A stunning turn of events in the showdown between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.

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Welcome to the Romance of the Three KIngdoms Podcast. This is episode 133.

Last time, after many, many tries, Zhuge Liang finally got his nemesis Sima Yi to take the bait, luring Sima Yi into a valley. As soon as Sima Yi, his two sons, and his army were inside, Zhuge Liang’s men sealed off the entrance and set the place on fire, triggering the explosives that they had buried in the valley. Sima Yi and company found themselves trapped like rats. As the flames closed in, all Sima Yi could do was to pull his sons into his arms and wait for death.

As the fire inched closer, Zhuge Liang looked on from a nearby hill with delight. This was his finest hour. In a matter of minutes, Sima Yi would be dead, and the path to the Heartlands would be cleared, and his dream and lifelong work of reuniting the empire would be close to fruition. Once the Wei falls, it would only be a matter of time before Dongwu succumbs as well, and then …

Wait, what’s happening?

 

Out of nowhere, a powerful gale kicked up, and the sky quickly grew dark. Then, with the loud clap of a thunderbolt, a drop of rain hit the ground, then another, and then another.

No. You have GOT to be kidding me!

As Zhuge Liang looked on, the heavens opened up and a torrential rain poured down on him and on the valley below.

Soon, the fire inside the valley was extinguished, the landmines were silenced, and all the firework had gone out.

“Now is our chance to get out of here!” Sima Yi shouted. Given a new lease on life, he and his troops stormed out of the gorge. His reinforcements also arrived. The Shu general Ma Dai, who was responsible for setting the trap, did not have enough troops with him to make a fight of it, so he did not dare to give chase.

Watching Sima Yi disappear into the distance, Zhuge Liang sighed.

“Man may devise, but heaven decides. We cannot bend events to our will.”

So Sima Yi and his troops limped back to their camp on the south bank of the Wei River. But when they got there, they realized that the Shu forces had already taken it. Meanwhile, their comrades Guo Huai and Sun Li (3) were busy trying to fend off the attack on the pontoon bridges. When Sima Yi arrived with reinforcements, the Shu forces fell back. But Sima Yi wasn’t going to take any chances. He burned his own pontoon bridges and set up camp on the north bank.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Wei forces were busy attacking the Shu base at Qi Mountain. But when they heard that Sima Yi had been routed and that their camp on the south bank of the river had been sacked, they lost heart and tried to retreat. What ensued was not pretty, as the Shu forces slaughtered them en mass. The Wei forces suffered something like 80 or 90 percent casualties, and the survivors all scrambled across to the north bank of the river.

Sima Yi now sent out an order to everyone in his camp: “We have already lost the camp on the south bank of the river. Any officer who speaks of fighting again will be executed.”

Soon, Guo Huai came to see Sima Yi and told him, “Zhuge Liang has been leading troops on recon missions in recent days. He must be looking for a place to pitch camp.”

Sima Yi said,