they say. He starts seeing Sun Zhu, the emperor he installed, as just some guy he put there. How does that manifest? Well, there's this incident in the 12th month. Sun Lin offers the emperor the traditional gifts of beef and wine for the season. Okay. Seems normal. But Sun Zhu refuses them. Turns them down. Whoa! That's a statement, isn't it? More than just saying, no thanks to some food. Absolutely. It's a symbolic rejection. The emperor is basically saying, you don't command me. I don't take orders or gifts from you like a subordinate. How does Sun Lin take that? Badly. He gets furious, apparently gets drunk, and complains to one of his generals, Zhang Bu. What does he say? Something like, I put this guy on the throne because I thought he was worthy. But now he treats me like an equal. I'll show him. Soon. Oof. That's not subtle. That's a direct threat to depose another emperor. Crystal clear. And unlike Quan Sheng before, Zhang Bu doesn't keep it quiet. He goes straight to Sun Zhu and tells him what Lin said. So now Sun Zhu knows he's potentially next on the chopping block. He must be panicking. Lin still controls the guards, right? Totally. Sheree is terrified, rightly so. He knows a direct confrontation is impossible. So the big question is, who can they possibly trust to help them take down the guy who controls the entire military apparatus? They need someone experienced. Someone tough. They call in general Ding Feng. A veteran. Respected. Okay, so what's Ding Feng's plan? How do you trap someone who controls all the soldiers? Ding Feng comes up with a classic. Timing is key. The lorree, the winter festival banquet, is coming up in that same 12th month. Ah, a public event. Exactly. Invite Sun Lin to the feast. Get him inside the palace, relaxed, drinking. And then seize him. Right there at the table. Palace coup 101. Simple, but risky. Does Lin suspect anything? Well, the sources give us some classic bad omens. The night before the banquet, there's this huge windstorm that rips up old trees. And Sun Lin apparently stumbles getting out of bed that morning. Oh, omens. Does he pay attention? Nope. He totally ignores them. He's just so confident. His family controls the guards. He thinks he's invincible. Big mistake. So he walks right into it. Attends the banquet. Yep. They're drinking wine. Everything seems normal for a few rounds. Then, the signal. Where is it? Someone shouts about a fire outside the palace. A fake alarm. To create chaos. Yeah. Distraction. Exactly. And Lin's first instinct, naturally, is to get up and leave. See what's going on. But they can't let him leave. Right. Sun Ji stops him. Says something like, Don't worry about the troops outside, Chancellor. It's fine. And in that exact moment, while Lin is paused, That's when they move. That's when Zang Gu draws his sword. Thirty guards rush in. They grab Sun Lin. Zang Gu declares the Emperor's orders. Arrest the traitor Sun Lin. Wow. Just the tables turned in an instant. Completely. The whole power structure flips right there. What does Lin do? He's caught. He tries one last thing. He begs. Pleads with Sun Xu to just exile him. Send him off to Jiaozhu, this really remote, nasty place in the south. Wish you show mercy. Not a chance. Sun Xu delivers this absolutely ice-cold line. It's devastating. What does he say? He basically asks Sun Lin, Why didn't you let Tang Yin be exiled? Or Lu Ju? Or Wang Dan? Ah, the rivals Sun Lin himself had killed instead of exiling. Exactly. Ji throws Lin's own ruthlessness right back in his face. The implication is clear. Yeah. You showed them no mercy. Why should I show you any? Gold. So, that's it for Sun Lin. That's it. He's executed immediately. Right then and there. And the revenge doesn't stop with him, does it? Oh, no. Sun Xu and his supporters, they go all out. It's not just about removing Lin. It's about erasing his power base completely. His brothers. Yeah. The ones commanding the troops. Captured. Dragged out to the public marketplace. Executed. Wipes out the family's military control in one go. And then it gets even darker, doesn't it? The courage goes beyond the living. Yeah, this part is particularly brutal. They actually dig up the grave of Sun Jun Lin's relative, who had also been powerful and ruthless before him. And they mutilate the corpse. It's this final act of, like, total desecration. Destroying his legacy, his memory, even his rest. It's intense. A really vicious end to the whole affair. So, the cycle completes. It does. The families of the people Sun Lin and Sun Jun had killed, like the famous Zhu Jike, they're officially honored and rehabilitated. Ding Fang, Zhang Bu, the guys who pulled off the coup, they get heavily rewarded. Stability, or the appearance of it, returns. For now. So, Wu had just had some internal shakeups. Yeah. And they started exchanging envoys with Xu Han again. This Wu envoy, Xue Zhu, goes to Chengdu, Xu's capital. Right. And when he gets back, he gives this absolutely devastating report to his ruler, Sun Zhu. It's quite something. What did he find? What was so bad? Well, he basically said the court was completely controlled by this powerful eunuch, Huang Hao. The central regular attendant. Oh, Huang Hao. Yeah. And because of him, all the high officials were just, well, terrified. Totally subservient. Xue Zhu's key line was, not a single word of direct counsel was heard. Wow. So, zero honest feedback reaching the emperor, Lu Shan. None. Think about that. They're in this existential war with Wei, and the government's core is just silent. Or worse, just full of flattery. That's bad enough. But didn't he look outside the palace, too? He did. And it gets bleaker. He reported the people, the civilians, were literally starving. He used this really vivid phrase, civilians have the color of vegetables. Good grief. Just paints a picture of total system failure, doesn't it? Absolutely. But the part everyone remembers, the really chilling part, is the metaphor he used. The swallows and sparrows. That's the one. He said the whole situation, the officials living it up while everything's falling apart, it was like, quote, swallows and sparrows living in the hall, unaware the mansion is about to burn. Just complete ignorance at the top, believing they're safe right until the flames engulf them. Precisely. And Xin Shiyu, in Wu, he hears this, and apparently he laments that someone like Zhou Shiliang isn't around anymore. You can understand why. Right. And he actually sends a formal letter to Lu Shan in Shu, warning him. He says, look, see Ma Zhao over in Wei? He's about to seize power, and to consolidate his authority, he's going to invade both Wu and Shu. The external threat is real and coming soon. Okay, so Shu gets this warning from Wu, basically saying, your house is rotten and your neighbor is about to attack. How does Zhang Wei react? Well, this is fascinating. He hears about See Ma Zhao's potential invasion, the external threat, and he's actually delighted. He sees it as a diplomatic win, an opening. He focuses entirely on the external threat. What about the internal rot Shu described? Seems like he completely ignored it. Or maybe he just didn't see it as his problem. He immediately petitions Lu Shan, let's attack Wei now, gets 200,000 troops together, partners up with Xiahouba. And heads straight for Qishan, again, that old battleground. Yep, a key strategic point. And this is where the duel with Deng Ai really heats up. So Zhang Wei sets up his camps, three of them, at this place called Gugu, Valleymouth. But Deng Ai, he's already anticipated this. The source says he guessed the flow of the land, Duodime. It's more than just guessing the area. He pinpointed the exact spot where Zhang Wei would put his left camp. Okay, that's impressive foresight. But how does he act on it? Oh, this is where it gets really clever. Yeah. And kind of terrifying. Deng Ai had secretly dug this huge tunnel. A tunnel? Where from? From his own main camp at Qishan, running underground, all the way to directly underneath, where he knew that Shu left camp would be. Seriously? Under the camp? Right under their feet. Then, middle of the night, second watch, he sends 500 specialized troops. They're called Zhu Zijun, digging troops. Yeah. Led by a guy named Zhang Lun. What do they do? They burst out of the ground, inside the Shu camp, right under the command tent. At the exact same time, Deng Ai sends his cavalry, charging the camp's perimeter. It's pure shock and awe. Chaos. Utter chaos, presumably. You wouldn't think so. And initially, yeah, the generals in that left camp, Wang Han and Zhang Bin, they panicked. They fled. So it worked. It almost worked. But this is where Zhang Wei shows his quality. He's in the central camp, sees the chaos erupting next door. And he remains completely calm. Like ice cold. What does he do? His orders are brutal, but effective. First, nobody moves without a direct command. Anyone breaks rank, execute them immediately. Wow. Harsh. Very. Second, archers and craft bowmen, fire only at the enemy edge. Don't rush out. Don't try to countercharge. Just hold the line. Absorb the attack. That sounds incredibly risky. Asking troops getting attacked from below to just stand there. It is. But it's pure Zhuge Liang discipline. Zhang Wei was counting on panic. On the psychological collapse. Zhang Wei denied him that. By forcing his troops to hold, even under that pressure, he stopped the chaos from spreading. And did it work? It did. By dawn, the Wei attack had fizzled out. They couldn't break the discipline center. Zhang Wei had to pull back. What was Zhang Wei's reaction to this? He was actually full of praise. Grudgingly, maybe. He basically said, Zhang Wei really gets Kongming's methods. Soldiers calm at night. Generals steady under pressure. That's a true general. Yeah. He knew shock tactics weren't going to cut it. So, Zhang Wei handles the aftermath. Yep. He accepts the surrender of the generals who fled. Interestingly, blaming himself for not assessing the terrain properly. Then, pretty grimly, he fills the tunnel with the bodies of the dead Wei soldiers and covers it with earth. Message sent. Okay, so subterfuge failed. What's next? Open battle. Strategy versus strategy. Zhang Wei challenges Deng Ai. And this leads to the famous clash of formations, the Eight Array Formation, Boz and Five. Ah, yes. The classic. Heaven, earth, wind, cloud. All that. Exactly. Zhang Wei lays it out. Deng Ai, trying to show he's Zhang Wei's equal, attempts to mirror it. But then he tries to get fancy. Arso. He changes his version into this complex grid, like eight times eight, making 64 distinct gates or portals. He thinks he's demonstrating superior knowledge. But Zhang Wei isn't impressed. Not at all. He basically scoffs at it. Yeah. And this is key. Deng Ai understands the geometry, the static layout of 64 points. He sees it like a blueprint. But Zhang Wei understands the bond. A jianfei isn't static. It's dynamic. It's about flow, constant movement, change. Deng Ai's 64 gates are rigid. Zhang Wei sees that immediately and thinks Deng Ai only knows the textbook version, not the living reality of it. So what does Zhang Wei do? He proves his point. He instantly shifts his own formation into something completely different, the long serpent coiling the earth array. Sounds ominous. It was. It's this fluid encircling formation. And Deng Ai, he sees this, and the source says he's just seized with panic. He realizes his neat little 64 gate grid is useless against this living coiling thing. He's trapped. He's completely outclassed in formation theory. How does he get out? Pure luck, almost. Sima Wang, another Wei commander, arrives on the scene. And get this. Sima Wang recognizes the formation. From experience? No, from his studies. Years ago, he'd studied strategy with these scholars, Qu Zubing and Shi Guangyuan, and they'd covered this specific kind of obscure, long serpent array. So academic knowledge saves the day. Pretty much. Sima Wang knew from his books that the formation's weak point, its head, was always in the northwest corner. He tells Deng Ai, they launch a focused attack right there, and boom, they break the encirclement. Incredible. Saved by ancient homework. But strategically, Xu still won that round, right? Oh, absolutely. Despite the rescue, Xu captures all nine of Qishan's camps. Wei is forced to retreat south, across the Wei River. Militarily, Jiang Wei is dominating. So Deng Ai and Sima Wang regroup. What's their next move? They can't win conventionally. They realize that, so they decide on a trap. A bit more sophisticated this time. Sima Wang will openly challenge Jiang Wei to another duel of formation. Keep Jiang Wei busy out front, while Deng Ai takes a force and tries to sneak around to attack the rear of Jiang Wei's mountain position. They're hoping Jiang Wei's pride, or maybe his focus on the formation duel, will make him miss the rear attack. But Jiang Wei, he seems to be onto them, doesn't he? He's way ahead. He gets Sima Wang's challenge and just tells his officers, basically, this guy thinks he knows a raise. I know this system has 365 variations, linking it to the old Zhu calendar cycle. He calls Sima Wang a frog at the bottom of a well. Total confidence. Does he predict the sneak attack? Perfectly. He says, they're trying to lure me into a formation duel, and immediately figures out the plan. He knows Deng Ai is going for the rear. So he prepares a counter trap. Exactly. He doesn't just wait for Deng Ai's ambush. He sets his own. He sends two of his best generals, Liao Hua and Zhang Yi, with 10,000 troops to hide behind a mountain, waiting for Deng Ai. Okay, so the stage is set for a double confrontation. Yep. Out front, Jiang Wei meets Sima Wang. Sima Wang probably starts laying out his array, maybe boasting about its 81 changes or whatever. And Jiang Wei? Jiang Wei just openly mocks him. Tells him straight up, I know Deng Ai is sneaking around back, trying to attack my rear. Can you imagine Sima Wang's face? Oh, man. The plan is blown wide open. Completely. Jiang Wei then just attacks Sima Wang's forces, and routes them almost immediately. Total confusion on the wayside. And what's happening at the back of the mountain with Deng Ai's force? It's even worse for Wei there. Deng Ai sends his vanguard forward, trying to get around the mountain pass. And leading that vanguard, it's Zhang Lun again. The guy who led the tunnel troops? The very same one. Deng Ai's shock specialist. And Liao Hua, waiting in ambush, just rides out and kills Zhang Lun instantly. One blow. Ouch. So Deng Ai's lead element is gone. Wiped out. Then Deng Ai himself rides forward, right into the trap. He's caught between Liao Hua attacking from one side, and Zhang Yi from the other. He gets hit with four arrows, manages to escape, but his force is shattered. They retreat all the way back to their main camp by the Wei River. So this is a complete, unambiguous military victory for Jiang Wei. He's out-thought, out-maneuvered, and out-fought Deng Ai and Sima Wang at every turn. Total dominance on the battlefield. Deng Ai's tactical genius has been neutralized. Jiang Wei has achieved overwhelming external strength. But this is where the story turns, isn't it? From military triumph to political tragedy. Exactly. Deng Ai and Sima Wang realize they just cannot beat Jiang Wei militarily. It's impossible. So they switch tactics entirely. They go for the political jugular. They decide to use Fan Jianji. Counter-espionage. Using Xu's internal problems against itself. They finally decide to exploit that weakness, the one Xu Zhu warned about all those years ago. They figure the only way to beat the unbeatable general is to destroy his support back home. And they know exactly who to target, presumably? Oh, yes. They know Emperor Lu Xian relies heavily on the eunuch Wang Hao. They know Wang Hao is greedy and influential. So they don't attack the walls of Chengdu. No. They send an agent, a guy named Party Jun, into Chengdu. And he's not carrying weapons. He's carrying sacks of gold and jewels. To bribe Wang Hao. Precisely. Bribe Wang Hao, get him on side, and then get him to spread a rumor. A poisonous rumor. What's the rumor? That Jiang Wei, despite all his victories, is actually resentful towards the Emperor Lu Xian. That he's getting too powerful, too popular. And he's secretly planning to defect to Wei. It's completely fabricated, of course. Totally. It's classic political assassination. Undermine the loyal general by painting him as a traitor. And in a court already riddled with fear and suspicion, like Xu Zhu described. That kind of rumor can spread fast. Like wildfire. Wang Hao, probably seeing a way to protect his own influence by getting rid of a powerful, potentially rivalrous figure like Jiang Wei, makes sure the Emperor hears these rumors. And Lu Xian, being weak and easily influenced by his favorite. He believes it. He buys it completely. Immediately, without question, he sends an imperial decree out to the front lines. Recalling Jiang Wei. The general, who has just smashed the Wei army, secured vital territory, and is on the verge of potentially greater success, is ordered to abandon everything and come home. Now. How does Jiang Wei react? He's baffled. He notices Deng Ai's camp has gone quiet. No more challenges. No more attacks. He can't figure out why. Then the recall order arrives. He has no choice but to obey the Emperor. He has to turn his victorious army around and march back. Leaving all those hard-won gains behind. And of course, the moment his army starts retreating. Deng Ai and Simu Wang pounce. Exactly. They launch a fierce pursuit, attacking and withdrawing Xu forces, turning a potential triumph into a costly retreat. So the loss wasn't because of anything Jiang Wei did wrong militarily. Not at all. It was entirely a self-inflicted wound by the Xu state itself, orchestrated by Wei intelligence playing on Xu's internal corruption. The source even makes a direct, heart-breaking comparison. To Yufei. Yeah. It says, just as Yufei was recalled due to slander, evoking that classic image of the brilliant, loyal general destroyed by political intrigue back home. It really drives home the lesson, doesn't it? Jiang Wei had the military genius, the defense against the tunnel, the mastery of the arrays, predicting the ambushes. He'd tick every box for military competence. Brilliant strategist. Brilliant commander. But none of it mattered in the end. Because the foundation, the political system back in Chengdu, was rotten. Huaihao's corruption. Lushan's weakness. That was the real vulnerability. Exactly what Xu Yisu saw years earlier. Ding Ai couldn't beat Jiang Wei with soldiers or tunnels or arrays. But he could beat him with a bribe. And a rumor whispered in the right ear. The external strength was just completely bypassed by the internal decay. Yeah. It makes you realize that sometimes the most dangerous enemy isn't the one outside the gates. It's the weakness within the walls.