Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Jiang Wei issued orders to withdraw the troops. Liao Hua said, "A general in the field is not bound by the commands of his sovereign. Although there is an imperial edict, we should not move." Zhang Yi said, "The people of Shu have grown resentful of the Grand Commander's campaigns year after year. We should take advantage of this victory to pull back the troops and calm the people's hearts before making further plans." Jiang Wei said, "Well spoken." He ordered each army to retreat according to protocol, and assigned Liao Hua and Zhang Yi to cover the rear, guarding against pursuit by Wei forces.

Deng Ai led his army in pursuit, but ahead he saw the Shu banners in perfect order and their troops withdrawing in good formation. Ai sighed, "Jiang Wei has truly mastered the methods of the Marquis of Wu!" He therefore dared not press the pursuit and pulled his troops back to the camp at Mount Qi.

When Jiang Wei arrived in Chengdu and was granted an audience with the Second Emperor, he asked the reason for the recall. The Second Emperor said, "I was concerned that you had been at the frontier for so long without returning, and feared the soldiers were being overtaxed. Therefore I summoned you back to court. I have no other intention." Jiang Wei said, "Your minister had already captured the Mount Qi camp and was on the verge of completing a great achievement when we were unexpectedly halted midway. This must be the work of Deng Ai's scheme of slander." The Second Emperor remained silent. Jiang Wei further said, "Your minister has sworn to chastise the traitors and repay the state's grace. I beg Your Majesty not to heed the words of petty men and breed suspicion." After a long pause, the Second Emperor said, "I do not suspect you. Return to Hanzhong for now, and when the state of Wei presents an opportunity, you may attack again." Jiang Wei sighed and left the court, departing for Hanzhong.

When Dang Jun returned to the Mount Qi camp and reported these events, Deng Ai said to Sima Wang, "When sovereign and minister are at odds, internal upheaval is sure to follow." He sent Dang Jun to Luoyang to inform Sima Zhao. Zhao was overjoyed and began to entertain designs against Shu. He asked his Central Army Protector, Jia Chong, "What do you think if I attack Shu now?" Jia Chong said, "It cannot be done. The Son of Heaven already suspects you, my lord. If you leave the capital lightly, internal troubles will surely arise. Last year, two yellow dragons were seen in the well at Ningling. The officials presented memorials of congratulation, regarding it as an auspicious omen. But the Son of Heaven said, 'This is no auspicious omen. The dragon is the symbol of a ruler, yet here it is neither in heaven nor in the fields, but trapped in a well—a portent of imprisonment.' He then composed a poem entitled 'The Hidden Dragon.' The meaning of the poem clearly points at you, my lord. It reads:

'Alas, the dragon is beset,

Unable to leap into the deep.

It soars not to the Milky Way above,

Nor appears in the fields below.

Coiled at the bottom of a well,

Loaches and eels dance before it.

It hides its teeth and sheaths its claws—

Alas, I am just like it!'"

Sima Zhao flew into a rage upon hearing this and said to Jia Chong, "This man would follow the example of Cao Fang! If we do not act soon, he will surely destroy us." Jia Chong said, "I am willing to devise a plan for you, my lord, at any time."

In the fourth month of summer, in the fifth year of the Ganlu reign of Wei, Sima Zhao came to court wearing his sword. Cao Mao rose to greet him. The assembled officials all memorialized, "The Grand Marshal's merit is towering. He should be made Duke of Jin and granted the Nine Distinctions." Cao Mao lowered his head and did not reply. Zhao said sternly, "My father, my brother, and I have rendered great service to Wei. Is it not fitting that I be made Duke of Jin?" Cao Mao then said, "How dare I refuse your wish?" Zhao said, "In that 'Hidden Dragon' poem, he compares us to loaches and eels—what manner of courtesy is this?" Cao Mao had no answer. Zhao left the hall with a cold laugh. The assembled officials trembled.

Cao Mao returned to the inner palace and summoned Palace Attendant Wang Shen, Secretary Wang Jing, and Gentleman in Attendance Wang Ye to discuss the matter in private. Cao Mao wept and said, "Sima Zhao's intent to usurp the throne is known to all! I will not sit passively and suffer the humiliation of deposition. You must help me punish him!" Wang Jing memorialized, "This cannot be done. In former times, Duke Zhao of Lu could not bear the power of the Ji clan and fled, losing his state. Now the great authority has long rested with the Sima clan. Within and without the court, the ministers disregard the principles of loyalty and rebellion and flatter this villain—and they are not alone. Moreover, Your Majesty's palace guards are few and weak, with no men willing to die for you. If you do not endure in silence, no greater calamity could befall you. You must proceed slowly and not act rashly." Cao Mao said, "If this can be endured, what cannot be endured! My mind is made up. What is there to fear even in death?" With that, he went to inform the Empress Dowager. Wang Shen and Wang Ye said to Wang Jing, "The situation is urgent. We cannot bring about the destruction of our own clans. We should go to the Grand Marshal's residence and confess, to save our lives." Wang Jing said angrily, "When the sovereign is troubled, the minister is shamed; when the sovereign is shamed, the minister dies. How could you harbor divided loyalties?" Seeing that Wang Jing would not follow them, Wang Shen and Wang Ye went directly to report to Sima Zhao.

Shortly after, Emperor Cao Mao of Wei emerged from the inner palace. He ordered his guard Jiao Bo to assemble some three hundred palace guards and pages from the imperial residence, and they burst out with a great clamor. Cao Mao took up his sword and mounted his carriage, ordering his attendants to proceed straight through the southern gate. Wang Jing prostrated himself before the carriage, weeping and remonstrating, "Your Majesty now leads a few hundred men against Zhao. This is driving sheep into the mouth of a tiger—a futile death that serves no purpose. I do not value my own life; I truly see that this cannot be done." Cao Mao said, "My army is already in motion. Do not obstruct me." He then advanced toward the Dragon Gate.

Jia Chong, clad in armor and mounted on horseback, appeared with Cheng Zuo on his left and Cheng Ji on his right, leading several thousand armored guards who charged forward with shouts. Cao Mao brandished his sword and cried out, "I am the Son of Heaven! Do you burst into the palace intending to slay your sovereign?" The guards, seeing Cao Mao, dared not move. Jia Chong called to Cheng Ji, "What has the Grand Marshal been keeping you for? It is precisely for a day like this." Cheng Ji then took up his halberd, turned to Jia Chong, and said, "Shall I kill him or bind him?" Jia Chong said, "The Grand Marshal's orders are that only the dead will do." Cheng Ji advanced with his halberd straight toward the carriage. Cao Mao shouted, "How dare you, fellow, show such disrespect!" Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Ji struck him in the chest with his halberd, knocking him from the carriage. A second thrust pierced through his back, and he died beside the carriage. Jiao Bo leveled his spear to meet the attack and was struck dead by Cheng Ji with a single blow. The guards all fled. Wang Jing came running up behind and cursed Jia Chong, "Villain, how dare you murder your sovereign!" Jia Chong flew into a rage and ordered his men to seize Wang Jing and report to Sima Zhao. Zhao entered the inner palace and, seeing that Cao Mao was dead, pretended to be greatly shocked. He wept, beating his head against the carriage, and sent word to all the high officials.

At that time, Grand Tutor Sima Fu entered the inner court and saw the body of Cao Mao. He laid the emperor's head upon his lap and wept, saying, "It was I who failed to prevent the assassination of Your Majesty—this is my crime!" He then had Cao Mao's body placed in a coffin and set in the west side of the side hall. Zhao entered the hall and summoned all the ministers to a council. Every minister arrived except Court Secretary Chen Tai. Zhao ordered Chen Tai's maternal uncle, Minister Xun Yi, to summon him. Chen Tai wept bitterly and said, "People consider me the equal of my uncle, but in truth my uncle falls short of me." He then entered wearing mourning garments, weeping and bowing before the coffin. Zhao also feigned weeping and asked, "How should we handle this day's affair?" Chen Tai replied, "Only by executing Jia Chong can we partially make amends to the world." Zhao pondered for a long time, then asked, "Think again—what is the next best course?" Chen Tai said, "There is only a course more severe than this; I know of no lesser alternative." Zhao said, "Cheng Ji has committed the most heinous treason—he shall be cut to pieces and his three branches of kin exalted." Cheng Ji cursed Zhao loudly, saying, "This is not my crime! It was Jia Chong who passed down your orders!" Zhao ordered his tongue cut off first. Cheng Ji cried out his grievance until he died. His younger brother Cheng Cui was also executed in the marketplace, and their three branches of kin were all exterminated. A later poet lamented:

Sima in years past gave the order to Jia Chong,

To slay the emperor at the south gate, his crimson robe stained red.

Yet he exterminated Cheng Ji's three branches of kin,

Thinking that soldiers and commoners were all deaf to it.

Zhao then sent men to arrest Wang Jing's entire family and throw them into prison. Wang Jing was in the Court of Justice office when he suddenly saw his mother brought in bound. Wang Jing knocked his head on the ground and wept bitterly, saying, "This unfilial son has brought disaster upon his loving mother!" His mother laughed loudly and said, "Who does not die? I only feared dying in an unworthy manner. To give one's life for this—what regret is there?" The next day, Wang Jing and his entire family were led to the Eastern Market for execution. Wang Jing and his mother smiled as they received the blade. The scholars and commoners of the city all shed tears without exception. A later poet wrote:

In the early Han they praised the sword-wielding martyrs;

In the late Han appeared Wang Jing.

True and unyielding, their hearts were alike;

Firm and unyielding, their resolve was even more pure.

Their integrity was as weighty as Mount Taihua;

Their lives were as light as a feather.

The fame of this mother and son endures,

As eternal as heaven and earth.

Grand Tutor Sima Fu requested that Cao Mao be buried with the rites of a king, and Zhao granted it. Jia Chong and others urged Sima Zhao to accept the abdication of Wei and ascend to the imperial throne. Zhao said, "In ancient times, King Wen held two-thirds of the realm yet still served the Yin dynasty with submission—therefore the sage was called of supreme virtue. Emperor Wu of Wei did not accept the abdication from Han, just as I will not accept the abdication from Wei." Jia Chong and the others, understanding from these words that Sima Zhao had his son Sima Yan in mind, ceased their urging. In the sixth month of that year, Sima Zhao installed the Duke of Changdao, Cao Huang, as emperor, changing the reign name to the first year of Jingyuan. Huang changed his name to Cao Huan, with the courtesy name Zhaoqi. He was a grandson of Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, and the son of the Prince of Yan, Cao Yu. Huan enfeoffed Zhao as Chancellor and Duke of Jin, granting him a hundred thousand strings of cash and ten thousand bolts of silk. The various civil and military officials all received their respective rewards.

A spy had already reported the news to Shu. Jiang Wei, upon hearing that Sima Zhao had assassinated Cao Mao and installed Cao Huan, was pleased and said, "Now I have justification for my campaign against Wei." He therefore sent a letter to Wu, urging them to raise troops to charge Sima Zhao with the crime of regicide. At the same time, he memorialized the Latter Lord and raised an army of a hundred and fifty thousand, with several thousand carts, all fitted with wooden crates on top. He ordered Liao Hua and Zhang Yi to serve as vanguard commanders. Liao Hua was to take the Ziwu Road, Zhang Yi the Luogu Road, and Wei himself the Xiegu Road—all to converge and advance upon Qishan. The three armies set out together, advancing toward Qishan.

At that time, Deng Ai was in his mountain stronghold training his troops. Upon receiving word that the Shu forces were advancing on three routes, he gathered his generals to deliberate. Adjutant Wang Guan said, "I have a plan that I cannot speak aloud. I have written it here for the general's perusal." Deng Ai took the document, read it through, and smiled. "This plan is clever enough, but I fear it will not deceive Jiang Wei." Wang Guan said, "I am willing to risk my life and go." Deng Ai said, "If your resolve is firm, you will surely succeed." He then assigned five thousand troops to Wang Guan. Wang Guan set out by night along the Xiegu Road and encountered the Shu army's advance scouts. Wang Guan called out, "I am a defector from Wei—report this to your commander."

The scouts reported this to Jiang Wei, who ordered the rest of the troops to be held back and only the leader brought forward. Wang Guan prostrated himself on the ground and said, "I am Wang Guan, nephew of Wang Jing. Recently I witnessed Sima Zhao's assassination of the emperor and the slaughter of my uncle's entire family. My hatred burns to the marrow. Now that the general has raised an army to punish this crime, I have specially led five thousand of my own troops to surrender. I am willing to follow your orders, to destroy the treacherous faction and avenge my uncle's grievance." Jiang Wei was overjoyed and said to Wang Guan, "Since you come with sincere intentions, how could I not treat you with sincerity? The only thing my army lacks is grain. Now there are provisions at the mouth of the river—you may transport them to Qishan. I will go take the Qishan stronghold myself." Wang Guan was inwardly overjoyed, thinking his plan had succeeded, and gladly accepted. Jiang Wei said, "You need not use all five thousand men to transport the grain—take only three thousand, and leave two thousand to guide the way for the attack on Qishan." Wang Guan, fearing that Wei might suspect him, took the three thousand troops and left. Jiang Wei ordered Fu Qian to take the two thousand Wei soldiers along for use in the campaign. A report then arrived that Xiahou Ba had come. Ba said, "Why does the Commander-in-Chief trust Wang Guan's words? While I was in Wei, though I did not know all the details, I never heard that Wang Guan was Wang Jing's nephew. There is much deception here—I ask the general to investigate." Jiang Wei laughed loudly and said, "I already know of Wang Guan's deception. That is why I have divided his forces—I will turn his own scheme against him." Ba said, "Please explain, General." Wei said, "Sima Zhao is as treacherous and ambitious as Cao Cao. Having killed Wang Jing and exterminated his three branches of kin, how could he allow a nephew to command troops outside the passes? Therefore I knew it was a deception. Your insight coincides with my own."

Thereafter, Jiang Wei did not advance out of Xie Valley. Instead, he had men lie in ambush along the road to guard against Wang Guan's spies. Within ten days, the ambushers indeed seized a man sent by Wang Guan to deliver a reply to Deng Ai. Jiang Wei interrogated him, searched him, and found a private letter, which stated that on the twentieth day of the eighth month grain would be transported by a small road back to the main camp, and that Deng Ai should dispatch troops to rendezvous at Tangu Valley. Jiang Wei put the messenger to death, but altered the date in the letter to the fifteenth day of the eighth month, making it read that Deng Ai himself should lead the main force to rendezvous at Tangu Valley. He then had men disguise themselves as Wei soldiers and deliver the letter to the Wei camp. Meanwhile, he ordered that several hundred grain wagons, emptied of grain and loaded with dry kindling, firewood, and incendiary materials, be covered with blue cloth, and sent Fu Qian with two thousand former surrendered Wei soldiers, bearing the banners of a grain transport convoy. Jiang Wei himself and Ge Xia Ba each led an army to lie in ambush in the valley. He ordered Jiang Shu to advance out of Xie Valley, and Liao Hua and Zhang Yi to march forward together to seize Qi Mountain.

Now, when Deng Ai received Wang Guan's letter, he was overjoyed and hastily wrote a reply, sending the messenger back. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, Deng Ai led fifty thousand elite troops straight toward Tangu Valley. He sent men ahead to reconnoiter from a high vantage point and saw countless grain wagons passing one after another through the hollow of the hills. Deng Ai reined in his horse and looked—they were indeed all Wei soldiers. His attendants said, "It is already dark. We should quickly go to meet Wang Guan as he emerges from the valley mouth." Deng Ai replied, "The mountain terrain ahead is covered and obscured. If there are ambushers, it will be difficult to retreat. We must wait here." Even as he spoke, two horsemen galloped up and reported, "General Wang, having crossed the border with the grain, is being pursued by troops behind him. He looks to you for swift rescue." Deng Ai was greatly alarmed and hastened his troops forward. It was the beginning of the first watch of night, and the moon shone as bright as day. He heard only shouting from behind the hills and assumed Wang Guan was fighting there. He rushed straight over the back of the hill, when suddenly a body of troops burst out from the woods. At their head was the Shu general Fu Qian, who galloped forward and shouted, "Deng Ai, you wretch! You have fallen into our commander's stratagem! Why not dismount and submit to death at once!" Deng Ai was greatly startled, wheeled his horse around, and fled. Fire broke out on the wagons—that fire was the signal. Shu soldiers on both sides poured out and cut the Wei troops to pieces, so that they were severed in seven or eight places. All that could be heard from the hills above and below was: "Whoever captures Deng Ai shall be rewarded with a thousand catties of gold and enfeoffed as marquis of ten thousand households!" Terrified, Deng Ai cast off his armor and helmet, abandoned his horse, and mingled among the foot soldiers, fleeing by climbing over mountains and scaling ridges. Jiang Wei and Ge Xia Ba had expected to seize Deng Ai on horseback at the head of the column, but did not expect that Deng Ai would escape on foot. Jiang Wei led his victorious troops to meet Wang Guan's grain wagons.

Now, Wang Guan had secretly arranged with Deng Ai and had beforehand prepared the grain carts and supplies in order, awaiting the moment to act. Suddenly a trusted man reported, "The plot has been exposed. General Deng has suffered a great defeat—it is not known whether he lives or dies." Wang Guan was greatly alarmed and sent men to scout. They reported that three columns of troops were closing in from behind, and great clouds of dust were rising on all sides—there was no road of escape. Wang Guan ordered his men to set fire and burn all the grain carts and wagons. In an instant, flames shot up and the fierce fire blazed into the sky. Wang Guan cried out, "The situation is desperate! You must fight to the death!" He then led his troops westward to break through. Jiang Wei pursued him with three columns from behind. Jiang Wei assumed Wang Guan would try to break back toward Wei with all his might, but instead Wang Guan turned and attacked into Hanzhong. Because his forces were few and he feared pursuit, Wang Guan burned the gallery roads and destroyed all the passes. Jiang Wei, fearing for the safety of Hanzhong, therefore did not pursue Deng Ai but led his troops by a small road through the night in pursuit of Wang Guan. Wang Guan, attacked on all four sides by Shu soldiers, threw himself into the Heilong River and died. The remaining soldiers were all buried alive by Jiang Wei. Although Jiang Wei had defeated Deng Ai, he lost a great deal of grain and supplies and the gallery roads were destroyed, so he led his troops back to Hanzhong. Deng Ai led his defeated soldiers back to the Qi Mountain camp, submitted a memorial asking punishment, and demoted himself. Sima Zhao, seeing that Deng Ai had rendered great service on many occasions, could not bear to demote him and instead bestowed even greater rewards. Deng Ai distributed all the gifts he had received among the families of the soldiers who had been killed. Zhao, fearing the Shu troops would march again, added fifty thousand troops for Deng Ai to command in defense. Jiang Wei repaired the gallery roads through the night and again proposed to launch a campaign. Indeed:

The gallery roads are repaired, and the troops march out again;

Until the Central Plains are conquered, they will not rest even in death.

What the outcome of the campaign would be, read on in the following chapter.