Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 107 Not a Tortoise
"Zhuge Liang couldn't even hold Jieting, so how dare he try to lure the enemy deep into our territory like we have? Let me lead 5,000 troops out to fight and teach him a lesson!"

"Zhuge Liang's previous hesitation and slow advance, which delayed military operations, was due to his cowardice!"

"Now they are following the strategy of General of the Cavalry, dispersing their forces and setting up camps in the north and south to show us their bravery."

"To be timid at first and then brave is utterly absurd!"

"I think they're just assuming we'll be like Zhao Yun, holding our camp and cowering like turtles, which is why they're so arrogant and putting on airs!"
"General of the Flying Cavalry, this humble general requests permission to fight! I will surely drive the Shu bandits into the Wei River to feed the turtles!"

"General of the Flying Cavalry, this humble general requests permission to fight!"

"General of the Flying Cavalry, this humble general requests permission to fight!"

As the Han army suddenly seized the area north of the Wei River, splitting its forces in the north and south, and arraying several thousand men in battle formation, Sima Yi's men were filled with excitement and eagerly requested permission to fight.

The Han army had just arrived, and their camp was not yet firmly established.

Between it and the Wei army camp, there was another flat plain with no natural defenses.

This is the perfect opportunity to concentrate superior forces and annihilate them one by one.

Back then, when Cao Cao was fighting Han Sui and Ma Chao in Guanzhong, he crossed the Wei River and set up camp in Weinan. However, Ma Chao harassed him so much that he could not set up camp and suffered heavy casualties.

Therefore, the generals were not stupid; they did not fall for the trap even though they knew it was a strategy to lure the enemy deep into their territory. On the contrary, they were well-versed in the art of war.

Just as no one would give up the opportunity to defeat the enemy while they were crossing the river, no one would want to miss this best opportunity to break through the Han army.

Besides, this strategy of luring the enemy deep into one's own territory, which exposes one's own weaknesses, is like Han Xin's desperate battle with his back to the river—not something that just any cat or dog is fit to use.

Seeing the crowd's agitation and noticing the General of the Flying Cavalry's silence, Commander Chen Gui immediately spoke to calm the generals down:
"The best policy in warfare is to conquer the whole country, the next best is to destroy the country; the best policy is to preserve the whole army, the next best is to destroy the army."

"Therefore, to win every battle is not the best of all."

"To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest form of skill."

"Our army is now in an invincible position and can subdue the enemy without fighting. Why should we fight to the death with Zhuge Liang?"
"Gentlemen, do not forget that His Majesty has given us the task of protecting Chang'an."

The group of excited officers were speechless upon hearing this, but they were not convinced.

Chen Gui's words made sense. Protecting Chang'an was also their mission, and subduing the enemy without fighting was indeed the best strategy.

The problem now is, who is willing to defend Chang'an by subduing the enemy without a fight?

"Bah!" Wei Ping slammed his fist on the table in anger, leaving the cups and plates in a mess.

"What do you mean by subduing the enemy without fighting!"
"Our Great Wei possesses the nine provinces and the wealth of the four seas, while that pseudo-Han is nothing but a small corner of the land, a small country with few people!"

"As a result, not only did the pseudo-Han people run rampant on our Great Wei territory, but we also suffered repeated defeats. Now, the Shu bandits are taking the initiative to provoke us and deliver a battle opportunity. And we still have to act like cowards? What kind of nonsense is this!"

"To subdue the enemy without fighting is something no one in the world would say."

"They only say that our Great Wei fears Shu like a tiger and dares not fight against the Shu bandits!"
"You damn coward!"

Upon hearing Wei Ping's words, the generals in the tent became indignant once again, echoing his sentiments and shouting.

"That's right. Since the Shu bandits dare to be so arrogant, if we don't teach them a lesson, even if we save Chang'an, we'll lose face when we go back!"

"..." The generals discussed among themselves.

Originally, as a large country fighting against a small country, the generals of Wei naturally had a sense of superiority and always held a disdainful attitude towards the Shu invaders.

But now these little Shu bandits have invaded Guanzhong and even won a few battles. How can they not feel frustrated?

Not to mention they had also lost a battle before.

Zhou Dang said indignantly, "The General of the Cavalry was right yesterday. Zhuge Liang really did not have the determination to attack the camp at all costs."

"If he doesn't come, and I continue to stay in the camp and let him establish his own camp, how can the Great Wei possibly avenge its previous defeat?"
"Why not take this opportunity to have a proper battle with the Shu bandits in the open field and teach them to recognize their strength!"

"Only by defeating him, frightening him, and making him afraid to invade our Great Wei again, can we achieve a truly long-term solution for our Great Wei!"

Hearing that Zhou Dang's words made sense, the generals in the tent loudly echoed his sentiments.

While there's no clear-cut reasoning behind the saying "a good start prevents a hundred bad ones," the importance of morale and fighting spirit is universal.

Given the current situation, if we don't engage the Shu bandits in a proper open battle and curb their arrogance on the main battlefield, the world will probably think that the Shu army is invincible.

This boosts the enemy's morale while diminishing our own.

"Alright," Sima Yi said in a deep voice.

The generals gradually quieted down.

Sima Yi slowly stood up, paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, and after a moment spoke slowly:
"Zhuge Liang hastily divided his troops into north and south before his camp was even stable, thus exposing his own shortcomings. He is arrogant and unaware of his own limitations, which shows that he does not know himself."

"Thinking that we have deep trenches and high walls, and that our camp is already fortified, we will not take the initiative to attack. This shows that we do not know our enemy."

"Knowing neither ourselves nor our enemy is indeed the opportunity for our Great Wei to defeat them."

"Chen Gui, Zhou Tai, Wang Guan, Sun Li."

"You must select 8,000 elite soldiers and 6,000 auxiliary soldiers."

"Wenqin, lead another thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and a thousand Hu Cavalry as the vanguard."

"We will break camp at noon today, make a great show of force, and stop ten miles away from the enemy. We will wait for my signal to move tomorrow."

"The rest of the generals will follow me and lead 20,000 troops to attack the Shu bandits' camp in Weinan."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals were stunned.

The pro-war faction did not expect that General Flying Cavalry, after remaining silent for so long, would so readily make the decision to attack.

The defenders, however, did not expect that the General of the Flying Cavalry would actually abandon the safer strategy of holding a fortified camp and subduing the enemy without a fight, despite such an obvious plan to lure the enemy deep into their territory.

Chen Gui asked in surprise and doubt:

"Lord Sima, you could have easily waited for the enemy to tire themselves out and were certain of victory. Why take the risk?"
"What if something goes wrong again and we fail His Majesty's high expectations?"

They had already suffered a minor defeat at Wuzhangyuan due to their previous risky and unconventional tactics.

Now, with such a solid fortress left undefended and a foolproof strategy ignored, even someone as cautious as Chen Gui was filled with trepidation and a sense of foreboding.

On the other side, while the generals who advocated for war were excited, they also had some questions.

Wei Ping thought for a moment and asked:
"General of the Flying Cavalry, why don't you concentrate your superior forces to attack that small group of Shu bandits north of the Wei River?"

"Instead, they split their forces into two routes to attack the enemy, and deployed their superior forces in Weinan."
"This violates the principles of warfare."

The strategy of warfare is naturally the same as Tian Ji's horse racing strategy: using the weak to fight the strong, and the strong to defeat the weak.

If a seasoned general doesn't even know this, what kind of battle can he fight?

Of course, while Tian Ji's horse racing strategy is a brilliant military tactic, it requires a high level of skill in training troops.

It requires its weaker troops to withstand the pressure, and its elite troops to deliver a fatal blow.

The difference between a great general and a mediocre one, between a victorious battle and a defeated one, depends half on the general's control of the battle situation and the other half on the training skills used outside the battlefield.

The reason why the Wei generals here were all eager for battle and had high morale was twofold: first, they believed that their methods of governing and training troops were unmatched by the Shu army; second, they believed that the General of Chariots and Cavalry's control over the battle situation was far beyond what Zhuge Liang could achieve.

He was assigned to the area north of the Wei River, but Chen Gui, who advocated for holding the line, suddenly thought of something:
"Does Sima Gong mean that by dividing his troops in this way, the Shu bandits will see our large army coming from Weibei and will send troops from Weinan to Weibei to meet us?"

Otherwise, why would this General of the Cavalry have assigned all the officials who advocated holding the line to the north of the Wei River?

Clearly, they needed to withstand the pressure so that they could concentrate their superior forces and destroy the Shu bandits' stronghold in Weinan in one fell swoop.

Zhuge Liang was very likely hiding in Weinan.

This is a strategy of avoiding the real threat and attacking the weak, a strategy of capturing the leader to capture the enemy. Sima Yi, hearing that Zhou Tai had hit the nail on the head, stroked his beard and nodded: "That's one possibility."

All the generals in the tent fell silent.

Chen Gui asked again, puzzled, "Lord Sima, is there another possibility?"

Chen Gui, Wang Guan, Sun Li and other Wei generals stared intently at Sima Yi, who was stroking his beard in deep thought.

Sima Yi said, "The second possibility is that Zhuge Liang saw that our army did not hold the fortified camp, but instead launched a full-scale attack, and was directly terrified and fled."

"If that is indeed the case, then our army can pursue them bravely, seize all their supplies and provisions, and drive them back to Wuzhangyuan."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Ping said loudly:

I think that's the most likely possibility!

Several other generals who also wanted to fight echoed this sentiment.

Sima Yi remained noncommittal: "There is a third possibility."

The generals were slightly taken aback.

There are five major strategies in military competition: if you can fight, then fight; if you cannot fight, then defend; if you cannot defend, then retreat; and the remaining two are surrender and death.

Since Zhuge Liang dared to advance and also divided his troops to lure the enemy, his intention was clearly not to defend.

The two possibilities the General of the Cavalry just mentioned are fighting and retreating.

What is the third possibility?
Surrender? Die?
"General of the Flying Cavalry, what else is possible?" someone asked.

Sima Yi stroked his beard, paused, and pondered for a long time without answering.

"General of the Cavalry?" After a dozen breaths, someone couldn't wait any longer.

Sima Yi looked in the direction of the sound, and then spoke:

"The third possibility is that Zhuge Liang intended to use a feint attack to the east while striking in the west, and his real target was my Weinan stronghold."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai, Chen Gui, Sun Li, and other officials who had strongly advocated for holding the line exchanged glances.

Sun Li spoke up:

"Does Master Sima mean that the small group of Shu bandits north of the Wei River was indeed bait released by Zhuge Liang, but their purpose was not to engage in open battle with our main army?"
"Why? If he truly has the will to fight, wouldn't it be the best strategy to fight alongside my army in a grand formation?"
"If they dare to attack our camp, even if they only have two or three thousand men defending it, it won't be something they can take down in a short time. By then, our main force will have already returned to reinforce it. How could they possibly succeed?"

Sima Yi shook his head:
"The art of war says, 'Do not attack a well-organized formation, nor invite a perfectly aligned banner.'"

"If Zhuge Liang sees that my army in Weibei is making a great show of force and has sent out all its elite cavalry, he will surely think that my main force is in Weibei. In that case, he may not have the courage to fight me in a fair and square battle."

"It would be better to launch a surprise attack while my camp is undefended."

"If we succeed by chance, our tens of thousands of troops will be cut off north of the Wei River, and our supply lines will be cut off. If we want to return to Chang'an, we will have to pay a heavy price."

The generals who were in charge of the battle began to scoff at it.

Wei Ping chuckled:
"General of the Flying Cavalry is joking. First, he imitated us by setting up camps in the north and south to lure the enemy deep into our territory. Then, he imitated us by suspending our troops deep into our territory to achieve a surprise victory."

Where did Zhuge Liang get such audacity?
"The General of Chariots and Cavalry said yesterday that Zhuge Liang was neither wise nor brave, how come he suddenly changed his tune overnight?"

The brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, who were sitting at the end of the table listening to the military discussion, looked at their father with slight doubt.

Yesterday, the two brothers had just attended a political class, where they learned that Zhuge Liang, a powerful minister, had no desire to take Chang'an, let alone risk losing his own troops to benefit Liu Shan.

Why the change of heart today?
Sima Yi smiled:

"Military tactics are not fixed, just as water has no constant shape. One who can adapt to the enemy's changes and win is called a master strategist."

"Zhuge Liang's previous performance was indeed unclear, unwise, and cowardly, but now he has used the strategy of luring the enemy deep into his territory. As the saying goes, times have changed and circumstances have shifted, so we can no longer judge him based on yesterday's thoughts."

"But whether he is feigning an attack or actively seeking an opportunity, we have anticipated the enemy's moves and are invincible."

"If he wants to leave, pursue him; if he wants to fight, retreat."

"If he wants to attack my camp, we can turn the tables on him, show him weakness, and let him in."

"Wei Ping, tomorrow you will ambush an army of four thousand men in the reed marshes."

"If Zhuge Liang really comes, we will use the sound of drums as a signal. When we hear the drums, we will rise up and join forces with our army to attack. Then we will surely defeat him."

Wei Ping hesitated:

"General of the Cavalry, in my opinion, Zhuge Liang should either lead his army to the north of the Wei River to meet the enemy, or he should simply flee in terror."

"How could they possibly dare to attack my camp?"

"Why not concentrate our forces and launch a direct attack on Zhuge Liang's main camp south of Wei?"

That reed marshland was muddy and full of mosquitoes and flies; it was no place for a person to stay.

That's secondary.

The main problem was that while the main army was out defeating the enemy, he was hiding in the reeds.

If Zhuge Liang had truly fled and been defeated, he wouldn't even have gotten a sip of soup. How could he possibly avenge his humiliation?
However, once Sima Yi had given his order, there was no way he could object.

The generals departed.

Sima Shi then asked, "Father, you ordered Wei Ping to lead four thousand men to ambush us. It seems highly likely that Zhuge Liang is launching a full-scale attack?"

Wei Ping was always brave in battle, and his four thousand men represented a quarter of the southern forces.

If his father hadn't been confident in Zhuge Liang's movements, he wouldn't have arranged for Wei Ping to ambush him with four thousand men in the reed marshes.

Sima Yi shook his head: "It may not be very big, but it is certainly possible."

Sima Shi seemed to be deep in thought, and then asked, "The reason why Father Commander decided to launch an attack today, but sent those who advocate holding the position north of the Wei River, is it to appease the generals who advocate attacking?"

Sima Yi gave Sima Shi a deep look, then nodded.

"Zhuge Liang showed us weakness, which aroused resentment and anger among the generals."

"If we are not allowed to go out to fight and instead hold our ground and wait for the enemy, the generals will think I am cowardly. If the commander-in-chief is cowardly, he will have no authority and will not be able to command the army."

Sima Zhao asked in confusion, "But Father, when you tried to lure Zhao Yun into a trap, didn't Zhao Yun also cower and refuse to come out?"

Before Sima Yi could explain, Sima Shi spoke up to clarify his doubts:
"Zhao Yun is a veteran general, known throughout the land for his courage and bravery. He leads an army that has won consecutive victories. Even if he holds his ground and does not come out, his soldiers will only think that he is always cautious and will not think that he is cowardly."

"Although Father is both wise and brave, he has not been leading troops for long. His previous surprise attack failed, and some of the soldiers are already resentful. Now that Zhuge Liang has come to provoke us, if Father refuses to fight, it will inevitably dampen the morale of our army."

"That's why we sent cautious people like Chen Gui, Zhou Tai, and Sun Li to meet the enemy north of the Wei River."

"Without the danger of defeat, the resentful generals have been appeased, and we can also test Zhuge Liang's true abilities."

"If Zhuge Liang were to launch a full-scale attack, it is possible that he could defeat the Shu invaders by being prepared against their unpreparedness, thus achieving multiple objectives at once."

After Sima Shi finished speaking, he cast an inquiring glance at Sima Yi.

Sima Yi nodded slightly; not all of his sons were worthless.

On the other side, Sima Zhao seemed to understand but not quite:
"But didn't Father say yesterday that Zhuge Liang didn't want to win? If he didn't want to win, why did he risk coming here?"

Sima Yi could only smile helplessly: "When did I say he didn't want to win? I only said he didn't want to pay the price to conquer Chang'an for Liu Shan."

"If I can be defeated without any effort, why not?"
Even if my army suffers a defeat, Zhuge Liang will still be unable to take Chang'an directly.

(End of this chapter)