Summary: Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi match wits over the latest in wheelbarrow technology.<br> <br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/2017/10/16/episode-131-wooden-oxens-gliding-horses-and-copycats/#transcript">Transcript</a><br> * <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ep_131.png">Map of Key Locations</a><br> * <a href="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1XIe_uqg4wtKGH9ar4vmv8mhhGLn2kAhdbfaX87Av">Graph of Key Characters and Relationships</a><br> <br> <br> <a id="transcript"></a>Transcript<br> <a href="http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/3kingdoms131.pdf">PDF version</a><br> Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 131.<br> Last time, Zhuge Liang was hoping the sixth time would be the charm as he launched yet another Northern campaign. Standing in his way was his old foe, Sima Yi. And this time, Sima Yi actually caught wise to Zhuge Liang’s tricks. Zhuge Liang was planning to fake an attack on the Wei camp on the northern plain while launching a real attack on their pontoon bridges on the Wei River. But Sima Yi saw through the scheme and prepared accordingly. <br> First, he told his vanguard generals Xiahou Ba (4) and Xiahou Wei (1), “If you hear commotion from the northern plain, lead your troops to the hills to the south of the river. When enemy troops approach, attack.”<br> Next, he sent the generals Zhang Hu (3) and Yue (4) Chen (1) to lead 2,000 archers and lie in wait on the north bank near the pontoon bridges, with orders to bombard the Shu forces with arrows if they tried to approach on the river.<br> Then, he told the generals Guo Huai and Sun Li (3), “Zhuge Liang will encroach on the northern plain to cover up his real attack on the river. You have just set up your camp and don’t have many troops. Hide all of them in an ambush along the road. If the Shu forces cross the river in the afternoon, they will attack you around dusk. Pretend to fall back and lure them into pursuit. Then hit them with arrows. I will be advancing on land and water. If the enemy arrives en masse, just watch for my command and attack.”<br> Finally, Sima Yi ordered his two sons, Sima Shi (1) and Sima Zhao (1) to lead a force to reinforce the front camp, while Sima Yi himself led an army to reinforce the northern plain.<br> <br> Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang was proceeding with his plan, not knowing that Sima Yi had caught on. He sent the generals Wei Yan and Ma Dai to cross the river and lead the assault on the northern plain. He sent the generals Wu Ban and Wu Yi (4) to lead the rafts to go burn the pontoon bridges. Then, three forces were sent to attack the enemy camp on the bank of the Wei River. The front column was led by Wang Ping and Zhang Yi (2). Jiang Wei and Ma Zhong led the middle column. Liao Hua and Zhang Yi (4) led the rear column. Everyone set out at noon and crossed over the river and went their separate ways.<br> So first let’s follow Wei Yan and Ma Dai on their assault of the northern plain. They approached the Wei camp as the sky was getting dark. As soon as the Wei general Sun Li saw them, he abandoned camp and fled. Now Wei Yan was an old hand at this, so he immediately sensed a trap and ordered his troops to fall back. But it was too late. Loud cries rose up all around. From the left charged out a force led by Sima Yi, and from the right charged a force led by Guo Huai. Their attack drove most of the Shu soldiers into the water. Wei Yan and Ma Dai managed to fight their way out with some tattered troops, and fortunately for them, their comrade Wu Yi arrived with some rafts and ferried them back to the other side of the river, where they managed to hold their ground.<br> While this was going on, the Shu general Wu Ban was leading the other half of the rafts down the river to burn the pontoon bridges. But as soon as they got near the bridges, they were met with a hailstorm of arrows.
