Chapter 116- With an Inept Emperor in Control Jiang Wei Fights a Losing...

Let's start with the architects of this war, Sima Zhao, Zhang Hui, Deng Ai. Men marching towards victory, but, well, under this dark cloud. Right, and the first piece comes from Sima Zhao himself. He's the power behind the throne in Wei. And when he's debating this invasion, his main concern isn't really logistics. It's politics. It's court psychology. How so? Well, he points out that almost everyone's advising caution. But Zhang Hui, he's pushing for it. He's fearless about it. And Sima Zhao sees that lack of fear, that confidence, as the key ingredient for success. Okay, so he values decisiveness. But then there's that twist, that immediate reveal about his own suspicions. Exactly. He pulls Xiao Ti aside, confides in him. He says he suspects Zhang Hui has, the text calls it, heterodox ambitions. Basically treasonous thoughts. Which is, wow, you're sending a guy you think might betray you with a massive army. Why take that risk? Ah, but Sima Zhao thinks he's calculated the risk perfectly. It's incredibly cold. He figures, okay, let's say Zhang Hui wins and tries to rebel. The Xu soldiers, defeated, aren't going to follow a Wei general they don't know. And his own Wei troops, they'll be victorious, sure. But they'll be exhausted, far from home. They'll just want to go back. They won't support some new rebellion out in the wilds of Xu. So the military goal justifies the political danger because he thinks he's already contained the fallout. That is ice-cold calculation. It really is. Your grand campaign is also, potentially, your general's pre-planned downfall. And this sense of doom, it isn't just Sima Zhao's private worry. It filters down to the generals themselves, right? Especially Ding Ai. Oh, definitely. Ding Ai gets his orders. And that very night, he has this incredibly vivid, unsettling dream. Right, the mountain dream. Yeah, he's climbing a high mountain. He's looking out over Hanzhong, the target region. And suddenly, there's water bursting out right at his feet. Which feels ominous. So he asks his guard, Yuan Shao, who knows the I Ching, the Zhu Yi. Mm-hmm. And Yuan Shao looks it up. The hexagram is Jin, mountain over water, obstruction. Obstruction. That doesn't sound good. The interpretation Yuan Shao gives is specific. Gain is in the southwest, loss is in the northeast. Meaning, yes, you'll conquer Xu, gain the southwest. But you will be unable to return. You'll be obstructed, stuck. You won't make it back. Victory, yes. Survival, no. Man, imagine hearing that right before you launch a massive campaign. And it doesn't stop there, does it? There's another warning. There is. A third layer. Back in the capital, during this huge ceremonial send-off for Zonghui Yi, an official, Lu Shi, is watching. Yeah. And he's just smiling, secretly. Okay, that's creepy. Right. Another general, Wang Yang, asks him, so Xu will fall? And Lu Shi says, basically, oh yeah, they'll fall. But then he adds, with that smile, I just fear that they, meaning Zonghui and Deng Ai, will both not return to the capital. And he won't explain further. Nope. Just a chilling smile. So you have him from the top political mind, from the general's own subconscious via the dream, and from an observer at court. The message is consistent. Success is coming, but it's fatal for the victors. It creates this really strange psychological space for the commanders. Knowing you're marching towards success and, simultaneously, your own end. Which brings us to Zonghui's actual deployment. His methods. And his methods are defined by absolute brutal discipline. He's got this huge army, over 100,000 men. He knows the terrain is tough, these narrow mountain valleys. So speed is everything. He puts Yu Yi in the vanguard, son of the famous Xu Chu. That's right. 6,000 troops, central route, Ji Valley. And the orders are crystal clear. Fix the roads, build the bridges, clear any obstacles now. And the warning. If you violate this, military law will apply. No wiggle room. None. And Zhu Yi fails almost immediately. He attacks Nanzheng Pass, but the Xu defender, Lu Sun, drives him back using those famous repeating crossbows Zhu Yi Liang designed. The ten-arrow crossbows. Nasty surprise. Definitely. So Xu Yi retreats. Then Zonghui himself comes forward to check the route. And that's when it happens. The bridge incident. His horse literally sinks. The bridge planks give way. Collapsed earth underneath. Poor maintenance. He's thrown, nearly killed by the pursuing Xu soldiers. Saved only because his guard, Sun Kai, shoots Lu Sun down just in time. Zonghui must have been furious. Beyond furious. He finds Xu Yi and, despite other generals pleading, pointing out Xu Yi's father's legendary status. He executes him. Right there. On the spot. And his justification is telling. He shuts down the pleas by saying, if military law is unclear, how can I command the masses? Wow. So was it really just about the bridge? Or was that a demonstration? Oh, it was absolutely a demonstration. Pure psychological control. He needed every single soldier and officer in that massive army to understand, my orders are absolute. Your background, your father's name, none of it matters if you fail. The standard is perfection, and the penalty is death. Terrifying. It certainly sends a message. Ensures maximum effort, that's for sure. Makes everyone else fall in line immediately. Meanwhile, Deng Ai, the guy haunted by his dream, he's taking a different approach. Strategically. Yeah, Deng Ai's plan seems less about brute force through one choke point, and more about strategic neutralization. His main worry is Jiang Wei, Xu's best general, who's way out west at Taozong. Right. Cut off the head of the snake. Essentially. So Deng Ai sends out multiple columns, four of them, each about 15,000 strong. Generals like Zhu Jishu, Wang Qi, their job. Pin down Jiang Wei, cut off his retreat. Deng Ai himself follows with another 30,000 as backup. It's more about maneuver and encirclement. Two very different styles, but both moving forward. Which makes the situation in Xu even more tragic when you see how they're reacting. Or, well, not reacting. It's heartbreaking, really. Because the source makes it crystal clear. Xu knew this was coming. General Jiang Wei wasn't just sitting idle. He sent report after report, urgent ones. Repeatedly submitted urgent memorials, I think the text says. Exactly. And he wasn't vague. He specifically said, put Zhang Yi here, at Yangon Pass. Put Liao Hua there, at Yenping Bridge. These are the critical points. Defend them now. He had the intelligence. He knew the threat. But the Emperor Liu Shan, he wasn't exactly focused on military briefings, was he? Not at all. He was busy renaming the era, you know, And mostly, he was spending time with his favorite eunuch, Huang Hao. Ah, Huang Hao, the real villain of this piece. Internally, anyway. Absolutely. He's the one who intercepts Jiang Wei's reports. He tells the Emperor, basically, oh, don't worry about Jiang Wei. He's just saying this because he wants more glory, more power for himself. Undermining the general completely. And then he suggests consulting a sorceress, instead of the top military commander. Yes. He tells the Emperor, let's ask the spirits what's going to happen. And Liu Shan, incredibly, agrees. Puts state security in the hands of, well, a magic show. So the sorceress performs her ritual. And delivers the worst possible advice. She claims to channel the spirit of Sichuan itself. And the spirit promises not just peace, but that eventually Wei's territory will actually belong to Shu. The ultimate feel-good lie. Exactly what a complacent ruler wants to hear. Precisely. It confirms all his biases, lets him ignore the uncomfortable warnings. So Liu Shan is thrilled, rewards the sorceress, and totally tunes out Jiang Wei. And Huang Hao then actively hides any further reports. The text says he concealed them. Just buried the warnings. So Shu's leadership deliberately blinded itself. They chose comfortable fantasy over harsh reality. And that, right there, sealed their fate. That's why Zhang Hui could afford to be so bold then. His doctrine of speed is paramount. Exactly. He knew, or perhaps sensed, the internal paralysis in Shu. He didn't need to capture every single little fort along the way. He just bypassed places like Yucheng and Hancheng, left attachments to keep them bottled up. And aimed straight for the jugular, Yangon Pass. The critical gateway. And there, at that pass, we see the direct result of Shu's internal rot playing out in just the most tragic way. This is where we meet Fu Qian and Zhang Shu. Right. General Fu Qian, the commander, and Zhang Shu, his deputy, they're holding the pass. Fu Qian immediately argues for attacking the Wei forces as they arrive, while they're tired from the march. Hit them hard. Makes sense. Aggressive defense. But Zhang Shu disagrees. He says, look, Wei has too many troops. We should just sit tight, defend the walls, play it safe. Passive defense. Fu Qian won't accept that, though. No, he's furious. He basically says, how can we just wait to die? He takes about 3,000 men, leads them out himself, and launches a fierce attack. He actually manages to push the Wei vanguard back for a bit. A moment of hope, maybe? A brief one. Because when Fu Qian tries to get back into the safety of the pass, he looks up. And he sees the Wei flag flying from the walls. No, Zhang Shu. Zhang Shu had opened the gates. He'd surrendered the pass while Fu Qian was out fighting. He literally yells down from the wall, I've already surrendered to Wei. Unbelievable betrayal, while his commander is fighting for their lives. Fu Qian is just incandescent with rage. He screams up at Zhang Shu, calls him a forgetful, disloyal thief. He's trapped outside, cut off, vastly outnumbered. What does he do? He doesn't run. He doesn't surrender. He turns his horse and charges back into the Wei ranks. Fights like a madman until he's overwhelmed. His horse goes down. He's covered in wounds. And his final words, they're powerful. Incredibly powerful. Right before he takes his own life, he shouts, I lived as a Shu subject. I shall die as a Shu ghost. A final defiant act of loyalty to a state that had essentially already failed itself. It's the absolute moral contrast to Zhang Shu's treachery. The source even includes a poem right after, praising Fu Qian's loyalty to the heavens and condemning Zhang Shu's betrayal. It locks in that theme. Nopal sacrifice versus opportunistic self-preservation. Zhang Hui scores a huge win right off the bat. He captures Yang and pass. And this isn't just taking territory. It's a logistical goldmine. The text says he gets this massive horde of grain, weapons, supplies. Everything an invading army needs. So big celebration among the Wei troops, right? They've got their foothold. They've got supplies. Must have felt like things were going their way. Oh, definitely. There was probably this sense of momentum, maybe even overconfidence. But that feeling didn't last long. Because things started happening. Right. Almost immediately, the mood changes. For two nights running, this loud shouting starts up from the southwest. We're talking the middle of the night, the third watch. Shouting like an army. Like a huge force. But the patrols they send out, even 10 miles out, find absolutely nothing. Nobody there. Just noise. Imagine how unsettling that is for soldiers in enemy land. Yeah, that's deeply creepy. So Zhang Hui, he's not just going to ignore this. He's known for being smart, strategic. Exactly. He can't let his army get spooked by shadows, or, well, sounds. So he takes a large cavalry patrol, hundreds of riders, and goes to investigate himself, towards the source of the noise. And what do they find? Not an ambush, I gather. No, something stranger. They reach this mountain, and the atmosphere is just thick. The source uses descriptions like killing energy, sorrowful clouds, dense mist. Really oppressive. Okay, so location matters here. Where are they? A local guide tells them, this is Dingzhen Mountain. Dingzhen Mountain. Okay, ring the bells. That's where the famous Wei general Xiao Yan was killed, way back, wasn't it? That's the one. Decades earlier. So instantly, the place is loaded with history. Violent history. You have to wonder, are they dealing with an old Wei ghost, or something else? And just as they're pondering this, probably feeling uneasy, they decide to turn back. And that's when it happens. That's when it hits the fan, so to speak. A fierce wind kicks up out of nowhere, and then suddenly, it feels like thousands of phantom horsemen are charging them from behind. Phantom horsemen. Yeah, spectral riders, soldiers are knocked off their horses, helmets go flying, total chaos. It sounds like a devastating attack. Right, there's always a but with these things. Nobody's actually hurt. No spear wounds, no arrow strikes. They pick themselves up, look around, nothing. It was just the wind. A terrifying, directed whirlwind. Wow. Okay, so pure psychological warfare. How does Zhang Hui process this? Does he think it's a shoe trick? Well, he thinks it through. He looks around the area. There's only one really significant structure nearby. The tomb of Zhu Ziliang, the martial marquis. The big one. The biggest. And Zhang Hui, this pragmatic general, his conclusion isn't clever ambush. It's, this must be the spirit of Zizhou. That's quite a leap, isn't it? From wind to a specific ghost. Why Zhu Ziliang? I think it's the nature of the event. It wasn't just random chaos. It felt intelligent, directed, but non-lethal. It wasn't about destroying the army physically, but stopping them, warning them. And Hu and Xu's history embodies that kind of strategic, almost supernatural foresight and concern for the land. Only Zhu Ziliang, really. Exactly. Plus, a human ambush likely would have pressed the attack, tried to inflict casualties during the confusion. This, this felt different. More like a powerful rebuke. Okay, so Zhang Hui believes he's been warned off by the spirit of Xu's greatest hero. What does he do? Attack the tomb. Quite the opposite. He completely changes tack. He goes from invader to, well, supplicant. He immediately orders preparations for a great sacrifice. The dikaya, Zhai Tai Lao. That's a very serious, very formal offering. Top-tier stuff. Absolutely. It shows immense respect. And he goes personally to the tomb to offer it, to pay his respects. And the result? Does the spirit accept? Instantly. The moment the sacrifice is done, the source says the crazy weather just stops. The wind dies down. The clouds scatter. There's a gentle rain. And then the sky clears completely. Like flipping a switch. The spirit is appeased. Appeased, yes. But the interaction isn't quite over. There's a condition attached. Delivered how? Through a dream. That night, Zhang Hui dreams he sees Zhu Ziliang. Classic description. The silk scarf, feather fan, crane cloak. The works. The iconic image. What does the spirit say? It's fascinating. The spirit basically acknowledges the reality of the situation. Xu Han's fortunes are declining. The mandate of heaven is shifting. The invasion is likely inevitable. So it's not trying to stop the invasion itself. No, it seems to accept that. But it imposes a moral rule. The spirit urges Zhang Hui to pity the ordinary people caught in the middle. The key message is, when you enter the territory, you must not kill innocent beings. Don't kill civilians. A direct command from beyond the grave. And this is maybe the most powerful intervention. Zhu Ziliang's spirit can't save Xu militarily. But it can influence the conduct of the war. It sets terms. How does Zhang Hui react to the dream? Does he just shake it off? Not at all. He takes it incredibly seriously. This wasn't just a weird dream. It was a mandate following a direct supernatural encounter. He immediately orders a change in policy. What kind of change? He has a white banner made, inscribed with, Protect the nation and secure the people. Bao Guo An Min. And crucially, he issues a strict order throughout the Wei army. Any soldier who harms or kills a civilian will be executed full stop. Wow. That's serious discipline for an invading army at work. Amazingly, yes. The source states that the people of Han Song, seeing this disciplined army that wasn't pillaging or murdering, actually came out to welcome them. The Wei army violates not a single hair of the population. So Zhu Ziliang's ghost effectively dictated the rules of engagement for the invaders. Pretty much. The source even includes a poem praising how the dead minister was still protecting the people of Xu, years after his death, by influencing the enemy general. Zhang Hui is now, in a way, enforcing Zhu Ziliang's ethical code. An incredible situation. Okay, so Zhang Hui is part of the invasion, is now operating under this ghostly moral compass. Let's pivot. What's happening on the Xu side? Where's their main general, Zhang Wei? Ah, Zhang Wei. He's facing the harsh military reality. He's stationed out at Taozong, kind of on the frontier, and he gets hit by the Wei forces almost immediately. How does he fare initially? He's supposed to be Xu's best general left. And he shows it. He engages Wang Qi, the prefect of Tianshui. Wang Qi tries to bluff him, saying there's a million Wei soldiers heading for Chengdu. Zhang Wei doesn't buy it, and defeats him in less than three bouts of combat. Quick work. Okay, so he's competent, holding his own. Then he takes on Deng Ai, who's one of Wei's top commanders, alongside Zhang Hui. They fight for maybe ten rounds, basically to a standstill, a strategic draw. Zhang Wei is doing okay tactically. But war isn't just tactics, is it? No, and that's where it unravels for him. While he's busy fighting Deng Ai, he gets terrible news. Yang Xin, another prefect, has switched sides, or acted independently, and burned Zhang Wei's crucial supply depots back at Gansong. Ouch. Loss of supplies. Yeah. That's potentially fatal. Catastrophic. He has to break off the fight with Deng Ai immediately, and race back to try and salvage anything. He chases after Yang Xin. But it's a trap. Feels like it. Okay. He chases Yang Xin up this mountain road, pushing hard, but then logs and rocks start raining down on him from above, and ambush blocks his path. So he's forced back. He turns back to regroup with his main force, only to find disaster. While he was gone on the chase, Deng Ai had swept in, defeated his army, and now Zhang Wei himself is surrounded. Just like that. His force is shattered. Pretty much. And then the really bad news starts pouring in. He gets the full picture of what's happened across Gansong. Which is? It's a total collapse, largely due to betrayal. Yang Xin passed, the place Zhang Wei took. It didn't fall because of some brilliant assault, it fell because the Shu general defending it, Zhang Shu, just surrendered. Handed it over. Betrayal. What about other commanders? Well, the source makes a point of mentioning General Fu Qian, who died fighting bravely at Yang'an. So there was still loyalty and courage. But he was the exception. The commanders of the other key forts, Lichang and Hanchang, they also just surrendered. So Hanzhong, the whole defensive region, is basically gone. Not conquered, but given away. Given away through betrayal, and perhaps a loss of will. This is the wrought inside Shu that Zhu Jilin's ghost, focusing on the invaders, couldn't fix. Zhang Wei must be despairing. He's surrounded, his supply lines are cut, and the entire region he was meant to defend has collapsed behind him, due to internal failure. Absolutely. He tries one desperate move, a counterattack, to try and retake Hanzhong. But his way is blocked again. This time by Zuge Shu, another Wei governor, who's dug in at Yimping Bridgehead. So he's trapped, Deng Ai behind him, Zuge Jin front. Exactly. This is where the source records him crying out, Heaven destroys me. It looks utterly hopeless, cut off, outnumbered. Is this the end for Zhang Wei? It looks like it. But then, salvation comes from an unexpected place. Not from Chengdu, not from some grand strategy, but from one of his own officers. Who, and what's the plan? His vice general, Ning Su. He comes up with this really clever deception. He tells Zhang Wei, Look, Zuge Zhu is blocking us here, but his main responsibility, his home base, is Yangzhou. Let's pretend we're making a sudden dash for Yangzhou through this other valley, Konghongu. Play on Zuge Zhu's priorities. Exactly. Ning Su gambles that Zuge is more worried about his territory and his career than holding this bridgehead against Zhang Wei. Does it work? Perfectly. They make a big show of heading towards Konghongu. When the South's report this to Zuge Zhu, he panics. Just as Ning Su predicted, he basically says, Oh no, Yangzhou is my responsibility. If it falls, I'm ruined. So he pulls his troops from the bridge. He pulls the bulk of his army away from Yenping Bridgehead and makes a mad dash back towards Yangzhou to defend it, leaving only a small force behind. Giving Zhang Wei the opening he needs. The perfect opening. Zhang Wei immediately spins his army around, races back to Yenping Bridgehead, quickly defeats the token force Zuge Zhu left behind, and burns their camps to add to the confusion. Brilliant. Zuge realizes he's been tricked, Oh, yeah. He tries to rush back, but it's too late. Zhang Wei has gained that crucial half-day lead. He slipped the trap. A masterful piece of tactical maneuvering based on psychological insight. So a moment of triumph. He escaped. He escaped the immediate encirclement, yes. And he manages to link up with some reinforcements led by Generals Zhang Yi and Liao Hua who were trying to reach him. Good news, finally. Support from the capital. Well, yes and no. He meets the reinforcements, but Zhang Yi delivers the grim truth about why more help hadn't arrived sooner. What story? It's the court politics back in Chengdu. The emperor has been completely swayed by the eunuch Huang Hao, who seems to have undue influence, and also by, believe it or not, fortune tellers. They basically told the emperor everything was fine, no need to send major reinforcements. Oh, come on, fortune tellers. Well, the kingdom is collapsing. That's what the source says. So Jiang Wei was left hanging not just by betrayals in the field, but by incompetence, corruption, and superstition at the very heart of the kingdom. This is the real tragedy, isn't it? You have Zhang Hui being guided by the ghost of Xu's greatest hero towards ethical conduct, while Xu's own leadership is failing its soldiers through sheer ineptitude. It's a stark contrast. The spirit world seems more functional than the Xu government at this point. So Jiang Wei's escaped. He has some reinforcements, but Han Shang is lost and the court is useless. What's the next move? The reality is grim. Liao Hua, one of the veteran generals, states the obvious. They can't hold this area. It's overrun, devastated. They need to fall back to the last major defensive position Xu Han has. Which is? Jiang. Sword Pass. This legendary, almost impregnable mountain pass. A natural fortress. The last stand location. Pretty much. Jiang Wei agrees. They pull back their forces, consolidating what they have left, and make for Jiang, and it's just in time. As they get there, the combined forces of Zhang Hui and Deng Ai arrive, finding the Han Shang region empty, their prey having escaped to this formidable pass. So the chapter ends with Jiang Wei reaching Jiang, but with the full might of Wei closing in. Exactly. It sets up the final confrontation.