Читаем Three Kingdoms Romance полностью

“My father and I owe too much to the First Ruler's and Your Majesty's kindness for me to think any sacrifice too great to make for Your Majesty. I pray that you give me command of the troops in the capital, and I will fight a decisive battle.”

So the soldiers, seventy thousand, were placed under Zhuge Zhan's command. When he had gathered all together, he said, “Who dares be Leader of the Van?”

His son, Zhuge Shang, then nineteen, offered himself, saying, “Since my father commands the army, I volunteer to lead the van.”

Zhuge Shang had studied military books and made himself an adept in the various exercises. So he was appointed, and the army marched to find the enemy.

In the meantime the surrender general, Ma Miao, had given Deng Ai a very complete map of the country showing the whole sixty miles of road to Chengdu. However, Deng Ai was dismayed when he saw the difficulties ahead of him.

“If they defend the hills in front, I shall fail; for if I am delayed, Jiang Wei will come up, and my army will be in great danger. The army must press on.”

He called Shi Zuan and his son Deng Zhong and said, “Lead one army straight to Mianzhu to keep back any Shu soldiers sent to stop our march. I will follow as soon as I can. But hasten; for if you let the enemy forestall you, I will put you to death.”

They went. Nearing Mianzhu they met the army under Zhuge Zhan. Both sides prepared for battle. The Shu armies adopted the Eight Diagrams formation and presently, after the usual triple roll of drums, Shi Zuan and Deng Zhong saw their opponents' ranks open in the center, and therefrom emerge a light carriage in which sat a figure looking exactly as Zhuge Liang used to look when he appeared on the battlefield. Everybody knew the Taoist robes and the feather fan. The standard bore his name and titles: “The Han Prime Minister Zhuge Liang”.

The sight was too much for Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan. The cold sweat of terror poured down them, and they stammered out.

“If Zhuge Liang is still alive, that is the end of us.”

They led their army to flee. The troops of Shu came on, and the army of Wei was driven away in defeat and chased a distance of seven miles. Then the pursuers sighted Deng Ai and they turned and retired.

When Deng Ai had camped, he called the two leaders before him and reproached them for retreating without fighting.

“We saw Zhuge Liang leading the enemy,” said Deng Zhong, “So we ran away.”

“Why should we fear, even if they bring Zhuge Liang to life again? You ran away without cause, and we have lost. You ought both to be put to death.”

However, they did not die, for their fellows pleaded for them, and Deng Ai's wrath was mollified. Then the scouts came in to say that the leader of the army was a son of Zhuge Liang, and they had set up on the carriage a wooden image of the late strategist.

Deng Ai, however, said to Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan, “This is the critical stage; and if you lose the next battle, you will certainly lose your lives with it.”

At the head of ten thousand troops, they went out to battle once more. This time they met the vanguard led by Zhuge Shang, who rode out alone, boldly offering to repulse the leaders of Wei. At Zhuge Zhan's signal the two wings advanced and threw themselves against the Wei line. The center portion of the Wei line met them, and the battle went to and fro many times, till at length the force of Wei, after great losses, had to give way. Both Deng Zhong and Shi Zuan being badly wounded, they fled and the army of Shu pursued and drove the invaders into their camp.

Shi Zuan and Deng Zhong had to acknowledge a new defeat, but, when Deng Ai saw both were severely wounded, he forbore to blame them or decree any penalty.

To his officers Deng Ai said, “This Zhuge Zhan well continues the paternal tradition. Twice they have beaten us and slain great numbers. We must defeat them, and that quickly, or we are lost.”

Then Military Inspector Qiu Ben said, “Why not persuade their leader with a letter?”

Deng Ai agreed and wrote a letter, which he sent by the hand of a messenger. The warden of the Shu camp gate led the messenger in to see Zhuge Zhan, who opened the letter and read:

“Deng Ai, General Who Conquers the West, writes to Zhuge Zhan, General of the Guard and Leader of the army in

the field.

“Now having carefully observed your talent in attack, I see you are not equal to your most honored father. From the moment of his emergence from his retreat, he said that the country was to be in tripod division. He conquered Jingzhou and Yiazhou and thus established a position. Few have been his equal in all history. He made six expeditions from Qishan, and, if he failed, it was not that be lacked skill; it was the will of Heaven.