Aided by an unexpected defection, Jiang Wei restarts the Northern campaigns by setting his sights first on the Northwest.

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Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 138.

Last time, after laying low for a decade, Sima Yi staged a stunning coup to grab the reins of power in the court of the kingdom of Wei. In the process, he exterminated a significant portion of the Cao clan. But then one day, Sima Yi suddenly remembered that he had not quite exterminated ALL of Cao Shuang’s relations. There was a certain general named Xiahou Xuan (2) who remained in control of Yong (1) Province, and he was a kinsman of Cao Shuang’s. So Sima Yi invited this Xiahou Xuan (2) to the capital for … umm … tea. Well, actually for the time being he just gave Xiahou Xuan a position at court to keep an eye on him rather than leaving him out in the provinces where it would be easy for him to start trouble.

Now, we’ll hear from Xiahou Xuan (2) a little further down the road. But another member of his clan made some immediate noise. Xiahou Xuan’s uncle, Xiahou Ba (4), found out that his nephew had been summoned to the capital, and his spidey sense began to tingle. Remember that Xiahou Ba (4) was a veteran general who had accompanied Sima Yi on many campaigns, but he could see the writing on the wall and figured Sima Yi would be coming for him sooner or later. So Xiahou Ba immediately led the 3,000 men under his command in open rebellion in Yong (1) Province.

But, before Xiahou Ba’s rebellion could get very far, he ran into Guo (1) Huai (2), the old warhorse who was now imperial protector of Yong (1) Province. They faced off on the battlefield, and Guo Huai lured Xiahou Ba into a trap, sandwiching him between two forces. Xiahou Ba managed to escape, but his army was decimated.

With no other option left, Xiahou Ba decided to seek refuge in the kingdom of Shu. Now, remember that Xiahou Ba had long been an enemy of Shu, what with all those battles he fought against Zhuge Liang under Sima Yi’s command. Will he find a receptive audience? Let’s find out.

Xiahou Ba went to the region of Hanzhong to see Jiang Wei, who had been commanding the Shu forces since Zhuge Liang’s death. Jiang Wei was understandably skeptical about this defection, so he had his men go check things out before letting Xiahou Ba into the city. Once summoned, Xiahou Ba entered, kneeled, and wept as he recounted what happened.

Trying to console Xiahou Ba, Jiang Wei told him, “In ancient times, Wei (1) Zi (3) joined the Zhou (1) and made an everlasting name for himself. Sir, if you can help restore the house of Han, you will do the ancients proud.”

Ok, so a quick aside about this Wei Zi that Jiang Wei just name dropped. He was a historical figure from the end of the Shang Dynasty, so he was living a good 1,300 years before this point in the novel. He was a son of the Shang emperor. He saw his kingdom going downhill fast, but his old man would not listen to his advice. Eventually, Wei Zi decided to leave the kingdom of Shang. He later came into the service of the House of Zhou, the dynasty that ended up supplanting the Shang. He served the Zhou capably and made a name for himself. So Jiang Wei was telling Xiahou Ba there’s no shame in turning against your own kingdom.

 

So anyway, back to the present. After consoling Xiahou Ba,