Ma Su's Disobedience Causes The Loss Of Jieting;
Zhuge Liang's Lute Repulses Sima Yi.

Beside sending Zhang He as Van Leader of Sima Yi, Cao Rui appointed two other generals, Xin Pi and Sun Li, to assist Cao Zhen. Xin Pi and Sun Li led fifty thousand troops.

Sima Yi's army was two hundred thousand strong. They marched out through the pass and made a camp.

When encamped, Sima Yi summoned Zhang He to his tent and admonished him, saying, "A characteristic of Zhuge Liang is his most diligent carefulness; he is never hasty. If I were in his place, I should advance through the Ziwu Valley to capture Changan and so save much time. It is not that he is unskillful, but he fears lest that plan might miscarry, and he will not sport with risk. Therefore he will certainly come through the Xie Valley, taking Meicheng on the way. That place captured, he will divide his force into two, one part to take Gu Valley. I have sent Cao Zhen orders to guard Meicheng strictly and on no account to let its garrison go out to battle. The generals Sun Li and Xin Pi are to command the Gu Valley entrance, and should the enemy come, they are to make a sudden attack."

"By what road will you advance?" asked Zhang He.

"I know a road west of Qinling Mountains called Jieting, on which stands the city Liliu. These two places are the throat of Hanzhong. Zhuge Liang will take advantage of the unpreparedness of Cao Zhen and will certainly come in by this way. You and I will go to Jieting, whence it is a short distance to Yangping Pass. When Zhuge Liang hears that the road through Jieting is blocked and his supplies cut off, he will know that all the lands of West Valley Land is impossible to keep, and will retire without losing a moment into Hanzhong. I shall smite him on the march, and I ought to gain a complete victory. If he should not retire, then I shall block all the smaller roads and so stop his supplies. A month's starvation will kill off the soldiers of Shu, and Zhuge Liang will be my prisoner."

Zhang He took in the scheme and expressed his admiration, saying, "O Commander, your calculation exceeds human!"

Sima Yi continued, "However, it is not to be forgotten that Zhuge Liang is quite different from Meng Da. You, as Leader of the Van, will have to advance with the utmost care. You must impress upon your generals the importance of reconnoitering a long way ahead and only advancing when they are sure there is no ambush. The least remissness will make you the victim of some ruse of the enemy."

Zhang He, having received his instructions, marched away.

Meanwhile spies had come to Zhuge Liang in Qishan with news of the destruction of Meng Da and the failure of his conspiracy.

They said, "Sima Yi marched rapidly in eight days to Xincheng. He had Shen Yi, Shen Dan, Li Gu, and Deng Xian plot against Meng Da from within. Meng Da had not been able to do anything and was killed. Now Sima Yi has gone to Changan, when he has marched through the pass with Zhang He."

Zhuge Liang was distressed.

"Meng Da's destruction was certain," said he. "Such a scheme could not remain secret. Now Sima Yi will try for Jieting and block the one road essential to us."

So Jieting had to be defended, and Zhuge Liang asked who would go. Ma Su offered himself instantly.

Zhuge Liang urged upon him the importance of his task.

"The place is small, but of very great importance, for its loss would involve the loss of the whole army. You are deeply read in all the rules of strategy, but the defense of this place is difficult, since it has no wall and no natural defenses."

"I have studied the books of war since I was a boy, and I may say I know a little of the art of war," Ma Su replied. "Why alone is Jieting so difficult to hold?"

"Because Sima Yi is an exceptional man, and also he has a famous second in Zhang He as Leader of the Van. I fear you may not be a match for him."

Ma Su replied, "To say nothing of these two, I would not mind if Cao Rui himself came against me. If I fail, then I beg you to behead my whole family."

"There is no jesting in war," said Zhuge Liang.

"I will give a written pledge."

Zhuge Liang agreed, and a written pledge was given and placed on record.

Zhuge Liang continued, "I shall give you twenty-five thousand veterans and also send an officer of rank to assist you."

Next he summoned Wang Ping and said to him, "As you are a careful and cautious man, I am giving you a very responsible position. You are to hold Jieting with the utmost tenacity. Camp there in the most commanding position so that the enemy cannot steal by. When your arrangements are complete, draw a plan of them and a map of the local topography, and let me see it. All my dispositions have been carefully thought out and are not to be changed. If you can hold this successfully, it will be of the first service in the capture of Changan. So be very, very careful."

After Ma Su and Wang Ping had gone and Zhuge Liang had reflected for a long time, it occurred to him that there might be some slip between his two leaders.

So he called Gao Xiang to him and said, "Northeast of Jieting is a city named Liliu, and near it an unfrequented hill path. There you are to camp and make a stockade. I will give you ten thousand troops for this task. If Jieting should be threatened, you may go to the rescue."

After Gao Xiang had left, and as Zhuge Liang thought Gao Xiang was not a match for his opponent Zhang He, he decided there ought to be additional strength on the west in order to make Jieting safe. So he summoned Wei Yan and bade him lead his army to the rear of Jieting and camp there.

But Wei Yan thought this rather a slight, and said, "As Leader of the Van, I should go first against the enemy. Why am I sent to a place where there is nothing to do?"

"The leadership of the van is really a second-rate task. Now I am sending you to support Jieting and take post on the most dangerous road to Yangping Pass. You are the chief keeper of the throat of Hanzhong. It is a very responsible post and not at all an idle one. Do not so regard it and spoil my whole plan. Be particularly careful."

Wei Yan, satisfied now that he was not being slighted, went his way.

Zhuge Liang's mind was at rest, and he called up Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi, to whom he said, "Now that Sima Yi is in command of the army, the whole outlook is different. Each of you will lead a force out to Gu Valley and move about so as to mislead the enemy. Whether you meet and engage them or not, you will certainly cause them uneasiness. I am going to lead the main army through the Xie Valley to Meicheng. If I can capture that, Changan will fall."

Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi took the orders and went off.

Zhuge Liang appointed Jiang Wei as Leader of the Van, and they marched to the Xie Valley.

When Ma Su and Wang Ping had reached Jieting and saw what manner of place it was, Ma Su smiled, saying, "Why was the Prime Minister so extremely anxious? How would the Wei armies dare to come to such a hilly place as this?"

Wang Ping replied, "Though they might not dare to come, we should set our camp at this meeting of many roads."

So Wang Ping ordered his soldiers to fell trees and build a strong stockade as for a permanent stay.

But Ma Su had a different idea.

"What sort of a place is a road to make a camp in? Here is a hill standing solitary and well wooded. It is a heaven-created point of vantage, and we will camp on it."

"You are wrong, Counselor," replied Wang Ping. "If we camp on the road and build a strong wall, the enemy cannot possibly get past. If we abandon this for the hill, and the troops of Wei come in force, we shall be surrounded, and how then be safe?"

"You look at the thing like a child," said Ma Su, laughing. "The rules of war say that when one looks down from a superior position, one can overcome the enemy as easily as cleaving bamboo. If they come, I will see to it that not a breastplate ever goes back again."

"I have followed our Commander-in-Chief in many campaigns, and always has he explained in details about the topography and given out well-thought orders. Now I have studied this hill carefully, and it is a critical spot. If we camp thereon and the enemy cut off our water supply, we shall have a mutiny."

"No such thing!" said Ma Su. "Sun Zi says that victory lies in desperate positions. If they cut off our water, will not our soldiers be desperate and fight to the death? Then everyone of them will be worth a hundred. I have studied the books, and the Prime Minister has always asked my advice. Why do you presume to oppose me?"

"If you are determined to camp on the hill, then give me part of the force to camp there on the west so that I can support you in case the enemy come."

But Ma Su refused. Just then a lot of the inhabitants of the hills came running along saying that the Wei soldiers had come.

Wang Ping was still bent on going his own way, and so Ma Su said to him, "Since you will not obey me, I will give you five thousand troops and you can go and make your own camp. But when I report my success to the Prime Minister, you shall have no share of the merit."

Wang Ping marched about three miles from the hill and made his camp. He drew a plan of the place and sent it quickly to Zhuge Liang with a report that Ma Su had camped on the hill.

While Sima Yi was marching toward Jieting, he sent his younger son to reconnoiter the road and to find out whether it had a garrison.

Said Sima Yi, "If there is a garrison, do not advance further."

Sima Zhao returned to report: "Jieting has already been occupied by Shu."

"Zhuge Liang is rather more than human," said his father regretfully when Sima Zhao gave in his report. "He is too much for me."

"Why are you despondent, Father? I think Jieting is not so difficult to take."

"How dare you utter such bold words?"

"Because I have seen. There is no camp on the road, but the enemy are camped on the hill."

This was glad news.

"If they are on the hill, then Heaven means a victory for me," said his father.

At night Sima Yi changed into another dress, took a small escort, and rode out to see for himself. The moon shone brilliantly, and he rode to the hill whereon was the camp and looked all round it, thoroughly reconnoitering the neighborhood. Ma Su saw him, but only laughed.

"If Sima Yi has any luck, he will not try to surround this hill," said he.

Ma Su issued an order to his generals: "In case the enemy come, you are to look to the summit for a signal with a red flag, when you shall rush down on all sides."

Sima Yi returned to his camp and sent out to inquire who commanded in Jieting.

They told him, "He is Ma Su, brother of Ma Liang."

"A man of false reputation and very ordinary ability," said Sima Yi. "If Zhuge Liang uses such as Ma Su, he will fail."

Then he asked, "Are there any other camps near the place?"

And they reported, "Wang Ping's camp is about three miles off."

Wherefore Zhang He was ordered to go and check Wang Ping from coming to rescue. Zhang He marched out and placed himself between Wang Ping and the hill.

This done, Sima Yi ordered Shen Yi and Shen Dan to surround the hill and to block the road to the water supply. Lack of water would cause a mutiny; and when that occurred, it would be time to attack.

Then Sima Yi led the main body to attack the hill on all sides.

From the summit of his hill, Ma Su could see the banners of his enemy all round, and the country about was full of soldiers. Presently the hemming in was complete, and the soldiers of Shu became dejected. They dared not descend to attack although Ma Su hoisted the red flag signaling for them to move. The generals stood huddled together, no one daring to go first. Ma Su was furious. He cut down two generals, which frightened the others to the point of descending and making one desperate rush. But the troops of Wei would stand firm against their attack, and they reascended the hill.

Ma Su saw that matters were going ill, so he issued orders to bar the gates and defend till help should come from outside.

When Wang Ping saw the hill surrounded, he started to go to the rescue, but Zhang He checked him, and after exchanging some ten encounters Wang Ping was compelled to retire whence he had come.

The Wei troops kept a close siege. The Shu soldiers in the hill camp, having no water, were unable to prepare food, and disorder broke out. The shouting was audible at the foot of the hill and went on far into the night. The soldiers on the south side got out of hand, opened the gates and surrendered. The men of Wei went round the hill setting fire to the wood, which led to still greater confusion in the beleaguered garrison. At last Ma Su decided to make a dash for safety toward the west.

Sima Yi allowed him to pass, but Zhang He was sent to pursue and chased him for ten miles. But then there came an unexpected roll of drums. Zhang He was stopped by Wei Yan while Ma Su got past. Whirling up his sword, Wei Yan dashed toward Zhang He, who retired within his ranks and fled. Wei Yan followed and drove Zhang He backward toward Jieting.

The pursuit continued for fifteen miles, and then Wei Yan found himself in an ambush, Sima Yi on one side and Sima Zhao on the other. They went around the hill and closed in behind Wei Yan, and he was surrounded. Zhang He then turned back, and the attack was now on three sides. Wei Yan lost many troops, and all his efforts failed to get him clear of the press. Then help appeared in the person of Wang Ping.

"This is life for me," said Wei Yan as he saw Wang Ping coming up, and the two forces joined in a new attack on the force of Wei. So the troops of Wei drew off, while Wei Yan and Wang Ping made all haste back to their own camp in Jieting---only to find them in the hands of the enemy.

Shen Yi and Shen Dan then rushed out and drove Wei Yan and Wang Ping to Liliu.

About that time Gao Xiang got news of the attack on Jieting, and he marched out his army from Liliu to the rescue. But halfway he fell in with Wei Yan and Wang Ping.

When Gao Xiang heard their story, he at once proposed a night attack on the Wei camp and the recovery of Jieting. They talked this over on the hillside and arranged their plans, after which they set themselves to wait till it was dark enough to start.

They set out along three roads. Wei Yan was the first to reach Jieting. Not a soldier was visible, which looked suspicious. He decided to await the arrival of Gao Xiang, and they both speculated as to the whereabouts of their enemy. They could find no trace, and the third army under Wang Ping had not yet come up.

Suddenly a bomb exploded, and a brilliant flash lit up the sky; drums rolled as though the earth was rending, and the enemy appeared. In a trice the armies of Shu found themselves hemmed in. Both Wei Yan and Gao Xiang pushed here and shoved there, but could find no way out. Then most opportunely from behind a hill rolled out a thunder of drums, and there was Wang Ping coming to their rescue. Then the t............