[Light-Screen]
[ In his letter, the Chancellor asked Sun Quan to launch a northern campaign and draw Wei's attention.
Sun Quan agreed readily.
→
In reality, this accomplished almost nothing.
First of all—
Why were Yong and Liang still armored up, and the Central Plains still saddled?
Let's be clear.
It definitely wasn't because of Sun Quan.
Second—
Sun Quan, as usual, went to attack Hefei.
The process differed slightly.
The result, however, was astonishingly consistent.
Sun Quan attacked Hefei.
Failed to take it.
Cao Rui personally led troops to reinforce the city.
Sun Quan panicked.
Sun Quan withdrew.
And just like that, the eastern front went quiet.
Sun Quan clocked out early, went home, and sat back to watch the show.]
"Damn that dog—"
Zhang Fei could only squeeze out those three words.
Liu Bei didn't even bother scolding his third brother.
He just kept shaking his head.
Chang'an · Ganlu Hall
Li Shimin understood military strategy.
Everything shown on the light-screen—the campaigns, the maneuvers—he already knew.
Yet watching it again, paired with later maps and explanations, he found it strangely absorbing.
"…Chengqian is already ten."
The light-screen's content stirred something uncomfortable in him.
Come to think of it, he had shown his eldest son far too little care.
Tonight, he decided, I'll dine with him. Test his studies while I'm at it.
Then another thought surfaced.
Should he write The Emperor's Model (帝範) earlier than planned?
According to the timeline shown, Chengqian would be thirty when he himself passed away.
Perhaps this "hundred-year prosperity" truly owed Chengqian some credit?
Li Shimin's expression softened before he turned to another matter.
"How many times did Sun Quan attack Hefei?"
"Five times," Zhangsun Wuji answered immediately.
"And?"
"Three times he failed outright.
Once he withdrew voluntarily.
Once he suffered a major defeat."
Li Shimin fell silent.
He felt that saying even one more word would be giving Sun Quan more dignity than he deserved.
[Light-Screen]
[ February, 234 CE.
The Chancellor led one hundred thousand troops, advancing through the Bao–Xie route.
To prepare for this expedition, the plank roads Zhao Yun once burned were rebuilt.
Special transport "wooden oxen" were also redesigned for river logistics.
We mentioned earlier—during the second northern expedition—that attacking from Chencang wasn't a real attempt.
Why?
Because exiting Chencang placed you directly onto the Guanzhong Plain—
flat land, no defensible terrain.
→
But that was when the second expedition was only a detachment.
This time, Shu committed fully.
The strategy changed.
With few troops—hold terrain and grind slowly.
With many troops—decide the war in one stroke.
Zhuge Liang had learned something painful:
Siege warfare was too costly.
So he shifted tactics.
Lure the enemy onto open ground.
Crush the main force.
Let Longyou fall on its own.
Records in Records of the Three Kingdoms mention a reserve force at Mount Qi—likely intended to sweep up afterward.
April.
Wei Yan led the vanguard out of Xie Valley.
The main Han army encamped at Wuzhang Plains, near Mei County.
The choice was brutally simple.
High ground—easy to defend, hard to assault.
Even centuries later, uphill attacks remain hellish.
North lay the Wei River—ample water, no fear of supply exhaustion, and a natural barrier.
On Sima Yi's side, fear of "Zhuge Phenomenon" had already gone viral.
No one talked about "matching wits" with the Chancellor anymore.
As for how to respond, Sima Yi thought carefully.
First—
He could not camp north of the Wei River.
Zhuge "Village Bumpkin" Liang was far too good at winning hearts.
If the people of Mei County defected en masse, things would spiral fast.
Second—
Sima Yi valued stability.
If he camped north, even a slim chance of Zhuge Liang feinting Mei County while striking Chang'an was unacceptable.
So he decided:
East of Wuzhang Plains lay the Wugong River.
That's where they would camp.
The Wei generals nodded in unison.
"Supreme Commander is wise."
Only Guo Huai raised an objection—
fearful that Zhuge Liang might cut off the Longyou routes.
His suggestion: occupy Northern Plains first.
Sima Yi accepted it.
North of Wuzhang, beyond the Wei River and valleys, rose a small highland.
Another commanding position.
Zhuge Liang responded in reverse.
He feigned an eastern strike on Mei County.
Wei Yan force-crossed the Wei River to attack Guo Huai.
But Guo Huai had fought Zhuge Liang too long.
He didn't fall for it.
Northern Plains held.
Wei Yan failed to break through.
Han and Wei stared at each other across the Wugong River.
After three years apart, Sima Yi grew curious.
What kind of man has this enemy become?
Scouts returned with their report:
Riding a plain carriage.
Holding a feather fan.
Commanding the armies—advance and retreat, measured and exact.]
The final battle.
Everyone held their breath.
"What if," Wei Yan asked,
"Sima Yi holds Northern Plains—why not strike Chang'an directly?"
Perhaps influenced by hearing his own Ziwu Valley strategy discussed earlier, Wei Yan had developed an unusual fondness for Chang'an.
"Impossible," Guan Yu rejected it flatly.
"Chang'an has no defensible terrain.
Even if taken, Tong Pass blocks further advance."
"Ignoring Sima Yi would sever our own supply line."
"That becomes an isolated army—useless to the war."
Huang Zhong raised another question.
"Then after exiting Bao–Xie, why not strike Mei County before Sima Yi arrives?"
"No," Zhang Fei answered, all levity gone.
"From Xie Valley to Mei County—no terrain to hold.
Sima Yi could harass the supply line at will."
"We'd be trapping ourselves."
"And," Zhang Fei added,
"The Qi Mountain force is only new recruits.
Shanggui is a fortified city—hard to take."
"Cutting Longyou from Xie Valley is also a dead end."
Liu Bei disliked this atmosphere.
Or rather—it reminded him too much of Yiling.
When great armies stalemate, most of the time they simply endure—
bleeding logistics, waiting for mistakes, hunting supply routes.
He studied the map again.
Han supplies ran straight from Xie Valley to Wuzhang Plains, shielded by mountains and rivers.
Easy to defend.
And Sima Yi's?
Liu Bei sighed.
Even more secure.
Sima Yi's supply lines sat comfortably behind him.
This kind of standoff tested patience and luck.
And Liu Bei felt that Shu-Han had already spent all its luck—
At Yiling.
In every northern expedition since.
Pang Tong noticed Zhuge Liang's tightly pressed lips and teased,
"Kongming, where's your four-wheeled cart now?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head.
"I only regret that Wuzhang Plains lacks Shiyuan's aid."
Pang Tong fell silent.
He understood.
Zhuge Liang wasn't lacking brilliance.
He was lacking people.
If only a few more reliable men existed—
If Jieting hadn't been lost—
Things might never have reached this point.
Jian Yong sighed.
"Guo Huai alone crippled this expedition."
Only Guo Huai?
Liu Bei suddenly recalled You Chu, the Longxi administrator from the first expedition.
A mere frontier governor—yet such insight.
The north truly bred talent.
[Light-Screen]
[ This time, the Chancellor came prepared for a war of attrition.
He activated his most infamous talent.
He started farming.
Wuzhang Plains sat in a river valley—
Wei River to the north, Wugong River to the east.
Excellent farmland.
Sima Yi stayed put in his camp.
Even if Zhuge Liang could farm—
could he out-farm the thousand-li Guanzhong Plain?
Months passed.
Then news arrived: Sun Quan had withdrawn.
Sima Yi grew even calmer.
Han troops taunted outside the camp.
Inside, Sima Yi sat unperturbed.
Soon, a gift arrived.
A beautifully embroidered set of women's clothing.
From Zhuge Liang.
Sima Yi exploded in rage and petitioned Cao Rui for permission to fight.
Cao Rui refused.
Not only that—
he dispatched Xin Pi, bearing imperial authority, to ensure Sima Yi obeyed.
The provocation failed.
The stalemate continued.
Yet Sima Yi wrote confidently to his brother:
He has fallen into my snare. His defeat is inevitable.]
"Something's wrong," Zhang Fei muttered.
"Of course there is," Pang Tong replied calmly.
"Sima Yi was never truly angry.
He merely petitioned to preserve his authority."
"If he were enraged, he'd have attacked outright."
"He commands Guanzhong—why would he need permission for everything?"
"And," Pang Tong added through clenched teeth,
"Sun Quan fled because Cao Rui himself led troops."
"That means Cao Rui and Sima Yi likely moved together."
"It's only been months—Cao Rui returns, issues orders—
and Sun Quan accomplished nothing?"
Liu Bei sighed.
"Repeatedly courting danger for profit—
later historians judged Sun Quan accurately."
Guan Yu sighed as well, but for another reason.
"Such aggressive provocation reveals desperation."
The heart of warfare was seizing initiative.
By sending women's clothing, Zhuge Liang exposed his urgency.
Whether to fight or not—
Now that choice belonged entirely to Sima Yi.
[Light-Screen]
[ From the Chancellor's envoys, Sima Yi learned the truth:
Punishments over twenty strokes—personally reviewed.
Meals—only a few sheng.
Sima Yi immediately understood.
Thus came his famous remark:
He eats little and bears much—how can he last long?
Reviewing punishments wasn't just stamping approval.
It meant reading confessions.
Witness accounts.
Legal statutes.
Issuing judgments.
Exhausting work.
Since governing Shu, the Chancellor rose early and slept late.
He worried about revenue.
About salt.
About irrigation.
About tools, iron, weapons.
He understood Liu Shan.
He wrote more letters to the emperor than to his own home.
He hoped for Liu Shan's growth—
personally copying texts like Six Secret Teachings for him.
The Memorial on Sending Out the Troops became a manual of governance.
He understood Jiang Wei.
After Jiang Wei surrendered, he wrote to Jiang Wan:
A top talent of Liangzhou. Superior even to Ma Liang. Must be used.
He knew Shu lacked talent.
Anyone with ability—he treated generously.
Anyone who accomplished anything—he remembered.
Everyone in Shu lived in his heart.
Everyone—
Except himself.
By August, his illness worsened.
Bedridden.
In ancient times, this was a death sentence.
Liu Shan sent Li Fu to Wuzhang Plains at once.
The Chancellor spoke calmly of his own death.
"I won't live long. After I'm gone—rely on Jiang Wan."
Li Fu asked, "And after Jiang Wan?"
"Fei Yi."
Li Fu pressed further.
"And after Fei Yi?"
The Chancellor said nothing.
He only looked toward Chengdu.
Your Majesty… for eleven years, this old minister has done all he can.
From here on, Shu rests in your hands.
Not long after Li Fu departed—
That night—
A long red star with blazing rays streaked from northeast to southwest,
falling into Zhuge Liang's camp—three times before fading.
The expedition failed.
The general's star fell.
The fire of Han—
Extinguished at Wuzhang Plains.]