xymnovel Chapter 69 Sima Yi watched for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—then turned and left.
Chapter 69 Sima Yi watched for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—then turned and left.
It was the hour of Mao (5-7 AM). The sky was just beginning to brighten.
Sima Yi led 500 light cavalry out of the camp.
I didn't ride the black horse. I changed to a gray one. I changed my armor too.
Ordinary iron armor. Helmet pulled low. Blending in with the cavalry. He looked no different from an ordinary captain.
The riverbank road on the north bank of the Wei River is in terrible condition. The spring flood season hasn't arrived yet, but the mud is already soft.
When a horse's hoof stomps on a stone, it sinks halfway in, and when it pulls it out, a lump comes out with it.
Five hundred horses lined up in a single file and walked westward along the riverbank.
The soldier followed behind and whispered, "Grand Tutor, twenty li ahead is the eastern slope of Wuzhangyuan."
Sima Yi did not respond.
My gaze fell on the south bank. The river was thirty zhang wide. The water level was low. There were hoofprints on the mudflats. Freshly made. The mud was still wet.
"The Shu army scouts patrol daily, from the east slope to the west slope, completing a two-hour round," the military advisor added.
Sima Yi reined in his horse.
He pulled a section of copper pipe from his pocket and held it up to his eyes.
South bank. Wuzhangyuan.
From this angle, it looks like a large, flat-topped platform, abruptly placed on the south side of the Wei River.
It's surrounded by cliffs on three sides. The slope is steep. It's not vertical, but enough to kill someone by falling.
There's a road leading up to the south. It's narrow; two horses can barely walk side by side.
On the cliff top. A military camp.
Tents. Flags. Barricades. Deer antlers. Layer upon layer.
They retreated thirty steps from the cliff edge before starting to stake out the cliff.
Thirty steps.
firing line.
The archers stood in a row on the cliff edge. They could be seen from thirty feet across the river.
Sima Yi moved the copper pipe to the west.
Western foothills of Wuzhangyuan. Low hills. Forest.
The woods were empty. Zhao Yun's men had withdrawn. But the tracks on the ground hadn't been cleared.
Mud turned over by horses' hooves. Broken branches. Fresh.
Further west. Towards Chencang. Out of sight. Too far.
But there's no need to read them. I read all six battle reports last night. Every single one was bad news.
He took the copper pipe back.
How many people were on Wuzhang Plain?
"Scout estimates: approximately ten thousand."
"Ten thousand men. Guard this place."
Sima Yi's gaze slowly swept from the bottom of the cliff to the top, and then back down to the bottom.
"Even if 100,000 men attacked, they couldn't break through."
He didn't respond when asked to join the army.
Sima Yi pulled on the reins. The horse took two steps forward.
The hoof got stuck in the mud. It was pulled out with a dull thud.
"This is not the place he chose."
Joining the army raises one's head.
"Zhuge Liang chose the location. He circled it in the strategy." Sima Yi's voice was very flat, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself. "Zhuge Liang chose the location. Liu Shan used the troops. One drew the chessboard, the other placed the pieces."
The wind blew across the river, shattering his words of enlistment. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"When we fought Zhuge Liang before," Sima Yi's gaze remained fixed on the summit of Wuzhangyuan Cliff. "This Grand Tutor knows where he'll go next. Slow. Steady. Watertight. We can afford to wait it out."
He paused for two breaths.
"This emperor is different."
He twirled the copper tube in his palm.
"Four days. Five things. Intercepting grain. Burning granaries. Besieging the city. Cutting off water. Occupying high ground. Every step hits the nail on the head. Every step is half a day ahead of this Grand Tutor."
The soldier stood to the side, barely daring to breathe.
Sima Yi tucked the copper tube into his robes.
Rein in. Turn around.
"Back to camp."
Five hundred riders turned east, retracing their steps. Their hoofprints overlapped with their own.
He joined the army and followed. He couldn't help but glance back.
On the cliff top, a figure was also looking this way.
-
Wuzhangyuan.
Zhao Yun stood on the edge of the cliff, his left hand resting on the shaft of his spear.
"Five hundred riders. They watched for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn on the other side of the river. Then they turned around and left."
Liu Shan sat on a wooden stool by the tent entrance, holding half a cake in his hand. It was dry and hard, crumbling when he chewed it.
"The one in the middle. Gray horse. Lamellar armor."
Zhao Yun's gaze remained fixed on the receding dust on the north bank. "I saw it."
"Sima Yi".
Zhao Yun turned around.
Liu Shan put a piece of the pancake in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.
"They changed their armor, changed their horses, and stopped flying their commander's flag. They're afraid I'll send men to intercept them."
Zhao Yun walked over. "How did Your Majesty determine that it was him?"
"Five hundred light cavalry. Set out from camp at dawn. They will travel twenty li to specifically assess the terrain of Wuzhangyuan." Liu Shan crumpled the remaining cake in his hand. "The military advisor cannot make this decision."
Zhao Yun did not ask any further questions.
Liu Shan stood up, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and went into the tent. A geomantic map lay spread out on the table, covered in dense strokes of vermilion ink.
"He's finished reading it. He knows that Wuzhangyuan is impregnable."
Zhao Yun followed him in.
"He has two paths now." Liu Shan's finger landed on the line on the north bank of the Wei River. "Either go around to rescue Chencang. Go along the north bank of the Wei River. It's two hundred li. The cavalry can get there in two days."
Zhao Yun tapped his finger on the shaft of his spear. "If he dares to move—I will charge down from the western foothills to intercept his rear guard."
Liu Shan shook his head.
"He won't beat around the bush."
"Sima Yi has 50,000 men. His provisions will last for 22 days. Within those 22 days—he won't take any risks."
Zhao Yun stared at the geomantic map. He remained silent for three breaths. His gaze shifted from Chang'an to Longyou.
"Guo Huai's 20,000 men," Zhao Yun spoke up himself. "They were sent to attack the Prime Minister."
Liu Shan looked up at him.
Zhao Yun's finger traced from Longyou to Qishan. "First, cut off Qishan. Cut off the Prime Minister's supply lines. Then deal with us. Sima Yi—that's always his style."
Liu Shan's lips twitched slightly. He didn't laugh.
"General Zilong saw through it all."
Zhao Yun rested his spear on his shoulder.
Liu Shan's finger fell back to Wuzhangyuan.
"So this place can't be moved. It has to be nailed here. So that every night before he goes to sleep, he has to think about when those ten thousand people on the south bank of the Wei River will rush over."
Zhao Yun nodded. "Being a nail is easy. I'm good at it."
-
That afternoon.
Chen's urgent request.
Wei Yan's.
The silk strip unfolds. First line—
"Chencang. This morning, I sent men to shout from the city walls: The Emperor of Han is personally leading the expedition. Those who surrender will not be killed and will be reinstated."
Turn it over.
"Hao Zhao shot and killed the soldier who was shouting."
Liu Shan's gaze moved downwards.
"Hao Zhao has not eaten or drunk for days. This morning, he stood up, leaning on the battlements, and shouted, 'A loyal subject of the Great Wei will not surrender to the bandits.'"
"After shouting, the man fell off the battlements. The city wall was three zhang high."
"By the time the guards rushed in, he was already dead."
Liu Shan placed the silk strip on the table.
His hand didn't move.
The tent remained quiet for a long time.
Hao Zhao. The garrison commander of Chencang. Cut off from water for five days. Without food or water. He stood there and finished cursing his last words. Then he was gone.
The last line of the silk strip—
"Half an hour after Hao Zhao died, the city gates opened. Sixteen hundred defenders surrendered. Chencang—captured."
Liu Shan stood up.
He walked to the tent entrance. The curtain remained drawn. He stood facing the coarse cloth for five breaths.
Come back. Sit down. Pick up a pen.
"Report back to Wei Yan."
Two lines of text.
First line: Hao Zhaozhong was loyal and brave. He was given a grand burial, with the honors due to a general. The tombstone is inscribed with: "Tomb of the late General Hao Zhao of Wei."
Second line: All surrendered soldiers shall be incorporated into the army. They shall be given water and food. They shall not be treated harshly.
Seal it. Hand it to Chen Dao.
Chen answered the call without saying a word.
Liu Shan leaned back in his chair.
"Uncle has arrived."
"Your subject is here."
"The war has gone this far. Those who died are all heroes."
Chen nodded.
-
into the night.
Two urgent reports from Zhuge Liang.
The first letter.
"Guo Huai's 20,000 men have reached 60 li northeast of Qishan. I have dispatched Wang Ping with 3,000 infantrymen to seize the eastern pass of Longyou and block the passage."
The second letter. A picture was attached.
Ink lines. Drawn by Zhuge Liang himself. The terrain of Longyou. Every mountain path.
Every pass, every water source, was marked with perfect precision.
Three dots are circled on the map.
Wang Ping. Eastern Pass of Longyou.
Zhuge Liang's main force. The line from Tianshui to Qishan.
Guo Huai. Northeast of Qishan.
Between the three points. Arrow.
Zhuge Liang wrote a line of text on the side of the map.
"Guo Huai is skilled in using cavalry. The pass is narrow, which limits the cavalry's mobility. Wang Ping is good at defense; three thousand men can hold it for seven days. I will flank from the side and outflank them; we can break through in seven days."
At the end, two more small characters were added.
"Don't worry about it."
Liu Shan stared at those two words for two breaths.
Lay the map out on the table. Place it side by side with your own feng shui map.
Wuzhangyuan. Chencang. Qishan. Chang'an. Longyou.
Chencang has been captured.
In the direction of Qishan, the Prime Minister is dealing with Guo Huai.
Chang'an. Sima Yi's main force of 50,000, plus Zhang He's remaining 7,000 troops. Nearly 60,000 men. Food supplies—22 days' worth.
Liu Shan's finger paused for two breaths on that spot in Chang'an.
He picked up a pen. Next to it, he wrote a line of small characters.
"Day 15. More than half the grain is ready. Morale is wavering."
Write another line.
"Day 20. Food supplies are running low. He will move."
Sign off.
The curtain was lifted. Dong Yun entered.
"Your Majesty, Zhang He's remaining 7,000 cavalry will arrive in Chang'an this afternoon."
"Have they entered the city?"
"No. We are encamped south of Chang'an, about five li away from Sima Yi's main camp."
Five li. Not adjacent.
Liu Shan tapped his finger on the edge of the table.
"Zhang He met with Sima Yi?"
"The scout reports that Zhang He entered the city and went into the Grand Tutor's tent. He stayed there for an hour. When he came out—his face was pale."
Three thousand cavalrymen lost. Grain carts were gone. The Mei County granary was burned to ashes. Chencang was still not saved. One hour. Enough for several rounds of cursing.
Liu Shan did not respond.
"There's one more thing."
Dong Yun took out a strip of silk from his sleeve.
"Zhou Fu. Today's hidden pocket—"
Liu Shan raised his hand. "Still here. Right?"
Dong Yun nodded.
Liu Shan waved his hand.
Dong Yun left.
Only one oil lamp remained in the tent. The wick was short, and the flame glowed red.
Liu Shan pulled out the third draft of the strategy from under his desk. He turned to the third page. Below "The Wei River Stands in Confrontation" were the three words he had written that afternoon—"Lead him across the river."
A new line was added after it.
"Hao Zhao is dead. Chencang is lost. A corner of the chessboard is missing."
Another line has been added.
"Give him twenty days. Let him collapse on his own."
The above is a summary.
Lie down.
There was a dagger under the pillow.
The bugle call for the third patrol sounded outside the tent. Midnight.
Before I closed my eyes, something flashed through my mind.
Sima Yi brought 500 light cavalry to Wuzhang Plain today.
Five hundred people. They circled for twenty li. They watched for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
He was surveying the terrain.
Or were they testing the reaction speed of the Shu army's scouts?
Liu Shan opened his eyes again.
The sound of wind outside the tent. It's blowing in from the direction of the Wei River.
He stared at the top of the tent.
It closed again.
[End of Chapter]