Novel scene
Zhuge Liang Shames Sima Yi in Battle Formation 武侯鬥陣辱仲達
About this event
"Zhuge Liang Shames Sima Yi in Battle Formation" is the latter scene of the chapter title of Chapter 100 of the Romance, "The Han Army Raids the Camp and Defeats Cao Zhen; Zhuge Liang Shames Sima Yi in Battle Formation." It covers the story from the point where, after Cao Zhen's death, Sima Yi matches battle formations with Zhuge Liang of Mount Qi by the Wei River and is badly defeated, up to the point where Zhuge Liang, recalled by the Later Ruler because of Gou An's (苟安) rumors, withdraws his army safely by adding more cooking stoves as he goes. It is one episode of the Battle of Mount Qi as the Romance depicts it. Romance, Ch. 100 §32–44 · 45–53
Chen Shou's text has no such scene. The Biography of Zhuge Liang says that in the 9th year of Jianxing (231) Zhuge Liang marched out to Mount Qi again and carried grain with the wooden oxen but withdrew when his grain ran out, and the biography of Li Yan records that when the long rains cut off transport, Li Ping (Li Yan) called Zhuge Liang back. Records, Shu 5 §37Records, Shu 10 §46
In the Romance
When Cao Zhen dies, the ruler of Wei presses Sima Yi to give battle, and Sima Yi sends a letter of challenge. The next day, as the two armies face each other on the plain by the Wei River, Sima Yi tells Zhuge Liang to go back and guard his borders, saying that Wei has followed the abdications of Yao and Shun, and Zhuge Liang rebukes him, saying that he was entrusted with the young ruler by the late emperor, and that the Sima clan, who have eaten Han's salary for generations, are aiding usurpation. Ashamed, Sima Yi proposes a contest to decide the victor and swears that if he loses he will never again serve as a commander. Romance, Ch. 100 §32–35
The two first match battle formations. Zhuge Liang recognizes at a glance the Formation of Primal Unity that Sima Yi lays out, and Sima Yi too recognizes the Eight Trigrams Formation that Zhuge Liang lays out with a wave of his feather fan. Sima Yi gives Dai Ling, Zhang Hu and Yue Chen thirty horsemen each and has them enter by the Gate of Life, come out by the Gate of Rest and re-enter by the Gate of Opening, but the three generals lose their way within the layers of the formation and are all captured. Zhuge Liang strips them of their clothes, smears their faces with ink and sends them back on foot. Romance, Ch. 100 §36–42
Sima Yi, enraged, draws his sword himself and charges with over a hundred picked officers, but Guan Xing strikes stealthily from the southwest and Jiang Wei from the rear, and he is attacked from three directions. Six or seven in ten of the Wei troops are wounded, and Sima Yi falls back to the southern bank of the Wei River, holding firm and refusing to come out. Romance, Ch. 100 §42–44
When Gou An, a Commandant sent by Li Yan, brings grain ten days late, Zhuge Liang is about to behead him but, on Yang Yi's advice, stops at eighty strokes of the rod. Bearing a grudge, Gou An surrenders to Wei and, on Sima Yi's instructions, spreads a rumor in Chengdu that Zhuge Liang intends to proclaim himself emperor, so that the Later Ruler calls him back. Zhuge Liang withdraws in five columns, adding more stoves each day, and Sima Yi, counting the stoves, suspects an ambush and does not pursue. Later, hearing that the stoves had increased while the troops had not, Sima Yi sighs that Zhuge Liang followed the method of Yu Xu, and returns to Luoyang. Romance, Ch. 100 §45–53
Where the Romance differs
Battle formations: In Chapter 100 of the Romance, Zhuge Liang captures Sima Yi's generals with the Eight Trigrams Formation. Chen Shou's text says only that Zhuge Liang worked out the art of war to create the Eight Formations Diagram, and there is no contest of formations with Sima Yi. Romance, Ch. 100 §36–41Records, Shu 5 §42
The reason for the withdrawal: In the Romance, the Later Ruler calls Zhuge Liang back after hearing Gou An's rumors. In Chen Shou's text, when the long rains in the 9th year of Jianxing (231) kept the grain transport from getting through, Li Ping (Li Yan) sent someone to call Zhuge Liang back, and when the army withdrew he tried instead to shift the blame by asking why it was returning when grain was plentiful, and was found out. Romance, Ch. 100 §45–48Records, Shu 10 §46–47
Timing and outcome: The Romance places this campaign right after Cao Zhen's death and has Zhuge Liang withdraw without losing a single man by adding stoves. In Chen Shou's text, Cao Zhen died in the 3rd month of the 5th year of Taihe (231), and in the same year Zhuge Liang, withdrawing from Mount Qi, fought Zhang He and shot him dead with an arrow. Romance, Ch. 100 §50–52Records, Wei 3 §21Records, Shu 5 §37
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.