Using only the sound of the zither, Zhuge Liang repelled 150,000 Wei troops. Did Sima Yi fall for the trick?
Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were two sworn enemies. These two exceptionally talented men had many times been at stalemate. One of the times Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi tested each other’s skills was when Liu Bei’s strategist used the “Empty Fort Strategy” to help drive away 150,000 Wei troops.
This classic event has been portrayed many times on screen. In the 1994 version of the movie “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, the “Empty Fort Strategy” was used by Zhuge Liang during his first Northern Expedition. After Ma Su lost Jieding, Zhuge Liang had only 2,500 soldiers stationed in Xicheng County. Suddenly, Ma Fei returned to report: “Sima Yi is leading a large army of 150,000 to Xicheng.”
At that time, there was no general with Zhuge Liang, only a group of civil officials. Hearing this news, the officials all turned pale with fear. The strategist stepped onto the wall to observe, and sure enough, in the distance, the dust was swirling, and the Wei army was charging towards Xicheng.
Then, he calmly ordered: “Hide all the flags and fans, each soldier must guard his patrol post on the wall. If anyone enters or leaves the city gate without permission or speaks loudly, he will be killed. Open all four city gates, at each gate, take twenty people disguised as civilians, and sweep the streets. If the Wei army comes, do not make a scene, I will have a plan to deal with it.”
Zhuge Liang still showed a calm face, sitting and playing the zither when 150,000 enemy troops arrived at Xicheng.
The situation seemed to be decided, and the Western City was difficult to defend, but Zhuge Liang used the “Empty City Strategy”, opening the city gates wide and then personally stepping onto the top of the wall to offer incense and play the zither. Facing Sima Yi’s million strong army, this talented strategist was not afraid, calm and composed.
Hearing the scouts report the situation, Sima Yi ordered the soldiers to stop immediately, and rode forward himself. He saw Zhuge Liang sitting on the wall with a smiling face, leaning against the railing, burning incense and playing the zither. On the left was a young boy holding a precious sword, on the right was also a young boy holding a whisk. Inside and outside the city gate, there were only about twenty commoners, busy sweeping the streets as if no one was around. After seeing this scene, Sima Yi suspected that there was an ambush in the city, so he quickly ordered his troops to retreat.
Sima Yi’s expression when he heard Zhuge Liang’s zither playing.
In the scene where they confront the “empty house and empty garden” strategy, Sima Yi (Wei Zongwan) and Zhuge Liang (Duong Quoc Cuong) performed with extremely brilliant eyes. In particular, Sima Yi’s expression when analyzing Zhuge Liang’s zither playing. Wei Zongwan successfully portrayed the confidence when he thought he knew the heart of his “worthy opponent”.
According to La Quan Trung’s “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, on the way to escape, Sima Yi was also chased away by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, who beat drums and raised flags to chase away the Wei army. However, in the 2010 film adaptation, Zhuge Liang’s (Lu Yi) zither playing had many profound meanings. When the Wei army retreated, Zhuge Liang exclaimed: “The heavens saved me, Sima Yi really understands the rules of music”. As for Sima Yi (Ni Dahong), when he returned to the camp, he pulled out a chair for Sima Shi to sit, listened to his son talk about the situation in Xicheng, and then said: “I lost to Zhuge Liang in terms of fate, fate did not help me”.
Sima Yi saw through Zhuge Liang’s brilliant plan early on but still decided to withdraw his troops.
Many people think that Sima Yi was suspicious and afraid, which is why he lost this battle. However, in reality, he was a cunning military man, so he could see through Zhuge Liang’s strategy. In addition, Sima Yi had a powerful army, so he could send people to investigate the truth in the Western City.
Even his son Sima Zhao had suggested this to his father. However, at the last minute, he still rejected it and decided to withdraw his troops, allowing the Shu army to escape the disaster. Sima Yi’s decision left his son in doubt. Only when he was on his last breath did he reveal the truth about what happened that year.
Sima Yi knew that he could not attack Zhuge Liang because he had to deal with many jealous threats in the court. If Zhuge Liang died, the path to Shu Han would be wide open, and Sima Yi knew that sooner or later he would become a thorn in the side of the Wei Dynasty.
Sima Yi showed his great intelligence in retreating against Zhuge Liang’s brilliant plan.
As long as Zhuge Liang was alive, the power of Cao Wei could be controlled, creating a balanced situation. Even if the Sima family was suspected and feared by the Cao family, it would still be valuable to exploit. Otherwise, the Sima family would be quickly exterminated. Besides, Sima Yi had always been the one who took the initiative to defend. Zhuge Liang had repeatedly carried out the Northern Expedition, and he had always held firm. Later, when this strategist fell ill and died on the battlefield, he did not pursue and kill him to the end.
It can be said that Sima Yi once again had foresight. He maintained the Three Kingdoms situation until the end of his life, to accumulate power for his descendants to later overthrow the Wei Dynasty, and then unify China.