In order to further consolidate Sima Yi's throne, Cao Rui personally issued an edict and rewarded Sima Yi. The content is: When you arrive at Weibin, be prepared to hold on and do not go out to fight. If the Shu troops are unsuccessful, they will pretend to retreat and lure the enemy. , don’t chase them, wait until they run out of food, they will leave on their own, and then take advantage of the opportunity to attack, it will be much easier, and it will also save some soldiers and horses from the pain of fatigue. It is best to plan your strategy like this. After Sima Yi read it, he kowtowed to thank him and then set off for Chang'an. He gathered a total of 400,000 people from all walks of life and set up camp in Weibin. He also mobilized 50,000 troops and horses, built nine pontoon bridges on the Wei River, and ordered the pioneers Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei. Set up camp on the Wei River, and then build a new city in Dongyuan behind the camp as a new defensive stronghold.
In the past three years, Sima Yi has not been idle. Under the guidance of the evil force, he actively practiced evil arts. The power of the corpse soldiers has been strengthened. Although the evil force was severely damaged, it has recovered a lot within three years.
When Sima Yi was discussing with the generals how to deal with Kong Ming's attack, soldiers suddenly came to report that Guo Huai and Sun Li were coming. Sima Yi welcomed him in. After the ceremony, Guo Huai said: "The Shu army is in Qishan now. If they cross the Wei River, they can Log in to the Central Plains, and we can hold on to the northern peaks connected there, so there won’t be a big threat.”
Sima Yi said: "You are right. You can governor Longxi's army and horses, set up a stronghold in Beiyuan, build defensive fortifications, and wait until the Shu army runs out of food, then they can attack." Guo Huai and Sun Li took the order and left.
Kong Ming went out to Qishan for the sixth time. This time he set down five camps respectively, according to the directions of left, right, middle, front and back, all the way to Jiange. In addition, he set up fourteen more camps in a row, all of which were stocked with troops and horses. In preparation for a long war, soldiers were sent to patrol every day to find out the situation of the Wei army.
Suddenly, soldiers came to report that Sun Li and Guo Huai were taking troops from Longxi to camp in Beiyuan. After hearing this, Kong Ming said to everyone: "The Wei army set up camp in Beiyuan because they were afraid that I would attack from this place, so they defended in advance. However, I pretended to attack Beiyuan, but actually attacked Weibin secretly. I sent people to build hundreds of rafts, loaded with some fodder, and selected 5,000 people who are familiar with water. I plan to attack Beiyuan tonight, so Sima Yi will definitely send troops. Go to support. If they fail, I will have the rear troops cross the river first and reach the other side. Then load the front troops into rafts. Don't go ashore yet. I will take the pontoon bridge along the water and set it on fire. Then I will attack their rear. Take a team of troops to attack the gate of the camp in front. If we get to the south of the Wei River, it will not be difficult for us to attack." After hearing the order, everyone moved forward according to the order.
Soon a Wei spies reported the situation to Sima Yi. Sima Yi summoned the generals and said: "Kong Ming did this with a plan. In the name of attacking Beiyuan, he followed the current to burn the pontoon bridge and cut off our rear. In fact, it was Attack in front of us." Then he sent an order to Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Wei: "If you hear the Shu soldiers shouting in the North Plains, lead your troops and horses to ambush in the mountains south of the Wei River, and wait until the Shu troops arrive, then attack." He also sent Zhang Hu and Le Wei led two thousand archers to ambush on the north bank of the pontoon on the Weishui River. They said, "If the Shu army comes down the river on a raft, you can just fire arrows. Don't let them get close to the pontoon." They also sent an order to Guo Huai and others. Sun Li said: "Kongming came to Beiyuan to cross the Wei River secretly. Although your newly established camp does not have many people, it can still ambush you halfway. If the Shu army crosses the water after noon, they will definitely attack you at dusk. You pretend to have failed. If you leave, the Shu army will definitely chase you, so you can kill them with bows and arrows. We will advance by land and water. If the Shu army comes, you will watch me command the attack." So orders were issued everywhere, and Sima Yi sent two more of his own troops. His two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, took troops and horses to meet the front camp. Sima Yi himself took a team of troops to rescue Beiyuan.
Kongming sent Wei Yan and Ma Dai to cross the Wei River with troops and horses to attack Beiyuan. He sent Wu Ban and Wu Yi to ride a raft down the river, preparing to burn the pontoon bridge. He sent Wang Ping and Zhang Yi as the front team, and Jiang Wei and Ma Zhong as the squadron. , Liao Hua and Zhang Yi were the rear troops, and the troops were divided into three groups to attack the Wei River camp. At ten minutes at noon, all the people and horses left the camp, crossed the Wei River, formed a formation, and moved forward slowly.
When Wei Yan and Ma Dai were about to approach Beiyuan, the sky had darkened. After Sun Li saw it, he abandoned the camp and left. Wei Yan knew that the other party had been prepared. When he was about to leave, there were loud shouts everywhere. On the left was Sima Yi. On the right was Guo Huai. Two groups of men and horses fought out. Wei Yan and Ma Dai fought hard. Most of the Shu army fell into the water, and no one else could escape. Fortunately, Wu Yi's soldiers and horses came to rescue the defeated army and temporarily stationed on the shore. .
Wu Ban put half of his men on a raft to burn the pontoon bridge, but Zhang Hu and Le Wei shot arrows from the shore. Wu Ban was hit by an arrow and fell into the water and died. The rest of the people jumped into the water to escape, and the raft was also taken away by the Wei army. At this time, Wang Ping and Zhang Yi, not knowing the situation in Beiyuan, went to the Wei army camp. At ten o'clock at two o'clock, they heard shouts everywhere.
Wang Ping said to Zhang Yi: "The army and horses are attacking Beiyuan. We don't know the outcome yet. The camp in Weinan is right in front of us, but we haven't seen a single Wei soldier. Did Sima Yi know about it in advance and make preparations? Let's look at the floating bridge first. If there is a flame, then decide whether to attack."
So the two of them waited at the scene. Suddenly, a cavalryman from behind came to report and said: "The Prime Minister asked you to return quickly. The soldiers and horses in Beiyuan and Pontoon have been defeated."
Wang Ping and Zhang Ni were very surprised after hearing this. When they were about to retreat, the Wei army came out from behind. With the sound of cannons, they all came out and the flames shot into the sky. Wang Ping and Zhang Ni led their troops to fight, and the two armies fought together. , the two fought their way out, and most of the Shu army was killed or wounded. Kong Ming returned to the Qishan camp to collect the defeated soldiers, and suffered tens of thousands of casualties, feeling very depressed.
It is said that in Jingzhou Nanqun, Yu Yi became restless after Kong Ming returned to Hanzhong. He came to Jiao Zhou and asked, "What on earth did you see?"
Jiao Zhou bowed and said, "Many strange phenomena mean that the Northern Expedition is unfavorable, the heavenly phenomena are changing, and something big will happen."
Yu Yi asked: "Is there a way to resolve it?"
He replied: "The way of heaven is cyclical, and everything has its destiny. Now that we are going against the will of heaven, I'm afraid it will be difficult to end well."
Yu Yi said: "Is it really that Xi Shu has run out of energy and there is no hope?"
He replied: "I have limited talent and limited knowledge. I cannot understand the mysteries of astronomy. I can only roughly grasp the direction. The specific content requires personal understanding."
Yu Yi felt that after talking for a long time, there was no effect, and it was not easy to get angry, so he could only let Jiao Zhou leave first and think about it carefully. At the same time, he called Fei Yi, brought some gifts, went to the front line to express condolences to the Shu army officers, and also reminded him Kong Ming, be careful in everything.
Soon he arrived at the front line of Qishan Mountain and was greeted by Kong Ming personally. After the ceremony, Kong Ming asked about the purpose of his visit. Fei Yi told Kong Ming Yu Yi's instructions and brought some condolences. Kong Ming was very moved after hearing this and said: " Thank you for your concern, and I will do my best to conquer the Central Plains and serve the country."
